Bittersweet

Noel Coward's Bittersweet has remained through the years one of those musicals one remembers as something fine and wonderful, yet few of those who feel such a nostalgia for it could recite much of the plot or even the general situation. The production which opened on Monday evening at the North Shore Music Circus explains both the nostalgia and the general ignorance of the plot. The plot may be safely catalogued as one of the weakest around which a musical comedy was ever devised. The remembered youth of a romantic lady serves as the vehicle for all the cliches of operetta. But somehow, in the whirling skirts of the dancers, in the intensely sentimental realization of the leading lady's romantic yearnings in the music, in the unreality of it all, Bittersweet remains at least in its best moments a memorable experience in the musical theatre.

Much of the success of the North Shore production may be attributed to its star Rosalind Elias. Unlike many another musical comedy actress, Miss Elias does not exaggerate the potential of her role. She attempts no feigned gaity to intimidate the audience, no sophisticated wit, no theatrical high notes. Rather, she plays the part as it is written: as an intense and sentimental romantic, with little but the intensity of her emotion to commend her to her audience. But the romanticism of the part as it is portrayed by Miss Elias secures its effect. The luscious music comes through powerfully and straightforwardly. The many musical lessons Miss Elias has learned in her relatively short but very distinguished career at the Metropolitan serve her well in the music tent. Her top notes are secure, and the dark, lower tones of her voice emphasize the deeply emotional power of such standards as "I'll See You Again" and "Zigeuner." To be brief, Miss Elias is herself the motive power behind the success of the musical.

Her cohorts live up to the demands of the musical, but without any great distinction. Lester James finds the higher parts of the tenor lead somewhat too demanding and resorts to bleating on occasion. As Manon, Constance Lambert does well enough with a nebulous part. Lights, costumes, choreography, and the chorus each show professional handling. The musical director Robert Mandell deserves particular praise for the lush sound he gets out of his orchestra. At North Shore, the orchestra is located in a box-like enclosure that funnels out into the theatre, and this fact may account for the volume and fullness of the music. In any case, the orchestra, unlike other music tent orchestras, gave the allusion of being very large and thus being. Especially capable of conveying the power of Coward's music, which in the case of Bittersweet demands a powerful sound.

After hearing her performance in Bittersweet, one hopes for a recording of the operetta by Miss Elias. A new recording would be welcome, since the only available version (on Angel) is marred by mannerisms on the part of several of the performers and generally weak casting. In Beverly, however, the show itself is on display for the rest of the week. If one wants to see a truly professional singing actress transcend the limitations of plot and work through a fine score to achieve a memorable evening in the musical theatre, than he had better go to see Miss Elias in Bittersweet.