Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008

1923: Broadway comes to Modesto and brings its cultural warts with it

In May 1923, Modesto theatergoers got a chance to see a production that had appeared on Broadway and would be performed at the Modesto Theater by its original cast. The now-forgotten play, "Red Pepper," would draw a large crowd. The production also revealed the serious flaws of American society and some of Broadway's quirks.

The New York Times critic who reviewed the show had seen it on Broadway the year before. The critic liked the show but found "dull stretches."

"They could get more laughs with better lines," the critic wrote. "Some of their jokes -- well, they really should give that one about the whole 'shirt on the back' a bonus and let it retire."

In a preview article on the show, The Modesto Herald writer looked forward to "the 50 charming dancing girls who set New York's beauty race for an entire season."

They probably would have disappointed the Modestan as the Times critic pointed out "the chorus isn't much."

The Herald's writer said that " 'Red Pepper' is a racehorse which causes all the trouble for a couple of humorous Negroes who have traveled to Havana in search of a fortune."

The stars of the show, white men James McIntyre and Thomas Heath, performed in blackface makeup. That was a style of comedy that played to negative stereotypes and was popular until the 1930s, when it began its much-needed waning.

Neither the Times nor the Herald writer made any comment that the comedy was based on racist stereotypes. That sort of attitude was quite acceptable in those days.

On the more appealing side in the play was an odd quirk that was popular on Broadway at the time: the rope-throwing cowboy.

In "Red Pepper," there was a trick roper named Bee Ho Gray, born Emberry Cannon Gray. The reason the show needed a cowboy was the ubiquitous presence of Will Rodgers in the popular media.

By the 1920s, Rodgers was a success on Broadway, a movie star, host of a popular radio show and the writer of a syndicated national column. As the Times critic mentioned, "Of course, every rope-throwing conversationalist who comes to Broadway these days has to stand comparison with Will Rogers, and suffers thereby, but even with this handicap, Bee Ho Gray ... proved diverting."

Gray had an impressive array of cowboy skills -- doing rope tricks and throwing knives, a skill that got him a small role in Eric Von Stroheim's film "Greed." He also rode horses and even threw in some banjo playing.

His early days in show business had been spent on the circuit, including stints with the Miller Brothers' 101 Ranch Wild West show and the Ringling Bros. Circus. While with the 101 Ranch show, he met his future wife, Ada Sommerville, a horse trainer and actress, who also made the train ride to Modesto to appear in "Red Pepper."

After their May 17, 1923, appearance in Modesto, they would travel until June, when the tour ended in North Dakota.

Sources: Modesto Herald, May 16, 1923; and The New York Times, May 30, 1922

McAndrews is a docent and board member of the Great Valley Museum. E-mail him at columns@modbee.com.