The New York Clipper (February 1919)

February 12, 1919 THE NEW YORK CLIPPER ALHAMBRA A good all-round bill was presented Monday afternoon before an audience that filled the house. Each act was well re- ceived, but Jack Norworth, George Price and Frisco had a shade the best of it over the rest of the bill. Leon Zarrell and company, a man and boy, in number one spot, seeured a good sized bit for their acrobatics. Zarrell does several hand lifts to hand Btands with the youngster that would be very difficult, if not impossible, with a full grown man. But this fact does not detract from the merit of the act. The two feature stunts were a one hand lift and a somersault by the boy to a one hand catch by Zarrell. They work neatly and quickly and rank with the best acrobats before the public Harry Masters and Jack Kraft" have a song and dance offering that gets away from the usual act of its kind, which they call a satire on the song and dance man Of the Past, Present and Future. They gtart with a soog and then give their impression of a song and dance of thirty or forty years ago. They use a song pop- ular at that time and then give a fair imitation of a "statue clog" with a few of the modern steps. After another song they do. a soft shoe dance of today and, for a finish, do a futurist dance. For an encore they gave their "impression" of the Egyptian dancer of 2,000 years ago at- tempting the steps of 1019. The boys are capital performers and present an enter- taining act. Fred Whitfield, Marie Ireland and Lew Murdock presented a rube slat entitled "The Belle of Bingville" and scored heavily. When the curtain goes up, it shows a special drop on which is painted a county jail which serves the purpose also of the "oprey" house and general store, while next door is a lawyer's of- fice. The front of the store is covered with signs of various kinds and many of them were so genuinely funny that the "drop" secured many laughs before cither of the trio appeared. Whitfield and Mur- dock are the first to come on the stage, and they indulge in comedy talk. Whit- field then does a "rube" dance which is followed by some comedy dialogue be- tween Miss Ireland and Murdock. Whit- field and Miss Ireland follow with an ec- centric dance, while Murdock plays on a saxophone. For an encore they do an- other dance. Jack Norworth, assisted by Fred Mead at the piano,- sang.six songs, scored one of his regulation big hits and took but one. encore, although he could have taken several. Norworth is one of those enter- tainers who wins with any audience. He has the happy faculty of picking songs and singing them in a way that spells success. "In the Dark," presented by a com- pany of seven, five men and two women, closed the first part of the bill.and was eo well liked that it drew four curtains. The skit is well written, well constructed and well acted. It is called a mystery melodrama and it is all of that. The story deals with the flimsiness of circum- stantial evidence and, while the argument used is not convincing, it serves for stage purposes. George Price, assisted by Henri Young at the piano, started in with singing and followed with some comedy patter. He then - impersonated Eddie Foy, Eddie Leonard, .Raymond Hitchcock Al Jolson and George M. Cohan. Ik was called upon to take two encores. Frisco, assisted by Loretta McDermott and Bert Kelly's Jazz Band, danced him- self to his usual success. Homer Dickinson and Grace Deagon, with their chatter, song and dance, came into their full share of favor in next to -closing position and took an encore. Collins and Hart, with their well- known act, closed the bill and were wen received. IV W. C VAUDEVILsLE REVIEWS ROYAL The Girl in the Air opened the show with her unique song cycle, which she renders while sitting in a basket which is projected from back stage out over the orchestra. She sang her songs nicely and won favor. "... Ted Doner held the second spot, which seems to have been his favorite at all the houses he has played for the last few weeks, and in that position scored nicely. His dances were well done and the imita- tions were excellently executed and gen- erously applauded. For an encore he gave the dance which first made him known to the theatre-goers and scored his usual hit. One of the main characters of Jovedah which was supposed to go on fourth was taken ill and prevented the act from go- ing on. Gilbert and Friedland were there- fore moved up. With Anatol Friedland at the piano, Gilbert started with some new ballads which he and his partner have writen, and instead of the usual plant in the audience they formerly carried, the girl now sings on stage in the character of a maid. Their old popular songs were suns; and were heartily applauded. "The Memory Book," a pretty little sketch by Francis Nordstrom, with her- self, William Pinkham and two kiddies who play their parte in an appealing way, closed the first half of the bill. See New Acts. The Royal has inaugurated a song cycle for which a number of old songs are played by the orchestra and flashed on the screen, while the audience sings. Ju Iging from the amount of people who join in, the idea has won considerable favor in the Bronx. Al Lydell and Charleton Macy, assisted by a young lady, who is not billed, opened the second half and started the laughter with their amusing sketch, "Old Cronies." They are capable artists and handle their material in a manner that is sure to score in any house. Tvette Rugel, formerly of Yvette and Sarinoff, followed and sang her way into the hearts of all. She is assisted by a clean-cut young man at the piano, who is not billed, but does his work capably. Miss Rngel, besides having a pleasing personality which makes her liked by all, possesses a powerful voice of good qual- ity. Mr. and Mrs. Jimmie Barry presented their old sketch "The Burglar" in a new • way with some new material. They are using two drops, one depicting the out- side of a stage door and the other the in- side. In this act Barry takes the part of a "rube" who has fallen in love, or pretends to have done so, with the leading lady of a show and plays his role in his usual manner which has stamped him as one of our best rube comedians. The act has a new ending which turns the joke on Mrs. Barry, as the leading lady. Pat Rooney and Marion Bent not only took the house by - storm, but imprinted an impression of Rooney and Bent on the memories of those who had not see them before that will last for quite some time. They gave their uptown act, but a refer- ence to the "Newsstand" was applauded generously enough to show that the pa- trons here have not forgotten it. Rooney and his smile completely won the audi- ence and no grouch could withstand his pleasing personality. George N. Brown, assisted by Billy W. Weston, gave'the house one of the best closing acts seen here in months, as not one person was seen to leave until the end of his offering. With Pat Rooney and Jimmie Barry putting in the comedy, the act brought laughs, thrills and cheers and sent all home satisfied. G. J. H. . FIFTH AVENUE Every seat and a great deal of the standing room was occupied as Togan and Geneva opened the show. They started with some patter that failed to produce laughter, but did much better on the tight wire. There is patter and dialogue rend- ered throughout the offering which, in- ' stead of speeding it up, is very poor com- edy material and accomplishes just the opposite thing. Their stunts, however, are done in fine fashion and are meritorious. Charles Reilly sang several songs and told a number of funny stories. Reilly is a finished performer, looking and work- ing well. His personality is a pleasing one and, with good material, it was not long before he had won the audience and rung up a hit of no small size. Murphy, Nichols and company presented a numerous sketch, and had the crowd giggling with mirth throughout. The action takes place at a school for drama, with the teacher in the principal role. The rest of the east includes a Miss Lemon, who accents her name on the last syllable, the student body of the dramatic school, consisting of one youth, and the ambitious playwright. Slapstick comedy was rend- ered in profusion by the quartet, and the audience certainly enjoyed it. Vinie Daly, assisted by George Gersh- win, the young composer, at the piano, sang several classic and uemi-classic selec- tions, and was well received. She has a clear voice, although there seems to be a tendency on her part to strain it in rend- ering the high notes. She received a gen- erous round of applause, nevertheless. Espe and Dutton found the going easy. The turn includes several difficult feats with a heavy ball, some hand-to-hand lifts and talking, all of high order. The duo are a clever pair of performers and merited every bit of applause which they received. One of them did sonre good work with a large metal ball and an object re- sembling a torpedo, throwing them aloft and catching them on his back. Mabel Burke came in for her customary big share of applause at this show. Liboneti played several selections upon the marimbaphone, and also joined the hit class. He started with -a lively piece, changed to a ballad and followed it with a medley of jazzy tunes. A semi-classic selection which followed was warmly ap- plauded, and he was compelled to take an encore. "Childhood Days," a humorous playlet, was presented by a cast of five men and a woman. It tells of a teacher, who, upon coming to school in a rural town to begin her work, is surprised to find that her students are all men well advanced in years. The antics of the latter, who ex- plain that they are the local school board, come to get some education themselves,- since the younger part of the population ib engaged in essential industry, drew a plentiful share of laughs. Several songs and some sentimental verse by one of the scholars fitted neatly into the offering. The man playing the part of Hank was especially funny. Felix Adler, assisted by Francis Rosa and one of the stage'hands, who was im- pressed into service, registered a hit with his comedy in the next to closing spot. Adler is a good comedian, has good ma- terial and should find it smooth sailing anywhere. He started with some singing and folowed with some comic rhymes in song. Miss Ross then made her appear- ance add rendered some dialogue. The concluding ventriloquist section provided a fast finish. The Ziegler Sisters, Myrtle and Adel- aide, closed with their classy dance offer- ing and held the crowd in until the finish. The girls are graceful and the act is well pnt on. ' ■ ■ ".. I. 8. AMERICAN Wellington and Sylvia opened the bill with a neat juggling and balancing act that was well presented. Wellington baa something that is unusual in an act of this kind and that is patter which is put over in a manner that is sure to provoke laughter. The young ladv in the act has really nothing to do but look pretty, and this with her is an easy task. Pond and Swift found the going any- thing but easy. They offer a singing and talking act, but have neither good voices nor personality, while the jokes they use are old. They warmed up toward the finish and went off to a fairly good amount of applause to their credit. The Sherlock Sisters and Foley started with an Oriental number by the three of them that revealed mediocre voices on the part of tiie girls, but they made up for ft by the manner in which they delivered 'their numbers. A popular song by one of the sisters was followed by a jass dance by Foley, which was very well done. A few more songs and dances by the - two sisters with Foley went over for a big hand and helped the act score. George A. Mack offered a monologue and went off with one of the big hands of the first half to his credit. He started aa a "souse," and in this part of the act put over a prohibition" song. An imita- tion of a little girl singing, with soma patter in which he handled a delicate sub- ject nicely, went over for generous ap- plause. Martin and Clare closed the first half with a dance offering that started alow, but worked toward the finish and gave . such satisfaction that they were com- pelled to take an encore. Miss dare's toe- work was excellently done, but Martin's opening dances lacked style. A jasx dance by him showed this very clearly, and he also showed in the end of the act that he can remedy- this fault if he cares to. A satire on the popular dancing of today, as seen by themselves, scored and was fol- lowed by a dance farce, showing their conception of how two dramatic stars would do a popular dance. Malleta Bincini, a tall, well formed woman, staxW the second half of the bill with a elk Mica I number on a 'violin and proved tba v . she was a capable per- former on that instrument. She followed it up with a piece using the mute and showed some' very good double-string; playing. A medley of popular airs won her an encore. John T. Doyle and company presented a thrilling melodrama. The plot was worked around a hand of Anarchists, who went under the awe-inspiring name of "The Red Flash." Despite the fact that the offering was a bit overdone, it was well acted. Doyle and a woman are the main characters in the play, Doyle taking the part of a Secret Service agent, and the woman a spy of the "Red Flashers," who is planted in the Secret Service. Doyle, as Harrigan, discovers that the woman is a- plant, and by cleverlv fooling her, gets the secrets of the "Red Flash," saves a train from being wrecked and sends the gang to prison. James Donovan and Marie Lee took the honors of the bill by stopping the show. Miss Lee started the act going with a song, and was followed by Donovan, who is a jovial looking Irishman, and knows how to get laughs. Be offered a mono- logue that went over well; and then they worked together. In this part of the number Miss Lee showed that she la a capable comedienne and handled her ma- terial to good advantage. Donovan showed that he was a good laugh-getter, and as a team they size up to a good standard. Le Clair and Sampson closed the show with a burlesque on an acrobatic act, in which one of the team is suspended by a wire and the other pretends to lift him in the most difficult positions. They held interest and scored nicely for a dating number here. . G. J. H,