New Musical in Manhattan

Mr. Strauss Goes to Boston (music by Robert Stolz & Johann Strauss Jr.; lyrics by Robert Sour; book by Leonard L. Levinson; produced by Felix Brentano) opened Broadway's 1945-46 season without letting in much fresh air. An operetta about Johann Strauss (George Rigaud) headlining the great Boston Jubilee of 1872 and breaking hearts on Beacon Hill, it muffs the three real opportunities provided by the story. Far from conveying any of the devilish Strauss charm it babbles about, the book doesn't even billow with good lush operetta sentiment; it is just crushingly dull.

Nor does Mr. Strauss Goes to Boston perk up as a period piece; the festal splendors of the Jubilee, the starched manners of Boston, the suave elegances of Vienna get barely a nod; even the sets and costumes lack lure. The Waltz King's own music has been reduced to a minimum and revamped to no good end. Most of the tunes in Mr. Strauss are by Robert (Zwei Herzen im Drei-Viertel Takt) Stolz, and the best of them are not more than agreeable.

In minor ways Mr. Strauss has its rewards: Virginia MacWatters-bright coloratura, stray bits of George Balanchine choreography, Harold Lang's dancing. But these things merely relieve the monotony; they do not redeem the show.

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