Evening star., 1949-12-04
This Is NoMere Trend,
It's q Real Stampede
Old Plays and Novels Now Adorned
With Music Swee ping Theoter
y Joy csrredy
DFussa Nieess ~ ~ Ssss
NEW YORK.

pone keen asking why it is that legitimate producers
uddenly have gone daft about music music but
conversions Of old plays novels into meodic
broadway never has been flooded with
no question much the great OF non
Broadwayites Seattle Next to formula for
settn9 the cold war the nsouble problem getting
par Of tickets to south Pacific kiss Me- Kate
lies the to the question namely that hsrs
does not undertake to supply It, being . visionary fool
Few Of these give any one occasion 70 call them
Third Adaptation Coming UD
This week with just settling into stride the third
Of such adaptations make its appearance In entesn Pre-
S.r The old Anita Ioos joke follows
mon the heels Of Lost in the stars Maxwell Anderson
ton Cry the Beloved Country and Regina
The latter Of course Lillian Helmans Little Foxes with
music by Marc Btzsten and host Of singers
with the bitter tale where Tauah Banknead cropped
The dsrivatve nature with the greater hits
such - South and kiss Me- Kate gives the theater
most original in New york The anything but At
the appearance last July but they have since been
tanment virtually intoer.ble.
Crriu Style Ii Clear
musical In the theater began
. .r. trend .oe xx wear, ago. Unlike great develop
ens the origin clear ~ the case against
sentative Parne Thomas turned out to be IN washington '
It. guilty origin.tors Richard RODGERS and
Lycs Hammersten IL No two men IN the theate
can be more proud inspiration which began the conversion
Of Lynn Riggs play, Green Grow the Llacs INTO
what this $4,000 900 success which stu IN
eeasinr in the sixth year and this as
Of expressing the sensation Oh "
Yet in terms Of its influence the thinking OF the
theater it something revolutionary THIS was ne
discovery Of book bretto material dramatic quality which
the musical from decades OF oanay ano
emptiness There those who wonder why tne sae
wisdom was not given earlier Show Boat which wa
almost Is sensationay popular Rejection suggests the simple
answer that the WORK
musical plot that preceoeo IT, N1ucn
better yes but not sharp variation from the old theme
Hammerste then not only tne nc"
style and taste followed with another popular
adaptation "caroue fashioned from lilom but also tney
carried on to the point proving that originals were not snecve
The Original Wasn't So Good.
they Of their itators likely TO forget
when this gifted team turned out their Allegro was
better than q near miss
After that they back esablised material in picking
UP Mcheners tales Of his wartime
wandengs The Of these expressed itself u frenzy e1
eeeding even that Of "Oklahoma!"
that at least confidence 70
decided eondense Paons south
novel into Lost In the Stars and set TO
WE'LL Wei the musical member OF the PAY
wrights Company had shown Hamnerstet like mar 1or TIM
sort Of thing in composing score Tor the same producers
Scene" two years before.
Of boldness the most ventreome adaptation
the contemporary musicals the idea OF This Chery
Crawford found the material for her Regina" the
Little Even with the sweetknng Of
music these tough people for audience to face but Miss
that producer cannot
with q meodic paint job old model success.
Where all will lead something cares to predict at
other similar productions from the past
being contemplated involving the attention Of amatss who
formerly worked ideas Of their In dramatic forms lot
joyous the spectacle Of it all IL
Hollywood. Until 1t had when
Of being fragrant victim Of all entertainment trends and
cycles