Mirth Mimicry and Music

              MIRTH MIMICRY & MUSIC
THE WORLD'S LEADING MONOLOGUE ENTERTAINER
PHILADELPHIA TIMES


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MR RALPH BINGHAM
PERSONATOR HUMORIST VIOLINIST VOCALIST RACONTEUR
EXCELLING IN EACH DEPARTMENT
MOST VERSATILE ENTERTAINER ON THE AMERICAN PLATFORM
REDPATH LYCEUM BUREAU
BOSTON CHICAGO

EXCLUSIVE DIRECTION
Redpath Lyceum Bureau
BOSTON CHICAGO




Not a Lecture!
AN INTELLECTUAL DIVERSION

An Original Entertainment
By America's Favorite Artist
PRESENTING AN EVENING'S PROGRAMME OF
SONG, MUSIC AND STORY
OF THE MOST ENJOYABLE CHARACTER AND OF THE HIGHEST ORDER

INDUCING PLEASURE AND DELIGHT, PROVOKING

MIRTH,  MERRIMENT,  LAUGHTER



WHO IS RALPH BINGHAM?
Ralph Bingham, for many years known throughout the country as The Boy Orator, has had a unique career.  Twenty-six years ago, at the age of six, he made his initial public appearance in his native city, Richmond, Va.  Unlike most youthful prodigies, he has more than maintained the first impressions made, and developed to a point of excellence far beyond that which his youthful powers gave presage.  He has received from the press and noted men of this country a voluntary avalanche of the most flattering endorsements.  He has entertained with unprecedented success large, intelligent audiences in the principal cities of every State in the Union, meeting with equal success in many cities and towns through the Dominion of Canada.  He has journeyed 500,000 miles during his career, exceeding in the extent and range of his travels a limit never before equalled by another of his age in the world.



HE HAS APPEARED IN


Philadelphia
153 times.


New York City
52 times.


Boston
24 times.


Brooklyn
11 times.


Richmond, Va.
36 times.


Cincinnati, O.
23 times.


Troy, N. Y.
21 times.


Albany, N. Y.
16 times.


Pittsburg, Pa.
12 times.


Chicago
16 times





HE HAS GIVEN
2,000 entertainments alone in the Empire and Keystone States, while 7,000 audiences on the western continent, who have heard him, will attest to the perfection of his remarkable skill as a platform entertainer.  He is engaged over and over again by the same committees.



HIS REPUTATION AT HOME

Ralph Bingham—known to newspaper prints throughout the country as 'Ralph Bingham, the modern Proteus, monologist, humorist and violinist,' but known to many thousands of his friends in this city, which is his home, as one of the brightest and cleverest young men who ever made music in the heart—will start on Monday for a trip through the South, which will occupy several months.  His versatility is marvellous.  He is a monologue performer in the strictest sense of the term, giving the entire entertainment without assistance from others; playing the piano, not with the touch of a Paderewski, but with great skill; performing on the violin with a natural ability that is magical; singing songs with a vim that is infectious; imitating public speakers with clever wit, and, above all, telling humorous stories with a power of graphic delineation that is a little short of genius.—
Philadelphia Times.



THE BINGHAM TESTIMONIAL

The members of the Pen and Pencil Club who have in charge the testimonial performance to be given to Ralph Bingham during the first week in February have had very little trouble in securing theatrical talent for the occasion.  Already many well-known people have volunteered their services, and from the entire list a program of unusual length, variety and excellence will be made up.  The demand for tickets has been so large that already most of the house has been sold.  J. Aldrich Libbey and Charles W. Strine, the two famous baritones, will both appear at the performance, and this fact has aroused a great deal of interest.  A section of Sousa's band will furnish the orchestral music and all the theatrical organizations playing in town will be represented on the stage.—
Philadelphia Times.


The friends and well-wishers of jolly Ralph Bingham, the clever monologist and all-round good fellow, filled the Walnut yesterday afternoon to do him honor and to listen to the good things in the theatrical line furnished by his professional associates.  The testimonial was the result of the efforts of Mr. Bingham's fellow-members in the Pen and Pencil Club.  Mr. Bingham will realize something over $1,000 clear.—
Philadelphia Press.


It is as easy for him to hold an audience for an hour at a time as it is for Irving, Francis Wilson or any of the other footlight favorites.  As a monologue artist he has no equal, on this side of the Atlantic at least, and as a musician he has few peers.  Ysaye himself can scarcely do more with the violin than Bingham, and the piano takes on new charms as he fingers the keys.—
Evening Bulletin.


Not since the late J. W. Kelly, the 'Rolling Mill Man,' last appeared in Philadelphia has any monologist provoked so much laughter and applause as did Ralph Bingham at Keith's last night.  The audience was probably the largest that has ever assembled at the theatre on a summer night.  When he appeared and at his exist every man, woman and child enthusiastically applauded his contribution to the program, for there was no auditor who had not laughed heartily at the stories.  They were told as no other entertainer on the boards could tell them.  For probably five minutes after he left the stage the applause continued.—
Philadelphia Record.

He can entertain an audience for a whole evening better than any man I ever saw or heard in my life. —T.A. FERNLEY, D.D., Phila., Pa.




A FEW PRESS AND PERSONAL ENDORSEMENTS CONFIRMING THE TESTIMONY OF SEVEN THOUSAND AUDIENCES AN ARTISTIC RECORD WITHOUT A PARALLEL

NEW HAVEN, CONN. (Third Time)
I reiterate my convictions that Ralph Bingham is certainly

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a wizard with the violin, and the most original, unique and altogether most successful entertainer on the platform today.

REV. FRED WINSLOW ADAMS.



LAWRENCEBURG, KY.

As a violinist he surpassed the expectations of even those who anticipated a rare treat.  The whole evening's performance was a revelation to all beholders.  Give us such men as Ralph Bingham, and church entertainments will never be a bore.—
Anderson News.



CHILLICOTHE, O.

No criticism can convey an idea of how Mr. Bingham entertains his audiences.  They laugh when he laughs, and weep when he weeps.  His powers are a heaven-born gift, and his association with the literary genii of the time give him an inexhaustible supply of wit, poems and stories that form the nucleus of his entertainment.—
The Daily Advertiser.



WILMINGTON, O. (Second Time)
Mr. Orange Frazer, President Citizens' Lecture Association, now running thirty consecutive years, said the next morning: —

Mr. Bingham, you woke them up last night in a way they have not been awakened for years.



FORSYTH, GA.

From the falling of the first word from his lips to the close of the entertainment Mr. Bingham held his audience captive.  Wit and humor, wisdom and pathos, Yankee, negro and Dutch dialect, music and story fell rapidly and easily from his lips, and kept his audience convulsed with laughter or almost in tears.—
Atlanta Journal.



ASHEVILLE, N. C.
Speaker Thomas B. Reed told me that he never in his whole life enjoyed anything in the shape of a story as he did Ralph Bingham's 'Tiresome Story Teller' at the Gridiron dinner, Washington, D. C.  I thought De Witt Talmage, Dr. Depew, Tom Reed and a lot of those big wigs would laugh themselves to death.

MAJOR E. P. McKISSICK.



TIPTONVILLE, TENN.
Ralph Bingham entertained here last night for the second time, and the audience was the largest ever assembled in Tiptonville; thirty minutes before the entertainment began we had to stop the sale of tickets, as standing room could not be had.

PROF. D. W. HUBBS. JUDGE HARRIS, Cashier Lake County Bank.



NASHVILLE, TENN.
Ralph Bingham was with us last night and captured everybody.  The house was packed and enthusiastic.  * * *

REV. S. A. STEEL, D. D.



CARROLLTON, KY. (Third Time)
The audience was the largest, I'm told, that ever assembled in our Opera House—the opening night excepted.  Whenever he can be had my people want him, whether next fall, next year or next week, and just as often as we can get him.

REV. W. W. EVANS, D. D.



MARIANNA, ARK.
Now I wish to say that I never saw an audience in this town so completely captured as they were by the performance of Mr. Bingham last night.  Mr. Bingham is, in my judgment, not only the peer, but easily the superior of any man on the platform today.  And this is but the echo of what I have heard on every hand this morning.

PASTOR PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.



NEW YORK CITY—Woodlawn Heights.
There can hardly be an exaggeration of praise regarding Ralph Bingham's entertainments His humor penetrates the armor of the most morbid cynic and critic Everybody surrenders to his merry manner and magnetic power.  He fills the bill in all that he attempts, and his versatility of talent and variety of performance place him far and away ahead of those who pose as public entertainers.  I wish that I could cross his path frequently.  His entertainments are good for body and soul.

REV. J. N. RAMSEY.



PENSACOLA, FLA.
THE WONDER OF THE CENTURY WAS ENCORED TO THE ECHO, MAKING THE WINDOWS RATTLE; BEAUTIFUL PROGRAM.


The musical and monologue entertainment at Clutter's Music Hall, by Ralph Bingham, last night, attracted a large and cultured audience, and for nearly two hours they sat, enchanted and spellbound by the sweet music and humorous recitations.
The program from beginning to end was intensely interesting, from the opening selection, 'The Rough Rider's Sweetheart,' to the violin finale.  The 'Cavalleria Rusticana' (a), and 'Pizzicato' from Sylvania (b), charmed the intellect and delighted the soul of the audience, while 'Mr Johnson, the Piano Soloist,' and the 'Negro Picnic' (which were rendered by special request) brought forth peals of laughter from both young and old.
All who listened to Mr. Bingham were lavish in their words of praise, and rightly pronounce him to be the most remarkable self-taught—or, perhaps, more properly speaking—heaven inspired genius of this century.—

Pensacola Press.



MARION, KY.

Ralph Bingham at the opera house Friday night was at his best, and for nearly two hours he entertained the crowd with song and story, and never was an audience better pleased with an entertainment in this city.  This is Mr. Bingham's third appearance in our city, and if he were to come once a week we believe the people would gladly welcome him.  As a monologue entertainer, Bingham has no superior.—
The Crittenden Press.



THE WORLD HAS HAD FEW LIKE HIM, NOT TWO IN A CENTURY

REV. J. A. B. WILSON, D. D., New York, City, (now San Francisco, Cal.)





He is one of the few thoroughly good entertainers to be met with in a lifetime

MR. W. M. TYLOR, Editor, Gazette, Easton, Md.



GRENADA, MISS.
We think that he is the greatest artist that travels on this globe.  He pleased our people better than any man we have had here, and we have had a great many

MR. J. C. WILSON, Chm. Com.



EASTON, MD.
Impressions Made by Ralph Bingham at Music Hall


After a period of nearly thirteen years' absence from our town, Mr. Ralph Bingham gave one of his charming entertainments at Music Hall, October 27th.  It requires the ability of genius for one person to entertain an audience for a period of two hours, and this Mr. Bingham accomplishes with ease.
The late professor Herrmann (magician) was considered a marvel in this respect, but when approached by a friend and congratulated, after one of his extraordinary exhibitions, upon his ability as a 'single-handed entertainer,' rather astounded the enthusiast by remarking: 'I assure Monsieur of many thanks, but Monsieur remembairs not ze one hundred and feefty in ze wing.'
Mr. Bingham does not require 'one hundred and fifty in the wing.'  He is a humorist, impersonator, violinist and a pianist of great ability.  From the beginning of the performance to the end his audience is 'with him.'  A natural actor, his spontaneous expressions are brimming with wit, and no one is liable to suffer from ennui while he has the stage.
For nearly two hours he held the audience, at times convulsed with laughter, again moved to a deep quiet by the pathos of a selection, or silenced by the charm of music drawn from his violin.  By his versatility he was able to keep the interest up to the highest pitch.  His violin work was fine, especially the 'Poet and Peasant,' and the Intermezzo—'Cavalleria Rusticana,' by Mascagni, etc.—

Gazette.



PHILADELPHIA, PA.

Add to his mirth-provoking qualities a negro dialect absolutely inimitable, and to that a personal magnetism sufficiently strong to hold statesmen, men about town, women of the two mondes and the clergy, equally in thrall, and behold!  Ralph Bingham, the brilliant new star, whose rays shall illumine life's stage, it is to be hoped, so long as he lives (and may he live—forever).—
Commercial List and Price Current.



CINCINNATI, O.

Ralph Bingham, a remarkable delineator, gave a recital at the Odeon last night to a large audience.  He certainly has wonderful elocutionary and mimic powers.  His delineations were a study.  Thirteen years of stage practice has trained his voice in such a manner that he can be tragic or humorous at will.—
The Commercial Tribune.



JACKSON, TENN.

Last evening Mr. Ralph Bingham appeared in the University Chapel, and from the first his conquest was complete.  Rarely, if ever, has an audience been so richly entertained.  He does everything, and he does it capitally, superbly, inimitably.  Amazing is his versatility, only less striking than his unitarian excellence.  His work on the violin is that of a rhapsodist; the instrument with him is a voice breathing forth the emotions of its master's soul.  Glad was the surprise of his audience to hear a virtuoso in soul-stirring music.  His renderings of dialect, character, wit, humor and pathos are the very essence of the art of expression.  His flexible voice further captured his hearers in delightful song.  Is Bingham inspired?  What can he not do?  He has been prevailed upon to remain another evening.  The entire town should hear him.—
Daily Sun.



CARROLLTON, KY. (Second time)
Ralph went beyond our highest expectations.  I have heard many rare men of his line, but none of them were his equal.

REV. W. W. EVANS, D. D., First Presbyterian Church.



BATON ROUGE, LA.

Accompanied by Prof. Clark on the piano, Mr. Bingham produced Verdi's 'Il Trovatore' in a way that brought delight to his hearers.  After the last notes died away of this famous piece, the audience experienced one of those peculiar spells of captivation which occasionally succeed entrancing music.  The house was as silent as a grave for a moment, as though it would be sacrilegious to ruffle the echo of such lovely music by the harsh sound of applause.  But once the clapping began, the windows rattled in consequence.  * * *—
Evening Truth.



ROANOKE, VA.

No longer 'Boy Orator,' but nevertheless remarkable genius.  His superb presentation of a scene from Henry VIII was a rare treat and could not have been surpassed, hardly equalled, on any stage of the country.—
Herald.



WHEELING, W. VA.
Ralph is all that we could have asked.  Both nights a success, and larger audiences than either Beecher or Talmage ever had here.

REV. GEO. W. GRIMES.




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AN EVENING STAR
Peerless and Alone.
A comet that appears but once in a generation has appeared in the person of Ralph Bingham.  I feel fully justified in pronouncing him the greatest single-hand artist, in his particular field, THE WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN.  He appeared in the College here last evening, and I have never in the great cities witnessed such a complete success.  While as a biolinist and vocalist he possesses skill that is charming, yet his great power as an impersonator and delineator of character stamps his work marvelous.  In short he is NOTHING LESS THAN PHENOMENAL.  Every man, woman and child in American should hear this intellectual prince—Ralph Bingham.

J. R. THOMPSON, Principal, Greensburg High School, Greensburg, Ky.