Bryants’ Minstrels

Special matinee on Thursday for the benefit of the Foundling Asylum.

“’Coco, the monkey of the period.’--There are many varieties of the above-mentioned animal, but Little Mac’s at the Bryant temple of fun, is of the side- splitting order. The there is the ‘Brigands,’ a most outrageously funny travestie on Offenbach’s opera, which bids fair to run the entire season. What with the festive Dan, the sylph-like Nelse Seymour, the nimble-footed Dave Reed, and the [illegible], par excellence, Little Mac, there is talent enough in the company to furnish amusement for the million. The vocal quintet is also of a superior order and makes the first part of the programme very interesting. Business is very good this week at this establishment.”

“Has the taste for negro minstrelsy diminished, or is the apparent public apathy to be attributed to a lack of novelty and freshness in the entertainments presented? For, certainly, the business is not what it was in past years, nor is the public interest the same. We have two troupes in this city, containing some of the best talent in the profession, yet they fail to secure a large patronage. What is the cause of this falling off?”

“’Coco, The Monkey of the Period,’ a sketch written expressly for Little Mac, to display his clever impersonation of a monkey, was the chief novelty offered on the programme at Bryants’ during the past week. In it Little Mac appeared to advantage. There were two pieces of business which were novel, and the clever manner in which they were executed created much mirth. The monkey carries from the stage an infant left unprotected for a moment in the cradle, and returns with a young pig in his arms, and, seating himself at the table, feeds the pig, which eats the food with apparent relish. The pig played its part well. The other consisted of the old circus trick of fastening to the person a stuffed coon skin, which a dog seizes with his teeth and endeavors to tear away. In the present instance, after the dog has seized the coon, the monkey seizes a rope suspended at the back of the stage, and was drawn up to the fly gallery, the dog still retaining his hold of the coon. The balance of the programme consisted of familiar acts.”