The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-03-15
THE ROOSEVELT CLUB IN BARON HUMBUa

Inc piushing beauties and the martial
Baliants OF the Roosevelt club have quite
captured the hearts and the admiration or
the town by their achievements in the
newest OF r. A. Barnet's musical come
dies. a melodious Magyar medley yclept
Baron Humbug..'' Gaining confidence
from previous successes, the club manage
ment mas spared neither effort nor expense
IN giving the production a wholly gorgeous
setting, while the purely musical, dramatic
and terpsichorean phases of the entertain
ment have been worked out with such in
teligence and Industry as to make the
undoubted talents Of the clubs members
shine forth brightly.
When the curtain goes up and the men
o. the female chorus are discovered in all
the splendor of their feminine finery, a
wave of astonished merriment sweeps over
the audience. AS the disguise Of rouge
ana wig and costume is penetrated in In
here and there. When they, pirouette with
| more or less grace, swish their skirts Co
quettishly or wave their toes aloft in airy,
| II rather uncertain, circles, the hilar1ty is
general And all thru the performance the
antics Of the dear girls" furnish never
failing entertainment to their friends and
to the audience generally. Interest in the
various phases Of feminine impersonation
thus becomes a large element in the sue
| cess of the show.
But 1T Is by no means the only, or even
the most important, element. Quite aside
from the interest in the man-girl as q
phenomenon to be studied, marveled al
ana laughed over, Baron Humbug," as
| produced by the Roosevelters, Is ar
achievement Of notable merit that holds
the attention while it amuses.
Mr.. Barnet has provided an excellent We
hicle for the expression of the. clubs tai.
ents. 1t is especially strong on the musica
side. The songs are characterized by
z melodious conception and effective execu-
4 harmonies for the, full-throated singers Of
! the club. The lyrics are daintily con-
ceived and the topical songs give oppor-
tun1ty for good work. In short, the score
is the best feature of Baron Humbug'
and its airs have a Tilt that catches the
fancy and sticks in the memory. The
libretto Is not so strong. Its story is o.
rather tenuous interest, after the habit o.
the modern musical comedy, and it's com
edy Is not uproariously funny. This lattel
4 defect is due largely to the lack of situa
tons that are in themselves humorous ant
the comedians of the cast-as is the com
mon fate Of their professional brethren
are forced to carve out success by thei
own efforts without leaning too heavily OF
the llbrettist. But the locale is pictur
esque and there is certain Hungarian at
mosphere about the production that goe:
far to make it enjoyable.
The cast is the best balanced and tn,
strongest that the club has ever presented
Evidently those charged with making tn
best disposition Of the talent at hand hav,
performed their task without favoritisn
and with an eye singleSto the success o
the production. The musical star is Ha
j. Stevens, whose pure and melodious ten
or illustrates the role Of the vagabon,
count. Mr.. Stevens would adorn profes
sional performance with his singing an
his easy self-possession. He quite cap
lures the audience with his first solo,
dreamy song Of the Danube, and con
firms his title later by his Hungarian folk
song and his charming duets with Sylvia
This latter role is invested by J. W
Gearey with romantic interest springin
: from his dark and spirituelle beauty c
. face and his vain struggle against and fins
surrender to love for the vagabond coun
Mr.. Gearey sings we'll and dances better
His greatest triumph IS scored in the Syl
5 via song and dance, a pretty and effectiv
number to whose success the dashin
hussars make an important contribution
In the comedy department one of tn
: principal purveyprs lis, e. Frank Lam
E who 8impersonatesS the ssbaronial faki
Mr.. Lane has a vein of humor Of exec
: lent quality, ana he co1frives to work