J. H. Riley - Major General Stanley

Sr Broccolini - Richard the Pirate Chief

Hugh Talbot - Fredrick, the apprentice

J Furneaux Cook - Lieutenant Samuel

Blanche Roosevelt -Mabel

Alice Barnett - Ruth

The then there were sections where they gave small summaries of the actors and actresses lives and previous experience. I have copied a few of them down.

Blanche Roosevelt - JosephineBorn Blanche Roosevelt Tucker in Sandusky, Ohio   she traveled to Europe with her mother for vocal studies in Paris and Milan. As Mlle. Rosavella, she made her singing debut at the Royal Italian Opera House, Covent Garden, in 1876 as Violetta in La Traviata. She was the first female American performer to sing Italian opera there. She went on to sing in concerts in Milan, Belgium, Holland, and Paris. She also worked as a special correspondent from Paris in 1875 for newspapers in Chicago and London.

Alice Barnet - Member of a famous theatrical family, the Kembles, Alice Barnett was originally trained as a concert singer, but in April 1879 took to the stage with D'Oyly Carte's touring Comedy Opera Company as Little Buttercup in H.M.S. Pinafore.  She clearly impressed and was selected to create the role of Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York on December 31, 1879. Miss Barnett is reputedly the tallest, if not the largest, woman on the English stage.

What a wonderful play it was, and we all enjoyed every minute of it. To be specific, it is an opera, not a play. My music teacher, Mr. Guernsey, was very scathing when I told him we were going to watch it. He called it modern trash music. But it seems to me that for the majority in the world, this sort of music will make a far greater impression than all the compositions by Bach.

I can’t wait to tell my friend George Roberts about it. He and I are the ones who are expected to have a musical career of some sort. But I want to qualify as a music teacher, as I am sure that will be more useful to me than the occasional lime light of a performance. I practice the piano faithfully each day, but cannot really see myself as playing every night in front of an audience. Even the little recitals we have now make me so nervous.

We had in our itinerary that we were going to have a walking tour of New York City en route to our restaurant, but at the last minute, Mrs. Hudson decided that we should go to her favorite restaurant, Delmonicos, which is about seven miles south of our theatre, so we took a cab.
Delmonicos, at 56 Beaver Street, has been famous since its opening in 1837. Cora Sue and I had Delmonico Steaks and Delmonica Potatoes, and Baked Alaska for dessert. Mr. Hudson had Lobster a la Delmonico, and Mrs. Hudson had Omelet a la Vanderbilt with Maderia Sauce, and they both had Tutti Fruit for dessert.

Reading from the menu, I found this. Our dessert was originally named omelette surprise or omelette à la norvégienne; the Norwegian epithet was used as a consequence of its arctic appearance and cold centre. This title transformed into "Baked Alaska" in 1876 when we named it in honour of the newly acquired territory of Alaska.

How can I describe Delmonico Potatoes. Shredded potatoes and grated cheese and put into a casserole with a cream sauce and topped with bread crumbs. The chef, Charles Ranhofer came over to our table to see how everything was, and Cora Sue couldn’t help exclaiming over the potatoes. She said it was the best birthday meal she had ever had.

Her birthday is on February 5th, on Thursday, and she will be 18. I won’t be 17 until August 20th. The chef had everyone sing Happy Birthday to her, and she was both pleased and embarrassed.  And later, after we finished the meal, another of the cooks, Alessandro Filippini, surreptitiously gave her a piece of paper with  Happy Birthday written on the outside, and inside was recipe for Delmonicos Potatoes, Steak and Sauce.

Delmonico Potatoes

Parboil four washed, quartered, and unpeeled potatoes until just undercooked.
 
Shred coarsely with a grater
Place in a frying pan 
3/4 cup cold milk
1/4 c cream
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/4 t. grated nutmeg
folded in gently and saute on medium-heat, gently stirring occasionally for ten minutes.
Then add
1 T. grated Parmesan cheese gently fold in again.
Transfer the potatoes into a buttered shallow casserole dish, sprinkle  another light tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese over and set in a hot oven to bake for six minutes, or until they're a nice golden brown remove and serve immediately. 

Delmonico Steak

Nicely trim and lightly flatten with a cleaver a tender sirloin steak of one and a quarter pounds. Mix on a plate one teaspoon salt, half teaspoon pepper, with a tablespoon oil and gently roll the steak in the seasoning; arrange on the broiler and broil on a brisk fire for eight minutes on each side. Remove and dress on a hot dish. Pour hot Bordelaise sauce over and serve.

For the sauce, finely chop six small, very sound, peeled shallots  and place them in a small saucepan with 1/2 cup red wine, and let reduce on the fire to half the quantity. Then pour one quarter cup warmed tomato sauce and one half cup warmed  beef stock. Season with a 1/4 t. salt and a very little cayenne pepper and let boil very slowly for eight minutes. Shift the pan on the corner of the range, then add, little by little, half an ounce good butter, and continue mixing until the butter is thoroughly dissolved.

During the meal, we discussed the play. Mr. Hudson told us that Mr. Talbot who played the role of Frederic had been widely criticized in the early reviews of the show. He told us that the New York Times wrote, “The essential part of the young pirate apprentice received inadequate attention from the tenor. His make-up resulted in his appearing, in the first act, to be of advanced age; he was not, apparently, acquainted with his lines, and his singing was weak and tame. But the others were so spirited and generally enthusiastic that the effect of the opera was not materially injured by this weak spot in the cast.

The World was not much kinder: "Mr. Talbot sang some of the airs allotted to the tenor admirably, but he was utterly innocent of any appreciation whatever of the humor of the situations and shamefully ignorant of his lines."

"And our newspaper, too," he said, "found fault with his performance, writing: 'The members of the company were not all perfect in their parts, Mr. Talbot seriously interfering with the full effect of some good points by groping after his cue in a most vague manner.'
 
Unkindest of all was the Sun, whose critic said: "Mr. Talbot, the tenor, had unfortunately apparently not thought it necessary to commit his lines, and made nonsense of much of his role, reflecting no credit upon himself, and nearly bringing the play at times into confusion."

But we had certainly enjoyed it, including Mr. Talbot’s performance.

What a full day, and still our visit at St. Patrick’s Cathedral to end our visit to New York tomorrow.