The New York Clipper (May 1917)

May 2, 1917 THE NEW YORK CLIPPER HUNT AND DE MANBY Theatre— Eighty-first Street. Style^— Singing. Time— Seventeen minutes. Setting— Special in two. Ida Brooks Hunt, at ope time prima donna of "The Chocolate Soldier," and Alfred de Manby, assisted by George Halperia at the piano, present a ciasBi- cal repertoire of songs. The entire repertoire of songs used by the couple, with the exception of "Com- ing Thro' the Rye," are well rendered. That number was rendered without much spirit. Halperia is probably one of the best piano accompanists with any vaudeville act Too little time, however, is allowed him in the act to display bis talents as a soloist. He has jnat one number. If Miss Hunt were to eliminate "Coming Thro' the Rye" and would allow Hal- perin to substitute a piano solo in its place tie value of the act would be ma- terially Increased. The rendition of "Come Back to Mandalay" by de Manby seemed to be taken by the audience as the best number of the act for he was re-called four times at the Wednesday afternoon performance. Taking the act, as it is at present con- strued, it is just .an acceptable turn for the two-a-day house. A. U. NEW (Continued ACTS 23) 1 PROF. ALBERT NECKELSONN Theatre— Proctor'* Txcenty-thiri St. Style— Magic. Time— Fifteen minute*. Setting—Fun ttage tpeoiat Prof. Neckeisonn's material in this turn is that used by magicians and the entire routine is neatly executed. It consists of producing doves and rabbits from an empty bowl, sleight of hand work with playing cards, changing colors of flags, producing coins from the air and dropping them into a hat. This latter stunt is worked in the audience, with Neckelsonn extracting the coins from the hair and other' parts of persons in the audience. He also extracts candy and clocks from the empty hat. His con- cluding stunt is to produce mounted flags from two small strips of cloth. The act is a pleasing one and will find bookings readily. A. TJ. KANE AND HERMAN Theatre— Colonial. Style— Musical skit. Time— Ten minutes. Setting— Special. The act is done in one, the drop rep- resenting the skyline of New York as seen from Jersey, which is rather at- tractive. Eddie Kane and Jay Herman style their turn "A Ragtime Cocktail." The patter is only fair, both assum- ing souse roles. Here and there in the act are sprinkled several song numbers, sung passably, the one about the rag- time cocktail being by far the best. These boys spoil several of their gags by telling the audience too much. For instance, one fellow asks the other not to hold a match too near his nose be- cause his nose is full of alcohol. There is' the punch, but, instead of stopping, he goes on to say that it might explode. Another instance is as follows: (Kane) "I want to ask you a favor." (Herman) "How much do you want I" Again the punch has been delivered, but Herman goes on to ask his partner if he is financially embarrassed. These are but two instances of many, and if this team would carefully go over their act and give more study as to how and when to land the punch in each gag, they would be surprised to notice tiie difference in laughs they would re- ceive in response. As it stands, the act gets by. H. 0. THE SUFFRAGETTE REVIEW Theatre— Avenue, Chicago. Style— Musical Tabloid. Time—One hour, fifteen minutes. Setting—Special, full. This offering bears testimony to the fact that the producers made sure of their material as well as of the people interpreting it. However, good plot and comedy dia- logue are more than counterbalanced, in spots, by "melody de luxe." Flo Bert got tremendous applause when she in- terpolated two popular songs, forcing four male principals to check their dia- logue, while she responded to encores. She is easily the "big reason" with the show. Bobby Bernard comes in for his share of laughs in the role of the bogus baron, who is schooled by his bosom friend, Con Connors, to pose as the inventor of a love elixir which captivates the leader of the suffragettes and causes no end of mix-up. Gertrude Madge, as master of ceremonies, vies with Miss Bert for first honors, at times. James Guilfoyle makes an ideal "con" man. Walter Brazee and Jack Sparke received much applause through- out. Plots appertaining to "fake" noble- men, phoney princesses and love elixirs are always acceptable, when done in a new way. This presentation is a good example of the "new way." The action takes place on the roof-garden of a Metropolitan hotel. C. N. SAM BERNARD Theatre— Palace. Style—Comedian. Time— Eighteen minute*. Setting— In one. Sam Bernard returns to vaudeville with practically everything he used be- fore excepting a new finishing stunt. He opens with a line of talk in which he uses the leader of the orchestra to feed him his gags, and, at the opening, the leader inquires if Bernard speaks various foreign languages. When it gets down to the question whether Ber- nard, with his dialect, speaks German, Bernard replies "not lately." Bernard has the same way of deliv- ering his material, making his feet, In the form of slide steps, emphasize the points of his gaga. As a finishing stunt he announces he will endeavor to im- personate J. W. Wallack playing "Fagin, the Jew" in "Oliver Twist," an imper- sonation he has not done for twenty- five years. Being of the younger generation it made little difference to the writer as to how he read his lines, acted, or looked, but the fall at the finish Monday afternoon was great. S. L. H. THE GREAT M ANKICHI & CO. Theatre— Royal. Style— Japanete novelty. Time— Eleven minute*. Setting—Special. There are three Japanese in this act, two men and a woman. They work in a special Japanese setting in which a bright red color predominates. The first stunt is performed by Man- bichi. It consists of balancing a parasol in various ways, with his feet. It is almost identical to the opening stunt of the Five Kitamuras and, therefore, ceases to be a novelty to one who has seen the quintette, although Mankichi does some very skillful work. The second stunt also smacks of the Kitamuras. Much of the same business is used in balancing a barrel, with his feet. The last portion of the act is devoted to the balancing of metal tops, which eeern to spin at a great rate of speed. The last time these tops are spun they are thrown upwards, releasing from above a quantity of American flags so that the act ends in a grand hurrah. The turn is a very passable closer. H. G. LEWIS & FEIBER Theatre— A Romero. Style— Comedy Skit. Time— Thirteen minute*. Setting— In one and two. With enough of a story to sustain the interest, and with catchy musical num- bers interspersed, Mabelle Lewis and Jess Felber present their romantic comedy skit, entitled "Ye Motor Inn." The pair have a lot of fun kidding each other, he making her believe that be is an insurance adjuster after she has disclosed to him that ber broken auto- mobile, which cost $500, is insured for $2,000. She makes him believe that she is the daughter of the Judge after he has disclosed to her that he was exceeding the speed limit in the car. An a matter of fact they have both been fibbing, and the act ends with a clever song concern- ing the telling of white lies. Jess Feiber is a cracker-jack pianist nnd accompanies several songs excel- lently. The girl is an entertaining comedienne. H. G. HOWARD & CLARK REVUE Theatre— Palace. Style— Musical Revue. Time— Thirty-five minute*. Setting— Special. Joseph E. Howard and Ethlyn Clark have brought a two-dollar flash act to Broadway which vaudeville can well af- ford to welcome with open arms. The idea is a setting of four different scenes, all introduced by a comely look- ing young woman, who describes what is going to take place and who reads her lines splendidly. The settings, themselves, bespeak good taste and up- to-the-minute style. A corking good company of singers and dancers num- bering about thirty figure throughout the act. The opening scene gives Howard an opportunity to introduce the various characters at a country club, and he sings four songs, accompanied by a quartette and Miss Clark, at different times. The next introduces some colored peo- ple in a noiay demonstration of singing and dancing in a levee scene. This scene is splendidly handled and full of pep. The next shifts to Chinatown, and in- troduces several Chinese songs and Miss Clark in a Chinese number, in which she shows a beautiful Chinese costume. Howard here sings his "pipe" song with big results. The finish shows a lotus forest and introduces some splendid dialogue be- tween MJsa Clark and Howard, and alio a patriotic number, which gives the en- tire company a chance to show its full strength. It also brings out a cute love song between Miss Clark and Howard, which is further enhanced by a rain ef- fect in which two black-face comedians allow the water to wash off the burnt cork. The act is a speedy affair, splendidly dressed and set and done in a showman- like manner that deserves headline bill- ing everywhere. Howard, at last, has put over a big-sized winner. S. L. H. MOSS MUST PAY DAMAGES According to a decision banded down last week by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, B. S. Moss will have to pay Mrs. Minnie Stamp $500 damages for injuries received when Mme. Andre's lions stampeded in the Eighty-sixth Street The- atre, of which be .was owner and manager at the time. The woman claimed her knee was injured in the panic and sued for $5,000. She was awarded $500. At- torneys for B. C. Moss appealed the order, which was affirmed with costs. PANIC AVERTED BY MANAGER A panic was narrowly averted last Fri- day evening by William H. Quaid. man- ager of Proctor's Fifth Avenue Theatre, who discovered a blaze within thirty feet of his theatre and immediately turned in an alarm, ordering his stage crew to as-. sist, after assuring the audience that there was no danger. TERRY S QUIT FOR SEASON Bare, Pa., April 28.—Arthur and Grace Terry closed their season here to-day and to-morrow leave for their ranch near Roy- dale, Alberta, Canada. They will be seen next season with one of the leading bur- lesque shows. WESTERN HOUSES CLOSE IN MAY Chicago, HI., April 30.—With the week of May 14, the U. B. O. houses of the middle west will close their present season and remain dark throughout the summer. MAY AND BILLY EARL Theatre— Proctor'* Twenty-third St. Style— Singing and Talking. Time— Fourteen minute*. Setting—Street. The opening of the turn shows two people meeting on the street with a woman leading a mongrel dog by a leash. This is the foundation for a routine of talk about the animal, which possesses no exceptional quality so far as humor or wit are concerned. The "gags" used have seen service in vaudeville for a consider- able period. Neither does there appear to be anything original in the entire routine of business done by the couple. However, the talk ia presented in a neat manner, which sort of covers np the fact that it is "moss-covered." The woman possesses ability as a comedienne and if she had the proper material could do it a great deal more justice than she does the present routine of "gags." The turn in its present shape is just an ac- ceptable one for an early spot in the neighborhood theatres. A. C LOUIS MANN HAS NEW SKETCH Louis Mann will shortly be seen over the United Time in a new playlet en- titled "The Good for Nothing," written by Samuel Shipman. FRED SPEARE ON UNITED TIME Fred Speare, who has been playing the Loew Circuit in "Everyman's Sister," ia due to open on the United Time early this month at the Albhambra Theatre. BILLY DE VERE Theatre— Folly, Brooklyn. S^yle— Singing. Tiaia-— Ten minutes. Setting—In one. Billy De Vere is a singer of popular and character songs. His first number is a novelty. This is followed by a sing- ing impersonation of Bert Williams. An Irish song about McGinnigan is the third number of his repertoire, and a souse number concludes the turn. The Bert Williams interpretation ia too long and monotonous. Otherwise, the songs are sung in a manner that will please small time audiences. The Irish song is by far De Vere's best. H. G.