Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-11-22

should hang upon the walls Of Mr. ShackA-
| toms room was taken by Manager Davis, and
the artlst1c taste of a dandlf1ed gentleman OF
leisure was more properly expressed.
Robert A. Campbell, son of the late
Bartley Campbell, writes me- that Bulls
and Bears" comedy dealing with the COM
icalities of stock speculation, will be pro-
duced next season. 1t is from the pen Of
the late BARLEY Campbell, and has never
been played but in Chicago and "Frisco'
severai years ago. when w: H. crane, James
peared in the cast.
For the information of a correspondent
who has been betting about it may state
that the late j. K. Emmett was last seen in
Plttsburg at the Bijou Theater, where he
correspondents: Mantell played "Monbars"
at the Bijou the first season he starred here.
This weeks Dramatic Mirror quotes a re-
mark made in this column to the effect that
"before a year is out, anyhow, the decay Of
the faroe-comedy's popularity wiz have set
in," and gives it the caption: "a Year Be-
hind the Times" I am afraid that the
Mirror has permitted its wish to see
ffsrSSe,comedy fstSe abolished to be M more than an
in Pittsburg, Of which alone 1 pretend to
speak, the popularity of farce comedy as an
entertalnment has not shown any very
marked abatement. Nor does the news
from the outside indicate that my prophecy
was TOO conservatives; the pubic may be
getting tired Of farce comedy, but the box
o1iice receipts do not show it. In New YORK
craze for farce comedy is still robust. The
failure and retirement of several farce com
ed1es, and the probability that the same fate
awaits many more, do not prove anything
more than that as individual productions
they were found wanting. The oldearce
comedies that have been on the road from
two to six or even more years are, learn on
good authority, earning more money this
season than ever. All the same adhere to
the belief that the public does not care so
much Tor horse play and variety business IN
the guise of play US it did, and look for
the steady decline of this form of entertain
ment this season and next.
As was predicted in THE DISPATCH,
"Jane," by its singularity as the only drama
at the frst-class theaters and wang" by
its broad appeal to all sorts of people, did
the best business last week, and very large
the receipts must have been, for thousand
dollar houses were the rule at both
theaters
The Casino Company will abandon "Cava1-
leria Rusticana" and "The jolly Students
after this week, and a new musical comedy,
"Uncle Celestine," will be put on in st. Louis.
Miss Annie Myers, who has the chief
soprano role in the new piece, has been
rehearsing with the company all the
week, and she tells me that 1t Is
very bright ti,s and tunefql oddity after 11s the
Lester Carter and others have made a sue
cess in New York. 1t is not likely that We
shall see Uncle Celestine" here this season.
opera soubrettes, Annie Myers undoubtedly
stands in the front rank for besides her
vivacious comedy powers she has a very
good care during the seven or eight years
since she Joined the chorus and began her
career.
What hard work and good sense amount
opera, as in most things, is not sufficiently
appreciated by the pretty, talented girls who
enter this department of theatrical work.
of the or fade
stand the first draught of popularity.
There were good many heavy hearts in
the Casino chorus that sang at the Duquesne
last week. Twenty of the chorus girls and
men were notified that their services would
not be required after this week, owing to the
change from opera comique to musical
comedy, in which chorus is not needed.
Those readers who are anxious to hear
how the Juch Opera Company acquitted
itself will find what they want in the mu-
sical department of The DISPATCH to-day.
The saddest event in the theatrical world
this year was the death of Mr.. Florence. 1t
is seldom indeed that an actor gets such q
grip upon the hearts Of the people as Mr.
Florence did. He is mourned for as much
as a man as a great actor. It did not require
personal acquaintance to know the man;
thousands who saw him only on the stage
by come subtle sympathy learned to love
him. To those who were lucky enough to
win his friendship he revealed grand ma
ture. His heart was as big as his brain, and
his hand was never tired of giving, though
his charities were stealthy.
Sincerity was the strongest point Of his
acting; and the noblest character he played,
Captain Cutie. was most like himself. His
versatility, however, was as marked as any
other faculty, and strange as it may seem to
most of us who have known him in the last
ten or twenty years. it was demonstrated in
his career that he could create serious char
acter with as great intensity and insight as
he could such delicious beings of the comedy
world as RdrdsDeU Slodt in the Mighty Dol
lar" If fund is to be raised for the erec-
tion of a monument to him believe there
are many Pittsburgers who would like to
contribute.
For the present Louis James has taken
MrsFlorence's place with Mr.. Jefferson, but
the choice seems a strange one.
HEPBURN JOHNS