The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-12-10
IT WASN'T NAUGHTY
But the Kings and Queens of Bur
lesque Are Pretty Bad.

ACS4AC AAS = tCSSJ oAAs
The news from I.eavenworth that the
''Kings and Queens" burlesQue show
was so awfully wicked that even Leav-
enWCrth could not stand for it, and that
consequently the police arrested the
whole kit and cabOodle. was intention
ally or unintentionally, a wonderfully sue
cessful stroke of advertising. The larg
est audience that has gathered to see
burlesque show in several years was at
the Crawford last night. The bald heads
and the youths were terribly disap-
pointed.
The show was as mild as a debating
Docietys production Of a Christmas pam
tOmime so far as anything naughty be-
Ing said was concerned. The company,
men and women, were severely clad in
an abundance of clothing until the last
act, when a few bathing suits and gym
nasium costumes were displayed. So
Ear as morals CO. the show was far
above the standard. In fact, there was
nothing bad about the show except the
show itself. With the exception of
couple of features the entertainment
was positively excruciating.
Manager L. B. Mackay was highly
tncensed when he arrived in Topeka and
found that there had been any intima-
fiOn that his show naughty. He
made a special trip to see the theatrical
critic who had dared to COPY such base
Islander from the Leavenworth Times.
He wished 1t given to the public pos
ttively that his show was something that
Sunday school children might attend it
they wished to. The correction was
made. Mackay took tickets It the door
he was surprised at the size of the
nudferce. I am sorry that I had you
correct the impression about there being
anything bad in the show" he said to
the critic IF the correcting had not
been made the house wouldn't have held
The people" Mackay may have beck
correct in his statement and he may
have been mistaken.
Some of those. at least. who attended
&C.
were buncoed. They read the hand bills
which said: The jolliest lot Of jolliers
you ever saw. You will like them all
right all right" and something about
"a beautiful. bewilderfng bunch of ten
der femininity." The bald headed row
was crowded by hairless patese and polls
that were covered with long foot ball
hair parted in the middle The impress
sion that these front rowers received Of
the show was that there was prepond-
erance Of male jugglers, male dancers,
male acrobats, male tumblers, male
singers and male comedians
The performance was made up of a
mess of songs, dances and acrobatic
feats Miss Bessie Wilson, according to
the programme, sang her own version of
The Good Old Summer Time" The
song suffered. Bessie reminds one of
that line in "'Ostler joe which saws
plump was Annie" Bessie should
have been Annie in the quotation and
plump should have been fat She was
too fat for her shoes and waistband
and consequently a voice, which might
otherwise have flowed like a purling
river, was somewhat like a food of Kaw
river water trying to run over the
BoWersock dam. There was no tune nor
tone to Bessie's singing, and her vocal
machinery worked like a nigh tension
gramaphone running over sand paper.
Miss Babe" Slater worked hard on
bill Bailey Won't You Please Come
Home" for about Is minutes and the
musical director of the show had to
stop and rosin his violin bow before she
got through. He did the best he could
to saw the wire strings of the fiddle in
two, in hopes Of supplying the melody
that Babe" missed. but his strength
gave out. These two were a fair sample
Of the rest. All looked as if they might
have been kidnapped from St Louis
beer gardens and from the dish washers
employment bureau.
The good features were Theo. Feasley
who is as good a juggler as was ever seen
in Topeka. He received real applause
John w. Flood, a barrel jumper, was too
good for the rest OF the show and the
horizontal bar performers ought to sign
with Willie Sells.
The most amusing feature of the per-
Torrance was an ex-union depot train
caller, Dan Griffith, who furnished the
words for two illustrated songs One of
the songs was something about "a Dove
and a Serpent" and the illustrations were
entitled to a gallery of horrors so far as
coloring went The serpent seemed to be
gliding through the series of pictures at
rapid rate. Mr.. Griffith must have worn
his voice out in some other occupation
for he was fiat on the high notes and