Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-02-13
AT THE ILLINOIS.

Al The ILLINOIS.
One continual stream of mirth fol- /
lows in the wake of Excuse Me-" |
Henry W. Savage's production of hd-
pert Hughes Pullman carnival o. /
fun in three sections" Situations, :
typical of many which occur daily in /
Pullman cars, are depicted. People, |
typical Of characters from different |
walks of life, bring these situations |
about. The company which presented |
the play at the Illinois theatre last
night included % people. The produc- |
ton is looked upon by many as the
best that Manager Klinck has present
ed among the list of good shows dur
ing the past fortnight. This little
farce starts in a sleeper bound from
Chicago to San Francisco. The var
ious passengers file into the car there
and through their talk and action
give the audience an inkling of what
is to follow. Most of them are bound
for Reno. Jimmy Wellington, big and
corpulent, is one of them Though his
wife is queen of them ALL" she
smokes cigars, and he wants a di-
!
because he drinks. Well, Jimmy is
on one big "souse' nearly all the way
to Reno. Harry Mallory and Marjorie
Newton, whose marriage is deferred
in order to catch the train, look for
preacher each day. Finally they dis
cover that Walter Temple, travelling
incognito, is a minister, and he per-
forms the ceremony. In the last act
two robbers hold up the train and
when Mallory overpowers one of them
the situation is clarified. The Wei
lingtons are reconciled, the Mallorys
are married and all is WELL The en-
tire play is on board the train. Elec-
trical effects make the production
realistic. The breaking of day and
clouds of smoke are shown by these
effects. When the door of the obser-
walton car is opened steam rolls in
through it. Taking the play all the
way. it is series of excuse Mes"
but VIXEN it is over, it is not neces-
sary to use that expression, for the
play has pleased.
Gus Hills cartoon play entitled
Mutt and JEFF" being a dramatiza-
ton OF the famous cartoons of Bud
Fisher of the same name, is the at
: traction at the Illinois tonight. The
piece will be put on complete, with a
selected cast of so people, large num-
Der Of supernumararies and a large
contingent of pretty girls all hand
somely gowned. There will be no
cuts or eliminations and the piece
will be presented in a manner that
will be credit to Mr.. Hill and in line
with the other plays he has hereto
fore sent on the road, is the announce
ment. Mutt and JEFF are a pair Of
race track ''habituants,'' who at the
Saratoga racing season find them
selves as they term it "flattened,' ir-
retrievably broke, without a nickel in
their clothes and in need of something
to drive away their hunger. The young
and beautiful daughter of the presi-
dent of the South American republic
is stopping at the hotel with her chap
erope. The principal characters in the
play, Mutt and Jeff," learn from her
of an immensely rich estate of a de
ceased revolutionary general, who had
been banished from the country for
sedition. They also learn that there
are no claimants for the estate and
that it is likely soon to be confiscated
by the government. They immediate
ly start an investigation and learn that
an article indispensable in the manu-
facture of chewing gum has been dis
covered on the property. They pro
coed to impersonate the heirs of the
estate and claim the property, anC
their antics in doing SO form one O
the most interesting stories evel
penned, but the most important things
in the play are the comedy, the catchy
music, up to date songs and ensem
bles. Mr.. Hill has spared neither time
nor money TO make Mutt and jeff
one of the best plays of the kind eve
sent on the road and he believes HI
has succeeded in doing so. This i,
the first season of Mutt and Jeff'' OF
the road and the play has not hereto
fore been seen in this city. 1t was il
rehearsal for great many weeks il
New York City, one or two of thes,
and those who saw them declare it Il
be one of the best laugh provokin,
vehicles ever witnessed.
The popularity of "The Chocolate
Soldier" is due to the fact that it is
radical contrast to the musical produc
tions SO common on our stage, il
which a single song is relied upon t
offset a hundred other defects OF Il
bretto and score. 1t is pure and rar
specimen of comic opera, perfectl
balanced combination of dramati
scenes, in which comedy, satire and re
nance are wittily blended, and super
songs, waltzes and marches, each typ
flying some passing mood of the actio
and each a genuine bit of melody
Bernard Shaw's spirited romantic So
tire, Arms and the Man." is the drs
matte source of the opera, to whic
Oscar Strauss has added the fines
. product of his musical genius in