The Washington herald., 1912-02-20
THE COLUMBIA.
George Evans and His "HOney Boy
MInstreIs.

MInstreIE.
the Columbia last night, where George
Evans and his Honey Boys offered a
minstrel show the equal of which has
not been enjoyed by Monday night
audience for, 10, these many moons.
Plenty of good stories, most of them
new and all told in the most approved
minstrel fashion Of the period, many
| funny songs by the numerous comedians.
and occasionally a sentimental ballad
with close harmony in the chorus, excel
| lent dancing of all styles and kinds,
and, above all. the deliciousiy droll
George Evans and you have combina-
| ton warranted to furnish good enter
| tainment.
From the moment the curtain rose, dis
closing the conventional semi-circle OF
smiling black faces and white shirt
bosoms, everything went with a snap and
bang which would please even George
NJ. Cohan, and every one worked as
though the fun were equally divided be-
tween the entertainers and the enter
tained. Pierce Keegan sang "Alexander's 5
Ragtime Band as It should be sung.
with the entire company helping him
out on the chorus, and Vaughn Comforts 8
excellent tenor won many encores Tor
him in 'Tf Had You" John King told
farm, which grows larger each season.
and with the aid OF the orchestra, told
all about what happened to him Down
| in Kokomo." Gilmore and Castle scored
in That Peculiar Rag" Matt Keefe con-
trIbuted a touch Of the old-style min
strelsy with his yodeyng. and James
Meehan disclosed an unusual falsetto
voice in There's Nothing Like
Mothers Love-
Soft shoe dancing by Tommy Hyde IN
a picturesque setting, Moonlight on the
Bayou followed by a dancing carnival,
opened the second half. and then George
Evans made his appearance to deliver
one OF those inimitable monologues
which have made him famous. Getting
under way BY announcing that he would
sing a little iitty written by the Standard
on Company, and entitled Praise John
from Whom Oil Blessings Flow, MT.
Evans expressed his ideas on a variety
Of subjects, ranging from the circus 10
lreciprocIty, the only regret OF the audi
ence being that he didn't have seventy
eight or thirty more TO talk about But
| the Honey Boy came into his own lit
tie later on.
| Charles Crossman and his banjo
phiends twanged the strings In pleasing
| fashion, and then came THE Dixie Der
by" a musical comedy in blackface. with
the book, lyrics, and music by Mr..
Evans. And as Mr.. Evans wrote the
role of Snowflake Lincoln Crump for per-
soDal consumption, so to speak, he ceE-
tainIy did "eat it up" Snowflake is an
other one of those funny, bandy-legged
little negroes who gets into all sorts OF
scrapes and as promptly get out again
played with all the Evans trademarks
| the aggravated strut, the cigar that re-
fuses to be smoked, the long and much
stepped-upon feet, and the remarkable
trousers To look at him is to laugh.
and then to hear that almost grand opera
voice is a sure cure for the blues. Charles
Hnliard contributes an excellent female
impersonation, a Ia Julian Eltinge, in his
Martha Jane Washington Brown, a
blackface society leader.
To any one fond Of fun and foolishness
lin blackface, George Evans and his
honey boys can be recommended.