Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-08
EXCELLENT BILL
AT THE ORPHEUM
ITALIAN PR0ETAN ARTIST Is
MARVELLOUS
NEW ACTS ARE ALL IN HEADLINE
GLASS
Two Clever PlayIets, Violin Act and
an Acrobatic Turn Make Weeks
Vaudeville Offering Above
the Average
BY SHIRLEY OLYMPUS


Long but exceptionally interesting
and worth while is the bill this week
at the Orpheum theater. One good
thing after another is offered as the
various acts appear, until one is left
in doubt whether Martin Beck has not
made a mistake and sent half dozen
headliners instead of two, the number
the display bills say are on the pro
gram. Music predominates, and were
il not for one Of the holdoyer turns
there would be no dancing at all,
which would be high crime in vau-
deville houses.
How long does it take the average
man to dress? About thirty minutes,
I should say. That being granted,
Arturo Bernardo is an unusual man,
for he dresses something like forty
times in less time than IL takes the
ordinary man to dress once. OF course
Bernardo has some helpers-three or
four of them-but even with helpers
he does what seems almost impossible
except on the stage.
In the first part Of his act Bernardo
assumes and sustains nine distinct
cnaracters-three female and six male.
Not only does he change costume but
he modulates his voice in such a man
ner that the casual ear would be de-
ceived. The rapidity of his changes
is the marvellous part of it all. He
walks on and off the stage at an eX
ceedingly rapid pace, never being out
of sight more than a few seconds.
When he leaves the stage he is one
character and when he returns he is
another At the end of his first
comedietta he rushes off, changes from
the costume Of a waiter to that of a
policeman and appears again in the
theater aisle in less time than 1t would
seem possible for an ordinary man to
go from the back of the theater to the
front
The second part of the act is done
in the orchestra pit, where he directs
the musicians, and in sight of the
audience assumes the characters and
makeup of famous leaders, from Wag-
ner to Sousa. His best Interpretation
Is of Mascagni. His changes are made
behind a velvet screen in the twinkling
of an eye. He does not leave the pit,
simply leaning over while he arranges
a wig or collar. In the last portion
of the Bernardo act he again plays a
number of parts, this time five. He
makes all his changes behind trans
parent scenery. For the purposes of
rapid changing Bernardo seems able
to be young lover, old man, wife or
husband with equal ease.
Real comedy, the kind that makes
actual laughs because 1t is not inane,
and acrobatics rarely If ever are seen
together. 1t is a relief to spectators
when such a mixture is offered, SO the
Willy Panther company is a rare relief,
for the members of the company are
comedians and clever acrobats. Two
midgets named Panther in the pro-
gram cause most of the laughter and
help their big brothers in some won
derful acrobatic stunts. The act is
so entirely different and so much bet
ter than most acts of the acrobatic
class that 1t deserves to be called a
headline number
All the dramatic unities are pre-
served in His Local Color" one of
the cleverest sketches ever seen in Los
Angeles. Miss Una Clayton, the au-
thor, appears as Tina. a New York
street waif, and she makes a hit every
time she appears on the stage She
is a down-to-date understudy of Dick
ems Fagin through force of circum-
stances. There are humor pathos, a
love story and at least two climaxes
in the playlet. which, by the way,
should be called more than a "1ittle
play" there is so much of it. Mona
D. Ryan as the sweetheart of Harold
Sherman, an artist, makes every un-
married man in the audience sing to
himself Gee, Wish I Had q Girl"
for she is about 80 per cent winsome
beauty and 10 per cent lovableness.
Mr.. Morey, or Sherman, as you will,
is to be envied. He makes good in his
character
If Martin Beck will only send us an
act like that of Mr.. and Mrs Frederic
Voelker every few weeks we shall soon
have some musical discernment Not
very often do real musicians play real
music in a variety house. A violin act
usually is a series of finger exercises
ending with some bit of popular rag
time. It's different with the Voelker,
offering, however Just one little jar
ring note creeps into the act. Mr..
VoelIer is seen smoking a cigar as the
curtain rises on a handsomely set
stage to represent a studio. I doubt
very much if the old masters smoked
cigars in their studios while women
were present, Answer, please, Mr.. Voel-
ker.
Franklin Underwood, Frances Slos-
son and Gene Yarbrough presented a
new act yesterday. 1t is entitled
''Things Are Seldom What They Seem"
It is short, full of action, has plenty of