The New York Clipper (December 1919)

December 17. 1919 THE NEW YORK CLIPPER 11 PALACE The Ramsdells and Deyo opened with an art that contained a aeries of dances.' Both girls are pretty "and stepped well- The mate memter* un- covered a few eccentric toe prances that brought forth real applause. The act proved a good, opener. "Playmates," consisting of four girls and two boys, started slowly but picked np after the first number. A duet number by a pair of lassies was the big hit of the act. The smaller one surely knows how to deliver a number. Another kiddie delivered two semi- classic numbers that would have gone tetter bad she not contorted her fea- tures. A ballad and a violin solo, ac- companied by a dance and a toe num- ber, concluded the offering. The mem- bers of this act are all youngsters and deliver their wares to the delight of all. "Flashes," piusented by Moore and Megley, is one of the best "Girl" acts In the business. When the producers sought a cast for this production, they surely picked winners. Doc Baker is a find and his work can be compared with the beet in his line. This chap is a real artist. He makes changes won- derfully fast and his singing of'comedy songs left nothing to be desired. Polly Walker, although a girl for the part, danced gracefully and sang sweetly, besides wearing clothes becomingly. Bud and Jack Pearson danced expert- ly. The eight girls that made up the chorus went about their work as If they enjoyed It The scenery and cos- tuming were in harmony with the of- fering and the producers should be en- couraged to give to vaudeville several acts of like nature each season. Brendel and Burt had the audience at their, mercy, as every line and situ- ation was a riot. Brendel, with his "Swede" accent and comedy clothes, never worked to better advantage. Flo Burt sang two numbers that went big. Anna Wheaton and Harry Carroll made many new friends by offering an excellent singing and piano act Miss Wheaton delivers splendidly and Car- roll won individual applause with his old and new numbers. "Topics of the Day" was flashed during intermission. Ben Bernle has added a few new puns that caught on. His violin work and comedy talk was the signal for real applause. He Is employing the "Over There" bit with the "Yiddish" finish that be originated while working with Phil Baker. Kitty Cordon has rearranged her act since .the Colonial showing last week. Kinney and Corinse, a pair of nimble steppers, have" been added. Wearing three wonderful gowns, she entertained by singing a number of songs with the assistance of a Singer In the audience, and closed the act to big applause. Among her other assistants are. her daughter, Vera. Beresford, Lester Shee- han, Clarence Senna and Jos. Lee. ■ Jack Wilson closed the vaudeville portion and delivered bis comedy like the master be is. A satire on the mo- tion picture called for the services of* Miss Gordon, Miss Beresford and an- other man. Wilson, in black' face. Jibes Miss'Gordon on her past per- formances and. after some real comedy, goes through a scene that .Is to be en- acted In the picture. The unpro- grammed man then. embraces Miss Beresford and Miss Gordon denounces him by saying that men of his low. manners give to the picture game its bad name. She shoots him and-the action is being filmed. Thus the title, "The Surprise." The act Is sure fire and Wilpon and his cast put it over for all that it' is worth. "A Day's Pleasure," featuring Char- ley Chaplin, was enjoyed. J. D. VAUDEVILLE REVIEWS (Continued on P»g«- 12) COLONIAL Chong and Rosie Moey got off to a fairly good band In the opening spot, due to the Cakewalk with which they close. The pair offered a routine of singing, which was only fair, and some dancing, which was a decided' improve- ment on the singing. Black-face Eddie Boss offered a rou- tine of patter and banjo work. The patter has very much room for im- provement, especially in the line of bet- ter gags. Boss knows how to deliver, but he needs better material. His banjo work is very good, and it sent him off to much applause. "The Girlies Club," a musical tab with fourteen people, went well. The singing work of the majority of those in the cast is good, but the plot needs a good deal of speeding up. Why the chorus wore silver slippers, pink stock- ings and a yellow gown, is bothering our artistic sense. The combination is anything but pretty. The young man who plays the Juvenile role Is entirely too mechanical in his gestures in the "Whiting and Burt" number which he pnt over with a young lady. He ap- pears to be merely a routine performer, who would be lost if anything went wrong with his cues. The girl was very good The comedians work bard and give a good account of themselves. Before Brennan and Rule came on, some trouble with one electric annun- ciator, in which the signs were ar- ranged wrong, started After a wait, the song-writers came on and went through their repertoire of old and new songs. After taking an encore, the pair went off to a big hand. This team always please, for not only do they sing well, but both know show- manship, and use their knowledge. Bert -Rule's piano-playing always scores Wg. ■Sophie Tucker and' her new Jazz band, opened in vaudeville after a years absence and scored a hit that compares very favorably with Bee Palmer's on her opening day at the Palace. In fact, it can justly be said that comparatively the applause given was even greater, for the audience here is smaller than that of the Palace. Miss Tucker took two encores and stopped the show. Although inter- mission was next, the audience stayed In to hear her put over one of her old numbers. The buxom Sophie now has a better act than she has ever been using, and, in addition to being dandy musicians, the members of the new band sing well and support Miss Tucker excellently. The act will be re- viewed under New Acta. George HacFarlane, with Herbert Lowe at the piano, followed the "Literary Digest Revue," and, despite an the singing that had been of feral up to here, gave a very good account of himself. He rendered "Mascushla" for an encore and could have come back with another. That all playlets or plays must have a happy ending to be successful, is dis- proved by Alexander Carr and Com- pany, with "An April Shower," written by Carr and Edgar Allan Woolf. This offering is by no means new. bnt it is one that will surely please even those who have seen it before. The work of Carr is excellent and brought more than one woman's handkerchief to her eyes. His company is also very good. Williams and Wolfus. with their fa- miliar "hokum" act also went over very well. William's comedy Is one sure coure for the "blues" and Hilda Wolfns serves the purpose of straight excellently. RIVERSIDE Lou Reed and AI Tucker opened the show following the news reel with an exhibition of violin playing and danc- ing. Reed did all the dancing there was, and in full justice to him, we must say.that it was the only bright spot in the act What this act needs more than anything else Is a lot of speeding up. It lacks pep and go, ele- ments which are very essential in these days of the Jazz craze. They forced two encores. Wish Wynne, the English comedi- enne, was on second, and, although badly misplaced, she succeeded in win- ning a good sized hit for herself dne to her winsome personality. She offer- ed a comedy number first, then two characterizations, first an English servant. girl, and then an English -country girl. This Idst was the better of the two, and sent her over for a neat hit. The Gaudsmidt Brothers, assisted by their two poodles, were third The men are excellent tumbling clowns, and have a very clever act, In which the poodles play no small part The dogs are exceptionally well trained, and are used to provide comedy. The brothers showed some tumbling stunts that 're- ceived big bands. They took a number of bows when they closed Joe- Browning went after his au- dience strong, and he soon had them In convulsions of laughter. Browning, aside from being an excellent come- dian, and owning a clever vehicle is a real showman as well. After he had made the folks laugh for about twenty or twenty-five minutes, they demanded an encore, and so he began to recite a dramatic poem. He had the audience on. edge expecting a tense dramatic ending, but when they heard the sur- prise end they just sat back and laughed until tears came. Pat Rooney and Marlon Bent as- sisted by Mile. Marguerite, Frank Gill. Lucille Love, -Lilian Fermoyle, Maude Dmry, and Vincent Lopez's Harmony Kings, are playing their second week as headliners. They offered their re- vue, "Rings of Smoke." When Rooney and Miss Bent walked on the stage, they received an ovation. After going through the entire art, encores and all, the audience was still unsatisfied, wanting more. Pat Rooney and Mile. Marguerite scored personal triumphs every time they stepped on the stage. Marion Bent did her littlebit very well, and pleased everybody. The act, well writ- ten, well staged, and well cast, will without a doubt, become a regular an- nual feature. "Topics of the Day" was shown, fol- lowing intermission. Grace Nelson, who was sixth on the program, is a singer who is in a class by herself. Tail, well built, attractive, good looking, and with real vocal abili- ty, she scored a real hit She has a voice, that although powerful, is withal sweet.and flexible. She offered a repertoire of high class numbers, and closed with: the rendition In English and Hebrew, of "Ell, Eli," which served as an encore. " Thomas Dngan and Babette Ray- mond offered their "An Ace in The Hole" skit that was received with laughter and applause.. To Dngan falls the major portion of the work, and he bears ids burden well. An unbilled as- sistant helped, quite a bit in several bits. The act is well written and full of witty Uses. "A Day's Pleasure," featuring Char- lie- Chaplin, closed the show, S. K. ROYAL The Nolans, man and woman, fol- lowed the overture with a snappy Jugg- ling offering, which brought them an encore. The. stunts are good, and brought much applause all through the act. Less stalling by the man, how- ever, would improve the act a good deal. He also made a mistake in wait- ing until the applause had entirely died down, befoii? taking his encore. Mclierinott and Heagney, two men, offered a song* routine in the second spot which went over fairly welL One of the team plays the piano and also sings with his partner. The irreper- toire consists of special numbers, but the two uee.l more life in their de- livery. The singing pleases and got them over. -Mrs. Wellington's Surprise," a come- dy playlet with two women and two men tickled the risibilities of the au- dience, and as far as laughs and ap- plause a.-e concerned, gave a very good account of itself. The member of the cast who plays tbe part of the maid does some dandy work, which stands out markedly above the work of rest of the cast However, all do their work passably. Eddie Bu«b?"1 and Peggy Parker are rapidly rising to the fore as one of the best teams, so far as personality is con- cerned, to be seen in vaudeville. This juvenile pair not only, possesses this quality, but have a very nice appear- ance attractive looks, and. to top it all, ability. Piggy Parker is as dainty as they come, and looks like a million dollars In her frock. Eddie Buzzell is a nifty yonng man, delivers a song with great effect, is a dandy comedian and an artist all through his work. J. Rosamond Johnson, supported by Earl Burford, Eddie Ranson, Pete Za- briakl, Taylor Gordon and William Butler, stopped the show cold on inter- mission. Johnson was called back for a curtain speech. Tbe first part of the act, which consists of a number of bal- lads, which are sung by tbe company, is undoubtedly tbe best The piano solo, rendered by Johnson, la also very good. In fact, the only fault with the act is the jazz used in closing, which is anything but musical. A little less noise and more harmony would make the finish much better. The Bronxites seemed to like everthing, however. Miss Juliet opened tbe second half and repeated the stunt of the prece- ding act by stopping the show. She offered her imitations, which stamp her as the best imitator In vaudeville. Tbe imitation of Harry Lauder is "especially good Tbe audience greeted the opening of tbe Pat Rooney bit with applause. Her "Girl at the Counter" bit, offered for an encore, sent her off to a big hand Ward and Van kept the bouse laugh- ing every minute they were on stage. This pair pantomine throughout practi- cally their act, the entire comedy hang- ing on the "falling pants" gag used by the violinist, who also gets, laughs by playing off key occasionally. The other played the harp and he gave a very goad account of himself. Both appeared in "wop" makeup. Whiting and Burt were greeted with a big hand and went off with one of tbe big hits of the bill to their credit This clever pair of song delineators have a new repertoire, retaining only the "Sleepyhead" number of last season, which is a gem. Recredls, a scenic dancing act, went well. Tbe girls have improved a great deal since the act opened, and now dance .with considerably ■ more effect Th> lighting effects are also good "A Day's Pleasure" closed the show. G. J. H.