Evening star., 1943-03-02

week to be supplanted, quite whim-
slcally. by Gloria Swanson. Miss
Swanson still looks very sleek. and
with the flighty material whipped
up for her does almost more than
you would expect. but she appar-
emily is not at home there, as you
probably would not be either on
your first night.
On top of the loss Of Wheeler
and Ladd, the Army's manpower
problem found a partial answer
over the week end in Gene Sheldon.
Sheldon had been greatly stressed
oy the critics and the public as the
comedy discovery of the year. Not
TO flnd him was a disappointment
only slightly assuaged by the fact
that Uncle Sam did find him, If at
an untimely moment. Harry Rezo.
a hard-working and earnest fellow.
takes over for Sheldon without in
any way jeopardizing the latter,s
title as the comedy find of the sea-
son.
X X. * X
"Priorities of 1942' clearly was de-
signed as a laughter piece, a kind OF
comedians convention at which the
audience is privileged to listen in
on the proceedings and attend the
interim sessions Of speciality enter
tainment. OF the latter, there is
considerable, some of it a great deal
more spirited and successful than
the main part of the program.
There is, for instance, minute,
dark ball of fire called Conchita, a
girl who gives the clear impression
that she would be a fair demon of a
dancer II she did not have to devote
too large a portion of her time to
collaborating with Holtz. Instead of
dancing, however, she turns out to
be fellow traveller Of those who are
convinced the public wants to laugh
itself to death, when, instead of
might be learning what Conchita
has to teach it OF the fiery folk
dancing Of South America.
Musically, too, "Priorities" defers
too much to the sense that comedy is
the only escape for today's harassed
hearts. There are but two vocal in
terruptions of the tired madcappery
of Holtz, Howard and Harry Rego.
One is passage in which Luba Ma
lima, of Russian origin, demonstrates
a rather lively way with songs of va
rious nativities. The other is an
interlude, a prelude to the dance sort
of thing, in which Diane Denise
takes over rather colorfully.
Howard, who would be funny in
a bread line, has not been blessed
with script calculated to stun his
large following in either the first or
second half Of .'Priorities." He man
ages to make something Howardish.
however, out Of a burlesque Of one Of
those radio courts Of human rela-
tions, the relations on this occasion
a bawdy variant on those you hear
in the big, innocent world outside.
He, Holtz, and the audience also
have merry moment when they
take over few of their fellow
comedians-Cantor, Jessel, etc.-for
the things they have been palming
of on the public all these years. The
criticism. truth to tell, is so in
elusive that it even includes couple
of fellows named Holtz and Howard.
The addenda of "Priorities" in
,ludes a very fine specially in the
'orm Of Helen Reynolds skaters, a
group Of girls who demonstrate how
close to fatility skill like that can
De developed. There Is also q
stretch of Cardini. the magician, who
may have changed his cape and
stick for the occasion of this appear
ance, but runs straight through his
Did card and cigarette routine with
out the slightest modification.
1t is foolish perhaps to demur that
a group Of vaudevillians, especially
It's comedians, stick too rigidly to the
materials that made them the idols
Of the people. People who aren't
foolish that way seem to have kept
it alive for whole year now, a long.
profitable, and firing year 1t seemed
at last nights performance.