St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-10-23
AT THE THEATERS.

mouse last night. Inc hOLSo was crowd
ed from parquette to dome with Ons OF
the most friendly and enthusiastic au-
dlences that has ever assembled in that
building. The libretto of aladdin Jr."
was written by j. Cheever Goodwing
who wrote "Eyangellne," "Wang" and
number of other prominent successes:
the music was composed and arranged
by w. H. Bachelor, for the past three
years the musical director of this CON-
pany; the scenery was painted by Fred.
erick Dahgerfieid. the distinguished
scenic artist of the Chicago opera house;
the costumes. designed by Howell Rus-s
Sell, the English artist, were made by
Alias Co., OF London and Paris, and
by the costume department of Manager
Henderson; own theater; and the me-
chanical and electrical effects and stage
embellishments were constructed by
the working staff of the American Elk.
travaganza comp my. SO much in pre-.
face.
Jr." Emphatically the production be-
longs to that species which must be
seen to be appreciated. But the term
'extravaganZa''-and certainly its asso-
Citations seems to excuse a certain de-
gree of eXtravagance in rhetoric; and in
the case of Aladdin Jr.," the most
Experimentation critic will not go
far from the facts in using epithets and
adjectives Which. if applied to the Or
binary stage production, would be both
maudiin and grotesquely false. With
This A l,d I,.3 l.,
designated an altogether delightful
optical deluslon. realizing the most
imaginative idealization of the story of
the wonderful lamp. From the rise of
the curtain to its final fail the effect
upon the beholder was that of the Per-
sian Sadi's incoming pillows of colored
fires, each wave rolling higher than lis
predecessor until the high tide limit OF
the amber ballet, and then slowly and
rhythmically receding and falling away
to the calm level of silver sea
i'll the exquisite quiet of the
transformation scene. 1.-The Origin
Of the Harp" The grand square of
Pekin, with its busy, whirling throngs
of gayly costumed boys and girls; the
sedate and lambert setting of the scene
without the mystic cave. with its inter-
Jude of festal lanterns and its Sembance
of moonlight and distant shimmering
river; the dazzling dell of storks. with
its airy, festooned bridges, its cascades.
soft and white as falling cream, its rich
foliage of nodding flowers and "tremb.
ling leaves" and the quaint. gorgeous
adornment that suits the curious Mon
gol appetite for the bizarre and the
beautiful; the palace of ebony and gold
| Oh the banks of the Nile, with its
stately front and its long vista of Az
ricau desert, before which passes the
barbaric pageant of the maglcian-high
priests, janiZarieS. dervishes, dancers
and slaves to celebrate the nuptials of
AbanaZar and the princess-all this,
and more than column of CALCULATIONS
would indicate, t. ooped before the eye
of last nights audience with the pomp
and impressiveness of a superb phan.
tasmagoria. Add to this every conceiy-
able colored light and multitude of
dancing evolutions and try to imagine
the rest.
The most beautiful and impressive
feature ill the entire performance was
the grand amber ballet in the second
act. The general artistic effect and
complete ensemble of this scene has
never beeu seen before upon any stage
i'll this city. 1t is easy to unqe rstand
now the columns of eulogy which the
Chicago papers bestowed upon this
ballet upon its first pres entatlon last
June. The scene is one of surprising
loneliness. Never before in the recol-
lection OF the theatergoer OF today have
the scenic artist, the coStumer, the
ballet master and the musician come so
close together in one grand. harmonious
effect as in this one scene. We're there
nothing else in the performance Of
Aladdin Jr.," this grand amber ballet
would alone be worth the price of admis-
sion and visit to the theater. This
ballet brought to our notice again that
remarkable and graceful danseuse, Mar.
tina irmler, who seems to have acquired
even additional grace and beauty in the
past few months. and a new dancer
from Russia's frigid cline, Catherine
BarthO. This new conner made an in-
Simultaneous hit. She is young, bright
and handsome. She is graduate of the
French school, and dances with an
agility and an insouciance that is dis
tinc,ly captivating. Mile. Bartho showed
her versatility by appearing in char
acter dance in the last act. 1t is doubts
full if two more distinguished danseuses
can be found together in any. one COM
pany either in Europe or America today.
The company-old favorites and new
comers-were received with every sign
| of admiring affection. Henry Norman
i was warmly welcomed iii the best role
| that he has yet been seen in in this city.
He played the magician AbanaZar, and
sang and acted with skill and power
| that only increased his great popularity
| here. But il was 10 John j. Burke, the
new low comedian OF The company, that
! the first nights audience looked most
| attentively. Much had been heard of
| his success III Chicago. but the public
| would not believe that new conner and
! a comparatively unknown performer
| could jump ill, and at one bound strike
the popular fancy. Yet Burke has
done all of this. That he captured
last nights audience there is
| no doubt He has droll, quiet and
| cont gious humor OF his own, and he
sang dozen popular songs so effect
| lively that he could have been singing
| yet if he had chose to accept all of the
encores. Miss Anna Boyd plays the
title role. and she is probably the best
woman in this pOsitiun that Manager
Henderson has ever had. She looked
handsome and altogether attractive
throughout, and she sang, danced and
acted with vim and dash that added
no little to the general life and gaiety
OF the performance. frankie Raymon d
| TN =
She plays Aladdin Jr.'s sister. and it
is no wonder that the grand
vizier's son tell in love with her
at first sight. Assisted by the
chorus she sang "The Alabama Coou, q
and made one of the hits OF the per-
f0rmauce. Albert Froom and John E.,
Cain are TWO new corners that are more
than welcome. They are clever. con-
scientious comedians ami valuable addi-
| tn