The San Francisco call., 1910-03-21

of Sayov

the singer. 1t might be the Manhattan
opera house so far as the merit of the
offering is concerned; but it is vaude-
Vile.
Or perhaps you have another shock.
The stage is turned into a pulpit and
displayed thereon are the figures that
base all sermons man, woman, the
devil and presence.
You listen to the sermon and are con-
strained to believe, for the man re-
forms, the devil is silenced and the
blesses the penitant.
This act is called The Devil, the
Servant and the Man." and for frank
sermonizing could not be touched by
the filtered sermons of many churches.
do not discuss how much good the
sketch will do, nor how much culture
the singing of Madame Mauricia Mori-
chini will add to the sensibilities of the
race, but I do say that vaudeville is
spreading its net of entertainment.
oRPHEUM SHOW Is GOOD
Anybody can find an excuse to go to
the Orpheum this week Wives may
take their husbands to get the lesson
from the sketch about the man and the
devil you may take the children for
vocal lesson in the art of true singing.
from the prima donna, and incidentally
you will find other things not so lofty
Of purpose, but fitted to your tastes.
The echoes from Madame Maurichinfs
songs have not subsided before the At
rican's ragtime shout is heard, and
Avery and Hart, ebonized comedians,
are upon you.
But first let's talk about the singer.
Madame Maurichini has gained much
IN volume since she was here before,
and has lost nothing of beauty of per-
son or voice. Her selections are better
chosen. The first, from "Tosca" is sup
plication reduced to a song, and the
artist acts as well as sings. AS an in
novation it might be regarded as pre-
carious. but l think it was genuinely
approved yesterday.
Certainly there was no lack of ap-
plause from gallery down to the boxes
when the number was finished
The accompaniment-Pucc con-
densed orchestration-was played with
reverent touch by Rosner and his man,
all of whom seemed happy in their
tasks.
LANGUoRoUS, swAYING MELODY
La Paloma' flew up more surely to
the gallery, and the barcarolle from
The Love Tales of Hoffman" was
ripple of harp effects in the orchestra
and languorous, swaying in melody
on the stage
Avery and Hart are the only sue
cessfpl negro impersonators of McIn-
tyre and Heath's impersonations of the
negro. One is the most resplendent
dresser 1 have ever seen. Where he
gets his clothes and how he gets them
on will be with me an unwrinkled
mystery. The other is one of those
serenely blissful idiots whose inbe-
cility is almost supernatural.
The little fellow abuses the big
fellow and that is the plot.
The bgi fellow sings meantime and
the concoction is good chocolate
Berg's merry girls-there are six of
them-speak no English, being lust
from Germany. The feature that
makes their act a success is their
liveliness and their very uncomforta-
bic looking gymnastics.
DANCING A STARTLING SHOCK
Their dancing is not rythmical de-
light; it is a startling shock. They
leap from tables and dance upside
down, and they are nearly contortion-
lists, If not quite. What makes their
act less likable is the monotony with
which it is dressed and the UNMARRIED
wearying speed of it,
Four of the eight acts are from last
week, and of them Billy Gould, with
his stories and songs, and Elsie Faye
with her dancing partners, are the most
popular
OF the new acts the story about the
devil and the man suggests the most
comment, though not the most COM
mendation. 1t moves slowly for a
sketch. 1t is a worthy effort, however.
which the audience last night accepted
with what seemed to me to be sur
prising approval, scarcely due it as a
skit.
Perhaps we were glad we could
like it.
1t is comfortable to find ourselves ap-
proving the merely virtuous.