The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1922-02-12

"A took occasion TO express the hope that
4 4 the "Frolc" would offer. in album
dant measure the element OF travesty and satire
that delightfully."- distinguished the nrst three
editions OF the ziegfeId "FolIies"-the ''FolIies-
OF 'o7. 'os and 'os-which satirized charmingly
against vivid Ziegfeldian background. the pass
ing show Of mundane AFFAIRS.
The WISH # Is true was father 70 the hope
Most OF US still regard the "Follies" as highly
worth while. merely for their spectacle, their
color and their ethereal beauty but there is stil
a quorum Of present who fondly sigh for the
days gone by when the slightest gesture from
the then-omnipotent white House the slightest
upheaval in the affairs Of Broadway might furnish
the basis for a footlight editorial that reeked
with satire and convulsed with its absurdity via
the zIegfeld "Folies"
To very large extent however the latest
ziegfeld opus. the "Frolic" failed 10 Justify one,
faith It yielded, II is true, a measure OF traye,v
that was quite Improvement over the u,u,I
Follies." output. and Il yielded similarly .
measure of travesty that, considering its au,oo
brief interval. ranked very near TO the hflarIou,
humor OF the skits that once decorated the nm
lent length OF the "FolIies"
The Frolic" contented itself with two
uaNesues-one on David Belasco and another on
tne armament conference The first superb.
II was subtle TO high degree; satirfcsl to the
last gasp Entrusted Brandon lyman Il offered
one OF the most penetrating burlesoue. ON the
great Belasco the stage has ever offered Its
comedy element couched in BeIssco', boast
to make q Blanche Bates II the .rourb-and-r..d,,
VIII Rogers-an effort which eventuated i'm the
creation OF burlesQue "EikI." The second
skit on the disarmament conference-was weakly
executed and conceived largely without faith
IN Other cords, the -Frohc, justified but ,liohEx
the hope zoe held for resx,reotton OF III, ,a-Iy
zse0fed "o""er IN one JIeena rlask, Il coptiro,ed:
don" For the most part the ss1aI gorgeous and
f,umsng but Thoroughly sctIess -FoIes" osquerodne
under the sasns Of q "FroHo."
" NDER ordinary circumstances one unisht
l. be constrained to select this flash Of the
ziegfeldian humor indication that
the "Frolic," In seasons come might
become an actual redivivus Of ziegfeid's
original flair for comedy. but there other and
contrary circumstances which indicate that such
revival 10 neither likely all probable
The reason. # seems. lies with the public entirely
During the past week. at the height of the
run Of the "Frolic" began a search for a COPY
Of the original "Follies" progrsm-the 'FoIIies-
Of 1907. In particular wished learn the exact
number of hrst-rank comedians who appeared in
this initial edition of the 'Fonies" show, for
the impression was still strong that in some
earlier show 1 had once seen Frank Tinneys
Ed Wynn. Bert Williams. Bickle and Watson and.
Billy Reeves all on the same payroll
The program was missing from The National
Theater's archives, but instead, I found Gene
Buck. the man who has written no less than
twenty-seven "Follies" and "Frolics" and the
man who. next TO ZiegfeId. knows more about
this type of producing than any man alive Buck
business of trayesty and the great sorrow
Of his life is the fact that the Ziegfeld
show is not so per satire.
As Illustration OF his argument M Buck
asserts that the best Conan travesty OF a sea-
sons stage successes-the best travesty Of its
kind probably produced in AmerIca-lost
$4,000 week during its limited road tour and
that the experience has probably cured 7Cohan
forever Of the desire to do It again.
a Ii Of tcheh, Of course, 10 highly HEEiHdting
~ though erecrobly disappointing. IL means that
~ 'A,ne1ioGn audiences stiH easily enchanted
4 = tath aHrdI AVID rlspal appeal and that
the moment shov becomes sdtiricdI the bor-offce
barometer begins to fdH Coming from a NAV Kk.
Gene Buck question the Jocfs In the
though Indicates the gradual elimination. fro-.
the American music stage Of Of most potent
AVID charming eIeents-the zteefed buIesQue AND "a.
Cohon
IN dissecting this reaction or lack OF reaction