Word: slezak
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Hence Fanny's merits seem largely incidental. Harold Rome provides a pleasant, sentimental score that also has lilt. As the lover's father, Ezio Pinza is vibrant and masterful, but not once does the great voice of his opera days pour forth. Walter Slezak makes an excellent merry widower; no one middle-aged has more verve, no fat man more avoirdupoise...
Fanny (Marcel Pagnol's plays Marius, Fanny and Cesar, adapted as a musical by S.N. Behrman, Josh Logan and Harold J. Rome) stars Ezio Pinza and Walter Slezak, opens Nov. 4 under Logan's direction...
...associate and who arrange fate according to an optimum standard of justice is amusing at least for a time. It provides the convicts with an opportunity to invent a variety of tricks, including mock trials and frivolous discussions of good and evil, in their efforts to save the Ducotels. Slezak, bouncing about the stage in a care-free, self-assured style, is the real mastermind of the group. A superb comedian, he makes gimmicks which might have grown stale seem fresh throughout...
Unfortunately, the supporting cast is not equal to Slezak's level of acting. Replacing the original New York company, his companions betray a lack of familiarity with the lines, and worse, a tendency to overact. Admittedly most of the parts are caricatures, yet they do not deserve the heavy treatment of Paul Lipson's Henri Trochard, or the tiring gushiness of Delores Mann, the immature Ducotel daughter. Slezak's fellow convicts, played by Royal Beal and Carl Betz, seem brighter and more natural...
Somehow, My 3 Angels manages to overcome its handicaps, including a set which is left unchanged for three long acts. The play succeeds because it is Slezak's show, and for that reason, an amusing one. DENNIS E. BROWN