Comedy acrobats using the familiar bounding rubber neck. They are both very good performers as usual in an act of this kind. The comedy is not startingly [sic] apparent. The act finishes with a row of sixty somer-saults by the straight performer, and while I don’t imagine there is anything especially hard about it from the assistance he gets from the net, it is still a showy act and sends them off in good shape. 15 minutes, full stage.
Miss Fay made quite a hit with her Avenue A song, which, although pretty rough, she managed to keep down at least in our house sufficiently to not make it offensive. Her “muggings” and her exaggerated walk seemed to impress the audience as extremely funny, and I think she is going to make a big hit at night. 11 minutes in one.
Contralto. Miss Littlefield has a remarkably fine voice. She was extremely nervous this afternoon and unquestionably did not do herself justice. Her personality at present is not calculated to win the audience to any extent, so that she has to make her way entirely with her voice, which she did all right and I think that as soon as she acquires more repose that she is going to be a mighty good acquisition wherever a good singing act is required. 11 minutes in one.
These people are both artists to their finger tips. They have changed their act around so that it takes place in a photograph gallery. Miss Cotton does two or three impersonations and closes her act with a medley and cake walk. The act is hardly liable to be as popular with an afternoon audience as their old offering, but I look for it to go very strong with the night people. It is impossible to get much of a line on it this afternoon as the weather was very warm and the audience correspondingly apathetic. However, I will look for it to go much better as I say tonight. 23 minutes, full stage.
A man, women, and little boy in an eccentric comedy act in which the boy is the feature. He is a very clever “kid”, and while it was necessary to modify some of the rougher parts of the act through instructions from the Gerry Society, he still made good to the fullest extent. The father and mother do not amount to very much, but still do nothing to offend. 26 minutes, open full stage; close with about 5 minutes in one.
A colored man and woman in the usual singing and dancing specialties which are characteristic of their race. While this team is a cheap one from a salary standpoint, they give about as good satisfaction as any that we have had here. Britton’s dancing being especially strong. He works it up with a catch phrase so that he appears to be taking a dozen encores. It is a good lively act throughout. 14 minutes in one.
A man and woman impersonating East Side characters, singing a little, dancing, and some alleged comedy lines which don’t amount to much. They close their act with a medley arranged from the titles of dramas that have been popular the past few years, and with this they made a pretty good hit principally because the work has been ingeniously handled. Can be classed a fair act. 17 minutes in one.
The greatest “Feats of strength” and “Display of Muscles” act in the world. His lecture on Physical culture at afternoon performance, is very amusing and instructive. He is too well known to require any extended comment. The act goes great. Full stage. Time, afternoon 35 min, evening 22 min.
Two men and seven girls. This is a new act, it opens with stage in two, girls in Indian costume, singing chorus, and McMahon and Nevins, dressed in handsome black suits, following with song and dance, assisted by the girls, then stage opens in full, girls in water-melon suits, standing on each side of stage, a large drop curtain in rear representing a steamboat all lighted, coming up to dock. On the dock is an immense water-melon filled with electric lights, which opens and shows McMahon and Nevins, in black face, reclining inside. They come out sing and dance, assisted by the chorus. It is one of the prettiest and best acts, in that line, ever seen on our stage. It is a great hit, they are encored four and five times, after each song and dance. They made such a hit that we keep them on another week, adding one new song and dance and some new scenery which is very effective. Time 13 minutes.
This is the second week for it. It is a poor imitation of the Tom Eyck’s wheel; the one that Lottie Brandon performed on. It ought to be turned down for it is an imposition on theatre-goers.
