The herald., 1896-08-23

> case OF the man who only thought tina
Z ne thought In no place is this delusiol
more apparent than in the so-called real
istic plays. We think they are realistic
that is all. Dissect them carefully, an,
we md the great original nothing
spoken of by Spielhagen-the same ok
iueas we have always known, in slight
~ different garb, that is ALL We are 8,
inconsistent, too, in what we regard a,
realism. We shrink from the coarse
aliusions in which the Bard of Avon fire.
quently indulged, while we listen witt
unmoved countenance. or,at the most
with faint moue of distaste to the
Scant1ly concealed coarSeness of some
modern playwright. Yea, verify, this is
an age of realism. And If we could only
make use of the Irishman's suggestion te
MS friend, that he should step out and
take look at himself, then would many
or our preconceived ideas take unto
themselves wings and our search after
idealism end until the day when Charon
shail ferry us over in his boat to the
shore, where, we are told, the truly re-
aiistfc is alone attainable.
But, revenous a nos moutons Dress
assumes an important part in our PLAYS.
lof the reason that the tastes of society
are always reflected on the stage. and
every one knows how absorbing the
question of raiment has become to most
OF our women and many of our men, In
the early days, when our great nation
was IN the infancy of its greatness, style
was IN apeyance, as our communication
with the great fashion centers of the
world was a matter of some time and
Anucn uncertainty. But we have changed
al mat Inc ocean greyhound brings
Faris and London within six DAYS of us
! ana numbers of our people are as famil-
Iar WIN THESE great cities as their own
New ork, Chicago or San Francisco
Ihe difficulty of obtaining fashion hints
IS entirely obviated. and feminine fancy
! gan now deck itself in all the splendor
peloVed by it, with the consciousness
that It's belongings are quite the mode
truly necessary condition, by the way,
as II IS only when they obtain this acme
OF desirability that the feminine be-
Iohgihg are OF value in the feminine eve.
II therefore behooveS the actor or ac-
tress who plays to this critical audience
OF the Votaries of fashion to take heed
70 hlmseIr or herself what he or she shall
put on. To do them justice, they nobly
endeavor to live up to their OBLIGATIONS
as is evinced by the numerous suits for
payment brought against them bv in
oishant creditors, who have had the fur
Ilsnlng or the costly raiment Some
uay, IN our searching after the realistic.
we snail discover the ideal costume. and
then our minds will be at rest on this mo-
Inehtous question of dress, and the ne
cesslty of actors providing themselves
with wardrobe which eats I'D a large
portion OF their income, and which has
become necessity with them in order 70
Keep afloat on the wave of popularity
durlng the season, will be at an end In
tHe meantime the public admires the
pfllllant pageant and considers itself
cheated if it be not forthcoming. And tho
end of it all is vanity!
The Orpheum presented an unusually |
good Dill last week. and a Wonderfully |
popular one. The house was packed to |
tHe doors, the intense heat notwith- I
tstanding. The audience didn't mind the |
neat, as the bill was good enough TO |
make them oblivious to it, for the time |
pelng. They laughed. applaudec. vigor-
ousIy, Sood humoredly mopped away
the perspiration caused by these exer-
clses and laughed again. Truly inspir-
ing circumstances these, for the contin-
ued efforts of the entertainers.
Staley and Birbeck were among the
new arrivals at the Orpheum the mast
week and the patrons of the house found
them highly amusing addition to the
forces already present. They have a
musical turn, with forge for setting,
where they draw melodies from cart /
wheels and anvils. Instantly, almost,
the scene changes, and. instead of a |
ASAc We nave IL DTlIlldntlY lighted |
drawing room and instead of two work
a lady in silk frock, who does some |
wonderful high kicking and dancing, ac- |
complishing splits with the most perfect |
ease to the mellow sound of the guitar |
or the sonorous note of the piano
Gilbert and-.Goldie have popularity |
in Los Angeles that is phenomenal; but,
surely, they never have been so we'll !
placed as in the characters they assum-
ed last week in One of the BraveSt, at the |
reopening of the Burbank theater. Col
die was the very model of an Irish !
woman of the peasant class. 1t is |
difficult thing for d man to carry out |
female characterization without making |
a false move at some time or other, which |
will serve to keep his identity present in |
the minds of the audience. Goldie never |
once forgot the part he was playing. He |
was always Mrs. Grogan. Hisattention |
to detail was very good indeed. The |
little woolen shawl around the shoulders, !
the habit of~poking the head forward |
in the attitude of listening, the stealthy !
smoothing of the hair the conservative |
crossing of the hands at the waist, the |
company sweetness of from towering the |
domestic thunderstorm-all these things |
highly characteristic Of the Irish peas
ant race, were we'll brought out and |
showed careful study of the subject. AS |
for Gilbert, all who are acquainted with |
his physiognomy will realize how well
he looked the part of the popular stage
conception of the Irish police
man, who was "on the foorce two years,
begorra, before he landed in the coun-
try!"
These two characterizations were,
together with the Larry Howard of EN-
met Sheridan, the star of the company,
and Frank Colton's Pete, the hits of the
evening Mr.. Sheridan is well fitted for
such parts as the fireman in Prices jolly
comedy drama. Irish parts are particu-
larry suited to him as he has South OF
ireland broguc that would ''sejuse dea-
con-"
The vcritably good impersonators of
/ negro character on the stage are few,
and they are becoming fewer for some
reason, but Frank Cotton as Pete in One
/ Of the Bravest. at the Burbank last week,
| gave one Of the best delineations of the
sable brother that has been seen on the
| local boards for several seasons. His
/ dialect is unctuous, and strikingly true
| to nature, while his every gesture and
! maunerism is typically suggestive of the
| Ethiopian. Mr.. Cotton is likewise pos
! sessed of a pleasing voice, and contrib
| utod largely to the general success OF
the production at the Burbank.
GREEN ROOM GOSSIP.
Emily Rigl, who is passing the sum-
| ut nch ennlatPS