The Theater: New Show in Manhattan, Apr. 18, 1955

3 for Tonight earned Producer Paul Gregory his usual fine reviews and should prove—like Gregory’s Don Juan in Hell and The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial—another big Broadway winner. There will be dissenters, however. Sceneryless and recital-like, 3 for Tonight yet aims at effects as soberly startling as a lady pallbearer. It is also a kind of variety show that not too wisely shrugs at variety: beyond Master of Ceremonies Hiram Sherman, there are only the dance team of

Marge and Gower Champion, Singer Harry Belafonte and a chorus.

The principals offset one another very well. Belafonte. singing folk songs and spirituals, is vivid and intense, with an appeal perhaps less vocal than personal, while the Champions display notable lightness and ease. If. in mass-audience terms, Belafonte is the more impressive, he is the less accomplished; and even on the score of personality. Marge Champion’s delightful perkiness constitutes the evening’s happiest note.

The show needs more such perkiness. more of the zip Belafonte puts into When the Saints Go Marching In. brighter chitchat than likable Hiram Sherman brings to lifting the silver dishcovers off each new course. But the show’s weak points may have popular lure. Its concert air half-conceals its TV approach; its chorus that specializes in trick sound effects substitutes vocal decor for visual. The show’s big production gimmick is its extremely high-styled hick stuff.