The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1899-01-26
: WOMEN IN VAUDEVILLE.
Mildred Irving Thinks Them CON-
parative|y UnimpoTtant.



or brothers; but I'm how many OF THESE
cases Is the woman the important half
OF the team? / could name some who
have been here this season; but they |
would all go on my fingers without
doubling | was led 10 this reflection
something l hadn't thought OF before-
by the comparatively small number OF
women I'm the Keith bill this week; ana
yet IL Is bill eminent,y entertaining
and delightfully."- pleasing. missed the
women, for they give TO any entertain
ment qualities of their own, desirapie'
satisfying and essential. 1t Is good
thing. though, once i'm a while TO have
only a few women, because OF the nov
city and variety IL affords; but IL IL
not something that will bear repeating
often. AS | said, the women. as a rule,
are not the features: but L would as
soon think OF making vanilla Ice cream
without the fiavoring extract az OF con-
structing a vaudeville entertainment
without women i confess, though, tnat
/ am surprised to see how easily the
men get along without them, and wnat
splendid entertainment they can give
all by their lonesomes.
How Ida Van Siclen would be missed,
even in pajamas. full OF animation.
bright. frolicsome and winning, she not
only makes her part in Bob Racketts
| Pajamas" thoroughly entertaining, but
| she handles with the most artistic
| delcacy situations that might easily
be made TO Jar on a refined taste. Ana
how delightfully."- Harry Lacy Is! 1t
| seems to me that i'm this one respect, III
in no other, he surpasses any other
| Legitimate star we have had this sea-
| son i'm vaudeville. But what marVei
| he must be when he comes To shave!
| He is the only man ever heard OF VINO
| could perform that comforting opera
| ton while singing at the top OF his
voice as he does in this laughable play
| let Is that a bit OF naturalnes Or
| Miss Beach is another pretty girl
| who would be missed; ana what antlcs
her partner, Maddox, does cut up!
| Verify. this Is a menagerie entertain
| ment, for with Hal Merritts remark
| able limitations OF animals, Barron
dogs. LeRoy's doves and ducks and
| Maddoxs imitation Of a dying rooster.
little is left TO the imagination: and
| even the real animals do nothing bet
| ter than this clever representation or
the diving throes OF the decapltated
barnyard chanticleer. Maddox must
have more than simply rubber neck,
though,
Is there really clever eccentric
dancer who can sing and who can talk
amusingly? Why don't John r.. Drew
and Others who are such exceptionally
fine dancers confine their acts To what
they can do so well and let others do
the singing and talking?
I heard a good story. the other day,
| on a certain theatrical critic who, when
| LYDIA Dreams, the ventrioquist, was at
Keith's. wrote neat paragraph in
which he correctly used the pronoun
"he" IN referring TO the performer: but
the intelligent compositor and proof
reader, taking the name as their cue.
changed the "he" to she in every
case. and Mr.. Critic was given the
laugh" for a week after.
Did you ever suppose mandolin was
capable of the effects which sam Sic
gel produces with it? And how pleas
ant IL is TO find an entertainment IN
which so many of the performers are
, billed by their pet names. There $
Harry Lacy. Sam Siegel and Hal Mer-
ritt all i'm a bunch: and everybody
knows how delightful IL is to be able
to refer to stage celebrities i'm the fam
! fiar manner invited by the announce
ment cards in these cases. 1t seems tC
bring us nearer to them and enhance
our interest in them.
I couldn't help thinking as I listened
TO handsome Joe OHare singing BE
[ cause" how delightfully."- he combines IL
his artless manner all the graces o.
, girlhood with the virility of boyhood
| and much of the charm of his act lies
, in his gracious and pleasing presence
his frank and interesting face and th'
true artistic refinement that one see
i'm every movement, and which is ap
I parent as we'll in his singing. He ma
e become quite n matinee pet with tn
ladies: and. being one of them. j an
q not surprised. hear that he has beel
quite ill since he was here before; bu
his voice seems to be Just as swee
and expressive and sympathetic
ever.
[ Just before Hal Merritt initiated tn
Z | growing bark of n big dog. one q
$ Barron's dogs down in the cellar di
, the real thing. IL was dangerou
thing for any mimic, however clever
TO attempt to reproduce IL immediatel
q after; but the success with which h
did il was all the more pronounced
!, and the audience seeing the point a
/, once. applauded the remarkable erol
/; to the echo. as II deserved. For Vivio
: ness realistic character naturalnes
: and all-round refinement this act {
Hal Merritts is by long odds the be:
thing of the kind the present seaso
here has produced.
Did you ever stop to think what
- difference there Is between wei
a, dressed act and the reverse? You ma
y take two similar acts. one OF unque'
is toned merit. but inappropriately
poorly dressed and the other decided
questionable merit. but neatly ar
tastefully dressed: and the audience
nine times out OF ten, VIII give I'll
= latter the most marked evidences
~ favor Take two sight acts" one wit
:, handsome ickel-plated apparatus al
- the other with gas-pipe painted whit
n and. though the latter may be decided
r Iy the superior act, II looks shoddy
er compared with the other and the al
le diences accept IL as such. Appea
r. ances go a long way on the stage.
Take the act of Sadi Alfarabi. for &
stance. Its equal i'm it's line has n
"a been seen hero: but would II be ha
IN so effective and pleasing without q
..,.I he. sHont oil N A