OCR Text |
Show Story of "The Sho-Gun." The story of "The Sho-Gun," which George Ade has written In conjunction with Gustav Luders, and which has been -brought out at tho Studebaker theater in Chicago, revolves about an adventurous American promoter of the young school, who has made a fortune out of chewing gum and is desirous of breaking into society. For this purpose he starts on a tour of the world, deter-I deter-I mined to acquire some sort of a title I or dig up some titled ancestors. His name Is William Henry Spangle and he is from Iowa. Ho lands In the imaginary imag-inary island of Ka-Choo. supposed to be located in the Sea of Japan, between Japan and Korea, while the natives are indulging In their sacred feasts to the departed ancestors and the Sho-Gun has gone on a pilgrimage to China Spangle immediately proceeds to "spring" a few advanced American Ideas upon the natives. He tacks gum signs all over the sacred temples, for which offense he is taken into custody and made a prisoner in the forbidden city. While confined there he organizes the Sho-Gun forces, Installs labor unions, promotes ethereal corporations with funds extracted from the royal treasury, and finally violates one of the most sacred of Korean laws by making love to the widow of a departed Sho-Gun. Sho-Gun. The ruler finally Is recalled, and ho decides upon an immediate beheading, behead-ing, but his executioners refuse to act because Sprangle has made himself walking delegate of the executioners' union. Tho royal guard then is appealed ap-pealed to, but has gone out on strike, demanding an increase in wages, which the Sho-Gun cannot grant because Sprangle has depleted his treasury. As a solution of the difficulty the American Ameri-can finally suggests an issue of bonds, and he agrees to buy up the entire Issue on condition that he be given the title of Sho-Gun. This arrangement is brought about. Sprangle married the widow and starts back to Iowa. The opera is in two acts, and nil the characters char-acters are Oriental with the exception of the American promoter. The atmosphere atmos-phere is entirely Oriental. |