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Show Lights of New York by L. L. STEVENSON Gadabout Notes: To the theater to see the new Guild hit, "Okla- 'homa," a play with music, which we found entirely to our liking. In fact, we got a real thrill out of it since not only is the production colorful, col-orful, tuneful and swift moving, but is also intensely American. The story, first given the stage by Lynn Kiggs' play, "Green Grow the Lilacs," deals with Oklahoma before it became a state and when lite was not nearly so complicated. The music mu-sic by Richard Rogers is top flight while the book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstem II are in full keeping with the music. Agnes DeMille is responsible for the dances, which are by no means a minor matter, the rodeo dancers, integrated deftly, being both novel and enjoyable. The direction was in the capable hands of Rouben Mamoulian. Add to all that, an extremely capable cast headed by Alfred Drake and Joan Roberts. Of the various songs, the one that lingers in memory strongest Is "The Surrey With the Fringe on Top," not only because of its tuneful lilt but , because of the many memories it brought back. Spring, the road winding along the Scioto river, my youth and a surrey with fringe on the top. I didn't catch all the words, not through the faults of the singers, but because so many scenes of former for-mer days were blurring my eyes and ears. Another is "Oklahoma," which emphasizes the Americanism of the whole production. In it Aunt Eller (Betty Garde) declares she doesn't think she's better than anyone else but she's damned if she isn't as good as anybody, or words to that effect. And I guess that sums up the feelings feel-ings of a lot of citizens of this nation. na-tion. Wish I could devote more space to "Oklahoma" since it proved to be such a satisfactory evening in the theater. At Ruby Foo's den we found that the gold Buddha that has reposed on an altar since the place was opened four years ago and before which debs burned joss sticks to see if they would wed within the year, was sitting on the floor. The reason was that a new Buddha, done in bas-relief and gold lacquered, of course, was soon to be installed in place of the old one. The newcomer will not be serious and solemn as his predecessor but will wear a smile because in these times, as David Green, the manager, explained, smiles are needed. We noted other changes at Ruby Foo's new faces among the staff which seemed strange because up to six months ago, 90 per cent of the employees had been with the place since the start. Of the originals, the only ones that remain are Mr. Green, Billy Gwan, the headwaiter, and Sing, the bartender. Absent Sons: A good many battle-grimed battle-grimed service lads, encamped under un-der foreign skies, are guests by proxy these nights at ringside tables of supper clubs in New York, Chicago, Chi-cago, Detroit and other American cities, according to a declaration made by Morton Downey shortly after his return from a cross-continent tour. Hosts at these "proxy parties," the Irish tenor said, are parents of absent boys. At the tables, ta-bles, instead of their own sons, are ' other soldiers and sailors. Downey said he first noticed these "proxy evenings out" while singing in Los Angeles. Night after night, he observed ob-served older couples entertaining service men. As most of the hosts looked as if they had never been in a night club before, his curiosity was aroused. On making inquiries, he learned that almost invariably they were fathers and mothers paying pay-ing tribute to sons who had gone away to. war. About the Town: Tallulah Bank-head Bank-head at the Stork club, in black slacks, telling Jim Farley she is closing her town apartment and moving to her country home . . . "It feels like the last week before a show closes," she declares and then continues, "Who is your man for 1944?" . . . Big Jim merely smiles and shakes his head . . . Red Skel-ton Skel-ton and his ex-Mrs. at the Warwick hailing a cab . . . "We are divorced." di-vorced." explains Skelton, "but she's still my business manager. We are here for location shots on my next picture. 'Whistling in Brooklyn' " . . . John Robert Powers, the model man, at Loew's State seeing himself him-self portrayed on the screen by Alan Mowbray in the story of his business busi-ness career . . . Ruth Hussey back in town from the Washington premiere pre-miere of "Tennessee Johnson" and her Red Cross tour . . . Upon her husband's graduation from Officer Candidates school at Fort Monmouth Mon-mouth she will return to the West coast. |