The Bell Family 2

Archived exhibit from 2007. Click on the images to see a larger version. Return to this page with your browser's Back button.

Josephina and Amelia Bell, n.d.

The Bell sisters—Celia, Nelly, Sylvia, Judith, and Stella—capture the attention of the audience with their exotic costumes. Their musical act includes traditional gypsy tunes, ‘modern’-style ballet dances, and various Mexican songs, some of them lively, some of them sad. Young Josefina and Amelia, of the next generation, perform “The Butterflies” and the "Apache Dance.”

The audience will wonder at “The Statues,” featuring the Bells as bronze-and marble-like impersonators of Mars, Minerva, Beethoven, Napoleon, and Bolivar. For the finale, the Bells will engage in “Islands of Hawaii,” an original 15-minute play with Polynesian clouds, Hawaiian guitars, palm trees, and turbulent waves. (Alternative finale: “Ben-Hur,” featuring Roman gladiators, biblical characters, and chariot races).

Islands of Hawaii. Iris Theatre. Mexico, c. 1922