Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-02-25
ELKS AS MINISTRIES
Entertained a Large Crowd at
 Polls Last Evening.

The minstrel performance as giyer
 at Polls last evening by the loca
 lodge, No 265, B. P. o. E.,was i'm
 mense and highly pleasing to tn,
 audience which taxed the capacity O
 the theater. The performance wen
 off with an excellence which woult
 have done credit to professionals ant
 must have been very gratifying to tho
 entertainers who were showered dur.
 ing the evening with enthusiastic | applause. Although it is about seven years since the lodge had presented
 minstrel performance, they evident. ly must have been keeping in form
 ready to come forth at any moment
 as blackface men. Many of the old
 Talma members were in line last ev-
 ening and in many ways the perform. ance was very similar to that of a year ago under the auspices of the Talma club.
 As the curtain rose on the black
 face boys in their bright red suits set
 off with striking yellow scarfs, form
 ed a picturesque background, while
 in front the end men clad in their
 long coats of orange with the solo-
 ists in evening dress made quite an impression. Large electric stars with the Elks' emblem in the center were on either side of the stage, And who was that clad in the immaculate suit of linen with the carnation in his button hole? That was Lewis M Holland, who is one of the best interlocutors that has ever ap- peared in amateur minstrels in this city. The interlocutor had no more than said Gentlemen be seated than the fun started.
 Thomas Cannon and Frank P. Kiely the end men soon had the audience in good humor by some real live local hits and Kiely continued to make good when he sang "So Whats the Use." Some of the come dians would have been at loss for material during the evening if it were not for our old friend, the doc tor.
 Cannon made "a hit with his "Will She Answer Goo, Goo" One of his verses related to Martin McEvoy. He attended the convent ball, but of course he did not answer goo, goo. Cannon's song was very we'll received.
 A tenor solo, 'Nestle by My Side, Dear" was we'll rendered by Leo Race. The rendition would have perhaps been tritle better had not MT Race evidently been suffering with cold.
 J. M. Daly, that bass singer, who has not been heard very often in pub lie of late, sang a delightful bass solo "The Salt of the Sea for Me"
 Then came the introduction of the premier end men, William Fogarty and John Hackett, and the premier Acly W. Castle, who fol- owed we'll in the footsteps of his predecessor. Hackett and Fogarty proceeded immediately to make .hings lively and for the next fifteen minutes they provided some of the pest enjoyment of the night They lad a good dialogue and their local tracks were funny.
 Hackett's song, When the Ham, ner on the Anvil Rings" went itrong.. It is a catchy song and al- hough 1t is a difficult rendition for chorus, it was very well done. Fo- ,arty as an end man was big sur ,rise. He handled himself with an ase that was commendable and sent orth his jokes with plenty of snap. lis song "The Umpire is Most Un- Iappy Man" was one of the things of he performance. It served to intro uce William Shannahan as Dr. Hayes and the imitation was beaut. led Rorty (Ray Bolger) made his ap- earance, announced the batteries nd the game was on. Hackett was 'arley, Fogarty was Schincel and he doctor was the star rooter. It yas a vivid reminder of Rockville and ou will roar when you see it to- fight. Shannahan certainly has the octor down fine.
 Robert T. Bayley sang in his rich aritone voice Dearest and Best. though the song itself would not ause an audience to enthuse, its edition by MT Bailey was one of the lost praiseworthy efforts of the ev- ming. Mir Bailey has an excellent oice and has control of 1t every linute.
 The finale of the first part was "a Iingling of harmonious hits from the Ielody shop" by the entire vocal loir. Here the chorus showed how sally strong it was. Some of the lords which they struck were cer- Iinly worthy of praise. Although le orchestra did not give very ma rial help. their playing throughout le evening being little of, the lorus was in line for many eneo- iums.
 After the opening overture for the ,cond part Leonard c. Donahue and ,hn T. Healey gave a singing and lncing speciality. David Bolger's of the girl was some ling fine. The young man who as- sted Healey in his dancing also did ell.
 John H. Cassidy. the jokeologist Id a bunch of good stun and proved mself a capable monologist. His ng with pictures on prominent