The San Francisco call., 1906-09-17
Monologist Shows That
His Wit Is Keen.
BY james Crawford.

To thoroughly enjoy the performance
given by r. G. Knowles, billed as
..the man who went around the
world on wave of laughter" you
would better go to the Orpheum with
whetted intellect, for he is not the
conventional vaudeville moneiogist. He
does not lombard you with hackneyed
comment in the stereotyped way. His
songs and sayings. whimsically deliv-
cred bristle with points that are keen.
and he does not whittle them to blunt
ness in order to make them comprehen-
sible to the very considerable proper
ton of theater- going folk whose eye
must be appealed to because they are
either unable or unwilling TO exert
whatever mental equipment they may
have-the element that the profession
disparagingly alludes to as -the low
brows." His makeup. while quaint, is
not unduly exaggerated. for it is al
most a replica of that worn by the late
Sol Smith Russell in most of his char
acters, and what dancing he does is
never out OF drawing with what he is
SAYING or singing at the time.
If given time for reflection, however,
the most sluggish brain can grasp the
subtlety Of Mr.. Knowles persifage. He
conyulsed London's swelldow with it,
after he had been there a few years.
and that is enough testimony to prove
that IL is not too deep for the average
American joke-seeker to appreciate.
And his entirely new stuff-mostly re-
countals of how local happenings of
current interest impress q mind pecul-
iarly prone to perceive the ludricious-
is bright as Ii can be and sufficiently
obvious TO score with the gallery. His
rhymed description of San Francisco's
past, present and future, every line of
which ends with alton" is the big ap-
plause- getter of his effort.
A close second for the stellar honors
of the new bill are McMahon's Minstrel
the very-much alike girl" acts, of
which we recently have had a plethora
All the maids, about a dozen of them,
appear in burnt cork and give an old
fashioned minstrel irst-part, in which
the concerted singing OF the fresh
young voices is much more pleasing
than the single effort of the young
lady who was pompously introduced
yesterday as "the sweet-voiced ballad
| ist," and who Immediately proved pos
session of frog-in the throat. Then
they give US more of their vocalism
while apparently awaiting a railway
train. and their third scene. water
melon patch. is pretty pictorially, and
prolific OF excellent singing and dane
| ing.
| Mcmahon and Chappelle pretend to
read pickings from comic weeklies and
| also dance and sing in q way that
\ pleases the house, and the list of new
corners is completed by the Aribos. two
! acrobats who are more remarkable for
muscular strength than grace of per-
| formance.
| OF the holdovers. Fiske and McDon-
ough In their playiet easily retain first
place In public favoritism. The sketch
/ is such a cleyerly constructed thing,
and its undercurrent of domestic philo-
sopny is so deftIy managed by the ac-
1 tors that it gan be witnessed several
times without losing charm in the pro-
cess. The Italian singing trio offer new
selections, including the Mascagni In
termezzo. and continue to win recalls.
Chinko the juggler, and Minnie Kauf-
mann, the bicyclienne. round out the
living features of the programme. and
the moving picture, depicting tramp s
utilization of a clothing store dummy
for moneygetting purposes. is very
funny.
Harry James Travesty Stars start
.sHoity-Toity'' on its second week at
the Davis Theater this evening. The
| enlistment Of Lily Sutherland has ma
Iterially strengthened the list of prin-
! cipals, and crowded house at every
performance since last Monday pre-
sages a record-breaking run for "Hoi-
ty-Toity."
Lonesome Town" continues at the
Central Theater. and no additions to or
! changes in the company have occurred
since the opening. rumor TO the con-
trary Notwithstanding. The pieces
successor has not vet been announced