In Any Language

Boston's annual influx of second-rate drawing room comedies began Monday. The opener was a farcical sketch by Edmund Beloin and Henry Garson, the chief distinction of which was the wholesale deportation of its dramatis personac from the environs of Beverly Hills to Rome, Italy. Except, however, for a view of Victor Emmanuel's statue out the living room window and a few abortive attempts at satirizing the Italian motion picture industry, every one of them might just as well have stood in bed.

The reason why they don't, we are told, is down-on-her-luck musical comedy actress, played, no less, by Uta Hagen in blonde hair and blue silk pajamas. In the course of her efforts to break into the Italian cinema and recoup her fortune, Miss Hagen collects her coteric--an estranged husband, a secretary, and a dimwitted Southerner by the name of Beansy--all of whom, with the aid of their respective Latin admirers, carry the ball of repartee for the better part of the show. With the material at hand, it is an Olympian task, and it is no wonder that Director George Abbott was forced to throw in a liberal sprinkling of decolletages and torch singing to keep the play moving. Bumps and grinds are all right in their place, but one can't help wondering, after Othello, Streetcar, and Saint Joan, whether Miss Hagen's talents do not lie in other directions.

Hodgepodge

In Any Language is, in short, a hodgepodge of all the worst that the modern slick theatrical comedy has to offer. It capitalizes on smut and unfunny topical references, and does not bother to channel the audience's sympathy towards any of the characters. The character analysis itself is in fact so shallow as to be practically negligible: the Americans are boisterous, self-centered, and of course thoroughly likable, the Italians explosive and over emotional; and that is the end of it. As for the mechanics of the show--Raoul Pene Du Bois' scenery and costumes--there is little to say except that they were lavish and colorful, and diverted one's attention as much as possible from the goings-on on stage.