The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-01-29

Give Them Back About a Dollar!
rt cost Richmonds trsctable thea
tre-goers yesterday the modest sum OF
81 50 10 put the ENTER" into the enter
tainment offered at the Academy of
Music by Weber & Fields under the
meaning name of Hockey Pokey."
while those recently reconelled artists
contributed choice bits of their dear
old choking dialogue of other days. be-
sides their poker game and statue
scene; several other amusing bits en-
acted by members of their company.
and a number of beautiful pictures
presented by some thirty-not sixty
immoderately good-looking chorus girls
variously. frequently and splendifer-
ously cOstumed.
Ana that is about all there was no
pretty music. few head liners very
little If any, real singing. and no
burlesaue. or travesty OF the char
acter so often presented by Weber
Fields one of which, called The
Squaw Mans Girl OF the Golden West.
Weber included in his own production
here some six or seven years. Yester-
day they offered sim ply big burlesque,
punctuated by a few amusing scenes.
which was far from being worth seeing
at the rate of precisely 81 the hour.
It is only fair to say that those who
had never heard the dialogue, never seen
Lew choke Joe or Joe jut out his.
pneumatic corpulence, never seen the
poker game or the statue scene, greeted
it all with roars of laughter. while those
to whom it had all been familiar for
many years welcomed every bit OF
the old business with the cordial smile
commonly bestowed upon almost for
gotten friends.
gether. except in the Moving Pic
lures" mum Der. which he and May Boley
succeeded in making the most amusing
movement of the entire performance
May Boley-last here with FRITZ
Schef-was not only effective in this
skillet. but scored whenever her part
permitted.
Flavia Arcaro. handsome and double
dimpled. was altogether attractive.
and with Walter Lawrence, sang the
Comic Opera duet~Fery cieverly.
Arthur Aylsworth was conspicuously
miscast even in the very small bit
assigned to him.
Bessie Clayton received a storm of
applause for her dancing. which was
remarkable if not particularly graceful.
The chorus sang mildly and unob-
jectionably and showed little OF the
rigid drilling for which the Weber 4
Fields choruses have long been noted
Out ~ Was composer OF UNUSUALLY pretty
women. both show girls and ponies, and
the costuming was undoubtedly gorge
ously spectacular-the gowns of any
one of the show girls were quite hand
some enough for any of the principals
to have worn.
TO the house orchestra this Com
pany of 100 contributed five men, in
Guiding the leader. who. by the way,
with the assistance of the drummer in
creased the Importance of the Moving
Pictures" act UNNECESSARILY. At the
outside. probably nifty OF this much
heralded. immense, and amazing com
pany were visible; doubtless the other
fifty worked back stage or remained on
that ''Whirlwind Special"
Still, Weber & Fields charged two
dollars and d half and got away with
it," therefore they are not only good
German comedians, but artists, Ger
tainiy in the gentle art of making
money. for they fxed the scale of prices
against the earnest protests of the
house management.
And-and they packed the house.
W. Douglas Gordon.