The New York Clipper (December 1919)

10 THE NEW YORK CLIPPER December 3, 1919 PROCTOR'S 23rd ST. (Last Half) Chief Little Elk and two copper colored maids opened the show with a rather well staged offering; although extremely ster- eotyped in action. All poises* exception- ally One voices, especially the two femin- ine members of the trio. Little TEpr. In a speech to the audience, claimed to be the only Indian upon the stage who plays the cello, bat, after hearing him, we con- cluded that there is no Indian upon the stage who can play the cello. Mable Lewie, who reminds one of Lil- lian Fitzgerald and Flo Lewis, compound- ed Into one person, and Charles Dunbar, a very clever comedian, have a neat act which, although it smarten of the nut var- iety throughout,. is one that is bound to please on the small time. Perhaps if Dunbar would tone down his speaking voice It.would add considerably to their offering. Morgan and Gates proved themselves to be comedians who have the happy abil- ity of knowing how to put over their ma- terial In a manner that.leaves the au- dience wanting more. Their offering has a" decided original opening, and. in clos- ing, they scored heavily with their ••Bas- il a Dasxle" bit. Homer Lind and Company present a music teacher playlet which is concocted of. numerous laughs and has lust the proper amount of pathos to make It a wen balanced and written offering. It is woven about the life of an old vocal teacher and follows his troubles with pupils lacking ability, although po ss essed with the Idea that they are second Gail Cursis. The offering was well acted throughout and scored one of the largest nits .of the evening. Mike S. Whalen, who tells a lot of jokes which sound as if they might have been published in the Ladles' Home Journal. and who sings a little song about his au- dience, seemed to have no trouble in scor- VAUDEVILLE REVIEWS (Continued from page 9) Ing. FWe -lend and Downing presented their usual comedy offering in next to closing place and worked themselves into Quite a hand. The Janis Revue, a wellstaged dancing act; dosed the bill. An the members of the company can sing as well as dance and scored the biggest hit of the evening E. H. JEFFERSON (Last Half) McGee and Anita started the vaudeville with a pleasing dance offering. The girl Is attractive and dances nicely. The man also does well, but the oriental number Is "not so good." The Barra Sjsters, one of them playing the piano, found themselves at home with the audience after shimmying a bit. They ■asgsjej fair voices and deliver their songs In the t^i ti^ manner. Leon Stanton and a company of two women presented a "near-comedy" play- let. Stanton's character is about the on- ly good thing In the entire sketch, for the trio has to struggle along with an exceedingly poor offering In which they " have little op por t u nity to show any abil- ity even If they do possess any. The en- tire thing is weak from start to finish and contains little that is Interesting Nedman and Kennedy followed with a tramp comedy offering. Practically every gag In the act has been done by tramp act for a long time. They have one or two parodies that are fair, but the ma- terial, as a whole, is poor. Largay and Sned opened with a pleas- ing lullaby and then spoiled the first good Impression by springing a bunch of gags that should be allowed to sleep In peace, for they .died long ago. The act Improved again towards the latter part with some singing and patter. The woman Is a clever comedienne and is supported well by the man. With better material, they could give a much better account of them- selves. "Mammy's Birthday," a tab with six wiria, & woman In black-face and a young boy. pleased. The girts are attractive and go through their various specialties nice- ly. The boy did a number of the cus- tomary dance imitations, which, natural- ly, would not be complete without Includ- ing Pat Rooney and "Frisco. These he did fairly welL The act needs better lines to fill In between the specialties. Mayo and Irwin were the laugh hit of the bfll with their Hebrew comedy of- fering- Mayo Is a dandy comedian of that type and has a capable partner In Irwin. The wille Brothers, two In number, have a routine of feats In their act that win soon land them among the standard big time closing or opening acta. The stunts which this pair offer are nothing abort of sensational and are sure-fire applause getters. G. J. H, FIFTH AVENUE (Last Half) Nine acts made up the bill at this house, and the program seemed to be especially selected to draw the holiday crowds. Tosart, working In full stage, and in the spotlight an the time, opened. He drew his pictures so well that he was com- pelled to take an encore. In the second position were Ed and May Ernie, billed as three feet of fun. literally true. The man has only one leg, but he dances, does hand balancing and exploits some high kicking that exhibits him as very little handicapped by the missing member. The girl aided with a solo dance. "A Cure for the Blues" was programmed In the third spot. It Is a girl act with three principals, Dan Healy, Joe Fields and Virginia Elliott. The act opens In a striking fashion, when a girl of the chorus faints very realistically. A call is made toe thehouse for a doctor, and Healy and Fields both come up on stage. After this original beginning, however, the action dies and the business finally decends to pure burlesque. Doing his tricks with cards. Merlin followed and his going was easy for bis manipulations are clever and his per- sonality pleasing. He wor-ted with two - "plants" and got some good comedy out of them. J. C. Mack and Company, playing a sketch called, "The Grass Widow", held the succeeding position. See New Acta. With a list of four songs, Aileen Stan- ley, appearing with an unprogrammed ac- companist, was the sixth entertainer. She sang well and got over easily. Ringing with especial distinction a new and a clever blues song. A second sketch followed Miss Stanley. It was billed as "An Ace in the Hole", with Thomas Dugan and Babette Ray- mond. Both principals worked like old timers and scored. Billed as "Alone at Last." Frank Hurst was on next to closing. See New Acts. Not programmed as anything so far as a title line is concerned. Elsje Pilcer and Dudley Douglas, with an unprogrammed accompanist as clever In his line as they were in theirs, closed the show and held the packed house to the last. See New Acts. M F. KEENEVS (Last Half) The Cornell Girls, accordionists, opened the show with a musical act that pleased everybody. The girls play their instru- ments well, sing acceptably, and have ar- ranged their act in a most appealing man- ner. Jack and Jess Gibson offered a unlcycle act that was a" bit. The man does the major portion of the work, which, al- though interesting, is neither exiting, nor unusuaL They pleased however, for they kept the audience Interested by means of their clever talk. McPharlon & Palace, two men, dressed alike in every detail, offered a singing act that caught the fancy of the audience. The smaller of the men has the-better voice, and also supplies the comedy. Their selection of numbers, however, ' could be Improved upon. They make a neat appearance, harmonize well, and have likeable, personalities. Numbers only are needed, Elsie Gilbert and her Collies proved to be Elsie, with four pretty girls, and four handsome collies In addition. The act is a conglomeration of song, dance, and effects, in which the dogs figure. The closing number sent the act over for a huge hit. In it the girls and dogs skip ropes, which are Illuminated by email electric Dulbs, the. stage being darkened, while a series of Worseley*s part and a short young man Gertrude George and Company offered a new singing act that will be reviewed at length, under the heading of New Acts. Herbert Denton and Company offered "Foughkeepale," the comedy skit that has served -as a vehicle for Charles Grape win. Denton is assisted by a petite looking blonde miss, who plays the part of the wife. The act went over for a big hit. Smith and Troy offered their well known .injrtng; and comedy act. concluding with a medley of popular airs that they had written in the past. They received a large share of applause when they exited. LaTemple and Company offered an Illu- sion act that was accepted with favor by the audience. The illusions were interest- ing and entertaining. . "The Egg Crate Wallop" was the fea- ture picture; . ■-•; S. K. CITY (Last Half) Sansone and Delilah started an eight- act bill with a novel strong-man offering which contained some sensational feats. While the act is strong-man work, the stunts are, for the most part, p a l s Tirin g and Juggling. Spencer and Rose win have to get a much better line of comedy if they ever want to get away from the rut of the small timers. Something was evidently wrong with ■ the male member of the Anderson and Rean turn, lor we have seen this pair work before, but. on Friday afternoon, when the show was reviewed, he gave the poorest performance we have ever seen.' The sketch is really clever, and, generally. Is handled well. But for some season or other, the young man delivered his lines In a half-sptrlted manner and did not do his work, in any manner that resembled his usual style. Gordon, Marlen and Company, the lat- ter consisting of a young man who plays the piano and saxophone and assists In two bits, have a very neat song routine. The young man and the girl are youthful, pos- sess a lot of personality and get. over on those Qualities, for their voices are only fair. The act Is set nicely and went welL Billed as "Jimmey Hussey's Somewhere in Vaudeville," two young men offered that act. A tall slim fellow Is taking Norseley*s part and a short young man doing the bits formerly handled by Hus- sey. The Shirley Sisters and Bernle pre- sented a number of songs and dances, with Bernle singing and playing the piano. The girls have added new numbers and new costumes, and, with Bud Bernle, have turned out a neat little offering. , Mel Klee, who has Al Herman's act, has added little that Is new to that offering slnce.it was done by Herman. His deliv- ery and style resemble that of Herman's to a great extent. The O'Onzos, man and woman, closed the show with a novel acrobatic offering, which 'consisted of high Jumping and walking on glass bottles. G. J. H. METROPOLITAN Oast Half) Russell and Devitt, two men, who, upon their entrance, gave evidence of a song and dance act, disappointed the audience by offering, an acrobatic novelty dancing act that la a surprise. The two, big men for this type of act, offered some thrillers that went well and they cleaned up a big hit in the difficult first spot. Shea and CrroU. man and woman, of- fered a comedy singing and talking act In which a-piano also plays a part. The act, in. if a entirety a rather good one. had some bad spots In it in the shape of re- marks that might Just as well be left un- said. However, they possess the happy faculty of covering up their bad breaks with some clever comedy remarks. Both have fair singing voices, the woman's, for that matter, a little the better of the two. "Nine O'clock," an act that has been appearing hereabouts for almost three solid years, was In the third spot. The act Is a singing and comedy turn of a somewhat different nature. It is essen- tially a school act. But, instead of hav- ing young and pretty girls mingled with a few sprightly youngsters of the male sex, we have a class of old men attend- ing school to be taught new tricks. The singing of the trio was received with un- stinted applause, the colsing number being especially well liked. Gnien and Mulcahy, two men, offered a singing act that Is somewhat of a puzzle to the reviewer. The bigger of the two men possesses an excellent baritone voice, yet they don't seem to receive the amount of applause that should be their due. This Is mainly the fault of the first few numbers, more than enythlng else. Might we suggest that they add a few up to date numbers In place of them. The John Mc- Cormack number was by far the best thing In the act. The LaVars closed the show with their whirlwind dancing act. They scored a hit of large proportions, for their work was appreciated by everybody present. They were called upon to give an encore, for which they showed a medley of steps they had done some twenty years ago. "Fair and Warmer" was the feature picture. S. K. HARLEM OPERA HOUSE (Last Half) Lorimer and Carbrey opened In one with a number that was no better or no worse than that employed by the average man-and-giri torn. Their act turned into an original path, how- ever, with their next number which was a difficult stair dance, done in a special set In two. The rest of the act was good, except for a song that the girl attempted to sing. The girl's dresses or lade of dresses are sure to cause a sensation wherever the act plays. What there Is of them is colorful and chic. - Lewis and Gordon are presenting Dorothy Shoemaker and Company in a playlet that holds Interest because of its unusual atmosphere and some-, what unusual plot. It Is entitled "The Kat." Although Miss Shoemaker is featured and does her part well, per- haps the best piece of acting is done by the man who portrays the Cough type of saloon lizard found In the tenderloin of a big city. "Ivory," the yonng cigarette fiend, who plays the piano In a tough dive, also gives a splendid portrayal. Mr. and Mrs. Dudley Clemons, who essay the roles of two "almnmers," play their roles passably well, but are not equal to the others in the cast Morgan - and Anger, playing a "straight" and a Jew: respectively, got through a laugh-provoking routine without resorting to one old gag or one used piece of hokum. Their material Is just stilted to their per- sonalities and is clever, with the re- sult that the team hag an act far superior to most turns of this nature. The stock-exchange bit Is particularly good. Cutty and Nelson have a musical act in one that ends much faster than it begins. At the beginning of the act, there is too much xylophone.. The routine could be cut down to half of its present running time to advantage. Cutty's cornet playing was the feature of the act, particularly in the jazzlcal moments. Also,, when mated to ac- company his partner's singing, he did some effective cornet work, bringing the act to a smashing close. When one has-a real personality, it is unnecessary to resort to hokum, special sets and what-nots to get by. This fact is demonstrated by Charles Irwin, who, In a business suit, works in. one, hands in pockets and hardly budges from.the center of the stage through his entire routine. And yet Irwin holds his. audience,. Interested and pleased, from the tune be starts his opening song until he makes his final bow. Then came the Dream Surprise Party, consisting of six girls, a would- be straight, and a comedian. The act didn't belong on the bill. If quality is to be considered. It impressed the reviewer that here was an act that had been hastily thrown together after a cast had been assembled where small salaries counted more than actual ability. The song numbers are slow, the girls doing the same amateurish sway step for all numbers. The comedy is weak, although, giving credit where it is due, the comedian works hard and gets a number of laughs. The straight is more comic than the comedian, but that is prob- ably unintentional. He renders his lines as If they had been set to music. and, when others have - the center of the stage, he seems at a loss to know what to do with himsoif The act can probably get by on small time, if the house feels particularly generous and good natnred. H. J. G. - • ; ....