Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-09-05
AMUsEMENTs..

of Music opened last night with the old
time-tried. fire-tested play Fritz in a
| Madhouse," with Mr.. ]. X. Emmett, jr., and
| Miss Lottie ellison the stars in the cast
| In spite of the circus as a competing at
| traction there was a good audience pres
! ent, and If generous applause can be taken
| as unfailing evidence of appreciation those
| who were present were nightly pleased
| with the performance.
| The plot Of Fritz in a Madhouse," with
| out intending to be so perhaps, is really an
| extraordinary production. Nothing exactly
like it has ever been produced before in
the whole range of dramatic literature.
| There are situations which, though repre-
! scented in the play as occurring outside,
| would only be possible in a real madhouse.
Uncle Joe Parker, his son Dick. his daugh-
| ter Collie and his wife. who has no Chris
| tian name on the program. are all such ex-
traordinary characters that 1t is next TO
impossible to give anything like compre-
| hensive idea of their idiosyncracies. But
| this makes little difference. as the loose
| and incoherent plot is merely a vehicle for
bringing Miss ellison and Mr.. Emmett on
the stage at frequent intervals. Miss Gil
son is well known to Washington patrons
| of the variety theaters, where her singing
| of popular ballads has always been draw
| ing card. She has lost nothing In quahty
| Of voice nor in piquancy of style in her
| transition from the vaudeville to the legiti-
| songs on her list this season, which made
| decided hits with the audience last night:
| THE Girl L Loved in Sunny Tennessee.
| by the author of she Was Bred in Old
Kentucky is somewhat reminiscent OF
| that popular ballad but has rhythmic
| swing which is attractive. She also sang
| She is Sensible Girl which caught the
fancy of the audience. Then she sings
| Hot Air." which ought to have an explain
atory chart or an Illuminated picture to
| accompany it. To those who have had the
good fortune to hear the elder Emmets
matchless singing the work of the son is
| a decided disappointment. There Is
charm about the songs, however, which
pleases, even though they may never be
sung again with anything like the peculiar
grace and melody possessed by the original
singer. In his dancing Mr.. Emmett is more
| fortunate in his imitation of his fathers
original work.
The others in the cast are about up to
| the average seen in similar shows Emmett
and ellison, according to the estimate OF
| the audience, seemed to make up Tor any
shortcomings Of the others.
THE BIJOU THEATER.-The manage
| ment of the Bijou proposes this season that
only flrst-class vaudeville shall be served
and nothing but the best tolerated. 1t has
certainly made a good commencement, for
the performance this week is one OF the
best arrays of vaudevillians ever congre-
gated, and this is augmented by a stock
company fully 100 per cent stronger than
the one of last season. 1t was like meet
the matinee performance. The theater was
packed long before the curtain went up. AS
each familiar face made it's appearance it
was greeted with applause. Billy Watson
was the first to show himself, and he was
overcome at the spontaneous outburst.
Then came Annie Carter, of whom there
are few better, and she received an ovation.
Sam Adams that versatile comedian. was
interrupted for several minutes when he be-
came before the footlights, and then in rap
i'd succession came Barry Thompson, Dot
1laI nrt md
two new faces were introduced-new to the
Bijou, but to the theatrical world household
| names. Annie Meyers, the sweet singer,
who carried Washington by storm in the
days of the JEANNE Winston Opera Com
pany. Like old wine. Annie has improved
with age, and her soprano voice filled the
she appeared out of place among 50 many
men and sang with a reserve that was
| marked. Little Ida Mule, vivacious as of
old, a dainty, honest artist, is as merry as
when she played Cupid with Rices Sur
prise Party" Then the audience heard Mss
Margaret Virginia sing Miss Virginia is
voice of much sweetness. She promises to
improve and will without doubt be a gen
eral favorite. The first part is the best the
Bijou has yet presented. 1t Is a burleseue
of "Pinafore.' brought up to the minute by
the introduction of characters representing
prominent naval heroes, and entitled Dew
ey HomeWard Bound 1t is from the pen
of Willard Holcomb and is full of merit.
| The dialogue is bright and the adaptation
| of the songs cleverly thought out Carl An
derson, as Capt. Congln, was excellent and
shared the honorS with Sam Adams, who
made very funny Admiral Diedrichs. 1t
was hard to tell which was best of the la
dies, Miss Meyers Phlopene Miss Car
| ter as Jack Capstan and Miss Ida Mule as
Hoochy-koo all doing we'll Billy Watson
as Agge Naldo was funny, as he always 10,
but is getting into the bad habit of over
doing it. Incidental to the burlesque a
ballet was introduced and the ribbon dance
was well executed. In the olio, Joe Hard
man proved clever monologist, Collins and
Collins were poor, Flo Irwin and Walter
Hawley repeated their excellent sketch,
Gay Miss Con- and those king funmak-
ers. Mcintyre and heath. gave the Georgia
MINISTRIES: The performance closed with
illustrated songs.
KERNAN's LYCEUM THEATER-The
Metropolitan Burlesquers, that Well-known
company of funmakers Is the attraction
at Kernan's this week. and while there is
plenty of room for Improvement the per-
Torrance Is entertaining. The program is
made up of farce comedy. vaudeville and
burlesque. An attempt at farce comedy,
consisting of a mix-up of comedians, pretty
girls and dainty costumes known on the
bills "Old Puddn'- head" greeted the
audience at the rise of the curtain. MIR.
Eddie Weston. in the title role, clever
and divided the honors with Miss Sophie
Thorne, who esSayed the character of Mrs.
Dabbe, the head of the house. Then came
the olio. with the Haines Sisters first in a
repertoire of new songs. Tourje and De
w ltt. assisted by niue Gracle, presented
comedy military musical duo and won the
approval Of the audience. Parodies on
popular songs by North and South We're
cleverly done, and Manning and Du Crow,
the one-legged marvels, gyrated on the
horizontal bar in an astounding manner.
Weston and Thorne were satisfactory in
the eccentric sketch they presented Brooks
Brothers, comedians, set everybody laugh
ing, and the Leonards, in their athletic
comedy skit, proved the feature of the
| entertainment. The assault at arms was
exciting and both showed marked prof.
cheney in the use Of the gloves.
The Girl Bachelors in Camp is the title
of the b,irlesque. There are some good
things In this. but generally there is moth
ing to commend it. There are some pretty
girls, plenty of good scenery and any guam
tity of abbreviated costumes
GLEN ECHO PARK.-The initial per-
Torrance of the weeks attractions at Glen
Echo last night drew one of the largest
crowds of the season out there. The Col
iege Alumni String and Glee Clubs made
their debut at the Glen and to an audience
that seemed to be made up mostly of per-
soral friends of the organization. This
speaks well for their popularity. and in the
program presented the members, individu-
ally and collectively, received warm well
come. The opening number began with an
assembly of mandolns, cello and violin,