The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-05-08

.ng TO the "instrumonts' they played. Al
the rise of the curtain the interlocutor
would say, "Gcntlcmen, be 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 tho
different members OF the company, inter-
spersed here and there by jokes from the
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, red coats, yellow vests
and large collars, the wig black and very
bushy, while the others were dressed sim
ply In full suit Of black.
The stage setting was nothing but a
simple interior, with elevations at the rear
of the semicircle where the orchestra sat.
Everybody was in black face, and every.
thing had the aspect OF the negro. The
first part generally concluded with hu.
morous skit by two or three members Of
the company, In which their costumes were
entirely changed, and then they had the ap.
pearance OF what they were intended to
represent, true types OF the negro. The
many spccialties which followed consisted
of songs, dances, plantation scenes, quar-.
tets, etc, each one being intended to rep.
resent the negro In his native home. The
Jubilee singers, the buck and wing dancers,
the stump orators, were oil represented
In turn, and tho entire performance would
conclude with n humorous sketch In which
all the members Of the company would
take part. Such was minstrelsy In the
days gone by, simply tableau represent
ing n series OF advertisements which one
can see daily among the genuine negroes OF
the south.
Look at minstrclsy Of the present day.
What n great changel We still have tho
first part, but not as In the days gone by,
for only the end men are In black face,
while the other members are white. The
negro character is almost lost, and instead
of the songs and jokes being of that order
they deal with topics of the day-in fact,
anything that may seem to be funny is told
in n minstrel show mt the present day IA
being 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, tho end
men being dressed I'm some handsome de-
sign, while the others are either pictur.
esquely costumed or representing some
historical event. The scenery, too is elab-
Grated. Large plush or velvet curtains,
elegant drapcries, magnificent scenery and
other appurtenances go now to replace the
simple interior which was originally used
as the entire scenic establishment of the
minstrel show. The atmosphere of the ne
gro character Is .scompletely gone, and what
would once take the auditor back to the
negro in his plantation home now only
10 hic of
ninstrelsy and look upon the scene as a
pretty spectacle. The performance does not
consist OF negro specialties, but Is simply
n series of marches, richly costumed, and
artistic songs and dances, and, in fact,
any and everything that one would see in
a high class vaudeville performance.
Take negro from his native state and
let him witness a minstrel performance OF
the present day and his eyes would open
with wonder. He would neither under
stand nor appreciate the fact that he was
witnessing performance which purportcd
TO be n representation of his race He
hears no negro dialect, secs no negro char
acters. All Is lost, and nothing remains
but spectacular vaudeville entertain
ment. Such being the case, expect In
very few years to see minstrelsy even moro
embellished with scenery and costumes
The first part will be moro massive and
gorgeous, the costumes more elaborate
and the entire scene emblazoned by eloc-
trio and calcium effects. Tho spccialtics
will be of higher order and much farther
away from the negro character. Every
thing will be on grandcr and more clab-
oratc scale. In other words, the perform
ance will be n grand scenic production Of
high class vaudeville masqucrading under
the name OF minstrelsy.
As evidence of the fact that am sim
cerc In this opinion ! may state that
have determined TO depart from so called
minstrelsy and will next season present TO
the public spectacular entertainment In
Producing high class vaudeville and trans
formations shall endeavor 10 give tho
public what I term "a twentieth century
minstrel entertainment" i do not wish
it understood that intend to revolution
i,e minstrelsy. but that i am simply ex-
pressing my views, and ~ proof of my
belief In my own prediction l shall COM
biue the minstrel vaudeville and spectacu-