The San Francisco call., 1910-08-29
HARTMAN IS HIT
IN 1.-THE MIKADO"
Laughs Galore Fall From the
Always Popular Gilbert
Sullivan Product
BY WALTER ANTHONY

During the eight years that san
Francisco has not heard The AIikado"
there has come a change over the COM
plexion of musical plays. Comic operas
have become musical comedies with the
accent on the comedies" The music
IS merely an incident It was Sullivan
who first pioneered in English speaking
-anQs with musical plays that demanded
real Nocalists. Before he finished THE
Nondohers' a new generation of sing
eIs IA light plays had developed from
MS PinafOre," Pirates and pa
nence-' and he found ready to hand the
players he had created who could sing
as wei as act But that was a long
time ago and new generation of mu-
seal playfolk has arisen which talks
us songs and does not sing them. The
limited demand on their voices which
lhe modern musical comedy imposes is
NOT such as fires the ambition of the
rising musical comedy star unless she
be IN the prima donna class. the only
one IN the show who is expected to
warble really.
COMEDY REDEEAIS 1T
These and like reflections were in
Splteo by the production Of The Mi
Aaoo Yesterday by the Ferris Hartman
company NOcany it was only reminis-
cently pleasant; its comedy was its
saving virtue.
me comedy was excellent and Hart
man as KO-Ko, the wretched lord of
the chOpplng block, was huge and l7u-
morOus hit The three little maids were
ABOUT the lituest and cutest ever seen.
put with one exception We're not at ali
equal 10 the taXations of SulIivan's diff
ncult score. Miss Marta Golden went
at herself in her dressing room with
or a hat1sha-the spinster daughter in
law elect which role she proceeded to
act with nne abandon and spirit But
aias. the finale Of the first act which
Is some Of the best scoring in the opera.
was only a reminiscence of The Mi
Aado, which was made 10 be sung, for.
% poor Katisha, you'll recall. falls
much difficult and tragic singing in this
Big ensemble
IMMACULATE MINSTREL
ThSmas Persse played Nanki-Poo. the
wandering minstrel thing of shreds
and patches. and in quite immaculate
costume proved his minstrelsy if not
lis patches. Persse has the comic
opera tradition He wrote part of it.
and his Nanki-Poo was accordingly
lyrical and delightful
The chorus sang with good tone. but
light and exhibited the work Of many
y
Htaynes. kept admire Die tempo and did
The best possible with the big score
1hat The Mikado" was fitted to.
Hartman in two songs showed how
- 2 FOiceless singer may put his songs
over one was The Flowers That
Bloom in the Spring" and the other
was tlat best OF "Mikado" songs, Tit
Willow By every device and trick
which years Of experience and native
aptitude induce, Hartman fastened
those songs on the audience and made
them stick. He acted every line, ar
uculated every word and with fine
grotesQuerle made the burIesQUe of the
suicide Of Tit Willow" a perfect bit
Of caricature. Again he proved himself
The Doctor WuIlner OF comic opera.
lie NOIR'S VOICE FITS
oliver Ie Noirs heavy voice fitted
the p0nderous role. Of Poo Bah and even
his deliberate method Of singing be-
came a virtue in the Interpretation of
the lord with ancestry running back
TO protoplasm.
Miss Dingwalls pretty voice had a
good outing in Yum Yum's role, and
She with Persse won the singing hon
-ors haudily. Miss Davies was an arch,
vivacious Pitt Sing and with Angelo
Pinkley comprised Yum Yums gig
Cling. petite companions from school
Leonard was the naughty Nikado. seen
ID better advantage than heard.
In short, The AikadO" at the
Princess is q comic opera in which
The last measure Of comedy is en-
joyed. with music principally pleasure
able through the lens of reflection and
,-rTlfr fScence-