The Minneapolis journal., 1903-03-03
1.-THE QUEEN OF The BALLET
RECEIVES A ROYAL WELCOME
Large Audience Geets the Roosevelt Club Players
Their Second Appearance in Light OpeaThe Opera is Fast
Catchy Well Presented That the Mascunity Of
the Chorus Forgotten-Two More Nights and Mat
nee.

II f !
the Chorus Girls Was Forgottt
inee.
If the president, titular patron OF the
Roosevelt Marching Club, could have seen
his boys disport themselves last night IN
"The queen Of the Ballet he would un-
doubtedly have Included among the mat
ters to be attended to at the extra session
of the senate the witnessing OF per-
fornance by the club. Nor can there pc
any doubt that If the grave and reverend
senator's could but see the queen and her
sportive cohorts on the stage, 1t would
straightway put them in such good humor
that the canal and Cuban treaties would
be ratified without further ado. Taking
a leaf out OF the philosophy of their adored
Teddy, the club members have gone INTO
musical drama with a. strenuous energy
that cannot fail of good results. Like
him, too, they are not satisfied with mere
strenuity. but have exhibited an tntelli-
gent resourcefulness and daring or1gi-
nality which have served to overcome the
tremendous obstacles to be encountered
in any amateur production Of such mag
nitude and which have enabled them to
reach a plane Of almost professional ex-
cellence. ..E .
The selection Of this clever musical
comedy by r. A. Barnet for the annual
club affair was a. happy one, in spite OF
the factor would 1t be better to say, be-
cause of the fact-that 1t necessltatedl
wholesale female representations by mem
bers Of the club. The bright libretto and
the score. fairly studded with musical
gems lend themselves readily to the broad
burlesque style which had to be adopted
where SO many freshly shaven and manly
"young ladies', were to be in the cast.
t.sr to
operatically absurd. but upon it's slender
thread of interest are strung a number of
strikingly funny situations and, besides,
it never irks one to have the tale inter-
rupted by q topical song,, stirring en-
senable or some bit Of business.
The first impression when the curtain
went up, disclosing the beVy OF oeamlng
chorus .'girls'' in their smart: costumes
was one of amusement not unmlxed Wltn
wonder and admiration. The ladies IN the
audience seemed particularly impressed
| bv the saucy assumption Of feminine dress
and airs, and the buzz of comment mixed
| with laughter that arose quite drowned
out for the nonce the very manly music
that was coming from apparently femlnlne
| throats on the stage. AS each memDer OF
the cast, responding to his cue came 1ortn
from the wings, unrestyained laughter and
applause from friends and acquaintance
greeted him. The pleasurable excitement
/ that had seized upon the audience, Wt1lch
found itself quite unable for some time to
/ settle down to an enjoyment of the per-
| Torrance itself, had a. natural put tenn
| porary effect upon the players, who soon
| steadied down like veterans. But the
!. audience didn't recover so easily, and had
i frequent hysterical attacks all through
the evening, whenever one Of the dear
i girls indulged in a feminine antic OR re-
! lapsed into mannish ways.
i But quite aside from the personal note
} in the OCCASION, the performance was a
most entertaining one. 1t made good
teven with those who knew no one in the
l cast-which is high praise for an amateur
lproduction. The stage management was
SO good that there was but one hitch and
that an inconsequential one in the whole
evening and things moved along with lit
tie or none of the friction which even pro-
fessionals do not escape on first nights.
The production was staged with lavish
and tasteful care, the costumes and scen-
cry being striking and effective and every
detail being looked after with precision
The musical score was interpreted with
, refreshing spirit and the singing. through
. out was Of a, high Order-a state of things
> due In large measure to the musicianly
guidance of Robert Gale who drilled the
company and led the orchestra last night
y The dancing instructors. too, B. c. N
Holcornb and Ethel M, Malcolm certainly
achieved wonders in teaching many intri
cate steps and pretty figures to their <ap
pupils. Archa q. WILCOX, who played {
q star part himself, was the dramatic in
v structor and his work fitted in we'll will
. | that Of his coad djutors.
Coming down to a consideration of thu
f cast in detail, it seems remarkable hov
= many clever impersonations were contrib
# uted by the club members. The stella
!. Wilcox as Hungry Jin.'' Chas. M. Ian
e as Beau Brummel Bob and Gilbert Z
J. Byron as Merry Mats Kid and the
o certainly kept things going. Mr.. Wilco
is has a gift for comedy which made hi
IS work intrinsically and genuinely funn
5: and he sings a comic song with inimitabl
e aplomb. Mr.. Lane is debonair and grace
j. full and his irnpersonation was decided
" clever For many in the audience Mi
e. Byron was the hit of the show. His de
l. mure impersonation Of the Lady Phylli:
fresh from the underworld, was full {
r quaint comedy that lost none Of its ef
re fectiveness because of it's unobtrusiv
er character. His costumes We're wonder
oe Hal Stevens as Beatrice Jerome, tn
m heroine, and c. Frank Lane as Gretchen
her bosom friend, furnished a pair {
feminine portraits worth going miles
see. Mr.. Stevens found some difficult
s. in being wonanly at times, but he acte
well and sang with fine effect, especial
In pretty duet with the hero. Mr.. LaI
gave the best female impersonation
the show and wore some stunning Coz
tunes as one to the manner born. H
+ management of his skirts in the pret
eS dance and at other times awakened al
nciration on every hand. H. Lewis Be
knap as Jack Harwicke, proved a decid!
3D. acquisition in vocal way. his pure al
mt pleasant tenor being heard to fine adva
US tage in solo and ensemble numbers. y
ed D. Morse and Edgar t. Hanson appear
he as the golf-crazy trustees Of the Harwicl
ne estate and made fine impression N
lis, Morse, who has scored many amate
re- successes, was thoroughly at home in l
role and sang and acted with effecti