The San Francisco call., 1904-10-18
Heathen chinee Seen IN His Glory
and San
TOY" q Bunch
Of Fun.

SlOWly-Dut II gets there IN tlne IoT
the soup" Only, there is no soup in
connection with San Toy" But like
the turtle the comedy has been long
getting here and is just as well worth
waiting for as the soup. A large crowd
sat through the flash and sparkle of it
last night at the Columbia and left
with a single verdict, stunning. You
see, there was James T. Powers-but
we anticipate.
San Toy" is one of the earliest ex-
amples of that curious combination of
comedy, comic opera and vaudeville
known as musical comedy. In itself it
justifies the breed. 1t is almost comic
opera and it nears the best of comic
opera, with it's sharply drawn types
and clever story, set about with the
sprightly and characteristic musical
setting.
Augustin Daily imported it from Eng
land, with those other charming
pieces. The Runaway Girl" and The
Chorus Girl" and we have ever since
been hearing San Toy echoes. Last
nights performance consoled one for
the echoes. Twas best for us and best
for the comedy that we had to wait ten
years for Mr.. Powers to bring it along.
We might have had it last year with
the dusty Daily shows that did wander
out here. Yes, true, they did bring
voice and fun with them, but San
Toy" needs dressing-and Powers.
san Toy took five men TO make,
Edward Morton finishing the book, Sid
ney Jones the music, Harry Greenbank
and Adrian Ross the lyrics and Lionel
Monckton the other musical trim
mings. And compact, sparkling and
picturesque thing they have made of it.
The scene is Chinese. San Toy is the
daughter Of the Mandarin Yen How.
who has been ordered to send her to
the Emperor's harem. Yen How disap-
proves. He wants TO keep his daugh-
ter. Accordingly he disguises her as a
boy. Word is sent to the Emperor that
Yen HOw's only child is a son.
But San Toy has a Chinese lover, and
she herself loves an English sailor. The
Chinese lover demands her hand as the
price Of his silence. Refused, he then
discovers the English lover and re-
venges himself by betraying Yen How
TO the Emperor. But San Toy, to save
papa, goes herself to Peking, and all
turns out happily. And Mr.. Powers? &?
Mr.. Powers is lazy, lightfingered and
altogether delightful Oriental named
Ii, who fills in all the corners of the
plot and fun most richly.
1t is not at all that there is only
Mr.. Powers in the cast. San Toy is
not the one-man or Daniels variety of
comedy. There are at least three bril-
liantly funny comedians. a tragico-
comedian, two barytones and a lacy
humOrist in San Toys" company. 1t
is place aux hommes'' indeed with the
comedy, even to the best male chorus
that remember to have heard outside
Of grand opera. And to begin with,
Jams T. Powers.
Mr. Powers is a class by himself
Quite like no one else that you know
is this genius of comedy. His very
makeup-he might have walked in off
a fan-prepared one for the exceptional.
And just where lies his peculiar dis
tinction is difficult TO lay a finger on.
Perhaps ii is in the absolute ease of
his fOOling, or in its vital magnetism
But there is not hair of his head that
is not funny. He touches new nerves
OF laughter. Whether he drinks the
cologne he has filched from the lady's
maid-develOping an entirely original
intoXicatiOn-or tries to hide the ring
ing alarm clock up his sleeve, or
mouths monkey-fashion at the aud
ience, doesn't matter.
You feel you have never seen these
things done before and that nothing
else could be worth doing Even his
speech. After his dance-and that's
better than any other dancing, you will
remember-Mr. Powers wandered in at
all the entrances to bow and finally
came forward. He put UP his hand,
the audience said Ssh" Mr.. Powers
said "Sh! No more" He sings, too.
and you can hear every word he says
Remains only his dialect, and that you
can hear any day in Fish alley.
Mr.. w. I. Romaine's Emperor with
his falsetto voice and rickety gait, is
worthy to stand with the Powers Ii
1t is capital fooling.
George Fortescue's Yen How is quite
as good. Mr.. Fortescue is just 300
pounds of solid fun. Then John
Peachey, rejected of Fischer's, turns
up as an excellent barytone, and Fred
w. HuntIey does a remarkable charac-
ter hit as the Chinese lover. There are
others, all good, and all in their splen-
did garb as mandarins, guards and
such, making a truly magnificent pic
ture.
Miss Margaret Mckinney is chief
among the women. Miss Mckinney
sings very prettily. and acts with much
sprightliness and humor as Dudley, the
lady's maid.
Nina Rudolph is the San Toy and
sings little and dances prettily. But
she hardly belongs" There is a large
chorus of girls. who add much to the
picture-the most sumptuous that we
have had here for long-and two spIen-
diferous scenes. One might go through
the list of songs in vain to find a poor
enc, but the six Little Wives" (For-
tescue). Tommy Atkins" (Peachey)
: "Rhoda and Her Pagoda" Miss Nc
Kinney, and Chinese Soje-man' (Mr.
Powers). compel mention Hear them