The Playgoer

Farce--"a light dramatic composition of satirical or humorous cast," according to Webster. The Plymouth Theater's latest offering, soon to move on to Broadway, meets the letter of the definition, but it will never quite rank as a leading example of what can be a well-developed and highly amusing theater art.

The best comedy is the comedy of situation or of memorable character. Any playwright who attempts to pass off a motley collection of gags and giggles as a "light dramatic composition" is treading on thin ice, and Norman Krasna has not escaped the usual pitfalls in his latest effort to repeat the popularity of "Dear Ruth." His plot--the customary returning-soldier triangle--meets the traditional requirements, but a slow and uneven development robs it of most of its potentialities.

Nina Foch, a pretty and talented repatriate from Hollywood, tries hard to carry the show through its weaker moments, and is ably abetted by wry Tom Ewell and by Loring Smith, whose Senator McKinley is rather more credible than the current vogue. But the play's high spot was the curtain call comedy, and the Messrs. Rodgers and Hammerstein--backers this time--won't be able to count on enough of them to make it quite worthwhile.