The San Francisco call., 1909-07-26
LIZZIE MULVfY
WINS THE HONORS
Clever Dancer Shares GlOries
at 0rpheum This Week
With SchrOde

Let the honors OF the Orpheum this
week go to Miss Lizzie Mulvey; for, by
all the little tin god of laughter. she
deserves them. She appeared like a
whirlwind. flung herself about the
stage in a veritable cyclone of frenzied
applause She with Walter Schrode
in a comedy sklt. entitled "A Theatrical
Agency" are the new features of the
bill and most refreshing ones. break
ing. as they do, a rather tame and
unpretentious succession OF acts.
Such is the saving beauty of the
Orpheum There will be a few pre-
liminary acts which fail to arouse one
to that pitch of enthusiasm to which
we have been educated by the past ex-
cellencies of this circuit, and just when
boredom is creeping over us there is a
fash. glitter and laugh and the house
is rocketing with applause So it was
in this instance. The opening act of
the three athletic Donals was hold
over. Herbert and willing, burnt face
comedians. who followed, were avera ge
Julius Tannen. wit and raconteur, was
as good s he was last week and Griff
the comedy English juggler. was-Eng-
lish. Then into the midst of these
came Lizzie Mulvey, and the rest was
told by the applause of the audience.
Sam Watson's farmyard circus, an
other new feature, was decidedly clever.
1t is one of the best animal acts yet
given on any vaudeville stage Miss
Lily Lena. the English coincidence.
made her usual hit with her songs. In
this respect she might discard the last
verse Of her 81 Wonder" song. It was
screamingly funny. but just a trife be-
yond the lines of good taste and she is
far too clever little woman to stoop
to the racy to win applause
The collection of femininity in the
Gibson's electrified girl review did not
appear a day older than they did last
week and there was no material change
in their personal appearance.
Tennessee's Pardner
Who does not know the story of Bret
Harte's "Tennessees Pardner,' the
pretty little story of the waif
from Smoky mountain? Harte
had many dreams, but they
were all dreamed in the west.
He had no other visions worth while
when he ran into the fogs of London
and became a literary person and
proper. "Tennessee's Pardner' is one
of his western dreams, and likewise
one OF his best. The story endures
stage treatment with as easy fortitude
as did the California pioneers with
whom the story deals. It makes a good
play. IT is the bill at the America n
this week and. barring an unfamiliarity
with the lines which occasionally made
holes in the script yesterday it should
be worth a two weeks run.
Charles Swickard who handles the
stage. has given the piece an effective
setting and has spent, apparently, much
money to get vivid likeness of Sand
hill. New; for / forgot to say that this
particular California story of Harte's
is set in Nevada.
Harriet Worthington's Tennessee
Kent is a soft voiced slip of a girl.
bewildered at her surroundings and
crushed by the information, suddenly
impaired, that her father, whom she
came to find, is dead. Her portraiture
of the character is picturesque and
winsome Herschel Mayalls character
ization Of the Legitimate and high
toned gambler was not as freely
sketched as it should have been. He
was something Of a sinner of omission
and needed the prompter, too, many
times-a fault. however, not uncommon
in stock productions which are done on
short notice James Corrigan's pres
entation of the man of 81 had onlv
one bad moment. That was when, after
little Tennessee has kissed him on the
forehead, he encoura ged and got a
cheap laugh by an anachronism as
painful as it was vulgar: II love NV
wife but-oh, you kid" Otherwise his
performance of the role of Gewilliker
Hay was a keen and continuous de-
light, from makeup to characterization
Miss Pauline Lord was acceptable as
Nettie Bice, and Gerald Harcourt was
good as Amos. One of the best roles
was in one OF the best pair OF hands
1t was that of Mrs. Hay, played by
Lillian Elliott.