The star-progress. (Opelousas, La.) 1917-1921, 1921-08-10
ELKS
STAGE BIG SHOW
MINSTREL GIVEN IN oPELoUsAs
PROVES SPLENDID ATTRAC-
TON TO LARGE AUDIENCE

"A Splenulu mousse, COmpOS0u VI inc
elite among the theatre-goers of Ope-
lousas, greeted the Lafayette Elk min
strel last Friday night, at the high
school auditorium in this city.
This organization is composed ex-
clusively of Elks, their sisters, cou-
sins and aunts, and played to capa-
city houses in their home town, being
all amateurs of Lafayette, who were
whipped into shape by J. H. Hull of
New York, professional minstrel
and vaudeville impressario who has
signed up with the Lafayette Elks for
four years.
Mr.. Hulls had very pleasing per-
sonality and full of stage pep, a yer.
table dynamo that an August heat
merely serves to increae the voltage.
For the past nine years he has been
engaged in this line of business and
when it is rememba~ed that the re-
suits he achieved in aaly ten days re-
hearsal it speaks we'll for his admin
istrative discipline
1t is no easy task to manage a lot
of unpaid amateurs who, at the slight
est fancied provocation, are ready to
"bust up the band" as many of the
old boys OF Opelousas remember, IN
days when Opelousas was the greatest
musical and dramatic center of the
state outside of New Orleans.
The performance started with d
beautiful taleaux scene. "On the
Front Line Trenches" representing
a battle field with flag and cannon
Ped Cross nurses strokin
IN evidence, wounded soldiers and
Red Cross nurses stroking the ban
daged foreheads to the harmonies of
the VOORHEES, quartette. Those VINO
participated being Messrs. Hull and
the VOORHEES, brothers. The Miss
/ Holidays girls, Miss Doris Louvierre.
Miss Constance Levy and Mr.. Warren
Lacoste, the latter popular figure
on the Opelousas stage. Mr.. Lacoste
is the pianist of the party.
The minstrel deluxe "Biff-Bing
Bang" then opened up its batteries
and there never was quiet moment
after until II o'clock p. m. The kale-
discopeic scene in a riot of colr and
motion kept bare arms and short
skirts moving the unusual numbers
of the participants precludes individ-
ual notices. The performance was
strictly in accordance with the New
York conception of a minstrel per-
Torrance which can not be compared
to the oldtime Ministries with their
plantation melodies and plantation
quips and oddities. The public taste
in this, as in everything connected
with the stage calls for the squealing
of the "Wampus Cat the uncovering
of what should be covered and the
covering Of what might be left uncov-
cred, accompanied by the erotic
strains of jazz.
The appreciation that markedd the
violin solo of Mr.. Billeaud points to
the advisabilit yof reinforcing the
troupe with instrumental music. The
mixing of white and black on the
stage in the same stunt is offensive
to southern taste-the black vaude-
Vile should come on at different
times. The bars should never be let
down, even in stage play; playing
with hands between coon and a
white girl should be strictly taboo,
even on the stage. The players were
handicapped by the lack of stage ac-
commodations, and the atrocious
acoustics of the high school auditor
ium.
Considering that the chief points
in modern minstrel show are mo-
| tor end noise, the performance as a
whole was a bowling success. The
lyIIOWiuS WSIS the lPbl IASlPo@AIo anu
the program:
Warren Lacoste, pianist, Cliff
Young, manager, Charley Martin,
transportation manager.
Comediens
Snake Eye . Dewey MeIntTie
Pute-and-Take. -. Horace Bouchard
Bonehead. -. =. Rousseau VOORHEES,
Crap Shooter .... .Asby FrarSsz
WomanlTamer q. George DeLaureal
Night Owl. ........... Bob Mouton
Cork Fuller ........ Sam HOhorst
Satisfaction. .... Bill Hebert Uou
Tellegen)
Cabaret Singers and Dancers
i Circle Ladies'
Hazel Leblanc. Maize Leblanc, Ber-
nice Stromer. Lottie Broussard, Ora