Time & Perspective Quote by Walter Kerr

Kerr nails a particular kind of theatrical charm: the work that doesn’t arrive with the trumpet-blast authority of Art, but with the sly confidence of a street performer who knows exactly how much wonder can be coaxed from a crowd that’s willing to unclench. “Strolled in from the street” is a put-down and a compliment at once. It suggests something uncredentialed, maybe a bit scruffy, yet alive to the audience’s mood in a way more solemn productions often aren’t. The “few tricks up its sleeve” admits contrivance - this is entertainment built from craft, timing, and misdirection - but Kerr frames that contrivance as a social contract rather than a scam.

The key phrase is the polite request: “if everybody would relax, please.” Kerr’s subtext is that the biggest obstacle to pleasure is not the show’s lightweight nature, but the audience’s defensive posture: the modern habit of proving we’re too discerning to be delighted. He’s diagnosing a critic-audience ecosystem where seriousness is a status symbol, and whimsy can feel like a moral failing. By making the piece almost person-like - “it would do its best” - he shifts responsibility. The show isn’t demanding worship; it’s offering to “pass the time” with a certain grace, provided you don’t heckle it with expectations it never claimed.

Contextually, this is mid-century criticism at its most surgical: a reviewer’s way of granting permission to enjoy something slight without pretending it’s profound. Kerr defends the minor key, and he does it by exposing how often sophistication is just tension in a better outfit.