The New York Clipper (April 1916)

to THE NEW YORK CLIPPER April 2t PALACE. Bum F. Bocebs, Mas. A.wonderful show, and one of the best of the season, Is being* shown here for Holy Week* The audience was one of the largest of the year, the 8. B. O. sign being displayed early. The Three Da For Bros, started the bill off In great shape. Here Is a trio of dancers who hare it on many similar acts for originality in their work. They haven't any singing voices to speak of, but get away with good results singing several •ones. I'm at Your Service, Girls" was easily their best song. They look neat, and make several changes of costume. The Beatrice Morelle's Grand Opera Sextette, playing their first, engagement at this house. scored heavily. The ladles came from the sma'l time. Where they were & feature act for some time. The stage setting and costumes alone are well worth seeing. A repertoire of operatic and popular •elections, led by the different members, lime. Louise Arnolds featuring, were splendidly pat over. "She's the Daughter of Mother Macbree" and 'They Didn't Believe Me" were the principal popu- lar songs. A violin solo was also given by Grace Livingston with good results. The act la classy and shows up excellently. George McKay and Ottle Ardine, with almost the same performance as when they last appeared here, went along with the headllnera. McKay takes many liberties with the audience and gets away with It in good shape. His comedy Is wholesome and is always sure-fire. Miss Ardine In her toe dan- cing, as usual, showed to good advantage. The up- to-date dancing used as a finale rather surprised the audience, as both are very capable. Claire Rochester took the place of Nan Halperln and scored one of the hits of the program. The audience couldn't seem to get enough of her. She appears to better advantage in a new costume. She was In fine voice, and she artistically* ren- dered about six songs. Her songs included. "Whafs the Use of Going Home," "Last Night Was the End of the ■World" and "Are You Half the Man Your Mother Thought You'd Be," the last one going over for a big hit Mildred Macomber, assisted by Willard Foote, the Snss Girls and a company of diving Venuses, were big features in "Holiday's Dream," the pan- tomiml'? dancing spectacle. Several new dancing numbers have been added since its last appearance here and the results in consequence were larger. Opening Intermission. Alderman Francis P. Bent gave a topical line of talk about Mexico, wftii colored slides. He Injects a little comedy into his talk and and his witty remarks pleased. Florence Nash and her clever little company ? resented the successful one act playlet, "Pansy's 'articular Punch." Miss Nash showed to good advantage in the role of a tough girl. The sketch Is entertaining and interesting, and holds atten- tion from start to finish. Her supporting company was good, and included William A. Norton, Eva Condon and Harold West. Eva Tangnay was the real headllner and, as usual in this house, walked away with- the bill. With the single exception of one new song, her repertoire is the same as when she appeared here a few months ago. Eva seems to have toned down considerably lately, a change that is most beneficial to her performance. Of course, she had to give her famous "I Don't Care" number, and then had to make * short speech to get away. •T-A-N-Q-TJ-A-Y" itUl remains her best song. Her other numbers Included: "Booster and Knocker," "Specialty,'- "I'm Here to Stay" and "Foolish Children. Her costumes were up to the usual standard, the one ot white tights and spangles causing considerable comment. To follow Eva Is no cinch, but Jack Wilson, who refused to open intermission, chose this posi- tion, and the way they stuck showed that be knows how he stands with theatregoers. Jack was purely and simply a knockout. His comedy Is better, and the way he puts it over stamps him as one of the leading comedians of the day. He found plenty of opportunity for comedy on the bill, and gave Alderman Bent much attention. He Is assisted by Frank Hurst and Lillian Boardman, two splendid singers. Hurst proves himself a good feed, and capably renders a song called "I Love Yon," with excellent results. The real song bit of the act Is railed "Sweet Adair," budk by Hunt and Miss Boardman. The young lady has a remarkably fine high soprano voice, and makes a fine appearance. Jack sings a parody on "World Behind" that brought laughs galore. It'9 the best act he has ever had. Jock. COLONIAL. At,. Darling. Mgb. Holy Week and one of the best bills of the sea- son ! That's the condition at the Colonial this week and, peculiar to say, another strange thing was quite evident Monday night- There was a full house on hand which responded nobly to the efforts of the various entertainers as far as applause was concerned. As a role this particular week is Just about the worst in the entire theatrical season, but the good bill drew them In, which serves to show that there are exceptions to every rule. Vasco the musician who plays so exceedingly well on reed instruments, and qnlte the reverse on the brasses, opened snd went over in great shape. His versatility was duly appreciated by the regulars. Why Vasco essays to inject comedy into an excellent musical turn is a mystery. He is really a clever artist, but his comic Inanities detract consderably from an otberwse highly en- tertaining act. Ed Warren and Dili Templeton, two young chaps who wear dress suits and top hats quite dis- tinctively, while performing the most intricate dan- cing steps seasoned with a dash of agile ground rambling, made friends quickly with the audi- ence, and contributed sn enjoyable fifteen minutes. The tall youth Is a nifty stepper, and bis part- ner shows real ability likewise, Jiot only in the dancing division, but also as a good light come- dian. They were a hit. Dottle King and eight girls offered their ballet divertissement next. Miss King Is a competent too dancer and the girls appear to advantage in three or four ensemble numbers. The best liked dance seemed to be the Gypsy Tarantella. After such an avalanche of society dancers, tangoists and the variegated assortment of trotters seen hereabouts for the past two seasons, the ballet divertissement proved a genuine relief in the way of a novel terpslchorean effort. Muriel Window is a little girl with a bright future. She is more than that, for Muriel is that rara avis, a genuinely fanny woman. Her songs are all well delivered with an inborn sense of true comedy values, asd her stage presence Is marked for an entire absence of consciousness or straining for effect. Muriel has the repose of the true artiste, and her singing of the "Peacock" song, with its naughty little momentary s ugg es ti on of profanity, is worth going miles to see. Her four costume changes are both attractive and; wha"» more Important, speedily made. Dorothy Hegel and company presented The Girl at the Cigar Counter," and pleased mightily ht the nrst part closing position. The act. as it is now played is in much better shape -and far more entertaining than earlier in the season. Miss Kegel herself has developed* Into a legitimate comedienne of ability, and John Dougherty, Arthur De Lord and Marjorie Campbell all play with ease a proper conception of the char- acters they respectively interpret. After intermission Carlyle C. Bomer, in a classy musical and singing offering, more than made good. (See New Acts.) Hunting and Francis, utilizing a Slight sktt structure, called "Love Blossoms/' as a medium for the exploitation of their well developed sing- ing, dancing and comedy talents. Just suited the Colonlalltes. Tony Hunting is an unctuous come- dian with a quiet method, but nevertheless effec- tive manner of placing his points. He is also a dandy little dancer. Miss Francis makes a fine appearance, and sings, talks and acts as If she enjoys what She Is doing Just as much as the andlence which, on. applause returns; was surely quite some. Irene Franklin, aptly named by Percy Williams several years ago the "Queen of the American Vaudeville," is a remarkable woman bt several ways. To begin with, she sings her character songs In a way that can only be described as In- imitable. Additionally she possesses a sweet sym- pathetic voice, a descriptive method of rendering a comic number second to none in any line of etage endeavor, and a presence that simply exudes personality. Among her newer songs. "T?»e Old Maid's Home," "The Cash Girl" and "The Million- aire's Son," are three that will stand comparison lyrically with anything. Burton Green assisted. Dare Bros., two athletic chaps, costumed a ht Roman, as the closing number of a very enjoy- able vaudeville show, offered a first class routine of hand to hand feats. An act good enough for any MIL Hex. AMERICAN. Ch as. Potsdam. Mob. Monday afternoon, April 17, although beginning of Holy weak a crowded house and a food show. James and Bonnie Thornton were the nit of the bill, and drew them, in. June and Irene Meloa (two girls), a musical act. They used xylophones and bottles, out of which they got good music. These two girls have a good opening act and look good. Took two bows. Boebson and Fuller (man and woman), a neat act in one. Good line of talk and a fine routine of numbers. Woman made two changes of gowns and looked good. A piece of business with green mat, representing grass, took the place of a bench, tbev both sat on the floor and did a double number with dance which got them two bows. - Bobble Van Horn made his entrance in full dress suit, high hat and cane; piano on stage. In one. He can sing a number welL Opened with: "Dengota Strain," which was well put over. He did some talk, sang a high class ballad. "As Long As the Stars Shine," well rendered. Played the piano with one arm and nose. Did a tag at piano as played by a colored man. Closed with ballad, "The Letter That Never Beached Home," to three bows. Cole and Denhay (man and woman) danced their way Into four bows. Harvey De Vora Trio (two men and woman) come back with same act, in one, all brightened up and new costumes. They all make up; that Is, the boy blacks up. man and woman use tan. Their routine of songs and dances is sure-fire. This act is full of pep and works all the time. Miss De Vora looked pretty In costumes; her single toe dancing is done with style and grace. Harvey, in orange colored suit, looked classy, and the new dog in act did his singing bit to applause, and at finish the act took four bows. Julia Nash and company (two men and two women), a well played sketch, took three curtains. (See New Acts.) Kelly and Fern (man and woman) presented a classy singing and talking act hi one They have a good routine of numbers. The ballad, "Mem- ories," was sung by Miss Fern, while she played organ, and was well applauded. Their closing number brought them back for two bows. James snd Bonnie Thornton did twenty-four minutes, and were one of the biggest hits ever at this house. Their reception was a minute long. Bonnie wore two beautiful gowns which caused talk among tile women folks oat front. She opened with "Little Annie Boaney," in which she was joined by the audience. Jim then mono- logued: the laughs were plenty, and for a finish sang his eong nits of years ago, which brought them back for seven bows and a speech, also a bouquet for Bonnie. Elsie White, on ninth at five o'clock, following Jhn and Bonnie Thornton sang five songs and made good Here is a little Mies who will be heard from shortly. She can put a number over and is an artist. Her opening number. "Prepare for the Summertime," started her elf weiL A Yid- dish song was wall rendered; an Irish, soot; "I Want to Go Back to Oregon," was well applauded. ••Blinky Wlnky Chinatown." put over by this girl, is a classic. Her closing number, ''Wake Dp, America," brought her back for five bows. Braggar Bros-, comedy horizontal bar act, did several novel feats to'close the show, and held them in. They took one bow. Sob*. -— r CITY. Sam Farxi>, Max. A fairly good vaudeville program la being shown here this week, with the usual motion picture' fea- tures sandwiched In. The Emelie Sisters, performing on the trapeze, ooened the show and showed same very capable stunts. Both make a fine appearance and go about their work with ease and grace, ffitHhtey to sev- eral bows. Eddie DowHng. in a "wop" character tells stories and does several Impersonations, with fair results. Why DowHng does his work as as Italian Is a mystery, he would do much better working straight. His talk about the conflict in Europe Is ell wrong, and should be eliminated at once. The mixed audience at this house took exception to it on several occasions. He does the old "Boss" story T^ry welL Bertie and Eddie Conrad, la songs, piano play- ing and impersonations, scored big. The man docs very near all the work, giving Caper son at km s of Eddie Foy and David Warn eld as to how they would sing certain songs. The young woman has a pretty good singing voice, and capably renders a song. She should do more work. They close In a double, giving an Imitation of Montgomery and Stone. A better routine and more up-to-date songs should be sought at once. Fenton and Greene, with a burlesque magical and eccentric dancing, scored the hit of the bill. The boys work well together, one being an excel- lent feed for the other. The man that dances Is an artist, and execotes an eccentric dance that brought him excellent returns. Lewis, Belmont and Lewis, In a mixture of com- edy, singing end dancing, went over nicely The young woman has a dandy voice, bot lack of work hurt the act greatly. The comedy supplied by one of the men brought many laughs. A splendid act for this time. Jessie Mae Hall and company, In a sketch that ?,! sii y >e „*' The Waif," or "Patsy," was well liked. Miss Hall, as the waif, gave an artistic perform- ance, assisted by her two male partners. The f'laylet is well written, and proved interesting rom start to finish. Those two colored comedians. Cooper and Smith, found It rather hard going. The songs are good, but the boys are handicapped by a poor line of talk. "The Porter" was their best number and was put over In good shape. Leplnsky's dogs- that have played all the big circuit, and recently went over on this time closed. The act is about the best of Its kind ap- pearin iT^J n . vaudeville, and the large audience showed their approval by hearty applause. Jack. FIFTH AVENUE. Wh. Qr/Atn, lias. ^. 0w J?f to Qjpejand, Draper and company leaving S!?,,.*" 1 ^, *i ter tt * matinee performance Monday, " 4"?JX eBt J oa waa an added starter In the evening. and with due regard for the ability of the first named act. the program suffered not a whit by the substitution of Weston, as was evidenced by the manner in which he was received by those u» at- tendance. .j.T 116 ?S. W - * 9 f,' who le. proved a pleasing one, although the usual large number of "Monday night- era ' was not present, doubtless because of Holy Week. * Judge and Gaile a team of ring performers. opened to fair results. The routine employed br both embraced no "out of the ordinary" tests, but the pretty figure of the female member ana the clean-cut methods of the male helped to put the turn over. *^ " ft,J& n ? er .J? r ? 9 " to ^tolkJns- specialty, stepped forth in what resembled a possible "clean-np.^but lapsed In their efforts and failed to come up to expectations. The comedian in tramp make-up was humorously fanny and registered his points in a likeable manner, but the material used waa un- worthy of his efforts. r>orothy Granville, assisted by Jack Arnold ex- hibited a neat little offering that was received warmly and attentively. Miss Granville's articu- lation was reminiscent of Bay Cox, formerly «t the •Two-a-day," in that she uses the same pleaa- lug Intonation and rounding of words. Each song story delivered by this young lady gave evidence of having been rehearsed in the minutest detail. The accompanying talk was as bright as the much abused "sapollo." In short, the act in its entirety Was an example of "up-to-dateness" sad-splendid entertainment combined with ability. It is not our intention to slight Mr. Arnold, as he blended into the picture in an agreeable-manner. Following an interesting topical weekly Msoet Burke appeared and "reejy" sang "Mother's Kosary." Victor Morley and company. In "A Regular Army Man," provided much amassment and good staging. Morley has a capable company, and the harmony of the soldiers was pleasing to ~The ear. One expected a solo from the lone female as a relief from the male voices, but it waa not forth- coming. We do not intend to convey by this that the male singers were tiresome, fiar be it from such. The comedy situations in which Morley figured were well handled, and the action was not allowed to drag daring the time consumed by tne offering. Built for entertaining, the act served well the purpose. Willie Weston, with Maurice Abrahams at the piano, carried sway the first honors of the show, and scored a man's slxed btfc It does not seem so long ago since the versatile Willie, with less dig- n.ty, pranced about in imitations of Georgle Cohan, the late Cliff Gordon and numerous' others in the