The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-10-14
BAXTER STREET THEATRICALS.

FIVE POINTS.
The opening of the Grand Duke, somewhere
about the beginning Of next month"; forms the great
event in the amusement annals of the Five Points.
and is looked forward to with feelings Of joyful
ticipation by the emotional youth Of that region.
The advent Of Italian opera may make futter in
the elevated circles of society but it is of feeble
count compared to the bounding delight Of the boys
of Baxter street at the approach of their heat
ricaI season. The Grand Duke Theatre. however,
at the present time is nonresident quantity The
name lives cherished memory in the juvenile
breasts; yet it is associated to-day with no
visible temple Of Thespis building shanty
of any kind The boys. however.
the lookout. and before many weeks have
elapsed the present airy nothing "Grand Duke
Theatre" will find local habitation and
embazoned across the front Of some ancient she
bang the line Of Baxter street. Last year the per-
formances were given in carriage house on Water
street. and. though successful as a whole. the man.
ager became impressed with the conviction that he
far away from his base Of supplies. and that
tho true location for his theatre within the
Limits OF the Five Points.
"Lookee yere" sxid he, ''them feers snooze
around Water street don't know nawthin'-dont
know enough to tell beans. We give EN- last year
better variety business nor Tony Pastor an they
couldnt see it, and didn do well as oughter
'em. They jest thing quickern lightnin'. an
holler in the right place. Then they jest jam the
theatre all the time and don't care peanut for
money. Thems the boys to paternlze our enter
tainmenrs."
definitely settled that the theatre this
shall be located the centre Of the Five Points
as possible. The exchequer Of the management is.
on its own admission at q very low ebb, and it is
afraid it will have to incur a loan to hire the place
Of performance and properly insugurate the
HUNTING THE MANAGER.
The managers and the offices of most theatres in
New York not difficult to find. but it is other
wise in the case Of the Grand Duke. The HERALD
reporter took his start at end of Baxter street.
and without name address previous personal
acquaintance proceeded to hunt up the management
Of the famous local theatre. He walked repeatedly
up and down tho odorous and picturesque avenues
and winding ways of the neighborhood. trying to
pick out from the swarm that lined the streets the
youth most likely to be theatrical manager. At
last he accosted group OF four full grown boys
with easy Bohemian swagger about them.
''Ah!' it's Pete Connors he wants." shouted one
mphantly, to the rest. If he had unravelled
q mystery. "Pete Connors. the boss of the Grand
Dock Theatre? Hello there, Patsey," and the young
lad turned and waved his hand to another tho
street. task Corkey Sullivan il Pete Connors is
through with his hash, an tell him hurry up and
come down or he'll lose the biggest chance he ever
GOT.
row alleyway and presently the top
landing Of very rickety stoop, leading up to yet
top Of his voice. ''Pete Connors. oh, Pete!" Tho
neighborhood heard the cry. which was taken up by
several other small Juveniles. and the wonder was
why Pete in such clamorous requiston. But Pete
not at his hash. nor was he ut home. and it was
not before the entire street anxiously nquiring
about him that he was found emerging from q beer
garden in the vicinity He looked to be q lad of
about twenty. tall. slim and loose jointed. with .
rowing. bue-gray eye and u funny turned up nose.
THE MANAGERS VIEWS.
$50 you're the manager OF the Grand Duke The
atrer' said the reporter.
II and Johnny Cavanagh is tho Managers" an
swercd Pete. sturdily
''And when will the theatre open?'
maybe in q few weeks. accordin' to the way we're
fixed for stamps We h'aint much to brag of now
hardly enough to buy pair Of bones for end
man-but there's good people in New York. and VIC
expect they ii give us q lift
''Are the receipts OF last season oil goneY'
"Eh? Gone? should say When we bust up
for the season was madden goat to find there
warnt enough left to take and pard to Sarry-
toga in the summer.
''Did you do we'll last year?'
'Fust rate; but we lived too high
''Had you crowded houses all the timer"
'Oh. no! not the hull time. We jammed
when we played ambition; or, the Bouncing Bum
The Loon that Lost the Legacy"
What were your highest receipts Of an EVENING"
have sSns as % sa With
"And how did the prices run?
Reserved seats, twenty-five cents dress circle
.
cents Our principle is cheap amuscments fur the
hull people, and none O. these yere ticket specula
~what is the strength Of your company
The reg'lar company numbers ten, but when we
git a playin' we takes on six seven amachures."
what may DO the names Of the performers and
their spcciatiesY'
s.Me and Johnny Cavanagh is managers and has no
time for actin. Terence Sullivan is Irish comedian
and sketch artist and takes we'll with the gallery.
He's better nor Billy Florence any of them feers
that has their in the papers every day.
George Hawthorne does oil the straight business-
"wei the heightened parts; can play tho gentle.
man and talk like preacher. Besides he is good in
variety business"
'He must be useful man."
''He's the uscfullest man have. That play of
Ambition is his'n. an he adopts. like old Bouci-
cault from these furrin fellers He can do Hamlet
better than any that ever was ut the Old
Bowery"
There's Thomas Wing. He's contortionist and
| he just can do it right up to the handle. Michael
Boyle in our Irish comic singer-as good IS any on
| the stage. Ed. Mulcahy is Niger performer and
general utility man. Miles o'Reilly is niger per-
former and jig dancer and Pat smith is a comic
calist. but all those boys can act just well IN
regular plays. They knows bit of everything. We
had two comedies last year that took well. called
These adopted from the Italian by George Haw-
| thorne.
ITS small for the present and tho whole Of is
done by Richard Burke. He plays the accordion.
the bones. tambourne, jewsharp and tongs, aud he
| can't be beat. neither"
"How long Is your seasonT
Last year we opened IN November and closed
about the end of ch-about Ave months"
"How the performers paidY'
There's salaries. We takes the receipts of an
evening and divides them up between us, each man
gittin' the same ~ the rest
"who is your stage manager and scene psinterY'
''leorge Hawthorne is stage manager, and all Of
us take hack at scene painting with whitewash
brush. We amt putin on frls about our scene
paintin', and augence don't 20 much it
nuther We do the best can and all our friends
say we beat all the theatres on dyop scenes"
STORE.
will establish yourselves N Baxter this
season.
That's just where we want to open, and II We
can there's millions in it,"
"what plays you intend to producer
well, the ones had last year are good for an
other run but expect our stage manager will
have two ready-one that he calls CLANS;
or Life at Concy Island and another, 'Watermci.