Variety (October 1918)

BUY BONDS 15 THE SAVING GRACE. Bllnn Corbett.... ....Cyril Maude William Hogg. William Devereux Ripley Guildford.. ....Edward Douglas Mrs. Corbett Laura Hope Crew* Susan Blaine Cathleen Nesbitt Mrs*. Guildford Charlotte Granvlllo 'Ada Parsons Annie Hugbes The Empire has come Into Its own once more with a genuine English comedy, pro- duced as they were when Charles Frohman was the presiding genius of that establish- ment. The play la "The Saving Grace," by C. Haddon Chambers, starring Cyril Maude, opening Sept 80. But the present Empire, with Is dirty, red- upholstered opera chairs (the polish of the woodwork rubbed off -to the natural wood, and the upholstery all tattered and torn—the papier mache ornamentation on the boxes chipping off) Is not the Empire of C. FVs regime. The whole thing Indicates an air of disintegration. Even the "F" in Frohman'a name has been lost, and apparently not missed by the typesetter In announcing the house Is under the management of "Charles Rohman, Inc." - To anyone who baa lived In England and "taken a bouse" in the country the charm of "The Saving Grace" is irresistible. Old line patrons of the Empire's orchestra and front row. balQony seats are sure to flock 'to it for quite a spell. And it is equally certain the cheaper seats will not be occupied for the reason that, as aforesaid, upstairs theatre- goers have undergone a course In rural Eng- lish living and, as such, will fail to appreciate the pictures drawn by the pen of Mr. Chambers. Whatever profitable business will be done outside New York will be due for the most part to the popularity achieved by Cyril Maude In his famous "Grumpy." A resume of the plot of "The Saving Grace would give one a feeble idea of Its beauty. The play opens with Blinn Corbett, a middle- aged English man residing In a small bouse In a village near London. Sixteen years previously he bad been a captain In His Majesty's army and had run off with his colonel's wife, with whom he Is still very much in love and she with blm. In England snch an affair almost automatically acts as a dishonorable. discharge from the army and social ostracism. Bllnn since that time bad eked out a more or less precarious existence as a promoter of rather shady enterprises, not, however, losing the outward attributes of a gentleman. His wife, a sweet little pinhead of a woman, never tires of telling people of the romance In her life. She has reared a niece who is loved by the only child of a wealthy widower, and the mother is opposed to an alliance with a family of so questionable a reputation. In the third act Blinn, after attempting to enlist as a private and Is turned down on account of his age, receives a telegram in- forming him his rank of captain has been restored, attributes it to the fact that Eng- land, in these stressful times, cannot do with- out him, not knowing the restoration was achieved by his wife, who bad appealed by wire to the head of the War Office, an old admirer of hers. How much of the delightful evening's en- tertainment Is due to the. characterization contributed by Cyril Maude and how much to the Chambers- play Is a subject for discussion. It doesn't alter the fact that the combina- tion Is a most felicitous one. Laura Hope Crews ss the wife has never been seen to better advantage. Catbleen Nes- bitt as the niece contributes a splendid in- genue portrayal, William Devereaux and Annie Hughes as a pair of high class Eng- lish servants are excellent, ■ and the others are all exceptionally competent There la but one scene, the Interior of a country house In England, furnished with the proverbial gateleg table, a comfortable lounge, fireplace, bookcase, liquor cabinet, wall pan- eling, gloomy wallpaper and all ^he other things that go to make up the regulation suburban English dining room, with French windows leading to the "grounds," and a view of the six-toot brick wall, shrubbery, etc. It's all so natural. Jolo. who accompanied tbem and directed them from the piano throughout. Father Finn Is said to have gained fame as a trainer of boys' voices, and his results with the cbolr Is of the really stellar order. The chorus was listed as an .act, giving the show nine turns, the per- formance running Interatsslonless and the smaller boys Immediately going Into the or- chestra to aid in bond selling. The latter consumed around 35 mlriutes, which brought the show's finish at 11.35. For the regular bill's honors It was an even split between the Avon Comedy Four and Blossom Sceley. The quartet Is appearing for Its third successive week, retained In spite of doubling at the Riverside. "The New Teacher" was revived for the Palace ehow- 'log, and It is the same as of old with very few changes. Tet the house laughed, proving that plenty were on hand Monday nlgbt to whom the familiar lines were not too old. However, the newer turn could Just as safely have been given, for that baa it all over the "Teacher." -The Avons changed their song routine, giving but three numbers—"Peaches in Georgia," "Y. M. 0. A." and "Hate to Get Up in the Morning. They could have done, more but explained the Riverside date. Miss Seeley hastily succeeded Blanch Ring, who, because of Illness, could not appear. A notice to that effect was In the lobby. 'The turn was down, next to closing, starting at 11 and Tunning S3 minutes. Benny Fields' spe- cialty, which usually gets over strongly, sagged because of the lateness. Had the running time been clipped for the occasion, It would have landed even more firmly. When the encore bit was offered bait of' the audience was on its feet on the way out. Three, mem- bers of the Chicago Jaw bunch are still very much with the act. Thorpe, the pianist, was called In the draft Sunday, which gave Fields added duties. Lynch has replaced Salisbury (also called), but Davis and Lopez (latter the cornetlst) are present The addition of the Seeley act gave the bill two turne having single women assisted on the stage by three men closely placed, for Lucille Cavanagh was on but two .spots ahead, Clark and Verdi (Now Acts) intervening. Miss Cavanagh'a act. with Its many draplngs of chiffons and Bilks, is a rather classy turn but doesn't matqh that of Georgie Whites, ner former partner. The Indian number was not impressive and a. replacement might llftye whole turn, for It seems to droop there. For her second week, however. Miss Cavanagh registered very nicely. Regal and Moore demonstrated now acro- batics may be routined with comedy Into a hit offering, even for No. 2. The careless way in which they handled stunts which some athletes make hard, caught the house at the Jump, and the working up of the foot to foot leaps at the finish sent them 1 off to heavy applause, ^and that brought them out several times: _ „ - Harry Langdon with Rose and Cecil ana "Johnny's New Car" kept up the running on third. The girls may rather walk than kiss Harry's face (when made up), but audiences laught at it'and that means sugar. The* effective drop, the disappearing d™«»* stream and the trick auto with Its combina- tion" self-Btarter, all counted for Langdon and brought the laughs. . h «„„i„ Mme. M. Cronln, assisted by the shapely Mile. Juliette and most of the stage crew (at the finish), opened the show with an array of lights, settings and costumes that rnahe the turn an unusual novelty. The odd use of a profusion of colored lamps has been well worked out for effects, and Mme. Cronln win several curtains. Not many remained to see the Gladiators, who tarried but a few minutes, forced to cut their routine In half. Jbee. PALACE. Tha Third Liberty Loan drive sent forth into vaudeville the Joyous, exhilarating, sensa- tional Navy Jazz Band, a crew sent across Intact, tnd which right now Is making golden the hours for the men In rest billets back from the line. The Jackie Jazzera were only among us for three weeks, but their presence Is still « vivid memory. , « For the current loan drive another excep- tional feature has been produced—the Paullst Choristers—coming from the church to aid the Liberty Loan Committee, secured for this campaign by Elmer F. Rogers. The Paul- lst singers are not the sensation that the sailor musicians were, but take rank as one of the most distinctive novelties of seasons, with a recital that reaches vocal heights. There are about 50 in the Paullst choir, 20 or more lads of tender years.. The latter boys all possess tenor voices, -their ensemble sing- ing being beautiful, almost thrilling at times. All are dressed In uniforms resembling the ■ -field hlu*=cf the French and- all have overseas ' caps of similar material. Most striking in their routine Is a number called "Buy a Lib- erty Bond," that phrase being often repeated and fashioned into a melody which the tender tenor voices crescendo wonderfully, The choir baa often appeared at Carnegie Lyceum at a $3 scale. Whether the choristers are from the Paullst Fathers' school or were gathered from vari- ous parishes, Isn't stated, but the whole is under the direction of Father Finn, a priest, -,., RIVERSIDE. With the Impending Liberty Loan appeal during Intermission the Riverside show started at 8.10 and the next In closing, act went on at 11.07 Monday night. It began with Plsano, the sharpshooter, with a good exhibition of showmanship. Julian Hall, '-'the Jazz boy," followed. He opened with a brief excerpt from "Madam Butterfly on the saxophone, then some ragging, running into "Sunshine of Your Smile." Lays down his Instrument for neat soft shoe stepping wtth somersaults. Dons hat, cane and mous- tache for Chaplin Imitation. This he spoils by referring In approved small time fashion to his salary ,as compared with Chapl n a. "Last Night Was the End of the World on slide trombone, ragging "Alexander's Band doing Russian steps. A complete Chaplin make-up, -with no talk, employed-throughout the turn, might prove effective. Mile. Diane and Jan Rublnl, with a pianist, were quite- welcome at this stage of the pro- ceedings. Diane is a typical Cafe des Am- bassadeurs chanteuae, the kind that compen- sates for lack of vocal gift by redundancy of gesture. : She 1b a clever French soubret of the "spley'\ type. Rublnl Is a legitimate violinist who doesntt have to depend upon showmanship for results. He creates an un- dercurrent of melody through "double-stop- ping." His rhapsodizing of "I Hear You Call- ing Me" at the finish was somewhat "drowned out" by the orchestra. Doolsy and Sales were applauded through- out -their .tttre. -s Ihey-baw.-^o-rkoA U>^s*Mt so long that any ad llbblng on the part of one doesn't disconcert the other. Valeska Suratt "presents herself" In "The Purple Poppy." The plain purple gown she now wears Ib moat unbecoming to her, especi- ally for a woman celebrated for bizarre dress- ing. The dialog of this sketch has been altered since last year to conform with the progress of the war. At intermission the Liberty Loan speaker was a bright, keen-witted young soldier, who spoke well and to the point. When one man In the audience offered to buy a bond for every state represented by the soldiers called upon the etage, he managed to dig up a man from every state In the Union and also Canada and the state of matrimony. Bryan Lee and Mary-Cranston, with a special drop, have a clever little singing and talking skit, "A Brltanny Romance." The orchestra was altogether too loud for any understanding of a single word uttered by the pair when they vocalized. ! Harry Carroll came on after 11 P. M., and Immediately assured the audience he would be brief, but even this promise, religiously kept, failed to keep many from leaving. This was no fault of his, but the lateness of the hour. Avon Comedy Four, closing, suffered necessarily, coming on at 11.17. Why wouldn't It be a good Idea for the Avons to build a new act based on their first entrance In "Why , Worry"? Joto. ? COLONIAL Notwithstanding the show this week has but six acts It was not over until nearly mid- night, due to the time used In piling up $22,- 000- for the Liberty Loan, which had the services of Ben. F. Spellman as speaker, Al Darling and Miss Juliet as score keepers and pretty misses soliciting subscriptions. Williams and Wolfus did not appear on ac- count of the sudden Illness of Hilda Wolfus . at the matinee. The show was opened by Chlnko and Kauf- man. Chlnko Juggles the usual routine of tricks with the hat,'umbrella and plates, and uses a bow and arrow as a feature. Miss Kaufman, nicely dressed, does several tricks on the cycle. Chlnko missed most of the tricks he attempted. Wllbert Embs and Helen Alton offered a singing act in which the playing of a piano and violin are Interpolated. An endeavor to get away from the beaten path of this kind of act is made in having lavender, purple and violet dressing for a flash, but most of the colors clash. Miss Alton sings a song bear- ing on the military ' name of our fighting boys, showing a surprisingly good voice. At the finish tbey use an electrically lighted parasol, but broke the handle of It Tuesday night. The act has no comedy and gets over on the success of the melodies. Beaumont and Arnold scored the first laughs In a singing and dancing skit. Miss Beaumont Is in charge of a recruiting office and Arnold la an Insurance agent. Fine cross fire talk, half handled In a comedy manner by Miss Beaumont, and the other half Arnold gets all the laughs. Tbey finish with a cork-' ing good song and dance. The act Is nicely dressed and has sure fire laughing material. Walter Weems, In white face and dressed in a tuxedo, baa new talk which had the crowd laughing in fast style at the finish. At the opening he had tough going for a moment but '. finished with his playing of popular selec- tions on the big horn, receiving the "Colonial ..Clap" that stamped him a etaunch favorite. Re made a short speech of appreciation. , Miss Juliet has slightly changed the order of her act since last week.' Robert Brain Is programed as the pianist, and her Impersona- tions are handled In faster style. The Im- personation ofGrace La Rue Is still the best, and the new Impersonation of Gaby Deslys could be eliminated. She finished In fine style. The Liberty Loan drive with a special set- ting next took up nearly an hour, and then "An American Ace" held everyone In until the finish. The act is now running 48 min- utes, and Is a. fast series of melo-dramatlo situations and red fire speeches. ALHAMBRA. Frank Wayne, formerly attached to Keith's, Philadelphia, Is In charge of the Alhambra, and Al Lydell, last season at the Royal, tears the tickets as one enters. The ebow started promptly with Mis Merle and Co. in a trained bird act. Miss Merle Is nicely gowned, but starts the act In "one" with an Introductory song which she cannot sing. The curtain rises-abowlng a nice set, with the apparatus used by the trained parrots and cockatoos. Most of the tricks are done on a table, and Miss Merle Is assisted by a man who sets the apparatus. The feature trick Is a cockatoo which rides r miniature cycle down an In- cline and loops the loop at the finish. The ' act needs speed. ' Quite the opposite are Greenlee and Will- iams (New Acts), who offer an act In song and dance. "Moondown," the playlet from the Washings ton Square Players, was on third, and told a silly little story. Reglna Conneltl and Ruby Craven were the two principals. The act-- gives Miss Craven many chances to get laughs out of the dialog, but she misses through tho manner she handles tbo lines. Tho act lacks a punch and a good tag line. The bill was here shifted, and Jlramle liucas, Instead of Ellda Morris, occupied the fourth spot. Lucas has g new piano player, although Billy Frish Ib still programed. He opens with a nut poem and a run through the audience. Then slngR a comedy song accom- = auM'.-.-by.-.the-pianist; tf-flng-nevcFar-aiiileets-.- It went over nicely. An Italian character number won laughs with tbo lyrics and then a double song In which tho pianist figured wont well. The "transformation rose" song was a big laugh winner as handled by Lucas and bis assistants, and then ho sang a ballad of the patriotic order in which ho employed tho services of a plant in a uox, dressed as a Civil War veteran, who sang an extra chorus, Dot- ting the act over to a big bit. Mclntyro and Heath offered "The Man fKm Montana." Otto Johnston did the straight with a new kind of make-up and, a new finish has been added to the act, which closed the first part. During intermission $10,000 was raised by the showing of a Liberty Loan propaganda picture and the talk of BenJ. F. Spellman Miss Morris opened the second part with a dandy. routine of special and popular songs with which sho had easy sailing. Miss Morris was nicely dressed and opened with a topical special number. A popular comto was her second, and an Irish comedy song next scorod strongly, A ballad In which Miss Morris bad a chance to show her v.olce was roundly ap- plauded, and then a darky war number as sung by her stopped the show. Miss Morris made a abort speech of thanks. Mme. Violet Besson offered "Maid of France," in which Josephine Victor was soon last season. The four men In the playlet, which'tell the story of a pollu's vision on ChrlBtmas JBve, read their lines excellently and played well. The chief fault lies In tho work of Mmo. Besaon herself, who talka her lines' without any marked vocal intonation and docs not shade her speech. As in the original act, both the flower girl and the staute of "Joan of Arc" which oomea to life are played by her, but In posing as the statue she does not retain the same pose as the original, and this little defect detracts. "Maid of France" might be a propaganda act, but tbo good of it is lost to the performance. Rae Ellnore Ball and her brother had a bard road cut for them In closing the Bhow, but managed to do it. Miss Ball appears on tbo stage playing various classical selection on the violin and her brother directs the or- ohestra, whistles and plays a cello accom- paniment In the orchestra pit. The audience thought their last number was the exit march and slowly departed at a very late hour, ; ROYAL. The Royal was somewhat off In attendance,) especially In the rear of the orchestra Mon-< day evening, unless that Is the usual thing there at the opening of the week. The show '?vfL at lta cust< >Bwry hour, but closed at 11.35, with the Liberty Loan mament (82 of them) following tho iutennlsslon. No film weekly was shown at either end of the bill As an overture before the performance the orchestra, under the leadership of Nat Kamern played "On the Western Front," a neat ar- rangement of patriotic melodies by R. E. Hll- dretb. Francis P. Bent made the Loan address an impressive one. Mr. Bent is always an In- teresting speaker and follows no set nor stereotyped line, a decided rejiof In a theatre where assigned speakers are very frequently heard. The agile Roy Cummlngs "clowned" during the bond selling, scaling tho arch Into the first upper stage box and walking around the rail of the entire balcony, making "falls" meanwhile, finally" Jumping from the upper box, on the opposite side, to tho stage, about 15 feet. Mr. Cummlngs brought many a laugh and exclamation. He also aided with remarks that were as sensibly pointed to sell bonds as his antics were funny. The house sold $3,000, with the sales up to Monday evening $22,700. Chris Egan, the Royal's manager, was active in the aisles to promote the sales and opt allow the session to drag, but iff. Egan found him- self In a Jam when someone on tho stage pro- posed a collection to buy two bonds for a sailor aj<l fooler. M.was a. slow process to collect the $100, finally gathered In by dimes and quarters (Eddie Cantor likely being the per- son In the rear of the house who offered to make up the total, up to $20. Mr. Cantor had shortly befoce subscribed for a $1,000 bond). Mr. Egan then Judicious!/ announced the draw- ing for the soldier bonds would tako place after the performance, with the uniformed men In tbe house Invited to remain. Mr. Cummlngs followed the Loan drive and brought the show back into tbe running, though It was thsn growing late. He has Lil- lian Fermoyle nowl succeeding Ruth Mitchell (still with- "Hltchy Koo"). Miss Fermoyle has looks, and If anything else of value to the act It doesn't present Itself. The girl cheer- fully stands Cummlngs'. kidding about her voice. But a girl In the Cummlngs act is merely an excuse or stall for Cummlngs, for he really does a "single," and a very good one. There's hardly anyone brought to mind, not excepting the exceptional Dooleys, who can obtain as much comedy from a "fait" as Cum- mlngs does. His intermingling ballad singing with falls Into the pit is really a delicious bit of fun. In Its way as much of a vaudeville classic ss Gordon Dooley saying "Excuse me for stepping out of my character," after kick- ing his brother, Bill, In the chest. TLa Vadllner, Clifton Crawford, followed, but must have cut his turn quite short, for what he <Md Monday evening could hardly bo termed an act. Opening with tbo picture house business, ho did a long drawn-out story, told off a couple of recitations and had an- • other story without a point. Mr. Crawford worked listlessly, mayhaps due to tho lateness or the Lean, but be was appreciated and might bave returned more for It. Different with Dooley and Sales closing tho show, starting after 11, and giving tho audl- imm W -tSBiirntiSaw asili s i Unf WU M ibB'UB M T " tbat long or not. Went through the entire act and It seemed as though J. Francis was doing It to oblige Corlnne, who had a theatre party down front rooting for hor. Tho act was enjoyed, of course, and held tho house, which was something If the house were not waiting for the Weekly, but still tbey coacdled themselves to o standstill. It wan quite bravo enough of tho couple to take tho closing spot without trying to run tho show Into Tuesday. The first part was closed by Kalmar and \ 3