Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1897-10-18
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
The Idle Actor and the First Night Priv
ilege-The Cleo de Merode Sensa-
tion-A Queer Magistrate.
Especial Correspondence

No matter what claims Chicago may
this country in q commercial or fnan-
cial way, there can be no question that
New York is at least the theatrical me
tropolis Of the United States. There are
usually more actors unemployed in this
CITY than there are altogether in any
other place on the western hemisphere
ct a given time. The Rialto lounger is
q character sui generis, and lie is by no
means an entirely co1nnendable char
acter either. 70 use the vernacular, he
IS the greatest s'knocker' in the world
which, being Interpreted, means that
he is in the habit Of corde1nning every
ENTERPRISE which is net honored by his
participation. This propensity has de-
vel0ped to such an alarming extent that
the managers are beginning to take cog
nizance Of it. Hitherto it has been the
custom to extend the courtesies Of the
house to members of the profession hav-
ing the slightest claim to such rec0gni-
ton, but that is gradually being changed.
The actors are in the habit Of going to
first nights and making all sorts Of I'M
favorable comment both during the per-
formanGe and between the acts, and the
worst OF it all is that in the desire to be
known as actors they criticise SO audi
bly, that they annoy those in their vicin-
ity who have paid for admission.
Passing Of the Free List.
Already the first night privilege has
been cut off by a good many CT the
prominent managers, and these are now
seriously debating the pr0priety Of
withdrawing the free list entirely from
professionals, who, they say, accept their
cOurtesies and then do all III their power
to injure the attraction. A few nights
ago I was present at an entertainment,
and while the audience seemed to be
well pleased with the play there were
three actors, two women and q man,
who had been given seats in a box, and
these people seemed to be determined to
distract some Of the attention OF the arl-
ditors from the persons on the stage to
themselves. They were unable to &C
complish this in the usual manner Of
applauding with conspicuous loUdness
at the most inopportune moments, there
by distracting the actors from their
work and annoying them UNNECESSARILY,
SO they determined to gain their point
by boisterous conduct. In this they Sue
ceeded admirably, and if they had not
been well known in the theatrical world
and nominal friends Of the star they
would have been incOntinently elected
by the special policeman attached to
the theater The manager Of this house
is ore Of those who declare that they are
tired Ct having their courtesy and good
nature abused and that hereafter no pro-
fessional need walk up TO the box Office
with the hope Of getting into the theater
unless he has the price of admission in
his pocket and is willing to pay it out.
The Cleo de Merode Sensation.
Judged by the quantity OF space de-
voted to her by the newspapers, Cleo Gle
Mer0de is just now the sensation OF this
city. The newspapers, after gushing
over her i'll the most nauseating man
ner, suddenly changed their tactics and
proceeded either to roast her unmerci-
fully or to damn her with faint praise.
Leander Richardson, the well known
feuilletonist, seems to hit it off just
about right when he declares that the
critics have been unnecessarily severe
in their treatment of Cleo de MerOde.
She isn't the greatest danseuse who ever
appeared in New York, to be sure, but
she is far from being the stick she has
been described by number OF the writ
ers for the daily papers. After reading
most Of the notices l went to Roster e
Bial's with the general idea that l was
about to have an insufferab1e evening OF
it. I was agreeably disappointed. Me
eli OnT p,,aa tI1TQ wit
of shiny black hair and big, eloquent
eyes. 1 shouldn't be inclined to rave
particularly over her fragile style of
beauty, but she is an exceedingly grace
full woman, and, although she doesn't
startle one with either her dexterity or
her agility, it is nevertheless fact that
she does leave very agreeable impress
sion upon the mind
Not a Disappointment.
s'The audience which completely filed
all parts of the house, excepting the up
per gallery, was certainly pleased with
Merode, for the applause which follow
ed her briSf dance came from the boxes
orchestra and balcony and came sponta-
neously. The Faust ballet, too, was
well received. Many of the groupings
were heartily applauded, and, all told,
I shall be very greatly surprised If the
engagement doesn't turn out to be a
good deal better than most people seem
to have thought it would be. Merode
by herself wouldn' t have done very we'll,
perhaps, but, surrounded as she is by
great, big spectacular show, preceded
by lot of first class specialties, she is
all right and is not disappointment to
the paying public. y
a Queer Magistrate.
Magistrate Mott is peculiar sort OF
Individual, and he would have to do