The Indianapolis journal., 1902-09-23

Chicago at last has produced good mu-
sical comedy. 1.-THE Storks," presented at
English's last evening, has wit. The dis
NAL "Burgomaster'' is forgiven; the fiashy,
but worn. ''Dodo' is forgotten; the next to
uncomfortable Explorers is obliterated.
Would that the folks from the farm had
remained over from the fair that they
might take back something to cheer long
winter evenings, instead of having to carry
home bleak remembrances of ''The Burgo-
master"
These storks have fresh ideas and lots
of them. The smartest stork is Gilbert
Gregory. He personates a combined court
shoemaker and physician, but he is not the
old comic opera physician. Richard Carle
and Guy Steely librettists. have given him
new things to say and do and he does and
says them in a new style. He Is Jim Dumps
from Spotless Town; that is. his wife fakes
patent medicines and he writes verses about
them for street car advertisements. Every
time he writes a verse he takes the sort
of medicine that the verse alludes to. He
is a serious, droll and fantastic dancer.
He should now enter prosperity.
Mr.. earle has turned his face to the
future and has seen comic things. He acts
a monarch of doleful kind long familiar,
in genral outline, in comic opera, but he is
funny despite the handicap. Attached to
his person are a sleepy jailer so truly
played by Abbott Adams that he made the
audience yawn in sympathy. and a receiv-
er of hard luck tales made unique and
freakish by William Rock The monarch
Is prosecuted by sorcerer embodied in
William Wolff, whose voice without the
aid of a megaphone shakes the scenery.
Chicago always has been strong on big
each other heard over the street roar. The
sorcerer's son Is a round, handsome tenor,
Frank Rushworth, who loves and is loved
by the monarchs sister.
The monarch's sister Is Miss Ruth White,
and three other clever young women help
her to exploit the feminine quality of the
stork fock-Miss Harriet Standon, who has
a clear, youthful voice; Miss Josie Intro
podi the incidentally gifted wife of the
physician, and Miss Ethel Johnson, her
daughter, bouncing, forward girl, who
cream off the milk. Besides, there Is a
throng of girls, who look and sing well.
THE Storks'' has three scenes. In the
first, the garden of the palace of the mon
arch of Baktaria, that parsonage and his
physician take a magic snuff and are trans
formed to storks. In the second scene they
concoct scheme to recover their natural
shapes, and in the third they accomplish
this cure. The sorcerer who Is responsible
for the mischief is thwarted, but not un-
done, for he is appointed hypnotizer of the
palace cook, and his son gets the hand of
the Kings sister. whose heart he already
has.
The music is by a new composer, Freder-
lex Chaplin. 1t Is satisfactory, If not bril-
liant, and some of its merits no doubt were
hidden by the inadequacy of the orchestra.
The storks need more instrumentalists.
The theater's orchestra was industrious and
intelligent and the conductor, Richard
Lindsay. melted his collar in his effort TO
get a greater volume of tone than existed
at the source. The chorus is large and the
mems voices powerful and the orchestra
was almost drowned. With some melody
and great deal to laugh at, ''The Storks"
is a success. Chicago needed Ii and the
general public can use il. Performances
will be given this and tomorrow evening
and tomorrow afternoon.
The engagement of Miss Minnie Dupree
and her company in Rose of Plymouth
Town." at English's next week. has been
Cancelled. The company goes into the Man
haitian Theater. New York, to take the
place of the company presenting Molly
Pitcher" a new play that has failed of
popularity.