The sun., 1908-02-19
CELIFOREIENS OWNED A SHOW
FOLKS FROM THE PACIFIC COAST
DESCENDED ON THE CIRCLE

And Took POssesslOn OG the Playhouse
-AuthorS and Chier AetOPe CAlif0r-
nIans-OrAngos From the Audience
and . Fire OF Gags From tho stage.
Every Californian In New York who has a
warm spot In his memory Tor little old
Fischer's theatre In San Francisco before
the fra got together at the Circle Theatre
last night-about 500 OF them--to play
horse with Kolb and Dill as the folks out on
the Coast used to do several years ago. It
was California night at the theatre, and
everything from the oranges that were
chuoked from the boxes at the actors to
the yslls OF the few determined college
alumni down in the front seats was tribute
Of the exiles to the home country.
No society or organization gave the
function. Colvin B. Brown. who talks
prunes and booms California at the pro-
motion bureau on Twenty-third street:
John McNaught. former managing editor
Of che San Francisco Call: Congressman
Duncan McKinlay. Charles X. Lipman
and o. B. Perry simply constituted them
selves a committee and sent out notiflcat-
ton to all Californians in town that there
would be a regular old'time San Francisco
night at the theatre where the two Cali
fornian actors were playing in Californian
play written by o Californian. That was
all. The house belonged to the people
who do not call San Francisco Frisco"
from quarter past till IL.
The house was fixed up in the spirit Of the
occasion. Broad testoons OF blue and gold.
the State colors, were draped from the
boxes. and before the stage there depended
a cluster OF paper poppies, the State
flower. which had to simulate the real arti-
Gle in the absence Of a California climate
along this seaboard. The spotli ght picked
out State banner over the sta ge and every
body warmed up with preliminary cheer
before the curtain went up:
When the long and the abort comedians
made their appearance before a drop
curtain that might have represented Peta-
luna, the Peapack OF California, a shower
Of oranges scattered onto the stage and
about their heads. Everybody In the
front rows had been provided with bolts
Of paper ribbon and the slender streamers
| jumping ont toward the stage caught on a
wire that had been strung across the front
OF the house and draped themselves down
| over the audience and the footlights in
| parti-colored tent OF crinkling wisps Dill
| gathered the oranges in his arms and
smiled encouragingly through his Low
German makelp.
Looks like Sanguinetti's," shouted some
| one up in a box and everybody who re-
| membered the little Italian restaurant
! on the waterfront where one could find
a CATnlVdl ana u every nlHnJ DStOTS
| the fire came along cheered the remem-
| brance. IL was several minutes before
the audience was willing to let the show
, 60 on. Il was too busy warming up and
getting back TO old times to have a small
matter like a show worry IL.
The lines we're interpolated with plenty
/ of gags reminiscent OF people and events
in San Francisco. The particular hit OF
the evening came when one OF the young
men in the cast chanted the poem that
ha do NfG iy,
having the damnedest finest ruins II Is
a poem that was written in the first heat OF
optimism after the fire by San Francisco
| newspaper man and takes nightly with
people who saw the ruins smoking.
When the curtain went down on the first
act calls for kolb and Bill were given and
; both appeared with a life sized California
; bear. stuffed however. Both voiced their
) th6n's in plain English, and then Colvin
( Bro Sn, the promotion man who had started
] the idea of turning theatre over to State
iollifiCation, had to climb over tho footlights
! and say that all you had to do when you
{ wanted TO get the home folks together was
I to say California and then stand out OF the
way.
The final touch was given IN the second
act, when Kolb pulled a bunch of fake
telegrams out OF his pocket and read OF
the messages OF well known people out
along Market street and what used 10 be
+ the cocktail route.
Sorry / cannot he with you. but am
unable to travel at present, was the scnti-
nent Of Eugene L. Schmit2.
you fellows bring home all the money
and don't forget the ulna bone" vas James
Edward Britt's felicitation
After the kilograms the play went on
until the end. when the chorus made brave
stab at the chorus that students al the I nj
versity Of California sing all around the
streets Of San Francisco after a football
/ game II was pretty near the original;
near enough to be recognized