Variety (September 1918)

:■-■'-■;:' ;V\ ■'■■'/,'■ ;■■ \ " i ■^': ,: :f , V. 10 1 '?■■'" j '-X I »■'•." Si ;>.*:■ I'm. \ » IV :*:":■ 1 p BUY BON D S LEW KELLY SHOW. Low Kelly was in London tor two seasons. Ho wont across to go Into an Albert De Cour- . vlllo rovue at the Empire, and subsequently played tho balls. Last out bore bo was fea- tured In Jack Singer's "Hello New York." which bad a Hummer run at tho Columbia. Lost season tho spot on the wheel was beld by tbc Loo Hascall show, wblch Is now filled by "the now Lew Kelly Show. Mr. Singer has furnished Kelly with very high grade support and a clean, colorful pro- duction, but tbere was no serious attempt to give him new material. Tbere are several exceptions in the now show, but for the main Holly is doing bits and lines with wblch bur- lesque patrons are as Intimate as bo Is. As 40 per cent, of burlesque patronage are regulars It Is a question as to whether some criticism from that quarter will not be made. - It was no test at tho Columbia Tuesday night when tbe crowd slowly filtered In until there whb over capacity. They laughed and laughed a lot, In fact appeared to reap as much en- joyment as from anything on tbe wbeel. But ' tbe Columbia draws a Bigger percentage of floaters than the average burlesque house. At that the Kelly show for the IIrat four- fifths of the way totes a heavy batting aver- age and furnishes as good entertainment as the average musical attraction, wblch is nbout tho standard set by tbe first wheel. The show, io programed as presented In nine In- nings'; After the first session It loses all plot and sticks to bits and business. Lew en tors as the'familiar professor dope plus the green spot halo which Is shelved after the entrance, and explains "I'm the fellow who thinks he's mo but he's not" He ^ad Just been run over by an auto but wasn't hurt, because be was under a bridge," and "Roger" stuck around too. Yet they laughed, liking the familiar bits more for the way thoy were handled than for what tbey are. . The entire first act ran along excellently, carried along at. a tempo that was admirable. Perhaps Vic Casmore has some credit coming ' tor that, be being the stage manager. He also accounted for a French role very cleverly carried out and some bits later on. Tbe first "Inning" ran tor an even hour, the sec- ond section of the show the balanco of the "Innings." It' was long after the second act started that Kelly appoared In "one," straight, for the first time In burlesque, to talk about things over there and some of bis experiences. Lew talked for. ten minutes and went over with a bang. A good deal of his talk was whole- heartedly patriotic and ended with an ex- pression of our determination to beat tbe Hun. Lew said that when he reached Lon- don it was In the midst of an air raid, and ns there were moonlight nights, that sort of thing kept up for sevoral weeks. Bvory time be went out he was chased Into a cellar, for If the Hun bombs didn't get you, anti- aircraft shrapnel might. Ho thought be knew every cobweb in London, but lived on In tho bopo t'jat be might bo cbasod into a wlno cellar. That was one of the new bits, and another was a short travesty on the "Thirteenth Chair." Kelly gave a abort synopsis of the plot of the actual play, "Bo that those who hadn't seen It would know what they were trying to do. Rather a good Idea Tbe bur- losquo Itself wasn't so hefty, but does woll onough. Chief aid to the Kelly proceedings and the other featured momber of'the oast Is Lucille Mnnlon, who last season was with "The Behman Show." Developing rapidly within the last few seasons, Hiss Manlon Is now to be classed as one of tho neatest and nicest . appearing women In burlesque. She de- livers numbers with dispatch, and few can equal her in handling lines. Song numbers arc not the feature of tbe Kelly show, but Miss Manlon csme through with the first scoring song, It being "Smiles." She, too, bad an inning all alone, doing "Good for Nothing," followed by two recitations. One was a parody on "Gonga Dbln," supposed to havo been written by an American ambu- - lance driver and brought back by Kellyi The other was "Tho World's Series" in Berlin, by Fred McCioy, the Columbia manager. She also lead tbe first act finale, "Dixieland In France," the best staged number in the show. Of next Importance are Leona Earl and Bon Mulvey, who largely worked together. They sent over "Wonderful Baby" by injecting some lusty loving and kissing, the buBlneua being funny and cleverly carried out. They also had a donee number, tbero being very little stopping, by tho way. Jack HJomah handled a number or bite, nil being done well. The cboniB Is above the averago, the taller girls Including several very good lookers, and there are a good singing bunch, too. Mr. Slngor has "provided good looking duds—not perhaps so plentiful as In some shows, but enough, and nt all times tho ononis Is neat and attractive. There are two full stage sets, the first being well painted and tbe sec- ond being a natural picture with the Third Avo. "L" overhead, that some New Yorkers away from home will get homesick when they lamp It. "■'' Towards the finish a chorus number went over for a bit, Oiling a gap fully In a position which can carry more heft. Kelry got back Into his old character for a few additional laughs, Ono came after Instructions to a waiter to go out and build an airplane out of a lot of paper—fly-paper, Lew oxplalned. Earlier ho had a comical bit with Mlas Manlon on tho breeding of automobiles. At tho Intermission the house orchestra caught tho house with f aithful impressions of bugle calls, the drummer announcing tho purpose of each. Reveille and pay days calls won laughs. The Kelly show Is fast, good entertainment, and (here Isn't a blue line at any time. The familiar bits shouldn't Interfere, for Kelly has been away. For next season new ma- terial will be in line, but for the current tour tbe Kelly name backed by show and cast should turn a nice profit Ibee. THE MISCHIEF MAKERS. 'The Mischief Makers" (American Wheel), sponsored by F. W. Gerhardy, at the Olympic last week, may sound a bk coarse, but for tbe most part It Is clean. A pretty fair bunch of. chorus girls, "with several outshining the others. Ono girl seemed a bear for stepping a la buck negro fashion, but tbe threads at- tached to the upper part of ber bodice were more down than up. This girl also* kept grab- bing at the upper part of her Btocklnga and it doesn't fit In the general ensemble fitness. Another revealed a sweet, sympathetic soprano voice and she was recalled for an encore. On dressing Qerhardy's outfit stacks up woll, the number of changes not being as many and varied as with some of the other organizations, but sufficiently attractive to re- ceive commendation. Tbe number with the girls representing different phases of the In- dustrial jobs women are doing was well con- ceived. Scenlcally what sets are employed tor the two parts answer tbe purposes. In "bits" the first part sagged, due to the unnecessary length of several. The program saya the book, music, lyrics, dances and everything in the entire Bbow are tbe work of Joe Wilton. Wilton was with the same show last season and to make that cer- tain he announces In a song he wrote the sbow ano\ then played "straight," but making the sldoVbeel comics, Joe Freed and George Hart earn their money. Wilton does well enlugh, having a good stage appearance, but using too much of the' rough attitude toward.all of the other prin- cipals. Freed has Improved his comedy efforts. He was with Wilton last season and now works to better advantage. Hart acquits him-, self creditably, but seemed content at times to let Freed handle all tbe comedy. Johnny Crosby Ib doing a "wop" character and also a "dope" In the second part. Crosby may know little about "lines," but when warb- ling a ballad alone be Is there. Of the women, Mable Clark Is back, but keeping herself within bounds. Even In tbe finale of th« second part when she flashed ber "flgger" In full tights, she kept as decorous as was possible. Mabel Lee Is rather viva- cious and displayed herself in different out- fits of tights of resplendent colors., Gerbardy persists in laying particular stress on the program as to his "Paprika Chorus." As tbs most natural voice was that shown by one of the chorus girls, Rene Vlvlenne, she Is ontrusted wltb tbe prima donna work and handled her numbers with credltr^-Sbe also took time to demonstrate a nifty shape for a woman of Amazonian type. ■ Wilton has worked In a' "bit" of a serious nature with attention vividly directed on the war, wltb two principals dressed as a soldier nn<J nurse, respectively. It doesn't fit In bur- lesque but these are war times. But It stirs up patriotism through the unaffected way that the two characters are Impersonated. It Is not the best sbow on the wheel. Neither Ib It tbo worst. It strikes a sufficiently happy medium to hold Its own wltb the'majority. Mark. NATIONAL WINTER GARDEN OUT. With the business getting worse each recurring week at the National Winter Garden, the American Bur- lesque Association heads and the Minsky Brothers, operating the Gar- den, mutually agreed to discontinue the American bookings there after .Oct. 12. Stock will be resumed. None of the American shows has played to profit since the house start- ed burlesque early in August. Another theatre may be added, one adjacent to New York, but for the present the dropping of the Garden will put a week's layoff on the cir- cuit. LON HASCALL IN ACT. A vaudeville act has been forme i by Lon Hascall and Johnny Johnston. Mr. Hascall for several years was a feature in burlesque, leaving it after last season when he headed one of-the Jack Singer shows. CANCELLING CAMP STAND. Owing to the Spanish influenza epi- demic whiah has gripped the different army cantonments and camps in the east the American burlesque shows are passing up their regularly sched- uled dates for the Dix Theatre, Wrightstown, N. J., owing to the quarantine which has been placed on Camp Dix__and adjacent territory . LOUIE DACRE DIES.. Louie Dacre died Saturday, Sept. .21, at the Sloane Hospital, New York, of fibrous tumor. She had been suffering severely since Sept 1, and has been very ill for a year or more. Miss Dacre entered the hospital about three weeks ago to secure relief but without entertaining much hope. Services were held Tuesday in the Campbell Chapel, with Episcopalian services. The funeral arrangements were taken in charge by James Mc- Intyre (Mclntyre and Heath), father- in-law of the deceased. Henry Ches- terfield, representing the National Vaudeville Artists, of which Miss Dacre was a^member, paid tribute to the dead woman. Many. professionals and friends attended the services. Louie Dacre for many years occu- pied a position all her own in bur- lesque. She was known and famed throughout the circuits and in her day was a distinct drawing attraction. Of talent and quite some personal charm, Miss Dacre made herself felt in any performance. She contributed at dif- ferent times many writings of her own to Variety:. Several of these were in verse. In private life Miss Dacre was Mrs. William J. Mclntyre. Her husband is' now with "Paris by Night" (American burlesque wheel). Following her mar^ riage Mrs. Mclntyre started a suit for alienation of affections against her husband's father, but the case never reached trial. The deceased was around SO years of age- BURLESQUE CHANGES. James E. Cooper and Billy Wells af- ter a tour of their shows made a num- ber of changes in the casts. In "The Trail Hitters," Vic Plant has replaced Johnny Weber and Jack Dempsey is doing Charles Edwards' work. George Brennan is now in "A Mile a Minute," replacing Burt Scott. Elmer Tenley's part in the "Sight Seers" is being played by J. Karney. George Slocum has replaced Meyer Harrie in "Paris By Night" (Ed. F. Rush's show). In the "Blue Birds" Evelyn Ferriss re- places Sedal Bennett. Marjorie Hilton will join "High Fliers," replacing Grace Howard. IMPROVEMENTS ORDERED. As quickly as possible the executive heads of the American' Burlesque As- sociation are ordering changes in the shows that on their first eastern ap- pearance have failed to measure up to the standard set by the circuit. One of the first was the T. W. Din- kins' show, "Innocent Maidens," with others now instructed to strengthen and..improve without delay. Morris Wainstock's "Military Maids" is under censorship, with Wainstock instructed to change his entire first part and also make at least two changes in his prin- cipals. James E. (Bluch) Cooper's "Trail Hitters," which had the title of "Army and Navy Girls" last season, is also under reorganization,' the scenery and costume, however, reported as being good. Several changes have been volun- tarily made in Ed. F. Rush's show, "Paris By Night." END OF GRAMLICH STOCKS. Owing to financial troubles and in- ability to pay salaries the last of the stock burlesque companies organized by Charles Gramlich, also credited with having written the pieces and staged them, which have been at the Warburton, Yonkers, now closed, and at the 14th Street, New York, is wind- ing up its unsuccessful organization this week. The withdrawal of Gram- lich from producing does not mean the closing of the 14th Street, which is under lease to the Feldman Amuse- ment Co. (Nick Feldman, general di- rector). The stock policy will be con- tinued there, with a new company, headed by Leo Stevens next week. The Stevens company, including Gertie DeMilt, May Leavitt-and others will be under the management of Feld- man. Feiber & Shea's Sunday Film in Ohio. Although other theatrical interests may continue the Sunday show plan in Ohio, the Feiber & Shea offices have decided that none of their Ohioan holdings will attempt any perform- ances on the Sabbath, but instead will offer straight picture shows. Musical Player, nt Grand, Columbus. Columbus, O., Sept. 25. The Musical Players at the Grand are playing their fifth week. They are putting on "Three Twins." This makes the 17th consecutive week in Colum- bus, asthey played 12 weeks at a summer park in the suburbs. UNKNOWN CENSOR INSPECTED. The American Burlesque Associa- tion now. has quite a compiled list of show reports on many of its'travel- ing troupes, the "unknown censor" having just completed a tour of the west and northwest, looking over the shows and reporting accordingly. . Just who the censor is the American offices will not reveal, but some of the producing managers have an idea as to the identity of the man giving their shows the "official close up." JACK CONWAY IS 4t. John Francis Conway, featured with "Liberty Girls," is in the second draft call, age 40. LARGEST LOAN SIGN. Syracuse, N. Y, Sept. 25. The largest painted Liberty Loan sign in the United States is on the north wall of the new Keith Theatre building in S. Salina street. Fifty by 80 feet of will space is covered by a reproduction ofthe 'Lib- erty Loan poster that won the $1,000 prize in the New York Art League contest. jack shea's wmr™"™™ Another vaudeville road show for the camps is proposed by Jack Shea, start- ing Oct. 17 at Camp Dix, N. J., accord- ing to his present plan. / "Loveland" with 14 girls will be in it, also Master George Dewey, the Ad- miral's grandson, who will head the ttpupe with Sherman and DeForrest. THE WANDERING ACTOR. By CLEM BEVIN8. No, I never cared about taking orders And so I drifted across our borders, I landed once down In Mexico, 'Twas sure no place for a Yank to go— With Its sagebrush, cactus, heat and sand, Tbey ought to name It "No Man's Land." I found the Hun there, he hated a Tank, Ho taught the Greasers-we were rotten, rank, But I didn't pay much attention. Then later on at Mission Inn, A wonderful, quaint hotel, sans din,- At Riverside, In that grand old stats Made famous by Its Oolden Gate— IT culls Its guests from everywhere, French, English, Russian, Hun were there. When the Hun said we were Just plal i punk I began to think that he was a skunk, 'Though I didn't pay much attention. But when I arrived In Edmonton, Way up north near tho midnight sun, And found that instead of Canadian Land owners were Hun and Austrian-— Who wore getting rich from the wheat up there, Whllo CanuekB were fighting in France some- where, I began to think that I'd been a blank For the Hun even there taught hatred of Tank, And I began to, pay attention- ,_ Now I'm back In my own UNITED STATES, And I'm praying that we can olose the gates Of the land, the air and the sea to the swine Who boastB of his Kaiser, his boor and the Rhine. I'm happy, I'm glad, I'm giving thanks That my homo's where It Is, GOD bless my Tanks. If my country needs me now, or next fall, Tou'll find me there at that old roll call, And you bet I'll pay attention.