Mr. Lode
of Koal (1909)
Jesse A. Shipp (Book)
Alex Rogers (Lyrics)
J. Rosamund Johnson (Music)
1 November – 4 December, 1909
Bert Williams’ project after Walker’s became too ill to perform. The plot of this dream farce centered on Williams’ shipwrecked title character, Chester A. Lode, becoming a reluctant island king. After opening night, a New York Times reviewer wrote, “Any new plot there may be in Bert Williams’s new play is effectively disguised in a jumble of nonsense and music, though one is led to suspect the presence of such a commodity from the beginning of the first act. As a wild guess, it seems to be like this: The ruler of an unidentified country is kidnapped and a certain Chester A. Load [sic], of the Island of Koal, is engaged to fill the vacancy. This he does to his own satisfaction until the return of the real ‘Big Smoke,’ known familiarly as Blootch
