Bryants' Minstrels

Describes handsome new hall. “We spent an evening with Bryants’ Minstrels during the past week, and came away the better for our visit. Dan Bryant and Unsworth, who occupy the ends, are apparently working nicely together, and each gained a fair share of the applause. In their special acts they were also liberally applauded. The first part of Unsworth’s stump speech is about as laughable as anything of the kind we ever listened to; the latter portion, however, is less amusing, and we should advise James to omit that part, or make it conform to the earlier portion. If Eugene’s burlesque operetta of ‘True-Bad-Doer’ is an evidence of what the Bryants are to give us the coming season, we may look for some unusually attractive entertainments. The Tower scene in the burlesque is really pretty, while the ‘Miserere,’ solo and chorus, was listened to with the deepest attention; and a repetition demanded, such was the pleasure it afforded the audience, and the applause bestowed upon it at the close. Eugene’s make up and vocal ration merit our commendation; in this particular line of business we have never yet seen or heard his equal on the minstrel boards, clever as many others are in this department of the Ethiopian stage. A little more care in the instrumentation, and continued practice in the chorus, will add to the interest of these operatic sketches. As it is, ‘True-Bad-Doer,’ for the initial of a series of these productions, is quite a success. Dan Bryant is a capital burlesque actor, but for parts requiring good singing, such as Manrico, the tenor of the troupe should be cast.”