The Washington times., 1927-04-09
TABLOID FAILS
To REGISTER

Programs played hide and seek
on the wave lengths last night.
with good volume and such cIar.
fly as could be obtained under
circumstances OF interference,
probably the worst Of the season.
Sometimes only two stations
would be heard &c once, but often
rs many as three or four would
come in at the same dial setting
which made things confusing!
Where separation was possible
good reception prevailed with Just
enough fading to give It zest. The
Middle West have excellent results
and New York City provided more
signals than b usual, with un-
usual distinctness.
IL the tabloid version Of Judy"
which WEAF sent to WRC last
night with Queenie Smith in the
same part she plays in the Broadway
production. is a sample Of the actual
musical comedy-then the extrem.
lists are right and radio win deal q
death blow to the commercial the
ater. Nobody who heard the tabloid
through to the end will waste money
to see the production. A more USE
less, purposeless and unkempt bit of
entertainment hasn't come to loud
speakers for many months, and the
charming Miss Smith was anything
but that. A professional listener to
entertainment would detect in the
production the foundation for a real
'show-but 1t would take a profes.
sional listener Of very sound train
Ing to do 1t. The casual radiotic
wouldn' t--and there isn't any reason
that he should.
II tabIoids Of current productions
are to allure people to the theater
to see, az well as hear, the music
and the company, the person who
builds them must put every bit Of
vim and vigor into them that IL in
the show itself-and then some.
The excerpt must be made 90
snappy and enticing that listeners
feel forced to pay money to get the
complete performance and see the
principals they hear. perform it.
Judy" we've been told. Is a real
bit Of entertainment and we know
that Queenie Smith is one Of the
easiest and most delightful OF stage
stars TO watch perform.
CONSTRUCTION
POORLY PLANNED
But WEAFs Judy" was any.
thing but that last night. It's con.
densor lost himself in the plot and
music and dialogue and its pro-
Queer was at such q loss what to
- 4. IA
a bit of meaningless, though
rhythmic, clatter which the audience
was told was q dance. The pro-
duction taught most listeners to
tune out when q WEAF tabloid is
announced again.
Last night was a bit Of an off
night for most stations-with 'regu-
lar programs and fair entertainment
here and there. One Of the most
amusing bits came from KDKA,
where a trio of candy advertisers
entertain with considerable pep and
go each Friday evening at about 10
o'clock and are worth hearing.
Frank Mum, tenor, carried off the
vocal honors of the evening during
the Philco hour from WIZ and the
orchestral awards would be divided
between Daniel Breeskin's Lord Cal
vert ensemble at WRC and Louis
Katzman's Anglo Persians from
WEAF, with Lord Calvert being
given shade the best OF 1t. Agnes
Whelan, whose voice is one of the
hest of Washington's sopranos, sang
three numbers during the Burling-
ton concert on the early WRC pro.
gram in excellent style, musically,
but rather undistinguished and static
emotionally.
One Of the interesting features Of
the evening was "'Bab," the chatty
shopper, who inaugurated q, series
Of shopping talks from WRC that
ought to be most interesting to
women folk. "Bab" can be as en-
tertaining a talker as she is a
writer in The Washington Times adj
vertising columns, when she gets
more accustomed to the microphone
and talks with the same vim and
verbal brilliance she uses in her
chats with her associates in the Of
flee when she's found something in
the shops that enthuses her.