St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-08-23
Opening of the New Opera House and the
Chances for Success--The Bos-
ton Ideals.
Collapse OF the Modern Venus Bur-
lesque COMMUNICATING
Out OF Town.
Haverly's New Venture in a Perma-
nent Minstrel Theater--A
Moral Crime.
Correspondence of the Globe.


places of amusement are looking forward
to an unusually prosperous season. On
Tuesday the new Chicago opera house
was formally dedicated by Tom
Keene and clever company,
before a tremendous audience that
Sweltered for four long hours, listening
TO the worst reading of Hamlet'S lines that
It has ever been the Chicago theater-gOerS'
misfortune to hear since eX-Rev. George c.
Min butchered the tragedy some years
ago. Keene'S friends say he is daisy"
and so he is, l admit, but he can't play
Hamlet. The new theater is 4 model of
beauty and elegant simplicity, and has the
LARGEST SEATING CAPACITY
of any house in the city. e., 1850. The
COlumbia-erstwhile the Haveriy, and
Jacks prlde-is nearly as large. John
w. Norton of st. Louis is manager
of the new house and will no
donbt make it go" as he has every
thing he ever put his hand to. Everybody
knows Norton. and everybody likes him.
He is a good fellow from the ground up,
but he made a mistake when he left the
stage, so his friends say. Norton and Ben
DeBar were great friends but bitter pro-
feSSiOnal rivals. Norton used to say that
DeBaT was a good fellow. but his FalStaff
" a. unullA ONNlAdlCl- -AlAu tAAtlA ADCAl NbuAO
retaliate by saying. Johns fine old man.
but his OthellO's the worst 1 ever saw"
But Just the same. DeBar went on making
money and fame out of his Falstaff, and
Norton and Lawrence Barrett won golden
opiniOnS-and dollars, tOO-duTing the
season they starred together. NOrtOn's
GOT \ GOOD THING NOW
with his three Misunderstanding the Grand
and Olympic in st. Louis and the
new opera house here. under
stand that the st. Louis GRANDMOTHER
was burned last Spring-iS nearly ready for
a reOpening. NOrton's heaviest loss by that
tire was the finest wardrobe. with perhaps
one exception, ever owned by a Shakes
perian actor. Norton is q tine-lOOking man,
of slender build, quick and nervous in his
actions. gray eye full of life and dainty
gTizzled mOustache- il isn't dyed black
that hides as handsome mouth as was
ever granted man. He's an intellectual
appearing man. and has less of the appear
ance of 4 theatrical man than one would
expect. lie looks more like a lawyer or a
doctor. or perhaps a miniSter-thOugh the
resemblance to a clergyman would diSap-
pear when one knew his fondneSs for fine
roGdsters. Its a stormy day, indeed. when
Norton doesn't drive out Grand boulevard
BEHIND y FAST TEAM.
or take galOp ON his bluegrass mare. The
quid nuncS say the new opera house
will cost its managers 4 heap of money;
that there are already too many theaterS in
Chicago. But hazard the opinion that the
weather will have TO be even colder than it
was last January to see John Norton get
left.
Jack Haverly Is again at the front with
a venture new in the West, but one
that predict will coin him.
GOOD HARD DOLLARS,
The enterprise is no less than a the
alter. to be devoted exclusively TO minstrel
performances. The old Hershey hall. in
the inter-Ocean building, has been enlarged
and 4 fine gallery put in, and one of Hav-
erly'S best companies
WILL DEDICATE THE PLACE
about the middle of next month. VIII
Davies. husband of Jessie Bartlett
Davis is HaveTly's Tight-hand man, and
there's no discOunting the fact that the
.'nigger-shOw" is bound to be a success.
New York. Philadelphia and San Fran
cisco have supported a minstrel theater for
years, and there's no earthly reason why
Chicago. with floating population larger
than either OF these three cities, should not
do tine same.
Jim" Hill of the Columbia has his
hands full looking after the interests of
Margare: Mather and his house here. The
Columbia has clientele that will attend
any show that is put on its boards, and Hill
is a shrewd enough manager to get only
first-clasS attractions for the delectatiOn of
his patrons. heard him say the other day
that he'd rather forfeit 50, 900 than permit
a snide company TO occupy his theatre for
week.
"a MORAL CRIME"
written by the clever Chicago journalists, is
now in its third week at the Columbia. and
although the audiences have been very large
Hill has more than spent his profits in adj
vertising the play. He is 4 shTewd fellow,
and would rather expend his
money in judiciOus advertising
here at home than 90 out on the
road with only q ''Chicago Success on his
posters. The first collapse of the season
was at HOOley's where the Modern We
nus" the least dressed and worst burleSQue
that ever struck Chicago, died in its second
week. Some of the actresses wore such
scant costumes that they suggested an in
FAINT with a single protecting garment.
Manager HOoley demonstrated, and the
girls went down in their SaTatOgaS and
brought out
MORE FINE LINEN
in which to array themselves. But the
show didn't go and to get out of town
two Of the best looking actresses of the
company went on change and bulldozed the
innocent spectators out of a good many
dollars for benefit" tickets, Manager
Hooley with his characteristic generosity
donated the house for the occasion,
and the Modern Venus company got
safely away, leaving two weeks
salary in the pockets Of the suspecting pub
lie that had summed the show. The Boston
Ideal Opera company Will be around early
III the season for another farewell tour.
The latest accounts are that Whitney and
Mathilde Phillips are the only members of
the old company that will be missing. Tom
Karl is TO have hand in the management
of the company. st. Paul people, VINO last
winter
HEAVED REGRETFUL SIGHS
on learning that this Sunday school happy
family of warblers would never again APP
pear on the boards. might have saved their
breath. There's too much money in the
enterprise, and there We're plenty of appli-
cants for the managerial position that Miss
ODER resigned
Manager McViczer has been experiment.
ing with a first-claSs stock company, pro-
ducing some of the old school COM
edies with but fair success, and
people don't seem to appreciate the wit of
Sheridan's School for Scandal" or Gold
smiths ''She Stops to Conquer" and have
staid away from McVieker'S pretty theater
with considerable unanimity. McVicker
deserves credit for giving the stock system
so fair trial, but he is satisfied that the
public is not yet ready TO accept a season
of standard plays from the same company.
BuxOm Catherine Lewis is to winter here
in a round of comic opera characters. sup