CONTEMPORARY ARTS
THE l'IlEATRE
•• Roundabout." A Merry Musical. (Saville.)
IT depends what you mean by merriment. The cast put up a wonderful display of high spirits, and many of the things they say are clearly intended to be funny: so it would be wrong to call Roundabout a lugubrious musical. It does nevertheless induce a slight feeling of gloom. The intricate yet perfunctory plot, the elaborate but pointless jokes, the derivative lyrics and the tailor-made music combine to prevent us from being entertained; and it is only thanks to the heroic rescue efforts of individual players that our boredom is kept within bounds. Miss Pat Kirkwood often persuades us, temporarily, that what we have come to see and hear is worth seeing and hearing ; Miss Marilyn Hightower dances with out- standing verve and virtuosity ; and Mr. Bobby Howes struggles gallantly to conceal the poverty of the author's invention. But whoever supposed—and this strange school of thought must have had its exponents—that Roundabout was going to turn out to be a good show in spite of everything will have, I fear, to think again.
PETER FLEMING.
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