The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1916-02-24

showed his genius in last evenings

showed his genius in last evenings
program.
Joseph A. Pellerin was the first
man to use the footlights. His song
Moon Beams Bring Love Dreams
brought out the first encore. Joseph
]. McDermott, who is wary wizard
on his feet then started something
with When Old Bill Bailey Plays the
| Ukalele." In the second verse he got
the song tangled up with the name OF
| Bennington's popular and patient.
souled dentist. DR.. F. S. Braley, and
began to unreel startling series of
misadventures encountered by the
DOC" and Atty. Robert Healy "in
| foreign parts.'
William Shaw then rendered that
classical solo, "A Son of the Desert
Am l." and he received an encore
likewise, not because the audience
was polite, but because not a number
found its way onto the program and
subsequently into the atmosphere
which was not well worth hearing
over again. 4
Gedion Lacrosse described the
Alabama Jubilee" with anatomical
gyrations and when Michael Gilmore
and quartette sang my Old Home
Town in Ireland one could believe
there were three or four lrishmen in
the house judging from the continued
and tumultuous applause by which
they were again and again called to
repeat the last verses.
1t was somewhere about this time
that the stage door opened and a
strong wind blowing up Main street
waited into the Cardial Edifice some
thing dressed in pale terror, pair of
black eyes that covered his whole
face. a suit of clothes that Harry Van
derburg usually wears while maintain
ing sanitation in Main street build
ings, kindly loaned for the occasion.
and scarlet stomacher made from
all the red stripes in the national flag,
cut out and sewed together. A derby
or the usual location was also present,
and when the misdemeanor opened
its face to sing "1hey All Had Fin
ger In the Pie" theAudience knew in
stinctively that Collins NJ. Graves was
somewhere about. but horribly mutl-
lated with mural decorations and a
propensity to furnish humor for the
occasion. Along about the third verse
the singer got off the track and pick
ed it up again on the man-trail of
Benningtons selectmen, several local
doctors and others who would not
bring suit for damages. Mr.. Graves
delivered himself of the verses on his
chest with neatness, clearness and
dispatch, after which he sat down
where he could be plainly seen with
the naked eye. The performance con
tinued.
Herbert w. Small who has already
won local laurels for his fine, bass
voice. brought the audience back to
serious things with a rendition of
''The Deathless Army" 1t was by
far the best thing in bass
delivered from Bennington plat
form in many seasons. Small got ex-
ceptional attention from the orchestra
and combination Of the two put an
other feather in Small's hat which has
already begun to take on the aspect
of a Sioux war bonnet.
John j. Whitney then sang Rag
apation" during which he had hard
work to keep his feet still and finally
gave it up; and Roy Clum ended the
individual features with Whispering
Breezes,' that permitted some of his
famous yodle work, already well-ap
preciated by Bennington audiences.
The finale was "On the Road to Old
Killarney" a vocal conspiracy by the
entire company
In the olio quartette by Michael
Gilmore, Ralph Sherwin, George,
Small and Herbert Small sang Aunt
lie SINNERS Chicken Dinner with en-
cores of southern songs; Joseph Me-
Dermott appeared in a pleasing single
"Along the Rocky Road to Dublin
and Edward ]. Cummings and Joseph
McDermott,, Patrick Dunn and Frank
.McCarty took the boards in male
and female costume as Irish dancers.
Some genuine Irish jigs were present
ed and the audience would have kept
them dancing yet had not George
Small stolen Harry Lauder rig-out
and broken loose upon the stage.
After couple Of clever Scotch songs
the Whitney Brothers dared the spot
light with fantastic toe work, and the
whole brought up with 16 men lining
up in the uniforms Of the warning
nations of Europe. Instead of level
ing each other with as-bombs-al-
though such may have been filled
with nothing worse than Bennington
hot-air--they joined in chorus
u,{tl, NJorJap Nichols IN, tba ~ o,,t ~