The herald., 1896-06-07

week save IOT lOCdl dtli dStiois' 1N0.
Ting bills were presented at the Bur
bank. with Joseph Dowling and the
Moulton company in My Partner, ana
a strong coterie of attractions at the Or
spheun.
A good raconteur is an exceeding rar-
ity in this day and age OF the Worlu'
either on or off the stage. SO mucn 50
that a cleve person in this line is hailed
as a rare novelty. This is the secret OF
the success of John Ransome, now at
the Orpheum He studies the PUBLIC.
He knows funny story, and, best Oh an,
he knows how to tell it. That this is
q great gift will be readily acknowledged
by those who have betimes been bored
to extinction by the Indifferent relation
of a really good story. Ransome is
daring. but his daring never becomes
impudence. He knows just how far to
go, and leaves his auditors in good
humor with themselves and the whole
world. And what so useful in q nation
of dyspetics, as we are rapidly becom-
ing? Some there are who will attempt
to repeat Ransome's stories Beware
We who are about to be beguiled into
listening to them. 1t requires Ransome
to tsu them.
Nowadays when young man or 4
young woman develops dramatic abil-
fty, ana desires to go upon the stage, the
proper thing seems to be to either at
tend dramatic school, and take
course OF prepare tion in the essentials
/. necessary to a proper development of
such talent, as the pupil may possess, or
. else, to secure the services of an actor
or actress as the case may be, for the
: same purpose. This system, Of course,
costs money, and is often profitable
but to one person, the teacher, as nearly
anybody may see for himself. after
watching the painful performances and
shocking mannerisms of some of the
graduates of the aforementioned in
structors. After all, experience is the
best teacher. If genius is inherent, it
will come to the surface, despite all OBJ
] stacles, and very often the slow and
painful climb up the ladder of success
is the one thing necessary to develop
that genius. A look at the great artists
OF the past and present will show very
few, if any, who began anywhere near
the top rung of the ladder af fame. and
that, be 1t understood, the graduate of
dramatic school always expects to do.
1t has been told of one actress, who,
after several years study with a prom
inent theatrical COACH had been offered
an opening in fine company to play
small parts. She was cast for servant
1t was the opening of a lifetime for her
Did she accept it? Not much She
informed the manager that if she could
not have the part of a lady, she would
not play at ALL Spirit of Johnstone Ben
nett! A lady! 1t is needless to say her
services were promptly dispensed with.
A few years of experience with good
company and under a careful manage
ment usually serves to convince the
graduate" that genius is a capricious
damsel, and must be sought with humii-
ity, and wooed with energy If the stu
dent is really in position to learn some
thing. and if the genius is really there
the public will soon become aware of it.
and after that success is assured
Captain Thomas McDermott of the
barhentine Portland is at Redondo Cap
tam McDermott is the father of the two
beautiful actresses, Maxine and Ger
trude Elliott, who are at present appear
ing with Dan Frawleys company at the
columbia, San Francisco. Maxine Ell
lott is perhaps the best advertised
young lady on the coast today, and is
considered the most beautiful actress
on the American stage. Her younger
sister, Gertrude, while "only skip of
a girl as yet, is a very attractive and
oromising actress.
AS an example of what training will
90 for an actor, one has but to follow
ne course of Arthur Moulton through the
range OF different characters he assumes.
They are all widely different character
1zations, and yet an individuality runs
through each succeeding one of them
mat makes ii stand out clearly from IFS
predecessor What is true of Mr.. Moul-
ton may also be asserted of the perform
ances of Mr. Bowling, whose versatility.
dllhough OF not so wide a range as that
OF Mi. Moulton, has served to make him
euch faVorite with his audiences.
rev people who are not intimately
acquainted with the peculiarities of the
lfIsh race can realize what true char
acterlzation of a certain type of Irish
man Morton and Mack gave in their
turn at the Orpheum last week. Those
people who have never seen the Irishman
on ms native heath, or in his moments
of relaxation among his PARTICULAR
friends, when alone the true inwardness
OIL his being asserts itself, can never
fully realize the geniality of his nature
Tor be it understood Pat has many diff
ferent sides to his character, and the or
dlnary observer is hardly likely to hap
pen on the true one. There is a tri1e
one to be sure, but Paddy, with a desire
common to most of us, the desire to put
MS best foot foremost" especially when
the quality is present, causes him very
OFTEN to exhibit the spurious com of af-
tectation for the genuine gold of the true
kindness of his real nature Butt re-
represent type common enough among
lrishmen-the class who eXaggerate Wo-
fully every circumstance related and
who really imagine themselves the he
roes OF their episodes AS an offset to
this person there lis always sure to be the
village wit, who is fully aware of the
aforesaid romancers disposition and
whose chief delight is to draw him out
and before he is aware of it make him
say all sorts of ridiculous things, much
to the amusement of the bystanders. OF
course the victim frequently discovers
that he is being laughed at, and then the
friendly meeting is likely to end UP in
very serious fight, for Pat is ever SEN
sitive to criticism. and will defend his
honor with his life if necessary. Morton
and Mack give an cellent specimen of
the Irish lit, which is as much a nationa |
belonging as the keen" and at all viii
lage festivals where a fiddler or piper is
not procurable. who is so popular as a
good litter? There was just one point.
or rather just one word in the Orpheum
performance which showed an alien
pronunciation. 1t was the word "uxter. -
pronounced with a true Irish twanp
"uxther." and by which Paddy means
to designate the hollow immediately un-
der his arm This word was pronounced
"axther," and must have puzzled MANY
an Irishman present as to it's meaning
Otherwise the performance showed care
ful study Of the type of Irishman pre-
sented and was highly amusing.
During the past week Los Angeles
has been favored with a visit from some
of the leading vaudeville artists Of the