The New York Clipper (December 1917)

THE NEW YORK CLIPPER December 12, 1917 AMERICAN Stevens and Falke started the bill Mon- day night with a singing and dancing act, opening with a scene in three, rep- resenting an Indian encampment, in which the two girls appear dressed in Indian costume. They each make two changes of dress, Miss Stevens rendering three songs and Miss Falke doing the same number of dances. They were well liked. Al. Litt and Harnett Nolan possess the two requisites necessary to success, per- sonality and ability. Coupled with these, they have good material and the audience Sve them hearty approval for their work. lbs Nolan was at the piano, and her part- ner sang. They opened with a duet. Litt followed with a song and then Miss Nolan sang. They finished with another duet. They have good voices and sing well, getting the most possible out of their songs. They intersperse their singing with some good comedy talk also, which was put over well. Johnson, Howard and Lizette, three men, present an act made up of a variety of bits. They appear as hoboes, and do a song and dance, which they follow with tumbling and acrobatics. They then do some burlesque playing on trombones, violin and clarinet. They are best at tumbling, but do a lot of slap-stick comedy staff, which gets la ughs . Tommy Hayden, assisted by his "better »alf," had a. slow opening, but finished strong. He opened with a song and dance. His lady assistant followed with a violin solo. Then came another song by Hayden and one by his partner,- after which he gave an Englishman's description of a game.of baseball. For a finish, Hayden danced again, while his partner played the violin. Hayden is a capital dancer, and his baseball talk is funny, and gets laughs. "A Real Pal," a comedy skit played by two men and a woman, proved to be a laugh-getter. The scene represents a country store which, it develops, is the sole business establishment in an out-of- the way hamlet. To this place come two men, one of whom is to marry the daughter of the owner of the country store. His pal, who has unwillingly accompanied him, "double crosses" him by winning the girl for himself, after telling her that his friend Ned is a married man. The skit is bright and well written. Sadie Sherman was on first after the intermission, and scored a most decided hit. She opened with a song which she followed with a recitation about an out- cast. Then she rendered an Italian song, and closed with a popular number. Miss Sherman is a capable performer. She sings her numbers with telling effect, her Italian song being particularly well rend- ered in capital dialect. She is also an excellent elocutionist, and recites with ex- pression and force. In "What Really Happened," David S. Hall has a satirical sketch a little out of the ordinary. It is given in three episodes, each of which depicts a man married less than a year, who, having promised his wife to take her to the theatre, arrives home at 2 A. M. in a state of intoxica- tion. The first episode shows the hus- band acting as the injured party, and his wife the penitent. In the second, the con- ditions are reversed, the wife dictating the terms to her husband. The third shows the husband penitent and the wife forgiv- ing. Hall gives an excellent characterization of the husband, and is ably assisted by Olga Worth, who, as the wife, proves her- self to be a very capable actress. George Bobbe and Eddie Nelson scored the big hit of the bill, and stopped the show, the audience not being content till they had responded to an encore. They opened with some comedy talk, which was followed by a song by Bobbe. Then came a song by Nelson and a medley by both. The Santas Troupe of acrobats closed the show and gave full satisfaction. E. W. FIFTH AVENUE An entertaining bill was presented the first half of the week, with capacity at- tendance at the opening show. Mabel Burke was on first after the pictures, and. scored with an illustrated song. N Charles and Anna Glocker start their act with baton swinging, that done by Charles being particularly good. It is, however, in the juggling of water-filled receptacles that the best work of this team is done. Charles' first effort in this line is done with two glasses full of water, each balanced on the inner side of a hoop fasened at either end of a short rope. He then swings the hoops around his head. He does the same with small vessels, holding about a pint, with buckets and with small tubs, each of the latter holding about two buckets of water. The work is cleverly done, and the act scored a hit. The Two Follies Sisters and Nat Le Roy began with a song and dance. Then Le Roy and one of the girls sang, and did a few steps, giving way to their part- ner in a dance. Le Roy then did a single dancing number, which was followed by a song and dance by the girls, LeRoy join- ing them for a finish. The girls make a good appearance, dance well and make two changes of dress. LeRoy is an ex- cellent dancer. Helen Gleason and company, the latter being a "'mere man," were Been in a sketch entitled The Submarine Attack." The action takes place in a commodious state- room of a big ocean liner, the occupants being a newly married couple. At the -rise of the curtain they are discovered in pajamas, each near a single bed. The wife has been unable to get to sleep be- cause of the constant ringing of bells, tooting of horns, etc. She begins to con- jure up all kinds of disaster at sea, be- moaning the fact that they ever made the trip, as she is sure the ship will be torpedoed. They then discover that the portholes are closed and fastened, and the stateroom door is locked. This convinces the wife the ship is doomed. Her husband tried to convince her that the thunder-like noise she hears is from the guns at the Sandy Hook proving station, and that the horns and bells are from passing ships, bnt she refuses to be quieted, and tells him if she dies he is to blame. This brings the heroic stuff from her husband, who is about to smash the door with a chair when it is opened by the purser who, in answer to their query about submarines, says the vessel has not left the wharf. The skit is founded on a good idea, but is only fairly well written. Henri Hubilick, with his instrumental playing and singing, was liked so well that he was forced to respond to an encore. Knbilick plays artistically on the several instruments he uses, and is the possessor of a baritone voice of good quality and great volume. He rendered one song and three instrumental pieces. Diamond and Brenan, man and woman, open with a song and dance, and then in- dulge in some comedy talk. Then fol- low a song by the man and more talk. They finish with a song and dance. The man is a good comedian and his partner makes a pleasing appearance. They re- ceived marked approval for their work. Fay, Two Coleys and Fay, in their black-face act, were a great big hit, and were also in the encore class. They opened with a song and comedy patter. One of the Fays then sings a well ar- ranged medley, after which the other Fay starts a song, in which he is interrupted by his partners, who dance and talk. Scott Gibson, "The Australian Kilt," with his singing and comedy talk, proved himself to be an able entertainer and scored a success. Derkin'a Dogs and Monkeys, an act which follows closely the lines of Bar- nold's well known dog act, closed the bill and pleased. E. W. CITY A good bill was offered the first three days of this week, and stamped with ap- proval by a capacity audience on Monday afternoon. Opening the show, Vandermeer, a very winsome little miss, does an entertaining wire act. Her routine consists of several well done tricks on the wires and was sent off to an appreciative exit. Mills and Moulton, man and woman, start their act with both hurrying across stage as though anxious to meet some one. After going up and down a few times, the woman happens to let loose the word chrysanthemum, which the man recognizes as the word that is to introduce him to the young lady. He answers "heliotrope," and they began to converse. After some comedy talk, which draw laughs and ap- plause, they go into a song, and dance off to well earned applause. Roger Gray and company, a man and two girls, in a diversion of mirth, talked, sang and danced themselves- into favor. They open with a trio. Gray then fol- lows with a song, which he talks. Then he and the shorter of the two girls, render a duet very cleverly, each winning ap- proval. Then they do a dance. For a finish the trio sang several verses about a vaudevile show. At the conclusion of each verse they burlesque the stunts. The act scored a big hit and responded with an encore. The Feronis, a clever dancing'trio, pre- sented a well put together routine of dances. They open with a Spanish dance, followed by a waltz, in which they ac- company themselves on bells they carry in their hands. The man then plays a 'cello solo, getting applause, which he de- served. One of the women does a toe dance, accompanying herself on the violin. The trio finish with some ballroom dances, ending -with a whirlwind, that brought out applause good and strong. Jane Stuart and company, who is none other than Reinie Davies, presents a song routine with much personality. The young man who accompanies her at the piano plays a few well rendered numbers while Miss Davies makes her changes. She starts with a song, in which she has her fingers all tied up with knots to remind her of certain things she must purchase on a shopping tour. Then she sings-a song of courtship, marriage and a divorce, all occurring on a trip in one of the elevators in the Woolworth build- ing. In a costume of a farmerette, and with personality galore, she sings of "Doing Her Bit" in the fields. She finishes with a medley of good old American war songs. "Rubeville," a rural sketch, with its company of ten entertaining musicians, kept the audience busy applauding for the next eighteen minutes. The act opens with several of the men all gathered in the village store exchanging; jokes, when the proprietor, who is also the leader of the village band, enters and sets them to prac- tising their selections. After tuning up their instruments, they render a song that was put over in as fine a manner as pos- sible, and received the applause of the house. A young chap, who is supposed to be an advance agent for a road show, then turns up in the village and puts up at the hotel. The talk that ensues between them is sure laugh-getting, and was appreciated by the audience. Buddy Singer, the vil- lage dude, and singer, then puts over a song in a clear, mellow voice. They finish the act with some old-time songs, and, for an encore, played a Jazz selection that brought the house down with applause. Amoros and Jeannette, man and woman, present an act made up of comedy talk and singing. Miss Jeannette opens with a song, folowed by some comedy by Amoros, who is a clever comedian, and has good material, with which he gets laughs. The act as a whole is mostly slap-stick work. M. L. FOLLY (Last Half) Due to the showing of "A Daughter of the Gods," the bill for the last half at the Folly has only five acts. After a well-played overture, the pro- gram was opened by LeRoy and Hart, a classy singing turn. They start with a duet, each sings a song, and they then close with a duet. They scored a good sized hit in the difficult opening position. In number two spot came -a comedy- dramatic sketch called "The Fan." The story deals with a young baseball player who has been thrown out by bis father because he wants to marry a girl to whom his father objects. He is the jinx of the team, and his father blames the girl for it. A big game is to be played, and the father comes to see his son. The boy pleads for permission to marry the girl, but he refuses. Finally, the boy's chance, to bat comes, and he is about to strike out, when the father tells him it's all right; that he can marry the girl. The boy lines out a homer. All ends happily. The acting of the comapny is good, that of the father being especially so. Mel Eastman, a monologist, filled spot number three, and scored a hit with his comedy gags and songs. He opens with a song about wanting to be a minstrel man, and goes into a rapid-fire line of gags about things in general. The ones about stealing the horn, and George Wash- ington, are real gems. He then goes into a dramatic recitation about a boy going to be hanged, and his last words to his mother. He had the audience fooled com- pletely, and when the comedy ending came, brought down the house. After this, he sang a medley ,of popular songs and finished with one about having to go home to-night. Amoros and Jeanette, with their nut comedy and singing, kept the audience in good humor. Jeanette opens, with "Hello, I've been looking for you," and puts the number over in fine style. Amoros then enters, and, with his quaint bits of busi- ness, got many laughs out of the audi- ence. His gags about American girls, his falls and mannerisms "got" the audi- ence, and kept them. After putting over a number of gags, he plays on a con- certina, and got many laughs through missing some of the notes. Jeanette then enters, having changed her costume, and sings. Amoros, meanwhile, puts over a number of burlesque magic bits and they close with a dance that was well done. This act is one of the funniest nut acts seen in the neighborhood for a long time and deserves all it -got. The Oxford Five closed the vaudeville portion of the bill with their cycling novelty. They play a game of basket- ball on wheels, and had the audience cheering for them, as though it were a real contest. The work of the blond member of the team is the feature of the act, and he scored so often that it be- came tiresome. The act is a departure from the usual. run of closing acts, and scored a good sized hit. The bill was closed by the William Fox super-spectacle, "A Daughter of the Gods," with Annette Kellermann. The audience stayed for it. S. K. FAY AGAIN PAYS SHERIFF In order to avoid paying a second visit to the Alimony Club, Francis M. Fay met the demands of a deputy sheriff last Wednesday and handed him $141.76. The deputy met the actor as he was coming out of the Casino and when he handed the money to the man of the law he em- phasized the fact that he had seen all of the Alimony Club he wanted to. TILFORD'S ACT OPENS "Hello, Broadway," the miniature musical comedy which Lou Tillford is put- ting out,, opened at the Lyric, Newark, on Monday last.