The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1899-01-19
NOT OEMONSTRATIVE.
Mildred IrVIng's Opinion Of Providence
Audiences.
They Know 4 Good Performance, However,
and They Also Appreciate It.

find fault with them"
May be he was right. though ] don't
think so; but ii put an idea into my
head, and as ! sat and saw the enter
tainment at Keith's yesterday after
noon, thought ! would try real hard
to see what little things / could notice
TO find fault with. And, do you know, 1
couldn't for the life of me find any.
Whether IL was the popularity OF the
show, or whether II was the peculiar
ity OF my taste or because / was really
trying To do IL, i don't know; but the
fact remained that L couldn't find any,
and i wonder how IL was with my gem
tleman friend, who sat on the other
side of the house and hardly applauded
at all, while everybody else around him
seemed to be quite demonstratiye.
Ii struck me, however, that he was a
pretty good specimen Of the average
Providence theatre-goer for il does
seem to me that a Providence audience
is about as undemonstrative as any
you can find anywhere in the country.
though yesterday quite the reverse
seemed TO be true. / think Providence
audience knows "A good thing and un-
doubtedly enjoys a., from the COM
ments / hear; but somehow IL has
mighty poor way, as a rule, OF showing
it, which must be rather discouraging
TO the actors, who of course don't know
our little local idiosyncracies.
Isn't that a wonderfully fascinating
Biograph picture OF the railroad train
running past Conway castle? Quite the
equal, / think, of the Hayerstraw tun-
mel picture. And IL struck me as rather
amusing that, in the picture OF the
hubby walked up in the night to feed
be.h hs.I he l.nl
had all its street clothes on, including
boots and stockings and even dad him
self had at least his socks on. as he
got out of bed. J wonder what kind OF
"night-capS" are in vogue in that
household, that, even down to the
baby. they "go to bed with their boots
on, so to speak.
Aside from the really remarkable BIZ
cycle riding done by one of the firm OF
Paulton and Dooley, IL struck me that
the one who does the funny business"
of the act deserves "A word of credit for
being so different from the average
man who attempts To be funny i'm such
acts. because he really does meet with
measure of success.
l noticed that in the bill this week
there are none of the 'legitimates"
transplanted into vaudeville. l rather
like these acts, that is, when they're
not disappointing, for they certainly
add SO much to the high standard OF
the entertainment and afford such a
treat for those who like real acting of
the best class as well as ordinary fun
making or remarkable feats i'm a vau-
deville entertainment. There is one
trouble with some of these actors, how
ever and that seems TO be their mis-
taken idea that simply because they
have regulations in the Legitimate"
they must of necessity make good" in
vaudeville. Experience teaches, how
ever, that even a reputation or
name can't make a poor act "go" in
vaudeville any more than on the ''le-
gitimate" stage. In other words, ''le-
gitimate" act. TO make good i'm vau-
deville, regardless of who plays IT,
must be such as would be "A success i'm
the other field as a scene in a drama
In fact, L think vaudeville audiences
are even more exacting and discrimi-
mating, at least as regards these acts,
than those one finds in the "combina-
tion" houses: and, as good Legitimate"
acts don't grow on every bush, it's
quite as well to have only the best and
omit them when those are not to be
had, as Mr.. Keith does.
Those Ford brothers can just dance.
can't they? But ii seems to me that
black vests with their light frock coats
and trousers rather mar the artistic
effect.
OF course. there isn't much that's
new in ventriloquism. and ] think 1
my grandmother telling of
some of the excellent things Hugh En-
nett does, like his old man saving
wood down in the cellar; but his imi-
tation of a phonograph is quite good
enough to remove the retrospective |
dea entirely.
I notice that Filson and Errol aren't |
put down strictly as "top-liners;" but !
they're good enough to be. For real |
fun. the complete grasp OF |
all the minutest possibilities OF anus |
ng complications and acting that has |
he stamp of hearty earnestness and +!
breezy animation, commend me to these |
,lever artists; and did you notice how |
Des Filson as he was made up last |
week. though Filson's present makeup |
shows that there's no resemblance be- |
ween them at ALL
I don't know whether most to ad~ |
nire Mobiles ability as a dramatist or |
rs an actor. Certainly. his why |
Walker Reformed" is one of the best |
written pieces of the kind we've seen |
lere. with some very bright lines and |
deal OF quiet humor not all Of which
seems to be fully appreciated by the
audience. Dolly Mobiles at least never
ooked more charming, and she evil
lently Is an adept i'm stage dressing,
ound the secret OF perpetual youth
Il least i'm appearance. But, somehow.
couldn't dissociate him in my mind |
rom that line. "and the villain still
pursued her" Yes, I'm frank to con-
ess that I'm old enough 10 have seen
his first dramatic success and to have
leard that line in the original. so to
peak; and I've never forgotten il.
| don't know that / especially ad
nire the tomfoolery and buffoonery
hat characterize Gilbert Saroney's
Ict: but I must confess, from what I
NOW OF my sex that really his bur-
esque Is much like an immensely en-
arged photograph. which shows off i'm
prominence all the inn
,erfections OF the original, and that
here is lots OF clever irony under the
urface OF IT, And I noticed that. while
he whole audience laughed immoder-
tely. those who laughed most. loudest
nd longest were the women. one may