Los Angeles herald., 1909-09-29
ny W. HERBERT BLAKE

- Mrs. Charles Peters
sheeieh Burke an Irish colleen. ......,..
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES MISS Et'a D"''euO
BY w HERBERT BLAKE
Now and then there rises from the
trough of the vaudeville sea bark Of
staunch helm and sure port. Such is
"Come Back to Erin" the beautifully
conceived and ably acted sketch IN
which Charles Mack and company of
three are appearing this week at the
Los Angeles For its sake one can
resignedly endure the blatant buf-
fooneries and tiresome suggestiveness
that constitute the stock in trade Of
so many variety performers, and from
which the present Los Angeles Dill Is
not entirely free.
1t is the chief glory Of the Irish ma
tion that ii has kept green in the gar
den of the human heart a saving sense
of humor. This ancient Gaelic glee we
feel in the realistic story of Mr.. Mack
SKETCH set down in the heart OF the
Killarney country. An Irish-American
has returned to the old sod. There he
visits an old-fashoned Celt. a sweet
souled mother who has lost her own
son and colleen who lends the con-
trast of youth to the gray hairs of the
other two. The returning wanderer Is
no kin to any of them, save only for
the kinship of race. He tells the old
man of the wonders of America and he
lies about them as only an Irish-Ameri-
can can. The delicacy of the comedy
lies in the old mans humorous assur-
ance that the little isle of his BIRTH
after ALL is wiser and greater than the
land of wonders of which the rover tells
him. His humility and his droll brag-
gadocio are alike typically and fantas-
tically Irish, as is his persistent belief
in the fairies who dwell behind the
leaves of the shamrock and between the
ripples of Killarney.
Then the youth brings out his bag
pipes-real Irish pipes-and plays Tom
Moore's tender masterpiece, Believe
Me If All These Endearing Young
Charms" a ballad that has flung it's
melody as widely as the Irish adven-
turer or the English arms. The lad
turns to go, and the curtain falls. That
is ALL There is no plot, properly speak
ing, no situations, no slapstick absurdi-
ties. But there Is genuine atmosphere,
so real that we were in the presence of
one of the wild and gentle peoples of
the earth, felt the pulse of its inalien-
able sorrow and caught the breath of
its immemorial- joy.
superb piece of characterization is
Mrs. Peters old Irish woman, patient
and mellow-souled, never for moment
forgetting her life sorrows but alive
10 the BdyelleS OF the present, TOO, one
of the best bits of character acting
have seen on any local vaudeville
stage. A true son Of Erin was w. P.
kits, with his little dudeen and his
droll, philosophic wonder that the New
York skyscrapers did not inconvenience
the moon. Mr.. Mack has done well to
surround his little act with such able
interpreters. of whom he himself is the
modest chief. The only jarring note in
the whole was perhaps the fault of
Miss Eta Bastedo's ancestors, who ap-
parently failed to settle in Donegal
Miss Bastedo is pretty girl, and sings
and dances creditably. but she is no
more colleen than she is a hottentot
The fairies would run away from her,
I am afraid, for all her graces of man.
ner. For the Irish fairies are all rank
Nationalists as hopeless as the par
liamentary minority.
The rest of the new bill bulks well
and is mostly very good fun. The
Wood brothers eXhilarate you with the
grace and speed of their double ring
act. TO see the supple sickness of
their knotted muscle reinvigorates ones
confidence in the human race. The
strains of "Come Back to Erin"
seemed to excite them to even wilder
endeavors and feared for the life Of
the urbane orchestra leader as they
swung well out over his snug cubby-
hole j. K. Emmett and Viola Crane
a RluHlQaLiOn
honeymoon tiffs and bIsses. Mr.. En-
met is doubtless the son of his father,
but his yodeling is a rather sad thing,
even in the ears of a discriminating
audience" His comedy method is very
joyous, however, and the sketch moves
lightly and pleasingly.
Alfred K. Hall gives us a truly comic
sketch. Alfred is long and thin and
dapper. He is so sad he makes one
laugh If he would eliminate his bane-
ful colioquy over the orchestra leaders s
domestic affairs one would not have to
stop.
J. Warren Keane is a saucy fellow.
He does a lot of light fingered tricks
Ono insinuation intended) and all the
time he keeps up a running fusilade
of comments. such as he imagines the
audience is making on his act. The
patter of a magician is coming to be
almost as important as his tricks, and
Mr.. Keane's continuously puns on his
name. But we find time to note several
of his card and flag feats in between
times, and they are we'll worth watch
ing just as closely as he'll let you. His
cleverness dare not gainsay Did not
the young woman with the auburn
tresses smile at his quips, even as she
handed him the materia magica?
Cogan and Bancroft can skate, and
dance on skates, but they should not
try to be funny without a better ex-
cuSe IN Ine way OF dialogue. SUCH or
their gibes as did not fatten out yes
terday were kindly ignored in pleasant
contemplation of their gyrations. And
the song with which one of them began
their act ought to be eliminated from
the repertoire of any decent vaudeville
circuit.
The moving pictures depicted a
French fete, with incidental comedy.
They were amusing, but should have
had lecturer to explain them at
times.
Seats will go on sale tomorrow at the
Mason for "The Honeymoon Trail,
next weeks musical comedy attraction
in which Bert Baker will play the prin-
cipal role. A La Sale theater Chicago
offering, presented by Mort H. Singer
this play will have in it's cast Loui.
Kelso, Carl George, Airline Boiling
Frank Beresford, Adrienne Kroell, Mar,
'garet Lotus, Maud Potter, William
Loomis and George Averill. There will
be beauty chorus" of forty singers
and dancers.
A. Byron BeasIey OF the Burbank
stock company received a letter yes.
lerday from William Desmond in New
Orleans, in which the former Burbank.
er says;
1--WE had a tornado here yesterday