The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-11

after he has enjoyed with an almost per-
sonal Zest the allusion to imported wines
from California and seen all that Delmore
can do to make himself ferociously or
amorously hideous, after he has enjoyed
that pretty little scene in which Billings
thanks Mrs. Billings for her devotion and
mentally promises the audience that he
will resign his position as Ananias' Prime
Minister and be worthy his stanch, gener-
ous-hearted little wife-then if one is a
confirmed theater-goer-and as such, of
course, has seen the Frawley Company in
most of its plays-there is nothing left for
him but to go to the Orpheum. But he is
not greatly TO be pitied; this week at any
rate.
With the exception of one or two very
bad numbers, the Orpheum's programme
is interesting and entertaining. The
Jordan family is a canary colored trio of
human birds that are as much at home in
the air and on the trapeze as Hermann is
upon, the stage. There is no limit to the
variety and audacity of their perform
ance. Few circus performers have outdone
the feats which the Orpheum audience sees
through haze of smoke and the meshes
of the net, and which it enjoys despite a
crick in the back of the neck and fiutter-
ing feeling of terror lest something should
happen to the daring women as they dart
through the air, their light bodies seem
ingly exempt from the law of gravitation
and their steady heads unaffected by the
height at which the trapezes are swung,
the noise. the smoke or the electric light,
which silhouettes their graceful figures as
they stand poised upon the small platform
moment before flight.
Johnnie Carroll, who really cannot sing,
but hose small twinkIing eye, smooth
shaven, square face and beautiful brogue
were given him as special endowment by
the Hibernian comedy fairy. is giving "Pat
Malone" nightly at the Orpheum. He
may begin with Maiden Ruth" which is
not worth listening to, but sooner or later
his audience compels him to tell how
"Pat Malone forgot that he was dead
He rose up in his coffin and he said"
So that people who go to the Orpheum-
the dark man, for instance, with close,
wiry waves in his hair, who leans back
blowing circles of smoke one through the
other, and his companion, whose hard,
gray eye becomes yelled and softened as he
inhales the smoke from his eigarette-all
can join in the chorus and tell of Pats va
rious remarks at the wake, to the driver
and at the funeral, when the wreath with |
Papa" on it lost the initial letter and be- |
came A. P. A, when Pat or any other |
Irishman would be justified in forgetting
that he was dead.
The Martinettis are excellent acrobats. |
One can hardly realize the possibility of |
further improvement, so expert are these |
men and the small new woman who turns |
herself into flying, little, bright-colored |
and very active caterpillar.
Nile. Ortiz did not appear at the Or |
pheum till Wednesday night. Then Gui- |
bal, soft-spoken, Manufactured Svengali, !
put her to sleep apparently and, without
speaking to her or touching her, willed her |
to do the numerous trivial things different |
of the audience suggested in a |
whisper to Guibal, while the fearful band |
played its loudest, and Mile. Ortiz sat in |
the red armchair, an uncanny figure, |
alone on the stage in her white gown gar |
landed with flowers, her head leaning a |
little to the side, her eyes closed, her pale |
face set like mask and looking ghastlier |
for the touch of rouge just in front of the |
ears. In this trance and with eyes seem |
lngly closed she walked from the stage |
down among the audience. She sought a |
lady from whom she took an opera-glass |
and returned it; she took cigarette from |
a mans hand and lit it; she folded a pro-
gramme-she did all that dozen people |
had silently asked her to do Then she
walked back up the steps to the stage with
eyes still closed, or so it seemed. She |
counted on her fingers, tapped upon the
door, knelt as if to pray, all in obedience
to various unvoiced commands, and was
then wakened and hurried from the stage
by the alert Guibal, leaving the hard
headed questionable Orpheum audi
ence to gaze about bewildered and to Won
der how it was done.
Mr.. Stinson and Miss Merton or Miss
Stinson and Mr.. Merton are billed at the
Orpheum as Stinson and Merton. Their up
to-date comedy, which is neither comedy !
nor up to date, is not refined or entertain
ing, and they are unworthy a place on the
Orpheum's programme, but if they are
named there at all more respectful man
ner of announcing their "act" is desirable
The Orpheum has improved in many ways.
When 1t shall make pretense of respect
for woman's name and change this part
Of its programme there will be another
reason why its entertainment should ao-
peal to the better class of amusement
seekers, as well as to those galleryites whose
applause has for its one pur-
pose the prolonging of the evenings pro-
5ramme, whether it be good or bad
Horwitz and Bowers furnish few min
ntes' interesting entertainment, but after all
Horwitz's mimicry is only the imitation of
IN imitation. He is an inferior male Cissy
Lotus.
If there is any originality in these men
why should they mimic actors whose man.
nerisms have been burlesqued by every
monkey upon the theatrical tree? The
cheaters supply daily quite as many abb
5urdities as ever were caught in stage
water Managers have found that it pays
to get expert fishermen to work to
discover the whereabouts of these odd fish,
and to land the laundering, grotesque
things high and dry for the amusement
and edification of the public. Every thea
Ter in Paris has mocking review of the