The herald., 1897-05-09
Conducted by Geo. A. Dobinson)

Conducted by Geo. A. Dobinson)
"A short season of minstrelsy, so called
has given immense satisfaction to
crowded houses, and the general verdict
has been one OF entire approval 1t is
true that minstrelsy of the old-fashioned
kind is dead; and barring the fact that
the quaint old ballads are almost things
of the past, there is not much to regret
in the changes that have been brought
about by the mutiform endeavors to
please the popular taste.
Today it appears that composite
grouping of coons in the background
with yellow-topped troubadours in front
is deemed the proper thing. Then, the
end men are not allowed to monopoize
so much attention and the whole per-
formance is diversified with Juggling
and acrobatic work, so that the minstrel
exists more in the name than In fact.
Apropos of the gaudy troubadours,
their dainty costumes excited much ad-
miration. Several girl graduates OF the
cooking school went into raptures over
the delicate lettuce-green OF their man.
ly combinations. the shrimp pink OF
their velvety doublets and the mayon-
naise dressing suggested by their uni
formly yellow hair
Well, the troubadour minstrels have
come and gone, and this week the same
curtain will rise upon the good old legit-
innate. but whether to such crowded
audiences remains to be seen, though the
riddle is not a hard one to guess.
Otis SINNERS return for the purpose
of presenting a week of Shakespearean
and other plays will afford an excellent
opportunity for the students of dramatic
art. and there are many in this city, IN
the sister city of Pasadena and neigh
boring towns, to take observations that
will be of the greatest use to them. Any
quantity of private reading is incom-
plete as q course of study without the
illumination that is afforded by single
performance of a play that has been
carefully rehearsed and put upon the
stage under intelligent direction.
It is not indispensable that the per-
formers should all be Of the first class.
IT is sufficient that the work shall have
been undertaken by people who have
devoted their time, after careful train
ing, to the presentation of the great
works. Then, if there should be read
ings of the text which may be at vari-
ance with the ideas of the student, or
cuts in the dialogue and rearrange-
ment of scenes which excite adverse
comment, it will simply be the disa
greement of people who are in harmony
in one idea, which is TO give the best
possible Interpretation of the work pre-
sented Also, it may be remarked that
the professional opinion will be more
often right on question of represen-
tation than that of the average theater-
goer, who has had no practical expert
ence.
Otis Skinner is not yet thoroughly we'll
recognized here. although he is a great
favorite elsewhere. Few people remem-
Der him as the leading support of Mod
1eska when she played an engagement
in this city at the time when she gave
her first performance Of "Magda." Yet
Mr.. Skinner received high praise at that
time and deserved it too. He is entitled
to popular recognition now to still
greater degree, seeing that he assumes
a more responsible position as leading
Interpreter of great plays and is known
d
telligent actor His performance of
Hamlet, with which he opens his en-
gagement tomorrow night, ought to at
tract an equally intelligent and cultured
audience. Whatever may be the opin-
ion of his work as to matters of detail,
there is no doubt that he will give
performance we'll worth seeing.
On Friday. April 90, occurred the two
hundred and eighty-first anniversary of
the birth of William Shakespeare. The
only formal celebration of the supposed
birthday of the poet noted among Eng
disappearing people was the perform
ance at the Memorial theatre at STRAIT
ford Avon Of Henry w." play
seldom acted Sir Walter Besant Ie-
Gently suggested that the natal day of
Shakespeare should be regularly cele-
brated by the Anglo-Saxon race In an
interview in the London Chronicle on the
subject he called attention to the SEN
timental patriotism manifested in Ame-
rica on the Fourth of July and on
Thanksgiving day and said that these
celebrations were analogous TO what he
believed should be expressed by people
throughout the British empire on the
day of Shakespeare.
Gel Captain" Souea's comic opera
opened in San Francisco last Monday
night, and if the press reports from that
city are true, has proved an all-round
success. De Wolf Hopper and Edna
Wallace Hopper have won new laurels
and ii is said that the engagement will
be one Of the most profitable ever known
on this coast.
"Chic," drama in four acts by Alex
ander Won Roberts was produced in New
York for the first time on Goth ult., at the
Irving place theater Frau Agnes Sorma
made a very favorable impression. Ac-
cording to an eastern dramatic author
ity. the play itself possesses no particu-
lar merit, but 1t serves to set forth the
strong points of Frau Sorma's histrion-
ic equipment to great advantage. Lux
the heroine, is young girl whose father
engaged in illegal financierlng and was
imprisoned as a swndler. The mother
succeeds in Withholding from Lux all
knowledge of her fathers disgrace and
takes her from one watering place to an
other. Ultimately Lux marries Dolberg,
rich and cultivated gentleman, who
takes her to his estate in the country
and, in order to separate her from past
associations insists that the mother
shall not visit her daughter for period