The New York Clipper (May 1919)

8 THE NEW YORK CLIPPER May 28, 1919 PALACE Jack Morrissey and Company, two men, in a number of roping and whip-cracking stunts, opened the show. Morrissey does a few simple roping tricks and accompa- nies them with a line of chatter, poorly delivered and with little merit. The whip- cracking trick*, the best portion of the act, occupied the greater time, which could, with advantage, be cut down several min- utes. . The Le Grohs, two men and a woman, received considerably more than the usual amount of applause accorded an act in their position. The trio have a fast, smooth running routine of acrobatic tricks and contortion bits put over in a manner which made their offering particularly pleasing. . ' . . "Not Yet, Marie," Frank Stammers musical playlet, has at last reached the Palace after being seen in most of the other local houses. To those who have not seen "Lombard!, Ltd.," the piece will doubtless .furnish entertainment, tout its story is so similar to that of the Morosco play as to immediately start comparisons. Set to music, the story is that of an Italian artist who has sold a painting to an underwear manufacturer. The original of the picture brings a suit for damages, but, just as his love and business affairs look the darkest, a lost document reveal- ing a hidden fortune is found in an old album and, to the tune of a solo number with a dancing chorus, all ends happily. The chorus girls appear as artists' models, and are all in both looks and dress what the title suggests, and the featured mem- bers of the cast are William Edmunds, Buzzell and Parker, and Mary Donahue. Moran and Mack, in a black-face talking act. got all kinds of applause and laughter, and deservedly so, for not only is a big portion of the act entirely new, but the material is the funniest imaginable. The Daniel in the lion's den story, which, ac- cording to Mack, occurred away back in B. C. (before circuses) is a wonder, and the act's boxing finish is one of the best things seen in vaudeville in many a day. Bessie Clayton, held over from last week, closed the first part to the riotous applause which was in evidence all last week. The act is about the last word in dance productions. Topics of the Day, the screen version of the Literary DigetVt weekly collection of bright sayings culled from the country's daily papers, was shown after intermis- sion, running aboue six minutes. The showing, which has been a feature of the Strand programme for many months, was well received here and seems an effectual answer to the continual complaint of the acts billed in this difficult spot. Frisco, with Loretta McDermott and the Jazz band, showed an act which differs considerably from the one seen here pre- viously. The new jazz band is a singing organization and helped out greatly with their melodies. Miss McDermott is sing- ing a "High Brown Babies' Ball - * song, which went over well, and Frisco, in addi- tion to his jazz dancing, is doing some imitations and a bit of comedy talk. The talk need-* revising and editing if Frisco intends making a bid for comedy honors, mad, judging from the amount of time he wasted in meaningless talk, he evidently has some such idea in mind. Henry Lewis, in spite of the lateness "of the hour, scored one of the substantial hits of the bin. He is still showing the "Laugh Siop" act, but has so much new and cleverly handled material in connec- tion with it that it seemed like a new of- fering. A number of songs, well selected and excellently rendered, kept the act run- ning at high speed until its finish. The Ishikawa Brothers, Japanese hand- balancers, closed the show. The position was' a hard one for an aet of this nature and few remained for their finish. W. V. VAUDEVILLE REVIEWS (Conbnuta on pa««a t and II) NEW BRIGHTON George Robinson has certainly decor- ated his Brighton Beach house wonderfully, and if the bill this week is a standard of what the patrons are going to get all sea- son, they will not have room for complaint, from a viewpoint of entertainment. The attendance at the Monday matinee per- formance was in the neighborhood of one hundred or so, the light audience being due no doubt to the early season. Kartell! opened the show with an ex- ceptionally good wire-act. He used a slack- wire on which he did almost everything from balancing himself on his head to using it for a sliding incline. The juggling stunts which he performed on the wire, though few, were the kind that would net the aver- age juggler on the boards a big hand. A number of feats with a bike on the wire made a finish with thrills, and showed that, although the audience was small in num- bers, it knew how to show its appreciation with applause. Dave Harris and Charles Morey found second spot very easy. With a larger audi- ence they would be apt to stop'the show, something they done in other houses. The boys play instruments and sing in a manner that is always a pleasure to hear. They delivered one Chinese number that would win over any audience with their method of delivery. -They also had a good variety of comedy numbers which they handle well. Ernestine Myers and Paisly Noon, as- sisted by Grant McKay at the piano, scored with their dance offering. The dancing is executed with grace and artistry through- out, but art should be no excuse for the rather startling costumes worn by Miss Myers, especially in the Egyptian dance. Miss Myers is a remarkably good dancer aqd does not need any such costume to get her over. Otherwise the offering is an exceptional one and should please anywhere. Grant McKay assists capably. Joe Morris and Flo Campbell, in their "Avi-ate-tor" skit, scored their usual hit. Morris had added a new song to the act which tells about the woman in room 13, and although he has little singing voice, put it over well. His comedy in the box kept laughs coming. Miss Campbell besides being a very pretty woman sings well and "feeds" Morris as well as could any male straight in the basin ess—if not better. Herman Timberg and company In "The Viol-Inn" closed the first half. Timberg worked with his usual "pep," and was well supported by most of his assistants. The "murder of classical music" bit, and Tim- berg's dance scored high, and the offering went off with a big hand. Frankie Heath, assisted by Eben Litch- field at the piano, opened after the inter- mission and when she was through, could easily haye taken a number of encores. Miss Heath has a very good variety of numbers, does her imitations in a good comedy manner, and puts them over well. The "corset" bit is a dandy, and the closing number, which tells of a jilted girl berating the jilt, was excellently rendered. Gibson and ConneUi, with E. J. Brady and Tootsie assisting, were called back for their usual curtain speech after finishing with "The Honeymoon." They are artists and put their material over well. The small audience must have affected Gibson, for he pnt in a few comedy remarks that were new to the offering. Felix Adler and Francis O. Ross proved to be a riot of laughs. Adler is one of the best "nuts" on the stage and his extempor- aneous stuff would fit well in the routine of the act. Miss Ross sang her number well, and with the stage-hand assistant, in the ventiHoquial burlesque, did good work. Adler not only succeeded in keeping the audience laughing, but had the musicians going also, they found trouble in going on with the work. G. J. H. RIVERSIDE The Three Daring Sisters, two Blondes and a brunette, in a few rather well ex- ecuted simple trapeze stunts, opened the show and passed muster more on their apearance than the routine presented. Kharum, a piano soloist on second, sur- prised everyone by holding the show up for a full minute after his turn was over. He rendered a selection of classical com- positions and will be further reviewed under New Acts. Bill Halligan and Duns Sykes are still presenting tite real estate sketch "Some- where in Jersey." Bill opened in one, with a brand new blue suit and a fine Panama hat. The suit is a corker and fits Bill to a T, making him look thin and handsome as a juvenile. A song, some comedy patter and a duet for the finish is all there is to the act, but there is just enough shojvn to suggest big pos- sibilities for the couple if fitted properly. Halligan is a light comedian of excep- tional talent and the proper vehicle is all he needs to demonstrate it. Santos and Hayes received a big share of applause with their comedy "Health Hunter" offering. It certainly looks as though Buster has found the health elixir all right and if she would but impart the secret to her thin partner there would surely be more balance to the team, even if it lost some of its comedy value. The two girls did excellently, winning the most of the laughs in the first part of the show. Emma Carus, with Walter Leopold at the piano, has a considerably changed act since last shown at this house. The pro- hibition talk is out and in its place is some clever and up-to-the-minute patter, a little of which was half a lap or so ahead of the audience. The fight dopesters got some real inside info, on the coming Willard-Dempsey fight and the baseball fans had a laugh over the announcement of a recitation written by Heinie Zimmer- man called "The Shooting of John Mc- Oraw." Few sports were in for the Mon- day night performance and this probably was responsible for the lull which fol- lowed the recital of present and coming events in their particular sphere. The T eapie of Nations bit and the fourteen "pints" hit the spot all right and from that point on the act scored strongly. Some new songs were well received and the Irish number retained from the old sons repertoire scored a hit. Leopold has <-ut out his piano solo and is offering in its place a vocal solo. The act can hardly be said to be bettered by the change, for Leopold's voice is not a sinning ode. A pew "cat" duet rendered near the act's finish caueht on immediately and the dance finish carried the act over to a bit. Captain G ruber and Mile. Adelina opened after intermission with their ani- mal spectacle, an act which on account of the cleverness of the animals, their evi- dent pleasure in the work and the man- ner in which it is presented, was enter- taining from beginning to end. Harrv Mayo and Basil Lynn call their .act a Racv Conversation. The title re- fers fo the subieet matter of the act rather than to the manner in which it is presented, for the offering is slow and draeey and has little to commend it. _Mayo! a former member of the Empire City Quartet, sang a pleastn? ballad, the effect of whfrh was greatly impaired by his faulty vocal style. "Puttinsr It Over." the bur soldier act which scored such a hit at the Palace durine the past two weeks, closed the show and easily duplicated their success of the down town houi«e. The act is run- nfauT much smoother, the sones were ren- dered in a better tempo and the dancing of the chorus has improved wonderfully. In its present shape the act is a great offering for any spot on any MIL W. V. COLONIAL Comedy was at a premium at the Mon- day afternoon performance, and only three acts went over in the hit column. The pictures opened and were followed by Edward Marshall, a cartoonist', who, among other things, selected his subjects from those who occupied orchestra seats. The caricatures were well done, but it would be more polite to hand the pictures to the people instead of throwing them. Marshall drew an Indian head that called for applause. His "Washington Head" left much to be desired. However, he inter- ested many. Rose and Moon opened with a song and dance along conventional lines. Then Rose offered a solo dance that caught on, as a few of the steps were new and well executed. His facial make-up was entirely too red and gave him the appearance of an Indian. Miss Moon is a cute little lady, who wears three costumes nicely, and the double dance at the finish put them over. Gallagher and Rolley presented their military travesty, "The Battle of Wata- the-Use," and gained, numerous laughs with some gags that have been told on more than one occasion. Rolley is a wonderful black-face artist, who knows the art of comedy and makes every point count. He gets more out of the harmonica than any who follow this line of work. Gallagher is an excellent straight, and the act, with a few timely gags, could go on indefinitely. Georgie Jessell appeared too sure of him- self, and this, with mediocre material, failed to impress his. listeners. The "Musted" bit is overdone, and the tele- phone conversation, supposedly with his mother, contains a gag that is ancient. Jessell is a good performer and has some personality, but, in the present offering, has but little to work upon. Four songs were offered and, even in this department, he could improve. With some good ma- terial, this lad would surely secure the desired results. Emma Dunn and Company presented her latest sketch, called "Only a Tea Cup." The act closely resembles an act called "Between Trains." While Miss Dunn is on the stage the act was interesting, and aet work so far over-shadowed her co-workers that they appeared amateurish, especially the man who, at one time, caused laughter while the scene was supposed to be dra- matic. If the act goes over, Miss Dunn deserves the laurels, as the playlet and the assistants are on a par. » Georgie Jessell started the Salvation Army drive, and through his efforts many dug into their pockets in aid of the noble cause. - - - Lee and Cranston, in "A Brittany Romance," found the going hard, as the act is written for pre-war comedy and, now that, the conflict is over, many of the gags fail to go over. Lee possesses a fairly good tenor voice, and was only con- vincing while singing. Miss Cranston is a pretty girl, who reads her lines well and more than assisted her partner. A revision of gags to bring them up to date is neces- .sary. Williams and Wolfus saved the show at ? Ute J?. OUr wJth their sure comedy offer- ing. Williams worked hard every minute and was accorded a big round of applause for everything he did. Miss Wolf us scored hX ^ £" 8 of a """S that was weU delivered. The act, as always, was a laughing sensation. hi. J< ^ h Xa5T55^ **"*— to tow » with his Song Bird Revue," and is capablv as- sisted by Ethelyn dark, a quarteffnd a girl chorus of eight. The scenes are built around some of Howard's song hits. How- "SZ?" u "" &** shape, and all his n^*" W 5" h f? rtil y Winded. Miss 2?£* °^ " *S» of wardrobe that caused much comment. J. D.