The New York Clipper (April 1919)

April 23, 1919 THE NEW YORK CLIPPER 25 "LA. LA. LUCILE" HAS DASH Atlantic Orrr.'N. J., April 21.—Fred Jackson is responsible for the book of "La, La, Ladle," which last night made its first appearance before a. big Apollo audi- ence. Anyone who has "read the stories' of Fred Jackson, which appeared sporadi- cally in the Mnnsey magazines, will recog- nize his style in the fast complicated action which motivated this new musical farce.' ■ George Gershwin, who is credited with' the score, has a remarkable memory. Time after time, the seasoned theatre fan heard in the music echoes faint and not faint' of many things that-hare passed, or are- passing. Nevertheless, the score possessed a charm and spirit that succeeded in eap- ■ tivating the audience, and several tunes were being whistled after the curtain dropped for the last time. The story is rather complicated, and in- volves almost every character on the long programme. It .concerns a young couple . who have been married. The bride is the daughter of a vaudevillian and unwel- come. As a result an aunt of the hus- band leaves him a fortune on condition that he will divorce.his wife. The young man attempts to accomplish this by going to a hotel of questionable reputation and taking with him the janitor's wife. Com- plications follow of such a nature that the fun is almost continuous,, with the added zest of a dash of spice. In the end the aunt reveals herself and declares, the whole circumstance a plot. E. F. ALBEE OPENS NEW THEATRE (Continued from page 3.> E. 'Baetoa ;, R. G. Lareen. Boston ; absfson,?t>enver; Col. ft T* Jordan, man, E M. Hoi Philadelphia; A. L. Robertson," New-York; Walter Kiigsley, New Yorkf Elmer Hog- era, Mr. and Mrs. J. J.' Maloney, New York; W. Lewis Cave, Philadelphia; John Singling, Pat Casey, New York; Sam Scrib- ner, B. S. Moss, New York; Miss Edith Hunter, Philadelphia; Thos. Olyphant, editor of the New York Evening Moil; Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Watkins, Pat Woods, John Pollock, Miss May Woods, New York; Mr. and Mrs. Welter Hard, Phila- delphia; Mrs. Mary E. Bunion, Washing- ton, D. C.; Mrs. Grace Hose,-Washington, D. G.; Mr. and Mrs. F. F. Proctor, New York; Ben L. Heidingsfeld, Cincinnati; Capt. John G. Gleeson, U. S. A.; Mr. and Mrs. Walter Vincent, New York; Mr. and Mrs. S. Z. Poli, New Haven; Mike Shea, Buffalo, N. Y.; .James Moore,: Detroit; Clark Brown,. Montreal; Mr. and Mrs. Carl Lothrop, Rochester; Hon. Jos. L Rhinoek, New York, and Marcus Loew. A' striking feature of the .theatre is its £' icturesque Gothic front, a style unique I theatre construction. This Style was adopted by Mr. Albee to conform with the architecture of Grace Church, the theatre's next-door neighbor, and the combination of the two buildings is at once pleasing and appropriate. Three magnificent lob- bies extend from the entrance Of' the the- atre to an Italian lounge and art gallery, through the five arched marble doors, of which the auditorium proper is gained. The three lobbies are separated by rows of handsomely carved bronze and glass doors, shaded with lace. These lobbies are paneled in.Skyroross marble, of rich black and white effect,. with here and there a mottling of dull red and green. The base is verd-antique, from which rise pilasters of Italian statuary creme antique. marble 'having dull gold Ionic capitals. The ceil- ing of the first lobby, in gray and cream plaster, is groined and ribbed with dull gold.' At the left is a massive box-office of the Skyroro 89 marble, and above, op- posite the entrance, a carved marble bal- cony leads from the offices of Manager Lovenberg and his executive and business Staff.* • ;• The stage proscenium, 38 feet in width at its base, is an arch in dull-ivory and gray, with large Adam-ellipses and out- lined in heavy dull gold ribbing in leaf ■ design. The four boxes are set in this archway and are hung with- heavy damask curtains. The carpeting throughout is of a soft;': taupe- shade.. From the 'large hilt lace-like double dome hangs an imposing chandelier, which; with the wall lights, floods the auditorium with a soft sunny -glow.- . • . "... ; The two balconies have mezzanine hall- ways from which a few steps lead to the seats. The first balcony has - a row of - mezzanine stalls ■ extending - along the graceful curve of its front. At the back of the second balcony is the moving pic- ture booth, roomy, and equipped'with the - latest-appliances. From all parts' of the house a - perfect view can be obtained of the- stage.''- ~ •" Mr. Albee has cared alike for the com- . fcT' ; ;a":l conveniences ' Of hia patrons. . whether they occupy.the more expensive^ .seats downstairs, or the lesser priced ones ' j above. Oh each door -are, luxuriously for- ' nUhed retiring-rooms for men and women- coat rooms, lavatories and telephone con- veniences. The ladies' room on the or- chestra floor is at the right as one enters. Its walk are covered with rose and ; gold silk damask, and there are handsome mir- -.' rors, painted chairs, tables with toilet ac- cessories, and chaise longues. By a marble foyer and stairway ' leading from the j Italian gallery, the men's smoking room below is reached. Here also the Italian and Adam periods '■ meet in perfect .har- mony in furniture and decorations. An exquisite carved marble drinking fountain is a' feature of this room. The ladies' room in the first balcony is in grayish blue . and gold silk brocade with furnishings to blend, and the men's room-is as attract ive and as completely fitted out. The same is true of the second balcony retir- ing rooms. V: - Nor have the comforts and conveniences of the employees been forgotten by Mr. Albee.' On the basement floor are various retiring, reading and smoking rooms, lock- ers, offices and workrooms. Through the "plenum chamber" below the auditorium . flows the air, heated in winter and cooled in summer. The actors, too, are well pro- vided for with 20 or so outside, dressing rooms, each having toilet conveniences, and with a shower bath at the end of the corridor on each floor. A unique' feature of the building is the dedication of each r oom to a famous Rhode Islander, with gictures and accounts, among the names eing George M.' Cohan, D. W. Beeves and Helen Reimer, who has been a member of the E. F. Albee Stock Company for nineteen years. By elevator and stairway these dressing rooms are reached, for, with the exception .of: two "quick change" dressing rooms, on the stage, the actor's sanctums are above. The stage is a reve- lation in .modern equipment. It has a 40-foot depth and a 75-foot height to the gridiron. All the scenery is kept in mid- air, hoisted by means of a counterweight system. The theatre has-been long in building, due in part to Government and labor de- lays. Mr. Albee's desire to have each and -every detail perfectly suited and fitted to his artistic desires has also caused the work to be prolonged. The theatre. now - is, presumably, the perfect realization of his plans. It is said to have cost a million dollars and to surpass the New York Pal- ace Theatre in beauty. Providence may well be proud of its newest- and handsomest amusement temple.- ■ MOORE AND DAHGISTAN _ Theatre— Proctor** 125t» St. Style— Singing and piano. Time— Fourteen minute*. Setting— Specie! one and two. . . Jean Moore, who, a little-while ago, was doing a single singing act, has teamed up with Bay Dahgistan, a fairly good pianist. She retains the song rou- tine which she used alone, the male member of the duo contributing some solo work upon the piano which leaves much to be desired. Miss Moor* is a gersonable young lady and sings well, at the turn seems to lack dash. ■••-.' The woman' member ■ of ' the team started' with a" waits melody,' id one. v.: She then departed and Dahgistan ren- dered a piano solo, in two. A Japanese song by Miss Moore was then nicely * done. Dahgistan followed with some imitations upon the piano. A pipe or- - gen imitation scarcely sounded like a pine organ. An imitation of a marimba bend was better and the syncopated tune was just what it was supposed to be. He woundup-with a medley, after which his partner. sang a ballad ex- pressing the sentiment that Ireland should be- free, and including a short ' recitation. She concluded with a "Suc- cess" song, which she announced as hav- ing been written by Dahgistan. I. 8. SUM, KALISS AND SAXE Theatre—Proctor's 126th Street. Style— Instrumental and Singing. Time— Fourteen minutes. Setting— In one. Two men and a woman, the men play- ing and the woman singing, offer a jazz skit that will find the better class of small time bouses easy going and even presents big time possibilities. '. The comedian at the piano would do. well to get.a better brand of laugh- producers, as the brand of his pr es en t. comedy is typical small time stuff. - : They started with the lady singing a Jazz number. She has a good voice for the songs she nses but her -delivery of them «m be rated as "not so good."' She was too anxious to put over the jass and overdid it The other numbers, in which the boys use a small saxophone, a violin and a trombone, were delivered in a typical -Jazzy manner that netted them a big band. The one playing the saxophone strongly reminds.one of the saxophonist that used to be with Sophie Tucker a year' or more ago. He played standing on his head and went into the regular jazz spasms. The pianist.showed capable ability on that instrument and also on the trombone. The act mores fast and, after a few weeks on'the small time, wiB doubtless improve the weak -spots, r ,'s. . G. J. H. "HE TALKED IN HIS SLEEP" Theatre— Proctor-» 125th Street. '■■ Style— Sketch. Time— Fourteen minute*. Setting— -FuU rtage. ■■ The scene takes place-in a bedroom of a hotel. "A Honeymoon Couple," the husband sleeping in bed and the wife reading at a table, are disclosed at rise of curtain. He talks in. his-sleep, men— Honing poker games and'actresses in - tights. The young wife wakes him and starts an argument. He-thinks die is sick and phones for a doctor. A woman doctor on the. same floor comes and after some silly patter reconciles' them, after the husband reminds hie-wife that the talk in his sleep is. the plot for his next short story. Fee, ten dollars to doctor for reconciliation- Doctor." leaves' and' ' another argument starts. The.doctor re-- enters and is about to dose them with castor oil as the sketch ends. The turn may be good for the small time. .-" ; ' 7 - ".—''•■>rr-;-: ~" ' The* three characters work "in-evening ' clothes. L e.. pajamas- and kimono. The comedy acting is .overdone and should be toned down. ■;.. G. J. H. VARIETY FOUR Theatre— Fiftu-maMK Street. Style— SinguH/. Time— Sitteen minute*. Setting— In one. Two men and two women constitute the "Variety Four," a fairly good sing- ing quartet which, with mors work, will be ready to play the better small Um*. At present it does not ran very smooth, ' and one of the men has a habit Of wear* ing a straw hat tilted back at a 4S de- gree angle, which does not look wslL There Is also too much noise in mom of the singing and not enough anima- tion In other Darts' of the act One of the women impersonates a man at the start, and, although she looks some- what young, works fairly well rn trous- ers. v A girl started the act with a song, sung while she sat on the steps lead- ing up to the stage. She then sat down at the piano and the other three mem- . bers of the company appeared and sang a comedy number. The bass singer then sang a pleasing melody and the others joined in the refrain. At the conelu- sion, the girl, who had hitherto imper- sonated a man, displayed her long hair. The three departed and the gtrl who first appeared played a medley of popu- lar tunes at the piano. Soma more songs were then rendered ensemble, a shimmy number closing. I. 8. j J'] * -..-. -. KARTELL. Theatre— Proctor"* S&t* St. Style—Wire act. Time— Ten minute*. Setting— In (too. ■ - Kartell! has a wire act in which he introduces a number of novel.and ax- ceedingly difficult stunt*. He is a ca- pable performer, hia bearioa*- win -wia favor and his feats are sure srmlsnse -getters. He should be able to hold down an early spot on a big time bill. He started by doing a hand-stand on -a comparatively thin wire, which was no easy feat, for, in addition to keeping his balance, there was the danger of having the steel cut into his hand. He followed by balancing himself upon a ladder, balanced upon the wire, at tin same time holding one chair on his head, swinging another about one arm and ding three discs with. bis other nd.. He followed with a long slide and then, while standing on the silver thread, whirled a hoop around his body with- out helping himself in any way with Us hands. Another hand-stand was fol- lowed by whirling five hoops about Us body, a stunt which is difficult enough bicycle feat concluded. when done on the ground. A bieye It would be a good Idea for Karteul to dose with one of his other stunts, as the ams with the cycle, while a good one, is not the most spectSCnUr, I. 8. .:. YEN WAH Theatre— EightvUrit Bt. Style— Singing. ■-••"• ■*"-•- nv - Time—Tew minute*. '"'-' Setting— In one. ~; \ - - --■»-. ■»■-> .■ _■ i. Wah is bmed as the Chinese Jsxs boy -and Bean BrummeL He opens with a popular number, fol- lows with a Chinese song and "kissinj" number, and finally some J ax*. He first appears: <n Chinese dress, but later changes to American clothes. Appar- ently Wah believes himself Very fanny, and, in this regard,' few audiences will care to share. He should appear a little less confident, Inject some comedy into . the routine, and confine his dress to the American style. A Chinese • dress' is no - longer a novelty,-and rh« Oriental per- former wears- -the American clothes neatly.- As the act stands now, it win - do only for the average smsH-ttme nonse. ' :*-£.