The St. Louis Republic., 1903-09-21
RICHARD CARLE'S NEW
PIECE AT THE CENTURY.

FlECE Al IHE ZEN UNI.
The Tenderfoot'' is comic, has some
good songs and singers, therefore Is more
or less opera-rather more than less
and. accordingly. may be called comic
opera Whatever its proper classification,
it is full of fun, movement, dancing and
plenty of jokes-jokes with point and wit
here and there, jokes that for the most
part are not on the old familiar order
jokes which do not occasion that sinking
sensation which always follows when we
are forced to eJacuiate. Where, oh.
where. have we heard that beforei" Some
few OF the quips do possess the earmarks
of the great jokes We have known. but
not too obtrusively.
Richard Carle, of course is good. He is
the laughing stock of the audience in the
sense that he provides plentiful stock of
laughter. He makes his entry upon a
donkey, well-behaved donkey-how they
ever trained the donkey is a wonder-it is
proof of the thoroughness of the produc-
ton. The saiu donkey ambles in very
deliberately and halts, abruptly. PRO
ceed,' orders the rider and the donkey
proceeds. That proceed" takes well. and
from that moment the audience responds
If Mr.. Carle but crook his little finger.
The thing strikes new vein in comic
opera From the number of outlandish
Kings of This and Sdltans of That which
of late have graced the American comic
opera stage the belief has become cur
rent that Tor rousing good fun in the sing
Ing line 1t is necessary to find some ut
terly impossible setting in some impossi-
Bile corner of the globe. THE Tenderfoot'
deals with Texas.
The scenes have to do with ranch,
which idea allows the Introduction of va
rious characters all the way from Marion
WorthingtOn, heiress and rancheress, to
company of Texas Rangers, cowboys,
cowgirls, MeXicans, Mexican girls,
Chinaman. and other such incidentals. An
other peculiar feature lies in that some
semblance of story runs through the
piece, story that has some beginning
and a middle. The end is a little unusual
weird, incongruous. indian warwhoop
wind-up, but that there is any story what
ever is certainly reason to congratulate
Mr.: Carle. who, by the way Is the author.
y write for living says Flora Jane
Paul, whom We in St. Louis all know.
the Professor Zachary Pettibone, LII. D.,
B. A., under which extensive titles, Mr..
little hits. The wit is all OF kind which
perhaps is best described by the word
win the hand and heart of Professor Pet
tbone. Professor Pettibone at first does
not seem inclined to be won. AS a device
to attract his attention, Miss Fibby in;
testament at her dictation.
"A bequest of s500o0.'' says Miss Ffbby.
ito establish a home for lone and for
saken felines; jot it down."
What 90 cats want with a homer
declaims the professor. They never stay
home"
aged and decrepit CANNES"
More money gone to the dogs" mourns
the professor.
These go well The discovery on the
part of the professor of Miss Libbys i'm
mense wealth induces his hitherto cold
and naughty demeanor to relent Their
is one of the popular kind. which probably
will be so much whistled on the street
that it will haunt us in our dreams.
warmly received by the large audience
which filled the Century last night. The
part of Sally her maid which, usually,
Miss Anna Conley. Miss Haydn was too
i'll to appear and Miss Conley, who normal
ly is. in the ranks" as cowgirl, was
called upon. tc undertake the more re-
sponsible role. She did creditably well.
Charles Wayne is in the company, very
much so. AS Sergeant Bill Barker. who is
simply a killer" with the girls. and as
an eccentric dancer he was decidedly
good show all by himself. Edmund STAN
ley, whose voice, unaided, is quite a re-
spectacle chorus, was in the cast as sec
ond man." otherwise Colonel Paul Win |
throp, who. after adventures too numer-
Gus to MENTION marries the heiress, and |
though he has strenuous time for a |
while. it would seem that when the cur |
tain goes down on the last act. he and |
she are reasonably certain to Tive happy |
ever afterwards"
Even so many as these mentioned did |
not absorb all the glory and the limeiight. |
Henry Norman. as 'Honest John Mar |
tin; William Rock, as Hop Lee, Chinese |
servant" and Ethel johnson were an es- |
sential part of the performance. Ethel |
Johnson-eXcuse such language-"suttinly |
is a natchel bawn dancer; and Hop Lee |
is no amateur when 1t comes to tripping |
the light fantastic.
goodly crowd was on hand at the |
Olympic last night to make things pleas
ant for an old favorite. Robert Mantell |
was to come into his own again. After |
an absence of four years, he was to get |
back TO "the cid stand" And he did. |
There were flowers. a speech and. best of
all, a play that fits the Mantell tempera-
ment more than passably well.
1.-THE Light of Other Days isn't a |
"Monbars,' but 1t is infinitely better than
1.-The Dagger and the Cross" Mantell
has the character of an Irish gentleman,
Maurice Desmond, and his life, love and
adventures in the turbulent times of the
French Revolution furnish the theme of
the drama.
Desmond's rescue of his ward and !