The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-11-06
DREW A BIG HOUSE
The Umpire Pleased Large Topeka
Audience.

An audience, very gratifying" to. the
management in its proportions filed the
New Grand opera house last evening
and the S. r. O. sign came out, the &C
easion being the first presentation here
Of The Umpire with Fred Mace of
last seasons "Pir Paff Pouf in the
title role.
While THE Umpire" was not consid-
cred by many as good an attraction as
one or two others seen here this sea-
son. notably Coming Thro' the Rye"
it is nevertheless a jolly good entertain
ment. ~ es
might be offered is that the heart@inter7
est fails of a strong impression. You
leave the performance with a sense of
| something lacking. There is really but
one romano worthy of notice. and that
hardly progresses to its happy conclu-
sion. The last curtain is rung down
leaving the audience in suspense as TO
whether the umpire ultimately wins his
queen for keeps.
The piece could hardly be remedied
to supply other romances without intro
ducing a number Of new characters in.
! the play. The locale is set at the Hotel
D'Ang1eterre. in Tangier, Morocco, just
prior to the time ~extradition arrange
ments are placed in effect. For this
reason the hotel is peopled with q Grim
inal class of people, or at least every
one is suspected. They are OF courSs
there for their health" Which, Is better
in thai climate than in a United States
prison
Naturally. it would be hard for the
playwright to weave a conan be-
tween characters Of this sort to hold the
the interest and sympathy of an Amer
lean audience.
.4The Umpire" m"omentariIy. Devil
dered by a pair of feminine eyes in the
grandstand, entirely loses sight of the
game at Il critical time in the ninth
inning. and when called upon for a de-
cision, makes It, utterly unconscious Of
: n~IaF hoe rr Kan Marc Ha OFTaEGRd
| wrong, and &c. 900 fans are ready to take
his life. He fees to Tangier for safety,
and there meets the eyes of the grand
stand. They belong to little Married.
LewtOn. daughter of the Packer Lew
ton, who hurriedly Travelled to Tangier
for his health while the grand jury
was conducting an investigation.
The first act of THE fnpfre teens
with baseball talk and slang. and is
! alive from start to finish. Fred Mace
is given an opportunity to present one
of the most effective passages heard on
the local stage for some time In his
description of the circumstances and
the game in which he made his rotten
decision"
Guelma Baker enectually established
herself in the affections Of a Topeka
audience las night. Clearly she takes
the lead away from all others in the
feminine portion of the cast. Miss Ba-
ker, a niece OF the late D. r. Anthony
of L~eavenworth, spent Sunday and
Monday In that city. She reached To-
peka last evening just in time to reach
the theater for the performance. AS is
well known. she is the daughter of
George Baker, travelling passenger
agent Of the Santa Fe at Chicago. She
has rapidly risen to the front ranks.
and her perfect refinement and charm
ing manner will continue to make her
a favorite so long as she chooses to re-
main on the stage.
IT Is a well balanced cast that sur
rounds Mr.. Mace and the music and
songs Of the piece are ali catchy and
popular The finale is worked up
to a clever cIimax. Miss Baker and the
chorus girls are dressed IN football garb
and a lively scrimnage is participated
in on the stage. Last night the balance
Of the carrying Washburn
banrers. brought the house down by
giving the Washburn wells. Local hits
were carried off with good grace every
few minutes throughout the action OF
the piece.