The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-18
Only One in " BY the
Sad Sea Waves
FRAWLEYS IN DAILY COMEDY
CLARA THRoPP AT TIE COMEDY
IN oPERATIC FARCE.
The Cubans at the Alhambra-New
Morosco Melodrama-orpheum
Novelties-The Other
Theaters.

After all you never can tell what VIII
happen in this town on Monday night.
I forwent the Frawleys last night in
what was doubtless a very decent per
Torrance Of a Daily comedy TO go over
the way TO the Columbia and see the
Messrs. Mathews and Bulger in by
the Sad Sea Waves" I hadn't been
there fifteen minutes before I knew
that my understudy had got the best of
It; but 1t was too late for an exchange
and stayed it out till the last.
The Messrs. Mathews and Bulger
have, I admit, never been more impOr-
tant than the Frawley Company AND
Blanche Bates (the posters and pro-
grammes very properly Insist on this
big ANDY, but one wearies Of writing
about even the Frawleys all the time.
Variety il the spice Of life and as last
season Mr.. Mathews and Mr.. Bulger
had given us the spice that Is the life
OF variety I did not have the courage
TO stay away from them this time.
Perhaps you remember them in a piece
called "a Trip TO Coney Island" or
something like that. 1t was a silly
piece, the very Inflammation Of Anert-
can farce comedy. but it was relent-
lessly laughable You went and you
laughed and lost your right to say
unpretty things about the show after
ward when your normal solemn mood
set IN. Mathews. with his tireless pho
nographic persistence, and Bulger, with
his sublimated tramp comicality, and
the speed and patness Of their gags, all
conspired to make you forget such
things as sanity and seriousness and
dramatic criticism. And then there
was a pretty little girl who sang coon
songs with the real pumpkin-colOred
swagger and made herself a topic Of
the town. For all know she may still
be with the company, but If so a years
time has wrought terrible changes.
There was nothing in the cast last
night that sounded OF looked the least
bit ike her And Mr.. Mathews and
Mr.. Bulger didn't seem like the same
old smile. In the last act they did their
old specially OF rehearsing a play, and
they repeated the drum and trombone
duet, and these episodes are still funny;
but themost Of the rest Of the time they
were dull and stale because of the
piece. which is stupider than New
York Casino review" and relieved
Only at intervals Dy d C4EfEI 1AIAG OI d
speciality Of any moment
One Of these intervals IS supplied by
Ned Weyburn. who does rag time feats
on the piano. He is q wonder. He is,
If I am not miserabIy mistaken, the
composer Of "Syncopated Sandy" the
most extraordinary double-tWisted rag
time coon classic that ever was writ
ten, and he ought to be a wonder. He
is the only man have ever heard ex-
tract the genuine niger essence from
juice1ess worries of & back parlor up
right. Actually he had the audacity
last night to play the Wedding
March in rag time.
am usually satisfied with the
Mendelssohn version Of this piece, but
once listen to the syncopated lit that
Mr. Weyburn gives It and you will
agree with me that. born earlier. he
could have given Felix Bartholdy
pointers on darktown movement and
humor He also made rags" Of Mr..
De Koven's Promise Me-" and the
"Star Spangled Banner" and wound I'D
with, among other things in the med
ley, a snatch Of "Syncopated Sandy"
until your ears yearned to hear some
pumped voiced May Irwin sing IL 10
that accompaniment.
But, thank heaven, nobody in the
company sings TO Mr.. Weyburns play
ing. with the exception of Miss Nellie
hawthorne WHO pipes 0olhtS A4beAC
legend about THE Willow Pattern
Plate" there seems to be no one in the
company who can sing with human re-
suits There are three young women
who sing a trio II the same number of
keys, and there are vocal soloists whose
lives would not be secure on Sunday
night at the Orpheum, and there is not
a good new song IN the entire perform
ance.
Mathews and BuIger Especially Bull
ger) are clever fellows. but IT is only
in their old speciality act that they have
any chance The hit of the show is
Ned Weyburn. His ragtime convolu
lions commence at about 9:45.
ASHTON STEVENS.