Evening star., 1953-01-28

for three weeks at the National.
"Gigi" is q small, amusing,
Miller extracted from the writ
ings of Colette by way of Anita
Loos, who shaped it into a play.
It is by no means calculated to
make theatrical history. unless.
on second thought, it manages
to get itself remembered as the
play which introduced Miss
Audrey Hepburn to America.
Miss Hepburn used "Gigi" to
become the toast of Broadway
last year, and there is no rea-
son why she should not add
Washington just as surely to her
conquests. 1t has been a long
time since the National Capital
laid eyes on a more irresistible
exponent of the virtues of mar
ried love.
The play in which she makes
her amusing case for the con-
Ventions is not as subtle as 1t
used to be before its tour. 1t
now has moments Of genuine
low comedy which are something
of a strain upon its charm, but
it still has Miss Hepburn as
lovely, saving grace. She ap-
parently has had the good for
tune not to hear the canard
that vol can't play comedy too
broadly in the provinces.
In her adaptation of "Gigi,"
Miss LooS has had the wisdom
to recognize that it Is quite a
little joke that should not be
padded. She is content to let 1t
run short of average play length
by 20 to IS minutes. Playgoers
have no choice but to admire
her for this economy.
The plays two acts are just
the right size to tell how Gigi, a
third-generation product of a
family of grand cocottes, defied
the convention that marriage is
for the unimaginative. This wild |
heresy on the part of the To-
year-old, the most gifted female
Of the line, is as Shattering to |
her family circle as it is funny
TO the Nationals customers.
~ Il
"Gigi" has just turned 16 when
her story opens. This is the ideal
age, her grandmother, aunt, and
mother decide, to put the finish
ing touches on a girl intended to
be the playmate of the richest
playboys in Paris. It's time she
learned to sit like lady with
her knees together, to stop
roughhousing with a promiscu-
Gus young patrician who is the
family's best friend, and to
demand only the rarest and most
expensive in jewels, houses, cars.
etc.
For all the hard-earned ex-
cellence Of her female relatives
as teachers Of this course in
good TASTE. Gigi is not the prize
pupil she might be. She has an
innocent curiosity about why
girls should sit a certain way
and know about costly gems, but
not a great deal of enthusiasm
for 1t. This attitude her family
ascribes confidently to sheer
youth and it is naturally horri-
fed to make the ultimate dis
covery that it is due rather to a
defect in Gigi's character.
It turns out hat she believes
In the solid virtues implemented
by the laws regarding marriage.
This is a laughable revelation,
and so is the further one that
Gigi's knowledge came from
hard-headed, clear-eyed obser-
vation of what the reverse atti-
tude had earned for her female
relatives. True, grandmother
had q good time with her lovers,
and Aunt Alicia owns Paris
greatest gem collection. Gigi has
other and, she is sure, sounder
tastes.
The emphasis of "Gigi" is
rightfully upon its comedy, but
1t gives Miss Hepburn a chance
to play the wistful, tender flavors
OF the character as well.
The cast which plays "Gigi"
IN the touring company is largely
the same as the New York one.
The one notable change is in the
role Of Aunt Alicia, the greatest |
OF the De st. Ephlam cocottes. |
Miss Margaret Bannerman has
replaced Cathleen Nesbitt in this
part and while she finds much |
Of the wit in the role, something
OF its serpent-like fascination is
missing. Miss Bannerman. if this
Is flaw, is a mite too wholesome
for Aunt Alicia.
She plays. however, with a nice
restraint that Doris Patston
might initiate to the advantage of
the role of Gigi's dizzy mother. |
The others. all of them straight |
from the first nights perform
ance In New York, are uniformly
good: Josephine Brown as the
grandmother; Michael Evans as
the rich playboy who finally
meets Gigi's stern terms: Bertha. |
Belmore as the romantically !
frustrated family servant, and
Ronald Teller as the wise butler
in Aunt Alicia's velvet-lined |
menage.
Raymond Sovey not only pro-
vided "Gigi" with a pair of dra-
matically contrasting living |
1-oaI@aS hiit q cnrioS nf IoIIfYoc