Variety (November 1918)

IQ BURLESQUE BEST SHOW IN TOWN. Thts nttrnrtlon bwcrk Info the Columblt. about live WFckt) later laat senBon tban tbla. At tbat time It aPjicnra that "Dlutch" (Jomcs H.) CooptT wna overcome with modepty, for Ills name did not lllumlDate the program as producer wblcb he was and la, nut now "Qlutcb" has lost biB bluahes and atuck tn bis name where oil the burlesque world may see. That waa last eeasoo and namea and everjr- thlng are rresent rcRQrdlnfr billing, program and Buch. Nothing elne sav*' one or two cast Changes ond some new numters, with perhaps fi few acts or new costumes, will dlstlngufsh he dlfTerencc between the two seasons. Mr. Cooper and Billy K. Wella (who didn't quite share his chief's modesty In 1017) ore not to be censored for failure to evolve a now pro- duction. Any flrat wheel show that la the goodq should be able to stand up for at least .two swings around the circuit. That Isn't a set and fast rule, as evidenced by the way the P'how went over election afternoon. It wasn't a capacity bouse for, no doubt, a cer- tain prrcentage of patrons were out seeing that the populace was doing Its dujty In the natter of casting the great American vote. But stIU enough fans were on band to start Bometblcg, and only n shade of something was started at any stage of the performance. It may have been that Tuesday, afternoon's buneb were unusually eopblatlcated. It's a cinch though that BR far as the players are concerned the Biidlrnce waa a nearly unanimous group of undeniably "bard boiled eggs." When the rather elaborate opening song ■ectlon went through Its course without stir- ling the onlookers, something must have ailed 'em. If they were chilled they should have pulled their clappers out of their pockets, for it's a most rare occurrence when a voice like Lynn Cantor's Is wafted over burlesque foot- lights. Had a stranger to the Columbia Wbcel dropped Into the house and noted the equanim- ity with which Miss Cantor's splendid singing waa to(i!<ed off without real returns almost throughout, he would have imagined burlesque Is a totally different Institution. Miss Cantor Is one of the motit accomplished songstresses out of the production field and the legitimate couldn't have erred had it annexed her. She al!<o Is very pcrsnnable end looks dandy in tights, which she didn't exhibit until the finish. Though given to vocal flights in other num- bers, It was with "Smiles" that Miss Cantor fared best. That not only becaune of the varia- ble high notes but with the aid of Fran'' Hunter who had many bits of business to help out. One of the flnal bits waq his shooting of a poodle. Minfl Cantor Inquired didn't be know that dog belonged to Irving Berlin, Frank reptled, "certainly; It was the "Beast of Berlin,'" which ^nme of the bouse caught but the most muffed. Mr. Hunter remnlns about the same as last year, doing the "Wop" In the first of the two arts which neatn has the same six or seven scenes, and the blackface fire chief for the Intter section, Looks as If Hunter was not as much aided In tbo comedy scenes as before. He has mo!it of them himself and though he Is to be recognized oa a good first comic, more In the way of a second comic would be qul»o welcome. Mnrgle Winters remains secondary to Miss Csntor In the matter of voice, Miss Winters hav'ng something In the way of a female bprltone which was effective at times. Helen McArdle Is a newcomer, having replaced Clara Keating in the soubret role. She teamed with Morris Lloyd In a song and dance specialty thst lot over fairly well. Lloyd played a combination Juvenile nnd strnleht, seconded In the latter department by Harry Seivers, Manny Koler essayed the second comic's role vllh Id and out succesB. with Frank Wesson also In comedy roles. In the matter of spe- clnltles Virginia Ware with Mr. Hunter again delivered a punch. The cigaret number (led by Hnrry Seivers and Hunter) has replaced It with one where the girls are costumed as various miisical Instntments, to lend novelty. Near the start two choristers mixed up dresses ■ for when the violin was announced, a gal with a guitar contume appeared and It was vice ▼ersa when the violin dress came on. Ray- mond B. Perez keeps tbe chorus In lively action. Whst costuming was given this year's troupe apponred to all come In the second act. Whai la llkf'ly a new ferture Is Mile, Davenport's "Pnrlslenne Models," which come at the finish. The poslngs are made bj three whitened fem- - Intno Cgtires, with anng i)«mbpra by the prin- cipals (again including Mattle DeLece) be- tween groups. There is excellent singing and comedy in Mr. Cooper's organization, and he can use a mnlorlty of tbe cast In putting forth a new production next season. Ibee, THE PENNANT WINNERS. A burlesque show almost utterly devoid of laughs. There are numbers enough but the lack of comedy makes the first part one of the most draggy affairs t^z* could htive been staged, It doesn't seem to be possible that this la the fnult of the cast, tn the work that they hod to do they acquit themselves honora- bly, so the fault must of necosslty He with the Ptaging nnd the weakness of the book. At, Ahfl..,0}ympto..,Monday .nlgb.t were scvco. ... soldiers sealed In h row, who left after the first act nnd failed to return for the second. Their remarks as they passed out wore their opinions on the show. J. W, Whitehead bends the program as the producer of "The Pennant Winners," and be is also credited with tbe staging as well as the book. Th e number s w ere staged by Ray- mond Midgley. Vivian Lawrence and Walter "Finr.zgnn" Parker are the two featured mem- bers of the cpst. There are eight principals and one bit is listed with tbem giving a pro- gram flash of nine. Sixteen chorus girls are named but at no time did more than IS show, divided as eight ponies and seven show girls. Taken from the line-up of principal material the bbow should have l)een a wbale tor tbe American Wheel. There are three corking principal women, a trio of nard working co- rned ians and two clever and nifty appearing straights. But for some reason or other the pep was lacking. There are two acts tbe first opening In a department store owned by the "straigtats" In partnership. The Irish and Dutch characters are rivals and, as business is bad at the de- partment store, the frame Is to offset a sale of balf Interest to each of tbe comedians with- out either being informed of tbe transaction. This looked promising from a book standpoint at tbe openinjs, but tbat is just as far as It went. From that point on It was bit and number, with tbe latter getting over In fairly good shape, but tbe bits tailing to pull a laugh from tbo audience during the entire first act. The second act was tbe Interior of tbe prima donna's home on tbe night of a party, with the comedians Invited and they arrive pre- pared to light Tbla act, runs along without any comedy developing until about ten minutes before tbe finale when a slap stick quartet bit was Introduced. The audience being starved for laughs by tbls time ust ate It np. The numbers In tbe show were tbe only material that held it up. There are 14, a dance specialty, and the opening and finales- of the two acts. All of the numbers fall to the women. The soubret, Vivian Lawrence has five Including her work In tbe specialty, while Olive Morgan and Olive Christian each bave four and double a number tbat includes an Amazon March. The soubret Is a fast little worker full of pep and ginger, and although she falls to get over the lyrics of her numbers, the audience likes her because of her freshness and youth. She Is constantly dancing and prancing and Is a good looker with a winning smile. As for clothes she sets a pace on the American Wheel that the majority of soubrets will find bard to follow. Everything that she wears Is of the soubret variety with tights, she pulling a wallop with a pair of those lace tights a la Ziegfeld for the final number. It was hot stuff for the Olympic audience and with tbe chorus working behind her In a fast danc<ng number In strip tights tbe boys went wild. Incidentally Miss Lawrence In a dancing spe- cialty In the second act with Oattv Jcnes (one of tbo straights) tied up tbe show In a knot. Both Olive Chrlstlsn and Olive Morgan are exceedingly classy burlesoue leading women from the standpoint of looks and clothes. The former carried the prima donna role very cleverly, while the latter, who is possessed of a deep, almost baritone voice, delivered with a coon shouting number in the second act. Each of the women make at least five changes of gowns during the show and show up stun- ning In encb one of them. MIks Christian out a particularly pleasing figure at the head of th<j Amazon March in full leneth white tights with a cleverly cut upper portion dec- orated with brilliants. All of the costiimea of the principal women nin to the rhlne- stone decoration thing to such an extent thnt It altnost overshadows the diamonds vltb which they are plentifully bestowed. Of the men Walter "Flnne«in" Parker han- dles tbe Irlfth In a clean-cut manner that seems to Indicate that he could eet laughs If ne bad the right material. When he is on in a scene he keeps things moving as best he can. Levi Leaderer is the Dutch and works well with Parker. His roIUng of the R's early In the first act got a snicker or two but he was not In on tbe laughs until tbe rnneh- houae bit In the last act. In which he, Parker and Jimmie Parelle, who does Jew. were con- cerned with Jack Rice the other of the straight men. The chorus Is worked exceedingly bard. The girls have to make a chanee for every number In the show, and some of the numhers follow ,so close on one another that the girls are 'often late, or come on hooking themselves up. There Is one thing that they do need and that is some one to Instill some unison of band and arm movement In the numbers. In other words they need "pepplng-up." Their costumes call for pink tights throughout and the ehangea consist of, for the most part of knickers and blouses pulled over them. There are a couple of good-looking seta. In the 14 changes. In the first act the "Belgian Rose," "China Maid" and "Bonnie Heather" sets were the best. In the last act green and black opening costumes and those of lavender In the "Corlnne" num- ber prove the moat effective. What this show needs at present Is an Intro- duction of comedy and then it can move with almost anything on tbe wheel. It Is most needed In the first act, where even the speed that is set by the numbers falls to bold tbo audience. The aecond act Is a little faster, but not fast enough to bold up. Speed up with comedy, not ginger, and it might be advisable to cut tbe "Good-bye In French," "Carbolic Acid, Good-bye In English," gag as It becomes tiresome where It bas been beard for a week or two In succession, only one week removed ahead of this show. Fre4. WATSON'S SHOW NFYT SEASON, Billy Watson is to have a new show on the Columbia Circuit next season, if he's on the Columbia Circuit next season, according to report in bur- lesque circles. That is the decision the story says arrived at last week while Watson and his "Beef Trust" were at the Columbia, New York. The newness demanded will also include another title, which will banish the "Beef Trust" as a name from the larger burlesque circuit. Ac- cording to the report which repeats the tale with seemingly much reliability, Watson has been informed the'new show must have a book never before used by himself or anyone else in bur- lesque. In business association with Watson on the Columbia Circuit is George W. Rife. Mr Rife is the owner of the Columbia franchise Watson plays un- der at present All accounts agree that should the commands of the bur- lesque powers not be fully complied with by Watson, the omission would relegate that comedian to the Amer- ican wheel. The Watson report is quite apt to stir up comment along the tines of the burlesque wheels, where Watson has " been playing for 25 years, more or less, not having used during that time over three "books," making his name and show well known through employing "beefy" girls as choristers. Along with the finale of the "Beef Trust" title will go the style of chorus girls Wat- son has been so partial to. Last week at the Columbia, New York, the Watson show played "Krausemeyer's Alley," one of Wat- son's oldest pieces. It is said the Co- lumbia executives who have their head- quarters in the same building conclud- ed that to permit Watson to tour the circuit in continuous seasons with the same show, including dialog and songs, without any great variation in costum- ing or people, was doing other and more progressive Columbia producers an injustice, eyen thouerh the public itself hadn't grown tired by this time of the Watson repetitions. Some corrections and cuts made in the Watson performance at the Co- lumbia were ordered permanent for the remainder of this season. BURLESQUE CHANGES. Kitty Madison, in the "Innocent Maids," replacing Bessie Rosa; Jim McCauley, for "Auto Girls"; Eddie Lloyd, juvenile, in the Ben Welch com- pany. SOME CITIES STILL CLOSED. - Burlesque shows reopened in Pitts- burgh, Monday only to be shut down again by the state authorities Tuesday. The Columbia circuit, in addition to Pittsburgh, Wednesday reported St. Louis, Toledo, Cleveland, Youngstown and Akron as the only towns yet to reopen. On the Penn Circuit, York, Columbia and Altoona reopened Monday, with Scranton and Wilkesbarre still dark. Louisville is still closed,.with some- thing definite expected from the health meeting there the last of the week. Detroit reopened Wednesday, with Baltimore and Washington still run- ning after reopening last week. Nothing definite had been received as to the Ohio situation and the west, 'barring Chicago, was still in a bad way where the burlesque shows were routed. Sioux City reopened Sunday night but none of the shows are plajr- ing Kansas City, Omaha or St. Louis. "Auto Girls" Ordered to Repair. Another American show has been ordered to make improvements—Sy- monds & Lake's "Auto Girls" (Olympic last week). It is one of the shows that has played continuously. The International Alliance of Theat- rical Stage. Ernployees. and .M,. P.. Obt erators allowed its members on the road the privilege of entering into'a personal agreement with company managers during the epidemic, to ob- tain other employment necessary while the theatres were idle. KAHN 3UED FOR SALARY. Evelyn Ste-«ens Gerard, known pro- fessionally as Evelyn Stevens, has started suit against B. F. Kahn, the stock burlesque promoter, through her - attorney, Alfred Beekman. The plain- tiff alleges in her complaint that Kahn engaged her Nov. 1, 1917, at $40 per week, with the understanding that her engagement was to last for at least one year, to Oct. 31, 1918. Dec. IS, 1917, she alleges, the burlesque man gave her the exit cue without just cause or reason. She estimates her damages at $1,800, the salary due her for the balance of the year. A second cause for action, her com- plaint continues, is that she was not paid her weekly salary of $40 due her from Dec. 10-15, 1917, totaling her dam- ages at $1,840. The contract alleged is verbal. Miss Stevens claims she had worked for Kahn a short while previous to this litigated engagement, but had also been fired to make room for (Miss) "Billy" Morris, who, Kahn alleged, held a long- time contract. When she had, later; been offered the prima donna role with Barney Gera.'d's show, Kahn ap- proached her with the more tempting offer mentioned, assuring her a year's engagement. She had him corroborate the engagement, she alleges, by hav- ing Kahn phone her husband, Louis Gerard. Miss Stevens opened her engage- ment Nov. 12 and played to Dec. 10, when she received a letter from Kahn, while at the Bronx Folly, notifying her that through the great expense he must dispense with prima donnas and get along with soubrets. He main- tained, in 'a letter which the plaintifTs attorney possesses, that her expenses totalled up to $65 -weekly—$40 salary and $25 weekly wardrobe. DIXON'S IN AGAIN. The stony throated yeller of the American burlesque circuit, he of the steel lungs, Henry P.. more commonly known as "Noise" Dixon, is in again at the Friars. Some three months ago Dixon, with Max Winslow and others, were play- ing a pure game of pure cards at the Friars. Dixon started talking. The Board of Governors decided one man could not have made the bedlam. They suspended Dixon and Winslow for six months. Last week the Friars lifted the sus- pension, commuting the sentence through Dixon's threat that if the Frairs didn't reinstate him he would return to acting. MIDNIGHT SHOW AT OPENING. Omaha, Nov. 6. With the lifting of the ban on in- fluenza at midnight, Oct. 31. the Gay- ety opened at one minute past 12 for ^ a midnight performance of Fred Ir- vin's Majesties. The show had been extensively advertised, and an hotir before the time of opening the audi- ence began to gather. The house seats 1200. At 12.10 S. R O, sgins were disolaved. GOOD TO MOTHER-IN-LAW. .Harry Montagu, the veteran bur- lesque producer and comedian, now living in New York, had a winter en- gagement offered that would take him south, but Montagu reneged, saying that he had to take care of his'vener- able mother-in-law. whose age is 84. H. M. waits on the old lady person- ally and she would stand for no other nurse or attendant. An impreative ceremony has been prepared for the unveiling of the Edwin Booifh "MenldfiaV In Gramercy' - Park, Nov. 13. The unveiling will be done by Edwin Booth Gros.'man, grandson of Edwin Booth. John Drew, Stuyvesant Fish and Brander Mat- thews will be among the speakers.