Show World (October 1910)

October 1, 1910. THE SHOW WORLD 7 RELIABLE RECORD OF VAUDEVILLE ACTS (E. E. MEBEDITH NEWS SERVICE, ROOM 216, 167 DEARBORN ST.) Time — 10 Min- i—American Music Hall, Chicago, Scenery Required —Olio in One. the 24 Minutes; Harding is a rapid pianist forced himself to the front merely on the strength of his artistic ability, com¬ bined with a suggestion of Trovatoism. He scores so decidedly at the Music Hall that he comes to be recognized as a first-class act this week. Think of it! A’ young man, new to the show business, tried out at the Bush Temple, August 11, and now occupying a place on the bill which his fellow workers have strived for for years! There are many splendid acts in the first half of the show. Harding would have reason to feel proud had he been second or third on the bill. But seventh! (Joining be¬ fore Julian Eitinge and “cleaning up” is doing s\nething which will long be remembered around Chicago. Harding deserves his success. THE SWICKARDS. Billing—' “The Shoplifters” (Musical Comedy). Class —"B.” No. 396. Time — 16 Min- Seen — Century, Chicago, Sept. 24, 1910. Place on BUI—Third. Scenery Required —Street in One. Remarks —Louis Weslyn has arranged an offering for The Swickards which gets away from the familiar singing and talk¬ ing teams in one. There is the suspicion of a plot, the entire offering is consist¬ ent, and opportunities are offered for the singing and talk of the pair and the comedy of the man. An engaged pair, on a shopping tour, have a discussion re¬ garding the carelessness and absent- mindedness of each other. The lady rep¬ rimands the gentleman for having picked up the wrong parcel in the store, bring¬ ing another hat instead of the valuable one she had purchased. A newsboy’s cries of “Extra — Shoplifters at Work” is unheeded until she produces a pocket- book, pointing out his carelessness by saying he left it on the counter and she picked it up. He produces his own pocketbook and she realizes that she has made a terrible blunder. A paper is bought and they find that the “shop¬ lifters” have taken a pocketbook con¬ taining 3500 — the very one she has in her possession. The point is made that both are equally careless and absent- minded at times. The difference of the pair are introduced into a song and the song continues after the talk. It is probably a number of English origin, and the title is “Month and Months and Months.” The man is an eccentric com¬ edian, who does not depend on comedy dress or comedy makeup. Both are good singers and a burlesque operatic finish, near the end of the act, is decidedly clever. Class— ”13.” No. 393. Time—18 Min- Sesn— Star, Chicago, Sept. 23, 1910. Place on BUI—Headliner. Number of men 2; number of women 3. ’ Required —Interior in Four. BATES & NOEWOETH. Billing —Songs and Talk. Class— “A.” No. 399. Time—40 Min- Seen —Majestic, Chicago, Sept. 26, 1910. Place on BUI —Next to Closing. Num¬ ber of men 3; number of women 1. Scenery Required —Interior in Four, - “ ! (Special Set) 16 Min- Remarks —Anyone who finds fault with Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth should be strung up by the neck until he is dead, dead, dead. At the risk of such a penalty being imposed on the reviewer, it must be recorded that the minstrel first part is the least bit tedious at times. The Bayes and Norworth Min¬ strel olio, which follows, more than atones for any weariness caused by the opening. Jack Norworth is as full of clever ideas as his wife is of personality, and their present offering proves it. So much clean fun is seldom contributed to vaudeville without more noticeable effort. For an encore Mr. Norworth tells of his admiration for Miss Bayes. He is enthusiastic but not sufficiently so to exaggerate the hit she makes with everyone who witnesses her work. Nora Bayes has her audience so completely enslaved that Norworth’s switch from admiration to adoration meets the ap¬ probation of the population of this grand and glorious nation—to paraphrase a minstrel joke “our fathers used to hear.” A pianist on the stage and an electrician in charge of the machine which throws burlesque views for an illustrated song, comprise the "company," although not billed. Time—17 Min- Class- Seen —Grand, Chicago, Sept. 27, 1910. rial. He has just as good "stuff” as Gordon ever brought to Chicago, and in case of a disappointment, George Hill¬ man can take the place of “The German Senator” without the audience being disappointed. Hillman’s is a new act. The Grand showing was merely to break it in. If he gets any more laughs after he has worked awhile, Cliff Gordon may well look to his laurels. Hillman is dressed in an auto coat and cap. There is a “bust up” just before he appears and he frequently inquires of his chaf- feur (off stage) if the “tire” is repaired. This gives him a splendid opportunity to exit if a shorter act is wanted. If there is any request of this kind it will be made by the manager, for the audi¬ ence does not begrudge so clever an en¬ tertainer all the time he can use. Hill¬ man talks of the auto troubles, of woman’s suffrage, of domestic life, of the price of meat, of rapid transit, of union labor, and of woman’s clothes. None of his jokes have been heard be¬ fore and everyone is good. For an en¬ core he sings a medley of familiar tunes with the words parodied into a song. He is not a good singer but he knows that, lets the audience know that he knows it, and pleases by kidding his own voice while scoring with a splendidly arranged comic number. THE CLASSIFICATION OF ACTS (For Guidance of Managers.) Class “A.”—Headline attractions for the largest houses, through the extraordinary merit of the offering, owing to the prominence of the players, or due to the timeliness of the presentation. Class “B.”—Acts suitable for the most pretentious bills in the larger houses. Those in this class are frequently strong headline attractions. Class “C.”—Offerings which have much in their favor for strong bills, and are well suited for responsible places on programs where two shows are given nightly with popular prices prevailing. Many splendid acts appear under this classification. Class “D.”—Acts suited for irresponsible positions on bills where two shows are given nightly at popular prices. Class “E.”—Acts which are believed to be fitted for places on bills in 10 and 20 cent houses. Those appearing under this classifica¬ tion may have the makings of offerings suited for more pretentious bills. Class “F.”—Acts which are fairly good for 10 and 20 cent houses. Class “G.”—Acts which may make good in five and ten-cent houses, but which are hardly adapted for ten and twenty-cent houses, where an effort it made to secure the best of popular priced offerings. Class “H.”—Acts which are mediocre in the cheapest houses. Class “XX.”—Acts which are new, or are seen under circumstances that a classification at that time would be unfair. Star last week, the Moneta Five scored so decidedly that Chicago predicts a big success for the quintet when it strikes New York. When the curtain rises one of the ladies is singing "Silver Threads Among the Gold,” another lady is at the piano and the gentlemen are playing flute and cornet (with mute.) From that time on there are solos, duets, trios, quartets and quintets, both instrumental and vocal. Wava Moneta’s singing stands out prominently and another of the ladies takes encores with her imita¬ tions of a child singing and reciting. Several curtain calls evidenced the ap¬ proval of the audience for the offering. 5me is ^ changes needed for the best which S a fiAm ° ™ GRUBER'S ANIMALS. Billing —Animal Act. Class— "B.” No. 400. Time—11 Min- Seen —Majestic, Chicago, Sept. 26, 1910. Piace on Bill —Closing. Number of men 2; number of women 1; number of animals 3. Scenery Required —Full Stage. Maximilion Gruber has evolved a good one in having a pony pass between the legs of an elephant, which walks around the stage. The trick is the same as is often performed by dogs and persons and dogs and horses. Another new thing is having an elephant take a strap in its mouth, and when this is attached to the pony, carry the smaller animal off the stage. The animals are worked by a man and a woman, and there is an elephant, a horse and a pony. Several parts of the routine are sufficiently out ,o longer welcomed. DIERO. Billing— piano Concertinist. "B ” No. 398. Time—13 Min¬ fin* 1 —Majestic. Chicago, Sept. 26, 1910. Place on Bill—Fourth in Ten-Act Show. Boenery Required— Olio in One. Remarks —Ditto lias a novelty in a concertina requiring the same fingering as a piano. He holds it so that the key¬ board is displayed, and when he renders »vely ragtime selections, it makes a P's bit. The difficult fingering is made to stand out and brings him liberal ap¬ preciation for his efforts. WII.I, OPEN BOOKING OFFICE. _ ®arry Von Cleve, manager of the Old Fort 1 ilm Exchange, Fort Wayne, Ind., was in Chicago last Friday. He intends to open a booking office in Fort Wayne, as there Is none there at present. Class— “B,” No. 404. Time—18 Min¬ utes. Seen —Julian, Chicago, Sept. 28, 1910. Place on Bill —Closing. Scenery Required —Fpll Stage. Remarks —The Julian has an excellent bill this week and the simple statement that the Diamond Four were placed to close the show after the opening per¬ formance tells the story of their suc¬ cess. It is a comparatively new act. Chris Sorensen, formerly the principal part of the Quaker City Quartet, has the principal comedy in a school boy act. Ed. Jacobi is the tough kid, Will Hirst is the Jew boy, and Robert Richards the teacher. Sorenson’s comedy is of the same laughable variety that made the Quaker City combination such a suc¬ cess. He is surrounded by capable singers and comedians and the offering is just exactly what the audiences want —a combination of good singing and laughable fun. WILLIAMS, THOMPSON & CO. Billing— "The Burglar’s Union.” Class —“C,” No. 402. Time—17 Mi Scenery Required —Street in One. 12 Minutes; Interior in Four, 5 Minutes. Remarks —Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye! Charles E. Bray, Norman Frieden- wald, J. C. Matthews, Frank Q. Doyle, Kerry Meagher, Eddie Hayman, all of the vaudeville men who are seeing so many acts that laughs come hard, there is a blackface act playing the ten and twenty houses in Chicago that will bring a hearty laugh to the most hardened observer of comedy. It was at the Grand the first half of this week and gave the Show World reviewer the best laugh since Neil O’Brien played the Majestic. It may be some old “nigger act” made over. There is the noisy coon burglar who is warned to keep quiet and the finish is where the comedian returns after a scuffle with an officer, wearing the policeman’s outfit. These things are familiar but they are so introduced that a sphinx will laugh. LTIFITA PEREA. MR. AND MRS. JIMMIE BARRY, Billing —Songs and Talk. u( Class— "B." No. 397. Time—22 Min- Seen —Majestic, Cfiicago, Sept. 26, 1910. Place of Bill— Fifth in Ten-Act Show. Number of men 2; number of women 1. Scenery Required— Full Stage (Spe¬ cial) 18 Minutes; One three minutes. Remarks —This is billed as a rural skit and while the description is suitable, the offering is nothing more than songs and talk, ornamented by special scenery and a third person, who merely holds the stage at the rise of the curtain and con¬ tributes to the comedy by agreeing with everything that Zeke Wilkins (Jimmie Barry gives the audience a “wise rube’s’ idea of New York, and while it is all done in a comedy vein and not intended to be taken seriously, it is the more effective in vaudeville from the fact that many will agree with Zeke Wilkins’ idea of New York. There were those in the audience Monday afternoon who think that New Yorkers are less wise than they themselves believe, and the nods of approbation for some of the lines proved it. Only one pair of hands ap- T-- —New York plauded when a reference tv, ,, gave the opportunity. There Was umy one New Yorker In the matinee throng, or else the others denied their home , JI “ m ‘ e Barry sings the best rube song heard in years. It's title is “I’d rather Be a Rube than Be a City Chap.” It seems more difficult to provide a song for country characters than for any other style of vaudeville entertainers, this .song is a splendid one and Mr gory’s rendition of it is dandy m7x iiste^in^h^uXm^n^^le^fhTs and jVsVm Vate? 1 # o^fSr^ fig? which is well done, though it seem4 ^ther a pity for Barry to get away from weaned A ,? )a ^ ody followed, which weaned him entirely away from the awakened the audience that Barry is Only a singing aad , talking comedian after all. The work in one was too good to be cut, yet lity to not end the act when MILTON AND DELONG SISTERS Miautes ’ Layover at terffiT" 7 Be « ulr « d —Full Stage, Remarks —J. A. Murphy has written an excellent sketch. It is not exactly suited for three people. An attempf has vfitn made t0 combine a musical act bid 'for”?° rtant Yplaces ’ a and ad whnt ti the old foj favor is a sincere effort on the other°travo t *?°* 11 T" 1 not com Pare with 2,.mil travest * ea and rural sketches with sufficient credit to itself to go on the big time without a few changes. The master of Frank Milton proves an interesting character and the busi- ness is extremely laughable. The alarm 0f countryman when he hears the mail train coming, his gathering of the mails, which are dumped into a wheel¬ barrow which passes the center door? is a big laugh. Another alarm which shows a woman wheeling a baby carriage, did s ? w , e11 - , The early portion of the ??, e J? n8 ' is devoted to two lady travelers kidding the station agent, baggageman aad a f n ^ sb .oy-f°r Milton is all of these changing his line of work by donning another cap—an old idea, but still serviceable. When the act is about half over one g lr l takes a violin and another plays an organ, which has been un¬ noticed, as it appears to be a crate. There is nothing to this musical bit but something to assist Milton’s comedy, and it is out of place, as he uses the organ to advantage later for a single specialty. The finish is far away from the travesty idea. The sisters make a change of costume and the trio renders ragtime on saxophones, stopping every The three do a few steps while playing and singing, and it is a clever bit, but not introduced properly into the offer- ing to measure up to the requirements of the audiences who like near-consist¬ ency along with their fun. ry, Chicago, Sept. 24, 1910. Place on Bill —Second. Number of women 1; number of men 1. Scenery Required —Full Stage. Remarks —Working above a net, this Mexican girl, perhaps sixteen or seven¬ teen years of age, does the most re¬ markable trapeze act ever witnessed. While doing the early portion of her routine she frequently slips from a po¬ sition in which she is sustained by her forelegs and catches on her heels. This tricks brings great applause. The real surprise of her act comes when the trapeze is set to swinging and she does a forward, catching on her forelegs and slipping down to a heel hold. THE RAYMONDS. Billing —“The Done Passenger.” Class —“F.” No. 394. Time— 14 J Seen— Century, Chicago, Sept. 24, 1 Place of Bill —Opening. Scenery Required— Special set in ’ depends mostly o.. (BP llulu “The Midnight Sons.” It is a travesty °? v. tra .Y, e , 1 Ins i, and , wlth Payers capable of handling the roles, would probably be "“'1 received. The principal scene is