The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-12-02
Cbe Cbedtre$
MT. weber's BurIesque Company.

Charles A. Birelow. We heard MT. Joseph Weber and Miss Marie Dress Ter speak some gags that were new and some that came over from other days. We saw riot of color, Of beau ty, of grace, in which Miss Trixie Frf- ganza, Miss Bonnie Magin. Miss Ermi- nie Earl and Miss Edythe Mayer were prominent figures and we confess right here that we cannot endorse the tudg- ment of New York on the production of 'sHfggledy Piggledy" and The CoE lege Widower" of Mr. Joseph Weber and his "all star company"
 Not that there is not much that IS good, funny, tuneful and delightfully foolish in 'Higgledy Piggledy" and "The College Widower," but knowing that New York goes wild every night over the sort of entertainment given Montgomery last night, really we ex- pected better things of MT. Weber.
 The bills announcing the triumphant advent of the New York company hint ed that the South was being especially favored by MT. Weber, who was merely carrying his company to New Orleans in order to rehearse new piece on the way back to New York. This spirit seemed to work as If they were just on tion. The principals and the chorus seemed to wrok as if they were just on little resting tour and were gath ering in few expense shekels on the side. They lacked much of the ging- eriy quality that is required to make any musical or comedy production go. There was a lackadaisical spirit in evil dence and, wonderful to relate, the au- dience at times yawned at the efforts of the "all star company"
 The dialogue of "Higgledy Piggledy" Is absolutely bad. The gentleman who wrote the lines does not put his name on the program. May be there was method here. for those jokes that were not as bald-headed as MT. Bigelow him. self were Of the order that made the New York police put Mir. Shaw's latest production out of business The Jokes were primarily coarse and secondariIy old. But the audience laughed The laughter could not be said to be spon- taneous May be the audience wanted to get its moneys worth of fun. At all events there were but few general outbreaks of laughter.
 Had It not been for the fact that these lines had such people as Weber. collins. Bigelow, Dresler Friganza Magin, ct al. to speak them and were accompanied by as gorgeous costumes ana stage settings as have ever been seen m montgomery to make the audi ence forget them. 1t would have been all up with Joseph. of New York.
 But MT. Weber has these things and the audience was pleased. No better costumed or better appearing chorus was ever seen on a Montgomery stage and this Is wherein MT. Weber's sue cess lies. The only adverse criticism that is to be made on the work of the chorus is that the members. too. suff- cred from severe attack of ennui and rarely warmed up to their work. The College Widower'' has much in 1t that "Htggledy Piggledy" has not The College Widower" has some real " clever lines and some really enter taining business. It relies less on the slapstick and more on appeal to req son. But there was not so much op- portunity for displaying the chorus as In "Higgledy Piggledy" and The Col lege Widower" seemed to go slower than the first piece. It Is described on the program as an heroic endeavor to parody George Ade. The tempt was heroic to certain extent but 1t was the kind of heroism that leads a forlorn hope.
 The College widower" is so funny that it seems a shame to see it bur lesqued. You expect to see a burlesque | funnier than the original but your ex- pactation is violently shattered. | H.the two vehicIes,awere e bad, the people who presented them were just | as good. Montgomery will have few l opportunities in many seasons to see | such galaxy of comedians as Weber, Bigelow, Collins, and Marie Dressler, such women as Miss Magin, Miss Frig- anza, Miss Barbour, Miss Earle, Miss Mover and Miss Everybody Else that was in the company. Weber has so | many people in his company that he | can't find enough work for them to do. What pity they should be led to the slaughter by such things as ''Higgledy | Piggledy" and The College Widower." In popular favor. Miss Dressler and Mir RfOaInu aaiIv faU Whenever the gigantic comedienne, or | the first old bald-topped chap came on, ! the audience settled back to be happy. If the pieces were bad, Montgomerians wanted to see these people, and from this viewpoint they got their moneys worth. Yes. 1t was favor to us for MT. Weber to come South.
 MT. Bigelow is an old favorite in Montgomery and he did not disappoint his many friends in the audience. His work was always clean-cut and con- vincing. and whenever there was any comedy to be gotten out of the lines | or the business. Mir. Bigelow was fully equal to the occasion. Montgomery saw Joe Weber, and | Montgomery never saw better dis ] ciple of the art of getting fun out of ludicrous slapstick gyrations than the famed comedian. He seemed to be far more enthusiastic than any member of his company, and MT. Weber was first one who made the members of the au- l dience sit up in their chairs, albeit he came on very late.
 Miss Dressler's work is comedy classic She is called one of the few really funny women in the world to- day. She Is really funny. So much has been written of her work that it is useless to go into any extended analy sis. She'll do.
 The other members of the company did all that they were expected to do if it did seem that they had not slept soundIy enough the night previous
 The audience seemed to fully appre ciate the enterprise of the manage ment of the Montgomry Theatre in se curing the production, and it was one of the largest and most fashionable that has been to the Theatre this sea. son.
 1sParsifal" at the Bijou.