The San Francisco call., 1910-05-19
COMET INTERFERES.
With BOX OFFICES
Falling Off in Receipts Marked
by Approach of Heavenly
Wanderer
Charles. |, Dramatic Monkey,
Meets Death in Baggage
Car
By WALTER ANTHONY


mer substance as intangible as the COS
tune of q dancing interpreter Of classi-
cal music snd about as dangerous as a
beam Of light. the tail has clouded
the theatrical business 10 a very con-
siderable extent. The box Offices Of
every theater in town report diff
dence on the part of the timid TO buy
tickets for yesterday and last nights
performances. Hundreds of dollars
worth Of tickets were returned for
yesterdays shows when the astro
nomical experts figured out that we
were going to take the comet by the
tail "Of a Wednesday,"
VIII you please exchange these
Wednesday seats for the Saturday
matinee for Thursday night?" says
the difhdent ticket owner, proffering
the coupons dated May 49, The seat
seller smiles, makes the exchange and
the manager thanks heaven literally
that Halley's comet comes no 45ftener.
Its no good. says Ralph Pincus
Of the Columbia, "to tell them that
they'd be better of in the theater if
there was going TO be a shower
Of taiiings from the comet, or to sug-
gest that we hire astronomers to tell
us that the thing is a gaseous vapor.
The reply would likely be: oh, ] am
or my husband or my friend is very
nervous about it
Chares the First, a millionaire, on
whose shoulders the cares of finances
rested easily is dead and has left no
heirs. Neither did he leave any will.
Iie had none to leave. He only had an
instinct, for Charles the First was
monkey and a vaudeville star. His
death came as a surprise and shock TO
Charles Judge, who owned him, and to
the Orpheum, which exploited him
monkey from d skipper who skipped
along Afric's sunny coasts. Charles
was precOcious and Judge proceeded
TO develop his prodigy talents, until
he was able to ride a bicycle drink
wine, smoke cigarettes, and do other
things which ordinarily nothing but
superior man has achieved. The income
from Charles the Firsts Talents netted
a sum equal TO the yield of an in
vested million dollars. His death must
have been robbed of some of its no
toriOus horrors. Charles the First was
smothered to death by steam. His last
hours were spent in temperature sug-
gesting the land of his birth, his happy
childhood's home. He was travelling
IN the baggage car from Seattle to
Portland from which latter place he
was TO journey on to San Francisco
for his second appearance here. But
& steam pipe burst in the car and be-
fore Charles could be rescued he was
gathered to his ancestors in land
where, no doubt cocoanuts grow on
every hand and myriad limbed trees
invite the prehensile tail.
The Princess is a scene of activities
again with Ferris Hartman and his
singers whipping their production of
Woodland" the PixIey and Luders'
forest fantasy, into shape for its inf-
a
The popular Ferris has brought with
him this time several principals new
TO US and a chorus, the members of
which are said to be birds. Florence
Wadsworth. prima donna, comes to the
coast after a season with the Aborn
English grand opera company. She
has the reputation of possessing
dramatic soprano Of great range.
The Van Ness theater will open its
doors soon for season of Yiddish
plays produced by Relkin's Yiddish
company. Their stay will be limited
TO one week. as other engagements in
the west make an extended stay i'm
possible. The Yiddish players were
seen recently at the Garrick theater
and have been en- tour The same
cast Of principals will appear at the
Van Ness with several added artists
II is promised It is said to be now the
largest Yiddish company ever sent
west.
Miss Mabel Bardine and company
promise novelty in vaudeville next
week in "Suey San which is a sketch
OF tragic nature laid in San Francisco's
Chinatown. Another novelty is assured
IN the exhibition of the Herring-Cur-
tiss aeroplane in which Glenn II Cur
tiss winged with the birds at Rheims
and Brescia. and won a championship.
Unnecessary pains have been taken bv
the management 10 assure the public
that the machine Will not hutter around
IN the Orpheum. No flights will take
place from the stage 10 the gallery
along the straight road that the spot
light spreads; but the way the wheels
are made to go round and the manner
in which the inanimate bird fickers
from cloud to cloud will be explained.
so that we all can buy one and fee as
bird. It should be an interesting num-
Der and instructive.
Final rehearsals are rounding the
production of Bach's great choral COM
position. the Passion" music accord
ing to st. Matthew, into splendid artis-
tic form-~That the Greek theater will
be crowded next Saturday afternoon
when the gigantic work is presented bv
the Bach choir OF 125 voices, the chill
dren's chorus Of 500 voices orchestra
and pipe organ. seems a certainty. saws
DR.. Fred Wolfe, who for a year has
been drilling the choir and the princi-
pals IN their difficult but wonderful
music.
The so4oists who will appear are as
follows: Miss Alice j. Andrews. Mrs
Orrin. Kipp McMurray, Mrs Frances
Thoroughman and Mrs. A. E. Wood. So
pranos;. Carl Anderson, tenor; Henry
Mustard, bass; H ]. Satin, George
Blacker and Arthur George. Miss Au-
rors Thompson, who came from Lon
don last year to be the organist for
DR.. Wolle's first Bach festival. and un
til recently was of the faculty of the
Academy Of Music at Highgate. N.
London, viii be the organist. Hother
Wlsmer viii be concert master.
Among the players who have been
brought from New York TO participate
with Miss Maude Adams in her forth
coming production of AS You Like IT,
At the Greek theater. following her en-
gasement at the Columbia theater. is
Arthur Byron He calls attention to
IN unusual coincidence. His aunt Ada
hehan, opened the old Columbia in
Powell street, being the first actress to
appear there under the Gottlob-Marx
regime. Her nephew, Arthur Byron.