The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-03-02
AMUSEMENTS.
The Reign Of Pantomime mt tho Acade-
my-Trials, Tricks and Transforma-
tions Of Humpty Dumpty.

The Reign OF Pantomime mt the Aeade-
my-Trials, Tricks and Transforma-
tions of Humpty Dumpty.
There was another big house-a regular
crusher-at the Academy last night to greet the
second appearance OF Humpty Dumpty. The enter
tainment, as we had anticipated, passed oil even
more satisfactorily than on Monday night. Oi
course the delicious singing OF Mrs oates, anu
Messrs. Allen, Chatierson and others, with the
sparkling wit Of the dialogue and the rich and
glittering costumes, carried through the Dur
lesque introduction with striking success; but II
is evidently the pantominc which has so hugely
tckled the fancy OF the Charleston public. The
charm does not lie IN what is said-for there is but
little said 1t is not what is inferred-for the Gin
ferental calculus" is not over literally followed.
But it is what is done; what is evoked in the way
of "reminiscences; what Is not only put IN actlon
on the stage but is supported by the music from
those wonderful musicians who never seem 10
grow tired or unmusical, that make up lis charm'
Seneca unbends himself. and smooths down MS
wrnkled front when Clown and Pantaloon are at
it, and the pi'ouetteS Of Columbine lure them 10
tricks without parallel, and mlshapS without
number. The magic disappearance OF table
cloths while the dishes remain undlsturoed on
the table the laughter-provoking grlmaces OF
grotesque faces on the wall, the contortions and
pranks of living statuary, the acrobatic dolngs ol
Harlequin, clunlsily initiated by Clown and Panta'
loon, the phenomenon OF the irrepressible Candle
the dismemberment OF Harlequin, anu tile suosc'
quent reconstruction OF his scattered limbs IN
fall view OF the audicnce-thcse are but lew OIL
the feats which perpleN everybody, and I'LL the
rising generation with wonder and ave.
The whole performance gives capital idea OF
the Christmas pantomimeS in England, those de-
lightful entertainments OF which we have all
heard. There certainly Is charm In the silence
mysterious something in the pantomlme, that
the mere clever, witty, or stirring words OF the
drama fail to awaken. For large portion OF
playgoers, the mute gestures OF the actors en-
chain the undivided attention, whereas often in
play one sees the suppressed yawn and look
OF WEAKNESS. Pantomime owed It's intro
ductien into England TO the fact Of there being
one theatre TOO many in London. and the dllii'
Guilty OF obtaining audiences for Drury Lane and
its rival without something very attractive anu
not antasonistic to the regular drama. Panto-
mime had become q rage in Italy and drawn
larger houses than the theatre. Harequin's hrst
appearance on the English boards was in 1867,
when an actor named Joe Ealnes donned the
motley. "Harlequin" and "Searamouch" were
two of the characters in q farce OF Aphra Behn' S
written in 1857. John Rich, son OF the proprle'
tor of the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, made
great reputation as Harlequin" or course the
or ri HQrpOliQ
and Columbine, their trials and joys, with the
adluncts OF very fine scenery, brilliant music and
dancing 1t Is no wonder that even Pope was In
duced TO write some verses, In eXtcnuation II not
absolute praise. Thurmond, dancing master
In 1T33 entered the field against Rich with PAN
tomime called '!Dr. FaustuS," which had great
run. The pautomime was played at the conclu'
sion OF the play, but became so popular that The
drama was forced for the time to bow before the
magical wand which transformed men to wheel
barrows, women to joint stools, birds to serPents,
houses to tulips and a palace to hovel. The
popularity Of this amusement gave rise to the
sentcntious saying of DR.. Johnson, that "Dr.
Paustus" laid the "ghost Of w.t." At first, there
was great outcry against the pantomlme But
1t took deep root, and will arrive at still higher
excellence. Even GarricS's prejudice gave way
when he wrote:
"when Lun appeared with matchess art and
whim,
He gave the power OF speech to every limb;
Though masked and mute, conveyed tile quick IN
tent,
And told In frolic gesture all he meant"
The third performance OF Humpty Dumpty,
which bids fair to have o run altogether unprece-
dented in the history Of Charleston theatricals,
takes place this evening.
Public Opinion.
At the close of the performance last night, VIC
heard the following dialogue between two Ameri'
can citizens of color in front OF the theatre:
"say, Sam, is you bin in dar TO see tie thea
tire ?"
"Yes, sir, I Is dat. I tell you what, niger,
dun bin to many theatre, but dis here theatre is
de funniest theatre ever bin in ~
ais i. funny as circus?''
"Sukkus? You is a fool, niger. Sukkus ain
no whar. tell you what, sir, dat man Humpty
Dumpty, what play in dat theatre, is iunnier IAN
any clown ever seed.''
And we passed on, calculating hearty amen.