The New York Clipper (July 1917)

July 18, 1917 THE NEW YORK CLIPPER ROSE COGHLAN & CO. Theatre— Royal. Style— Playlet. Time— Nineteen minutes. Setting— Parlor. "The Deserter" is a patriotic playlet by Willard Mack and Thomas F. Fal- lon. It adds one more to the steadily increasing list of vaudeville war playlets, bnt is hardly on a plane with some of its predecessors. It is only fairly well written and ■ is certainly not a worthy vehicle for a star with the capabilities of Rose Cogblan. The plot revolves around Bobby Wes- ley, a lad who enlisted in the navy against his mother's wishes. She has written to Washington in an endeavor . to get his release. This action has taken place before the opening of the playlet and before the entrance of the United States into the European conflict. In the playlet itself, the boy returns home, a deserter from the American navy. He blames his mother, in a great measure, for his cowardice, because she had been so out of sympathy with his enlisting. Now she realizes her wrong and sums up the theme of the whole playlet in the sentence: "Every mother hates to see her son go to war—every real mother—but once he's in it, she wants to see her boy fight like a man." After the plot has sufficiently tangled itself, a surprise ending unweaves the complications, for the boy is not really a deserter. He has only been acting the . part to bring his mother around to his point of view. Many of the speeches in the playlet are obviously appeals for applause. They are too dramatic and too studied to convey any sense of realism. The offer- ing is far below the standard of Willard Mack's other playlets, being more like the work of a beginner. The acting in the playlet is good, par- ticularly that of Glen Hunter, in the role of Bobby. Miss Coghlan's lines do not give her sufficient scope to display her unusual talents. Others in the cast are Joseph Mc- Manus, Virginia Wells and Alice Bent- ley. H. G. NEW ACTS (Continued on P&(* 11) DOLLY SISTERS Theatre— Pa lace. Style— Singing and dancing. Time— Twenty minutes. Setting— Special. Opening in "one." with a dainty Sum- mer song, and dressed in summery frocks, the Dolly Sisters sang and danced nicely. The curtain then went up and a blue silk cyelorama drop was shown, with an opening centre where the girls were making changes of wardrobe, assisted by eight colored maids. They next offered an eccentric fox trot, dressed in scintil- lating apparel, which went over to good applause; Then a jazz band of six colored women put over some very spirited music, dressed in the black wearing apparel of maids. A red-headed colored woman will always cause com- ment, but one in this band is evidently a thorough musician, and led the band and played the piano in splendid style. After two short selections, the Dolly Sisters returned, dressed in beautiful green silk creations over silver lace and pink socks, and danced a waltz which finished with a new arrangement of the "Shimme-Sha-Wabble," which they put over with lots of pep. The act is nicely routined as to dances and musical selec- tions, and the novelty was furnished by the* auburn-headed colored girl whose in- dividual efforts certainly stood out. The act is a dandy flash, and classy all the way. After the act, the girls accepted floral gifts and made a short speech. S. L, H. CLIFF DEAN PLAYERS Theatre— City. Style— Comedy sketch, tint—Sixteen minute*. Setting— In three, office interior. Cliff Dean and Flayers, two men and one woman, have a comedy sketch that will not fail to go over on any bill, be- cause it has enough red-blooded action and cleverness of lines to put it across without any trouble. While the plot has been rehashed from stories or sketches, the fact is lost sight of through the bard work of the fiery old man who carries nearly the whole act on bis shoulders, ably sup- ported by the other man and the woman. It tells of the old man disinheriting a son who does not appear, and of the office secretary making false entries in the books in order to send cash to the son that he may speculate in oil. The old man's daughter works in his office also, and is in love with the secretary. The rest is easily suspected, and when the oil speculations bear fruit, everything ends happily. L. F. GARDEN BELLES Theatre— Proctor's 125th Street. Style— Girl act. Time— Twenty-six minutes. Setting— Special. A rather attractive exterior set in full stage represents the Garden of Love. There are three principals and a chorus of six girls. The plot is too slim to be seriously reviewed, doing nothing more than to furnish a peg upon which to hang the comedy and the song numbers. The comedy is served out by Max Fehrman, who is an exceptionally funny comedian, and clever enough to extract laughs where the average comedian would fail. The soubrette works hard and strives her best to please, while the straight man is passable. The latter should pay more attention to his ward- robe and appear better tailored. In bis first costume, particularly, he looks altogether too slouchy for the average conception of a straight man. The chorus works hard and has a number of changes. All in all, the act is very entertain- ing and a good girl act of its kind, al- though one cannot help but feel that Fehrman is wasting his talent in the turn and is deserving of something much better. H. G. KEANE, HERRON & CO. Theatre—Proctor'* 23rd Street. Style— Comedy-drama, skit. Time— Twenty-tico minutes. Setting— Full stage, special. Mattie Keane and Eddie Herron, as- sisted by a man and woman, present "Babe Sunshine, the Queen of Bur- lesque," a real novelty skit which, with the rough spots trimmed down a bit, should make a capital offering for the two-a-day houses. The story is that of a woman who has to struggle in the world to give her daughter an education. She becomes the "Queen of Burlesque" and endures many hardships. The girl is brought from Europe to America, and disapproves of her mother's manner of living, wishing her to give up the stage. The comedian of the company, played by Herron, insists, however, that the theatrical world could not get along without her, which greatly disappoints the daughter. The woman then receives a message that her husband, whom she has not seen in sixteen years, will call upon her. She sends the daughter out with the comedian and attires herself in an evening gown. The man informs her that he has learned their child has returned from abroad and that he desires her custody given to him. This, of course, the wife refuses to do, recalling to him how he had deserted her for another woman. The girl then enters and runs to the father and finally insists upon going away with him. The mother then tells the story of the past and, finally, the girl decides that she will remain with her mother, who then announces that she has renounced the stage. All of the parts are well played, with- the exception of the husband, for it seems as though the man is unable to feel his lines in a manner to get real effect from them. The opening scene between the comedian and the girl might be considerably shortened, as well as other minor scenes between the hus- band and wife. A. U. NEWKIRK & HOMER GIRLS Theatre— Proctor's 58th Street. Style— Song and dance. Time— Thirteen minutes. Setting— In one and three. Billy Newkirk renders a novelty song and then, in song, introduces the two girls of the act. He then sings a Dixie number, which he follows with some fancy stepping. The drop then rises, and the rest of the act is done in three. One of the girls does a neat solo dance, after which the other one executes a toe dance. The man renders a patriotic number, after which the girls re-enter in female Tommy Atkins' attire, and the trio finish with a fast, flashy dance. Newkirk puts over his songs in a pleasing way, but the patriotic number is slightly out of his line. The toe dancing is the feature of the act, while the solo dance of the other girl is very weak. The trio put their stuff over neatly. H. G. FRANKIE CARPENTER & CO. Theatre— Harlem Opera Mouse. Style— Patriotic sketch. Time— Sir teen minutes. Setting— In three, parlor. Frankie Carpenter and Company, two inen and one woman, have a very ac- ceptable war sketch that will no doubt be better after it gets to running smooth- ly. In one or two places it Is a bit bor- ing because it becomes preachy, and sermons are bad policy in vaudeville houses. The theme is good. It tells of a young couple, after their marriage, mak- ing preparations at their hotel to go away on a honeymoon. No sooner is the knot tied than war steps in and the young man finds himself called to the colors. The bride does not understand how war can interfere with her newly found happiness and, at first, does not want him to go. The sergeant appears to give the recruit his orders to report, and then follows the sermon part of the act. The people are clever, and have good material to work with. Comedy, pathos and patriotism are combined to make the sketch worth while in such capable hands. It should find ready booking. L. F. BINGHAM AND WEST Theatre— Proctor's 58th Street. Style— Singing and talking. "Unit—Twelve minutes. Setting— In one. Tbe idea that a man must portray a nut "nance" character, to get sufficient effect out of his dialogue, should be quickly dispelled from the mind of Oliver Bingham. There is no idea on the part of the reviewer to belittle Bingham as a comedian. The opening of tbe act which Is the dialogue between a new leading man and a female picture star, might, if pre- sented in a different manner, be real humorous. But the "nance" character assumed by Bingham is not alone dis- pleasing, but nauseating as well, as he attempts to display every characteristic of this distasteful stage type. A ballad rendered by Miss West en- titled "Chapters of Life," is a distinct novelty and adds considerable merit to tbe turn, especially after Bingham's character portrayal Bingham then sings an interpolated version of a popu- lar song which he spoils with his ef- feminate mannerisms and actions. The couple then engage in dialogue, of which a number of lines delivered by the man are more than bordering on suggestiveness, especially tbe "Love" and "Night-Boat" bits. They should be cut out without hesitancy. The conclud- ing number of tbe act is a patriotic of- fering, well rendered. A. U. FORD SISTERS & MARSHALL Theatre— Henderson's. Style— Dancing novelty. Time—Twenty-one minute*. Setting— Full, stage. The Ford Sisters and Henry Marshall have an offering that is tbe essence of good taste and originality. Marshall, at the piano, starts tbe pro- cecdingK with a Dixie song. At the start of the chorus the girls enter in striking patriotic attire and do a fancy dance. Tliis opens the act with a bang. Marshall then renders a ballad, after which the girls do a "rube" dance, cos- tumed appropriately. A few of bis own selections are rendered by Marshall, and at their conclusion the girls re-enter in old-fawhit.ned attire and do some dainty stepping. A topical song by Marshall Is followed by solo stepping by each of the girls in turn, bringing tbe act to an effective close. The girls are exceptionally graceful dancers and it is a pleasure to watch them work. Their costumes are full of color and style and are worn well, the girls making very pretty pictures. Marshall nines well and, at the piano, is a good accompanist. H. G. THE BELAGUERS Theatre— Proctor's 58th Street. Style— Dog act. Time— Seven minutes. Setting— Full stage. The Belaguers, a man and woman, have a number of trained dogs, which perform tbe standard tricks of "rolling over" and "jumping through" in a satis- factory way. The work of one little fox terrier stands out when he performs a number of somersaults and other feats, apparently without orders. For a closer, three of the dogs balance themselves on the top of a long pole which the man supports on his chin. The appearance of tbe man greatly detracts from the act. Wearing an un- pressed pair of ordinary trousers and a pair of street shoes, and working in shirt sleeves, held up with sleeve gar- ters, he gives the impression that be Is going through a rehearsal in bis back yard. In giving a regular performance, he owes it to the audience to improve bis attire considerably. The woman is dressed in cool and pretty summer at- tire, is rather pretty, and has a very pleasant manner. • The act, when'Better dressed, will just about reaeh the standard of dog acts. H. G.