The herald., 1896-04-28
/. AT THE rHEATERs

| the high art of acting last night that It
had not possessed before in local theat-
rical circles. 1t remained for Frank
Mayo to round out life of earnest stage
work by the creation Of a new stage
characterization. and his presentment of
Pudd' 'nhead Wilson forcefully demon
strated two facts-that the subtle force
| OF an earnest actors endeavors in the
past have been as crucible for the re-
Inning OF the pure gold, and second, that
no other histriOn has evinced such mar
i velous and virile comprehension Of the
| strength and melodramatic impulses
that are constantly suggesting them
selves in the works of Mark Twain. AS
to the handling of the quaint, and orig
1nal humorous elements in Pudd nhead
Wilson, Mr.. Mayo's work was equally
matchless. There was a melting togeth-
er Of the man and the matter that reach
ed above all ideals. The humor Of Mark
Twain Is not Of the grotesque; it is the
refinement of wit, but the beauty of the
gossamer web Is none the less because 1t
hath not the strength of wrought iron.
In all that makes strong character
ization, in all that constitutes sterling
acting, the forces Of a gesture and the
crying eloQuence Of silence, Mr.. Mayo, in
portraying the typical Missouri lawyer,
long settled in rugged, bucolic COM
munity, and keenly alive to his environ
ments, albeit he rose above them, reach
ed the highest art. So forceful was the
Interpretation that the large audience
was in stirring sympathy with him and
| repeatedly recalled him. His creation of
| this new character, so quaint, so nat
ural SO full of all the flowing measures
| Of the dignity which springs from sim
| pllcity, places him at once among the
| laureled gods Of the stage.
A well-balanced company supported
| Mr.. Mayo. Miss Moretti as Roxy gave
a strong stage picture, complete in all
details, and flushed with the fire Of melo-
| dramatic feeling. Mr.. Aiken as Judge
| Driscoll was the ideal. courtly gentle
| Driscoll was the ideal courtly gentleman
| of fifty years agone, and MesSrs. klauber
and Hallton as ''the twins" added to the
! symmetry of the production. A thank
| less part had Mr.. Campeau in Tom Dris-
| coll, but he played it conscientiously,
| and deserves a full mead of credit. De-
| lightfully charming was Miss Graham
| Rowy, and Miss Laverne's spinster was
| painted true to nature. Mr. DAILY por-
trayal as Chambers was strong in the
quiet suggestions Of repressed force.
Messrs. Chisnell. Stephens, Gill and
| others as Pike county characters We're
mastery in their work.
| The play was beautifully staged. and
| there is no question of its potential ele-
ments in drawing the Angelina public
| as it is superior to most plays present
| ed here for years.
|
ORPHEUM-Last week was most
| successful one in the history of the Or
| pheum theater. 1t was promised by
4 Manager Petrich that the best obtaina-
| BILE people on the vaudeville stage had
| been secured, and that he had provided
| program never before equaled in this
city. The general verdict is that Man
ager Petrich has more than redeemed
his promise. If the enthusiasm OF
| crowded houses is any criterion, then
| Los Angeles has an opportunity to view
| a vaudeville show unsurpassed even In
New York. The same is presented this
| week, with the exception of the Corty
| Brothers, who have returned to San
| Francisco. The vacancy made by them
was filled by Mile. Elena Leila, the fa-
| nous Russian soprano, better known as
the Singing DOLL
Mile. Leila made her debut on the
| vaudeville stage in America last Janu-
| ary. She first appeared at the Imperial
| in New York, and on that occasion the
| Mail and Express of that city said:
Mile. Leila deserves very nearly all
| the praise which has been given her, for
she possesses a remarkably good voice,
| with a range which reaches easily to F
| in altissimo. Her voice is remarkably
true. never missing in all the runs with
| which she embellislled her songs.
This charming and talented lady last
night proved herself worthy of the
| promises made of her.
NJ. Segommer, the worlds greatest
ventriloquist and mimic. introduced
| some new and striking features among
| his stage full of men, women, children,
| pigs, cows. lions, tigers, elephants, ETC.
He gives whole show by himself. Bru.
ct and Riviere. the noted French duet
lists, have new budget of songs and
lmltations. and the Nawns put on their
| new sketch, in which they have made a
| great success. The three Marvelles have
some new pantomimic tricks to perform
and Adonis Ames did some very difficult
contortionist feats. 1t is hard to be-
heve that he could improve upon his
WORK OF last week, but he demonstrated
MS ABILITY last night to do so. La
Belle Carmen. the beautiful Spanish
cancer, appeared in her great dance on
the. tight wire, and delighted everyone.
Hosle Rendel. in her transformation
aahce program. appeared in a new
SSuoSet OF novel dances of all nations.
nne is an artist in her line Her imita
ton of the German country maid and
her dance in wooden shoes were nartic-
ularly clever. f''' wv
Dion Romandys orchestra inter-
| preted unmber of new musical com
anu the mouse was crowded.
| - COMING ATTRACTIONS.-H
lrans- oceanic Star Speciality COMPANY.
| NA eiC management or Robert Fill
CORA, Is booked to appear at the Or
pheum next Monday night. Nav 4th
rms company presents ten strong sne
claity acts and carries only artists A
| feature of the show are lilliputian a III
!etes and comedians, the Rossow Rros
PROBABLY more space has been given tn
tnis pair of midgets by the big paners
OF the country than to any other people
ever on the vaudeville stage. In San
| francisco, where the Hopkins company
is playing at the Orpheum this week.
more people are turned away every
night than the seating capacity of the
house amounts to.
| SCHILLER THEATER, CHICAGO
A telegraphic dispatch was received
early this morning regarding Alexander
Salvini's presentation of Shakespeare's
Othello, and is not without interest to
theater-goers generally. 1t reads as
| follows:
For the first time on any stage Alex
| ander Salvini played Othello tonight.
me performance was given at the
| Schiller theater here. Little has been
seen of the noble Moor on the American
| stage since the elder Salvini last played
It in this country during the season of
1SS9-1890, when the lamented Edwin
Booth played Iago to Salvini's OthelIo.
| There was much curiosity in the minds
| OF the majority Of the audience to see
| what the younger Salvini would do with
the role which his illustrious father