The Playgoer

If you're impressed by sheer numbers, it's the 104th Pudding Show. If you're not impressed by numbers, go and see it anyhow, because the current edition is clever, tuneful, and very well acted.

Strangely enough for a musical comedy, the book is by far the best part of this production. Written by Michael Arlen, Ralph Blum, Malcolm MacDougal, and Charles Osborne, it is intelligent, fast moving, and witty without being filthy. The authors were fortunate in getting James Wood to play the lead comedy role, for Mr. Wood wrings every bit of humor out of the well stocked script.

And they should be further thankful to director James Awe. Quite obviously Awe has this musical comedy business down cold. The actors are always audible. Their voices are gusty when necessary and moderated when inuendo is desired. The show moves along at a professional clip, scene changes are effected with a minimum of interrupting, and the sets are good.

Don Sandberg's music goes over very well despite the shaky efforts of a motley crew of musicians. His production numbers are better than his ballads, but they are both topped by two quartet pieces, "Glama" and "Seeing Red." The lyrics to the former were written by Osborne, and might very well have come straight from a Broadway show. The words for most of the other songs were by Blum, and although they fit very well into the context, they lack the decisiveness of "Glama."

There is one full scale "ballet" number, a soft shoe routine, and a large chorus pantomine, all designed by Felicia Conte, the first woman ever to work on a Pudding show. The "ballet," coming as the first act climax was a trifle long and a bit overdone, but the pantomime of a Senate investigation (complete with Senators McCarthy and Tobey) was executed with taste and humor.

It is not possible in this short space to discuss the individual outstanding performances. I was very much impressed by the Hollywood trio (Ivan Nabokoff, Paul Murphy, and David Goodwin) and although Kerry Lyne's acting left something to be desired, his fine voice was more than just compensation. Kenneth Kunhardt and James O'Neil, the girls, played their roles in the grand Pudding style.