Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-06

nanny was ma mere, ana pappy
mon pere'-and the audience loved
it, just the same. All of which goes
to prove that Jolson is still the great
bandmaster of this sort of light en-
tertainment and-like an OPERAS
just as enjoyable when you can't
understand him.
Morris Gest and the Shubert out
f1t have brought all this about in
"a continental novelty of European
night life" called THE Wonder
Bar" 1t opened last night at the
Belasco with a festive air not du-
plicated here in a long time, II at
all. The venerable theater, robbed
Of rows A, B, G and D, and part way
turned into a night club, greeted its
patrons with soft dancing music,
allowed the members OF the cast the
same entrance as its cash customers,
and made late corners feel as If they
might very easily be permitted to
engage table on the stage with Mr..
JolSon or Wanda Lyon, or the trim,
the beautiful Spanish dance menace,
or even the Albertina Rasch ladies,
who later presented their dancing
wares so luxuriantly.
1t was, in fact, an informal sort Of
a business-since the plot was I'M
folded all over everywhere-the dis
ilusioned heroine Sobbed all the way
up the aisle after her gigolo had
played her false; the gigolo wan
dered in and about the first few
rows casually and embraced a new
conquest within an inch of a prom
inent front-row spectator, while Mr..
JolSon himself shook hands with an
anR.t1 Vak 1Navs ~ tza
coming him as Good evening Mr..
Smith"
Although this business of having
the action weave itself through the
audience is not strictly original, the
manner Of this new piece Is thor
oughly pleasing and, for the most
part, interesting. The first night
found 1t creaking in spots, trifle
long. and not quite as amusing as
some Of the Jolson vehicles. But as
soon as these drinks are ironed out
1t should go into New York with
flags flying and the band playing.
Two evenings in the life of a gil
COLO" might be the title of this, with
Mr.. Jolson playing proprietor of
the cafe (the Wonder Barr and fix
ing up the little story that runs
through it--of heartbroken ladies,
stolen necklaces and false loves-in
his usual genial way. He sings Don
ma Clara"-the new song that will
be sweeping the country soon like a
hurricane; he jeStS impolitely about
the king. who should have been a
queen; about lunch at the White
House. etc. And when, at the vrey
end, he came to the front of the
stage and said-out of his part
do you really like it?" the audience
last night stood up and beloved a
very distinct yves" with its applause.
It wouldn't be surprising at all to
hear that Rex O'Malley's interpreta-
ton of the gigolo role won the blue
ribbon for 1881 acting, or that the
Albertina Rasch ladies broke them
selves in two from so much twisting
and wriggling, or that Chiffon and
Thomas are two of the best dancers
in the world.
Mr.. Jolson has surrounded himself
with much talent Zone doesn't have
to look far to see the distinguished
countenance of Louis Silvers, of mu-
steal film fame, in the background,
and just so as not to disappoint some
of his worshipers Al appears for just
about half q minute in blackface as
AAS OAA oAA6h1S HoAICA oCAAs
z. de s. MELCHER.
"The Lottery Bride"
At RialtO, a Cold, Cold Romance.
Y UNLESS memory deceives, work
was started on the produce
ton Of THE Lottery Bride"
~ many, many months ago. As
shown yesterday before a
huge afternoon audience at the
Rialto. 1t suggested, ever so slightly,
that 1t might have been put away in
a cinema warehouse to cool and
then tumbled out when the picture
market seemed to be taking to musi-
cal sundries again.
This is one of those operettas in
which, when the hero is left alone
in the house, he just can't help
bursting into song with the help of
a large orchestra which has been
lurking outside all the time. Thus,
yesterday, John Garrick, one of the
real singing Romeos of the screen,
unleashed his love in vocal Selec-
ton and ran out into the cold, while
his lady-love. who had been listening
at the key-hole, wrIng her hands
and ran after him-without sue
cess.
AS a matter of fact, It seemed as
though much of the score of all this
was very effective. The musical
accompaniment, as supplied by an
excellent orchestra, in which there
were many sweeps OF melody by the
harps, rang out boldly and pleas
antly.
Unfortunately. not so much can be
said for the story. 1t is original, but
not convincing. jeanette Macdonald
and John Garrick, as well as Joe z.
Brown and Zazu Pitts. are not at
their happiest as lovers in Oslo,
Norway. And then, when the great
excitement Of the story leads Mr..
Garrick to seek fame by flying on
in a polar dirigible and come tum-
bling down on a mountainous sea
of Hollywood ice. ones imagination
has been strained to the breaking
point.
The comedy which Mr.. Brown
iniects into this romance of a girl
sold by lottery as wife No. So" TO
the brother of the boy she was really
in love with is amusing but not
hilarious Miss Pitts is ditto. And
Miss Macdonald is not by any means
as lovely to look upon as she has
been in some Of her more recent
films. z. De S. M
"The Last Parade"
Starts Week at R-K-O Keith's.
TRADITIONAL tales of friends
a who face each other over a bat
tie line in wars of nations are
matched by experiences OF those
who are for and against the law. in
THE Last Parade" The new Jack
Holt film opened last evening at
R-K-O Keith's. It's range is from
light comedy to tragedy. The mind
is torn between the logic of things
that are reasonable and the lure of
fatal adventure which might be
found in a city on a machine gun
basis. but seems to be the product
Of the magination of a writer Of
plots. II Is interesting to observe
masterfuI human personality play
ing a lone hand, but such hands
are not ordinarily expected to win