The Portland daily press., 1880-09-17
New Portland Theatre.

"a
AT an early hour for Portland theatre-goers
ticket holders began to wend their way to Mr..
Curtis new temple of the drama last evening:
for new one it can most properly be called.
By O'Clock every seat was occupied, except
few in the gallery, and great deal of stand
lng-room taken up by those who had not been
SO fortunate as to secure reserved places. On
every hand were heard expressions of pleasure
at the beautiful and comfortable theatre Mr..
Curtis had provided and many compliments
bestowed upon his taste, and the taste and
skill combined of Mr.. Dave Richards with his
assistants Messrs. Jost and Morton, the decora-
tors. Any one who had seen the house
week ago would hardly have believed it posi-.
BILE to have it ready for occupancy in so short
time, but not a moment has been wasted. The
new gas fixtures are very pretty, and the
private boxes appear to great advantage in
their drapery which corresponds so we'll with
the prevailing colors of the fresco work The
seats are exceedingly comfortable, and there is
good view of the stage from every point.
The only drawback last night came from the
heat, and this was owing more to the warmth
and dampness of the atmosphere than any
uCiCSe III tuC NCAVlldtlOu Ol Tile auQltOrlum,
As the season advances there'will probably be
no complaint from this source.
The Tile Club, so called, was the combina-
tion selected to give the initiatory performance.
The club takes its title from an organization
of similar name that gave rise to series of
papers in Scribner's Monthly The club was
supposed to be composed of number of young
ladies and gentlemen, amateur artists, and
dilettantes who made excur sions of an original
nature every summer, one of which was a
trip on a canal boat. Messrs. Ed Marble and
A. III. Clark caught at the idea and on this
thread have strung number of stories, songs
and dances by clever actors who make an ex-
cursion on the Penelope Punk of Palmyra the
entire length of the raging Erie Canal, and
have styled their society satire "Idle Hours"
The first act introduced the Tile Club at
their Climb house which afforded Mr. Richards
an opportunity to display a very handsome in
terror, with glimpse of a pretty studio in the
background. The walls were hung with
paintings and placques, while large Japanese
jars gave finish to the apartment which was
ornamented in Japanese style to correspond
with the decoration of the theatre The
furniture was hardly in accordance with the
surroundings bnt this vas pardonable, owing
to the haste with which the piece had to be
put on the stage, and did not offend. The act
itself was rather flag in dialogue, and in other
hands would have proved fiasco. The redeem
ing features were song and chorus Sup on
the roof" of the variety order, by Miss Lizzie
Harold and company and Donizetti's "Cone
boIIo' yuit o,J
sion by Miss Conron. The only object of the
act apparently was an explanation why the
club existed and to decide upon The excursion
The second act was a hit. 1t had its weak
nesses, but the good features far outnumbered
them. Mr.. Richards gave us a charming rep
resentation of the cabin of the Penelope Punk
adorned for the excursion with its rich rugs.
pretty hanging lanterns and gay camp furni-
ture, all set off by the bright dresses of the
ladies of the club, as well as by the yachting
costumes. A moving panorama of the scenery
of the canal added to the realism of the scene.
The act itself was constant succession of solo
quartette and ensemble music so that it might
fairly be called operatc. Miss Harold and
Miss Lascelles suffered somewhat from colds,
especially the latter, SO that their voices were
not heard at their best in solo, but neverthe-
less Miss Harold deservedly earned an encore
for her English character song. She proved
herself bright and sprightly attxss Mr.. Bud
worth was an excellent Chinaman and his
musical performances drew hearty applause
Ed Marble was admirable as Charity Claussen
and his plantation melody Kentucky Rose"
was very sweet, while his camp meeting re-
frains with Carroll brought down the house.
The qusrtettes were all we'll given, and Miss
Conron sang a Spanish melody "Coachman
with fire and spirit. Mr.. Torriani sang ''Dewn
by the River Side with good effect. But it
was reserved for Carroll to create the liveliest
sensation with his original jokes and stories and
his admirable banjo playing, and it seemed as
though the audience could not have enough of
him.
The orchestra was composed for the occasion
OF nine pieces led by Mr. Clark, and they per-
formed their arduous duties we'll Mr.. Burn
ham will be the regular orchestra leader and
the old orchestra do duty at this house.
The theatre was well ushered by the corps of
young men under Mr.. Elwell. There were no
special demonstrations last night, and 10 cere-
monies injected into the regular performance
Everybody congratulated Mr.. Curtis on the
luspicious opening and wished him the fullest
need of success.