New Musicals in Manhattan

Small Wonder (produced by George Nichols III) is a pleasantly wobbly little revue whose good moments don't come quite often enough. When it turns into a satiric shooting gallery, Small Wonder is frequently very lively fun. But when it takes to warbling ready-made love ditties, or to being briskly, blatantly youthful, it is as much of a trial as an error.

Amiably enough piloted from act to act by Tom Ewell (John Loves Mary), Small Wonder is most pepped up by the singing, spoofing and sass of attractive young Mary McCarty (Sleepy Hollow). With only one unhackneyed satirical target, the show has a sharp eye for such riddled ones as movie endings, magazine ads, the Jazz Age. The fresh gag is Ballad for Billionaires (music by Albert Selden, lyrics by Billings Brown). Sample:

Ki-yi yippee-ay,

In the solid golden west.

Ki-yi, wayaway,

Where the men are wealthiest . . .

Ki-yi yippee-ay,

In the di'mond horseshoe west . . .

Git along, little lady, what ya think,

I'd let ya spend yer life at the--kitchen

sink ?

Git yer carcass

Down to Nieman-Marcus;

Buy yerself a mess of mink.

Betweenwhiles, unfortunately, Small Wonder cranks out too many routine songs like Nobody Told Me or When I Fall in Love.

Heaven on Earth (music by Jay Gorney; book & lyrics by Barry Trivers; produced by Monte Proser in association with Ned C. Litwack) is the old-fashioned musical about two young things who cannot get married because they cannot find a place to live. In fact, the young man's bachelor quarters are a treetop in Central Park--the first intimation that Heaven on Earth aims to be as cute as all hell. It gets colossally so when a roguish, broguish cabbie named James Aloysius McCarthy (Peter Lind Hayes) sets up as fairy godfather to the lovers. Slow-paced and ponderous, Heaven on Earth combines the elfin and the elephantine.

For some illogical reason that no one in an illogical business has bothered to figure out, the new season promises a glut of musical shows--the shakiest, most expensive investment on Broadway. Last week's musicals lifted the total to three; 13. more are scheduled before the end of December. The angels willing to finance these song & dance entertainments appear to ignore the fact that only three of last season's dozen musicals turned any kind of profit.

Even a "hit" musical can lose money. Last season's Allegro rolled up an impressive 315 performances but left the Theatre Guild short on an investment of some $300,000. Heaven on Earth is also in the $300,000 class, and still more costly projects lie ahead. Last week, perversely enough, Small Wonder, produced for $24,000 less than its low-budgeted $150,000, was the only new production that seemed to be catching on.

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