Evening star., 1946-02-19

i 1ltdt LuIllo OuU IlUb W nave QSeu
charm about Sigmund Romberg's
music, but the dramatic wonder
that attaches to ''The Desert Song
today is in trying to recall what its
times were like. That can be an
amusing thing, If you feel up to it,
or a dull one If you just look life
lessly at the old operetta as 1t Is to-
day.
Russell Lewis and Howard Young,
the producers whose notion it was
to revive THE Desert Song" have
shown it the respect of giving it a
worthy production and cast capa-
BILE of singing Romberg's pretty, il
contemporarily, pointless music
Harry Stockwell, Marguerite Piazza
and Iris Whitney are vocally quite
|up to the variable demands of the
score and, If they leave something
to be desired in their acting, re-
member that "The Desert Song" Is
hardly actable today. AS matter
of cold truth, it never was actable,
being rather just something through
which some handsome, well-dressed
males and females sang themselves,
and you.
X II X
1t Is to the credit of those who
invest "Tlhe Desert Song" with life
out of its own time that they ap-
proach it on its terms. Clearly they
have decided it is not to be hidded
and that is very proper for an OPP
eretta which gave two generations
Counting the overlap such melo-
dies as "The Riff Song" Romance
"One Alone, 1.-THE Desert Song" and
Eastern and Western Love-" Hearts
were simple when Americans first
began to sing those Romberg tunes
and that the tunes have lived may
have a meaning that is merely miss
ing, not lost. Moreoves, they are
much more listenable and lively
than those Of the more overworked
perennials such as Blossom Time
and ''The Student Prince"
1t is in the book that THE Desert
Song" gets q sort of silly look on
its blithely singing face. That, OF
course, is something that happens
TO musicals only a few days old
much less those which have at
tanned the venerability Of 20 years
"The Desert Song" remember, i.
about the Riffs. The Riffs were q
French colonial group, a people with
freedom in their hearts and what
they deemed far too little of it ir
their daily existence They were
making out rottenly, in fact, and ir
the book by Otto Harbach, Oscar
Hammerstein II and Frank Mandell
Their hope seemed to be in a fellow
known as "the Red Shadow" q
square-jawed fellow in a red masl
who believed in human right ane
conducted himself in the swash.
buckling fashion of Supeman.
Having created the hero, the au.
thors of the operetta went on from
there to a heroine. A Parisiennt
she, to be sure, but a princessy sort
rather pitiably trapped in the highel
social life and full of yearning for q
touch of genuine romance with
Prince Charming.
THE Desert Song" today nigh
frown over the political implication
of such a plot, but back in the 20
there was a terrible innocence Ii
seems now upon every one. So th'
operetta is all about romance and i
it looks a little giddy and guileless
arch and empty, it is necessary t.
forgive it.. Or, of course, one Cal
stay the deuce away from the Ma
tional. E
+ X
In the fashion of revivals, evel
those done with loving and some
what lavish attention, the vitality o
the music is always in competition
with the, lifelessness Of the book
Beyond that, there also is the handi
cap of the comedy. which seems t.
be the most rapidly aging element o
all dramatic compositions. The pro
ducers have the choice of having
played with a leer, or straight
neither of which ever has beel
known to work. Those who spon
Sored the current revival chose T.