The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-05-16
TWO WHO TRY TO AMUSE Us,
FREGOLI AT ONE MUSIC B1LI
AND BIONDI AT 1NOTHER.
The RnpIdity ana DeHterity with vh,.h
They change Their ibisguisss-Tho
Ainnner In watch n Il no,. r. u,...,

NANNEhNN WIN WHICH
They Change Their ltisrutsss-Tho
Mnnner In whieh II IL Doas by Biond,.
Tho performances Of Fregoli and Biondi
ere certain to have one effect on our vaudeville
stage. Their appearance here has settled the
fate Of the lightning change artist" for, as
this particular speciality 4. given by the two
Italians at Hammerstein's and Roster n
rdArs music halls, y has never been approached
IN dexterity or rapldity by any of their prod.
scessors. This feature Of Fregoli's work il
the most remarkable thing he does. In the
Italian songs his swift and distinct utterance is
surprising. but IL is not such an exceptional
thins as tbs changes OF disguise which com.
mence In the sketch called 1.-THE Music Les
SON. Fregoli. dressed as a snuffy old man,
goes over to n piano standing Mt one corner Of
TIE stage, and seems TO sit down behind II. In
q moment a woman enters and commences n
ronR In a falsetto voice, occ OCCASIONALLY inter
runted by the baritone voice Of the teacher.
The change was made with marvellous quick.
ness, and IL was only at the close of the scene.
when the dummy form Of tho professor was
holsted into tho air. that the audience fully
realized that Frcgoli had been representing
the two figures. In THE Chameleon the
changes are made with the Same speed, and
there Is never in the appearance OF his cos.
tunes ANYTHING 10 suggest that they have been
suddenly thrown on. For every one OF the
AZ htNahhN ho YIN anu
transformation take place in seemingly less
time than a man would requirS to get from
one entrance to another behind the scene. The
changes in the composers. when he represented
i've In a few minutes, are made behind a low vel
vet screen. placed in front OF the first row Of
orchestra chairs, and he dives down as Rossint
only to rcappear In the twinkllng of an eye as
Wagner. This requires the use OF false noses.
boards, and wigs, but this elaborateness makes
no difference in tbs time. The vocal changes
compared to the rapidity OF his changes.
HIS particular excellence lies In that, and these
s y . usel %arrists 9 VINO eT ia the the p srSpR have sr BEEN the RE
gardsd as experts in their line.
Biondi does not begin to he as capable q
ventriloaulst as several that have appeared at
Roster 81 Balls. such as A. o. Duncan and
~Segommer, the unusual feature Of his speciality
being the remarkable rapidity with which he
gets out of one costume and into another. His
ventriloqual essays find him in the guise of q
woman talking with o man who Is out Of
sight, or else II Is the man who Ia in view and
the woman who 10 invisible. and the perform
er's back is turned squarely to his audience
while he speaks for the invisible character.
But when 1t comes to changing costumes.
Biondi is way ahead Of anything that has
preceded him at this music hall. 1t would
take an expert holding q stop watch to time
his changes accurately. but thirty seconds
seems a fair estimate, the period covering
exit: shift Of costume and wig. and entrance
does not seem to be Of the sort that the gym.
mast wears when he undresses while standing
draw strings or laced openings, and he does
not appear until, his rig lie in perfect order.
'Taiis, whoss shifts from a pink Mother Hub.
from two to four minutes and then the singer ap-
pears %bristling with ~tell-tale strings and sue
AZ dress On Win az band: ffis tea gown
elaborate than plain, but It plainly opens down
tine front from throat to hem and looks at
hears. " We're an Il Important feature Of It's Fast faste y.
ing. At one point. in his sketch a wife's fol-
l sins It's /: % aass. Il ai f4oS Ssp s { ha q ssniH AR %h be,
the performer crawls on all fours beneath the
, ,ess,hs its S Sasss,n ! ssa ss:Rs1y d s0 sivs ne' to come e:
close watcher that the table masks a hole
@ shssr san s sss df 81. f ssfsss .h .a.o j. ,im sh ss s :
this simple device In the mind. falsetto tones
are heard outside: GLOVE quickly by the
and ali. Whie the aketch i.ep, up a Gdrs..
Be SA faHes seHp Which oe Of ' sSe three u Is chez H%S Characters alxsss Ts
I, ,Ss due s,s and w vi sb an SnieEp sSsSss one |, . Sre 3
this performer to the haIen-haired sisters
q vaud%eville-relsted to each other because
consists simply of removing their hats. are
from Biondis Efforts.
Biondrs performance of "The Chameleon"
IL an interesting affair to view from behind tho
scenes. and II was there that the method Of his
marvellously quick changes OF costume was
seen by q SUN reporter. Though the actor as
sumcs each of the -four characters in this
sketch, he has four assistant "a behind the scenes
who assist him in dressing. They work rapid
ly and In absolute silence while the performer
Is among them. Two are dressers, ono is a mu-
sician. and one mans duty consists in handl-
ing q lighted candle to the entertainer and in
firing a pistol three times just prior to the en-
trance of the old servant ut the end Of the
sketch. The musician's duties. too. are light,
as'all that he Is called on to do is to play q few
Incidental airs on a piano that stands at stage
left and to thrum a guitar back Of the window
ut the opposite side of the drop while the wife's
lover 10 serenading. It would seem that an.
other assistant might prove helpful in this
sketch, for, while shifts of elusive collar but
tons are not demanded by the changes, nor are
there suspender buttons to ~gleefully test the
get Into hurriedly, and It seems as II a man
spot and be sworn at would earn his salary
when sleeve, Innings went wrong or buttonholes
airy was In ~evidence on the occasion of this
visit behind The scenes The costumes we're
long. which they nearly covered. While
BiHndi was on the stage In one Ruise. the head
dresser prepared the next costume to 70 into
service. folding each garment in a manner that
would make IL easily handled, and running
his arm into each coat or dress sleeve TO make
lure that IL was in shape to alp on readily. A
full minute before the per former was TO leave
the exposed portion OF the stage the head
dresser and HIS assistant would be ready with
the needed garments in their hands. or. In case
there was need OF their assistance In removing
garments. ono man would be ready to strip
them of. while so much of the next rig as the
second man did not hold lay at hand upon the
bench. In the changes from male to female
attire one fellow did nothing but hand a wig to
his master. who slip. cd of tho robe. adjusted
tho wig. and with the right suit of mans
clothes already on beneath the tea gown, was
ready To dash back In fresh disguise. Even
with these two men at hand BiOndi did more
than either or both In the actual dressing.
Trousers were exclusively his own care, once
they were n MS hands, and he also adjusted