Omaha daily bee., 1905-11-03
At THE PLAY HOUSES
aThe sho-eun,, 90 DC bod.

aThe shO-Gun" az the boyd.
John e. Henshaw and others in The Sho
Gun musical comedy In two acts
book and lyrics by George AIDE; music
by Gustav Luders under the direction OF
Henry w Savage. The principals:
William Henry spangle., an energetic
His pl, saeeiiency Fa.iIa Io9 shoGun t" q
Ca-Choo. .............. Detmer II. Poppen
General Kee-otori a military, grandee..
Hanki-Pank astroioEcr and dealer in
proverbs. ...............T Thomas c. Leary
Tee-To Komura, desrised bacheloL-,...
H.; william 6 Weeden
......:..................... Douglas Ruthaen
o-Hung. messenger on the dark path
Charles Arlins
........i................ Lawrence A. Coever
sha-Man. a head priest. Henry @. Barstar
omee-omi. widow of the former sho.
Princess Hunni-Btp, niece of sho-Gun
.......' -, =, 'ss.Agnes Saine Brown
Moo-zoo May, hrst Of the sins-sons
irls........".......... Isabelle Diamond
Kee-Zi, companion of Hunni- Bun. .......,
80 ,..''''''t'''''''''''''' So. Myra DAVIS
U-Ju.. .........,......,.....A Alberta Monclaire
ram an ''''''''.'''''''''''' Mae Darllns
Nanni- Fan...................G eorgena Beary
John r. Henshaw is stil leading the
merry forces of 1.-THE Shotgun" in their
joyous errand throughout the country This
ooncoction OF mirth and music satire and
good-natured raillery finds George AIDE In
his happlest mood, for ne is poklng fun
at something and taking little short-arm
jabs at certain of the foibles Of his country
men, Gustav Luders entered readily into
the spirit of the affair, and while It may
not be his best music, he has furnished
melody quite appropriate to the AIDE words,
and the whole is a source OF genuine de-
light It's satire is perhaps a little less
direct than that Of The Sultan of Sulu,"
and its humor not quite so broad, but this
refinement does not detract from its en-
ioyable qualities. 1t has the essential
aspect of absurdity, and that is quite
sufficient. And its airs are all of the sort
that lnger in the memory, to be hummed
and whistled at intervals One of the
best choruses found in the whole range
Of modern light opera is in THE sho-
Gun" Now Daylight Is Fading and
Nunder the musicianly direction of Mr.. OAR
ling II is most effectively rendered. The
finale to the first act Is a most ambitious
flight, gagged by the standards of its class
OF composition, and is splendidly done by
the ensemble of the company
Mr.. Henshaw is a never failing source
OF laughter. His quaint, droll way of
doing and saying things is a part Of the
man himself, and with his other accom-
| plishments as a comedian place him in a
! class by himself. He is a perfect carica-
| ture of the assertive business man of the
day, and hits lot Of bullseyes during the
| evening by his dry remarks or his APP
| parent sincerity when engaged in some
special piece of vandalism. William Henry
| Spangle is an addition to the Hall OF Fame
/ of comic opera. Back of Mr.. Henshaw is
I Mr.. Leary, who doesn't have so much OF
an opportunity. but who takes advantage
! of what he does get, as Hanki-Pank, the
wise man of Ca-Choo, But all and singular
| OF the principals are expected to contribute
! in part to the fun of the evening and each
does his or her share in this line admir-
ably.
In the singing forces are a number Of
good voices, that is voices that stand out
above the high plane of Savage excellence,
for the company has no bad voices. Mr..
Weedens fine tenor is used to good ad-
vantage. Agnes Caine Brown sings with
a strong me4zo-sopraho most effectively,
and Genevieve Day, with a tone little
| finer but rich and pure in quality, accom-
plishes her songs in ~ way that leaves a
wish for more. She also achieves quite an
acrobatie feat in .kneeling as she does TO
! await the coming of the tiger isabelle
! Diamond is very attractive little Moo
| Zoo May, and sings as IL she really knew
all Hanki-Pank credits her with, when he
says his wisdom can teach her nothing.
The chorus is a Savage organization and
the piece was staged by George Marion,
which is all the praise needed.
The Boyd was comfortably filled last
night to welcome the company, and the
performance was extended beyond the usual
limit to satisfy the demand for repetitions
of the songs and choruses. The Shotgun
will be the bill for the rest Of the week,
with matinee on Saturday afternoon.