New York Clipper (Feb 1923)

12 THE NEW YORK CLIPPER Fd>rtiaxy 21, 1923 ALYNN MANN A CO. Tbetn—Jeffertom. Stjit — Dance mrvelty — impersonalions. Ttww Thirty-two mimmles. OtUIiif— Sftcial. A real daooe iio«lty, fatitittir at with the piiuutM Uyire a fcmale ii ■nator wtiose daacni^ ''>*^ *■ ""^ SDOd as his tmpcnvDafaoo* To^ cotngBOf cofnptnscs four nm and the idea vodld not be bad with a ineal good dancer of the impenonated lex iamg the work of the impenoaalor for'-the '*«"''*^ is man desirable than the sarpriie at the «Bd wbea the wis is tiriifn off* There is at least one exodkntdancer in the ft B i i Ln i i i who does an ttnnsaal assortment of ni^ lack. spUts and back-kicks^ which does fiBiTn toward iiuluan the pnoopal of the offering appear to be a poor dancer ia coisparisoiL ..Tte f theme" of the act does the pro- lagok m the' pisson of a man in black and red oilctoh coatame, looking like a fntoristie painting. While denyuiK that he was the proIopK be gave a kmg talk on the eternal Uuuigl c which was to be the theme of the act, etc, and he sym- bolized the tiienie, beiDg that he had aer- eial trianglfi- here and there in his coitnmc ' The fim accne was "Broadwax," an- nounced far^ placards liuug^ op by a man in pierrpt M ii l iii f with a triangle or two tn the dress. The set was a small tri- ansolar stage door and the staff that foUowed hid an original touch if anj- ihing. The actioa was not suig or talked hot mostly danced in jazz tempo. The fanstond arrrred in front of the door with a tag doU for the -bobjr and complained about his wife 'neglecting him and the baby, etc. Later the third party came akog and the wife chose the neddaoe held otit by the sccnod in preference to tile baby held by, the bosband, all of them danring aroond iff the meantiinc. During ibe scene ^''90bf is thrown on the grotmd wUIe fSttfiiaaoe aioond it, and bter tfte hnabmid wipe* Ok seat with it before he aits 4amm. He his fate as the hinhaiid of an artrrw, etc, and affects the regidatiea nance stnff. In this vein tbcv work up a satire that is at times gooa and other times rather objectionable to some people who do not approve of babies being thrown aronnd and stage women held in a poor li^t. The next scene was the Onent and after two men had some words abont an ancient story, etc. the stoty was enacted which was something abont a Princess, a Prince and an escaped prisoner who fin- ally ran off with the girL In this scene the girl did an Oriental dance which was mostly wriggling of the hands. Spain was ue next scene and in the dance was coiuected some melodtama in which the second man in the osnal triangle was killed by the girL After the man for whom she had stabbed the snitor had fled . the dying one raddenly turns and kills the girl. The action when a gendarme comes m seems foolish with a police whistle ' blowing in the distance when no one saw the affair. After Spain came "At the Ball," and '' anot h er triangle wor k e d itself in, while all hands did a varidy of daitces, as weH as a song or two. The member . of the company, who did the page work . gathered a neat - hand with his solo dance, whirh showed up the prindial ' dancer easily. This scene finallv ends op in a fight for the girl and the wig is thrown off the impersonator, etc. after a finale that is too long and drawn out. The imoersonator wears his powns wen and does his danfxs fairly well' but - not too gracefully. The first scene is Aoiit'tfae best and most interesting and Ac offering, win probably find a plate in'die thr ee a da y.rbotes. provided it is cot aiid the action- nade a tittle faster. M. H. S. NEW ACTS AND REAPPEARANCES THOMAS J. RYAN A CO. EDWIN STANLEY AND CO. Proctor's Sth Ave. atn»-Comedy Skit. T imtE ighteen minuter. Setting— FuU. Kyan is a survivor of the old school of uiih comics, who is now being pro- peOed in a new comedy sldt by E:dgar AOan Woolf called "Away Ahead of the Tiaea." Rvan's stage career covers a period of finy year^ daring wfaicfa time he has appeared with several part- ners. At one time he appeared with the bte John T. Kc% in an Irish knock- about comedy act and more recently he appeared with Emma Riehfield. The theme -of his new sldt revolves aroond the Ritzy ideas of the rising geneiatioa. Ryan essays the role of a retired 'bricklayer. Unlike most of his friends he nient itetfy of his purse to . give his wife and child whatever little lojoiries his wage could afford. When he retired he had little else to fall back upon bat Irish optimism. His daughter married well and upon the death of her. fanshand. who left her a generous es- tate, she brought her dad from the alley districts to the more fashionable pre- cincts of the drive. Now that she is atxMit to take another matriinoaial plunge with "a swell" she feels the old man woold be out of the jncture and attempts to lajole him into entering the . old man's home. But the old gent docs some qaick thinking, orders a cake-eat- er's omit, red tie and all, and proceeds to the fiapictsion that he has been leauiiig a wild life iiiikiiowu to her. This * jBi^ the daughter to decide that the oM ffott needs watdnng more than she needs a second mate; ijoaseqtieatly she calls off her engagement to keep ho* dad out of the clutdies of tfie brazen vainps fint are supposed to be on hb trail, and everybody is lappy again. The skit contains some teal wit iiad lively sitml i uu s which for the most part are carried by Ryan. During its evolntion he also intradnces a dance that won him fame fifty years ago at Tony Pastor's. The act ,is well pre- sented by a cast of three. It mingles comedy with pathos and packs a heart wallop that will get it over for a hit on any bill. J. B. VIRGINIA MILLIMAN TheatiB—Proffor'f 12S/A St. Style— Character Songs. Time— Fifteen minutes. Setting—"Onf" (spcdai). _ Virginia Milliman has prepared a rou- tine for her single offering, which drags along wearily through the major portion of it, to such an extent, that unless a lot of improvements are made, the value of her act for even the small time b doubt- ful She uses a special drop in one, which draws aside to show another place drop used for a dressing room where she makes Iier changes and talks about the number to follow, to fill in the waits. The first number is about a Puri- tan maid, being a song rdative to Miles Standish and Prisdlla. A "newsboy" bit, with a number about "It's Great to Be a Business Man." follows, and then to oomplete the routine, a "disillusioned chorus girl" number, about "Susie the Slob of the Giorus," and a department store girl dramatic bit supposed to be an impression of Jane Cowl in "Within the Law" are used. The last makes an effective finish for the small time, but there is little merit in die other nambers. Miss Milliman has little stage personality, and therefore needs stronger nnmbers than she is using. G. J. H. Tbeatxa—Proctor's l2Slh St. StflB—Sketch. T f lilfi F ifteen minutes. Settinc— FidU stage. Whoever wrote this vehicle for Stan- ley and his three suniortiiig players, evi- dfiatly didn't fully nnke up his mind as to whether he was going to write some- thing which would forcibly bring ont a moral, or a satire on a moralistic play- let widi a lot of hoknm injected m it Thus, the playlet has suffered, for the hokum parts retract from the moral it tries to point out, and the other parts make the hokum seem out of place in an offering of this sort In writing either hoke, or moralistic playlets, there should be no half-measures adopted. Either ex- treme should be followed, either all ho- kum, or all allegorical. This of course does not mean that in writing a dramatic playlet, comedy should be omitted entirely, or even a wee bit of hokum. But neither should be overdone to such an extent where they detract from the serious parts. Stanley's offering is supposed to be the tale of a young man who has stolen $28,- 000 from the bank in which he was em- ployed in order to sopply his mother and sister with the clothes and luxuries they demanded. He ha* been caught and sen- tenced to from five to ten years up the river. His mother feels sorry for him, bat all her remarks are good for laughs, and no heart-throbs. The sister's only thought is of the harm his going to prison will ilo to her personally.' Before he goes, he tetU them in a weak, almost pointless speech, that they have been to blame. The other member of the cast is his lawyer. We'd suggest re-writing the entire af- fair. Make the mother a character whom the audience will sympathize with, leave o"t most of the hokum, and strengthen tiie part where he tells them the reason he has stolen. Bring ont the dramatic parts with a hundred per cent more force than is being done at present. G. J. H. DOTTIE CLAIRE MINSTRELS Theatre—Proc/or'j 23r<i Street. Style— Revue. Time— Eighteen minutes. SeWag—Special. This is a seven-people revue, all girls, with the featured member confining her activities to that of interlocutor in the minstrel part. The aot opens with an ensemble num- ber, done before a cotton-field drop, with the girls garbed in black and white overall costumes. It shifts to full stage, 'with Miss Claire coming on and reciting an introductory about her all-girl revtie. The girls come on, with two in "cork" working the ends. Miss Corbctt starts the minstrel sec- tion going with "Levin' Sam." The Dwyer girls follow with a wooden-sboe dance that got over nicely. Miss Pearl, a vivacious blonde, comes on next for a ccMuedy number and eccentric dance, with Constance Evans retaliating 'with an- other dance divertisement. The songs are interspersed with the usual line of minstrel gags, all of which have been heard before, and the act is brought to a good finish by a snappy finale. The best that can be said for the act is that it is a girl act set to a minstrel 'frame. It contains nothing that is new and may have a chance m the small- time-houses, if this is the sort of staff they want E. J. B. MRS. RODOLPH VALENTINO Theatre— Hamilton. StyiB—"A Regular Girl." Timn Fifteen minutes. Setting—FuU stage {special). The old gag of men running aroimd widi every girl in the world and trying to do their worst to them, but refusing to allow their own sisters to have any- thing to do with "men of the world" has been taken by Edgar Allan Woolf and made into a fairly effective -vehicle for Mrs. Rodolph Valentino, the first, for- merly Jean Acker. The scene is laid in the apartment of a well-known rounder, famous for the many hearts he has broken, and for being sou^t by many beautiful women. He has arranged a party for himself and a friend, with his latest conquest, who is to bring a lady friend, of the "regular" type along for his friend. The latter, when he learns that the name of the latest conquest is Doris Sheldon, asks if she wasn't the sister of a girl who had committed suicide over the "rounder," and is told that she was. Doris arrived, and the trio engaged in conversation, also imbibing of some liouor until the girl friend shall arrive. When she does, she pro-ves to be the kid sister of the rounder. He tells her to leave the apartment but Doris faces him, and tells him that this is her vengeance for the wrong he had done her sister. She has made a "regular" of his own sister, in words to this effect: "She's a regular, the type you men want all women to be, except your own sisters." The rounder leaves the room, horribly broken up over the calamity which has struck his own home. Miss Sheldon then tells his boy friend that it was all lies, and that she and the rounder's sister had framed up the plot in order to make him suffer, and prevent him from dcnng wrong to other girls in the future and ask him to keep their secret which he promises to do. There are plenty of flaws which could be picked out in the offering, but it isn't necessary, as they are petty. The main point is that it gives Mrs. Valentino a fairly good chance to show herself to vaudeville fans, and will please them in it. Her main assets, besides the name, are a beautiful appearance and gorgeous clothes. G. T. H. ANNE FRANCIS AND CO. thtatsi—Regent. Style— Singing, dancing revue. Time— Fourteen minutes. Setting—Special. When this act was reviewed one of the boys in the cast had been injured so that the act had to be adapted to three men, nevertheless it orovcd a fine attraction and worthy ol a "spot" on any bill. Miss Anne Francis is a clever performer, both as a singer and dancer, her enunciation. Glory be, being unusually distinct, something that is a rarity in 'vaudeville. The boys are all accomplished dancers doing exceptionally well in their team work. The act opens at the stage door with the Johnnies drifting up to take the star out She refuses all of them as prospective hus- bands but compromises by consenting to dance with them. After an ensemble dance done here the act moves to full stage, tastefully set before an orange cyclorama. The boys do some more dandng. Miss Francis sings a "Vampire" soiig and does a dance and the boys, with British soldier jackets, finish with a fast dance, daring the course of which die jrotmg lady does a Frisco imper- sonadon. The lines are good and die act. is well constructed am) staged. It dit^Id find it easy to score in all houses. C. C.