The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-08-27
THE VARIETY THEATRES.
MERITS AND Dim ERITs or THEIR
CURRENT PERFORMANCES.
Til. Entertainments ~ the EasIc-Popuiar wit.
AGED Jokes, had Miustrcis. and Escel-
lent Artists a Comedians Griniaers-The
Ixtou I,urIc, que rhe x uIc- of EDcorcr.

the lNplN nlu trs s.lFN cnhHtus
New York has its share " them. the Eiglc' The
rnmiaue, IIi:chcock's. Tony Pastors, the OWN
pic. md others less known to fame and ALI |
believe, are prospecting.
A variety theatre presents. IA n rule, fresh |
bll every week OF the scason; each entertain |
o. at rushing through from the rise TO the tall |
81 the curtain series Of novelties more or less
,uusin,, but always meant to have the merit OF
rtrlctt,n.
List night went to the Eagle Theatre, owned
md managed by Mr. Josh Hart. and, "a II Is
lair exponent Of the best grade Of variety
,ouscs we will consider 1t. In the first place, II
. tho most boudo'r like theatre in the country.
rho Boston Globe Is n beauty. and DAYS oh
Ffth Avenue was re n, but the Eagle is ne plus
il;ri, and no mistake.
Its stage Is ample. and abounds In convent
nces, with every known facility for the proper
Presentation OF theatrical effects.
ito iheral management In such a house should
I'M his company known. 10y their works. from
e.. END Of the country to the other. In other
Words. he has chance.
In some respects the L gle does this; in Others
h does rot.
think the Eagle Minstrels are about as bad
m any | ever heard-and that's saying great
IeaL
Twenty. Ave year. ago the minstrel songs were
Iwect and the minstrel jokes were fresh.
To-day their songs are gage, and the jokes are
Dummies.
Not fresh pun. not new conundrum, not
ungc suggestion culled from the doings OF the
law but everiastinRly the same senseess hash
the fun Of year, gona by.
One troupe Ia AS bad as another, and all are
lopressly stupid.
forget ex city when nrst heard the Barn
tnrd Echoes, now sung by Dave Reed at the
Eagle; but It was when miustrelsy and were
twenty or thirty years younger. Imagine. then.
hy establishment to ind that Dawes crack piece
IN this new. fresh programme was the Barn
lard Ecno!
Too bad, too badl
Aman may he fond Of his grandmother but
he wouldn't care to IN Try her. would her
l am very fond OF these old songs, and am
not too proud TO recognize an old joke when
hear 1t, but now and then It would be really
terry pleasant II our ears were to be saluted by
iomethinR novel.
The Eagle troupe has one peculiarly. The
Ind and middle men are corked, and all the rest
ire white.
This has Its ADVANTAGE.
II affords the initiated an opportunity TO see
what kind OF man does the routine work OF 4
Minstrel troupe.
1t also has Its disadvantage, for II embarrasses
The singers They are overcome by the weight
They tumble their boards. They look at their
watches. in other words, not being disguised,
They feel the awkwardness OF their Iosition
Ind show IL. The middle man Is bad. The two
bud men, Dave Reed and Johnny Wild, arc
good. but their wit is stale. Their fun Is funny,
but their stories are Methusalahs
After the minstrels come the company In .
bomedy, so called.
In reality 1t ia farce buresqued.
The hero is called a facial comedian.
In otner words, he pulls ices"
Candor compels me to say tina, h g succeeds.
You have heard OF st. Vitus? 81. yitus was
The champion twitchcr Of the early centuries.
Sheldon could give him ~ points In loo and
Easily beat him.
Not that sheldon's faces are comica. Nor
are they any worse than many boy has made
when reclining. with a green apple ache, upon a
wooden chair but they make the gale laugh,
aud the m 'nagement Is content.
when Lydia Thompson and her bewigeed
blondes burst uprosrlously upon the American
stage, one Of her f.vorite vehicles was lxlon
or THE Man at the Wheel" There was rak-
sb. devil-me-care air about the festive Lydia
aud her British bellies that took with the
masses, and for awhile captlvated the weekly
press.
But It didn't last long.
They played too fast, and soon played out.
For a long time they have been FORGOTTEN. and
we're Josh Hart to depend solely on the pale
ie .tured daughters OF Albion for his attractions
- very soon shut up shop.
Joshua Is not exactly solomon, but he Il
wise enough to provide an acceptaDie mixture
and | Judge his trOupe-old and new-are just
the Kind to come to the front and draw good
audiences to the show.
The story Of ITion, his transplantng TO the
Ol,innian Heights. and MIA subseouent shame.
teas nrlatons with Venus and Juno are, OF
rolrse. famlli n t. everybody.
In burlesqies the women dress like men, nd
the men lAe women.
That's SUPPOSED 10 he fun.
Ia n ~ "a = al h.a "a lar
Greatly - III Miro Mr. Beckett IN comedy, |
can never forget the inenable disgust felt
when, IS one OF Lydlis lamos. he dtsported OF
the green haiZe stage Ia the extrayaganza ed
gIrn OF woman.
ley all lower themselves to plane just this
Beckett did; sheldon does Fortescue does
The on.y exceptions ever knew were on th'
negro minstrel stage, VIII re artists Ike Eugene
Lou, and ltica do sing well and behave well.
verhaos because they en- Ieavor to charm thcil
4udltois with their voices and earn their tlOO 4
week Gs we'll
certain. however, 1t ia. that man In womani
a'tue CONS unsexed all around. He's mel he
nne ming nor another, and, dare say, feel
hsn'u.ei u himself to boot.
CODA and condolences. Of course, wear films,
rl"thes Git boots. pink tights god-laceC
ne fashionable outnt % the heavenly bodies
and tneir lei occupation the quckstep aud
ngltest and ARREST OF creatures Venus on III,
sonrar appears De iuty vi the esrtn, earthly
such onr a would make JoNe wonder. Ger
" such Us draws the thunder ~ the CALLER
snHs, aud earning encorss with greatest ease
sehted M the person Of the red headed Ella
mem ~. calm and cunsiderate contempia
t"h on tue entire performance leads me to Gu
s9n'llnl"h t1h, MIs- Lizzie kelsey j. YER
ni@tY woman, thai Johnny Wild Ia u very funn
tlaGen.on,tr .tion II tuo.e imp1rtant facts
Up ne arusis think one encore sati-faC
'Iy I'Whi' Tor their tcst crHti.
INT no genuine variety star wold he conten
I'm a nny'"lnT '@ ,, nan two, and often the
reality is three times rs long as 1t would annea