"You Can't Take It with You sets about to tear down; in its own racical way, the philosophy finding its first exposition in this fable of the grasshopper and the ants and so earnestly advocated in the fable of the grasshopper and the ants and so earnestly advocated in more recent years by life insurance companies. You are to recognize for once and for all that the only time having any actual existence is the present, and you are to proceed accordingly.

If you want to go to commencements, to catch snakes, to make fireworks, to play with Erector Sets, to write plays, to do ballet dancing all over the house, to print menus in the living room, fine and dandy. Any of these things is much better than working. But before giving full sanction to this joyous, carefree mode of life, we must observe that it all rests on the money the Grandpa made before that one morning when he decided in the elevator going up to his office that he didn't want to may any more money, and turned around and went home again. Incidentally, the family is made a little more comfortable by Grandpa's having omitted to pay the income taxes since its inception, because he doesn't believe in it.

The rest of the family has no visible means of support of its own, with the possible exception of $28.50 made one year by two of them. There might be some income made from the fireworks manufactured by Mr. Sycamore, Grandpa's son-in-law, and Mr. Sycamore's friends, Mr. DePinna, the iceman who came eight years ago and just stayed, if they only wouldn't explode all the fireworks they make before selling them. You can't take it with you, no doubt, but still you have to have a little of it while you're here.

The philosophy of the play is expressed in the title. The substance of the play is the ludicrous madness of the Sycamores, and here it is that the genius of Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman finds its full play. There is very little serious relief between one laugh and the next. The plot of the play has to do with the skepticism of one of the daughters. She thinks that she'll have to give up her beau because his family is decidedly different from the Sycamores. But he is soon won over to the happy-go-lucky system, and his and Grandpa's success in conquering the girl and the boy's parents is the avenue of happiness for all.

The Boston cast is not supposed to compare very favorably with the New York cast, but taken by itself, it leaves very little to be desired. Priestly Morrison is a perfect Grandpa Martin Vanderhof, his starting statements and dry wit made doubly effective by the subdued tone he uses. All the people are very real, albeit somewhat incredible, down to Ulla Kazanova as the Grand Duchess Olga, who comes one night from Childs Restaurant to cook the supper.