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'We've Come Through' Fails to Ring Bell

By Howard Taubman

Terrible, Part II" has begged off, all evidently will. But Bobby comes along-2 shy, halting, easily wounded tender, honest things in "Look: boy played perceptibly by We've Come Through." The Ralph Williams-to 'deliver the new play at the Hudson, like roommate's dress from the last season's "Big Fish, Little cleaner's. He has commitments Fish," marks Hugh Wheeler as to an unseen older man. He a writer of uncommon freshness and integrity.

But like the earlier effort, "Look: We've Come Through"

as a whole does not measure

up to the quality of its best parts. The impotence, which is an important aspect of

seems to have a fierce distaste for a mother who has taught him girlish arts. In his in articulate way, he finds a kinship with Belle, and their relationship gets under way hesitantly but cheerfully with a trip to Ivan The Terrible, Part

II.

Set against these two, who surely represent a kind of naive purity, are a quartet who reflect the corrupting influences and corruption of our world. There is the roommate, Jenni-

hard, tight cynicism by Zohra Lampert, who wants to be an actress and submits to what is demanded of her.

Wheeler's home, has crept into the play's structure. It takes a long time to rouse itself and to achieve dramatic saliency. At the end "Look: We've Come Through" attains a muted poetry. Its two principal fer, played engagingly with a characters, a girl who is all intellect and emotional immaturity and a boy with homosexual instincts, face up to the truths that have marred their There is Wain Dumke, played young lives. They grow up a effectively by Clinton Kimlittle, the author seems to say, brough, as the girls' handsome. as they reach out to each other. cruel and stupid schoolmate These characters, Belle and from Groversville, who victimBobby, have been written with izes and is victimized. There quivering sensibility. Wheeler is the oily, sleazy agent, Miltie, has caught the girl's innocence done to a turn by Zack Malaand vulnerability under the ton, and there is the brutal, surface of her sophisticated, ambiguously manly sailor, Skip, · adult talk. Although girls like played toughly by Burt ReynBelle are not unusual on the olds. t stage, Wheeler has made her seem an individual creation.

With all its attributes, the play does not seize and hold Played by Collin Wilcox with one. It does not gather mof matchless delicacy and rightmentum soon enough. Some of ' ness, Belle has a gallantry that its big scenes are written—and is warmly amusing and gently directed by Jose Quinterotouching. She accepts her with an understatement that plainness, her stringy hair and gives the action a sense of her myopia as if they were remoteness.

unalterable. She tugs at her

NEW YORK -The Prohlshapeless sweater so make herself even less appealbition Era's famous team of ening. She tries to remember her forcement agents, Isadore Einworldly roommate's advice not stein and Moe Smith, are the to communicate too much: But central figures of a musical her luck is bad. The boy who show headed for 1962 Broadwas to take her to "Ivan The way debut.