St. Paul daily globe., 1896-04-26

city. His name is Fregon, and. his. ma
uonality italian. A. writer who has wit
messed his performances, says:
The mans versatility is certainly remark
able. There seems to be no limit to it. In
one OF his plays, q one-act piece there are
eleven eharacters,n X and he plays them all
himself and effects his changes of costume
ana makeup withs such unheard-of rapidity
tnat the charaEters come and go upon the
stage with hardly Rn instant's interval, and
the plot and aation run on practically unin-
terruptedly, asothough a company, not one
man, were acting Iithe play.
Ell Dorado, s8Sone of the most popular Sc
lections from has repertoire, and in which he
Will probably make his debut, tells the story
OF Inanager'sietroubles with his troupe and
introduces, besides the manager, his German
prima donna, Fnench tenor, clown, 'charac-
ter artist aaserpentine dancer and her
mother, an eccentric duettist," and the rest
or his company, all Of whom come In to
badger the financially distressed manager,
who endeavors ITO escape from them through
doors and behind zscreens. The manner in
which this ona man, Fregoli, keeps these
men and women coming and going on the
scene by assuming one after the other OF the
characters, is said to be a marvellous bit of
work, perfectly astounding in its rapidity OF
change and the cleverness with which 1t Is
managed. He not only acts all the various
parts, but the extraordinary quality Of his
voice enables him to- sing the bass, baritone,
tenor and soprano music in his operate
sketches Some of his plays or operas last
At the various entrances are a dozen or
more skilled assistants, who, as he passes
out one door, change his costume before he
passes IN, an instant later, at the next. The
effect is said to. be as inexphcable as ma
gtcian's trick. He is to appear at the Olym-
pia on May II.
De Wolf Hopper's role in his new opera,
"El CAPTAIN" just produced ia New York, Is
that Of Don Enrieo Medigua, viceroy of Peru,
n uyrrd vbrr,- hU Of M
stances. is compelled to disguise himself as
FL Captain, renowned warrior. The dual
personality leads to all sorts of comic COM
plications, which are said to be we'll sus-
tafned to the final fall Of the curtain. Edna
Wallace Hopper, Bertha Waltzinger and Ed
mund Stanley are also furnished with promi-
nent roles.
1t is said that with one exception all the
principals Of the present Abbey & Grau
opera company have been re-engaged for next
season. The exception is Calve. The man
ayers want her, but the prima donna has
placed an increased value on her services.
1t may be assumed that the matter will be
arranged, and that Calve will again delight
the public with her magnetic art.
Pilar-Morin collided rather forcibly with
our puritanical institutions and the courts
are to decide whether she may undress her
self upon the stage in "Orange Blossoms -
says John Dennis Jr., in the New York
World. The safest plan, and the one followed
so successfully in ballet, living pictures and
purlesque, is to do your undressing before
facing the footlights.
Commenting upon the needless amount Of
money now spent aby certain theatrical man
ayers solely fors the purpose of equpping the
stage with realistic furnishings and surround
ings which do not add to the enjoyment of
the people, thesNew York Herald makes the
following pertinent observations:
Now, what Isl the result of all this foolish
eXtrayagance? j Other managers go and do
likewise and a competition has begun be-
tween them, not only as to which shall make
the wealthiest display of silks and satins
upon the women of the play, but which shall
offer the mostT gorgeous display of genuine
furniture and costleSt bric-a-brac.
Perhaps you may say that if "a manager
and his money are soon parted" in extrava-
gance of this sort, it is not the business of
the public; it is merely so much the worse
for the manager.
1t is very much the business of the public
1t is not only the eXtraYagant coStuming of
the actresses of today, but the foolish fling
ing away of money in stage furnishings that
Is draining the purses OF some of the COM
peting managers. In their financial distress
they are forming partnerships with illiterate
men who are nothing but theatrical specula-
tors, and who eventually have command
ing voice in the conduct of the house, the
selection of plays, the choice of actors, and
what the public shall or shall not have; pro-
yided for them.
These men are really nothing but theatri-
cal money lenders TO the profession. The
money they lay down enables the running OF
more millinery bills, the. purchase of more
costly antiques for the drawing room sets,
the continuance of the fast pace the manager
mas been going. But in the end the obliging
money lender gets thorough control of
the extravagant manager as his brother
money lender does of the young rake at the
club whose bills he has been discounting.
The screws are put on the as well as
on the other. The social spendthrift is made
to pay up, his family or an eligible young
girl and a Grace church wedding keep him
out of Ludlow street The theatrical l.btor
surrenders his stage to the dictates of his
financial baeker, and the theater thereafter
is run for nothing but the dollars and cents
that may be in anything, good bad or indif-
ferent and usually decidedly bad that comes
along and will bring money to the box office
The public have no idea to what extent
these SPECTATORS now control the theatrical
business of the country. 1t has already