Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-26
MARY PAlLBlN a1d NORMAN KERRY
,MNJhe PA0wfomofMe Opera Rial+o

ms TRIkE UP THE BAND" the
new musical comedy, with
music by George Gershwin,
~ and lyrics by his brother Ira,
is one Of the best entertain
ments of its kind which New York has
seen of late.
The piece consists Of a first part,
which pokes fun at successful self
made American chocolate manufacturer
somewhat after the fashion of the
satire in "Beggar on Horseback, and Of
the dream" of the chocolate magnate
In which he turns into a general and
with the other principals engages in
farcical war with Switzerland over the
matter Of tarif which the American
Government imposed on foreign-made
chocolate. There was thus satire on
American Babbittry, Of the sort at which
Mr.. Kaufman has hitherto shown his
skill, and satire on war similar in drift
to that in Sons o. Guns" and Fifty
Million Frenchmen," plus all the things
that are expected in every musical
comedy.
Messrs. Clark and Mccullough re-
turned to Broadway after two years in
the "talkies." Mr.. Clark, with his trick
cigar, his bland and confident stare
through spectacles which had only the
rims and no glasses, and his wealth of
COknAC nlNCu0lNCklCSSs hRPchkCu AtkSJ do -
mysterious politician, who was the pow
err behind the President" and In the
second part as Col Holmes, the able
supporter Of Gen. Fletcher, the choco-
late soldier Of the imaginary war. Mr..
Mccullough was the more or less dumb
but faithful aid and feeder of his part
ner, In both impersonations. Miss
Blanche Ring brought her inexhauStible
vitality and experienced comic art to
the part Of the kittenish mamma of one
of the ingerues: Doris Carson and Mar
gatet Schilling contributed youthful
dancing and song; Jerry Con and q
young hoofer from the West, Gordon
Smith, looked after the young lovers and
Dudley Clements was. the self-made
The music was consistently fresh and
ingenious, and the lyrics worth listen
ing to, and, contrary to what Is so often
the case, one could hear all the words.
There was one song, Typical Self-Nade
American" sung by the chocolate mag
nate, the young newspaper man, (Mr.
sGon), who wanted to marry his daugh-
ter, and . chorus Of the manufacturers
"Yes-men, which recalled classic ex-
amples OF the sort done by Gilbert and
ION MARQUIS new farce COM
edy, "Everything,s Jake" will set no
dramatic rivers on fire, but it has two
or three scenes which have more fun
IN them than usually gets into the whole
Of most well made comic plays.
II you see the scene between the Long
Island bootleggers and the very British
Countess Billhorn.-who happens to
own most Of the stock in the distillery
which manufactures the famous old
Bi1horn Whisky-and the other scene
In the Paris sidewalk cafe, where the
BaycliR .bootlegger and his two. cronies
getting mixed up on the two or three
French words they think they know,
order and insist on getting so WHISTLES.
you might miss all the rest and still
fell that you had had an entirely salts
factory evening. $500.
The authors guileless fun might
stand on its own feet. in any case, but
q special force Is g.;'an 1t, Of course, by
the absurd romani and excitement
which prohibition has thrown around
the whole subject Of alcohol.
" 49, 4
TT was really quite touching when the
= honest. detectives trcoped In after the
murder IN Inspector Kennedy" in
which william Hodge Is now playing,
and with q great air Of knoWinRness
and endciency began to take flnRerprints
and fiaShlight pictures of the BODY, to
have the audience giggIe instead Of be-
ing impressed. Little did the poor dears
on the stage seem to guess that the folks
out In front had become 50 versed IN
the technique Of this particular bit Of
stage business that any one of them
could have hoped oyer the footlights
and done 1t himself.