New Britain herald., 1927-08-30
Theater Reviews of
Current Offerings
"Bl RESCUE"
Comedy
BY George Marker and Arthur Hopkins

Un the order of their appearance)
BoNNY, leading woman of 'Parisian
Widows ......... Barbara Stanwyck
JIMMY, stage manager Paul Porter
SKID, principal comedian .....Hal Skelly
LEFTY. Co manager. Charles D. Brown
a FIREMAN. .............. Jack B. Shea
MAIZE. Soubrette. ....... Eileen Wilson
GUSSIE. beef trust girl. Pauline Dee
SYLVIA MARCO, of the chorus
......,............ .Ruth Holden
BoZo, second comedian. NIFTY DeEere
HARVEL HOWELL, cattle man
Observation-Disclosures. Ralph Theodore
JERRY EVANS, song writer Oscar Levant
WAITER. .......... Thomas J. Glover
STAGE CARPENTER Joseph Burton
SCOTTY, a hoofer. Jack B. Shea
JACK, another hoofer. Joseph Spelvin
Just as the prospectors in 40 look
have said 'Thar's gold in them
mountains" so the modern play
wright has gazed at the stage and
declared There's gold in those hoof-
ers." \ hoofer, in stage parlance.
is man who dances. The play
wrights discovered that he was a
gold mine and sold him to the pub
III. nv" NOIllCo pul iCSiuC, tIS
newest contribution to the field of
entertainment. which was presented
at Parsons theater, Hartford. last
night to an audience which welcom-
ed it warmly. in which the hoofer
is again glorified.
Gould anything me dumber than
a comic?" a question asked by a
IL w. l. 20
lesque." Comic is stage language
for what the layman calls a COM
edian. And around this comic and
hoofer, George Marker Waters and
Arthur Hopkins have woven an in
teresting story presented in an in
teresting manner.
Everyone is asking rs 'Burlesque'
as good as Broadway % 1t has
something broadway" lacks-deep
emotional appeal but in dash and
speed, it runs second to its prede-
cessor. The first act should posi-
lively be accelerated.
The dialogue consists principally
of back stage patter, a language en-
tirely separate and distinct from
English but which any English
speaking person can readily under
stand if his brain is not sluggish.
1t is a queer jargon of slang, wise
cracks and sarcasm. The audience
at Parsons last night liked it i'm
mensely.
1t isn't necessary to turn to the
last chapter of the book to learn
what the climax is going TO be. The
trend of the plot is obvious but that
does not detract from its interest.
Briefly. "Burlesque' tells the story
of a team, man and woman, which
forms part of a burlesque show. The
man, the hoofer-comic. is good, but
fails to appreciate himself His
wife believes he can qualify for New
York presentations but he is salts
fled to remain in the sticks FIN
ally he gets his chance and is sign
ed for a New York production. Sue
cess and the liquor he drinks go to
his head with the usual result. In
the meantime, back in the sticks,
an admirer has fallen in love with
his wife. A divorce is pending. The
plot becomes more intriguing. There
isn't much doubt concerning the out
come but there is a deal of fun IN
studying the method by which the
authors worked up to the climax.
Hal Shelly, as skid the hooter.
comes very nearly being the whole
show. He. is, as Variety would say.
a riot" particularly in the second
act. His "black out sketch in the
third act is the best bit of nonsense
on the program. Barbara Stan"yck