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Show I With the First Nighters . ; : I ORPHEUM. Just how many swallows It take to make a summer is problematical, but It has boon demonstrated dem-onstrated that it takes about a dozen cookatoos to make the beet of an Orpheum show. Irma Orbasany did the demonstrating with as clover abunch of ladylike cockatoos as one could moot on a day's journey on the Isthmus. They'll do most anything once, and that without being told. The pantomime is a bird of a show. Laura Howe and her Dresden dolls had more the appearance of old crockery, without even a funny crack to enliven their Inane exhibition. "The Doings of Dr. Lauder," enigmatically de- contration of sound. Tho company is composed of ten fine musicians, whose renditions aro excellent. ex-cellent. The Three Ronards in an aerial gymnastic act were foxy enough to suit anyone. Real head liners were these, who used tholr teeth instead of their hands to swing each other through tho ether. Their act was marvelous in its ease and finish. The puzzle, for noxt week starts off with Fer-reras, Fer-reras, tho musical clown, who is followed by the Peters, described as comedy entertainers; Dixon and Fields, German comedians; Bandy and Wilson, Wil-son, dancers; Emil Tubors, a monologuist, and Mile. Martha, queen of the trapeze. Miss Cameron was charming. She didn't try w act, and thoro was a refreshing naturalness about -everything she did. ) But the third act was her undoing. It called for forceful work, for emotional powers whlcfh Miss Cameron does not possess, and in evory aoonej where the situation demanded real acting, slIQ was utterly lacking. Hut how any actress could satisfy with :a play which lets down as does "Tho Three of TJs'" at the finish is a mystery. After denouncing tile man who has doubted and unjustly accused hMr a few minutes after making tho most violent lovti, Bhe rushes into the arms of tho cad the next time she sees him. and begs him not to doubt her, de- 1 ) ! Okja Nelherjofe Mile. Martha Queen of the Trapeze, Next week at the Orpheum J I scribed as a "comedy playlet," is without one exception ex-ception the stupidest, fiercest sketch ever seen . at the Orpheum. It was inilicted by Conn, Downey Dow-ney and Willard, and to say which is the worst of . the trio. would be too complimentary to the other two, even if the distinction could be discerned. . It is nice1 to know that we've survived the worst sketcn on the circuit, for the others will be easier to bear. No wonder farm hands and coal heavers are scarce, when there Is such a demand for talent of that kind at the Chicago offices of the Orpheum. Kelly and Violette seemed to take the crowd, principally on account of Kelly's voice, but therie was nothing to go oraxy about in their stunt unless un-less it was the absurdity of the lady's name attached at-tached to so much avoirdupois. The B. A. Ralfe company, presenting "Tbje Immensaphone," Is ft decided novelty In the con- THE THREE OF US. If dramatic agents would take a little recess and deviating from the stereotyped ways would stop telling of the marvelous New York success of the play they represent, and then follow up their promises with a second or third rate company, it would be a pleasant relief. "The Three of Us," a play which might have been strong; with a poor company which might have been worse, is the latest example of misplaced mis-placed confidence on the part of playgoers. Maybe it was good, as weak as it is, when Carlotta Nil-son, Nil-son, surrounded bya picked company of troupers, played It In the metropolis, but nothing like that can be said of Mabel Cameron with a support which with one or tiro exceptions was only mediocre. me-diocre. For a couple of acts the Rhy Macchesney of EHHHHHHsHHHHsl claring that her pride is humbled, that she is tlie candy and begging him to believe her and hurry with the license. It sounded a lot as though mftn were scarce in the gold diggings and she Vfde afraid Harold might give her a long cross-cQiin-try run ere she could capturo him. It was a terrible softening of what might -hay.e been a cleverly turned situation. ' There is a lot in the play that is good, but tho company did not even make the best of tho few opportunities. Ellso Scott was pleasing as Mrs. Blx, and Walter Wal-ter Horton as Louis Berresford did a bft of r H fined villainy that worked well, but never lid the others. j It was fortunate that the programme statajd that the play was lu a Nevada mining campi-otherwise campi-otherwise it might have been difficult to discover a olue to the scene of the Inaction. |