The Minneapolis journal., 1902-09-30
They All Voted for Davis,
ADJUSTMENTS

"The Wizard of Oz" at the Metropolitan.
Inc Wizard of or" is a gorgeous con-
1ectlon. It is more than that-it is an
artlstlc triumph of spectacular stage
cra1t. A constantly shifting series of
ptctures, IN which the variant effects of
combined, passes before the eye and fair
~ DeWllders the senses with it's spell.
II IS out just that the name of Julian
Mltche!l, under whose personal stage di-
rectton" the Wizard came into being.
should be printed in black letters on the
Dill OF the play, while those of L.. Frank
Baum, who merely Wrote the book and,
4yr1cs, and Paul TietjenS, who wrote most
OF the music, should appear in plain and
unobtrusive Roman. Mr.. Mitchells share
IN the production is by far the most i'm
portant It is true that Mr.. Baum's quaint
modern fairy story furnishes the frame
work and that his odd and original char
acters, worthy Of Lewis Carroll himself,
iend a certain: interest to what happens on
Inc stage. But nothing much happens
ana the very slight story Mr.. Baum has
1urnlshed is quite overrun and obscured
py the elaborate and splendid work of Mr.
Mltchell: AS for the music Of Mr. Tiet-
1ens 1T t1nkles and 'babbles along, making
but a vague and transitory impression.
The color scheme of the production has
been worked out with the greatest care
ana good taste. Every scene has it's
dominant note which determines even the
colors used in the costumes, In all the
lavish riot OF color and light no harsh or
dlscordant contrasts are permitted. This
is artistry as true as that of the
painter. And then many Ingenious ef-
fects In light are used such as the mar
velous stimulation of snowstor1n in the
wonderful poppy field scene. Form, the
third element in the trinity Of beauty, is
of course supplied largely by pretty
feminine faces and figures which are gen.
erously displayed in the manner char
acteristic Of musical extravaganza
While "The Wizard Of or is chiefly a
gorgeous spectacle, it is by no means
lacking in other entertaining features,
.supplted by the player folk. The prin-
icipal entertainer are Fred A. Stone, as the
animated ;Scarecrow and David J. Mont
igomery as the Tin Woodman, who come
near to being a whole show in themselves.
These comedians have worked out from
Mr.. SBaumss quaint ideas two most original
and fanciful characterizat1ons Just to-
see one of Mr. Stones wobbly scarecrow
dances or to hear Mr.. Montgomery
ridiculous travesty on a Scotch song is a
treat. Then there is the girlish little
Anna Laughlin as the blown away maid
from Kansas, with her childlike Ways, and
s11mble footed dancing. So charming Isl
this Illusion of juvenility that one almost
forgets$ how badly Miss Iaughlin sings
Indeed the less said about the singing
of the company the better. Bobby Gay
lor, he Of the flannel mouth and the twist
ed speech, is the wizard and a very funny
one, too except that his lack Of voice
makes 1t difficult, sometimes, to under
stand him. Others who Should be men,
toned are Stephen Maley as the willy in.
ventor, Carleton King as the pretender
to the throne, Helen Byron as the lady
lunatic, and Grace Kimball as the hungry
prospective queen. There are two inter-
jpolated songs ofSmerit, Sammy sung
by Miss Kimball, and Lilly of the Nile"
sung by Miss Laughlin.
r. go. AS go 8 w. B. Chamberlain.