The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-04-23
HEBREWS ON THE STAGE.
SOME REASONS FOR THE SUCCESS IHRH
FRI MAKING As HUHORISTS.

= ho SNUko " - ~ INV 'hNr
Irishma and the Music Hall NeEr"
Into Innocuous Desuetude-A Search for
an American Humorist and One Reason
Why Jews Make Good Variety Actors.
The last few seasons have brought about
such a tremendous change in the nature OF
music hall humor that it is hard to say which
Is the deader of the two-the stage negro or
the stage Irishman. One fact alone IL self
evident. The stage Hebrew is still on top. aud
1t Is he who by his natural originality and
cleverness has helped to put many a nail in the
collins OF his two rivals.
How often nowadays in q 1rst-class mu-
sic hall do you see what is known as
a "burnt-cork artist 2" Willis Sweatnam is
the only one that can be remembered at the
moment who continues TO furnish the public
with originalities. Lew Dockstader used to do
SO. but Of late he has gone into the wholesale
chestnut business. so that he threatens even to
rival Mr.. Press Eldridge in this respect.
There are more colored performers on the
stage than ever before. but their wit lies in
their feet. and. apart from q certain Delsartian
sort OF fun which they manage to throw into
their ~cakewalks. they make no attempt at hui
NOR. Then. again. there never was such IA rage
for coon" songs as there is at the present
time. But that proves nothing. The men and
women who make the greatest hits in singing
these songs appear almost invariably In white
face. While as for the stage Irishman. his fate
is even worse. There are Two actors who can
still make a comic Irishman endurable to a
Broadway audience. One is John I. Kelly and the
other John Sparks. and even these two artists
sometimes have q hard row to hoe nowadays
in trying to raise a laugh. A good Irish song
will always win immediate favor. but since the
deaths Of Harry Kernel and Kelly. the Rolling
Mill Man. the Irish sidewalk conversational
list" has become more or less OF a back number.
For every good Irish or negro story that is told
on the stage at present you will hear at least
ten good Jew jokes. This NAV be a small mat
ter in itself. but it shows how the wind is blow
ing. and it Is only another demonstration OF
the undeniable fact that the Hebrew is fast
monopoliZing nearly every department Of the
atrical affairs. As theatrical managers the
Hebrews have always more than held their end
up in New York. but it is. only within the last
three or four seasons that they have appeared
30 generally both as actors and comedians.
The only successful burlesque company that
New York has known in the last ten years is
run by the Hebrews, who. although they hire
playwrights to write their burles1ues. owe
most Of the fun in them to their own sense OF
humor. The actress who. as heavy woman Of
a stock company. ranks both as a beauty and
an actress among tho prime New York fayor-
ties Of the day is n Jewess. and only dropped
her own name when she came to play here
because her manager feared that her name
might handicap her chances OF success. And
at a Broadway theatre which makes n special
ty Of spectacular productions. by actual count
it was discovered that nearly three-luarters
Of the chorus and ballet were made up Of
Hebrew women, all more or less comely and
clever.
In speaking OF this matter. a foreigner who
has been making a close study Of the Ameri-
can stage this season remarked:
The hardest thing for a stranger to dis
cover Is what you Americans mean when you
speak Of American humor. ] 40 to your thea
fish authors or adaptations from the French.
Nathan Hale the ono good American play |
Would Scarcely come tuinGGs"rT the head q 8 h nm r.
| 60 to your most ropular music hall and !
] see u performance Of Il Hester street Jew
which is inimitahle, but the very point of
not speak the language. Then l hear that
but how can ] be expected to believe that when
! see %, nm GH1y n 1T 1b"n 2 naTTr"W IN Gh shGGr r
y 'f"a"s@ n@~ Maid S" was ru on the 20 b C"a T.s' bSt
who were the stars? An English mimic and
9n 10th ,,srn Z d'nIGGt romsdian; Al"rtnat
though no wiser man on the subject OF Ameri-
can, huinor.'
1 llS y u t''u1>c III fNlEtIllt ' lew, DuI, on
the other hand. here is, the testimony Of the
manager OF "A variety theatre who probably
methods than any ten other men in town.
1t is perfectly true that the Hebrew is
%l so1S Hs to t H. t G9sary in the re 'heSG 6I Gn,y wG }r Ia
heart and soul into his work. II you know
aware that they are about as lazy "a class as
,hEi;ts s Let a Esri S%G r. once secure a sksSeh
year after year, Now look Mt tho Russell
y r. .t for ths, nee; They are blazing the
s sears ago ssS'c IT, sH a so %@G sk W%fH T admit: S S]iEdh thsir
excuse for still playing it is that they cannot
get get another ,mo her. one as s93d; Bn ts do you mean TO
Hebrew team Of comedians they wouldn't
haze fH hatched out somtthing new ant funny in
always scores. There are four Of them, and
addition to writing ali the material which they
use themselves. has written no less than eigi-
teen successful sketches for other variety ac-
this line that all the big variety stars who are
too lazy to think for them selves come to him to
for a suit of clothes. 1t amuses me- to hear people
express. surprise at the success which a certain
gers of their own company. Those boys have
worked for me on and OF for twenty years, and
led that they We e" eoing to achieve hi a,s a w i6ealt,
lot, They were, witty. and they never missed IA
chance o Of In J r p;dI, some local a%IIysion that
''''" h'" ''' WV w 'hV' li'i u u
riety actor gets popular he can feed his audi
ence on old jokes for just about so long as his
personality can carry him. Then suddenly one
day he awakes to find himself a back number.
Irish. sketches have been so done to death
that unless they are exceptionally good. au-
diences, don't, take to them now. The negro
sketch is not dead it's only sleeping. | would
rather have n really good coon sketch for my
theatre than any attraction could find but they
are hard to get. as many Of the old-time min
strels have grown 80 high toned that they pre-
fer TO take less money and appear In white
face The rage for jew specialties will not
last, although jew stories on tho stage will al
ways he popular. Funnily enough there
is no one who enjoys 2 jew story
a class they are much more ready to laugh
at themselves than the Irish are. Butthe chief
reason Why think there will be 9 revival Of
all parts Of the country music hall audiences
are rebelling against the German dialect per-
formers. There arc three or four men in the
business who are successful in this line. but the
great horde of imltators has driven this par
ticular dialect into the ground.
"And then anotherthing. You mustn't forget