Variety (December 1907)

VARIETY .23 IN CHICAGO Thos. J. Quigley at Sherman House. JBROMB AND SC H Y/V A R T Z ' & IRISH SON . • MISS KiLLARNEY Intr< Released! IN CHICAGO Thos. J. Quigley at Sherman House. 1 i ramoui Artistes mm JOSEPHINE fABKL tnd FLO ADLER Claire Romalne's Big: Song:-Hit Ive Got a Spooney-ooney Feeling • FOR VAUDEVILLE ii YQUJ^ ACT NEEDS STRENGTHENING call or write at once We have NEW SONGS for you of every kind 0m* li >PALLADS, COMIC* MARCH, WALTZ, ENGLISH, IRISH. DUTCH, ETC.) FRANCIS, DAV Sc HUNTER 15 w - 3QtH g*a New YorkL COMIC SONGS and PARODIES WRITTEN TO ORDER Bv HARRY DILLON of the DILLON BEOS. Add™. CORTLAND, N. Y. BOSTON By ERNE8T L. WAITT. VARIETY Office, 278A Tremont Street. ORPHBUM (8. A. Mowry, mgr.).—Hal Dgvia' auto-racing sketch "A Race for a Wife" la de- eervedly headlined here this week, and lta finish la a whirlwind—the moat exciting ever aeen on this atage. The town la still talking about It. Elsie Rldgley and Messrs. Powell and Davis are excellent actors. The Ellnure Slaters hare their great talkfeat called "The Actress and the lfald," which takes well. Joe Maxwell and Company in "A Night In a Police Station" hare a pretty good farce, not as "roaring" as the program in- dicates. Their ainging la good. The Schenck Brothers, back after three years abroad, are re- markable, and have new hand balancing. Netta Vesta made good from the start. Her voice la aweet and she Is dalntlneses personified. If you like "Dutch." Raymond and Caverly spill It out In good abape and get laugha. Byers and Her- mann have a wlerd aketch that Is full of the un- expected and geta aeveral curtain calls. "The Dixie Serenader*," colored singers, have a very good act with plenty of dancing. Goldsmith and Hoppe have a comedy muslcsl act that deserves praise not only for Its Interest bnt for the fact that It la clean and wholesome. The Orpheum came out thia week with a passionate-covered program quite unique. Monday evenlng'a per- formance was a benefit one for the Knights of Columbus. Business big. TREMONT (J. B. Scboeffel, mgr.).— Trlxle Frl- gansa headlined this week, and there are two other acta which have been seen here very recent- ly, so there la little novelty to the bill. Miss Frlgansa waa well liked, especially In her "Quiet Lady" aong. Clnquevalli returned with one or two new tricks at the finish and went atrong, while Maud Hall -Mscy revived her "Bowery Girl" act to good applause. The Georgettys were the really big new act on the bill, the work of the boy being marvelous. He ought to be featured. He does all the work, the others being merely feeders. Jack Norworth la the same "wise old owl," with good "locals," but It might be In bet- ter taste if be cut out hla "jolly" on K. A E. Captain Winston's ses lions are a good act, espe- cially where the seal rides the horse and twirls a fire-brand. Radle Furman came on to a very cold bouse, but warmed them up a little. Her act is characterised more by its noise than Its art, and if she enunciated a little better it would be. Improved. Alice and Henry Taylor, In sharp- shooting and equlllbrlstle stunts, open the bill. The woman's aharpshootlng Is excellent, and the man has some new tricks In balancing. Business fair. KEITH'S (H. D. Dunee, mgr.).—Marie Lloyd can have anything she wants at Keith's, for she made one of the biggest personal hits ever scored there. With an emasculated repertory—toned down to the Keith standard—she has been stand- ing 'em up . this week. Her costumes are the most beautiful ever worn here by an actress, and she has been allowed to keep Just enough spice In her business to tickle the male sex. She remains over another week. James J. Morton Is second In favor, with some new stuff that brings loud screams. The Macarte Sisters In a unique and unusuallv Interesting act. make friends Im- mediately. They play guitars, dance unusually gracefully and then on the trapetc and slack wire do an act that brings great applause. Agn»s Scott and Horace Wright have a distinct novelty In a aketch that combines fairly good singing by the man and a mighty good bit of acting by the woman. It la called "The Wall Between" and deserve- success. It interests everybody. 3d. F. Reynard revlvea hla ventrlloqulal village with good effect, and Work and Ower return with their clever acrobatic act lq "one." Chris Bruno and Mabel Russell have a pretty good aketch, but Miss Russell ought to refrain from pronouncing Influence as "infloo-ence," and a lot of other words in similar style. It hurts the act. Dixon Brothers, musical clowns, do unusually well and ought to have had better position on the bill. "Our Boys in Blue" have a military drill and sham battle act that la a winner, and the finale Is atartllngly realistic. The Meredith Slstera re- turn, and show good Judgment to revive tbeir "I'm Sorry" song. Their opening number Is new. In new gowns, and the whole act goea atrong. Kennard Brothers, comedy gymnasts; Bailey and Fletcher, ragttmera; Sam Brooks and Rose Jean- ette In "On the Main Street," and Lowell B. Drew (New Acta) complete the bill. Business excellent. HOWARD (Jay Hunt, mgr.).—"High School Girls" with Matt Kennedy as high card. Malda Dupree and Jeanette Young head the line of girls. The show Is bright, snappy and pretty clean. In the olio are Sutton and Sutton In "The Rube and the Living Pumpkin," Robert Athon, Malda Dupree and Jeanette Young In- "A Night Out." "The Big Four Quartet," and the Three Wlora Sisters. The Howard'a own olio Includes Deltorelli and Gllssandre, mualcal clowns; Collins and Hawley, singing and dancing act; The Hurleys, acrobats; Alexander and Finn, In "The Rivals"; Louis Guertln. jumper; Kelly and Bertha, comedians; Henry T. Walte, trick violinist, and John J. Sbeehan, monologlst. Busi- ness good. PHILADELPHIA By GEORGE M. YOUNG. KEITH'S (H. T. Jordan, mgr.).—There haa been considerable money waated on this week's show. It looks costly on paper, but doea not prove Its worth on the atage. Ethel Levy la one of the "big name" acts on the bill. When Miss Levy returned to vaudeville she proved one of the best of the single singing sets seen, but she has retrograded and this week fell far short of living up to ber reputation. Her songs are not attractive, although skilfully handled. The plano- logue number is not what ia expected of her by those who remember her bright and catchy songs and her sprighly and graceful dancing. Will- iam Courtlelgh and Company again preaented "Peaches," the Hobart comedy playlet which de- serves to be ranked among the best ever shown In vaudeville. Another "racy" aketch waa Ed- ward Clark and his "Six Winning Widows." Clark has made several changes for the better. The girls make a nice appearance and are helped considerably by unusually attractive costuming. Clark gained recognition for his "piker" story and the "kissing number" proved a hit. The Kemps showed a new series of pictures In their "Tales of the Wild," very entertaining. Lulgl Rossi and the horse "Emir" proved a good card. Willie nale was among the early offerings. This Is a good act poorly handled. Hale does clever stunts on the rolling sphere and there Is a boy who adds a bit of music, finishing alone in "one." Considerable time Is allowed the youngster, which If deserved, should be made part of the act in the billing as well as In showing. A first-rate act could be made of It. It needs cutting and priming. Harrlgan, the Juggler, was seen for the first time In a long while at this house. His juggling Is the same as ever, and once he was funny. Friend and Downing made a good im- pression with familiar material, as did Inness and Ryan. De Chaunt, equilibrist; Slater and Will- lams, colored act; Max Duffek. contortionist, re- placed La Maze Brothers, who failed to appear: and Ocnaro's Band anil TTrhanl. two of the big hits of last week's bill, were held over and re- peated their success, made up the remainder of the bill. Business remarkably good following Thanksgiving week. lllll.V INSERT AFTER KEITH. FORREST (Dan Flshell. mgr.). Suzanne Adams, who won laurels some four years ago When a member of the Metropolitan Opera Com- piitiv. Chief attraction this week. Madame Adams offered meagre opportunity for Judgment as to the present brilliancy of her voice, for she sang only simple selections which rarely fail to meet with warm approval. "Annie l.anrle." '•Home Sweet Home" and "Coming Thro' the Rye'* were three of these and with them she pleased undoubtedly. The Waltbour Troupe, cy- clists (New Acts), was the only other unfamiliar to the- regular patrol.. Karno'a "Night In An English Music Hall" proved one of the beat liked, being presented with the usual cleverness of the troupe of English pantomimlsts headed by Blllle Peeves. The Three Yoscsrys repested their com- edy acrobatics, and Collins and Hart held down their usual spot, closing the bill In good shape. Eva Mudge pleased with her character change spe- cialty. Johnny Johns went through nicely with his singing. The Quigley Brothers who were here about four weeks ago, were back again. The dancing finish is still the best part of the act. BIJOU (Lewis H. Baker, mgr.).—The value of suggest I veneaa In burlesque and a comedian's repu- tation for ualng It probably played no unimportant part In drawing crowded houses at thla houae thla week, where Watson's Burlesquers, with W. B. Watson at the head la the attraction. Watson no doubt got the big share of the money among the four burlesque houses this week and that la quite an Item with "The Behman Show" In town. For hla vehicle this season Watson ia using a revised version of "Krousemeyer's Alley," which he used shout ten yeara ago. There re- mains much of the rough-house comedy Indulged in by Watson and Williams yeara ago. The characters remain about the same except that Mrs. Krousemeyer does not appear until the last scene. Watson has practically done away with principal women, though "Kitty," which role waa first played by Jeanette Dupree and later by Agnea Behler, la still In evidence, and a couple of the chorua women are given a chance to "act out" as foils for the comedians. Watson Is work- ing harder than for seversl seasons and the show la reaping the benefit, for Watson Is a comedian who gets Isugbs, though it Is mainly through the channel of suggestiveness. But while some pretty strong dialogue is used there Is no "dirty business" In the show, and the lines as handled by Watson get by In better shape than much of the same class of material handed over the footlights by less clever comedians. Comedy situations and musical numbers are nicely blended and the show moves at a good pace throughout. There are seversl other men In the company but they have little to do, except Frank Bambard who acts as chief foil for Watson. It Is the first time I remember Bambard attempting an Irish role, but he does well with It, though he does not keep up to the psce set by Watson. There is a good bit of time wasted between the two in throwing "brickbats" and "dead cats" across the "alley." William L. Swan la the only other male who baa any chance to ahow prominently and then It la only In a minor role, the others being confined to a sort of a "Heir- to-the-Hurrah" finish where they appear as cow- punchers st a christening, though there seems no good reason why they should be there. The Mll- lershlp Sisters are much In evidence. Florrle handles the psrt of "Kitty" cleverly snd the two sdd lots of life snd ginger to the big chorus. And when the word "big" Is used, It goes double, and takes in the line from end to end. Wataon must have a corner on big women. It always was a strong point with him and he is keeping up old memories, for there are sixteen In the com- pany. Half take up enough room to count for twice their number. But It Is a first class cborus, all good workers and averaging well up as to looks and figure. One chief point In their favor is their appearance. This show has been out since August and the costumes look almost as If they had Just come from the makers, some- thing too rarely seen In burlesque show. There are tights, plenty of them, and plenty to fill them, and after two or three tasty costumes in the dress line are shown, there are more tights. All the numbers are well put on and the singing Is above the average. A Frenchy costume of black and pink used in the double sextet number attracts special attention. Watson Is doing the old "Salvation Army" number with the chorus women telling their experiences, and the limit is almost reached here, but at that It Is not so bad as seen In another show earlier this season. The numbers Introduced In a singing ensemble pre- ceding the "Christening" scored a hit, being well presented by Maxle Cook, Alice Gilbert and the Mlllershlp Sisters, though the program is not followed} Frank Eagan sings a ballad here which won him a deserved encore. Bonnie Whitman and Bertha Fields are the pair who get to be nearly-prlnclpals. and Minnie Remington has her name In the cast and draws distinction through her gray wig. Watson Is not stingy with the real brer freely distributed at the christening, bnt It will go hard with the piano player If the property man ever rings In "tea." There are only throe specialties. The Mlllershlp Sisters dance cleverly and win the honors. Swan and "SWELL CLOTHES" LOUIS NAMETY SUITE 618-1«7 DEARBOBJf STREET Chicago's Official Theatrical Tailor Makes and aatisflea more PROFESSIONALS than any OTHER Tailor west of New York. I do my own designing; perhapa yam will Ilk* my style, exclusive. Patterns and workmanship only tho best. HOPKINS', LOUISVILLE, DEC. t. MAURICE DOWNEY as "McQuIiV la "The Doings of Ht, Louder." CONN. DOWNEY and WILLARD Bambard repeat their familiar comedy acrobatic* and the Bijou Trio sing well, but Inflict some old jokes. Watson reports big business along the line, and for the pure dyed-ln-tbe-wool burlesque patron. It Is a tip-top show. NOTES.—"Army snd Nsvy" Night at Keith's last Friday marked one of the biggest features ever offered at this house, and capacity buslneea- was enjoyed throughout the day.—Charles Fleiach- man. stage manager at Keith's, has been at home 111 for almost two weeks, and Manager Harry T. Jordan has been doubling bis duties with excel- lent results.—Chester D'Amon, the tbaumaturglst, scored the biggest hit of any act that haa yet played the new Nash Hodgson bouse In Camden, N. J., and record-breaking business hss been the result.—Harry Argyle, manager of "Watson's Burlesquers," Is walking on crutches as the result of a street-car accident last week In Baltimore.— Frank Bambard'a family Is In mourning for a pet poodle which invaded Chinatown, and tried to» block a wagon. ARKANSAS CITY; N KAN. FIFTH AVENl'E (Merrltt Jefferles, mgr.).— Week 25: Crawford Brothers, musical-, good, most of Jokes old; Yale's •'Devils Auction." sing- ing received good applause, dancing fair, talk all very good; Tim Murphy (two men and a> girl); exceptionally fine bill. II. S. COLLINSON. ATLANTA. GA. ORI»HF.l*M (Ben Nairn, mgr.).—Bean and Hamilton, barrel Jumpers, success; Hanford and* Mantel], lingers and parodists, fair; Grace Leon- ard, songs, scored; Van Bros., comedy musicians, were enthusiastIcaM? received; Clark and Brad- ley, lister act, went big; ('has. Kenna, the* 'When nuHucrina advertisements kindlu mention Variety.