Evening star., 1940-01-07

New Musical Being Rushed
For Broadway Production.
An indication of it's condition is
apparent in the plans of the pro-
ducers to get it quickly into New
York. Within reasonable limits, ma
turally, they are always anxious To
get show onto Broadway, but never
so hurried that they will take it
there in a half baked state. The
road is a place of many turnings as
the Shuberts know it, and it is their
practice to take as many of them
as may be necessary to whip one of
their costly, sometimes colossal,
opuses into something they regard
as sturdy enough for the casual
toughness of Gotham toward song
and statuesque chorus girls.
The success of this policy, it is
evident in glance at the current
roadway playbill, has not been with
out its slightly morbid aspects. In
working out so well for the Shuberts,
1t encouraged other producers to
think there must be something in
musical entertainment. To think in
such terms was to act and the end of
such action was the appearance in
New York of so many musical shows
that the brothers virtual monopoly
on the form was broken.
George Abbott who had grown
rich on farce popped up last season
with The Boys From Syracuse
which, piQuantly enough, became the
sobriquet of the Shuberts as the
result of New Yorker profile. If
that was not terrific success, it at
least encouraged Abbot to go right
ahead this year with the production
of the quite terrific TOO Many
Girls"
This season came a challenge from
a new quarter, or rather one which
had been conspicuously unproductive
in recent years, Max Gordon. Be-
tween The Great Waltz" and this
years Every Warm for May Cor
don's fascination for straight drama
had been almost acute. A chance
to do a Kern -Hammerstein operetta
in a period during which there was
so demonstrably market for mus
ical entertainment proved enough to
so stir Gordon from his lethargy
that he invested hugely in the un-
dertaking
What with Lew Brown and Buddy
DeSylva, chronic (but not so chronic
as the Shuberts) worshippers of
shows with songs, offering "DuBarry
Was a Lady," which disproves the
point of its title, there are more
musicals on Broadway today than
at any time in years.
The Shuberts showed them, all
right.
Mr.. Plohn Has Another
Thought on Local Music.
Next week it becomes the drama
departments pleasant duty to sit
night after night in the National
with no professional concern for
what is going on there. The music
department, as the one qualified to
judge and speak of its judgment of
what goes on, will take over for the
week
That is because the house will be
occupied by Fortune Gallo's San
Carlos Opera Company. The long
established musical organization
comes to Washington to gives the
city week of opera for several rea-
sons, the one chiefly interesting to
us being that the Nationals mana
ger, Edmund Plohn, thinks a sea
son" of the best in music is one of
the community's great needs.
A traditionalist in entertainment,
Mr.. Plohn's firm belief is that the
most unchanging dramatic form
should not be denied to its admirers
and very especially to children who
have learned to think of opera as
something on the radio.
This departments child, which
Mr.. Plohn is not averse to consider
ing simply as guinea pig when
the occasion demands, is specimen
which he multiplies by thousands
in his vehement sense that opera
should not be lost to the oncoming
generation. Opera" he says, has
q very definite place in the culture
Of every youngster, and absence of
the real thing constitutes grave
(See CARMODY PAGE F-3)