The New York herald., 1922-06-18
spin Wheel Revel"
Has Hitchcock in
Variety of Roles
Most Interesting Feature OF
First Performance Is the
~
Audience.

perhaps, at the opening OF
l. Raymond Hitchcock's PIN
Wheel Revel' the other night, was the
audience often they did more acting
than those on the stage of the Earl
Carroll Theater. They responded quite
cordially to Hitchcock's endeavors to
establish that intimate atmosphere
which seems TO be authoritatiyely con-
sidered a sine qua non of every Offer
ing in small theater nowadays The
edge does not seem TO Fave worn or
Hitchoock's familiar greetings to first
nghters. despite their repetition for
the pa>t half dozen years. and he sue
ceeded in setting up the feeling of
being ell famille, in spite of being
dressed in Russian uniform and sug-
sesting Erich Won Strohelm of Fool
ish Wives"
But since the comedian had taken
them into his confidence before the
curtain rose. the audience took him
into their confidence promptly and
were more free in expressing their
candid opinions of numbers than first
nighters usually are. being so often
packed juries. They gasped bit,
but applauded VIXEN Margaret Petit
whirled out clad as Eve might have
been if she went to fancy dress ball
principally in a mask. Besides
few fig leaves, the dancer wore short
trunk tights, go she might be con-
sidered to illustrate in terpsichorean
fashion a famous play Within the
Law"
Likewise the patrons clapped the
Spanish dance of Maria Montere.
though what they actually applauded
without knowing it was the Castlian
music. These dances were picturesque
as posing, but lacked the fire that the
Cansinos, for instance. bring to their per-
formances. and consisted largely Of
stamping the feet very emphatically.
The spectators almost went into rap
lures over the dainty little number re-
vealing the practice OF French ballet
quartet behind the scenes, and likewise
expressed their hilarious approval over
the dance OF the white clad tramps
whose minds seemed aloofly set upon
the higher life. But they we're only
mildly amused when Michio Itow made
his only appearance of the evening
aside from a dance-seeming the only
time he could spare from 'whirling' the
performance back stage, whatever Eleu-
sinian mystery that might signify. Fol-
lowing the picturesque "Nymph and
Faun'' number Itow undertook to ex-
! plain the dance-in Japanese. That con-
vuised a coupleSof Japanese in the audi
/ euce but otherwise left the Anne ricau
! people in fun possession OF their senses.
And some In the orchestra were heard
! ii hiss firmly when an attempt was
made 10 evoke humor from electrocu-
! ton by contrasting two fried eggs with
I he death chair. This act started out
/ well enough with Frank Fay's imper-
sonation OF Hairy Ape" type OF de-
| fendant-except that the prosecutor
didn't know his lines. and they were
! shouted out fortissimo by the prompter
/ in the wings-but when the scene
shifted 10 the lethal chamber. with blue
sparks swapping from the deadly chair.
ii became something like capital pun
ishment merely to watch the act.
on the whole. the production. which
set out 10 be unique. was not always up
to its original specifications, even with
certain percentage allowed for opening
! cold. 1t needs a skillful stage director
! to prune and condense and energize-es-
/ pecially with Hitchcock as one of the
/ chief objects of his friendly solicitude.
/ The comedian appears to have convinced
! himself with no great effort that he has
simply TO growl to send his audience into
Mysteries. At that. he provoked many
laughs simply by blinking and clearing
his throat But often he and Fay would
| wander about the stage, pausing and
| obviously thinking hard. while nothing
happened The oddity OF their behavior
often fitted in with the quaintness sought
in Offering. but after a time oddly loses
/ its point by constant repetition.
| The entertainment was overloaded
| with dancing until one would almost
have welcomed a solo by Hitchy on his
favorlte slide trombone. As the come
! dian acknowledged himself. IL was very
high art and In it's extreme Interpreters
/ tive mood IL carried one back TO n
| decade ago. when every one was excited
! over motion study. classical dancing and
the utter necessity OF being UP or the
/ latest art--on tiptoe about II. in fact.
/ often the dancers, as one feminine on
/ locker observed seemed to be doing
their morning exercises. They seemed
/ to have taken the exotic movements
| and groupings from medieval illuminated
manuscripts and then have protracted
them to the length OF a Canterbury
| pilgrimage.
would blaze out. as when Zoltan Hecht
/ in the rhythmic setting From the
Clay" suddenly had his shadow flung
on the drop behind him In Garagantuan
/ shapes by a shift in the light. after
1 beginning series OF unimpressive
movements that seemed little moro
| than calisthenics for reducing the
waistlinc This act became suddenly
| symbolic and one no longer was an
noyed at being unable to hear tho
words OF the singers moaning In the
| wings.
] Josephine Head and Phyllis Jackson
! In filmy blue garb won the greatest
response OF any OF the classical dane
ers perhaps because they combined the
| attitudes OF a Greek frieze with mod
ern cakewalk. And Ragina Devi won
favor with her Hindu songs and dancess
while the audience Uttered at the ma
tive drummer who strummed away as
Importantly as II the destiny OF tho
! show depended on him, though he was
virtually inaudlble. But the rest of tho
| production seemed to have what might
| no ca led an Aubrey artIsley comple r..