The St. Louis Republic., 1903-10-12
MUSIC AND CHARACTER COMEDY
IN TWO NEW THEATER BILLS.
WALTER Jones HEADS
A NEW MUSIC PIECE.

Call TO mind all the musical comedies
/ you have heard n you would form an idea
! OF the Dhantasmagorial and foolish piece
/ In which our genial. iovisl. jubIlant. Jocu-
/ lar Jones disports himseIr-but as 10
/ Jones. later. The impression borne away
/ from The Sleepy King IL that OF some
thing dangerously near hopeless medIoc-
I rlty: hopeless mediOcrity enliyened. now
/ BY short. seltzer-and-rhinswine come
dian. who says Much Obli-i-iched'': and
again. after an interval. by a COneiienue
with a cherub face and crimped hair that
sells airships and dances vigorously: again
| by a tall red fend who prOclaims him
self the bad man from the bad lands be
/ hind Wicked Mountain: again by a tiny
toe-dancer with a very bright smile. and
Just once or twice BY a clear soprano
The book OF The Sleepy King is by
Mr.. George V. Hobart and II is only fair
10 say mat perhaps Mr.. Hobart was
0VerWorkeu. and a. for Air- C. r Con-
terno. who wrote the musiC-weIl. one
can't always he writing beautiful ard
original music. and II may be that cur
disadvantage OF having heard too many
musical comedies Somehow The Sleepy
King" seems 70 be just what Il purpOrts
TO be.
Mr.. Jones. who can he So good. il funny.
with mental reservation. Mr. Jones IS
better than King OzO-the part he plays
which Is q part that goes TO sleep when
ever Il can II goes 10 sleep with a
vengeance. even snoring at times. n is
sOpCrihc. and this. in a way. j. a sort OF
tribute 10 the comedian His yawns are
Infectious.
Were ii not FOR that sprghuy Yankee
D PiCklestuer at times. King bZO's so
poriferousness might beget deep somnG-
lenCr In the house This 70 M Jones
credit. however. In staging the piece he
generously allowed the PiCklesdusr part
Iull play. even at the obvious expense OF
his own part. and. as Mr.. Edd Redway
makes the most OF picklesauer. the au-
dienCe = barely saved.
Lhe audience treated The SLEEPY
King with sophisticated indifference.
generally. The Sundsy-night audience i
rather tolerant usually. but last night II
discrimiuItsd and streuuOusly refused 10
applaud except when applause was clear
ly meEtted. Nothing got the benefit Of the
doubt Which Is as 10 should be, In the
matter nf musical comedy II We must
best
George Evans and a chorus OF well
trained and very pretty girls are the at
traction in The Good Old Summer Time"
at the Grand Evans. In his comicaI
mske-ups could give something Of u show
by himse.t He plays Tommy Todd. man
OF all work. jockey for a millionaire poll !
LCldu. whose EuuuE = morse racing. ne Z
comedy j. written about the adventures
Boss AahOney has while spending his I
money Tommy Todd becomes MdhOuey.s
valet. and the two journey 20 q seaside I
hotel. and then to the races.
Two attractive scenes are shown in the 4
pictures OF the Ocean View Hotel and the /
lace track. A great number Of charac- /
ters are introduced to swell the ensemble I
situation. The eN-pugilist tIOe NatEsl and /
the Bovery girl pearl RsNere) give a /,
musical number that II very ike the 4
funny character song in InE buTEO- j
There is more than enough music. The |
composers might have saved some for i
a rainy day. Several songs fell 10 Evans. /
including The Sweetest Flower That i
Grows In Tennessee When the Bells
Ring and Walks" Annie Martel sings
Sweet Spring Time
The German stock company at the
Odeon appeared for the first time last
night In a musical farce. ''Verlisbte Maed-
chen Goveiorn maidensl- LeOnie Bergere.
the soubretJs Of the company. had the
leading role as Olga. whose lad is the
piano. and whose ambition is to become
musical star.
the humor at her command She was the
spirited. comical servant maid. with am
billions way above ths horizon. In a song
new in America. called Lightning Bug,
with ensemble accompaniment. real llght-
ming bugs were simulated with japanese
incense sticks. which afterward> -erfumed
Next Thursday night the Odeon com
pauy will appear In rs lebe das Leoen |
Uhe Joy. OF living. b. Hermann suder-
mann. Mrs. Patrick Campbell was seen in
this drama last year at the Olympic The
Ater The original play is said TO be much
stronger than the English version, made
for Mrs. Campbell.
The Scouts Revenge entertained the
Imperial patrons. The play deals with the
career OF a Government scout and band
OF outlaws on the Southwestern border Of
Texas
as might be imagined from
its name. There is, however, ample op-
portunity for lot OF shooting. but possible
objection TO this IL offset in a measure by
"a good plot. Then. too. there are parts
OF the piece which are characteristic OF
the quiet. wholesome home life Of a Texas
ranch IL Is a pretty play deplcung lie
edy and love running through Il.
The story deals with the double life
led by Wilfrfd Castro. who poses as a
prOspsctor. but in serious business Is Cap
tain wildfire leader OF a band Of out
laws This band Of reneEades murders a
tIs T1.nI rieae scoSt ~ S TbS hss detsFmined 10
bring wildhre TO justice. Henshawe swears
revenge From that point the climaxes
are most exciting.
Hal Reds drama. AT Cripple Creek"
with a company Of more capable players
than those presenting the piece last sea-
son. came to Havlin's- Cripple Creek
has to do with that celebrated place in
Its early times when It was overcrowded
with gamblers. half-breed Indians and
In the first act is shown the most noto-
rious saloon OF the old camp. The second
act pictures a mountainous stretch OF ,
near BY, and act three takes place ,
in the Last Dollar mine Rurdette
Bowling Is seen as Joe Mayfield this time
Katheryn Swift Is Belle Gordon. the East
ern girl. and Baby Nirena appears as Lit
tie Tattc.
Across the Desert" a melodrama OF
Arizona. is the new offering at Crawford's.
The most stirring Incidents take place in