The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-05-19
HOW FREGOLI DOES IT.
The Work of Redressing Him, as Seen on
The Stage.
Ills Well Trained Assistants and His
One-Picce Suits OF Clothes.

1t is generally agreed by those who have
seen the exhibitions given by Fregoli at
the Olympia Music Hall, New York, that
about nine-tenths OF their attractiveness
is due to the mayellous rapidly with
which he changes his costumes. Before
he came 10 this country great stress was
laid by his managers on the wonders OF
his four voices. Now IL is found that
not one OF the alleged four voices is a fine
voice and tnat they do not exceed, IN
either effectiveness or variety, the ac-
complishments OF many ventrlloquist
who has talked OF politics and the social
order with himself on the local stage.
But there is no doubt that the way IN
which Fegoli lodges of the stage and
then lodges back again, looking as diff
erent from himself as Augustus Caesar
from Sarah Bernhardt, is remarkable.
Soma OF the people who look on do not
believe in it at all They say that he is
not ana cannot be always the same man.
The writer who has no possible interest
in deceiving the public takes pleasure In
informing any doubter that he is, beyond
any possible question, always the same
man. The most of the people who see
Fregoli, however, are so sated with
wonders that they are not in the habit OF
doubling things, cut that does not by
any means remove all curiosity as to how
he does IL.
Well, the doing of 1t depends first upon
one or two principles which all actors
know. and which Fregoli has applied, and
tnen on excellence OF system in having
everything ready and plenty of help at
hand, with iDgeniousiy contrived
costumes that almost fall on of them
selves, and, finally, in no small degree on
skill and expertness In making the
changes, after all the aids that can be
used have been found and employed.
An all these means are applied so effec-
lively that the first thought which comes
to the mind OF one who stands behind
the scenes and sees the changes made for
the first time is not "How can he do IL
so quickly?" but "How slow he Is
about II. {"
A change which somed impossible
when only the result of II was seen, proves
to be so easy that the novice wonders
why he did not see through ii at once.
Yet this is not always the feeling. some
OF the changes are just as wonderful
when they are seen from behind the
scenes as when they are seen from in
front. and you can stand within ten feet
OF the actor and scarcely know, when he
has finished putting on new suit OF
cothes, how II was that he did Ii.
LITTLE CHANGES THAT LOOK BIO.
Now as TO the principles before men,
toned, of which Fregoll has made use.
Perhaps they can all be summed up in
one, that IL marked change Is made in
character the details do not so much mat
ter. And so at times the audience loudly
applauds the appearance of new charac-
ter, when all that the actor has done has
been to snatch off a wig and hat and
put on different ones, together with such
alteration of the face as it can produce
with no other aid than its own muscles.
| Everything else that ne wears Is The
same, yet the whole look OF the man Is SO
different that the audience thinks that
he has changed everything that he had
on. Actors know how much character
there is in a hat The kind of hat that
n man wears makes more difference in his
| appearance than all his other clothing
| put together.
Another principle which Fregol also
| turns TO account, Just at this point, is that
| most people cannot remember what he
| wore for five minutes at a time any way.
| III, for instance, he puts on pair OF plain
| gray trousers, which will attract no at
tention TO themselves, he can wear them
in two or three successive impersona-
tions, with different coats and hats, ana
not six persons i'm the house will notice
that they are the same. His change of
manner further carries out the illusion.
In one of his little plays the changes are
from a husband to the wife, then TO the
wife's lover, back to the husband again,
and SO on. The lover is lively fellow
and skips about the stage in a sprigntly
way He wears light straw nat, He
darts out ut the door, the actors attend
ants thrust another coat upon him, he
catches up the wig and whiskers OF the
husband-made in.one piece and practi-
cally self-adjusting- -claps on q tall hat
aud re-entera with the slow and deliber-
ate pace of an older man, and the whole
appearance and manner are so changed
that the audience Is deprived OF the pow
er of thinking. how simple the change has
really been.
or course the making OF the costumes is
a part of the secret. AS far as possib BILE
each costume Is like the evening dress Of
a fireman, that is, all in one piece. Take,
for instance, the change from the lover
to the wife. He merely throws off his
straw hat and puts on the blonde wig,
and at the same time one OF his attend
ants has put the yellow satin gown
around him. IL IL in a single piece and II
takes only two seconds to adjust Ii and
fasten IT. OF course 1t covers up what
ever else he has on, so that there Is no
need OF taking anything off. This Is one
of the tricks, tJ have one costume cover
up the whole OF another. And another
trick is to have as much as possible of
one dress on already, under the one
which precedes IT.
FIFTEEN PARTS IN ONE PLAY.
The most elaborate OF Fregolis perform
bnces so far has been the one in when he
successfully impersonates a number of
music hall performers, appearing In some
10 characters in all. The preparation for
this act begins with laying out all the
dresses separately on chairs and tables,
that is 10 say, the parts OF them that he
does not find IL convenient to wear at the
start. He has on portions of half q dozen
OF them to begin with. The first few
changes are simple, consisting only of
such little things as taking of coats, put
ting on hats and wigs and Disgusting the
face little. Then come harder things,
taking of trousers and disclosing oths RI
under them, putting on gowns anu bon
nets, etc. But with the rapid work OF the
well trained aids the time of such changes
is made almost as short as that Of the
simpler ones The last garb in which he
has co appear in this act Is common even
ing dress. man IN ordinary life has
been known 10 take as much as ten or
twelve minutes TO get into his evening"
clotats, even when he was not dressed as
a soubrette TO start witt. But Erogoli
has his coat, waistcoat, shirt bosom, coll
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