The San Francisco call. [volume], November 13, 1910, Page 11, Image 11

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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ilie San i'rancisco Sunday Call.
An American Gallery God
in London
Herbert Thompson
Lonfion, November 1,
THE truth Is. the British 'muilo
hall Is suffering- from* an acute
ana almost fatal attack of Coonr
itls. It Is bad enough in London,
but nothing compared with the pro
vinces.
One -would expect in Glasgow to
find numbers of inglorious Harry Laud
era. He finds none. Instead of encour
aging native humor, the Scot reserves
-r-ot only* his boot thunder but his voice
for the coon acts. He Joins lustilty in
the chorus of every song with the
einger. •
Ko vaudevllllan could pet away with
such coon acts Jn San Francisco, and
escape alive, as are heard here. If the
dialect is plain Chicago, the hearer is
lucky. There is only one thing worse
than an Englishman Ringing a coon
•ocg. and that is an American doing
th* coster stunt
A good example of this was heard in
Glasgow where a girl sang an "out In
the rain** ballad with a cockney pronun
ciation and tit* manners of a fishwife.
Injecting a laugh at stated Intervals
that 6ounded like a mouthful of hot
•ouj>. Such was her Idea of a negress
having it out with her old man.
It would Beem that these Islands get
the very worst vaudevlllians from the
•tates — the kind that try to make up in
quickness of motion and loudness of
vole* what they lack in wit Yet this
1* not the rule. Boms of the Orpheum's
. best acts are features here.
•"General" La Vine, "the man who
has soldiered all his life," made an ln
etant hit this week at the Palace, where
Mat M. Wills, the hobo humorist, holds
out. The general was on at the Or
pheum not long ago. His clowning is
as ingenious as his juggling.
While the Palace audience is" quick
to catch the absurdities of the general's
act, It has to take Its time to laugh at
Wills.
English audiences have the name for
lelr.g 6low to catch a Joke. A lot of
American wit naturally misses fixe, be
cause based on different Hying-condi
tions or on things or customs unknown
here, as for Instance the iceman. The
iceman has quite as much to bear as
the mother In law In the states, but one
has only to make the rounds of the
restaurants and saloons on this side to
find the Iceman has no local counter
part
But this Is not the point.
Wills began with some reference to
ft previous act and turned to the sub
ject of flying.
"There is nothing safer," said Wills,
"than going up in a Hying machine."
"Going up!" he. repeated after a
pause.
Still no sign of mirth.
"But it's another story, coming
down.''
By that time the American in the au
flience felt like going through the
f.oor, but it waa the last explanation
which, in the English mind, completed
the Joke.,
Wills then devoted himself to de
scribing the fat girl he was engaged
to. But a puzzled look rested on the
faces when he said his girl was so big
that she was taller sitting down than
standing up. When he told about the
doctors consulting, as to whether to
operate or "blahst" when his girl took
down with appendicitis, comparatively
few laughed, but they made up for the
others in bolsterousness.
As a concession to foreign ears,
TT'ins, like most Americans here on the
ftage, cuts out, to some extent, the
flat "a."
Herbert Lloyd is another American
tramp to win a high place on the post
ers here. Lloyd gives a travesty on
various vaudeville acts, among other
things some "Imitations." When he
puts on a night cap and brings out
one doll as the "queen of Holland,"
and returns with an armful of dolls
as the "queen of Spain," the audience
screams.
The before the fire San Franciscan
looks with peculiar- tenderness on the
old Fischer and its stars. And every
little while there comes the report' that
some manager plans .to get the old
bunch together again— Kolb, Dill, Bar-
Bey Barnard and not least, Maud Am
i»«r and Winfleld Blake.
Maud. Amber and Blake
Amber and Blake are somewhere on
the bill at the Empire, only ho calls
himself Winifred. Years- have been
kind to Maud's beauty and have left
WinSeld his old time youthful spirits.
T«* -their act has marked time as the
yeais have gone on.'
It is the old grand opera travesty we
used to hold our sides over — but.would
we now? The Londoners don't. Win
field wore a table cloth and a helmet
on which a dustbrush stood as , a.
plume. Maud was herself.
Perhaps we have grown away, ;or
have built dreams over the old Fisch
er'g. Perhaps Amber and '; Blake , need '
the electricity of the old surroundings
to galvanize them a little.
| But as It is, we should do better. to
[let memories lie undisturbed.
One listens in vain for Pop Rosner's
orchestra over here. There are larger <
\u25a0
orchestras, perhaps. They are . well
drilled and neglect nothing in the way
of stage business. But they fall on
the side of personality. Pop has
helped many a dull act make good, as
every Orpheumlte knows. •
There are many larger halls than
th« Orpheum in London, if one Is in
terested In the mere matter of build
ings, but none handsomer.
One's comfort here is .certainly- not
\u25a0neglected. There are wide spaces be
tween seats, large lobbies and lounging
rooms where the men retire to 'drink
tea and eat, cake between acts if they
don't care. for. the barroom. . Stock
tickers tap off the results of races and
important bits of news in some of .'the
places. But the price of the Orpheum's
best seat gives one only an obscure
place In an upper gallery In London.
Besides there is the program graft, for
it costs from a penny to sixpence to
learn what the bill is. ; !
There is one form of amusement.here
that has.no analogy in San Francisco,
and that is .the ballet
• The finest ballet is at the Alhambra.
preceded by the usual music hall acts.
It Is more than a ballet, rather a pan
tomime in dancing with original music
and Uazzllngly. staged and costumed.
The title-of the, present ballet is
"Femina." . Its idea is allegorical and
alms to show the power Vanity has
exercised over woman in the various
ages.
The first scene Is in an Eden like
garden, where the spirit of vanity finds
Femlna asleep under a tree. To tempt
her Vanity Invents fashion and makes
Femina a costume of flowers and vines.
Femlna succumbs to tne lure.
The next scene is a cave of the stone
age. The men are bushy and gro
tesquely clothed in skins. Femina is
their queen. She is about to give her
self to the winner of the tournanwt
when a young chief back from '"' &
chase offers her . the furs he '.-\u25a0 \u25a0«
brought. Thus she is again won lyi
vanity.
Vanity now leads Femlna astray in
ancient Assyria. There are first gor
geous oriental dances before the great
idol in the temple, which have nothing
to do with the story. Here vanity
causes Femina to Influence the high
priest to seize the jeweled collar from
the Idol's neck. He does so; the temple
collapses amid thunder and lightning
and Femlna escapes with another lover,
bearing away the' Jeweled collar.
Spain Is the scene of the same story
in a setting not unlike the Inn In Car
men. The music for this was written by
a Spaniard, and the dancers are Span
ish. The exhibition of the Jota by the
men was as fine as may be wished for,
but none of the women were up to the
standard of Estrelllta of cafe fame.
The final act was magnificently mod
ern, with an apotheesls in the web of
vanity.
Quite another style of ballet may be
seen at the Empire. It Is also panto
mimic Here the setting is the rehear
sal room of the Paris opera during the
fifties. There is the drill of the corps
by a little-dancing master before on
lookers and beaux costumed In the
etyle of the period. The story Is the
tryout and success of a new ikupil.
1^ is the ballet that makes London
worth while In; a music hall way.
Otherwise there is little of novelty to
the American.
"The Whip" Is Smart
There is a play called "The Whip,"
beginning the second year of a. re
markable run at the Drury Lane. It is
the smart thing to " go to "The Whip"
and the smart thing to. praise it for
cleverness, to the disparagement of
the Jones : and Wilde revivals of , Sir
Charles Wlndham and George Alexan
der. And • not only is /'The "Whip" re
peating its remarkable success of last
year, but it is doing big business with
secondary* companies in the provinces.
To one coming, to -London as to. the
center of Anglo-Saxon art, the re
markable thing about. "The; Whip" is
not that It has run a. year,". but: that It
ever ran -at all. It- makes the visiting
westerner wonder .what; London
call a poor play, especially as Hall
Calne has revamped 'one of his old
novels \u25a0 Into another: popular, success,
"The Eternal ['• [Question." which ithe
critics, for- lack ( - or stronger terms,
damn as Caine's worst. ' \u25a0 .';.- :
"The Whip" is r a racing'play on the
lines of • "Old : Kentucky,'^ but. without
the personality of "Oldj Kentucky." It
is as English fas* the pother; is ; Ameri-;
can. and, strange to say, {a much
cruder piece, of work," for^the; charao- }
ters are^ mere lay, figures of melodrama.
There-is a hero who can't; see -through
th© most transparent j plot; *a V heroine \u25a0
of a somewhat improved type, for she
has no child and '-. bears her sorrows
quit* philosophically; a - villain who '
utters his blackest thoughts in' solllo- '
auy,' cracks" his boots -with" his riding '
whip and speaks with a sjieer; a vil
lalness of equal transparency and the
usual pair of comic lover.*. The fine
old precedent of the comic lovers foil
ing the villains is carefully followed.
As the scene is in aNseverely aristo
cratic atmosphere, there is also a
Yorkshire family for further comic re
lief. The small .Yorkshire boy, who is
in every one's" way. gives the comic
lover a chance to get off the' phrase,
"nawsty. kid," which always gets the
audience inca : roar. ; Nor Is the story \u25a0
a.hy .the' less, stereotyped. ,' '. ~
. The "Whip" is t the ; horse which must,
retrieve the hero's fortunes so that that;
gentleman may-marry; the heroin^.; To
keep -the Whip from '; winning is ; tha '
villain's i . object? and :;to ikeep -theVhero?
from' marrying, Is the yillainess's. With
thisjin' view .they -'flout 'a; forgotten
scandal in a parson's face; and force the •
parson ; not only to '•> forge a - false * cer- \u25a0
tiflcati /of '> marriage between the hero v
and the woman,,- but "to uncouple : the -;
horsebox from a' train so that the Wh lp,
Its; passenger, will killed [.by the , on
coming express. -i
.This/train "scene is the_ play's mam. <
thrill: Scenery is spun past on spools
to produce the Illusion of speed, while
stage hands In the rear chug chug with
sandpaper and coco shells. The comic
lovers arrive just as the unconpled
horsebox emerges, from the tunnel and
rescue the Whip and her keeper scarce
ly a second before the train following
crashes into the box and falls a can
vas wreck.
Of course the race in which -tha
horses speed on treadmills is the final
act The \u25a0 heroine i^pffera vtojrlJe^the -.
.Whip, but ; . leaves ; the .honor*" to.- the ;;
Jockey whosa sister has been ruined *
the'viiiaihi ;'' ;., ; V \u25a0' '\u25a0"\u25a0.'.:-'" \u25a0 .'. : -'! .'\u25a0' : ~" . \u25a0":'. .'\u25a0\u25a0'.'\u25a0
' It' would : not be ,' fair /;; tb'^derijr-' the ,' ;
authors, "Cecil; and ;'' 'He'nry,-.-'!
Hamilton, , credit for * their- self-repres- •;
slon r -Infthe- last -act Th'e-^villain*-* be'- \u25a0'\u25a0'
fore the race, produces^a revolver; and ,"'
tell3 ; the vlllalness hejls ready' to '.blow;^
His, brains out , If: helioses; - The -code, ; :
of "melodrama demands this •' beVdone !'
on" the stage,, as well as the 'exposure
Sem? ef TKs^ Will Do, Says Tk
Stuff Would
of the " vlllalness. But both acts of
retribution are -left to the Imagination.
The curtain falls Just as the 'reformed
parson, who had confessed and re
ceived reward "in forgiveness, promises
to ofilclate at the wedding of the earl
of ,Brancaster and Lady Antrobus. .. \u25a0._
- "iue Whip," of course, is only one
out of two dozen' plays now on the
boards. It is interesting merely, to
show that London's 1 taste at Its worst
is quite as bad as San ..Francisco's at
«•\u25a0\u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0/\u25a0\u25a0'\u25a0\u25a0-' ••\u25a0•\u25a0\u25a0;%\u25a0•• .'•- "'\u25a0*\u25a0•-\u25a0 i
its ; .worst * Further, than . '• this -'-'The
;i\Vhip"- is ; : not worth a thought.
Any, >one .can, buy ; tickets at '.the
Driify's" box office , for . a ' day . or two
ahead, , but not ; at His * Majesty's," where
"Sir ' Herbert tßeerbohmt Beerbohm Tree has put^on
"Henry. Vlll.". One must;go;to;a ticket
broker .if he expects -any; seat; at all
there -within "a. fortnight. . The' brokers
here/ by the; way,' are" quite different
from our speculator's. Their invariable
charge is a shilling for .the best quax
- ters: and;' a slxpence'for the poorer.
Quite a controversy is ranging around
Tree's version of Henry. Scholars com
plain \u25a0\u25a0 that the \u25a0 magnificence 'of * th* ; set
ting, distracts -from th*-text Tree" re
plies that- it is better; to read Shake
speare in. Ithel study than .to give him a
half -hearted- production, especially in' a
play which the author " himself, '; by his
detailed . stage 'directions, • evidently
meant as a realistic drama to be dressed
as elegantly as the stage of that day af
forded."" \u25a0 * \u25a0' - . -"..'\u25a0* - '•
-•; "\ No stranger, comes to '> London with
out paying pilgrimages to Hampton
court;; the palace- which the ambitious
begrudgingly turned, over • to
Henry; 'Windsor, .Westminster and the
tower. 'Holbein's wonderful study ;of
: Henry,"' in all hia strength, cunning and
factitious Joviality. 'may,, be- studied, in
Windsor.- - ;
Real Beard, N6t Real Red
All of these old , scenes are.'repro
duced.by. Tree in their original splen»
dor.V. Every, detail of .'the, setting Is his
torically correct. And. so careful is
Arthur Bourchier . to give us Holbein's
Henry, in' life, that , he is sald,to,haye
grown a .beard and dyed it red for the
play: . ;. He is Holbein, , and not . alone
externally , he makes Henry's personal
force jdomlnate ". the play^. but* by no
means, to .the exclusion' of .Tree's pow
erful ".Wolsey. ; '.. >\u25a0 ' \u25a0 .
: Thls is. the" proof of, Tree's* Ideal.; The
great pipe organ and boys' choir be
hind^ ttie scenes, the smell of .'incense,
magnificent costuming, trained dancers,
supes who are drilled' actors, and the
perfection of .the scene painter's" art.
all Is transcended by the acting itselfL
Buckingham's last speech. Catherine's
noble words, the pathetic fall of "Wol
sey, who lays away earthly ambition
to enter at last into God's service, ar*
things to haunt tha memory.
The Interpolated final scene of Tree's
production is a masterpiece of. effect,
to which one may well think Shake
speare would be the last to raise objec
tions. It Is 'tha crowning of Anne Bo
leyn with music pomp. We have seen
Anne' ln the beamty of her youth usinj
her arts of coquetry on Henry as he ap
peared with his merry followers dis
guised as shepherds during the revels
in Wolsey's- court at Hampton. Later
she has ' some misgiving lest ah* b«
queen. In this final scene she kneels
for the crown as If still more appro-
kemive, whlla the amorous Henry le*r*
out upon her from behind the pulpit In
which he has concealed himself from
the throng.
Critics in London ar* lamenting th*
dullness of the opening dramatlo sea
•on, which has brought out nothing new
of note.
It is queer. In this regard, to find the
dm© worn "Man From Mexico" the cen
ter of "whirlwinds of laughter." This
Ja only one of a number of American
plays here. May Robson In "The Re
juvenation of Aunt Mary" caught on
Immediately. The critics style it an
"oh, so simple" play, .but it Is rich on
the human side, which Is more than
max be said of many of its rivals.
But It Is in London's music halls and
not Its plays that a San Franciscan Is
most Interested. So it Is that with
\u25a0omewhat mingled feelings of disap
pointment and pride ha finds ha has to
go some to beat his own Orpheum.
Neither Glasgow nor Liverpool. If
tß*s« two largest of the provincial
cities. are typical, is as well served In
a muslo hall way as San Francisco.
When It comes to London, it becomes
hard to make a statement of any
kind, for the performances are so
mixed and so variable.
.Ther* Is on* material difference,
however,' which one notes at the start
It Is taken quite as a matter of cours«
•when the divine Sarah, th« youngrest
Sf eat-jfrandmorther on earth, produces
tha second act of "L'Aiglon" at the Col
iseum, wihch she does with all her old
fire. Harry Lauder'* name Just barely
leads the rest at the Tlvoli. Cleo d«
Merode, wi th her wendrous beauty, is
'quite a minor feature at the Hippo
drome, In spite of the advertising her
scandalous relations with the late
King: Leopold have given her. Cleo,
by the way, dances in a very tame
and conventional style in comparison
with Maud Allan's grace and original
ity. But she is worth ,the price Just
to look at Her hair, worn low,
frames the most beautiful face on th*
stage. Yet the gossip of tha Rlalto
has it that this becoming fashion hides
a pair of rudimentary ears, a blemish
of birth.
Harry \u25a0 Lauder has two new songs.
One— ln . kilts — declares that every
laddie loves a lassie because the lovs
is there; , the other — In laborer's
clothes — -deals with the Joy of sleeping
\u25a0till noon on Sunday morning-.
, Lauder is a senlus. Ordinary acts
seem stale and jaded in comparison.
.Yet he Is not in real life tha jovial
character he is on the stage, if one
may 'believe the things they say In
Scotland. . ,
Serious - minded Scot 3 repudiate
Lauder as one of a low type. The miners
don/t like him because of his stinginess.
His own; brother is still driving: a cart
and Harry has never helped any of hia
pals of * the old days. There ar« any
number of other Instances one may
hear, such as giving a call boy who
had, run his legs off on private errands
for a week an autograph instead of a
tip, of rewarding a violinist of the or
chestra with a shilling for ' lessons
taken from him during tha enjigo-
r Perhaps the best English • acta are
taken to America. . Certainly there are
few tleft behind, unless one excepts
Mark ' Sheridan, who in. after all, aa
Irishman. Sheridan has the figure of
the late Ezra Kendall with a much
larger head and the manner of a broken
down tragedian. His wit is spontaneous *
and real and often too quick for his
hearers. Referring: to Hall Calne.
Sheridan's ideal of the eternal question
Is ."What will you hay* V