New Musical in Manhattan

Banjo Eyes (book by Joe Quillan & Izzy Elinson; music & lyrics by Vernon Duke & John Latouche; produced by Albert Lewis).

He had aged, but not altered. Gone, to be sure (except when he donned them for one nostalgic inning when he pitched Margie and If You Knew Susie into a waiting audience's lap), were the burnt cork and the white-rimmed goggles. But the eyes still popped, the voice still beckoned, the legs still scissored as though in time with an incredibly fast march. More of an imp than a comic, more of a song salesman than a singer, more of a ground-coverer than a hoofer, Eddie Cantor still rated the big time for his invaluable gift of always seeming like a nice little guy instead of an actor.

Banjo Eyes itself is more of a Cantor show window than a show. Loud, lavish, densely populated, it is full of corn-fed gags and Broadway energy. Though based on a funny farce, Three Men on a Horse, it remains faithful only to the plot, brazenly two-times the humor. The music is commonplace, the dancing lively and plentiful but uninspired. Pretty bad but never boring, Banjo Eyes serves well enough to bring home the prodigal son.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.