Heart of Gold
SUMMER SONG. Music of Dvorak; book by Eric Maschwitz and Hy Kraft. (Princes.)—
DOCTOR Jo. By Joan Morgan. (Aldwych.) THE newest musical, about Dvorak gallivant- ing around rural Illinois sixty years ago, help- ing fellow-Czechs out of trouble and finding themes for the 5th Symphony, shares with other modern musicals the endearing charac- teristics of the curate's egg; but this time the good bits far exceed those not so very good. Laurence Naismith as Dvorak holds the whole thing in correct focus; his heart of gold is believable, he is charming, kindly and not one millimetre larger than life-size. Some fairly banal lyrics get effectively sung by Sally Ann Howes, Bonita Primrose and Edric Connor. The dances are over-lush, over-dressed and at times over-crowded; but the best items are stunningly danced by a fine team headed by Herida May and William Barrett. More Dvorak music, smarter lyrics and a slicker production could have given this show the extra 'bite' it ought to have.
At last year's Edinburgh Festival Doctor Jo was a fast-moving, tightly directed and smoothly acted comedy of bad manners and bruised hearts, and Sonia Dresdel as the heroine brought an Ibsen-sized interpretation to balance against the largely cardboard figures around her. This production is funeral paced, and the higher standard of acting all round makes the plot seem more threadbare than, in fact, it is. This modern medical house-
hold disrupted by the prodigal daughter's return from the tropics is perhaps all too true to life as lived under the National Health Scheme. Barbara Couper puts up a per- formance, as the mean-spirited sister, nearly as compelling as Miss Dresdel's.
A. V. C.
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