The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-12-27
VAUDEVILLE AT LANSING
John Collins, Leader of Prison Band,
Furnished Music.

Kansas City, Dec. 27.-Seymour Rice
took a party of vaudeviIlians to Ian
sing, Kas-, yesterday morning and gave
his annual matinee for the Kansas
prisoners. Immediately on his arrival
in Kansas City last night Mr.. Rice
called his professional friends about
him. He had something to tell them;
something too good to keep over night.
Here's one that made a hit with
me-" he said; the greatest hit of the
times. Why, would you believe it. they
don't count time by years and months
at the penitentiary any more. Listen.
After the first show yesterday a
| -lifer' came to me and said: Mr.. Rice,
am going to get pardon soon.'
| Well, my dear fellow, l am glad
to hear it, I told him. When do you
think you will be at liberty?'
| One more show and sixty days and
I'm free man. he replied. It never
occurred to him at all to say Feb
ruary, 1906"
The performance given for the pris-
| oners was the third annual show taken
to Lansing by Mr.. Rice and the pris-
oners in the Kansas penitentiary are
the only ones who see show by pro-
fassional performers with the excep-
ton of the Sing Sing prisoners, who
have been given this sort of Christmas
| treat on few occasions. The per-
formance yesterday was straight vau-
deville and was put on before prob
ably the most appreciative audience in
the United States.
! There's some good left in whole
lot of those prisoners, said Mr.: Rice
| last night. 1--WE took along a moving
picture machine and put on some
illustrated songs. The songs were of
the pathetic sort and it seemed that
every picture of child or any men
ton of children brought tears to hun
dreds of eyes in the audience. Mabel
Evans sang Always in the Way I'm
Wearing My Heart Away for YOU and
| The Baby Store, and 1 believe every
man in the audience cried
There was no allusion to the audi
ence by the monologue artists and not
a single local pun by the comedians.
about rushing through the perform
ance because if they did have a few
minutes between acts the audience
would get restless on account of there
being no pass-out checks issued at the
door, but that they had eliminated all
such jokes this year.
The Lansing prison band, conducted
! by John Collins furnished music for
the performance. Mr.. Rice sent a lot
of music to the warden last week and
he said that John Collins had rear
ranged much of it and that the show
went off as smoothly as though they
had rehearsed with the band for a week.
| Emmett Dalton was quite a factor in
the musical numbers, as he is slide
trombone artist who was appreciated by
all the professionals.
Over LOO prisoners and the families
/ of Warden Jewett and his deputies saw
the performance. The first show, to
which men only were admitted, began
! at 10:45 and lasted until 12:15 AT 1:15
o'clock in the afternoon another per-
| Torrance was given for the women and
the prison officials and their families.
Between the two shows the vaudevil-
/ lians were served a Christmas dinner by
| courtesy of Warden JeWett.
OF the !, 146 prisoners in the Lansing
! penitentiary all but one were anxious to
be taken to the chapel to see the show.
| This exception was Jessie Morrison. She
did not attend the Christmas perform
ance last year, and asked this year that
she be allowed to stay away from the
chapel. At the dinner served Mr. Rice
and his company the table was decorat-
ed with doilies and drawn work that
/ Miss Morrison taught the other women
/ prisoners to make.
In speaking of the novel experience
of playing to an audience that could not
get away, Mr.. Rice said:
1--WE took part of our audience up
with US. When we left the Kansas
| City union depot yesterday morning for
Lansing a car loaded with Oklahoma
prisoners was being attached to our
tdain. We went right along with them,
and they enjoyed the show with the
1ifers and others who have been there
for years"
| One of the unusual hits of the
performance was a juvenile act by the
Fay sisters. After the performance the
girls were loaded with souvenirs made
by the prisoners. All kinds of musical
instruments carved with jackknives
within the prison walls, candy and
music from the men, and fancy work
from the women prisoners were given
the two girls.
Those who assisted Mr.. Rice were
Ted Sparks, monologue comedian; Clytie
Young, soubrette; Mabel Evans, illus
trated songs; George Swan, black face
comedian; Fay sisters, character sketch
artists, and Joe Brenn, pianist.
Mr.. Rice took the following interest
ing figures regarding the Christmas day
audience: White men, 1888; white wo-
men, IT; negroes, 314; negro women, Is;
| Indians, 8; Mexicans, 3. OF these, 55