Variety (June 1919)

?*%£>' ■$m WW >Jjvy5;Kyf ■--: i'i v i-ffi I ;• $9S$&H Kg ,:jrfc; 22 - Burt never looked more beautiful uO"» couple of stunning costumes. "Chinese Blues," with Whiting In an OrlenUl garb and Minnie Burt In blue silk, was one of their biggest applause getters. Another new num- ber Is "Sleepy Head," with Miss Burt as a tousled haired youngBter in a single bed, ad- verse to getting up on Saturday. "Every- body Wants a Key to My Cellar" la soloed in I a BE the Whiting manner to big results forced to encore with "I'm Sorry, They were Dear," from lflEt 66B60D ^The Rlgoletto's with their magic, JagSllaK. posing and lift acrobatics smashed over a nit and were ably assisted by the Swanson Bis- ters. The girls are good vocalists and make a great appearance. The finish is in one with one Biggoletto playing a piano accordion wlta a base drum and mouthpiece attached and with bells on bis bat, and the" sisters singing and dancing In Oypsle costumes. Marion Harris opened after Intermission and scored heavily with her unique delivery. She Is a tall slender girl with lots of per- sonality and can handle a rag number in a manner that reminds of Bert Williams. The opening number is a good introductory and the Quaker song which follows is an excellent piece of vocal salesmanship. She counted big. Alan Brooks in "Dollars and Sense" achieved Suite a result with his quiet methods. The oyal lBn't noted for quietness, but Brooks held attention easily and scored every point in his sterling little satire. Herbert Clifton travestying the weaker sex in the next to closing spot caught the atten- tion of the women with his elaborate ward- robe. Clifton Ib exhibiting the strongest falsetto heard around, and holds. Interest throughout He works without a wig and dis- guises bis short hair with eccentric head dressings and hats. Clifton leans toward comedy and gets over. A peacock gown and head dress excited comment QaBton Palmer opened with a Juggling turn, followed by Laughlin and West a classy dancing team who have a little restaurant dialogue between dancing numbers. Some of the fly talk was muffed, but their dancing landed-them nicely. Flaks Mules duplicated their other New York successes. One of the. mules has the lines of a thoroughbred race horse and is evi- dently finely bred. The dogs are beautiful animals, unusually well trained and do some difficult bareback riding. The unridable mule seems particularly vicious and this stand- ' ard Interpolation went as big as ever. The act plays fast and the animals work with very little prompting. KEITH'S PH1LA. Philadelphia, June 13. There was plenty of military atmosphere, both local and international, in this Week's bill with Major A. J. Drexel's "Devil Dogs," Vlll M. Creasy and Blanche Dayne and Johnny Cantwell and Beta Walker in the list The presence of "Tony" Blddle, Philadelphia's well known sportman and amateur boxer, who is now a major in the U. S. Marine CorpB, on the program added a tinge, of social eclat to the usual vaudeville menu and Monday night was made noteworthy by the attendance of' all the highest Naval officials and their families, along with numerous society folk, who occupied boxes. There was little lacking In excitement for tbe distinguished guests and no Utile blood spilled. Blllle Reeves spilled considerable of it by gashing has hand when slipping Into the footlights, and during the rather rough- house tactics of the fighting Marines under Major Blddle the latter was pricked in the neck and one of the boys received a knife wound in the hand during the combats, all of which added sufficient realism to the bouts to satisfy even those who dodged the Leonard- Dundee boxing bout to take In the Indoor amusement From a purely local standpoint, the exhibi- tion by the Marines was the big event and It was well worth seeing. A squad of sixteen Marines go through some thrilling bayonet and knife duels. This is the first time it was seen on a regular stage and Is presented to stimulate recruiting. It makes a very showy number, and while lacking the usual show- manship of a regular vaudeville act will prove an interesting feature for any bill. Will Creasy gave decidedly the best bit of war talk yet heard from any of the entertainers who did their bit in France. Cressy's -talk was in addition to the sketch, "The Man Who Remembered," and It was the distinct hit of the show. He told some corking good stories, added a touch of sentiment to it and finished to a tremendous round of applause. The sketch In which. Miss Dayhe appeared with a him is the best playlet Cressy ever wrote \>r presented and it brought the couple another big hit Blllle Reeves put over a nice sited comedy hit with the sketch, "The Right Key But the Wrong Flat." It is simply a vehicle for Introducing Reeves in his familiar character of a drunk, but it gives the comedian more opportunity to work and he got a lot of laughB. Considering that he cut his hand badly rather early In the act and went all through the later scenes trying to keep the bloody hand out of sight his performance was really remarkable. Sybil Vane registered a big hit with those who enjoy good vocal music. Her selections were of the higher class, but they were well rendered and reached a hearty responsive chord. She was forced to take a couple of extra bowB. Tbe Misses Campbell were big winners. These girls have been here several times and have walked away with their share of the honors on each occasion. They have,changed their repertoire only a little and might Im- prove their offering by a complete change of songs, but tbe act still holds its place among the very best of its kind In vaudeville. Oaakl and Taki, a couple of Japanese gym- nasts, gave the show a fine start getting more than the usual applause handed out for this spot Johnny Cantwell and Reta Walker did very nicely with their songs and comedy chatter. Johnny has a lot of talk built up around his experiences with the entertaining unit, in France and managed to get a liberal share of the laughs. Harry Mayo and Basil Lynn got a fair amount of laughs with their comedy talk, which seemed new and not working any too smoothly. Mayo stlU re- tains his fine singing voice and scored in- dividually with his one ballad number. Lynn affects the broad English fop style and It was quite a laughing hit with the society folks In the boxes. Plsano put a very bright finish to the show and added a final military touch to the bill with his spectacular shooting torn. Plsano has a good routine of tricks, but his act is helped quite a lot through the pretty stag- ing effects. It proves Plsano a good show- man as well as a good shot It was very warm Monday night but the the show got over in excellent shape and with the Marines as a special feature ought to prove a big draw, with very little opposition in any of tbe houses around town. , KEITH'S BOSTON. Boston, June IS. The United States Jazz Band was the big hit at the Monday night show and It is not stretching things much to' say that it was one of the few acts on the bill the audience allowed Itself to become enthusiastic over. There was a general apathy on the part of the house, which was a big one, and at no time during the evening was there anything which threatened to stop the show. As a result the house was emtled earlier than It has been for several months. - The.secret of tbe success of tbe Jazz band seems to be their speed. Then again the band is more or less of a local institution, for it was stationed at the Boston Navy Yard when It came into prominence and it was after it played the Keith house here and stopped the show that it was booked over the circuit Director Moore was also a member of the Qeneral Court here and he personally has a big following. Roy Harrah and Co. in a skating act opened the show. While it is very neatly staged there is no real novelty to it Lou Miller and Alice Bradford followed on the bill and this act seems to lack material. Howard, McQulre and Racey were next In an act entitled "A Real Pal." It didn't get the house particularly well. Then followed Florenze Tempest, who shared the big spot with the band. Much was expected of her. Sbe Is assisted at the piano by George Har- ris, who Is Injecting himself Into the' set more and more. Somehow or other she didn't seem to be what tbe house wanted, and In the last number she departed from her famous male Impersonations and switched to feminine attire. She wore a gown that was cut far too low In the front to be attractive and there were several comments from the audience on her attire* Halllgan and Sykes woke up the house and from there on the show ran hard and fast, evidently in the attempt to make up the lame- nesB of the first hour. The team has noth- ing new, but put It over snappy. La Zar and Dale In a negro travesty act caught the house Just right They pulled some of the best stuttering coon comedy characterizations that have been heard at this house for many seasons. Ed Brendel and Flo Burt In a Swedish comedy classic put on a real novelty with a little of the rougher type of comedy and the house Just ate it up. .(Miss) Robbie Oordone closed In a posing act which proved to be a welcome surprise of the evening, as closing act B go. Several acts of this nature, which have closed the Keith show, have flopped badly, but when she appeared alone In her first pose, Bhe proved she had a perfect right to do so. and by making changes of not more than 80 seconds succeeded in holding the houee almost intact to the end. Len ubltey. FIFTH AVENUE. Fans and everything showed that the 28th street "a palace of variety," as one of the lobby signs read, was really Bet for the sum- mer, the cooling breezes from the fans fol- owed Just one week after Bill Quald's famous lobby fountain started spraying. Monday's matinee had a big house in, probably made un of Bhoppers and visiting buyers hiding out for a few hours' fun. The night performance wasn't so well attended. With a fair crowd in. It wasn t capacity, which is surprising at this house. Quaid had it right Tbe summer is on. Harry Breen, next-to-closlng, was the head- liner and about the hit of a pleasing bill, one however, without any particular punch. The' long-winded opening number with the nursery rhymes over, .Harry got down to chatting about his boyhood neighborhood on tbe East Side. Perhaps be wasn't born there, as claimed, but the way he tells It, one Is almost convinced that he was. He said that he picked up his knowledge of Yiddish by working Friday night as a "ShabboB Coy," that is, putting out the candles for two cents a trick. Instead of devoting bo much time to extemporaneous song verses as formerly he is pulling the local stuff switching It to fit the streets of whatever burg be may be appearing in. Some of the streets ho named didn't sound familiar. But maybe Harry knows his East Side best He alibied for his nut stuff In an encore speech, saying that mothers had endured much in the last four years of war, and .If, being a "nut," he could plant a few laughs he was satisfied. Closing the show were the classy O'Oorman Girls, who, on freshness and ability, belong with the best company. The girls' routine appears to be sqmewhat changed, and lt'a quite an Improvement Moat of the musical section which remains the major idea of the turn is done with cornet and trombones muted. A well-earned encore with the mutes off mixed Jazz and straight numbers with some very pretty music resultant The turn ia em- bellished with a very neatly arranged silken drop hung in two. Another turn aided by good appearance was tbe Lightner Sisters and Alexander, who were fifth In the aeven-act show. Winnie, the fea- tured member of the trio, delivered a number of single numbers, more than usual, it seemed. A song called "What Could Be Sweeter" ap- peared the freshest of the lot For. an encore they gave "There Is Always Someone to Take Your Place," authorship for which Is credited to the slBters. The turn is back after trying out with "While You Walt," which closed In Washington last week. Mable Burke split the show with an animated song, "You'll Always Be a Sweetheart of Mine." and Fatty Arbuckle, In an excellent comedy film, "A Desert Hero," followed. During it the house pianist tore off something very good in a raggy way. Another member of the pit bunch did something during one -of Winnie Lightness song. It was the cornetlst, although it is possible that Alexander inserted the extra Jngle from the entrance. Cooper and Ricardo planted well needed comedy in fourth position.' Misa Ricardo, first \ on in a tight and quit thin pink suit won ' laughs with her curious positions, which sil- houetted her legs. Their song numbers, in addition to a ballad by Cooper, were "Oh Willie," "San ,Jose" and "Come On, Papa." .The latter number, done at the finish, waa easily their best Dorothy Richmond showed a new sketch in third position (New Acts), It being called "A Friend In Need." The plot in a way held the same idea of Mabel Burke's ballad—that while "some one else may share your wedding bells, you always were a sweetheart of mine." An- other new turn, Cahtll and Romlne (New Acts), was second. Miss Lillian and Twins, with a neat acro- batic routine of feats accomplished differently from the usual, opened the show well. Ice*. AMERICAN ROOF. The regulars were out .In force Monday night and the Roof was well filled on the lower floor. The cooling breezes were a bit offset by a one-reel comedy that ground along with- out a laugh.' One of these bathing pool, film hokum scenarios with an old gray-haired man falling into the pool to emerge with hair as black as the History of Bolshevism. Jake Lubln had a nine-act bill lined up with Jesson and Jesson (New Acta) leading off. The Keltons, 'on next, could have been moved down. Tbe young bare-legged girl in the act struck the roofer fancy with a Chaplin bit and some shimmying while playing a trap drum. Her mother has a cornet solo ~Wlth some triple tongueing, and her dad leads the musicians from the pit Sallna'8 Circus was next. ^Salina has a well- trained group of dogs and ponies, but four monks chained to a miniature wagon copped all the attention. If Salina wants bis routine of canine stunts to be noticed he will have to keep the monkeys off-stage. Wood, Young and Phillips (New Acts), were fourth, and Stanley and Mazle Hughes (New Acts) fifth. After intermission, Waring and Alnslee fol- lowed the dancers. Nelson Waring used to wander around through vaudeville all alone, but he has added an operatic female to his piano specialty, and it makes quite a flash for the present company. She sings an ex- tract from Carmen, followed by another semi- classical, "Pal of Mine," and has a medley ot popular numbers at the end. Waring uses the same frame-up as when alone, using a pub- lished number for different Interpretations. The woman has a clear soprano voice and should duck the pop songs, if possible. They were well.liked. Henabaw and Avery, with some very old and some very new gags, were one of the hits of the bill, following. After their routine la , "one" they were a solid bit but come back and go to "three" for a tough guy and girl In a restaurant bit following this with a high brow and wife leaving a bridge party stunt that dragged the act out to 22 minutes. They* never lost the attention of the American crowd, but might not tare so well elsewhere. The tough stuff detracts from the classical regis- tration of the material that preceded it, Conroy and O'Donnell, straight and black- face comedians with their mall-men idea have a lot ot released gags anent an application for something or other. "Where were you born and why," etc They are using a poorly- written parody on "Smiles," which lets them off quietly. They were placed all wrong next- to-closing. The Oente Trio got a good break, everybody waiting for the "Fatty .Arbuckle" picture, which-closed. They .have a fast routine of trapeze and half-ring work and both are strong on appearance. The third member is probably the mother, and only got Into one trick. They held Interest and probably con- verted a few of the chronic getaway disciples. - The Misses SHAW and CAMPBELL in "Moments Musical" Henderson's, Coney Island, this week (June Royal, New York, next week (June 23). Direction of ROSE & CURTIS. HARLEM 0. H. Capacity at the H. O. H. Monday night the try-outs and a high-class pop bill splitting the honors for the draw. Hits were numerous, two acts, Harris and Morey and Howard and Sadler, stopping the show, and Marguerite Padula and the Four Bolses grabbing oft five or six bows at the conclusion ot their turns. The Pelots opened the regular show with a combination of Juggling and comedy. The man is a capable comedian, handling a bunch of ancient comedy bits In a way that made most of them seem new. The apple-catching staff, always sure with a pop audience, kept the house in an uproar for five minutes. One or two of the older bits, such as "rubber in the-mouth," might well be discarded, and the apple-catching .stunt lengthened. Marguerite Padula shows real promise as a pianologlst At present she Is playing too many selection, "Mammy of Mine," used tor closing, landed solidly, bringing the singer back for more than sufficient applause to have warranted another number. Tbe right sort of exclusive material would quickly land Miss Padula on the big tune. • Grews and Pates have an Ideal sketch for the pop houses. It's one of those man and wife quarrel affairs, badly put together and filled with conventional situations and old gags. As long as the team are satisfied with the small time the vehicle will serve'Its par- pose. Both of the players display acting ability of a much higher order than their present act permits of however, and could make the big houses with ease with a regular playlet Harris and Morey hit 'em hard with their piano and singing specialty. The boys work in an easy and assured manner. Both have excellent singing voices and a first-rate knowl- edge of song delivery. "Room 202," a "Casey Jones" ditty with an endless amount of gingery verses, sung by the team to the accompaniment of ukeles sent them off to an ovation. Howard and Sadler, following, caught up the running Immediately and pulled down one of of the biggest applause scores of the evening with a nifty song routine, -broken up In' spots with Just the proper amount of polite kidding. . Closing the show, 'the Four Bolses cleaned up. The comedian is really a remarkable flyer, performang not one hut five distinct feature stunts without any unnecessary stall- ing. Bell. Willie Edelsten sailed June 16 from New York for London. Merles Cockatoos sail June 21 to open in England, booked by Willie Edelstein. Stetson and Huber closed with "So- Long-Letty" last week. They will re- turn to musical comedy next season. Arthur Loew, son of Marcus Loew, is to Jbe married to the daughter of Adolph.Zukor. • • Trixie Brosler (Four Chicks) is en- gaged to marry a non-professional in July. K Les Copeland and- Jack McCloud sail on the Lapland June 21, opening at the Brixton, London, July /. Jerry Hitchcock, former newspaper- man around Broadway, is now associ- ated with the Ray Hodgdon Agency. Jack Carter is now company man- ager of "A Little Journey" still at the Vanderbilt A