The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1898-03-27

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Gents" said that most peculiar &c
MUS, Artemus Ward, Motto this kolek-
shun of kankeTous objects Turnfn' to
the right you will ubserv wax image
of Goe Dixon which killed his wife
or else it is the big fgger next. have
forgot an besydes its none OF my bizi-
ness-you pay your money and TAX yur
choyc!' And these words apply to mod
ern vaudeville more than anything else.
The history of the variety stage in
this country is marked with the foot
notes of remarkable setbacks and fail
ures. That is the reason that an art
nearly as old as the drama itself is to-
day yet a half Objectionable trade. while
the rest OF the Yotaries of Thespis have
pushed on to the front. The vaudevil-
lians, or as some humorist has called
them, "saudy villains" themselves are
undoubtedly to blame in the matter and
it is almost wholly their own fault that
when drama had a Shakespeare they
We're not yet recognized. Lack of edE-
cation and the unlimited field for the
lowest class of people, when they hap
pened to strike it, has had something to
do with this but the towering cOnceit of
that class has been the main cause.
While all other branches Of art have
been profting by criticism and broaden
ing with the times these peculiar play
ers have alone held aloof. 1t has not
been so long ago that a kindly manager,
himself an educated man, tried to win
over a dramatic critic by remarking
that the artists whom he spoke of
never considered that a bad notice came
from their own incapacity, but laid it to
the idea that the proprietor of the house
and the newspaper man had quarreled.
This might happen in the legitimate,
but not TO the leading lights of the
stage.
Like the spirit manifestations of a
magician. the beginning of the art is
shrouded in mystery. 1t is certain. how
ever, that it was originally planned as an
addition to the regular plays presented
and that afterward it was used in piec-
ing out the waits between acts. Long
before even this time it must have exist
ed, since many of the older play manu-
scripts mention the strollers. For some
time after the drama was to a certain
extent, perfected, vaudeville was general
ly inserted between scenes, and now it is
not a rare thing to be called upon to wait
at a meodrama for the heroine's escape
until one of the Villains accomplices has
finished a monologue and comic song or
two.
Practically speciality work was not a
| distinct line, though, until about 1S3S.
| when troupes, resembling what we would
now call transformers or tie-jumpers, be-
gan TO put in an appearance For some
| time the halls in the larger places and
| barns in the smaller ones often resound-
! ed TO the PUNK of q banjo or the Wheeze
| Of a fiddle, while Mr.. Benjamin St
| Clair did his negro turn. or Monsieur
! Alphonse Maurey' danced a clog Fee
| male performers were the greatest of
| rarities, and the vulgarly-termed 'lcg
! snow had not yet put in an appearance.
! After few years, crude MINISTRIES be-
| gan TO be in vogue. and the demand for
| good turns was far in excess of the sup
| ply. This was the turning point of the
| art-the food that might have foated
vaudeville to success, but only succeeded
| in running it. The very need for people
! was its undoing, for the uneducated of
! every grade that could supply the sim
! plest of acts poured into the troupes
| and, in short time, variety had put
| blot on itself that separated II from every
| other class Of entertainment and sent
| from father 10 son the stigma of vice
! and immortality.
Even at this stage there was a chance
| left, but in 10 the gold fever broke out
and the thousands Of people going to Cal
| ifornia took with them the toughest class
| in the country. Many of the towns that
| sprang up as If by magic were dens of
| vice Of the most loathsome description
| Women were scarce. and in response to
| the unspoken call a small army of the
most vicious ones Travelled to the gold
| oil A Of hoe
| improvised troupes which aimed at moth
| ing but vulgarity and vice. The lowest
! concert halls sprang up all over the new
! district, and were frequented by the worst
! class of the miners. Liasons were too
| frequent to be noticed, Iewdness in its
| most loathsome form ran riot, and. shoot
! ing affTays on account Of the female per-
| formers were by no means rare. With
| the invasion of this host began really the
name for immortality that the stage has
not lived down yet.
| For some time after the fever died out
vaudeville neither went up nor down. for
! the reason that it had reached as low an
ebb as was possible, and that the better
! part of the population had grown 50 that
! they could see il in no other position The
| war injured all theatrical interests but
| some ten years after things again boom
! ed and theaters were built all over the
country to accommodate the revised form.
| This was not very different from what it
! IS now, though on a lower scale. The
| sale Of liquors and cigars during a per-
| Torrance was taken up from the first,
and, of course, the patrons of such per-
| formances were solely men. AS time
| passed on a few changes were made for
! the better and then more, though so slow
| ~ that 1t is perhaps best to take up the
| Improvement by contrasting the two and
! mentioning the vaudeville show of then
and people of the popular houses today
| All over the land are such theaters
| as Kernans, in this city, and as the
| local place IS a perfect mint so nearly
| all such houses make money at all
times. whether their attractions are bad
| or good. Beer and cigars are still sold
and form a very material source of rev
enue. The performances generally Civ
en- invariably consist Of a burlesque
without plot or situations but filled with
| catchy and novel nonsense pretty or
| homely girls, songs and dances. A Vau-
| deville Olio follows in which q male or
| female soloist, a sketch team, two com
| edians or parOdists, two dancers and Il
| pair of acrobats generally figure bur
letta follows with plenty Of spice and a
dance in which long skirts, white lace
| black stockings, red carriers and pink
| tights are the main elements. Above all
the whole entertainment must appeal to
the risibiities of the audience
Until two or three years ago this was
| the chief field of vaudeville. Spectacu-
| lar performances generally carried a few
| speciality workers and circuses owned
| the services Of a dozen or so but the
real scope Of vaudeville was In these
second-class houses. But a short time
ago the worst performances were to be
-g.I