The times., 1899-07-09
GOTHAM GOES GARDENING
Aerial Shows Run Almost With
out Opposition in New York.
American Theatre the Latest to Use
Its Roof for Amuscmcnts - Heat
Fatal TO Legitimate Attractions
His ESeeiiency, the GOVERNOR
stin nt the Empire.

New York, July S.-There is music in the
air all along Broadway and It isn't the
aftermath of the day we celebrate at
that. Indeed. the festal Fourth passed
over New York this year In n listless man
ner that has given unexpected holidays to
ihe hospital doctors and comparative COM
fort to nervous old ladies' The music in
the air Is composed Of either rag time
or ballet selections and it drifts through
the seething atmosphere from every other
corner between the street car station and
Madison Square Most of it is last sea-
sons music and some of it bears the mel
odic puffed sleeves and plain skirts of the
season before last. But the local public
doesn't seem to mind that.
For Gotham has gone gardening-roos
gardening. To be sure managers are not
calling their resorts by that name Just
now. but the distinctive marks remain and
park on top of building has come to BE-
known as roof garden, whatever its al
iotted eognomen. So while We are being
taught to speak of these places as Venetian
Terraces and Aerial Magnolia Groves. the
entire collection of them continue to re-
semble Ernest Hogan's "coons" in that
each resembles the other
The present popularity OF the roof gar
den might be taken as an example of the
revival of the fittest' If IL were easy to
prove that roof garden is fit few
years ago the upstairs entertainments wer.
all the rage, and so they remained for a
period Then the tickle taste of the metrop-
oils began to change, and soon E. e Rice
VINO generally takes hold of things after
everyone else has dropped them, was the
only impressionist in the field. But with
the coming Of this summer the long unused
theatre covers returned to their own.
and their proprietors are returning to
everybody else's. For cool drinks are dear
at an elevation OF hundred feet and roof
gardens are high in more ways than one.
1t cannot be said that any OF the re-
sorts now open are startlingly beautiful
or that the bills provided are surprisingly
good. Managers allege that the public
wants hight entertainment IN hot weather
and most OF that We are getting wouldn't
seriously disturb the brains in an anatorui-
cal museum As l have hinted, all The
New York serio-comics are singing the old
songs, despite the plaintlye verses Of the
DalIadist, and the great majority Of the
artists here at the time OF writing are
serio-comics. There are quite a number Of
monologuists in the field. too but since
they seem to have caught the antiquarian
spirit the improvement is slight Even the
man in charge of the Madison Square
winds up series of ballets. which the
stage there is too small TO hold. with an
Amazon march. One could hardly ask for
any greater proof OF our degeneracy.
One OF the best of the performances to
De seen in town is given on the roof at
the American, which opened last Monday
night. Even there one finds a great deai
that courts the pruning knife, but the very
worst parts OF the show" are redeemed by
a couple OF girls. called the Charlse Sis
ters, who put the refinement OF their work
in the act contributed instead of on the
programme. l saw these girls in tray-
cling burlesque troupe last year and
prophesied then that they would make
hit if they ever reached New
York Both sing and dance well,
while one plays the intermezzo from
"Cavalleria Rusticana" on a harp to the
violin accompaniment of the other, and tht
audience is actually able to make out what
the selection is.
This happy result is not obtained at the
Casino, where a chorus of colored men and
women have been numbering THE Mis-
erere" without police interference. During
the strife a few evenings ago a man in
front of me hazarded a guess that the air
was annie Rooney" and another gave
vent to the opinion that the elevators
which run up from the ground floor needed
greasing. Truly Shattuck. who is. l he
lieve, a great favorite in Washington. has
been exhibiting her admirable curves on
the Casino and attracting quite a crowd
of stage-door loungers. Manager Lederer
spent last week advertising and rehearsing
his new extravaganza. wild Oats and
is leading us to expect great deal of it.
On top OF the New York. one of the
neatest gardens in town. Johnny Page and
lie Petite Adelaide-no longer petite in
the slightest degree-have been doing
some clever things, and on last Sunday
your Josie De Witt created quite sem
sation with her violin playing The Man
in the Moon" continues downstairs, and
little below. at Hammersteins Vic
toria. Belle Davis is singing coon songs.
with the assistance OF the inevitable pick
aninnies. In this case, however, Miss
Davis really wins the applause she gets.
and does not stand in the wings while her
assistants are working in order to be
handy for her bow when they are through
VIII Cooks Origin of the Cakewalk is
on at the Palace; Willis Sweetman is tell
ing jokes at Proc1ors other house, Rose
Melville puts in her last night in vaude-
willie this evening at Keith's. and those
two amusement relics, Bonnie Thornton
and Beatrice Moreland. are at Tony Pas
=
are running as usual.
To my mind the craze for variety in "
summer here is not unlike that for t8
seashOre- People leave pleasant city homA
every year for a few months at expensive
hotels in still hotter corners OF the globe.
and those who remain in Gotham forsaEc
the theatres for less worthy styles OF
amusement. Why the facts that the ther-
mometer has cultivated ambition and the
fhaF, al
day or two should drive men and women 10
idiotic nonsense is incOnceivable, espe-
cially when the nonsense takes place on a
roof thickly inhabited by those yermin
which love the light. That everyone in
town does not suffer from this sort of
lunacy is apparent. for His Excellency,
the Governor" continues in the even tenor
of its way at the Empire and manages to
do an exceptional business. His Excel
lency" is a most frivolous and inexplica-
BILE parsonage. but in comparison with tine
other entertainments this place has to
offer at present he is a blessing beyond
belief
Speaking OF the semi-legitimate brings
me back TO the remark l believe | made
a few lines back about wild Oats" This
trite is scheduled for Monday night at
the Casino. unless Manager Lederer
changes his mind. and II promises to be
really enjoyable. | learn that the book OF
the piece is by Harry u. Smith, who needs
no introduction 10 the least well-informed.
while Ludwig Englander has furnished the
music. The cast will include the ethereal
Dan DAILY. who has been reinstated in the
good graces OF the Casino people. with
Harry Davenport. Joseph Cawthorn. Max
Freeman. Thomas Q. Seabrooke, Mabel
Gilman, Marie George, Carrie Perkins.
Jeanette Bageard, Phyllis Rankin, and
May Young.
The steamer Grand Republic is once
more playing the waters of the bay with a
e D. IL