"PUBLIC WANTS MUSICAL COMEDY", SAYS ADA MAY

"Ziegfeld's revue has only been kept alive by the name Ziegfeld," was the statement made yesterday by Miss Ada May Weeks of the "Captain Jinks" company to a CRIMSON reporter. "The public is becoming tired of these revues which consist of nothing but dancing and singing. A little plot is necessary to retain the interest of the audience.

"That is one reason why I believe the musical comedy will continue its popularity. There is the plot to hold interest, and the dancing and humor for relaxation.

"If I had planned Captain Jinks, I would have made some radical changes. Instead of the present dancing costumes, I should have had the chorus doing the Charleston in crinolines, or in hoop skirts.

"I first saw it in a little Russian cabaret just off the main thoroughfares of Paris," related Ada May in answer to the reporter's query concerning her dance's origin and its success. "A gypsy was singing the song, accompanied by three husky Russians. There, attracted by it, I persuaded one of the men to teach me the song and dance. I had meant to use it in a revue, but on account of my contract, I was unable to do so. When I entered Captain Jinks, I decided the time was ripe for its introduction, and here it is.

This number never brings down the house, but it does set the audience thinking. Wherever my name is mentioned, my Russian dance is also mentioned. I feel that it appeals to Bostonians more than it has to any other of my audiences. That is possibly due to their love for the artistic side of dancing.

"What peeved me most after I came to the stage was the fact that during my most sincere and serious moments, when I was attempting to put across my big dramatic effects, the whole audience would laguh until the tears streamed down their faces. I must have appeared exceedingly ridiculous.

"Mr. Savage, my manager then, merely laughed and told me not to mind the audience. Immediately afterwards, I was entered in comic roles. That is the reason why I am now playing in musical comedies and not in dramatic performances.

"Do I think that the Charleston will continue? I do but with some changes. It has already existed for years; for, when I was but a little girl, the Sailors' Hornpipe was being danced. The modern Charleston is only a version of the hornpipe."