The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-11-18
The Vaudeville at the Grand.

Macarts dog and monkey circus. in
this weeks vaudeville at the Grand.
fills the stage with monkeys. and they
furnish fun spontaneously. The routine
of tricks is not unusual, but the acct
dents and approximations of the mon
keys are full of diversion. The act
is put on well, though Macart has used
the whip so much the dogs snap at him.
Up-to-date animal trainers, especially the
European ones. seek to produce the effect
of their pets liking their work.
A man employed by Reno and Richards.
acrobatic comedians, is comic in much the
same way as Macart's monkeys. He ap-
pears at the end of the act and feigns
stupidity. He is fat and clumsy, and his
makeup has a piggish look. He is used
with some street boys for a jumping-back
and he works as IL he had been picked
off the sidewalk in front of the theater. He
causes a great deal of laughter and that
is a result one of his principals strives for
In vain. There is some skillful tumblng.
but most of the comedy is appalling.
Theodore Smith and Miss Jennie Fuller
offer the same musical instruments that
they have had for several seasons. Smith
initiates various things with a string at
tached to a tin can and a violin bow: the
two play on graduated cans and several
styles gOngs, and Miss Smith plays the
Italian harp and sings. She has a beauti-
full instrument and plays 1t very well. but
her voice is not excellent. The act has re-
finement and the mucicians play with &C
curacy and good phrasing. but their melo-
dies are old. Smith. too, persists In talk
ing, which he does in a way TO make TIE
audience laugh at him when he intends
his announcements seriously. The act has
been prominent in vaudeville for years,
but IL Is going backward now.
Silvern and Emerie do great work on
the rings. Their tricks are complex and
new, they dress handsomely and move
g gabIe coytr TnetTs rs to IN t fsc' bin ihe t moSs Ha it
Is not conspicuously advertised.
Press Eldridge has a great deal OF pres
skillfully. So he does, but his material
Is unfit for any but low variety houses. He
is one of the monologuists that VIII DO
anything for money. He has jokes with
which minstrel comedians nauseated the
intelligent part of the public twenty-five
years ago. 1t Is stupid and vulgar come
dams of his sort that are holding vaudeville
back and must be put out OF the way be-
fore the vaudeville houses get the best
part of theatrical patronage.
Miss Winona Winter. a clever and modest
young girl, returns will her father, Banks
Winter. in their old sketch, and she gives
her familiar limitations of Jessie Couthoui,
Anna Held and a ventriloquist. She is too
should lengthen her gowns and strike out
for herself with original caricatures and
light songs. She is a favorite in the vaude-
Vile tneaterS ana gets as muCn applause as
almost any other performer In the bust
ness. The sketch is silly and pointless.
Banks Winter continues to sit on the
S Wogs during Hn a1 hne attem nts d to sing is H as
voice has a range OF three notes and he
blows them hard.
Miss Atalie Claire, who once had a voice
and displayed II to advantage In light
opera. sings now with her tones so covered
that they sound as through a Sieve. She
makes a good appearance and imposingly
$780, 49, --~N 1-I
So many persons now have the habit of
delaying fifteen minutes for the purpose of
avoiding the opening act of a vaudeville
bin that it is hardly necessary to issue
a warning against Manley and Rose, who
are first on this weeks programme. They
have an Anticipated sketch entitled Young
Sleuth." and no glimmer of humor cuts it's
gloom.
The patronage of the Grand has become
so heavy as to make IL worth while to
call attention to its lack of a capable stage
manager and a suitable orchestra. In a first
class vaudeville house the stage manager
keeps a close watch on the acts. Be
sides he suggests improvements in the
scene. costuming and properties of an
act. and generally makes himself impor-
tant and valuable. A vaudeville house
in Cleveland, the Empire, has an orchestra
of eighteen pieces. including cello and oboe.
directed by a real conductor. The house is
patronized by the smart Clevelanders and
it has the best acts in vaudeville: From
ii comes the Empire show, which is head
ed by James j. Corbett. The Grand's
orchestra consists of seven instruments and
Mr.. Cooley, the conductor. has to play one
of them. The little band produces not
music, but a din. II ruins a good singing
turn. If the orchestra were of sufficient
size and the conductor were given a chance
to show what he could do with a baton
II would not be necessary for comedians
TO work overtime while the stage is be-
ing set behind the No. l drop. A great
many persons would be attracted to the
house on account of the orchestral music.
This is enjoyed in other cities and there
is no sufficient reason why indianapolis
should not have IL. 1t Is up to the Grand
TO make some changes that will put il
nearer to the first rank of vaudeville the
aters.