IRVING’S MIDGETS AND CHEFALO

Evening Star, Issue 19436, 20 December 1926, Page 2

IRVING’S MIDGETS AND CHEFALO

Irving’s Imperial Midgets and the Chefalo-Palermo Company, who will open at His Majesty’s Theatre at a matinee on Monday next, are thus referred to by an Adelaide critic;—

“ Occasionally vaudeville patrons are treated to a real surprise packet in the way of attractions. The bill which opened at the Majestic on Friday night is undoubtedly one such —indeed, _ it consists of a succession of surprises from curtain to curtain, so that the audience is left, now gasping with amazement at the seemingly impossible, and in the same breath almost gasping with laughter at something utterly ludicrous. Who does not love to be mystified? People will pay any price to be deluded. They love it, and when it is done in so original amd irresistible a manner as by Ohefalo, ‘the merry monarch of magic,’ and his charming accomplice, Signorina Magdalena Palermo, it is completely captivating. These astounding necromancers perform many baffling feats. Seeing is believing—except when one sees Ohefalo! Here are a few of his miracles: A duck and a rooster are beheaded and placed one each in a box, but the assistant, in putting back their heads, gets them mixed, with the result that the duck is found with the rooster’s head, and vice versa. How is it done? Ask Ohefalo. Four men, selected from the audience, nail Ohefalo up in a packing case. In as little time as it takes to place a screen around the case the übiquitous magician emerges from behind the screen. In all his feats he keeps up a running fir© of comedy talk- that is extremely witty and amusing, and the act is so well staged and so neatly done that the whole effect is completely satisfying as well as mystifying. Each setting, each costume, each property is more splendid than the last, until the act culminates in a blaze of color and brilliance, and the only thing that is not clear is ‘how is it don©?’ The show is not wholly composed of magic, however fascinating it might be. An additional attraction _is the extraordinary company of Lilliputians known as Irving’s Imperial Midgets. These fifteen of the smallest folks in the world are a whole show in themselves. _ They contribute an important part in the programme that can only be denominated as a ‘purple patch’ in vaudeville, and one which is sure to attract capacity houses.” The box plans will he On view at The Bristol on Wednesday morning next.