New York Clipper (Jan 1916)

THE NSW, YORK COLONIAL. CLIPPER January PROSPECT (BROOKLTR). (KLXXK F. BOOXBB, MOB.) The matliiM Monday -waa the biggeat tlila tbea* tre ]iB» bad In acTcnS monOu. It waa one ot tlia largeat crowds In tlie history ot the hoase. Xbe pcoffABi was to tho naoal atandard* with thr posaihle exception of one or two acts. Dandng playeA an Important part ot the bill, with a in g tnc aa • MCODd feature. Ibe Untnal We^ly, wlUi Tlews of 13ie paat wed^ entertained. ABNOLD and ET3TL« QBAZHB, in a dHTiring aad mnalcal specialty, opened, and acored. .The act la a good one, the man execatlng an eccentric and a toe dance that was the best thing offered here in •ome thne. The young woman makes a good ap- pearance, and does horn and piano soloa that went OTer. COaCLlV, BTECLE and PABEB, In soagB, dan- cing and piano playing, la position number two, htA little tronble In going over big. The comedy la a lttt:c far fetched at tbnes, bat Is well put orer. One of the men tries to inject "nance" alnS Into the act as a feed to Uie comedian, bot thia la entirely unnecessary. The young woman does well In what little abe has to da. The rag- time playing ot Cculln, wna the feature, and la a life aaver. THE SEVEN HONET B0T3, with a. flret part Of a minstrel abon, was llttle short of a clean np. Each one la a finished performer and does a single with good results. The two end men put over ■ome up-to-date gags mingled with some old boyi. The beat songa Included "Old Bill Bailey" and "The Little Grey Uother," the last one creating several encores. The dauclng of Tommy Hyde proved a big feature. This boy surely can use his feet some. The yodellng done by Paul Van Dyke sent the act DP to an artistio standpoint. VIOLBT DALE, replacing Belle. Blanche, walked •way with the bllL She is an artist that should be headlining Instead of filling in. She gave Im- pmonatlona ot J.llllaa Shaw, Slchard Carle, May Vokei^ Pavlowa, Mrs. Leslie Carter, and Nazi- niova. It. "would be a difficult matter to say which <.ne she d'd best as each one was a distinctive hit. She possesses an abundance of personality, and In the Parlowa tmpersonatlon executed a toe dance Ko cleverly that the large audience gave bar a tremendoua reception. HEINBIETTA CBOSMA V, In a new comedy play- let by Frances Nordstrom^ entitled "Cousin Elea- nor," assisted by a clever little company of Ave people, pleased. (See New Acts.) ADELAIDE and J. J. HUOHES opened the In- tennlsatoM. and their third week here, and again I'roved one of the featnres. They are presenting an entirely new repertoire of dancing this week, featuring their "Bird and Cat" dance, executing th!a beautiful dance remarkably well. Thia act can eailly be programmed vaudevUleTs classiest dan- clrg team. Edward Davis offered a violin aolo during dances, and greatly pleased^ JAMIES C. MOBTON and FBANK F. UOOBE, (fferlng the same act that they have been showing for several years, captured the laogfalng hit. Aa j,.ng aa the audience will stand for the old etnft, "A'by change. At any rate. It's about time these boy* showed somothlng new. At the present time too modi burlesque material la being used. Uor- too, aa nanal, does the bulk of the work, but Jim wonM go a hundred per cent, better If he would get .a few more catch lines. The whistling battle, and Uorton's recitation at the finish, put the act over big. Moore works In a more quiet manner, and benefits to a great extent NOSA BAYES suffered greatly on acconnt ot a poor selection of aongs. The audience began to ■eave their seats In the middle of her performance, and before she finished over <me quarter of them had left the house. Mls9 Bayes retains the "Bobln" . aong which she should discard at once. Her other numben^ with the exception of her first, ehoald also be replaced with some newer ones. Miss Bayea It too clever an artist and too. valuable a Tandevllie feature to let her act deteriorate. At the Monday matinee she "flopped," to use the well Imown term. It would be a big injustice to WARD, BELL and WARD, on account of the late hoar allotted them, to eaj that they didn't go over. They held the closing position, and regardless of this fact and the audience leaving their seats, made what remained alt up and take notice, with their capable dandng. Jack. (AUHXO T. DABLUfa, UOB.) The Bhow at the Colonial this week can bO zeglstered as one of tho best variety bills the boose baa had since AL Darllns began being called manager. The fickle pnbllc only wanted a fuss made orer thi» house to draw them Into It. On the whole the shows are not better to any great extent, aa the house has always had a bill of fi^st water talent, bat the box office suffered a. horrible «pell of seaalckness tor a season or so, and then the deluge of "fuss" came, the Colonial wa3 made the recopilzed leader of the Keith Circuit, "th<> crowds began to flow bach, and the delapldated box office ■was rescued from a watery grave. But to get back to the show offered this week. It's ■vaudeville, and good vaudeville from gong to gong. Monday ovenlng Julius Lenzberg and his mn- elcal octette struck lnt4> "Tbc Nominee" march, to a pretty aUm looking house at ten after eight. That's another thing to the Colonial's credit—thiit of having that elites' hour of arrtval, for by nine o'clock the house 'was fiUcd up. Every one of 'em got the surprise of their young lives, too, - In MILD (Naw Acts), an Impersonator de luie of farmyard «"'"'<''' and blrda In fact, he Imitated In aonnds with his month everything that flies In or out of the wood^ but a "nut"—and a guy named Adler did that eaxller In tho ovcning. 'TTHB FOUEST FIBB" la weU featured, and from a scenic effect point of view was something of a moivel to the Colonial crowd. But there's lack of acting among the company in spots that detracts from the good work of the four prin- cipals. For something to \o<A at tho effects make the audience overlook the very melodramatic "ninety and nine" tint to it a:!. It closed the first half of the show, of wnich FELIX ADLEB was the first real hit of the evening, with hU easy going delivery of nonsensical songs, and manner- Isms, while the ventriloqulal bit, using a stage hand for the "dummy," cleaned up for him. The bill got a lively shaking up from the way the acts -were programmed, EBFOBB'S SENSA- TION being swung from cloeing to opening the show. A good "bit" turn of the thrill sort, with the final teeth to teeth stunt, a strong finish up one. HATDN. BOBDEN and HAYDN suffered from a too early spoti In "No. 3." The boys worked well all the way; the English double number creat- ing its usual amonnt ot tun, and though the ap- plause dished out to them came across strong at finish It was tardy and appeared of the lazy brand. Then, when the audience realized the hoys were throogpl for the evening It went at the clap thing with a vengeance. But by then, Haydn, Borden and Uaydn had their make-up towels busy. BANEOFF and GIiBLIE, one of the leading dan- cing couples In vaudeville to-day, also suffered from the lazy mood of the Colonlalltes, in follow- ing spot. Their posey dances, together and singly, were as cleverly gone through as anytime they've played local houses, and the late applause ■was the only reason they wouldn't give more dls- pTay ot their grace, finishing with the Cakewalk number. The crowd evidently needed a stretch, for after Intermission It appeared wide awake tor every- thing, with WILLABD causing those who bad not caught his i>ertormance before, gasp with the way he "grew" in front of 'em. 'WillaTd's act seemed to run short. ANNA LAUGHLIN and BILLY (3AXT0N (New Acts) were given a fine ovation and their aong and patter material took fairly well, though the act Is shy on anything "big," Miss Laugfalln'a good voice carrying It over. PRANK NORTH and COMPANY also enjqyed good treatment, his "Back to WelUngtMi" comedy satire doing about second to the huge hit scored In the next spot on the bill by Mllo. THE FIVE STATUES, a posing and band to tband balancing, strength act, closed the show at 11.10, and the house remained quiet throughout their finely worked out offering. TOd. COOK AND LORERZ SEUTHTED. Jim Cook~ and Jack Lorenz have settled tbplr differences and are once more a team. They havo been separated a year and a halt. CLIFFORD C. FISHER, INC., Is the tlUe of a new $10,000 corporation In which Clifford C. Fisher, Abraham Goldberg and Louis J. Bossett are directors. GOULD GETS PASSPORTS. Billy Gould has succeeded In securing bis pass- ports, and sailed yesterday on the Sottenfam for London, wbere he will Join his wife. Belle Aohlyn. (yrr.T.T.TAur 1U3A17D, UQB.) Ibere Is a loigtby list ot vaudeville actr at ibe Prospect "''» ■week. A shortening of several turns' allotment of time, on the platform, would have speeded things np considerably. BIXLECLAIB BROS., one ot the first male teams to present the now familiar "strong man'' turn, which bos become a atandard offering In tbc two-a-day, have a pretentious act in their current specialty that ranks with any similar comblnatlou In vaadevUle. There Is plenty ot dass to the BeUeclalr act. and the athletes iDa through their routine In an easy, nonchalant ft***"" that be- tokens long and arauous training, ALDEBMAN FU4NCIS P. BENT, a local atates- mon, gave a lecture on Mexico, illustrated with colored ai'des. Some of the slides were good, and others reminiscent of those awful works ot art which nsed to be considered quite the proper caper when the Illustrated song was In the throes of Its Initial wave ot succeea CORBETT, SHEFABO and DONOTA^ really started the show. Here Is a three man combina- tion ot the fiamlllar rathsbellar type, -whldh should create n fresh demand for their style of entertain- ment. Cort>ett has a remarkable voice, sweet, rich and of resonant baritone qaalltyi running wdl Into the tenor register. It would be interest- ing to see what this boy would do If his voice was properly cultivated and his enunciation cor- rected. As It stands now Coi1>ett has a little some- thing on any comic opera baritone heard on Broad- way In many a lonar day. anA to his eternal cred-t always sings true to pitch, never deviating a frac- tion ot a tone from the key. 'Shepard is also a good alnger, and Donovan a capable pianist AUNAUT BROS., acrobatic clowns, who ilddle Industriously while tumbling and dancing about the stage, pleased the young folks Immensely. MINNIE ALLEN fooled the bunch with bcr opening song. In which she introduces a llttle par- lor magic. That billing Minnie carries, tbongb, should be eliminated. She Is not "a llttle volcano of mirth," as the program -would make us be- lieve, but she Is an enterprising llttle woman and should receive full credit for trying to present a single away from the conventional. Her metbod of chsnging costumes is unique in the extretne, and better and more suitable songs -would work wonders for her. After Mlsa Allen's offering came Sarah Paddci end Company, and right here the bill rpcclved a belt that threatened to put a damper on the en- tire procecdlnga "THE LITTLE SHEPHERD OF BABGAIN BOW" is the name of the alleged playlet Miss Fad- den and her company presented. As a drsma the piece Is puerile, containing long-'wlnded, old fashioned speeches, ■very little action and about the most tiresome, unnatural set of characters ever gotten together. The cast contains two men, name- ly Dan Mack and Raymond Ripley, ■who know how to act, both ot ■whom manage to make the at»- surdly melodramatic lines passably Intelligible. MISS PADDEN sings her lines monotonously In an attempt apparently to suggest a sort ot Rose Stahl shop girl type, and Natalie Blokely seems to have studied her profession in the ssme school of acting. The whole affair Is badly written, poorly acted and amateurishly presented. CHA9. OLCOTT, assisted by a piano, a pleasing personality, a nice degree of assurance and some . excellent material In the way of a comic opera bnrlesqoe. entertained cleverly for fifteen mlnntiS. LEONARD GAOTIDR and hla trained dogs and ponies, with the toy-shop setting, could have cut five minutes from his act and not lost a thing by BO doing. The ponies are «nte little beasts, and the dogs evidenced first class training. TAMDBRBILT and UOOBB dance dellgbtfully, stng Tery badly, and altogether present a pleasant and diverting vandevUle specialty. The act needs songs and better comedy material. THE '7ICTOBIA FOUR, a male singing quar- tette, clad In das^ dress snlta, vocallza bar- numlously. DONAHUE and STBnTART, a man and woman comedy act. discloses one of the best eccentric dancers in Qie Iraslnesa in .the peraon ot Mack Donahue. BOBBIE GORDONB. a shapely young lady. In a series ot tatteresttng poses, made a first ra^te clcs- ng act Harry. KBIAinD TS TAVDBTIIXB. ■obert Ennnett Keane opened In vaudeville Mon- day in Pittsburgh. He recently left "Within the Loop" In' Chicago. The question of salary -with the Mesara.''Shnbert was responsible for the step-