Alcala 1958

BookReviews iews

D ES PITE the humo rou sly prov oca­ tiv e title , 1 Jea n Ke rr' s delig htf ul lite rar y blo ssommi gh twel l pro ve to be a moder ate non-f ict ionfor­ get-me- not . Lig ht, air y, ful l of sm iles , chu ckl es, if no down right gu ffa ws, the 15 slic k epi sod es of Ple ase Don't Eat the Da isi es promis eto bri ght enup one's dul lest hour. With ton gu e in hyper bo le, Mrs . Ker r (Mrs. Wa lter Ker r, wi fe of the Ne w Yo rk He ra ld- Tribu ne drama cr iti c) cha ts with he r rea der s abo ut the funn ier asp ect s of dom est icdo ing sin one of Ne w Yo rk' s less slummy sub urb s. Althoug hthi s is ent ert ainme ntunb rok en by comme rci als , it is ev ide nttha t Mrs. Ke rr is a com pet entwa g when it com esto spoo f­ ing the foi ble sof the thea tre an d its so-tired cri tics. On ly once does sh e ev en remotel y ref er to he r own pr ev iou slite rar y eff or ts. Th e on e sin gle d ou t is ob vio us ly"J enn y Ki sse d Me ," a one -tim e Br oadw ay mis s, bu t sin ce pro duc ed succe ssf ull y by just abou t ev er y Cat holi c hig h sch oo l and col­ leg e an d Lit tle Th eat re gro up in the land. Sh e quote sa cr iti cof th is pl ay :"L eo G. Carr oll bri ght ens up Mrs. Ke rr' s play in mu ch the same wa y that flo we rs bri ght en 1 P leas e Don't Eat the Dais ies, Jean Kerr (Gar­ den City, N.Y .: Doub leda y,19 57 ). rou ly - v , 1 's tful t y t l ate iction - ot. t, , l il , le , ri ht s, es isies ise e l . i e bole, . s. l , r ld-Tribune itic) t ier ts tic i s 's s. h ai ent en rcial , i t e t es - l ti s. l t ly io s t y ts. l d i u ly y d , e ay , c e fully t lic l - tl re t i ic i : ll ten ' e r e 1 P ' i , -

up a sic kroom. "Th en she gen tly ob ser ve s: "I don' t know wh y thi s and sim ilar compli­ ments to Le o G. Carro ll did n't stay my han d for ever. As some on epo int ed out rec ent ly, if you can ke ep you r hea dwhen all abo ut you are los ing the irs, it's jus t pos sib le you hav en' tgra spe dthe sit ua tio n." Mrs. Ker r is ind eed the mis tres s of the cle ver qu ip. Her sal lie saga ins t the chil ­ dre n of tod ay, main lyher own, ag ain stbig- tim e pro duc ers , die ts, ope rati ons, int eri or decorators ,an d som e of the curr ent liv ely arts , are comp letely disarm ing . A satiri c ve in is in evid en ce ,but the re is no bitte r­ ne ss or bit e. True , the humo r of he r sub- urb an itie sis no t lai d on with qui te as hea vy a trow el as tha t of a Max Shulman, yet it is nonet he les shi lar iou s in its own sty le. Some of the dr aw ing s and the last of the tra ves ties in the slim vo lum e cou ld have bee n giv en a sec ond tho ught. Bu t "D ais ies "is well wor th re ad ing.— L. F .L. 2 A NOTHER bes tsel ler of the year on the light and fris ky sid e is Rober t Pa ul Sm ith 's "W he re Di d You Go?" "O ut. " "W ha t Di d You Do ?" "N othi ng ." 2 It flow s alo ng som ewhatthe same quain t sa tir ic vei n 2 Fr. Leo F. Lanp hier, profe ssor of Spe ech and thea trica lprod ucer at the Col lege for Men. 'R ob er tPau l Smi th (Ne w Yor k: Norto n, 195 7). ves: ' - ll er. o e e tly, e d i , ' le 't d ti n." I cl i . l i i t - , i ly , t er , t , tion , , , letely ing. c e ce, - . , anitie l hele ious l . ing and ties e t. i ies" ing. - . . . 2 l r a t l 's here C at o t ing." 1 s t t t satiric 2 . i , r ir l r l 'f ert l : , ). " l J

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