Variety (March 1919)

62 ISWOW REIiriii -^sCiii ■.^ I MlnJI Its shafe of appreclaUon which, ood- Ktiief HcpkloB was replectd brDluuR Bon- oa, who, nice NelU* Nichols, dow a number about her nationality and ctaius to be Welsh; her twelve nilDUtes of soDga were well put over and were received better tben If she had a later spot, coming on eecond, ■ . The Great Koban and Co. opened nlcelr, one of the neatest Jap acts seen here for many a day. ■' Una Clayton, with Mr. Orlfflo, la "Keep WDllln' '* was received rather quietly, and Miss Clayton's conaedy was good. The sketch aeema to have as little plot as possible, handing the laughs to tbe comedienne; could be revamped to advantage and a new cloalng put' in, which would make it a better ottering all around. Jlmmie Lucas carried two punches that went over big, especially tbe buslnees with the Grand Army vet. In the box. Coming Id with a nut act after the audience bad laughed with Fellz Adier last week was oaach to bla dis- advantage. However, the audience took him easily and called him back for two bowa "What Olria Have Done," the combination of five individual acts, was the first big light on the bill. Running 80 mlns., It started fery slow and seemed to accelerate as each bit went. over. The honors of tbe act might be splltr between tbe Morln Sisters and the Warrena, but the other three turns all run a close second. As a whole a splendid offering, and every effort appreciated. The tab "Flirtation," graduated from tbe four-a-day through the able tutoring of Jack Deiber, came on sixth with more taooOng and songs; tbe act Is done In a striking setting and the costuming has been attended with core. Delbol has a peculiar delivery and it Is much to be regretted that he baa no voice to assist biffl. This act also might speed up a bit to give It more snap, but It's good. Blddle L«onard came back as a minstrel, and best of all, he ts^worklng at bis old profession. Now he is full of pep. and with nine gentlemen from the south to give the laquired atmosphere, he did a minatrel act and held a tlt'ed audience Intact, and they liked the old time songs and wanted more. Tbere isn't much more to be eatd, it's Eddie Leonard and it's good. Al Llvsey went to Chicago last week to rehearse the act, as Leonaid's director Is ill. Brendel and Burt, known to CisTelaod and liked as well, do the same old act and go over OS big aa year* ago. Frisco came on at 6:15. At tbe sound of the lirst strain nf tbo Jazx mualo the audience gave hlra an ovation that was a precedent He came on hlmfeif and the house rang with applause. He did twd numbers and tbe walk out started. They were waiting for the Jais boy and gave him all they had and were will- ing to go home, however, most of the walk out were pntrooa who had seen him tbe pre- viouA week. Ko act has ever "been held over at the Hip before. No act has ever been received on Its first week as Frisco was on bis second. Jue Hall, with Jlmmie Lucas, >layed the piano, as Frisco's pianist is still II at his hotel, Tom Sawyer. fi' W..V ' KEITH'S PHILADELPHIA. Philadelphia, llaroh 26. After tbt entire show had been run through, . It was difficult to Judge which of the two races on this week's bill would prove the more Interesting, tbe free-for-all by the piano piay- •rs. or toe burlesque staged by Pat Rooney and Jlmmie Barry in Oeorge Brown's walking act that gave this house one of the biggest laughing hiu It has had In quite a while. Monday night it wa? a very close thing be- tween Pat and Jimmy, while any one of the Ivory-ticklers might have all been awarded first prize for his relay work, according to what kind of music sounded best to one's particular ear. It probably would have been a deserving reward to give It to Arthur Ander- son, who played for tbe Ford. Sisters, and had to follow sll the others. He no doubt appreciated what he was up against and offered a varied program of numbers while the girls were changing, that brought him hta full share of the laurels. Putting on "apeclala" seems to be a delight for Pat Rooney, for he baa put on more of them In this bouse than any other comedian who ever played here. Tbe present vehicle, however, tops (!iytblng any of the Impromptu produc- lais has put over yet, reminding some of the regulars of one of the Friday nigbt sessions at the old Bijou. It was a scream from start to finish and tbe audience was willing enough to sit through the regular act of Brown and his assistant, to rest up after laughing them- selves sick at Roou.y and Barry. It must also be said that no little credit la due Brown, for the athlete shows hlmBelf to be not only a good showman, but a first rate "straight" for the two clowns. It might help many a ' bill if more of such "extras" were built up. ' Rooney was also the big hit wlUi Marlon Bent In their regular offering, doing the best ■ act the two have ehown here In a long time and getting more out of it Mr. and Mrs. Barry resurrected one of their old sketches, "Tbe Rube," which they havO' not used here for quite a spell, and they have not been such a big laughing hit here since the last time they played it. The present vehicle Is far better than "The Burglar' which was seen hero only a few weeks ago. In the headline position, Edna Goodrich scored in- "Tbe Mannequin" principally be- cause Edgar Allan Woolf supplied .her with a playlet which calls for her to wear a won- derful collection of gowns. Miss Ooodrich can ivear clothea and is a striking picture in all her costumes. Che has happily supplied her- self, with a corking good actor at her leading man and what honors tbere were In tbe acting lins surely belonged to Franca Bendsten. Th^ other members of the oompanr in support took nothing from the artistic bandling of the role Intnieted to Mr. Bendsten and "The Manne- quin" may be classed as a fashion-show suc- cess for Miss Goodrich, and a very good come- dy bit for her principal aid. It will like- wise prove a big drawing card, for Miss Good- rich la still a stage beauty to be admired by the men and gasped at by envious women. Tbe classy dancing act of tbe Ford Slaters, was the big applause winner. They did only fairly well with tbeir first two numbers, but came in for liberal recognition-In a beautiful waltz number. In their finishing dance, the girls prove that they still retain all their skill as bard-shoe steppers and closed to a big hand. What everyone must have noticed was the remarkable Improvement in Yvette Rugel as a vocallste. Tbe little Philadelphia girl, who would have made a bit anyway, ihas certainly developed a voice of rare sweetness and at the same time retalqjng all tbe power and range for which she has always been noted. Making a decidedly attractive appearance, lit- tle Miss Yvette scored one of tbe greatest hits of her many appearances here and proved her right to be classed with tbe very best of vaudeville's single singera Albert R Hockey assisted at the piano, doing very well with his own numbers. "The One Way Out," a playlet w'hldt touches a strongly dramatic theme, especially now that the boya are returning »from France to renew domestic relations at home, was again presented by Robert T. Haines and was well liked. The playlet Is interesting and com- mands attention, though not as well played as when It was seen here last Felix Bernard and Jack Duffy were a big applause hit in tbeIr early spot, giving the first part of the show a tremendous boost. Duffy is a singer full of "pep" and makes bis songs big winners by the way he puts them over, Bernard, at tbe piano, is an able assistant and the boys cleaned up in great shape. Mcintosh and Hla Musical Maids furnished the show with a rather classy opening act, doing very well with tbeir Instrumental num- bers. The act can also be praised for the manner in which It Is dressed and staged. As a whole the show Is one of the beut seen here In a long while, with tbe closing bur- lesque bit deserving chief honors. ORPHEUM, SAN FRANCISCO. Ban Francisco, March 20. Thie week'a program 'at the O'Farrell street house could be consistently classified as tboroughly good both from tbe artistic and comedy standpoint, with tbe so-called "nut" brand of laugh material decidedly In evidence. The show ran along smooth channels through- out, but it was somewhat incumbered through the presence of "The Four Husbands" an act held over from tbe previous week. This production was assigned to tbe opening posi- tion where it passed through quietly because of an' incoming audience alihougb ibe excel- lent efforts of Jock Boyle ond hla partner stood out Otherwise tbe cast Is rather weak for a bill of this strength and the turn, once considered a standard headline act for big time, seems to be depreciating. Theodore Kosloll and his Russian Ballet ttk a production titled "Russian Memories" head- lines the current weoK's hill and aurpasses by far any of the previous acts shown here- abouta by the Russian pednllat Each member of this most excellent aggregation showed ar- tistic talent and scored Individually. Tbe turn Is elaborately costumed and excellently staged and presented.. It scored a decided hit William Demerest and Bstelle Collette cap- tured the audience once they began to show some real efforts, the man's back falls especi- ally winning favor. These falls 'are highly amusing and Demerest with bis violin work, during a rather difllcuit dance, pulled down an enthusiastic reception. It's a good big time act and abouid find little or no trouble In keeping continually busy, ,■ Virginia Lewis and Mary White, two de- mure glrla sing rather well and alao Inject some likable talk In their routl^ that sent them oyer to » safe hit Tbe glrla make a nifty appearance and harmonize well. The coBtumea, while nicely patterned, need the at- tention of a cleaner, and tbe third number, de- livered in sitting posture, slowed up the turn - a trifle. However, tbe girls did well. Flannagan and Edwards are practically as well known and as popular on the Pacille CoBBt aa they are along tbe banks of Freeport, L. I. Their "On and OS" akit Is too familiar to readers to require a detailed review and sufDce to aay they simply duplicated the|r usual hit Nolan and Nolan scheduled to close the show, according to the program layout, were moved up to the third position, and with their comedy juggling act, romped through to a nice hit The comedy is especially good be- cause of Its original lines and Paul Nolan Is by no means a poor Juggler. It proved a novelty for t^ls bill and warranted tbe book- er'a selection. Oeorge Rockwell and Al Fox, ip next to closing spot pulled down a laughing success despite their late position on a bill that was top-heavy with comedy. Kate and Wiley were moved down to closing spot from the otber end of tbe bill and with some graceful and difficult posing on a minia- ture pedestal, managed to keep the house stat- ed tor the exit march. Tbe show, rearranged as It was, played ex- tremely well and buelneas was right up to the standard. /ocfe /oscpAt. ORPHEDM, NEW ORLEANS. New Orleans, March 20. - Invigorating springtime show at the Orpheum this week. Light airy numbers predominat- ing. Prledlander's "Suffragette Revue" oc- cupies tbe stellar position, with stress placed upon Its drawing poBalblittles. The returns showed little box ofllce strength at the open- ing performances. Tbo Oladlutors began proceedings. Their turn, though apt, revealed no change. Acro- bats do not -reveat well here and they regis- tered but mildly. Katherlne Murray made an imposing flash with an avalanche of stunning wardrobe. Her youth, vigor and entbuaiaBui atoned In meas- ure for other deOcleqclcs to such an extent she proved wholesome .wlth^all. Qallaglier and Rollcy bav« decorated their familiar military (roveaty with many new boa mots and these smile nifties, supplemented by Joe Rolley's class A barmonlco. blowlolT, brought forth veritable volleys of laughter and applause. That Master Canina "Bon" urged in his inebriated way by OCQcbr Yokes, kept the audi-' ence agape with astonishment and genuine admiraiion. The turn Is running a trifle long, They were ripe for Bob Hall. The extem- poraneous fellow stopped the show completely. Hall's keen razor edged intellect summed tbe proportions possible to a hair's breadth, "The Suffragette Revue" was planted well, but did not bear fruit. Its sterility may have been caused by a lack of speed and balance. Those two prime tabloid Ingredients, Tbe colorteaa Interpreting and conventionalities might have been excused but for tbe abort- comlnca noted. 0. U. SamueU KEITH'SBOSTON. Boston, March 2S, The Mil this week looks very -much like a winner. On Monday the biggest advance aale there has been for a long time waa recorded and all during tbe afternoon tbere waa a line at the box-offlce wlodow. Tbe bou^e was sold out for the evening performance, a quarter of an hour before tbe curtain aross. It waa also tbe big night In the way of curtain speeches, two of tbe acts getting away wlUi a speech and a third curtain speech would have been acceptable if tbe lady hadn't lost her nerve. Alan Brooks got away with a speech and so did Mme. Petrovo. Marlon Harris got enough encouragement from the audience to warrant a speech and she held up the show for a time. Petrova was tbe real aurprlse to the house). Most did not know what to expect of her, but she pleased them all. She has a remarkably pleasing voice with a double, range. She does one heavy bit and then a poem. Her curtain speech waa a classic and she got a whale of a band. The main part of the.bill la exceptionally high class beginning with Toto, thd clown. His act is a trifle grotesque and It took a little n'bllo for the house to get him. Ole had a gh^astly make-up, but after be got hia board boots on be was at home and bad the audience eating out of the palm of bis band. Harry Breen, with his act unchanged, went over In bis usual manner. Hl» extemporano- oua songs were well worth while, but he Is not developing his "nut" stuff sulllclently, however, and It showed.on that portion of his audience that bad seen him many times be- fore. Van and Scheqch got a fine greeting when they appeared. Tbey bad so much new stuff they had no need of the medley of song bits they bad written. Kennedy and Nelson opened. They have a knockabout acrobatic act with wonderful stunts. Everything but t.belr stunts they do In an iodilTereat manner." Tbe act has great possibilities If they develop a little more inter- est In their regular stuff. LaughilD and West are a bright and cheery cduple and have a rather mediocre act They have, nobody but themselves to. blame for not going better, as they are using unpardonable material. With their personality and attrac- tive manner, they could make a lot more out of their act by worrying a little bit more about their material, Strassel's animals closed to a very heavy walkout It Is virtually a trained seal act, being built around a seal that can play "My Country 'TIs of Thee" on a series of horns and actually produce a tune. ^. - Ben Xrihhsy. xylophone special, bandling tioth heavr uid rag numbers exceedingly wolL 'flJeglect.V. a morality playlet with a cast of four pooplau managed to get by, mostly on tbe calibre of the dialog rather than the principals. Lehr Edmonds and Mahr (Now Acts) were next-to- closlng and proved the real, bright feature of the evening. They held up proceedings tor a few minutes at the conclusion of theiir specialty* and it looks as though the hoys shcuId'^coB- tlnue to do likewise wherever they appear. Bell and Caron gained some laughs, closing tbe show. 23RD STREET. As was to be expected, considering the holi- day, a capacltjr audience turned out Tuesday matinee. Brown's Dogs opened and acquitted them- selves In a showmanlike manner except for the American flag Qnlsb. A dog contortionist pulls a couple of nifties in his inning in the limelight Lovett .and Dale, boy and girt, employ a flirtation opener and get across some good songs and chatter. William Grew, - assisted by two men and two women, pleased ..with a clever comedy business playlet As a Sketch. company, tbey pass muster. Hack',, and Earl should congratulate theni- selves on, their material If they wrote all of it, or iiba{ili be doubly thankful to their author, Ign mey are provided with some corking good 'ui(s, chatter ond new gaga. Open- ing, a letter bit- serves as a nice introdnctlon, placing the ma's In the ''out". class, later proving to be an old friend, things being stralgtbened out 'yla phone, before a special drop, also in one,. Helena Fredericks, as- sisted by a mala ^laulat and male vocalist, delivered several m/>E9 of the better clasa, semi-highbrow, openWS with the rose song from the "Better 'OI;9" show. A couple of solos rendered between- the two singers, th« pianist confining himset.f to tickling the Ivor- les, and three duets' raui'id out the turn In a nice manner. Their concliudlnK Oriental num- ber, "Ching," lets thorn of^ rather weak. Miss Fredericks scored IndlviaVally with a robust soprano, the baritone'also; coming In for fair returns. A slight piot kee(i>3 the skit in story aequence. Charles Kenna pb'led down tbe bit, that afternoon, with hla strc^et fakir character and monolog. He's another), ^ho mkkes the most of his special niaterlal. t The Curzon Sisters, billed a's the originators of the "fljlog butterflies" sfunt. closed the vaudeville, not * before, bowevc'>'> pulling an- ~ other red-white-blue display ^finish. Fannie Warde In the screen version f^^ Cloves Kin- . head's play, "Common Clay,"1PAUM feature, concluded the show. . t JEFFERSON. [ HARLEM 0. H. The weekly aeries of "try outs" attracted a capacity attendance Monday evening. Posters in the lobby told there was a big show on. Big show is putting It lightly. Twelve acta and other special features -proved too much for many. Of the acts six were try outs, Includ- ing Francis Gates, Evelyn O'Nell, Frank King. Tommy Wild and Co., Keene and Foxworth and the.,X<indredd Girls (New Acts). A few proved prAseable, and others'were a hindrance. The program on the whole could hardly be classined as entertaining. The regular turns carded were Erford's Sen- sation In the "No. 3" spot, doing well through being fortunate enough In obtaining a spot for a turn of that nature. Apparently a new fe- male member has been added, for she appears uneasy in walking on and off. The novelty waa well received. Griinth and Dow, before a special hanging In "one" rcpresenlainft a Jail, proved entertaining in the "No. f" spot, through the lack of comedy before them. Their returns might have been better, but the preoeeding turns hampered matters to such an extent It would have been Impossible for better known comedy turns to derive any more from the position. ^ ^ .Lthonati livened natters up next with hit Victory week bill at the Joff«''"'on with 10 acts extensively odvortltied c(i™*''"ed -with an exceptional holiday brought j'^^so attend- ance for the matinee*performarrfa. Tbe Bbow started at 1:40 with C^'>^ uelmonts, man and woman, acrobatic, wci'* ''*" I'ked. Mack and Romnlne (New Acts), '"""wed and were fairly well appreciated. "The Mayor and Manicure," a comedy sket'Oh with tour people, was enjoyed throughout'r The regular run of the acta wi^' ''**n "'JS*' what Interrupted by Miller and Maslof. "Tha latter cannot bo termed anyth*°8 *'•* ■"•' song pluggers. Al and Grace Toj','"''''™'>•'*• executing some clever dancing^; ■*?•'* being encircled in a lasso. Knapp l^^d Cornaila continued to keep the performatlpf *■? to tba standard with comedy talk and .dances^ com- bined with a little tumbling at th!9 conolualoB ' of their turn. . V ' . Sergeant Jimmy Burke was the'*'®'? '*5Ht tered. He came out In kbaki wli,-'' too V Ghevrod for overseas service, "'ut ?* •'* r^^^ lematlcal whether ho Is out of ser*''"'' <" "<>' as the scarlet chevron to dcnot<- '""*. '■'*■ not in evidence. Ho netted aufflci.-'- i^i-'^ia for continuation while in khaki. The "Condy Shop," a musical comedy with sovei> girls and two men, ran a little too long. The" comedian sbdvtd reduce his silly attitude to ,> certain extent, as he Is suppoaed to be a comedlon. The turn carries several singing ani^ dancing numbers with changes of costQme .for each making it an excellent attraction, ^^latatmsr Bros, occupied the next to cloalng spPt, Tbe comedian causes an constant uproar oJ g'SRlos upon his entrance, which finds him. "aaring bis clothes completely reversed. Larimer "*•"'" son and Co., a bicycle act with t^o women and two men, one of the latter a tj'P''*' •'*• Jackson, Gloaed the show with ordinary rldlni. LAST HAlFsHOWS. (March 21 to 24.) \ FIFTH AVENUE, x The flnal show of last week waa a !''•' *•? played along emootbly and gave the ht'"a® *" the entertainment thnt It wanted. Thi^f* "'*■ tbe uaual news weekly. Illustrated s'""* ^^ Mabel Burke and the vaudeville of flvl* "-^ This was started off by Libby and Nelao''» *'"* the comedy cycling turn. The act. 8'"^ JP' plauee nnd laughs after it once got'^J*™ way. The opening seemed a little slow, ""j^* ever, the tramp comedian got In some vf.ij nir- ty work on a unlcycle toward tbe flnl-»b ann pulled the turn along. Several tricks '^^ '**' measenger boys of the team brough tba ap- plause. ^ , Following the opener there were a gfup ot three new acts. They were tbe Dowhi'o •'"'" ters and Jack Sterp, Woolsey and ilo>''« »•>"} "Jap" (New Acts), the latter a traln«.« "uii terrier. ' . Irene Princo and Ed Lowry on aftljr '"" dog turn were a comedy hit getting aw#y ''' groat shape with tb'eir dancing at the ro''*"- Tbe big laugh oeme next. It is tbe time Tf"™ favorite of Ed Blondell's, "The Lost Boy" *"<? v^ \-i'! -•'•* I It was a scream from start to finish. Tt