The San Francisco call., 1897-11-02
TO
LAUGH over R
Lost, strayed or Stolen
the Best. After. THE 5.
:. Geisha.n 81: ." &.
Charity and the " Herrmanns
Represented at the
C0lumDla, -:
Lord ohumley" at the Aloasar-Good
Vaudeville and Some Real .
Morosco Melodrama. ::

For some time last night atthe Baldwin
Theater the show was entirely too sue
cessful in:living up to the title OF Lost,
Strayed or Stolen" 1t was gong on for
O'Clock when the curtain was raised.
and even then we were lucky 10 get the
advertised performance.
There had been mix-up of Baldwin
and California scenery atthe depot:lase in
the afternoon some body told NE, and 1t
required ten drays and as many Italian
| interpreters to keep the opera company
from putting up their "G!oconda" scenery
in the Baldwin and opening the season on
the spot.
However, every thing WAS happy by 8;
! and it the audience was not particularly
Joyous over the first act it was mainly be-
cause that act is least joyful OF four. Both
the audience and the piece improved gen.
erously as ths night grew older.
The longer you sit the shorter grows
the plot of this little French farce, which
J. Cheever Goodwin and Woolspn Morse
have set to American words and music
without in the least OVERRIDING the pro-
cess of fumigation. And the shorter the
plot the longer the laugh, found last
night.
1 noticed that whenever we stopped
laughing the plot began TO thicken, and
that as soon as the plot oozed away and
left the stage bare of everything except
inane revelry and twittering music and
agitated silk stockings our z adness
returned.
The man who goes to piece of this sort
and titiers is lost so far as criticism is con.
cerned. :. He has seld his right to, cavil for
o laugh. =
If you look into the. :plotty moments
OF Mr.. Goodwin's farce or book. .or what
ever he may choose to call the terrible
purpose that underIies the verbal frippery
of. Lost, Slrayed or Stolen. you will see
that they are there only to- thread to-
gether series of rather symmetrical vau.
deville ske ,ches. These sketches are tour
in mum ber and mark the acts.
The thread is Bidart's baby, who is lost
by his nurse IN act /, and hunted for
through the three acts. following by BIZ
dart and trio of would-be godfathers
They get home in time to find the young
ster safe in the hands of mother, already
christened, with Jolivet, a poor but up
roarous relation, in the capacity OF god.
parent.
Much of the nights fun depends on
Jolivet and the part is overwhelmingly
horse played by Harry Clay :Blaney.
The second act brings Bidart and the
trio to the barracks OF Panpare, where it
becom mes part of the compli ication for them
to don uniform and exploit the antics of
recruits.
ncidentally-there is a'"Zing Boom" song
sung by a young conscript and the soldier
chorus, which is the one bit OF Il score
you will ever remem Der. Bert Thayer is
the conscript, and he sings the song rip
plngly well. The cborus-singers, too, are
very pat and unanimous.
Apropos of any old thing in the next
of Rose q Etc of the Opera Bouffe. Rose
has a proprietary piatonic gentleman
friend, temperamental Gu ban; she has
also - naughty Rose !-another who is
equally proprietary and temperamental
and is engaged principally in hiding from
the Cuban. He is the songful conscrip pt
held over from the act previous.
Bidart and his pals. as l have said,
come a-hunting of the child. Rose thinks
expected some Camille here, but it did
not come. Instead. the godfathers and
Bidart are hustled into workmen's
clothes. The entrance of the Cuban finds
them tearing down a wall, exploring
clock and dressing Roses hair.
InlS Is the CLIMAX or the piece. The
act is one chain of laughter.
Charles Dickson is easily the Joy of the
cast in Bidart. He gives the part a mel
low suggestion of legitimacy that does
not seem to undermine it, and he sings
the songs that fall to him with magnetic
humor.
Oriska Worden plays the sportive god
mother with a certain undulating arch
ness that sometimes is fortunate and !
is not, and Anna o. Keefe sings
tidily and acts better still IN the part of |
the opera singer.
The Vesuvlan Cuban is too much like |
Lucius Henderson when be is not in |
lentionaliy comic to bring him any special |
praise. The three goodfathers are in the |
hands of Harry Alien, =. J. AL
den and Charles A. Burke.
On The whole. l think Lost, strayed or
Stolen" will be safe antidote against an |
overdose of grand opera. After the /
''Geisha"-a long way after-it is the best |
musical comedy nonsense we have had |
this season. ASHTON STEVENS
At the Columbia.