Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-08-13


| announced that all the theaters will begin
the Sc ason early. The Lyceum has already
commenced business to large audiences, and
| the Bijou will soon follow. The Columbia
will open the Goth instant. the National
September II, and the Lafayette SeDtem-
Der 10. Both the Columbia and the La
| fayette will present new plays. At the for
mer will be seen a new comedy with
special cast, under the direction of A. M.
| Palmer; at the latter will be the first
| American performance of the vaudeville
operate comedy Hotel Topsy-Turvy." The
| National will offer Rice's Girl From
| Paris"
Mr. E. NJ. Hall is more than mere
| picker of the banjo, he is an accomplished
musician and a student He has delved in
| to the history of the instrument that he
has made his especial study and has found
| that the banjo originated with one Joel
| Walker Sweeney of Petersburg, Va.
| Sweeney was of three brothers and
| they had band, and all afteward went in
| to negro minstrelsy Although Joel was the
| inventor of the banjo and made the first
| instrument, he couldn't play it as well as
enc of his brothers. The original banjo
| made by Joel Sweeney said Mr.. Hall, in
speaking on the subject, rs now in the
possession of a gentleman in Chicago, and
| 1 have tried to get it to use on tour, but he
| won't let it go out of his possession. The
| enc that l use in illustrating the different
| phases of banjo playing, and which L call
| the thunderer, is the same that l used in
England over twenty years ago to show
| what Improvement had then been made in
playing on the instrument But how diff
| ferent it is from the modern instrument.
| 1t has no frets and is crude in construction.
| ! have always tried to see what improve
ments could be made in the banjo, and the
| one | now employ for artistic playing is
different from any other in the world 1t is
my IA III
| long, which gives a greater vibration and
| consequently more volume of tone. 1t also
gives me five octaves. The dimensions of
| the head and rim are also different from
other instruments, and / believe | can do
more with it than any one else. The first
banjo L made continued Mr.. Hall, was
when l was a drummer boy in the Union
army and stationed at New Iberia, La, in
1853 l used the rim of a cheese box, and
for strings 1 took horse hair out of the
tails of the horses, but made music out OF
the thing"
In the current number of the Philadelphia
Musical Tempo there is very pretty and
lively negro dance, entitled Cit Together,
by Mr.. w. G. Collins, the well-known BAN
joist of this city.
Augustus Thomas latest effort at play
writing has been christened THE Meddler.'
1t is described as modern comedy of man
DerS, and is to be presented in New York
city at Wallacks Theater on Thursday
September /, by Mr.. Stuart Robson and
his more than ordinarily good supporting
company. Proof Of the worth of the people
engaged to support this comedian is found
| in the names of the following people who
will be included in the cast: Marie Bur
roughs, Mrs. Stuart Robson, Harold Rus
sell, John E. KelIard, Theodore Hamilton
George PauncefCrt, Louise Muldener and
Gertrude Perry. Rehearsals Of The Med
der are announced to commence on Mon
day, August 10, and will be superintended
by the author in person, who returns from
a European trip on the steamship Victoria
which reaches the port of New York on
Sunday, August a. While in London Mr.
Thomas was approached by several mana
gers with proposition to produce THE
Meddler' in that metropolis. He, however
preferred to get the New York verdict
with Mr.. Robson in the title role, first and
should the comedy attain the measure OF
success that is confidently expected of it,
1t is not at all unlikely that Mr. Robson
will be asked to produce it in London next
spring.
MI. I: Henry French, who has just re-
turned from Europe, speaks very highly of
Hotel Topsy Turvy," the American sale
OF which for production at the Herald
Square Theater, New York shortly was en-
glneered by him. He was confident of its
complete success here, and glowingly re-
1erred to its continental reception and the
agreeable hopes entertained for its forth
coming production at the Comedy Theater
hrst American performance
MT. s. f. Nixon says that the first Amer
lean production of this piece will be at the
Lafayette Square Opera House in this city
september ~. He also says that he will
present for the first time in Washington.
at the same theater, the Imperial Opera
Company, in lie Bohoeme," which has had
such success in Europe and which reach
ed such decided sensation when presented
at Wallack's Theater, in New York. last
spring.
The Sunday Night Music Club met at
Mrs. Doubleday's on H street northwest
and studied the following program: The
allegro and andante from Schubert's Op 20,
quartet; and the allegro and andante from
Mozart's fourteenth quartet; all arranged
for four hands piano and strings Also
Jensons Feast of Adonis, and the PRAYER
from Wagners Rienze; both for voice pia-
no and string quartet accompaniment Miss
Lucia Nola taking the vocal parts.
Conductor Brooke has done another very
popular thing at Willow Grove Park Phila-
delphia, where he is playing for the sum-
mer with his Chicago Marine Band. He
got up a children's day, and put 5000
youngsters on the stage with American
flags to sing the national airs, after which
he gave them an entertainment of light
music several speciality artists and day
fireworks, and then presented each child
with a handsome gold medal bearing his
face in relief. He has thus won the ad-
mil atiCn of the entire rising generation A
week previous to this he produced his pa
triotic international musical symposium,
Under One Flag" which drew such large
crowds that the park management made
enough profit in one week to pay for the
band for the entire season of eighteen
weeks. The success of this may be seen
from the unprecedented attendance, which
increased from 10000 on Monday night to
over 100000 on Saturday, and blocked the
lines of transportation between the city
and the park.
GLEN ECHO.-The Jaxon Opera Com
pany has scored a decided success this
week, the Daughter of the Regiment" win
ming great praise. So emphatic has been
the desire to hear this opera that 1t will be
continued for the first three nights next
week The music is SO pleasing and Mile.
Diard is so effective in the role of Marie
that Donizetti's opera may be said to be
the best work of the Jaxon company. The
other principals are also seen to advantage,
and the chorus, too, should come in for its
share of praise. Those lovers of music
who have been prevented from going TO
Glen Echo on account of the bad weather
should not fail to hear the Daughter of
the Regiment next week. For the last
three nights of next week Balfe's charming
work, The Bohemian Girl Will be given
and it may be safely predicted that it will
meet with excellent patronage.