Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-10
Vaudeville at the Orpheum.

Vaudeville at the Orpheum.
Disagree as much as theuter patrons do
sometimes over a given play, the amount
OF such difference is small compared to the
debate which a vaudeville bill will some
times %engender. Admit all that, and
yet it may safely be asserted that
the current bill at the Orpheum will sat
isfy all who may venture within the the
alter during the six days of this week,
for practically every feature Of the bill will
appeal to all kinds and conditions Of
amusement patrons. There are several
numbers, however, which are more certain
to do this than others, and OF these the
headline offering, "A Night on a House
boat" and the comedy, The Mayor and
the Manicure, 10 are absolutely assured OF
universal favor.
The second of these is a playlet from the
pen of George AIDE and Is far and away
the best sketch he has written for the
vaudeville stage. In fact. It is so far ahead
OF the sketch called "A Kentucky Colonel"
that AIDE must be sorry he wrote the lat
ter. 1t is noteworthy, too, in showing a dis
tinct advance in stagecraft over THE
County Chairman" popular as that COM
edy was. In THE Mayor and the Mani
cure" there is offered a ~satirical study Of
the successful politician which makes the
humor of The County Chairman" seem
cheap and obvious. The sketch is given by
Edwin Holt and company. The rest are
excellent, but Hollis an actor. 1t is his
first appearance in the vaudeville field,
and If ne cares to continue on the vaudc-
VILE stage, he can stay there as long and
as successfully as any man who can be
named.
"a Night on a Household" Is one of the
most pretentious and elaborate offerings
on the vaudeville stage today, and the
stage setting is remarkably handsome, re-
producing something OF the opulence of
the houseboat which lazily floats amid the
alligators of st. Johns river. There are
nine men and girls in the act, headed by
O'Malley Jennings, whose forte is the char
acterization of the musical comedy sort of
Englishman, a more familiar figure on the
musical comedy stage than in vaudeville.
His humor is funnier than the average. Of
the song numbers in the offering, What
the Searchlight Shows is the most novel
in type and the most successful. The sup
porting octet sings and dances with the
vim and precision which have gone a long
way to make popular Little Johnny Jones'
and other Cohan Entertainments
These two numbers are far from being
the Whole Dill, however. MdDel Sinclair is
one of the ablest girl ventriloquIsts in cap
tlvity. Her coster accent, it may be OBJ
served in passing. reminds one much of
Albert Chevalier, and the flavor of the
London music hall is noticeable in all the
songs and jokes of her dummy accomplices.
The bill is opened by Espe, Dutton and
Espe, three gymnasts whose pantomime is
a feature of their act, and whose neck
imperilling activities are done with care
less sangfroid. Mile. Bertha Pertina, a
toe-dancer, follows them. She is rather
more graceful than most young women
who pirouette with soles at right angles tc
the horizon. and is notable, too, among
toe-dancers because her dancing has moi
produced disfiguring Jumps OF muscle where
gentle curves ought to be. Thomas Carroll
and Joseph NJ. Baker received enthusiastic
applause for a dance and song turn inter.
spersed with humor of an obvious kind. bui
at which there was exceedingly hearty
laughter.