The New York herald., 1922-02-02
pins and Needless
London Repue, Full
of Spice and Fun
Edith Kelly Gould and Harry
Pilcer Featured in Dashing
De Courville Production.

When you go to see Pins and
Needles at the Shubert, as you very
likely will, keep your feet out of the
aisle. Otherwise you'n probably trip up
half a dozen comedians. For half the
time the jolly fellows aren't on the stage
but running around loose In the aisles.
This revue from the London Gaiety
has probably more persons bobbing up
in the audience and declaring into the
production than anything I'm New York,
especially since the Winter Garden
ceased having it's chorus walk the plank
above the spectators heads. 1t began
before the curtain went UP, when Jack
Morrison stepped out of the audience as
the manager and had a long-and some
times funny-altercation with Rupert
HAZEL, besides calling down the chorus
later as a matter of creed.
That put the spectators in good
humor right away, for IL there's any
thing that audiences like, it's to hear
players get a good dressing down Then
further high spirits were induced when
two violin players popped up in the
orchestra and had a violent wrangle,
seemingly over one note In the score.
After that it was only to be expected
that Teddy Knox as an explorer and
Jimmy Nervo as a most agile baboon
during quite attractive and spirited
tropical scene should chase each other
off the stage and on again, apparently
landing on their ears. The acrobatic
Nervo, by the way. set a good example
to real simians in the art Of being a
rubber ball.
De CourvilIe's Debut Here.
These touches of intimacy. of flirting
n.
simultaneously, are frequent on the Con-
t!nent but they are so rarely-and In
eptly-done in this country, except by
Raymond Hitchcock, that they made
Albert de Courvilles initial production
seem something different and distinctive
even if it did have songs about the
blues" and the South Sea islands. The
players went at it as though 1t were a
lark and the audience reciprocated by
considering it q bank 'oliday on amp
stead cath.
The show under the staging of De
Courville and Julian Mitchell moved
with exceptional pace--all the more ex-
ceptional because Of late years one has
come to expect that British musical
choruses would move just fast enough
to digest their dinners comfortably.
Americans have taught the English the
are hurting it back. 1t is doubtful IL
even the dynamic George NJ. Cohan
could instill such sizzling speed into
coryphees as that which was revealed
from the first moment one saw the
chorus energetically humping into one
another.
They weren't drilled to the same pre-
cison as an American chorus, but they
had world of verve and sixty feet of
good looks. They form probably the most
stunning chorus now stimulating Broad
way. Each one soothes the eye and has
a voice that hurts nobody. And the
music. by James Hanley and Frederic
Chappelle. in practically every number
is so remarkably good it makes Wen
nese waltzes seem to stand still.
Edith Kelly Gould Again.
Edith Kelly Gould, featured with
Harry Pilcer, received a cordial well
come on her return to the stage here,
and danced and sang in rag doll and
mormoset numbers with quaint charm
and quiet ease that would have put all
eyes on her even if her natural charms
hadn't Pilcer, for all his adeptness,
seemed to take his work more franti-
cally. Most of the novelties were con-
tributed by Rupert Hazell, who brought
out unique "phonofiddle' and did
burlesaue with Teddy Knox of slow mo-
ton movies that was the long howl OF
the evening.
Miss Lillian Smiths looks atoned for
her voice. and Miss Maisie Gay proved
a rarehed British version of Miss Marie
Dresslcr. 1t was in the comedy dialogue
that the piece sometimes became enact
ated. and one wished Tommy Mostol, a
comedian not unlike Victor Moore, who
had been amusing enough with somer-
saults and similar obvious physical
humor In a rest cure scene. would use
his hammer on his interrupters when
he recited "The Village Blacksmith"
"Pins and Needles" will have that sort
of enlivening effect on you, especially
with Oscar Previn's excitable hair con-
ductins the orchestra.
In the audience were Otto II. Kahn.