The Saint Paul globe., 1901-04-15
At THE THEATERS.
METROPOLITAN

An unusually large Sunday night audi
ciice enjoyed bright, clean minstrel
SHOW last niSht at the Metropolitan. The
| Al F1eld Greater Minstrel company may
not be the greatest show of its kind but
1t has plenty of clever people and there
We're enough novelties introduced last
evening TO keep the audience Interested
me scenery is diversified. the stage set
tlngs are fresh and there is a ''go" about
the Show that is it's chief attraction The
curtain rose on we'll set park scene
with Joe Blackfords red uniformed or
chestra in the rear. The minstrels enter
ed In pairs, half of them attired as dark
les and the other half in the court dress
or long ago. The company has some good
Vocailsts and the songs are new. Arthur
Rlgby made a hit with his song '@That
Minstrel Man of Mine. Arthur Yule
sang the popular ballad, Goodbye. Dolly
Gray and the palm Branches" His
voice is powerful and its volume does not
drown it's melody. Tommy Donnelly,
Rees Prosser and Billie Taylor. all tie
possessors Of good voices, sang a num-
Der Of coon songs. The entrance of Al
g. Field was the signal for number Of
snappy stories. His bee sto1y was funny
and new.
One Of the best things about the show
is little slSit, entitled 'One Day at the
White House." Arthur Rtgfoy, as Teddy
Tom Donnelly, as Mckinley, and Doc
Quigley, as Chairman, Jones' gave bur-
lesque that would delight the heart Of
William jennings Bryan. The entrance
of Carrie Nation was "a little forced, but
the audience recognized her as q national
character and hailed her hatchet eXer-
cises with delight
Arthur Rigby was a satisfactory en-
tertainer in the olfo which introduced
~
brothers, "The Coon From Ankansaw'
and Bob Keys and Eddie Mcdonald, atfi-
letes. The speciaIities were, interesting
ones Of their kind! ~ sF
The entertainment concluded with 'tThe
Fete at Mecca" an Oriental scene that
introduced tribe of Moorish Mamelllkes
in sports, games and pastimes peculiar to
the Orient. The only criticism that is
sdeserved on this part of the show is that
it could easily be cut In half. One. can
have too much of even what, is un-
deniably clever, and there is just a trife
too much tumbling In the AL g.. Field
Greater Minstrels.
The show Will be continued the first
half Of the week with Wednesday matt
nee.
GRAND.
s'The Watch ON the Rhine" the German
dialect comedy in which Al. H. Wilson
figures as the romantic hero who sings.
Loves and fights well, is g. production thar
makes one feel better ferr the hearing
There is much in it that Is is poetic, and
the love. sorrow, tradegy, forgiveness and
triumph of right, appeal to everyone.
Naturally the songs Of MFR. Wilson form
the prop upon which the romantic ele-
ment rests. The other elements are sec-
ondary, for they are woven about the
personality of the emotional, athletic,
good looking singer. His voice steals. into
the heart, for his songs are Of love or
home life as they ought to be. The Tea
Kettle Song and Love Is All In All"
seemed to please the most.
Miss lAfffe Warner, as Norma Stein
way, shows good talent. In the hap
pier parts, where the love she
bears for, 'Mertz' is unthwarted, she ap-
pears to the best advantage. Mark Price,
as Count Won BeckInan, has a somewhat
difficult pa3t which he handles with ef-
feet Cora Quinfin, who takes the part
of Little Dorothy Gregory, does we'll for
q tot five or six years Of age The work
of Alfred H Hastings, as Old Ffreball
Gregory. is a trile crude and the same
criticism applies to Miss Fannie Blood
good. who takes the, part. of Talka Greg
ory. his daughter. Russell Lennon, as
fugitive. does we'll, but not as a lover.
Miss Eva Byron, as Margaret Won Men
geS, the widow, is deserving OF mention.
STAR
The aggregation at the Star, which
ha1lnts the ancient banner of the Rose
Hill English Folly, company, is about the
best vaudeville company that has come
down the Miaco pike this season. There
is a. pleasing absence of slap-sttck antics,
coon songs and coarse jokes, and deal
Of genuine wit is displayed by several
r Tn 0nrt nF m
cn-the-Bristol' sketch called "Al1 at
sea-, which opens the show, John ].
Sullivan. the we'll known Irish comedian,
makes good his reputation. Catherine
Rowe Palmer, a young woman with very
expressive legs, contributes character
bit that is very ludfcrous. Carrie Web
Der is far above the ordinary In some
Anna Heldisms, after whom her idea OF
soubretty French Is evidently patterned.
All portrayals Of tough Bowery dancers
are discounted by a quartette of sp1elerS.
Collins and Collins sing ballads very
tunefuIly and have a string of funny
parodies. Allie Afillard and Eta
Wheeler introduce novelty called a
conversational dance, in which they have
some very brisk mots Phil Mcfarland
and James Lee have debate that is re-
plete with Teutonfc and Celtic absurdi-
ties. Perry and Hughes present mu-
sfcaI turn that Is excellent. The after
piece comes nearer to deserving the
name burlesque than most Of the We
hicles that serve in that capacity at the
Star The play Of Nell Gwynne" is paro-
died with considerable cleverness. There
are several statuesGue girls In the cho-
rus and much of the music is newA Big
crowds gave the show unstinted applause
yesterday.
LITERARY MITES