Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-03-08
GINGERBREAD MAN
IS GINGERY SHOW
MIRTHY MUSIC AND COLOR IN
MUSICAL FANTASY
Some New Songs and Nom
sense-Good Scenic
Effects
BY LEMUEL PARTON

1.-The Gingerbread Man again de-
sends ON Los Angeles in a whirl OF
fantastic foolery which has lost none OF
it's charm since the piece was seen in
Los Angeles a year ago. The present
production at the Majestic theater is
embellished by several bright new
| features, and the cast includes a num-
Der of clever funmakers. There Is but
| little deviation from the time honored
rule in the characters introduced, and
many of the jokes have long since
sparkled their last sparkle. but, there is
safety of music, color, girls and
happy nonsense which more than
makes up for the deficiency in up-to-
date jokery.
Rose Murray as Margery Daw, VII
lage tomboy, gives a pert bit of per-
sonation, similar to that of Bonnie In
THE Land of Nod" Miss Murray is d
good singer and dancer and rather bet
ter than the average in such parts, as
she gets the desired juvenile effect with
out the coy baby-blue business which
usually becomes cloying in character
of this kind.
The gingerbread man, "a mere out
line" is substantial outline indeed,
but a very realistic gingerbread man
for all that. Some unkind critic re-
marked about Mr.. Nice's predecessor in
tnlS role LndI ne COulQ nave lllpeISOu-
ated piece of cheese much better than
piece of gingerbread, but this does
not apply to Mr.. Nice. He comes to life
late in the first act like the scarecrow
t, of beloved memory and also like the
scarecrow. Mr.. Nice gets a rather
Stonesque effect in his loose, Tapping
dancing.
adjustable nose, stirS many a pessimist
out of his mirthless gloom by his
grotesque foolery. Mr.. Snow appears
as the Wondrous Wise man, striped
like a potato bug, with a plastic and
expressive nose, which gets in the way
when he falls down. Heigh-ho, Hora-
ito, we are wondrous subtle! Gainsay
1t not! This rubber beak of Shows,
turned up or down, has lured more
laughs out of dark hiding places than
the American Association of Press
Humorists ever will. Although the nose
Is the end of Snow, it is not the end of
the show. There are all sorts of in
teresting persons and things, including
Machiavellian creature, aptly called
MachaValiuS Fudge, who gives a sort
of bromo-seltzer tinge to the whole af-
fair, with his menacing, melancholy
business. and Maurice Holden, bur-
leSque of fairy queen. Mr.. Holden is
a tall, poorly nourished person The
Wise Man remarks, fittingly, that the
fatry's legs look like No. IL on door.
The Venetian quartet may be compared
favorably with Mr.. Morosco's other
quartet at the Burbank, which praise
full remark seems almost ELUSIVE if you
have heard the Burbank warblers.
There are many good song numbers,
some old and some comparatively new,
and pretty and effective staging.
George Broadhurst's new play, "The
DoIlar Mn rIy will baUa itc drct rr0-
duction on any stage at the Belasco to-
night. The ,rehearsals during the past
fortnight have been conducted under
the personal supervision of the author.
Last night and during the early hours
of this morning Lewis Stone and the
other Belasco players gave complete
performance of "The Dollar Mark,
which was witnessed by only Mr..
Broadhurst and Mr.. Blackwood. The
audience tonight promises to be one of
the most representative gatherings that
have ever attended the premiere of a,
play in Los Angeles The Union league
will have it's membership represented
in the audience to the number of 1870,
and the California and Jonathan clubs
have been liberal purchasers of blocks
Of seats for the opening presentation.
THE Dollar Mark is attracting a con-
siderable amount of interest in New
York, where it is scheduled for produc-
ton at the Savoy theater in September
under the management of w. A. Brady.
Mr.. Brady will be in Los Angeles dur
ing the week for the purpose of looking
over his next falls chief offering.
The tuneful and popular Audran
comic opera, "Olivette," will have its
first rendition on local stage in fifteer
years tonight at the Grand opera house
A feature of the performance will be
~ w .I
tenor, who gives every promise of Great
ing a musical sensation.
Next week the Grand company will
give Victor Herbert's comic opera, "The
Fortune Teller" The following bill will
be Offenbach's 1.-The Tales of Hoffman"
which has never been heard in Los An
geles. The chief roles will be in the
keeping of Christine Nielsen and Edgar
Walsh.
"Peter Pan" bids fair to draw the
packed houses at the Burbank this
week that marked the first seven days
of it's presentation by the popular
stock company.
At both performances yesterday the
house was sold out when the curtain
arose on the first act. The members of
the company show considerable inn
provement in their work this week.
Blanche Hall as Peter Pan is. more
finished in her part, as are the other
members of the company, although
their work of last week was decidedly
good.
Unusual interest attaches to the new
Orpheum bill which will go on this
afternoon, in that 1t will serve to in
troduce Israel Zanswill to the Los An
geles public as a playwright. Mr. Gang
will has. written plays before he penned
1.-THE Never Never Land" but they
did not get this far west. His Chill