Sunny River (book & lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II; music by Sigmund Romberg; produced by Max Gordon) attempts to revive big-scale, full-throated operetta without knowing how. It seizes on the cobwebs of the oldtime musical instead of the charm. Its lush, long-winded plot, its stilted dialogue, its leering humor have everybody's nostalgia in full retreat before the evening is half over. A tale of New Orleans around 1810, Sunny River tells of the rivalry between a cafe singer (Muriel Angelus) and a society belle (Helen Claire) for a dashing young Creole lawyer (Bob...
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