Newcomb and Arlington’s Minstrels

“Messrs. Newcomb & Arlington, by combining some of the best elements at hand, have got together a clever troupe of dusky minstrels and comedians at Twenty-eighth street, who continue to attract and amuse the public in spite of the thermometer. It would be too much to assert that the music recalls the strains of Mario and Nilsson, or the fun, the delicate, impalpable humor of Lamb or Sydney Smith. But there is an infectious swing and jollity in much of their drollery which may disarm the scruples of the severest purist. Witness, in particular, Sam Price’s laughable terror in the ‘Haunted Castle,’ the exaggerated graces of (Miss) Henry Rice in the ‘Ballad Scena,’ and the melodious discord of the Cow-bell-ogians, who succeed in making distinct and coherent melody out of a lot of cracked cowbells, no one of which is capable of giving a musical sound. Altogether, for any one who in these melting days would like a good laugh without ‘giving the whole of his mind to it,’ we can cheerfully recommend Newcomb & Arlington’s.”

“This pretty little minstrel hall, in Twenty-eighth street, seems to be quite a favorite with the uptown public. Though the weather last evening was not favorable for indoors, the performances were well attended. They have two good ballad singers, Surridge and Harry Percy. Arlington and Sam Price as end men have all the requisites for their position; in fact, one would think that Price has studied Delsarte’s theory of ‘Dramatic Expression,’ as he seems about to amuse his audience without saying anything. They have a song and dance artist with the classical name of Cincinnatus. His dancing is good, but his negro dialect has a cockney twang about it. The comical sketch, called ‘Not Quite Such a Fool as He Looks,’ was produced for the first time last evening. William Arlington is the principal [party?] to which he does full justice. Like most of the sketches, there is not much in it, but sufficient, nevertheless, to send the audience home in the best possible humor.”

The season terminates with the present week.