The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903, 1895-07-20
THE THEATRES.


semblance to the earliest Hoyt pro
auctions, and is. apparently. in a fair
way to eqnal them in money making
power 1t is no secret that a Temper
ance Town." from which Mr.. Hoyt ex-
pected so much, was failure Boston
was about the only place in the country
where it was produced with profit The
playwright was off his beat in handling
the temperance question. Then the
name Of the play was enough to kill it,
1t was to coInteract the effect of a
Temperance Town that "A Black
Sheep was brought forth.
When one knows something of the
disappointment and loss Mr. Hoyt sus-
tanned in A Temperance Town" one
can appreciate the story Mr.. Zehrung
brought back with him from Omaha.
"Hoyt, Mckee and Julian Mitchell the
stage manager, were slipping lemonade
or the same not Ear from the Rialto in
New York. remarked Mr.. Zehrung, land
they were discussing the different Hoyt
companies then on the road. Mckee
was estimating the weeks business. A
Trip to Chinatown is IN such and such
a place this week. he said and it ought
to take in g., A Hole in the
Ground ought to do g.; and a
Texas Steer g.; and A Temper
ance Town ought to make some money
too this week is the Temperance
Town company laying OFF, Mr.. Hoyt
asked in his most laconic manner" Mr.
Zehrung didn't say, but the presumption
is that they all had another then.
Few readers of HE COURIER have not
paid tribute to the willy Mrs. Jennie
Kimball. and spent an evening, or part
of AN evening, witnessing the per-
Torrance of that queen of the bur
lesque stage" Corinne. 1t might be said
Of Corinne, that she cannot act. sing or
dance; that she is not even pretty. aud
that her feet do not track PROPERLY. Twill
be a little more conservative and say,
simply, that she is wofuliy deficient in
the qualities that usually distinguish a
burlesque artist or <soubrette. But en-
vironment in the gJnderous personality
OF Mrs. Kimball and certain theatrical
managers over whom this clever woman
exerts or has exerted an influence, plays
part. Money flows freely and the
peculiar soi disdnt actress known as
Corinne, is launched forth in all the
panoply of stage refulgence. Set off
with diamonds and the general glitter
: of the modern extravaganza, Corinne is
boldly heralded as an artist; and so
great is the influence of these things
that people flock to see the young
woman who is accused of being pigeon
toed.
There are a thousand struggling girls
and women on the stage-in the same
field with COrinne-who have infinitely
more ability. But their environment is
different. They are not backed and
pushed by Jennie Kimballs. Among
this thousand is Cecil Spooner. who
played two nights' engagement at the
Funke Friday and Saturday OF last
week. Miss Cecil Spooner is the
daughter Of b. S. Spooner and every
body knows Spooner. She is said to be
seventeen years old. She appears in
loosely put together plays with more or
less sensational names. l do not know
anything about the plays. | never saw
one; but / have on several occasions
dropped in at the theatre when Cecil
was doing some of her specialties, and 1t
is doing but scant justice to this ener-
getic young girl to say that she is the
equal of some of the best known
soubrettes in the country. Corinne, OF
course, is immeasurably inferior; and
Nellie McHenry and Matte Vickers and
Verpona Jarbeau and all the rest of
their class are many of them far less
able than this modest girl who seems to
be content within the prescribed limits
of 10, 20 and 30" Miss Spooner is
graceful, and she can dance and sing.
She is altogether a very entertaining
little person. If Mr.. Spooner would
properly fit her out with an up to date