The herald., 1896-12-29

ceptable one at all points. The universal
success of last nights production Of
Humanity we feel assured on its merits
will pack this theater for the remainder
of the week.
! ORPHEUM.-There was the usual
flood of flrst-nighters at this house last
evening to witness the presentation of
the last bill of SO. The show that was
given was indeed the climax Of the year.
Not feature but what was good, and
several of the lot were supremely SO.
The sweet strains of Romandys or
chestra started the ball going. and there
| was no end of amusement from that
on. Hagahira and his three versatile
children set the pace with their divert
ing turn il Japanese magic. The deft
tricks of the leader and the numerous
feats of skill by the little India rubber
| Jap won generous need of applause,
while everyone held his breath as the
brightly dressed little girl mounted the
| slender wire and performed a number Of
marvellous evolutions. All of their work
was new and marvellous
| People never tire of the sort of amuse-
ment furnished by the two old time
favorites. Thatcher and Marble, and
when they came on hearty round of
| salvos greeted them. New songs and
jokes. fitted to the characteristic style
| of these clever artists served to add
rousing turn to the excellent program.
| A pleasant variation was then intro
| duced by Stewart, the male Patti who
! frisked out daintily tricked in stun
ming new gown, made his most ladylike
| bow and began to warble French bal
| iad with all the eclat of prima donna
After such a performance an encore
was inevitable. and the phenomenal
singer displayed some of his vocal sky
rockets Several songs followed, each
| rnr n xxr;t
in sweet soprano voice. Stuart is an
artist in his line.
| There was melody in the air when
| Cushman and Holcombe made their en-
| tree. and it continued as long as they
remained before the footlights. Miss
Cushman's baby impersonations were
perfect They can only be compared to
| those of Titus. and Mr. Holcombe has
| fine stage presence and a magnificent
baritone voice, which he used with tell
ing effect in the song, He Fought for the
Cause He Thought Was Right. Cush-
man and Holcombe are refined artists,
and there has never been any better
singers on the Orpheum stage.
RONALD brothers repeated their SEN
sational acrobatic act of last week. and
were much applauded.
The feature pre-eminent Of the even
ing was reserved for the last, and it made
fitting climax for a truly excellent
show. Galetti's monkey comedians
they are termed, and comedians they
are and of a high order There was not a
quiet person in the house from the time
they began their ludicrous antics and
Acrobatic feats until their roaring act
closed with the laughable sketch, The
Monkey Barber Shop. Who could resist
laughing when two clownish apes,
dressed In full attire, race about the
stage on two tricycles, each really striv-
ing to beat the other? Or who could re-
strain his mirth when the ape who is
defeated in the first race doffs his red
trousers in order to win the second heat
The monkeys are the biggest part of the
show. They are without exception the
funniest feature we have ever seen on
the stage and will no doubt prove a
great drawing card. All in all, the bill
this week is splendid one.
BURBANK-The White Squadron.
presented at the Burbank last evening,
is patriotic play, abounding in thrilling
situations, some rapid changes and a
few incongruities, which are, perhaps
not so noticeable to those spectators who
have never visited Brazil, the country in
which the scenes of the piece are laid
Upon the thread of the plot are woven
some striking tableaux and some COM
edy by-play that greatly pleased the au-
dience. The story hinges upon the dual
character of DenenO de ROmacio, who
while general of the Brazilian army
is also chief of a band Of robbers doing
thriving business preying upon the
bullion trains in the interior. The char
acter of this white-haired villain has
been detected by Victor Staunton, COM
mander of the U. S. s. Chicago, flagship
of the White Squadron, then lying in
Rio de Janeiro bay, with the men-of-wa
of other nations.
There is love making and intrigue of
course, and the tragedy of the play is
offset by the frequent comedy and musi-
cal skits of Horatio Doolittle Fritters,
newspaper correspondent with a ko-
dak, and Hope StauntOn, a pseudo
Quaker Miss, sister to the captain. Some
body has made the newspaper cores
pondent, as depicted by James T. Nc
Alpin, a veritable clown, funny enough
to catch the crowd but impossible as
an actuality. William ]. Jossey, as
Captain Staunton, made a gallant COM
mander of the Chicago, and William A.
Brummell, as Paulo de Silvera. captain
in the Brazilian army, divided honors
with him. Mr.. JOssey and Mr.. Van Bert
Adams, who was Francisco, nephew to
Romacio, were both excellent as Bra
lillian army officials. Mr.. Howes as
Santos, the Moorish slave, was excel
lently made up, but the speech the au-
stilted for the utterance of one in such
humble station. The scenic settings of
the stage in the first two and the fourth
acts were in excellent taste, the last
being particularly artistic. In the third
act there Is marine view and ships in
the distance and a tableau change where
in the United States ships are brought
suddenly forward, nearer the public
square where the congress of navies is
being held. A large number of people
participate In the action, which is lively
throughout and retains the interest of
the spectators to the last. The same
bill runs all the week with a special New
Years matinee Friday and regular
matinee Saturday.
COMING ATTRACTION-On Thurs
day at a. M. the seat sale
for c. B. Jefferson, Klaw &
Erlanger's big production, Palmer
Cox's Brownies, will open at
the Los Angeles theater. The famous
attraction will be seen for the first time
in this city on Tuesday night of the COM
ing week, and the engagement will coz
tinue the balance of the week, with
matinees Wednesday and Saturday The
usual Monday night performance will
be omitted, owing to the time required
to get the heavy scenery, properties and
effects into place. The large organiza-
tion of 100 people will come direct from
the Baldwin theater, San Francisco,