The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-16
The EVENING STORY
The Banyan Boy.
(By Mary Marshall. }

| Musical Comedy Company had gone
on a celebration with her leading
man They had gone to New York with
their company to give special Satuf-
day evening production of the Ban
| yam Boy, and when the leading lady
| had intimated to the leading man at
| rehearsal in the morning that the
| governor had given her a few hverS
| for a blow the leading man was ready
| with suggestions. There was a certain
historic restaurant, a convenient taxi
ride from the center of the city, which
! the leading man said 1T had long been
his ambition to visit-and a few "fvers"
would do it. So without saying any
! thing to anyone about their plans for
! the afternoon they rode away toward
| the famous cafe.
The leading man was no less than
| Saundy Stevens. stalwart captain OF
| Wilton College football team, who
when the musical comedy, Banyan
Boy, was to be presented by the Glee
Club of Wilton College for the benefit
of the Wilton Athletic Association, had
| discovered enough melody in his Wig
/ orous bass vocal organs to qualify as
| leading man.
The leading lady" was Blair Davis.
Davis. the cockswain of the Wilton
crew, for his lightweight qualities, no
less for his high-pitched tenor, was
! chosen to tale the part of the lead
ing lady"
The famous cafe proved to be even
more to their taste than they had ex-
| pected. They discovered some friends
| among the other guests of the place,
and it took little to persuade them to
| accept an invitation to go a little far
ther up the river to an even more
! famous cafe. For some reason at this
time neither Saundy nor Blair could
recall with any distinctness of i'm
preston whether they were expected
/ hac the nPrfOrOanno 0f 'rTha
| Banyan Boy that night or the next
night. In fact. it was not till they
| had ridden thirty miles in the open
air to the other point of interest that
Saundy's mind became clear on the
subject. He telephoned at once to the
| city to explain matters and came
away with his mind much relieved.
His brother, who had been out of
| college four years. fortunately knew
| the score as well as Sandy did.
Sandy explained that he was over
thirty miles from home and that the
performance in twenty minutes, and
Malcolm took no time to inquire into
the cause of Saundy's delay. but hur-
ried to the theatre, where the cast of
chorus girls was arriving.
Blair also telephoned to the city
simply left word that something had
happened, that he was perfectly we'll,
that no one was to worry, and that
he would be back when he got there.
Medul1Il6 MdICOIIH To the
dressing room that was assigned to the
leading man.
cit will be all right aftetr the first
act,'' said chorus man. even if you
don't know the lines perfectly. Blair
knows Saundy's part as well as he
knows his own and he can prompt
you. But in the first act, you know,
you do a flirting scene with him over
a harem wall and you don't see him.
The wall is placed so the audience
can see both sides but you can't.
Blair is a Hindu princess and you
are an American secret service man
in disguise. The princess calls you
her Banyan boy. because there is a
banyan tree in the setting of the first
act. You do the clipping scene over
the wall with the help of the banyan
tree. This is the hit of the piece
But Malcolm had a good memory
and he felt sure that if he did not
come up to his brother in point of re-
Numbering the lines he would make
up in point of voice.
So Malcolm stepped out on the
stage with a firm tread. AS the notes
of the orchestra foated up to him,
and he felt the eager eyes of the
audience fixed upon him, he expe-
rienced again the thrill OF his under
graduate days when he was leading
man in other varsity shows. He
went through the scene outside the
harem wall with the other members
of the cast with perfect ease. 1t was !
a Hindu street scene-something of
a parody on the many plays Of east |
ern color that had been given the pre- !
vious season.
The moon rose and Malcolm ap- !
preached the harem wall where the |
Irritation scene was to take place |
between whom he supposed was Blair |
Davis and himself. Malcolm had not |
up to this time sung more than a Few
words at a time and very few Of the
cast had discovered that he was not
Saundy. He was anxious to see the
effect of his we'll cultivated voice
when they heard it in the longer
parts So when the chorus dispersed
and the moon arose he stepped out
toward the harem wall with eager
ness. He sang the opening bar of
his part In full sympathetic notes,
but before he had time to contem-
plate the probable effect on the
chorus in the wing he heard from
the other side of the wall. instead of
Blair's shrill tenor a deep contralto.1
Malcolm sang his lines of response.
and hen, he listened again, it
seemed as if his whole musical being
was expanding under the hypnotic
charm of that voice.
There was to be lightning change
of costumes between this scene and
the next clipping scene, and Malcolm
hurried to his dressing room to dash
into the next costume and glance over
the score. He had no time to make
inquiries about the identity of the
leading lady. He stepped back on
the stage and a torrent of applause
greeted him-and the owner of the
Then came the hit of the play"
when, by the aid of the banyan tree,
he liberated the princess from the
confines of the harem. The princess
al?" Malcolm asked himself as he