The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-01-21
SEEN AT A PLAY
NANCY YANKS FALLS OUT WITH
THEATRE PRACTICES.
That Great Local Endeavor to De.
stroy the Gum Output of the
Country During Per-
formance-Maneuve
of Wichita Society.

have often wondered why the Wichitl
boys give so few box parties.
They are such charming affairs. tht
young men in evening attire and The
pretty young girls decked out in all thei
bravery, with their flounces and flowers
and fans. One sees SO little of that sor
of thing here.
1t is true there is theater party once in
while, on the first night of 10, 20 and q
cent shows, when young man can buy
one ticket and take his girl in for nothing
but they are few and far between
the theater parties l mean; not the cheap
shows, we have had plenty Of them.
/ stood around the box Office on the
evening of good show that Mr.. Craw-
ford happened. accidentally, to spring on
the Wichita public, and learned the reason
of the nom n-existing box-parties. The boys
are hard up; if l were a boy l should say
''deucedly" hard up.
Give US two tickets for the gallery,
said one of the boys about town, passing in
two quarters
"For goodness sakesV cried the ticket
seller, what in the world are you going in
the gallery for?"
'Oh, now, just give us the tickets and
don't say anything" he answered.
I'VE want to go to the minstrel next
week and we can't afford it unless we take
gallery seats"
"Ail right" said the ticket seller passing
him the tickets: give me some OF those
peanuts aud wont say anything about
IT,"
Cant come down stairs after the sec
ond acts" he begged.
Il don't care, If you can pass the door
keeper
A moment after heard them tramping
up stairs with that herd of wild animals
that behaves so well in the peanut gallery,
Presently pretty young man, with
smooth face and short last-winter over
coat over long tbis-winter coat that
Lung several inches below the overcoat,
like different colored ruffle, passed me
and entered the box office.
| afterwards saw him, about the last of
the first act, stroll leisurely down the cen
ter aisle and take a seat next the orches-
ira. where blast from the horns could
have blown through his whiskers if he
Lad had any.
These seats. as the least desirable. are al
ways the last sold-if sold at all-so he
probably got it cheap
Another schemer bought IS cent seat
the dress circle, which he occupied until
the second act. Then, seeing a vacant seat
IN the parquet, amongst the swells and the
deadheads, he took his overcoat on his arm
IN a careless aud elegant fashion and
mosied down TO this seat with the air of
one who had just entered the opera house
a trlfle late.
Before / had time to observe other
maneuvers of these young men, who are
evidently feeling the present financial
stringent TO the fullest extent, to such an
extent, indeed, that i 10 longer wonder
that they always allow the girls to attend
The tbeaters with their y-haired fathers,
the stage demanded my attention.
A boy came out to light the foot-lights
and the gallery gods cried ''supe" with one
When 1 was at the Casino in New
York don't.remember that a boy came
on the stage to light up the foot lights, or
That the gallery gods cried ''supe."
Perhaps they did, but 1 don't remem-
ber it.
can't tell whether it is the fault of tho
gallery gods, or the primitive sixteenth
century way of lighting the stage.
1t is the fault of somebody, and if it |
were not that those occupants of the gal |
lery are remarkably approative and |
generally know good acting when they see |
IL, would say put them out.
AS 1t is, suppose we must stand them, |
worse.
Then, with the cries of "Supe," we have
The cries of Cum" Whether the curtain |
rings down On wildly jubilant act: or an !
act which has left half the audience in |
tears, Immediately, before the lights are
turned on they begin:
Gum, gum, gum herei'
Ana the real show commences,
the chewing begins. if it eyer left off.
hundreds of mouths work up and down.
up and down, from the gallery to the
parquet-and sometimes O in a box-until |
wonder how they all look from the stage.
The noise Of the chewing of one person
IN
then, with hundreds around one. keeping
up a constant and distinctly audible clackI
elack. clack!
Truly, part of a Wichita audience
must always be patient and long-suffer-
iDs. NANCY YANKS