Genaro Theol Trio (fl. early 20th Century) ‘The Flexible Equilibrists’
(photo: unknown, circa 1907)
Amuzu Theatre, Denton, Texas, October/November 1909
‘At the Amuzu tonight Genaro and Theol will open an engagement of three days. Genaro and Theol are contortionists of wide reputation and are classed as among the best in this line of work. Added expense was incurred, the management of the Amuzu states, in bringing this act here, but there has been no increase in admission announced.’
(Denton Record-Chronicle, Denton, Texas, Thursday, 28 October 1909, p. 4c)
The Temple vaudeville theatre, Fort Wayne, September 1913
‘With a Fort Wayne girl, Dagmar Dunlap on the bill, the Temple has an offering for the first half of the week that can boast of a lot of real merit. For three performances Sunday the house was crowded, with every seat taken and people turned away, and every person in the house eagerly awaited the appearance of Miss Dunlap and heartily applauded her work at the close of every number she gave. Miss Dunlap is a harpist of no small ability and the selections she rendered at the performance yesterday were charmingly given. She has a beautiful voice, too, and one of her responses to the hearty applause was a song, she playing her own accompaniment on the harp.
‘The headliner this week is the act of the ”Colonial Maids,” seventeen young ladies who appear in the regulation minstrel costume and give a regular old-time minstrel performance. They are right there with all of the goods, too, even to the [four] end men with the tambourines, the jokes with the interlocutor, and the black-face work. A number of songs are given, most of them new and all of them well-sung and worthy of every bit of the hearty applause accorded to them.
‘Aline, ”the girl with the hoops,” held the audience spell-bound yesterday with her clever work with the hoops. She starts them rolling along the floor, making them execute fancy curves and jumps and do all manner of stunts that no one ever thought were in the repertoire of a perfectly sedate hoop. She can juggle them, too, one of her features being the juggling of a hoop, a peach and a flag. She also does some fancy work with flags, spinning them around her head a few times and tieing them in knots while they are flying.
‘Marie Genaro, ”the flexible Venus,” is another big feature of the bill. Marie can double herself in several places and then force herself through a hoop that is scarcely large enough for the average person to go through straight. She does other novel feats, too, and her work is roundly applauded.
”’A Night at the Cabaret” closes the bill. One of the features of this act is the singing of ”Kill That Bear” by Tessie Hayes. The violin and harp numbers are good, too. The pictures this week are excellent, and the bill as a whole is a sure winner.’
(The Fort Wayne News,, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Monday, 22 September 1913, p. 4b)
Footlight Notes 