Sentence:  Miss Phyllis Morgan, as the hapless heroine dressed in the shabbiest of clothes, appears in the midst of a <WSD>gay</WSD> and giddy throng; she apostrophises all and sundry there, including the villain, and has a magnificent scene which always brings down the house, and nightly adds to her histrionic laurels. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Happy, joyful, and lively.