New York Clipper (Apr 1923)

12 THE NEW YORK CLIPPER April 11, 1923 LEO ZARRELL & CO. Tbemtn—Regent. Style— Acrobatic, limit—Ten minutes. SetOaf—Special in "one-and-a-half." The act opens in front of a drug store -window, a newsboy crying his papers and passed by the man who demon- strates beetle bugr oil in the store win- dow. The demonstrator gets into his woridng clothes and proceeds to give his spiel about the marvelous results achieved by the use of this oil, in- terrupted by wise cracks from the newsjr. He gives the newsy a bottle of the oil, the newsy applies it and is immediately able to do some acrobatic stunts. The demonstrator comes out and the cur- tain is lowered, the two going to one and performing se\'eral great hand- balancing stunts. They havft a spec- tacular repertoire, from the opening to the closing trick and win great applause. The only fault with the act as it stands now is tbe opening portion. Ttie talk drags because they wait for lau^s and don t snap up their cues quick enough. If their talk was given rapid-fire fashion it would go better. The act is good for any bill after this fault is corrected. C. C NEW ACTS AND REAPPEARANCES CHOY LING HEE TROUPE TIUMtn—Jefferson. 8tt>»^rientat stunts. Timt—Twenty tHinuUs. BttOnt—Full stage. Several Chinamen, a woman and b^y girl or midget doing a familiar routine of Stuff. The offering is saved, how- ever, by the b^y girl who is a marvelous little showgirl, as well as acrobat and contortionist. She puts over a few songs also. Another saving feature and a real thriller is the dosing stunt of one of the men. The "thriller." at the close of the show 19 done by one of the men who dives througfa a row of octagonal rings about 30 inches in diameter set across a table. Protruding through die rings are sharp Imives and Ae dangerous aspect of the Stunt send a murmur of comment all through the house, for the space must be ga^ed -very accurately. Possibly the kuves are capable of giving way if any pressure is applied, but it is a corking stunt anyway. The rest of the routine outside of the two above mentioned things is ordinary and composed in part of the whirling plates on bamboo sticks, and a few magic tricks. Orioital tapestry is in the-back- ground and native dress also helps. ' M. H. S. THE OXFOBD REVUE Theatre—Prortor*j SSlh Street. Style— fnstrumentaJ. Ibno — Twelve mmules. Setting—Fu// stage (special). Two girb and two young men offer "The Oxford Revue," which consists entirely of in sli uiu ental work. Just why the name "revue" is used, may be able to be explained by the members of the act. The only reason we can see is the fact that the act <works in full stage, and uses some very beautiful scenic ef- fects, in addition .to various colored lifting effects and a scrim. However, the term "revue" has been applied to acts with even less provocation, so wt can let that go. Three of the members play comets, and the other a saxophone all through the act One of the girls shifts to a violin tor several mnnbers. also doing a solo bit with this instrument. Their l e ueiloii e coosists mainly of popular pub- lidwd nombers and are welt played. As n flash in the smalt time houses, the of- fering should find plenty of work. G. J. H. DORIS RANKIN & CO. TbtMim—Jefferson. Style— Dramatic sketch. Time— Twenty-two minutes. Settini_/« 'W" {special). Most everyone is femiHar with the story of the ex-convict who was hounded by the detectives from one job to an- other. In this case it is the wife who is hounded from one job to another by lier husband whom she has left, after sufficient cause. The staging of the sketch is that of the blade eye back- ground and overhead spot. There are five scenes, each in "two" and taking up one-half of the width of the stage. Eiach scene allows Miss Rankin, in the role of the wife, a bit of dramatic re- dtatioa, which she does well, and one of the scenes brings a bit of comedy. Although the offoing seems a bit high- brow, it went over strongly at this house wben reviewed. The supporting cast of three men and a boy did very welt with their respective parts, with &e possible exception of the latest emplo}rer of Mrs. Carleton, who does not do very much to create the impression that he is in love with her, The act opens in an office scenes the man telling the woman that he has re- ceived some sort of a communication to discharge her, and she insists upon tell- ing him the facts and whole story be- hind her sepaiation from her husband. As she laundies into the story there is a flashback to another scene and the Carletons are seen in a domestic (juarrel. Thus husband is drunk and abusive, and insists that his -wife give him her neck- lace to pay for a gambling debt he has incurred. In protecting herself she shoots him and leaves. Scene two is the room of a boy to whom Mrs. Carleton, under the name of Miss Allen, is governess. He plays with his drum before going to bed. and as he is a b<^ scout tells his governess that he has been permitted to stay up a little later that night by his grandma. This is a lie and Miss Allen knowing it gives him a lesson on it, the boy ad- mitting the prevarication, and then going off to sleep after giving her a note he had in his pocket and which he almost bad forgotten. The note requests- the girl to leave at once, evidently having heard from her husband. This scene is apparently not absolutely .essential but needed in order to complete the other set probably. A modiste shop is scene four and an effeminate costumer flits around, drapes a bit of cloth over Miss Allen and diinks that she would make a pretty model. He also receives a communica- tion from the husband and decides to discharge her. Before leaving, however, she told him of the intolerable conditions of his store and hardships he worked on the poor shop girls, etc. In the mean- time he got as much comedy out of his characterization as possible. The final scene shows her concluding her stor>' to her employer, from all ap- pearances a lawyer, and he tells her that he has asked her husband to come in to see them. The husband steps into his favorite role of abusing his wife, and she tells him that she has received a decree of divorce in Rhode Island, where she resided for several months, etc The employer also asserts his richt to kick friuid husband out of his office and the latter leaves. The divorce story is only a subterfuge and the man advises her to try Reno for Ae necessary papers. Very cokHy and in a matter of fact way he asks Miss Allen to stay, and says that they will continue^ the real business of life, meaning marriage. M. H. S. MAZIE, HELEN AND DAISY Theatre—Prortor"* 23rd Street. Style—P«w. Time— Eighteen minutes. SetUn^-Speciai: This is a fairly diverting- musical tabloid, ostensibly framed for the small time and which managed to crowd a number of specialties into a sen^lance of plot that is above the average for this class of offering. The action is set in a mountain house owned by an eccentric German. Mazie and Daisy, who have been stranded -wiffi a touring "turkey" are working out their board bills as maids at the resort. A promoter and his prima donna loom upon the scene and after a succession of comedy scenes ropes the Dutdnnan in to "angel" his show. Consequently, Mazie and Daisy are. again restored to their proper vocations. Helen, the prima donna, renders "Cry- ing For You and immediately proceeds . to vamp the comic. It is mainly througfa her machinations that tie parts with the money with which she is to be starred. After the promoter secures the money, it is all fixed for a honeymoon for him and Helen. Incidental to the dimajc Mazie and Daisy do a couple of dances, one of which needs considerable clean- ing up before it will ever mean anything. A routine finale, vrith the comic doing a parson and the promoter and Helen garbed in bridal array, closed the act. The piece can stand a Uttle tightening up and a rearrangement of the dancing specialties, after which it should prove a strong feature for the small time. E. J. B. CLAIRE VINCENT AND CO. Theatre—Proc/or'i SSth Street. Style-S*e/f/i. Time— Twenty-one minutes. Settinjf—Fu/{ stage (.special). Miss Vincent is supported by a girl and a man in her comedy offering whicJi will please in the average family audi- ence. The story concerns a ^rl, who in the playlet, is the -ward of Miss Vincent, and who has been engaged to a rich young man. This engagement was broken off by his father, who objects to his son's marrying, simply because he thinks that the boy is too young to be married, and cares only for business matters, hav- ing a reputation of being "hard-boiled." The girl's guardian hears her talc of woe, and decides to take things in her own hands to patch them up. She tele- phones the fauier to come over to the apartment and ge.ts him to make an ap- pointment with her: She is to essay the role of the boy's fiancee, while her ward will play the part of the house-maid, owing to the fact that their real maid is having her day off. The father arrives and the guardian sets about making a fool of him, finally getting his consent to his son's marrying any young girl whom he may love and loves him. She then reveals her real character and introduces her ward as his son's sweetheart. The father has become attached to the guardian, and from all appearances, when the curtain descends, there .is going to be a double wedding very shortly. Miss Vincent is a good comedienne and handles her role to good laugh results. The other two in the cast lend capable sunMrt G. J. H. Henry Hyers. author of "The First Fifty Years, has -written a one-act farce which is to be played in vaudeville by Charles Deland. IRENE RICARDO Theatre—Proc/or'j S8r/i Street. Style—Cotnedy. Time— Twelve minutes. Setting—/» "one." Irene Ricardo is half of the former combination of Cooper and, Ricardo. When it comes to ability as a comedi- enne, 'Miss Ricardo could easily feel safe when she started to do a single, for she's one of the cleverest women we've seen in vaudeville, in getting laughs. Her big assets are her facial expressions, which might be classed as a cross between Eddy Foy and Fanny Brice. Miss Ricardo opens in the lady "Jew- ish Cop" uniform wbich she wore in the two acts, and does some talk with the orchestra leader. A comedy number about her "horsie," whom she calls "Pa- gliacci" is a scream from start to finish, more because of her handling of it than because of die lyrics. A prima donna burlesque follows which is easily as funny as any number of this type done by Fannie Brice. "Sleepy Hills of Ten- nessee" is used in straight style for a finish. Irene Ricardo can play the big time houses right now, if only on the merits of her personal ability. Her material is good, but we honestly think that diere isn't enough of it that's worthy of her. Miss Ricardo would be classed as a sec- ond Fanny Brice, if she had numbers as good as those which Miss Brice uses. G. J. H. MORGAN AND BINDER Theatre—Prorfor'i 23rd Street. Style-^onf J and talk. Time— Fifteen minutes. Settlng_/» "om." . Here's a couple of female harmony singers who have routined a singing and tallong act that will be sure fire on any bill—big_ or small time. Both girls have good voices and the comic sells her stuff for more than top value. The girls ■ scored strongly in a bad spot at this house. A ballad duct brings them on and con- vinces the mob that they are real sing- ers. They counter with some clever comedy chatter that is brimful of spontaneous laughs. The comedienne follows -with impres- sions of Eddie Leonard and Galli Curd, singing a bootlegging number. Her partner returns and they harmonize "I'm Sweet On My Sweet Sweetie," -with the comic managing to crowd in as much comedy patter as possible and keep- ing the crowd in yells. They encored with "Sweet Baby of Mine" and left them begging for more. The act packs an entertaimnent wallop that cannot fail to hit. Consequently, the girls will be a valuable comedy and harmony asset to any bill. R J. B. OLGA AND NICHOLAS Theatre—/?eie)if. Style— Dancing. Time— Ten minutes. Settuiz—Special. Olga and Nicholas have a dancing act that is away out of the ordinary. They • open before a special drop in harlequin costumes and go through a double toe routine that is neat and efficient The woman exits to make her change and the man does a difficult routine of toe work and kicks. The woman does an oriental before a bronze God painted on the back drop, the man enters in Russian, performs some difficult steps and is joined by Olga for a fast, effective Rus- sian finish. The girl is good looking and nicely formed and they both work as if they enjoyed it The act is -well con- structed and does not slow up from start to finish. Some of the toe work is ex- ceptional. The act should prove accept- able in any house. C C.