The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-02-07

You can't throw any bricks a,
Society Vaudeville. You've SIMPLY got
TO hand it to that bunch of amateurs,
! VINO put on ut the academy of Music
last night production which stands
: alone. 1t used to be the custom in
! thiS town to boost everything pro-
! uuced by local talent, and possibly the
pad ones We're commended along with
the good That. however, is not the
case now. Al Field or George Evans
! never had Il better first part minstrel
show. Field and Evans never had
| quite so many clever things thrown
| together after the manner OF a Min
ter Garden program, and about the
J only criticism TO be offered is that
there was too much. II ran until near
| midnight, with repeated encores, ana
wound up with Il dash of melody that
made people go away. half sorry that
they couldn't see n little more
Starting With minstrel perform
ance, the night was full OF smart stuff
and merrment. a whole bunch of
well known young men sat about the
stage w'th burnt cork all over their
faccs-so thick that 1t was nard 20
recognize then-and got off many
rapid fire shots and music that was
music. Colonel Thomas b. McAdams
an end man. probably mad the most
show. hut he gave ii rafting swing
less nervous. So they all joined into
tho spirit OF the occasion right nobIy
Fun Comes East.
With lot of walnut stain all over
his face 10 give HIM n little moro
class than the others-for nc was
the grand observation-disclosures T..
18th introduced them. one alter the
other. Carr II. Boschen taxing one end
while Colonts McAdams took the other.
The lattcr's song, "Wncn | Got iiomc
THIS Morning snc Mas Gone caught
the house. Then to give ii mans rps
N rest, &. J. under was sent TO the
bat with IL Bob White song OF some
kind, alter which Thomas H. Roystcr
and Charley Sickel, end men, pulled
off a variety of stunts wnlcn carried
class. a solo by II. Lynn Tucker fol-
lowed.
Upon the stage next rolled Henry 5.
HotcnKiss, the Honey Boy. and
Biuncnard $, Forbes. with an assort-
inent OF real end man entertaining
winch brought forth Il storm OF APP
plause. The TWO OF them were typical
carried off the minstrel honors. fol
the audience, brilliant" by the way,
kept UP its laughing and handclappInS
anu kept calling for more.
Near the end ot the program, w.
douglas Ciordon. the male Tctrazzin!,
who was doubtless allow cd TO take
roast it In this paper, was announced
Stream In a husky, ligh, baritone,
which had doubtless seen bcttor days.
SIR. Gordon struggled through one
verse of this TYPICAL song OF cheap
and splashy sentimentallty, and then
the big, sweet voiced chorus joined
III and saved the number from total
l. Nor, he. I'D nm fnr h..
| nigh tcn doliar) notes one could al
| most see the mlllers daughter waiting
dt the church for the man who sang,
out didn't come.
Jumping from black face to real So
cicty vaudeville, there came, after the
first intern lsslon, Indian sketches songs
and dances, led by Lewis Boyd and
Miss Lucy Gwathmey. The strange
dance was wonderfully well done. An
other brief intermission gave a Rich
mond audience novel sight when
| short trousers. played something and
! then was forced to play again
Hats on to Boykin.
But "lhe Return of Mona Lisa" a
! farce written by Otis NJ Alfricnd, al
| most forced the minstrels out of FIRST
| place popularity, especially when II in
troduced H. Godwyn Boykin. female
impersonator. who was really the best
| actor on the stage last night There
| were many clever lines in the sketch
which fell to him and as fat Irish
| woman, who had drifted into Paris
/ with rings on her fingers and few
! bells on her toes he She was great.
Mr.. Alfriend, as the detective: Alvin
NJ. Smith. as the thief and the others,
who were Miss Emma Gray White.
Miss Lucy Ford Workman. James c..
Wheat and Holt NJ Page, made UP a
| ii company that Was not lacking in
actinr ability. Mr.. Boyk!n's make up
/ was perfect She" was big fat
! dream. There were a number of
! tableaux which were delayed and
somewhat married, despite the beauti-
full pictures, by imperfect lighting,
| but this defect Will not be there to-
night
Then came that clever Cafe
| Chantant, whirlwind of life and color
| and music and dancing and all that.
| In this part of the production Alvin
Smith was SO natural and real, and
| so like an old hand at the business
that he. put over the stage achieve
tmcnt of his amateur career. Incl
| dcnta.ly, he introduced two "swcll
ladies'" Mr.. ByokIn and Mr.. Alfriend,
the Shrimp Sisters, whose dialogue
telling what happened when they were
chambermaids at Murphy's Hotel was
what the regular critic OF this news
pape would call the scream of the
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