Evening star., 1909-05-28
WILL LIVE IN MEMORY
Notable Entertainment by
Members of Lambs Club.
LARGE SUM IS REALIZED
Net Contribution Toward the New
Clubhouse, $7,324.
NATIONAL THEATER CROWDED
Nothing Like the Gambols and No
Such List Of Participants Ever
Seen Here Before.
LARGE SUM IS REALIZED
NATIONAL THEATER CROWDED

atrical profession, have come and gam
boiled and gone. and with them have car
ried $7,3o4, the contribution Of Washing
ton admirers, toward the erection OF their
new clubhouse in New York city. Hun
dreds who struggled in vain to secure ad-
mission to the National Theater yesterday
afternoon fingered on the outside and
crowded the entrances and sidewalks as
though they just wanted to be near, even
if they couldn't see that famous gambol.
Inside the theater every seat and every
available foot OF standing room was filled
with folks who just had to see, no matter
what the cost. But it was worth it, well
worth 1t.
The Minstrels.
Promptly at o'clock the gambol be-
gan with the roll OF thunder. the flash OF
lightning and a gloom Of cimmerian
darkness from which emerged in the lime
light the we'll known features of David
Belasco-and then the minstrels-and
such minstrels. Their like was never seen
before; perhaps may never be seen ana
heard again. De Wolf Hopper was an
ideal interlocutor. In fact. De Wolf Hop
per was a sort of ideal everything in
which he took part. for his Mark Antony
in the scene from Julius Caesar made the
Legitimate Lambs wriggle with envy.
Andrew Mack, Clayton E. White, Eddie
Foy and Nat NJ Wills fourished the
tambourines on one end, while Raymond
Hitchcock. Maclyn Arbuckie. Charles Ev-
ans and Ignacio Martinetti ratified the
John joins Mccloskey. Melville stewart. john
Park, Frank Belcher, Walter Lawrence
and j. c. Miron. while in the comic line
Eddie Foy. with Down Where the Wa
termelon Crows and Raymond Hitch
ur{th "a George
Leon Moore's ballad. Sweet Genevieve.
of immortal memory. kept the audience IN
roars OF laughter. There was continual
comment among the end men on the lu-
mnaries that were to appear later, their
selections, the merits OF their perform
ance and the like, and even a suggestion
that it might be we'll to put De Wolf
Hopper's Marc Antony act at the end OF
the program. that the audience might
leave without losing anything. But the
Marc Antony act was one of the surprises
of the show. and De Wolf Hopper con-
vinced many Of his audience that he had
possibilitie in his versatility far beyond
O'Neill was, of course, great Brutus
O'Neill was. of course, great Brutus.
Then came the ridiculous Weber and
Field act. The Foolish Pool Game,
with which those celebrated comedians
eaped into the limelight of funmakers
| in the long ago.
One of the hits of the gambol was the
song and dance act, After the Matin e. .
WTlttGn Dy DCuJdIHlu IIdpSOOu ouI al
| which Donald Brian. with eight rather
buxom If good-looking matinee girls
| impersonated by John C. slavin, A. Gald.
win Sloan. Wallace Eddinger. Hassard
Scott Welsh and Paul W. Evans showed
what they could do with skirts and French
heels in a novel and exhilarating manner
The Amusing Comedy.
For the final comedy, Tuesday, or the
L |, f,,lI ~fv ,~vxt~ - -
company was enlisted. The scene was
laid behind the curtain and was supposed
| to represent a rehearsal after a Monday
night failure of lugubrious melodrama.
The possibilities for ridiculous and COM
| ical situations and repartee and sugges-
| tions were unlimited, and the audience got
| a glimpse Of the real glamour of the stage
that it had never dreamed Of before.
Digby Bell as the wardrobe mistress was
| inimitable as the nervous. fault-hnding
woman who looks after the costumes. Jo-
seph Grismer, from the auditorium. raced
| up and down. roared and gesticulated, an
athematized and expostulated as the stage
manager. Raymond Hitchcock was the
| headstrong chorus girl to perfection and
Ignacio Martinetti the coryphee. Donald
Brian was the heroine, Cyril Scott the ju-
venile, Wilton Lackeye the hero. and a
good one even If he was declared other
wise; Dustin Farnum the villain. Eugene
Cowles the father, Neal McCay the
mother and Maclyn Arbuckle the uncle.
There was not anything omitted that
could possibly provoke roar of laughter.
But the striking part Of the performance
| famous playwrights and managers, Clay
M. Greene, A. l.. Erlanger. Edward NIL
ton Royle. Charles Klein. George II.
| Broadhurst, Augustus Thomas, Henry NJ.
Blossom and David Belasco. each OF
whom burlesqued his own particular lido
| cyn cra cfes and contributed to the general
| merriment.
Touched by the Old Songs.
| The Gambol as whole was simply
inimitable The od-time songs never
seemed more beautiful. and as Eugene
| Cowles sang the old familiar Annie
| Laurie tears could be seen tricking
down many cheeks In the vast audience.
It was SO, too, with ''Her Bright Smile
Haunts Me STILL" as sung by William
Stewart. and George Hamlins beautiful
| rendition of Then You'll Remember
Me-" Charles Evans, with Mr.. Brown.
and Nat NJ. Wills, with Alexander
DDS of loosening laughter and they were
| effective.
An especial feature Of the singing was
the triple sextet composed OF george
Esa Hsn oh5 eosss asen ssott %sss
Ling. Rapley Holmes. william Stewart
| Walter Lawrence, Melville Stewart
IL. B. Park John Peachey, Frank Bel.
cher, Eugene Cowles, Joseph Miron and
| De Wolf Hopper. sang Nevin's Oh. That
We Two Were Mayins' and "Cruiskeen
Lawn" for an encore. both arranged by
Lamb Victor Herbert.
Give Their Own Compositions.
Andrew Mack sang his own compost
ton, go Way. Mistah Moon" and gave
an imitation of the grand opera tenor
The Lambs joined in the chorus.
George " Hobart sang, in the first part
Il Want To Be a Good Lamb" written
by George ". Hobart and Victor Her
bert. Nat NJ. Wills gave his we'll known
monolosue about his German fat girl
Hortense Mulligan. Nat hadn't his
| makeup box, so instead of the tramp
his own smiling self appeared. which gave
folks a chance to see what he really
&leoked like.
AS long as the program was. it seemed
between It's smiles and tears, intersperset
frequently with roars of laughter. ap.
plauded and again applauded. Columns
| would be required to tell all that hap.
| pened for the masters of mirth and the
drama were at their best in everything
they did The Gambol will long be re.
membered by the hundreds who were
Last night the Lambs wended their wa,
to Baltimore for an evening performance
| where telegraphic reports say they re-
peated their triumph here. Thence they
60 to Cleveland. Pittsburg and Chicago
returning for a second appearance IL
New York next Monday night.
Took in 87,255 at Baltimore.