Los Angeles herald., 1891-05-12
ADJUSTMENTS.
Miss Jarbeau in Starlight at the Grand
Shenandoah.


When you walk out into the lobby
after the curtain has fallen on the last
act OF a farce comedy, and you feel the
lines on your face, made by grinning for
an hour or so, smoothing themselves
away, you wonder what you laughed SO
much about and begin to feel bit silly
and if you notice, you will find that the
men who have hee-hawed the loudest in
the theater are the ones you first hear
say "well, that's corky piece" or
''what rot"
But the farce-comedy draws better
than any other variety of drama; peo-
pie laugh at it, and pay them money to
see it, and after all the verdict of the
box office has its critical as we'll as prac-
tical value.
So it is with Miss Jarbeau's Starlight.
1t IS nothing but string of nonsense,
some of it monumental nonsense, as for
instance the Jakey Strauss song and
dance, but from start to finish it keeps
the audience in a condition varying
from smile to guffaw, and possesses
the remarkable feature of several novel
gags and considerable fresh stage bust
ness.
Miss Jarbeau is like glass of cham
pagne punch. She keeps everything
and everybody in whirl, and you come
sion Of her, in which saucy face, a
resonant voice, some startling gowns,
shapely legs, sparkling eyes and a
piquant wit are all jumbled.
Mr. Rusel, the Micky Bralligran, de-
ncnaaiaI
about low comedy role is one which is
usually played to the gallery, and Mr..
Rusel follows out this tradition; at
the same time he invests his work with
nimbleness of fancy and many little
touches which are as effective down
stairs as up.
The girls are good dancers, and some
of them are as pleasing in face as in
cellent comedians, and all in all the
programme is entertaining throughout.
The play is billed for the week.
SHENANDOAH TONIGHT.
One of the most popular American
plays opens its season at the New Los
Angeles theate. tonight. The engage
ment, which lasts for the balance of the
week, includes a. matinee on Saturday
at 2 pm.
Realism on the stage has been the cry
of the theater-going public for some time
past, and authors and managers have
tried experiment after experiment in
their efforts to supply the demand.
Bronson Howard bore this craving in
mind when he wrote the war play She
nandoah, and the result is one of the
most perfect bits of realism ever wit
messed. 1t occurs in the third act,when
there is a gradual change from sunset
to twilight, and then to the dense
gloom of a starless night. through
which old Three Top mountain,
at the far end of the Shenandoah
valley, looms up like giant shadow.
Presently there is stir OF excitement
through the Union troops quartered in
the valley, for away up near the crest
of the high black mountains may be
seen the signal lights of the enemy.
telegraphing the news of the confeder-
ate reinforcements. The perspective
effect is really wonderful, for the signal
lights seem to be at least twenty miles
distant, when as matter OF fact they
are not much over twenty feet from the
footlights. The illusions formed by
such surroundings naturally add
thrilling reality to the action taking
place on the stage at the time, and
make the beholder forget that it is only
a play after all. "a