Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1894-02-05
A THEATRICAL BUDGET
Chicago Has Enjoyed
Two Patti FareWeIIS.
A CRUSH TO HEAR THE DIVA.
Some Humorous Hits bv a Travelling
Team Of Variety Artists"

CHICAGO, Jan. 3l.-Ths burg keeps up
It's reputation as the fin de steele town OF
the universe. Tell me II you can what
other city, European or American, ia able
10 boast Of two genuine and bona fde'
Patti farewells In a single week. My
friend, Marcns Mayer, who is the adorable
diva's manager this season, is a gentleman
who evidently knows his business. He had
booked the great song bird for positively
two concerts only" at the Auditorium, an
evening and a Saturday matinee the latter
announced as the last time Patti would
ever be heard in Chicago, The stress upon
this announcement led our public to believe
that at last Patti was to say farewell" for
good. Everybody knows the result. Such
an audience was never before assem- bled in
the Auditorium, which seats, boxes includ-
ed, 4,050 persons, and can comfortably ao-
commodate perhaps l, 900 more by utilizing
the standing room In the foyer. An idea
may be had of the crush from the state.
msnt from the box Office report that the
crowd numbered 6,sl7 personsl At mod
est calculation there were 2,000 persons,
mostly ladies, turned away from the doors
unable to obtain admission.
The sight in front Of the big opera house
was an impressive one, and inside the ro-
tunda it was unparalleled. have been in
large department stores on bargain" days
and have come away lame and bruised from
contact with elbows of the "gentler' sex,
but / wouldn't have braved the feminine
maelstrom that seethed and swirled before
the Auditorium doors that afternoon for
one OF PATHS brightest diamonds. Richly
dressed and exquisitsly bejeweled women
pushed and crowded each other and fairly
fought their way inside. A Yale-Harvard
football game would have seemed tame In
comparison. The police were powsrless
and looked helplessly upon the scenes of
carnage. Handsome costumes were torn to
tatters, and costly laces were rent from their
fasteninRs and trsmpled underfoot. More
than 80 delicate women were overcome aud
We're carried fainting TO their carriages and
taken home. IL was finally found neces-
sary to stop the sale Of seats, and ut 3
O'Clock the doors were closed. 1t was said
that fully 200 ticket holders who were en-
titled TO reserved seats were unable to OBJ
tain admission, and number of lawsuits
are threatened against the redoubtable inn
presario.
For this single concert the receipts were
a trifle under 81, 900. Can anybody blame
Patti for feeling q strong desire to say
"goodby" againi l think her very wise
old lady, and the fact that the sale of seats
for her last FAREWELL on Monday evening,
Jan. 20, almost equaled that of the matinee
proved that her faith In dear Chicago"
was not misplaced.
The blizzard which has swept over the
western country has had a chilling effect
upon theatrical business here. Since the
fa.r
agement for players of the mimic stage. No
other profession is so quickly affected by
hard times, and this season the travelling
troops that have made any money or kept
even have been in great luck cannot
name a single Chicago theater that has
made a dollar this season, and / am in a
position TO know that more than half of
them would effect a substantial saving to
their managers if they closed their doors.
John Drew has returned to us with a
new play by Henry Guy Carleton called
Butterflies" IL had been given with a
moderate degree of success In Boston and
has won "A fair degree of favor here. Struc-
turally considered, the play is a better one
than Nat c. Goodwin's "A Gilded Fool"
by the same author, and 10 Is Of a much
higher order than The Masked Ball"
Cares French farccal comedy, in which
Mr.. Drew made his stellar debut. Although
1t Is lacking In some Of the essentials OF
high comedy, IL is bright and jaunty ex-
position Of character and incident. Mr..
Drew's fine talents and his years of excel
lent training in Days company peculiarly
lit him for an exponent Of this style Of COM
edy. He can be humorous witty, satirical,
tender, sympathetic and pathetic in rapid
succession, touching each phase Of thought
or feeling with precision, yet so delicately
and artfully that the effort seems unpre-