The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-06-14
AT THE THEATERs

AT THE THEATERs
MISUNDERSTANDING for offlce,' the
7 Four cohans. Is
Dear Papa: You darling old lobster" vi
So read the letter from his daughter to
John Tiger, the hero of Running for Of
ed the fond parent, and everybody chuck
led at the touch so true to life" d In
deed. these touches are what save George
M. Cohan's musical frivolity." Running
for Office" is an application by the young
actor-author- dancer of the vaudeville
turns the Cohans have been doing for
some years. The play has, however.
much more continuity and conference than
many similar productions.
John Tiger, a prohibition candidate for
mayor, and "a widower of fifteen years
standing. brings home, in the midst of the
campaign, BRIDE who was also a widow.
He has a daughter and she son. Each
seeks to keep the secret from the other
until after the election. To complicate
matters, the youngsters have met and
loved. and are engaged Each of the six
sees the adored one, kissing and embracing
someone else, and wholesales tmisunder-
standings follow. Some football girls and
boys, a female hypnotist, a show manager
a hotelkeeper and politician, constable
and a college boy furnish the remainder;
of the cast and afford opportunities for
the various specialties. AS whole, the
play is brightly laughable and entertain
ing. AS vehicle, however, for the
Cohans specialties in eccentric dancing, it
is far from satisfactory.
Altho amateurish to a degree, the play
shows plainly enough that George M.
Cohan, the author and composer, has tai
ent along this as well as other lines. His
work, however, is not yet good enough
Iaithar a rnI1Sica1 or haa
The songs and choruses, tho singable, are
but mediocre. The topical number, IF
Were Only Mr.. Morgan" is the best
the local hits carrying that along for sew
eral recalls. The octet, dressed in Faunt-
leroy suits and the French child dresses,
which sang kid Days with George M.
Conan, was delightfully."- quaint and pretty.
Jerry J. Cohan and Josephine Conan car
ried off the honors histrionically, altho
! there was but little of the eccentric dam
cling for which the Cohans are so justly
famous. Miss Cohan is a sweet and win
some figure on the stage, and, while 1t
Is somewhat Of a shock to see her delfb-
erately turn a cartwheel, albeit most
gracefully, still If cartwheels are her forte
one would wish to see more of them.
George M. Cohan rather oyerdoes the COLI
lege kid, but does some clever dancing.
While his singing and that Of Miss Cohan
is as good as their limitations will per-
NIT one is inclined to wish that the young
mans desire for money to buy a new
voice might be granted Helen F. Conan
made an acceptable Mrs. John Tiger.
The other characters were fairly well
taken. Joseph Manning was an entertain
ing but scarcely consistent Andrew Riley,
mayor of Tigersville. William Keough, as
i Sam Gayland, "the popular man." was eff
fective.. Della Myers, as Susie sprightly;
made a, chic but somewhat earthly lady
,hypnotist, with goed French accent and
Ia somewhat unmusical contralto voice. Joe
Smith Marba, as Herman Heiberger did
an admirable bit Of German character act
Ing while John Keefe accomplished equal
lily good results as Peter Pinchem, Yam
kee constable. Howard Boardmar,.
BiIou-"The James Boys In Missouri"
please allow me to shoot him, my. dear
jesse
II insist that must assassinate him
my dear Frank
Biffity- bang! and some twenty corpses
are stretched upon the hardwood swarc
, Of the Samuels residence. Then comes
red fire, Bob Ford ventila ting the anatomy
Of Jesse James, while Mrs. Jesse, dowr
'front.', is screaming "Me cheeld! me-
cheeld!' and the colored comedian is at
. tempting to put out the eyes of the bass
drum artist in the orchestra with a fusi
lade of wads from blank cartridges. r IS
If there is a member of the cast who II
not shot or shot at in the course of til,
performance 1t is because he does no
t. come to the theater. Bullets flew thicI
and fast from the time the curtain RAISED
until it lowered on the grand transforms
ton scene, showing Frank James AM
Governor Crittenden, standing in the back
ground on a bank Of whipped cream clouds
; while Frank presented the governor will
a rusty pair Of ''hoss" pistols.
The most realistic thing about the pro
: duction is the big switch engine, which
hauls the train into the famous Blu
: CUT in time for the burning of abou
thirty pounds Of gunpowder and the tri
Y unph Of reflex virtue over rampant vice
The ringing Of the engines bell and tn
brilliant lines of the fuse used in blowing
the express car stout box were brigh
: spots In a rather dreary dialogue. TIL
! lesson taught by the production is pure
: ly conjecture. The dramatist has faile
to drive home any great truths or les
, sons. In fact, there is little room for les
0 sons between volleys. If it was intends
: as a problem play, it fell short Of tn
= mark, just after the start. The villain Ea
0 a nice height and "cute'' black goatee
!. The hanging of Dr. Sanuels was so real
i istic that it moved one spectator to ex
: press a fervid wish that the rope woul
V be still further stretched with other vic
g tims-3but the wish was not fulfilled. TAX
+ en- all in ALL the melodrama is one Of TIL
best comedies ever presented upon a locs
{ stage. j. H. Ritchie