The San Francisco call., 1910-08-08

Il Dy expressive music which took on
at times. the complexities of Strauss
or the simplicities of Mozart, the
grove play, THE Cave Man" was pro-
duced at Bohemia. Saturday night. The
high jinks of the Bohemian club be-
came a high ceremonial and the temple
was under the stars. No formalities
of ticket buying, no conventions of sar-
torial Uniformity were to be observed
The members of the club were the cele-
brants whether they took part In the
music drama or whether they sat under
the trees as zealots. Whether as sing
ers, actors or listeners they all "be-
longed"
Discounting the tendency to accept
the last as best, it may be said that
the midsummer jinks' music drama just
over was by many accounted the big
gest success of all the Bohemian club
music dramas given in the grove near
Guerneville since "The Man In the For
est" was presented in 1902 and be-
came the first of the forest plays which
have since attracted the attention to
the local club and to this state OF the
entire musical world.
Aside from the beauty of the text
and the music of the play. this years
jinks was made more notable by the
presence of David Bispham, who, on
newly iedged owls wings fitted all
the way from New York to participate
in the performance. The action of The
Cave Man" involves an elaborate light
ing system, and Edward j. Duffeys
part in the presentation of attacking
the problems of illumination so that
the hillside should glow with a blaze
or fade from twilight into deepest
shadow, was never before so well per-
| formed ell
by John de p. Teller and John Joseph:
the soloists, the orchestra of so under
the direction of W. ]. Mccoy, the COM
poser and the vivid. barbarfc ensem-
bles conjoined to produce an effect Of
poetic exaltation and primitive grand
eur quite indescribable, but real and
frequently overwhelming in it's direct
appeal
Charles K Field, the author. has
made no attempt to reproduce the
speech of the prehistoric race which
dWelt In caves when the sequoias were
no higher than grass blades Simple
language characterizes their utterance.
Their passions are those of humanity
which is older than history or tradf-
tion- Mccoy, in his music lyrical set
ting, has wisely refrained from any at
tempt at archeologoy, but has made
music that is at times as red as blood
The scene which was depicted at Bo-
nemia's grove is that of forested hill
side In the geological period preceding
the present. Tie landscape Is black
with night. Fire has not yet been dis
covered. The orchestra suggests the
chill of a worlds cold dawn. Daylight
drives the darkness westward and dis
closes a grove of giant conffers. Small
plants cling to the uneven face of a cliff
under whose overhanging ledge is a
narrow entrance, high enough to admit
man. A stream flows close by. widen
ing into pools on it's way to the sea
One morning, so Fields story goes,
Broken Foot, a big man with heavy.
dark hair on his body, rolled back
the blocking of this cave and crept
cautiously out. A deer. which was
drinking at the pool had been killed
by a falling rock. The caveman break
tasted we'll. AS he sat eating Broken
Foot was Joined by his neighbors
Scar Face, a glutton; Fish Eyes and
Short Legs, hunters, and Walk Skin.
father of Singing Bird. a prehistoric
belle. Hunters tales and amfable con-
verse were held until Short Legs an
nounced his intent to mate with the
daughter of Wolf Skin. When he
| arose, to seek the girl Broken Foot
felled him with heavy blow and
bade him think no more of the maiden.
Broken Foot has then to face his rival.
who was aided by Fish Eyes an in
separable friend.
Earlier in the day Wolf Skin had told
of a youth who carried a weapon made
of wood and stone. The stranger, so
said Wolf Skin. had asked the way 10
the cave of Broken Foot Short Legs
accused Broken Foot of running away
from the stranger. Just as the accusa-
tion was made the stranger appeared.
He looked down at the man who
dragged his foot when he walked With
a cry of rage he leaped down the hill
and engaged Broken Foot, who had
been the champion of the woods for
years. Long Arm, the stranger, carry
ing the first stone ak, laid Broken Foot
low. Then the story comes out. The
young stranger was the son of the man
whom Broken Foot had murdered
In this narrative much of picturesque
beauty was revealed in story and music
and geological truth was adhered to in
the recitation of a singular fact that
the storied murder took place at small
lake into which tar continually oozed
making sticky trap for wild animals.
A similar place exists in California and
geologists have there found quantities
of gigantic bones of prehistoric ami
mails.
The boy told how his father was there
foully murdered by Broken Foot; how
he made his escape to the Shell people,
where he was reared; how he had In