The morning times., 1896-12-29

Angeique, her personality and her art
help TO make magnetic a part which is
easily conventional in the farce world.
Charles B. Wells does acceptable work as
the architect, Paillard, and in the same
class may be mentioned Mr.. James o. Bar
rows excellent performance OF Matthew,
and Willis Shirley as Maxine
The players all exhibit the ease and
fluency which naturally results from long
familiarity with their parts. A word
of credit is deserved by the stage direc-
tton, which aaImates the actors TO a con-
tinuous assumption of freshness and spon-
taniety in their performances 1t is easy
after constant repetition to become dblled
in the care for small details or even the
sense of proportion in large effects, but
neither OF these is the fault OF the, mem
bers of THE Gay Parisians'' company.
This week there wilibe bargain matinee
on Wednesday, holiday matinee on Fri
day, and the usual Saturday matinee
Kellar, who is now, by the death OF
Herr mann, easily the first in the world
of mystery upon the stage, opened
weeks engagement at the Columbia The
atar last night The audience was large
and representative.
In deIusions inv diving mere sIeight-of-
hand Kellar has always ste od pre- eminent
among professional magiciaus. Last night
he fairly eclipsed himself i'll this branch
OF his art, dey oting very considerable
partofthe evening o such feats ofdexterity
as coin manipulation and transferance OF
rings and other small articles TO and from
all sorts of queer places, and so alternating
these tricks with quasi explanations that
merely added to the mystery that the
audience was kept in a constant buzz OF
excitement and laughter
n the expose of spiritualistic hum
buggery, the magician reproduced all the
varied manifestations which have made
the mediums of the past and present famous
among their following. differing only from
them in that all his feats are performed
under the full glare of the electric light
and with none OF the stock phases OF manu-
factured mystery that always attend the
seances of the ordinary run of table rap
pers.
Not the least entertaining part OF the
performance were the demonstrations OF
mind reading, In which Mrs. Kellar took
part These extraordinary tests were OF
such character as to utterly defeat the
most ingenious efforts at expla anation and
as mere exploit OF memory on the part
of either the magician OF his confederate,
certainly theliberal lcOmmendatOry
applause that they received.
Most OF the tricks are entirely new and
ali of them of great interest They will
undoubtedly draw crowds to the Columbia
at every entertainment this week.
The Flying Jordans' vaudevilles at
tracted large audience to the Academy
last night, there being scarcely a vacant
seat. This family or wonderful aerial
artists have gathered around them special
lists OF great excellence, who combine 10
form one of the most interesting and
unique programs that has been offered here
this season.
Mons. Barre and Herr Dewell the mar
velous French and German athletes, opened
the performance with almost incredible
feats of strength. the former lifting a
table Oh which stood a dozen men, and
the latter balancing Il hundrcd-weiGht bar
ball on his knees and head, as he stood
suspended from a Roman column.
The skatorial trio produced a favorable
| impression with their songs and figure
skating, that increased to genuine en-
thusiasrn as each danced skate clog and
shuttle on a high pedestal with glasses
OF water balanced on their fOrehcads, and
| outstretched hands.
Mr.. John j. Burke and his pretty assis-
| tant, Miss Grace Forrest, created hilarious
| laughter with their comicai skit entitled
Tricks of the Trade and Rosina Venus,
| the Partisan wonder, ,direc5 from he Casino,
Paris, performed amazing evolutions on
| both slack and tight wires. turning IN one
instance complete sorHersault, and aiight-
ing on the slender thread as lightly as Il
bird.
Thomas Giynn, the banjo expert, won a
| triple encore for his clever selections, and
| Lydia Titus alternately convulSed and
| thrilled the audience with her marvellous
| limitations OF a baby, and her exquisite sing
ing of operate airs and ballads; her With
| in . Mile of Edinboro Town taxing the
| house by storm
Marguerite Ferguson, contortion dancer,
| posed herself in all sorts OF shapes, each
seemingly more impossible than the one
| before, and O'Brien and Havel, in their
original specially, "A NewsbOy's Court
| ship scored decided hit by their songs
| and tumbles.
The Powers Brothers made a fair share
OF fun in a bicycle absurdity that showed
some clever wheeling, and then the .as
web of netting that had been punched
| against the balcony all the evening wa
stretched to the footlghts and the fOu
daintily dressed figures sprang on the
stage and, clutching at the dangling ropes
climbed dauntlessly to the ceiling and
looked down as smiling and self-confideni
as if that degree OF altitude was the mos
ordinary in the world.
As the wonderful gymnasts flew from
trapeze to trapeze, swung themselves from
each others hands, to hang head down
ward from vibrating bar to catch some
body in turn, people held their breath unit
the silence was percepfible.
In addition to the usual Wednesday an,
Saturday matinees an extra Performance
will be given New Years Day at O'Clock
The Sporting Craze with bright mu
sic, versatile comedians and pretty girls
all of whom are good dancers and singers
was the attraction at the Bijou last night
1t is farce comedy filled with va
riety of entertaining features, and has a