Variety (Feb 1906)

VARIETY 9 ' = By Chicot ORPHKUM. Hurry Foy's sketch was the chief at- traction at the Orphcum this week, where there is a hill of exceptional merit being shown. The idea of an under-water sketeh is not new except to vaudeville, but this is capitally worked out and lacks only a more substantial plot to make it one of the best acts in the business. As it stands it is little more than a sidewalk conversa- tion with an odd scenic setting. With a little more care and revision it could be made to carry a story of live interest and so gain an hundredfold in value. The best hit of business at present is the tendency of the sailor to rise to the surface when he releases his grasp upon the anchor which holds him down. Much fun is de- rived from this and the bit of business should suggest other possibilities. It is wholly unnecessary for Mr. Foy to spoil a clean-cut sketch by partly stripping to his underwear at the close. It gains a laugh from some, but the act is too good to l>c spoiled to others. Miss Clark shows one of the oddest, and handsomest gowns in vaudeville, and plays her part better than anything she has yet been seen in. Virginia Karl and her boys are doing bet- ter, though the men still refuse absolute ly to have a drink. They still affect the minstrel first part in the arrangement of the chairs, but they are working more naturally and the act is now a hit. A large part of this credit should go to the men who are really men and not matinee heroes. Jacob's dogs are cleverly trained and scored a hit, though there is a lack of cheerfulness on the part of the pups bespeaking an over-harsh training. There is little tail-wagging in this act. and they go through their work not l>eeause they want to but because thev know thev have to. Even a dog can take pride in his work. James II. Jce ofFers some wire work that is really a bounding wire with a Japancses parasol instead of a balancing pole. The wire is so slack that the tricks are rendered easy, ami yet he makes a PERCY WILLIAMS' IDEAS. The Du Vries engagement was under discussion, and Percy (1. Williams drew toward him the program slips prepared for the announcement of the second week of that actor at the Colonial. "Here," said Mr. Williams, "is the real answer to the question so frequently asked as to why vaudeville continues popular. The best seats in the orchestra sell for a dollar, and yet we offer Du Vries, whose recent performances have commanded two dollars a seat, and who has here the sup- port of a much better performance than that which filled in the remainder of the time at the Madison Square. "But Mr. Du Vries is but a single fea- ture on the bill. There is also Joe Welch, who, with a small company, commands a dollar and a dollar and a half at the com- bination houses, while the third feature is Salerno, who tops the bill at the Eng- lish music halls and on the Continent. "Nowhere else in theatricals can one obtain so comprehensive an entertainment and at such a small cost. As long as man- agers are able to present such diversity of offering, the vaudeville business is bound to progress, more particularly in the cities. "There is a certain class of dramatic hcadliner who lends but a fictitious inter- est to a bill. The artist may have been a favorite in the high-priced houses, and there is some interest in the appearance of the veteran in vaudeville. These per- formers excite momentary interest and then give way to others, but there is an- other class of dramatic players who achieve lasting successes in vaudeville and who contribute Importantly to the up- holding of the standard. "Roth in Europe and America new va- riety acts are constantly springing up to furnish a share of novelty, ami the stand- ard of the accepted styles of work is con- stantly being raised. Take any regulation line of work, whether it l>e dancing, jug- gling, wire walking, acrobatic or bar work. T* lit *■ i TWENTY-THIRD STREET. Headlines are numerous on the Proctor bill at the Twcntv-third street house this week, but the best feature is Ceorge Day's new monologue; his second within six weeks. His jokes about Alice Roosevelt are in wretched taste, whether considered merely as jokes or in connection with their subject, but his routine on Town Topics is the best thing along this line since that uncleanly pile of linen was taken to the legal laundrv. He has some new songs, and all told his act is a good one as well as novel. Rae and Brosche take no such trouble about their stuff. It is the same they have always had, and makes only a fair appeal. It is a pity because Mr. Rae is not a bad comedian, and Miss Brosche has a breeziness of style worthy of better exploitation. The Broth- ers Durant have a novelty act, and Caba- ret's dogs are now shown down here. The somer8aulters are the best of the troupe, but all of the work is good except the high leaping. This should l>e cut out. Mr. Cabaret should deposit his straw hat upon the same junk piles as that upon which he places the barrier. If he needs a head covering he should purchase a *derby, which would be in better taste. Felix and Barry—and another Barry— show "The Bov Next Door," and make their ■ usual hit. The newcomer, Emily Barrv, is forcing her speaking voice in her ef- fort tt) reach the rear of the house. She will have trouble on that score unless she cultivates a better vocal method. Her singing voice is much better. It should be j)ossible for her to use her speaking voice to the same good effect. Mine. Man- telli could have improved her hit with a more popular class of selections. Hraga's "Angel's Serenade'' is scarcely a vaude- ville number, even when the singer uses the Metropolitan Opera House underline. She should practice temperateness of ges ture. Her movements seldom point her line, yet she gest iculatcs freely. She has a good voice and good vocal method, ami CORKS ON CONVERSATION. The Human Corkscrew had been absent from the table for a couple of days, and there was some speculation going on as to the remote possibility of his having se- cured an engagement for his monologue of imitations when Corks slipped into his sent and gazed regretfuly at the empty seidls. "I'd have been in yesterday," apologized Corks when he had heard the order given, "but I got in with a couple of chaps I haven't seen for a whole lot of time, and they bought. I guess I earned my lunch at that. "I don't see why it is that an actor can't talk about anything but his hit. Of course there's a lot who can spiel good spiels, but most times when an actor offers to buy you a drink it's because he feels the need of taking some one over in a corner and rehearsing the story of his triumphs. "It makes me tired to hear a man re- cite the postal guide and tell how the people who live in the towns are writing the manager to find out when he is com- ing back because he made such a knockout the last time. "He knows that he keeps the Record- ing Angel busy writing him down a man who dallies with the truth, and he knows I don't believe a word he says, but he thinks it sounds more real when he tells it to some one else, so he'll buy the beer just for the privilege of hearing himself rave. "Yon meet up with a bunch of lawyers. and it's a cinch they are not telling each other how they won this or that case. They've got the money they made for winning it, and they're talking politics or something else that gets their minds off their troubles. "An actor talks about himself until he really believes what he is saying, and the longer he raves the better he thinks he is. Mini then he goes oil" and raises his salary. "I know an actor once who learned to deal of fuss over things and halts and pauses until one wishes that there might be someone with a slapstick to urge him to speed. In his chair jump he lowers the wire a couple of feet; probably with the idea of impressing the audience with the difficulty of what he is about to accom- plish. It would be better if he worked at the same height all the time. Dorothy Kenton spoiled a very pleasant little banjo turn by overworking. She makes harder work of banjo playing than anyone else on the stage, but she plays decidedly well. She should cultivate ease of manner. St a ley and Birbeck did not nnike a very <|uick change Monday liccause they did i.ot have proper assistance from the stage nands. The lights were turned down and not out and the mechanism of the act was shown. Mr. Stales doubtless cor rected matters after the Monday perform a nee, but it is a pity that it was spoiled t hen. The Reiff brothers scored a de served hit, and Harry Lester and the Flor- enze family helped along the good effect. and the notable performers of fifteen years ago will stand no comparison with similar acts of to-day. Those who are still in the field offer work that ten years ago would have been considered impos- sible. "With a constantly improving class of offerings and with practically the entire amusement field from which to draw, it is scarcely to l>e expected that vaudeville will fail to maintain a high standard, and so long as one may witness the very best of each line for a surprisingly small price vaudeville will prosper. "I do not side with those pessimists who predict all sorts of disaster. The only threatening feature is the tendency of some artists to keep increasing their sal- ary without yielding a return for the in- creased compensation. This is a detail that will solve its own problem through the law of supply ami demand; for the rest the augury for vaudeville is bright indeed." Frankie Bailey will open in Wilming- ton. New electrical effects are prominent in the new sketch. W. I*. Lykens is ar- ranging for future time. Down at Tammany Hall during "ball night" people were wondering whether Tas- cott, "the coon shouter." was only Corse Piiyton or just Tascott. A slighted hair- cut is or was the reason. she scored a hit. The Agoiist family feel the loss of the senior Agoust. The pres cut act follows the old lines, Init lacks the smoothness of the original offering. The pantomime is not well worked out. and the handling of four balls is the l>esi thing done in the juggling. The effect of the nd lies in the willingness of the art ists to aid each other in making points. Kd F. Reynard shows his ventriloquial net with a wealth of mechanical figures. The figures are not always well considered, but the act is full of surprises and pleases. Melville and Stetson have their familiar act. and make their usual hit, while Warl and Curran have "The Terrible Judge" and keep the stage for more than their time allotment with encouragement from the audience. The Bard brothers offer a cap- ital acrobatic act. using the springboard once in their turn to throw the top- mounter to the umlerstander. They would do well to work out more tricks with this device before others copy the idea, which, by the wav, was originallv done bv the Panther brothers. There are pictures, some of which are very good. talk on his fingers just l>ecause he had a deaf mute friend he wanted to tell it to. He was so bad a penman the other fellow couldn't read what he wrote, and he had to tell him somehow. 'Von stand for the raves and vou're a good fellow, but if you start in to talk about yourself, why he tells every one you've the big head and you're wearing a hat two sizes larger than you used to with nothing under the hat but hair. "I was talking to a man the other day who was just back from Europe. 'How did you like Vienna?' I says to make talk. 4 I knocked 'em.' he shouts so loud that he scares an old ladv across the street. 'I was a regular knockout. They wanted me to stay there three months longer, but Keith wouldn't release me.' It was that way right down the list, and yet he must have been wise that I was hep to the fact that he was canceled at three of the places he played, and his sal- arv was cut at the other houses. It makes me tired." and Corks reached for his second seidl. The Olymphiers, three, in has relief*, are due to open in town on Octol>er 3, next. Dave I.''wis opens at Reading on the Sth. The act will be Called "The Merry Maker*" having five jwople.