The San Francisco call., 1896-05-31

California season does not begin till June
Is, but the Frawley Company opens at the
Columbia tomorrow and comes at timely
moment.
A few more performances like Faust"
with fireworks and ''Miss Harum Sea-
rum" and Daniel Frawley's ministra-
tions would have been sorely needed at
the Columbia. As it is, the audiences
have suffered long and been kind, in an
ticipation of Frawley. San Francisco
always took to him, from the time he
began his apprentice hand at management
here year ago in Sweet Lavender"
Encouraged by the success of the Fraw-
ley Company, the Columbia Theater tried
sort of stock company last fall. There
were few clever people in its ranks, but
it is impossible to recall the performances
without experiencing tired feeling. The
fatal feature of the season was trying to
star Rose Coghlsn in girlish roles. "a
many years ago, when she was young and
charming" Rose could have carried the
season herself, but the mantle of immor-
tality which Patti and Bernhardt wear
has not yet descended on Rose Coghlan's
shapely but substantial shoulders. She
is not old enough. In another ten years
Miss Coghlan will have ceased to look like
good, heavy, well-nourished duenna, the
'too, too, solid flesh" will have melted,
she will take reefs in those gorgeous dresses
of hers to make them fit her slender form;
even the Coghlan double chin will have
dissolved into thin air, and Rose will
be herself again. In these days OF grand old
men and grand young grandmothers, it is
not till an actress has bidden a lingering
last farewell to so that she enters into the
heritage of her second youth.
Some day-it is quite long time off
even Ada Rehan viii have grown young
enough to play Helena in "a Midsummer
Nights Dream" gushingly ands girlishly,
as she ought to be played, for is it reason
able to suppose that any one but a very
young and very gushing girl could have
given her unasked affections so ardently to
Demetrius, and such a Demetrius? When
Miss Rehan gets old enough TO ''gush" she
won't amble across the stage to her lover
when the irate Hernia gets after her, and
then thinking better of it turn round
and stand on the defensive. Size will rush
straight to Demetrius' arms, and see that
she gets there. "Caparisons are odorous,"
as Mrs. Malaprop remarks. though one
cannot help thinking how differently
Ellen Terry would have behaved in that
scene. All, but one forgets-Ellen Terry
is old enough to be young.
Augustin Daily has not much opinion of
dancing; unfortunately few managers who
penetrate to the Pacific Coast have. They
generally assume that the kind of terpsi-
chorean exercise that appeals to the suscep-
tiblities of Californians is either break
midst of which foot is occasionally visi-
BILE, waving like signal of distress. Mr..
DAILY shows his good taste when he spurns
and rejects these violent forms of exercise;
they should be reserved for the gymna-
SUM or the family circle, where the neigh
bors are too far of to be annoyed by the
dull ''thud, thud'' of heavy body coming
down on its heels.
tits strange, though, tn at with Mr.. Days
scorn for the art of Terpsichore be should
make a speciality of producing "a Mid
summer Nights Dream" The children
who read "Grimm's Goblins'' could tell
him that fairies always dance. Mr.. Daly's
fairies ran round and round with great
rapidity. as if they were trying how sea-
sick they could make themselves feel. 1t
was impossible to help thinking of May
bugs. Poor Titania did not even make
the rotary attempt 10 trip the light fan
tastic toe. There was only once W hen her
feet were in evidence, and that was when
she tucked them up on "the bank where
on the wild thyme grows" and exposed to
the admiring gaze of the audience pair
of good substantial walking shoes, or were
they boots? At any rate the castings of
her feet were strong and thick enough to
lfrlI Il rsafrr - l.
cold by walking about at night on the
damp grass Prudent Titanial If she
could not dance she showed that she knew
thing or two about hygiene. Perhaps
the fairy queen had become new woman.
How much dancing those rose windows
in Notre Dame de Paris are responsible
for. 1t was when gazing in fit of admir-
alton at that great rainbow tinted east
window, flashing like a sy stem of jewels
in the dim reli .ious darkness of the
Gothic nave, that Loie Fuller first received
her famous inspiration for a rainbow
dance. After long, and Loie says discourage
ing, consultations with electricians she
succeeded in showing Paris a new use for
cathedral windows by transferring their
tints 10 her skirts. OF course her success
had imitators, and Papinta was one of
these. The level-headed, MIN ble-footed lit
tie person knew that 'alone all by herself''
she could not hope to vie with the one
and only Loie. She determined to dupli-
cate herself. 1t had been done in London,
and il one woman over there could econo-
mize on a whole ballet by using looking
glasses why not Papinta? She worked on
her mirrors as La Loie had worked on her
cathedral windows, and the scheme sue
ceeded.
At the orpheum they consider that five
Papintas are more than match for one
Loie Fuller
Baldwin Theater.
One OF the chief dramatic events of the
week will certainly be the grand revival
OF Twelfth Night" which Augustin DAILY