Los Angeles herald., 1908-04-15
The Theaters
The whistle blew.

''Now, go back and do it all over
again." called Mr.. Morosco; and six
teen girls let their skirts fall, stopped
smiling and weariedly took their places
in line behind an imaginary wing,
awaiting a musical cue. 1t is not all
beer and skittles, or their Levy equiv
alents, this being a chorus girl.
There's lot of hard work about 1t, as
you would realize could you watch a
rehearsal of the "Trip to Chinatown"
chorus at the Burbank theater.
Somebody began strumming the piano
and the girls started again. 1t was
graceful, swaying movement in waltz
time. but it didn't suit. This time they
got half way across the room. Then
the whistle sounded.
you don't mean that SMILE" called
the manager, addressing himself to
pretty girl in the front row.
Eyes, I do; only you don't know it,
she replied. She was green little
chorus girl, you see; and she didn't
know that good little chorus girls
never talk back when they're spoken to.
'Well, make the audience under
stand it," rejoined Mr.. MQrosco.
Don't let 'em think you're taking a
smile. Show your teeth, there's moth
ing the matter with them. Let us see
'em once in a WHILE
The girl smiled again. This time it
was a smile that might have served as
an ad for new tooth wash or as a
feminine edition de luxe of that cele
brated painting 'Dee-lighted." Morosco
was satisfied and the girl stepped back
into her place.
Then the whole sixteen of them went
back to work again. They Merry
Widowed md they marched; they sang
and they executed involved military
evolutions in close formation. When
they weren't singing they smiled and
when they weren't smiling they were
giving surreptitious pats to their hair
or powdering their perspiring faces.
Every ten minutes or so there came
a short intermission. Then the girls
crowded about open windows in an
effort to cool off before it began all
over again.
Every girl in this chorus is a resi-
dent of Los Angeles. Several of them
never have been on the stage in their
lives. They have had a week of re-
hearsals, however, and they are already
we'll up in the songs and stage business
of the five musical numbers they will
have to sing when "a Trip to China
town" opens at the Burbank next Sum
day afternoon.
OF course, there's a new fleet song,
words by Oliver Morosco. music by
Joseph Montrose," and in 1t Mr.. Mont
rose proves that he has arrived as a
professional composer. The new song
is reminiscent of MY Yankee Sailor
Boy" just as 1.-THE Tale of the Sea-
shelI' suggests 1.-THE Tale of the Kan
garoo," or 1.-THE Tale of Something or
Other Else" by the same composer
Naturally this means that the Sailor
Boy" ballad is hit. Men don't re-
peat their failures when they are as
canny as Joseph Montrose.
1t was pay day for the Edgar Temple
opera company yesterday and the
clerks in a certain bank down town
are wishing that delightful function
came every day, for 1t resulted in the
clerks entertaining about all the chorus
and most OF the principals, who flocked
in a body over to the bank to have
their checks cashed.
OF course the first thing a person has
to do in drawing money from a bank
Is to be identified. And when that per-
son is pretty girl and has winning
ways and a cute smile, and when one
has hitherto gazed at that pretty girl
over the footlights, that magic line that
cuts one off from all except silent ad-
miration-well and when that pretty
girl is multiplied by a score or two,
then it Is small wonder that one takes
ones time in establishing her identity
and doesn't care IL words are wasted in
making certain that Miss Brighteyes
is really Miss Brighteyes and not Miss
Twinkletoes.
So it happened that the paying tel
lers were an unconscionably long time
In handling those chorus girls check
accounts and commercial business was
really a bit demoralized, right in the
busiest part OF the afternoon, too
Likewise, the money counters were
much in evidence at the Auditorium
last night.