Variety (February 1909)

16 VAllIRTY NEW ACTS NEXT WEEK Initial PrsesiUiioa, Flrtt Appearance tr fteappeerano* in or Around Hew York City. ( NEW AGTS Or THE WEEK ) Sam Chip and Mazy Marble, Colonial. Mabel Carew, Keeney's, Brooklyn. Mile. FregoJia, Bayonne. Jack Strockton, New Brurowick. Maurice Hart, New Bmnawick. Burns Sisters, New Brunswick. Blanche Wag. n "••B * 15 Mine,; One, Oaloiriil Coming direct to vaudeville from the Weber ahow, Blanche Ring, who waa the hit of that production, bids fair to dupli- cate her success in the varieties with the eong hit of that organisation. It has ever been a question whether a singer made a song or a song the singer. With Ring and her record of song hits, she seems entitled to any doubt, for Miss Ring did things with "Waltz Me .Around 4 Again, Willie" that the many others who need it never did. "Yip-I-Addy-I-Aye" is the not very inviting i.tle of her latest, but it is just that "Yip" that has made the thing a hit. The audience yelled their heads off on it, and there is also a "Hurrah" in which the house has a chance ^ to work, and they were not a bit back- ward. The song was used as the finish. Five times the singer was forced to repeat it. A couple more times could have teen squeezed in without any forcing. Three numbers were given before "Yip," the first a Scotch selection that either the singer or the orchestra made a bungle of. U is not a particularly good song for Miss Ring, and should be replaced. A novelty number, 'The Billiken Man," came second in popularity, with a few "locals* in the lyrics, and a catchy chorus. A life-size "Billiken" is used and comes to life for a second at the finish. A very pretty "coon" song made up the other of the repertoire. Tuesday evening in one of those wonderful clinging gowns of some soft white material, Miss Ring, who ap- pears to be somewhat slighter than when last seen in vaudeville, never looked better. Da%K De Dio Pony Circus. Animal Act. 13 Mins.; Full Stage. Bijou, Brooklyn. De Dio is a woman. In her little circus she has the foundation of a first-rate small number. The opening is somewhat slow, but the act closes in a whirlwind of laugh- ter, thanks to a man trainer who works the animals through their tricks In all solemnity and then does a series of good comedy falls while playing a game of foot- ball with a pretty collie, the ball being a light toy balloon. The turn is worked in a circus ring, the bank being a sort of elevated track a foot wide and about a foot from the ground. Around this track two dogs are driven in opposite directions, both having dummies mounted on their backs. Each time they meet one of the dogs does a pretty leap over the other, and the speed at which they travel makes this a most effective trick. The opening half could be vastly improved. The feats are worked in rather slipshod manner and are not at all striking or novel. Rush. "Spiritland." Pantomimic Fantasy. 17 Mine.; Full Stage, One and Full Stage (Special Seta and Drops). Greenpoint Even making allowances for the rough- nesses incident to a "break-in" week, there remains a margin of doubt aa to the Vaudeville possibilities of "Spiritland," Louis F. Werba's new spectacle which made its initial appearance at the Green- point Monday last. The producer's in- vestment in costumes and scenery must have been immense. The settings, light- ing effects and costumes are artistic to a degree. The difficulty with the number seems to lie in adequately presenting in pantomime a story which, however beau- tiful in meaning, is much too complex and poetic to be expressed through the medium of dumb action. Pantomime re- quires a simple story that can be told in action and some sort of obvious conflict. This does not develop in "Spiritland" sufficiently. The story has to do with Uncas, the last surviving brave of a war- like tribe of Indians whose legendary cus- tom it was to make war upon its enemies at a certain period of each year. At this time "spirit" Indians appear to summon Uncas to the annual battle. He responds bravely to the call, but his sweetheart, Wa-na-tonda, urges him stay peaceably in his tepee. But the call is too strong and Uncas departs to meet the foes of his dead ancestors. He travels into the hos- tile country, followed by Wa-na-tonda, who hopes still to dissuade him. Finding her mission hopeless she takes poison. Uncas finds her dead, and while he is weeping, soldiers appear and a carbine shot sends him tumbling across the girl's body. As Uncas and Wa-na-tonda, Gertie Moyer and Mae Leslie had several good dances, of a wild sort, but their pantomine was not too clear. Lynn Darcy was the "spirit" Indian chief, and ten girls, all attired as braves, made up the rest of the organization. Ruth. Noodles Fagan. "King of Newsboys." xx Mine.; One. Columbia. Noodles Fagan, "the Champion News- boy of the World," does away with the necessity of digging up new material by giving impersonations of various humor- ists, past and present. James Richmond Glenroy ana Pete Baker were the two best known. While the imitations can hardly be called faultless, still there was enough to recognize the originals. The Baker bit is stretched out beyond all bounds, and grows extremely tiresome. As a finish Noodles shows how the ballyho for Barnum and Bailey's Side Show gets the crowd acoraing. This is very well done. The Champion Newsboy should be a good drawing card for the Columbia. He announces a free lecture at the theatre Saturday morning, with illustrations from his various trips around the world. Be- sides this, Noodles also lectures in several of tlio locnl high schools during the week. Dash. Mr. and Mrs. Edward H. Lucas. "Original Scenes from Dickens." 14 Mins.; One, Three and Five. (Special drop and settings). American. In their first American appearance, Mr. and Mrs. Edward H. Lucas were placed at a disadvantage in the American, now a really truly music hall, with the neces- sary atmosphere, which distinctly decries the serious "sketch." Though the English people present their version or versions of studies from the works of Charles Dickens, it may be classified as a "sketch." On Tuesday evening the turn was "No. 3" on a program commencing at eight o'clock in its actual running time. Position may have had to do with their reception, but almost any spot on the program would have returned them no more. Opening with an announcement, made by Mrs. Lucas in a voice so low that it was with difficulty heard in the lower boxes, they proceeded with two scenes from "Martin Chuzzlewit." The first was "The Court- ship" in "three," followed by "Six Months Later," when the pair were married ("five"). The settings are announced as their own. The parlor or "general room" set looked appropriate. For the lover of Dickens and the artistic appeal of the pro- duction, probably the dress for the char- acters of Jonas Chuzzlewit and Mercy Pecksniff, with the looks of the pair, would appeal more strongly than the play- ings. Mrs. Lucas is a quaint little body, and led by far in the favor of the audi- ence. Mr. Lucas seemed uncertain of his delivery, and was troubled at times with the infliction of his wife in not placing their tones to the reach of the entire house. As the drunken husband, Mr. Lucas gave a performance too maudlin in its state of intoxication to have allowed of the conversation of his wife reaching his befuddled brain, but he caught the im- port, closing the scene by striking her down, at the same moment killing the bare chance of applause, which came as sympathy for the woman rather than for any other reason. Even to present Dick- ens with fidelity, it would be better to omit the brutality. "The Old Curiosity Shop" was programed, but not given. It is questionable whether Mr. and Mrs. Lucas are quite strong enough in Dickens' scenes for this side; also it is a matter of some curiosity where they have played in England to cause the modulation of the voice evidently practiced. Sitne. Bohemian Trio. Musical. 1 a Mins.; One. Columbia. The Bohemian Trio is another one of those street musician things with a violinist, a guitar and mandolin player. The trio have nothing new to offer. They dress like the several others and make music of a similar brand. All three are possessors of excellent voices, and the music is well taken care of. The Columbia audience showed more enthusiasm over the trio than any other act on the pro- gram. Among acts 'in its • class, the Bohemian Trio frames up very well. Dash. Stafford 1 and Stone. "A Hunter's Game 49 (Novelty Sketch). 19 Mins.; Full Stage (Woods). Greenpoint A good deal of skillful stage manage- ment has gone into the construction of "A Hunter's Game." It too often hap- pens when one aims to surround a nar- row specialty with something like a sketch structure that he buries the specialty un- der a vast quantity of sketch. In the large majority of instances he embarrasses himself with reams and reams of dialog. Frank Stafford has escaped this pitfall. His specialty is whistling and imitations, and he pursues that line of effort con- sistently. The sketch is always in evi- dence to support "atmosphere" and give picturesqueness to the stage, but is always in the background while the whistling is prominent. The curtain goes up on an ex- tremely pretty woodland setting. At the back stands a beautiful setter dog in per- fect statue pose, and "pointing" with the rigidity of a carefully trained pup. Staf- ford enters in hunter costume, whistling a catchy air in his flute-like notes. The hunter fires his gun in the trees and con- tinues whistling while the dog retrieves two birds. Everything in this introduc- tion was in the picture and the attention of the audience had been firmly caught, when Stafford came down centre, still in his careless manner and, with orchestral accompaniment, went through a series of bird imitations, worked into "Listen to the Mocking Bird." Imitations of animals, knife grinders, etc., followed, each with a short, crisp announcement. At this point Marie Stone entered, dressed as a "sum- mer girl" and the two had a bit of flirtation in pantomime, Stafford whistling expressively in lieu of talk. This "bit" leads to a song by Miss Stone, a very pretty number. More whistling and the successful climax of the flirtation rounds the sketch out. Opening after the inter- mission at the Greenpoint this week, the act scored an unquestioned hit. It has the essentials of a highly successful num- ber, and its future should be assured. Rush. Maude and Gladys Finney. "The Mermaids" (Swimming). 14 Mins.; Three. Fifth Avenue. Maude and Gladys Finney are giving almost the same routine of aquatic feats as that of The Finneys. Two wood wings are extended from the "No. 2 entrance," leaving just enough space in the centre of the stage for a ten-foot tank, holding about four feet of water. The two girls, dressed in close-fitting blouses, trunks and tights, go through a series of graceful evolutions under water—picking up fifty coins from the floor, showing in pan- tomime a sleeping mermaid, and other like feats. Both girls are of the pink- cheeked, wholesome British type and make a pretty appearance. Midway on the Fifth Avenue bill this week they registered an undoubted hit. Rush. The Misses Cooke and Clinton, shnrp- sliooter.s. 'will continue to play vaudeville engagements while conducting "The St. Kikla," an apartment house in Kew York- City, of which they have been the pro prietors for the past year or more.