Katherine Dunham's Revue Sophisticated and Colorful

              Katherine Dunham's Revue Sopliisiicated And Colorful
EV WILLIAM INGE,
Katherine Dunham's "Ti'opical i Revue'' which opened to a capacity ! houfe at the Amencan Theater last night is satisractory proof to this reviewer that the Negroes do much better when directing their own tal¬ ents than-^^'hen they put themselves in the hands ot others.
For  once,   these  talented  people
arc allowed to be them.selves and to
CKpress "their own irrepressible high ]
tpirils" ill a way that is indisenous- i
ly their own. As a result, "Tropi¬ cal Revue" stands head and shoul¬ ders above olher all-Negro shows, including "Cabin In the Sky" and even "Povgy and Bess.''
However, if anyone tries to sell you the ^how by describing it as a primitive orgy^ don't be taken in. JV^ an orgy, all right, but it's hardly jjrimitlve, for Mi^s Dunham has taken the native dances and tribal rituals of the South Pacific isles and Interjjretsd them in lier own sophisticated way. Also, the set¬ tings and costumes of John Pratt and the stage lighting of DafeWas- serman represent the product of very subtle and creative minds that know precisely how to achieve the effects de.^ired. t
The revue is !n three parts; the first being composed mainly of familiar dances such as the bolero ^d the rbumba; the second, of ^ibal rituals and West Indies shore scenes and pantomimes, and the third, of North American Ne^ro dances from fhe eaj]y plantation variety to the latest jive. From beginning to end ihe stage squirms and shakes with color, and there is
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not a single moment that does not demand your attention.
Although the motivatine force and the most colorful personality ot the group. Miss Dunham U not the nimble and energetic performer that certain other members of her company are. Ho^vever, she is stun¬ ning to look at, she wears gorgeou.s and outlandish castumes, and she is a subtle pantomimist, Roger Ohardieno, her partner: LucHle Ellis. Laveme French, Lavinia Wil¬ liams and Tommy Gomes are all exceptional dancers who move with a fluid grace that makes the aver¬ age ballet dancer look clumsy; they are capable of the most langorous movement and of the most frenetic, and in the faster dances thev move with a dart-like precision that is almost too swift for the eye to follow.
Besides Miss Dunham and her company, there are Bobbv Capo, a handsome Cuban lad ^vith an en¬ gaging voice, and the original Dixie¬ land Band, which recalls some nos¬ talgic jazz tunes of an earlier day. Also there are son^s by Helen Dow¬ dy, and Miss Dunham herself ren¬ ders a few Latin-American numbers I In a style characteriaed by in- [ nnendo.
I In a just summary of the show, however, too much cannot be said about the constumes. To dismiss (hem as bizarre, colorful and imag¬ inative seems like understatement, ilor actually they were a living and breathing part of the entire show. To describe them as being com¬ posed of bandanas, feathers and iiandy materials means nothing im- less you can see how they were put together. Of com-sc. there were ^cme scenes that required very lit¬ tle in the way of costumes, but they were interesting to watch also.
In the finale Mif.s Dunham had ia lot of  fun  changing outfits   be^ itween curtain calls, appearing after each rise of the curtain in a more (exotic outfit.   When I left she had ¦made  five  such   appearances   and ithe  audience still  was  applauding. 1 Ordinarily I would have been will- u^,g to stay all night to watch her , parade  her wardrobe,  but a  dead¬ line  was  calling.    For  all I know, she's still taking her calls.