The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-03-12

! ensemble. But the fact remains that the
season has covered a wider range of works
than ever before, and covered them with a
larger average of artistic success.
Opera at the best is thankless under
taking for manager. Those who want
the exclusive and expensive luxury ought
TO pay for it, and that is what they will
have to do next season.
Lillian Russell and ''La Cigale" have
I withdrawn from the Garden theater for
the road and simultaneously Miss Hunt
! ington and Miss Gerrish come to the front
one at the Union Square the other at the
Casino.
The Casino affair proved to be a riotous
I vaudeville in which an approved monkey
sinner, Mr.. Jefferson de Angels, carried
off all the honors with a pitchfork
/ You can hardly imagine popular en-
tertainment at this house whose two at
/ fractions aside from the ever regnant
! chorus) is an automatic piano and the
! exploits of the comedian in trying to
/ carve roast turkey. But that is what
/ "Uncle Celestin" rests on. 1t must there
| fore be said that the Casino did not fill
! the gap left by Lillian Russell. 1t pro-
! duced Loie Fuller in a dance and Mabel
/ Stephenson, who chirps like bobolink,
but everybody felt that the automatic
piano was the main card.
| 1t will be very difficult thing to offer
substitute for Lillian Russell to the men
about town. There are a score of women
who can sing better, but there is nobody
who has the same amount of good looks
and good voice combined. Without doubt
she carried LA Cigale" through all the
weeks at the Garden theater on her white
shoulders. Strangers at the hotels went
TO see Lillian Russell. They never asked
what the entertainment was, and they
| were amply repaid by the sensuous con-
temptation Of the beauty, cunningly ar
rayed in the most seductive and sumptu-
Gus robes.
These feminine pets have their clientele
of admirers or worshipers, who are much
more of popular phenomenon than the
pets themselves for they simply select a
goddess and they agree to swear by her
and buy her flowers and expend an enor-
nous amount of callow enthusiasm over
her until new star appears. Lillian Rus
sell has had following of that kind here
for long time. There is, believe, Lii
liam Russell club up town of young men
who, having no other ideal, have selected
this one as an inspiration and a trade
! mark.
But now it seems that younger and
fresher woman in Miss Russelrs company
is attracting attention. This is Miss At
talie Claire, who has the advantage of vir-
ginity, etheriality and a certain vernal in
genuousness The college boys having
taken an oath to love and decorate her and
buy tickets to her benefit, we can under
stand that presently the managers will be
reaching out for her. Some years ago there
was play put on at the leading up town
theater which required two leading
women, and the management had to Sc
cure in addition to its regular lead another
and younger who made great hit with
the public
The lady of the company then appealed
to one of the New York clubs, and pow
erful coterie went to the management and
threatened to withdraw its patronage if
the newcomer was not shelved. / am
sorry to say that the manager succumbed.
1t is now said by the Claire adherents
that the recent presentation of diamonds
to Lillian Russell was gotten up by the
management, Miss Russell contributing
the diamonds, and even the club boys ac-
knowledge that chivalry is better expressed
in flowers.
Nine. Emma Eames has appeared at the
Metropolitan opera house as Margherita,
in Gounod's Faust" 1t is notable that
this opera drew one of the largest assem-
blages of the season. Every box and every
seat in the vast house was filled which was
very far from being the case on the nights
of the much vaunted ''Lohengrin." The
interest of the story was attested by the
close attention of the extraordinary audi
Ill
to see NJ. Edouard de Reszke as Mephisto
This artist had been somewhat extrava-
gantly praised. but was disappointed in
his Mephistopheles, which had been done
here in the past with a great deal more of
the sardonic flavor that Gounod no less
than Goethe put into it, and he fell far short
of the devilish cyniciSm and sarcasm Of
the music in the serenade. Nine. Eames
seemed to me TO be a colorless Margherita
She certainly lacked emotion and power
Her voice is not extraordinary in compass
or timbre. Her attack is bad and her in
tonation defective.
1t is seldom that p Gretchen fails to win
an audience in the jewel song or the king
of Thule" but Mime. Eames' effort passed
without hand
Mr. Richard Mansfield has returned TO
Don Juan" But the place that gave il
birth did not know il. He has taken ali
the bones out of it and let the epidermis
hang in the air. Ii is now farce called
The Weather Nane'
Commend me to Mr.. Mansfield for max
ing n piece stay II you don't like it as
tragedy he will give it to you as burlesque
He Is going TO do his whole repertory. ex-
elusive Of Richard III" II he would let
some competent playwright make him a
play he world. if well fitted, make great
deal more money than does Mr.. Crane fer
he is an actor OF sterling ability. but as a
man he is credited with being crank. No
one on our stage today can play a morbid
or weird character role with half his par
tieularity and graphically. But he in
slsts upon shaping ali his own plays with
an egotism that is stupendous
Mr.. Mansfield has an ambition. and * il
a worthy one 10 be the Henry irving ct
America; hat Is 10 say. he desires 70 be the
Sre'is producer Of plays with A wealthy
patron aud - select set OF infiuenJia.
hackers whose hbeVali;y viii enable him
10 pas MP = Richard Mansfield theateg
All this i within the range OF possibility
dc hss a large circle Of wealthy admirers,
xn5 like MS eAclusiveaesS his patr.c;zn