Evening star., 1921-06-05

time not only were ''Pinafore" and the
Pirates having revivals." but even
1.-The Mikado" and Hazel Kirke" had
not forgot Hazel Kirke7 Steele
Mackaye, father of Percy Mackaye.
wrote 1t and produced it at his lit
tie gem of a theater. the Madison
Square, where ii had long run
4 +
WILL you please turn to your file
w Of old theater programs for the
i, summer Of 1884, while Ford's was being
remodeled and the Light Infantry Opera
! House was building. and we will rem
| fniscence together for a few minutes.
The chief amusement places were the
National and the Theater Comique. In
July, where this part of our narrative
begins, the National was closed and
Herzogs Museum. later Herzogs Ninth
Street Opera House. had not opened,
and the Dime Museum, which faced the
Avenue west of 11th street, and whose
, site is covered by the Post Office De-
partment building, was closed. but max
ing ready TO reopen.
Drivers summer garden was run
ming and drawing large crowds and
my recollection is that Abner's sum-
mer garden. on the south side of E
near 9Th, had not opened. though il
could not have been long after this
that Abner instituted some of the
very enjoyable orchestral and vocal
known, accompanied with other
things which it may be against the
law to mention-in public
At the beginning of July, 1884. Alice
Oates was singing in comic opera at
the Comique formerly Caruso's As
sembly Rooms and later Kernan's Ly-
ceum). The play was Brough's spec.
tacular opera entitled, THE Field of
the Cloth Of Gold" and Alice Oates
sang and acted the role OF the Earl
of Darnley. Alice was a very viva
cious woman on the stage and as an
actress she was much admired She
was slight of build. with dark brown
curls and dark sympathetic eyes and
a smile which was intensely human
and showed two rows Of perfect
teeth. Many OF you old codgers with
waist band many inches bigger than
ting reading these lines, are recalling
Alice Oates. You are now elders. dea-
cons, prohibitionists and general
moral uplifters, but I have, seen you
not only in the front row, but In the
boxes at the Comique. and you used
to buy bouquets for Alice Oates. They
were those funny little boucuets
where the flowers were tied tight to-
gether with a big Gala lily sticking
out of the top and around the stems
was a hard white paper sheath, fun
mel shaped and trimmed with paper
lace.
While sweet Alice was singing in
The Field of the Cloth of Cold" Buff
falo Ellis Wild West Show was
shooting up the old Deadwood stage
coach at Athletic Park. and at the
Star Bicycle Park at New York ave-
nue. and 18th street Rex Smith and
Will Robertson were racing for the
championship of the District. Down
at Drivers were the Royal japanese
jugglers. Prof. Parker's great dog cir
Gus. the Melrose Sisters. George
French. "washington's great bari
cal wonder" and Marco and Lewis,
"the boneless lads"
In the second week in July. Alice
Oates and her company sang 'Girofie-
Giroha" and the next week they put
on LA Mascotte" and the prince of
Annie Livingston made her first ap-
pearance. Remember her? Why, you
! bald-headed old reader. take OF your
specs and look me straight in the
eye! The first night that Annie Liv-
ingston sang I met you down in the
thought a bottle Of champagne and in
yited everybody to drink the health
| "of y0ne of the most charming sing
sers who ever captivated the hearts OF
! young men of Washington" Them
was your words! And now you are
talking to your grandson about the
evils Of staying out after 8 o'clock and
| nbbing to him that when you were q
youth, family discipline was 50 strict
| that you were always in the house
when the sunset guns were fired at
| the arsenal and at Fort Whipple-
beg your pardon. Fort Myer. Perhaps
you were, but you went ont again and
came home in a hack for breakfast.
\ y
txyHEN August opened QssD Ida
w Meredith's Female Mastodons
were playing a burIesque Of Gym
belfne" at the Comique and they also
had piece called by the rather un-