Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-05-04

ing to the instruments" they played. At tho rise of the curtain the intCrloCutor would say, "Gentlemcn bo seated, ," then the orchestra would play a galop which the end men would accompany with bones and tambourine. At the conclusion of the overture, songs would be introduced by the different members of the company, inter spersed hero and there hy jokes from tho end men, The dialect of the negro was per feet, the songs characteristic, and the entire first part only tended to make one believe he was witnessing negro jubilee. The costumes of the end men were not particu- larly picturesque. They consisted of black pants to the knees nd coats, yellow vests and largo collars tho wig black and very buShy, while the others wcr' drSSCd sim ply in a full suit of black.
 The stage sctting was nothing but n simple interior with elevations at the rear of tho SemicirCle wherc the orchcStra sat. Every body was in black face, and every thing had the aspect of the negro, Tho first part generally concluded with a hu- | morOus skit by two or three members of the company, in which their costumes wcrc | entirely changed, and then they had tho ap- pearance of what they were intended to | represent, true types of the negro. The l many specialticS which followed consisted | of songs dances, plantation scenes, quar-
 
 resent the negro in his native home. The jubilee singers, the buck and wing dancers, | the stump orators, were all represented l in turn, and the entire performance would | conclude with n humorous sketch in which all the members of the company would | take part. Such was minstrrlSy in tho | days gone by, simply tablcau repr,Sent- ing a series of advertisements which ono can seS daily among the genuine negrocS of | the south.
 Look at minstrelsy of the present day. | What a great change! We still have the l first part but not aS in the days gone hy, | for only tho end men arc in black face, | while the other members arc white. The negro character is almost lost, and instead 1 of the songs and jokes being of that order they deal with topics "f the day-in fact, anything that may seem to bo funny is told | in a minstrel show at the present day as being a negro joke. There is no dialect necessary to he minstrel now, simply | blacken your face and the trick is done. Even the costuming iS different, the end men being dressed in some handsome de sign, while the others arc either pictur- | esquely costumed or representing some historical event. The scenery, too, is elab- | orated. Large plush or velvcT curtains, 1 elegant drapcrics, magnificent scenery and | other appurtenanccs go now to replace the l simple interior whlCh was Orlglnally uScu | as the entire scenic establishment of the minstrel show. The atmosphere of tho nc gro character iS ScomPlctcly gone and what | would once take tho auditor back to the | negro in his plantation home now only | tends to make him cast away his idea of | minStrelSy and look upon the scene as a pretty spectacle. The performance does not consist of negro spccialties, but is simply | a stvies of marches, richly costumod, and artistic songs and dances and, in fact,
 any and everything that ono would see in Q high class vaudeville performance.
 Take a negro from his native state and let him witness minstrel performance of the present day and his eyes would open
 with w ndcr. He would Ieither under stand nir appreciate the lat that he was
 witnessing pcrfOrmance which purported
 to bc q representation of his TACO. He
 hears no negrt- dialect, sees no negro char
 acters. All is lost, and nothing remains
 but & spectacular vaudeville entertain
 ment. Such being tho case, expect in a
 very few years to sCo minStrclsy even moro
 embellished with scenery and costumes.
 The first part will be moro massive and
 gorgeous, tho costumes moro elaborate
 and the entire sceno cmhlazoncd by clcc-
 tric and calcium effects Tho spccialties
 will be of higher order and much farther
 away from the negro character. Every | thing will Do on grander and moro clab
 ornts scale. In other words, the perform , ancS will be a grand scenic production of
 high class vaudeville masquerading under
 the name of minstrclsy.
 As evidence of the fact that I am sin.
 cers in this opinion I may state that
 have determined to depart from so called
 minStrClsy and will next season present to
 the public a spectacular entertainment in-
 troducing high class vaudeville and trans
 formations I shall endcavor to give the
 public what I term "a twentieth century
 minstrel entertainment. I do not wish
 It understood that intend to revolution
 lze minstrelsy, but that I am simply ex-
 pressing my views, and q proof of my
 belief in my own prediction l shall com bine the minstrel, vaudeville and spcctacu-
 lar and endeavor by so doing to please not
 only those in search of minstrel or vaude-
 vile amusement, but even those who are
 the most critical.
 The old school of minstrelsy has passed away, The new up to date" ideas Ar0
 gradually coming moro and moro into use.
 Scenic embellishments aro an absolute ne-
 ecssity. The public demands it, therefore there is nothing left but to submit to the inevitable and give . massive scenic and
 vaudeville entertainment, at the same
 time retaining the name of minstrelSy.