The Billboard 1924-01-05: Vol 36 Iss 1 (1924-01-05)

Ue ST HULL th ee Bet ~ 2 ie } JANUARY 5, 1924 The Billboard MARY KELLY AND COMPANY Reviewed Weduesday afternoon, December 26, at Proctor’s Fifth Avenue Theater, New York. Style—Comedy sketch. Este Mle in one-two. Time—Fifteen minutes. A bright, clean comedy offering by & company of three capable artistes, The character\-ations—a bashful groom, a worldly innocent pride and a sophisticated, wise-cracking travelwell drawn; the lines sparkle situation has life. Here is ing salesman—are with wit and the embodies all the elements of a an act that good vaudeville turn, The plot centers around the troubles of a honeymooning couple in finding a hotel room in a jerk-water town where a firemen’s convention is in session. ‘The wise-cracking salesman saves the day—or better the night—when he digs up a room for the newlyweds, but not until after a lot.of funmaking bas been provided at the groom's expense, and Miss Kelly has been allowed an opportunity to display a fine singing voice. + E. DIAX SISTERS AND COMPANY Reviewed Wednesday afternoon, December 26, at Proctor’s Fifth Avenue Theater, New York. Style—Wire. Setting—Special cye., full stage. Time— Fight minutes. A neat tight-wire act in which the sisters do the entertaining, the ‘‘and Company’’ merely acting in the capacity of maid. A variety of feats is executed with ease by the girls, including dance steps, splits, jumps over objects, ete. The climax of the routine is reached when the two discard their shoes and execute a number of difficult stunts in their bare feet. This act is tastefully dressed, well costumed and the apparatus appears to be new and in good condition. It should get by without any difficulty in the opening or closing spot of any family-time bill. Ez. &. MME. CALLIOPE CHARISSI Reviewed at B. F. Keith’s Hippodrome, New York. Style—Classie dancing. Setting—Special, full stage. Time —Fighteen minutes. A high-class offering with a lMmited field insofar as vaudeville is concerned. Mme. Charisst and her youngsters execute their numbers with vneommon grace and intelligence. A remarkable woman this and a remarkable lot of youngsters, The routine with program notes follows: Preteg. «5.600 The Shepherdess and Her Flock (a) ‘‘Autumn Leaves’’...... Music by Massenet Theme Ballet represents the wind chasing and carrying away the autumn leaves Danced by Mme, Charissi and her children (b) “The Three Graces’’....Musie by Schubert Ancient dance danced by Mme. Charissi and Ketty and Beatrice (c) ‘“The Awakening”’........ Music by Grieg Theme Representing the awakening of man, his desires and battle for life Messrs, Noel, Nicolag, Costas and Andre (ad) ‘‘Visions of the Heroes of the SambreMeuse Regiment” .Music by Planquette Theme The sacred love for their country and all phases of the superhuman courage and sacrifice for which this regiment is famous is perteapes by Mme. Charissi and her ten childre Dances created and arranged by Mme. "Charisst BERT AND LOTTIE WALTON Reviewed H ‘ednesday afternoon, December 26, at Loew's American Theater, New York. Style—Singing, talking and dancing. Setting—Special, in one. Time —Ten minutes. Rert and Lottie Walton open with “Since ? Met You, Dear'’, followed by a dance. Some talk was rather ancient, the Radio, get Chile gag being one. Lottie in a change, a short nifty looking pink creation, put over a dance to a hand and Bert's dance with acrobatic tricks, ineluding nipups, did likewise, In another change, a very beautiful creation of peacock blue trimmed with metallic silver and shoulder straps of solid brilliants and wearing a toque of metallic silver, Miss Walton looked a picture. A dance by Lottie while Bert did tumbling sent them over falrly well, Retter dialog would help, M. H. RUBY ROYCE Reviewed Thursday afternoon, Decembe : 27, at Loew's American Theater, New York. Style—Dancing and singing. Setting—One. Time—Eleven minutes Ruby Royce, a rather portly woman in a dress of black ornamented with a red flower, opens with a special number, following which he does a routine of different types of dancing, ‘ler hock steps drew a good hand, as did also her impresston of Pat Rooney and other dances, The singing ts weak and the announcements could be improved. ‘My next number,’ ete,, does not show much Ingenuity, Miss Royce sold the offering well at the finish, drawing a good hand and taking a couple of bows when reviewed. M. H, NE W TURNS and RE TURNS : SUE RUSSELL AND COMPANY Reviewed Wednesday afternoon, December 26, at Fox’s City Theater, New York. Style—Singing. Setting—Onea Time—Ten minutes. As a straight singer of ballads Sue Russell makes an enormous hit, and as a singing comedienne she makes no less an impression, the first due to her fine voice, intonation and diction and the latter to her infectious manner of delivery, amiable personality and artistic sense of comic and musical values. With a pianist accompanying Miss Russell opened with an equivocal rendition +f ‘“‘Mama Loves Papa’’. Her character songs and impressions, one of the main features of her offering, were received with loud acclaim, and her semi-classical rendition of “‘Love Sends a Little Gift of Roses’’ likewise drew a big hand when reviewed. This number was used in Miss Russell's impression of bow Jenny Lind would sing one of the popular ballads today. Added charm was lent the number by the becoming costume worn. She closed with ‘‘My Heart Is Calling You’’, which embodied the evolution of a talented singer from the time she ran away from home, appeared in tights and red hat in a Broadway cabaret, and until she became a grand opera star. R. C. WARREN AND O'BRIEN Reviewed Wednesday afternoon, December 26, at Fox’s City Theater, New York. Style—Acrobatic novelty. Setting—In one. Time—Eleven minutes. Warren and O’Brien have an act that pleases immensely, tho it is difficult to take it all apart and discover really what they do that impresses so favorably. The opening is a speedy dash of incongruous patter and a special song, which is followed by an acrobatic dance by O’Brien. Clowning and gags of the jargon type are indulged preceding a soft-shoe dance by both, which savors of the acrobatic. The boys then proceed to give their impression of two Arabian acrobats, causing a great deal of laughter by their antics, tomfoolery and absurdity. They took an encore and did another acrobatic dance and some more clowning. Warren and O'Brien no doubt can attribute some of their popularity to the intimacy which they affect with the audience, R. ©. WHEELER AND POTTER Reviewed Thursday afternoon, December 27, at Loew's American Theater, New York. Style—Talking, singing and dancing. Setting—One. Time—Ten minutes. Man and woman in conventional act of singing, talking and dancing, opening with the girl as a scrubwoman, who afterwards changes to pretty frock and says that she did it on a bet that no man would notice her unless she were dressed up. The dialog drew a few laughs, the dance following an opening number sold it fairly well. Concluded with ‘“‘I've a Heart That's Yearning for a Girlie Like You", the man doing some clever acrobatic dancing and the girl standing in a foot spot and singing. Went over well when reviewed and makes an acceptable medium-time turn. M. H _ BOLLINGER AND REYNOLDS Reviewed Thursday afternoon, December 27, at Loew's American Theater, New York. Style—Wirewalking and dancing. Setting—Three. Time—Ten minutes. Man and gir! in a mixed act of dancing and wire walking. The girl is cute and winsome, dancing with dainty charm, and the man an excellent wire walker. Drew hands on each stunt on the wire, the girl getting her share of the applause thru terpsichorean efforts. A neat opening act with a punch for the medium houses. M. H. —_——-— THREE JEANNETTES Reviewed Wednesday evening, December 26, at Franklin Park Theater, Boston. Style—Performing animals, acrobatic and dancing. Setting—Three Time—Twelve minutes. This entertaining act opens with the entrance of a stalwart police dog pulling a spangled carriage in which a lady ts sated, with a male attendant on either «side A flock of pigeons, released from the gallerr, fly to the roof of the carriage and are carted of. Half a dozen gmall dogs ure brought in successively and put Yhru an interesting routine of tricks. The lady does a bit of dancing and one of the men executes several acrobatic stunts, A snappy little closing number for the medium time. Could be improved with a little dressing up. D. OG. DAVE BERNIE AND HIS PETROGRAD SOCIETY ENTERTAINERS Reviewed Wednesday afternoon, December 26, at Fox’s City Theater, New York. Style—Orchestra. Setting—Special, full stage. Time—Nineteen minutes. Dave Bernie has been careful and discriminate in his selection of the musicians who make up his Petrograd Society Entertainers—a band consisting of seven men in addition to himself— not only for the reason that they are musicians of merit, but for the reason that they fit in nicely with the comedy flavor of the offering and serve as capable butts for Bernie's humor. The band was the hit of the bill when reviewed and had a tough job to get away after having taken an encore, this due not wholly to the music turned out by the band, tho it was a good deal above the average, but to the comedy features of the offering, which were well handled for laughs. Bernie announces on the opening that the band is composed of Russians he picked up in cabarets in Petrograd. He introduces each one with well-written gags, selling them to g°od returns, and the while he is doing this the musicians engage in comedy business individually and together. Other comedy features include the passing around of wine by the band members while Bernie is doing a piano solo of ‘‘Roses of Picardy”’ and the finish, which was undeniably funny—Bernie told the men that they were thru for the day and could have a happy time, doing just as they would if they were in Petrograd. A regular free-for-all began, in which all of the men fired shots and made other noises symbolizing a Bolshevistic encounter. The orchestra played “I Love You’’ from Little Jessie James, “March Slav’’, Russian symphonic number, “The Fruit Song’ from lark and Tilford (Yes, We Have No Bananas), a conception of the “‘Bananas’’ song in Russian and other numbers, A classical dance and an eccentric toe dance were done by Olga, specialty dancer, who is a member of the act. R. C. — PAUL RAHN AND COMPANY Reviewed Wednesday afternoon, December 26, at Fox's City Theater, New York. Style—Singing. Setting—Special drop, in one. Time—Thirteen minutes. Paul Rahn’s offering opens with a novel number done by himself and his ‘“‘company’’, a girl, at the window indicated on the special drop used. In this number Rahn and the girl work in prop. headgear of a night owl and chicken, respectively. With a change of light the girl is discovered at the piano in front of the drop, where she sang a short song to her own accompaniment. Rahn appears in a chef’s hat and cook spoon and sings a song to the effect that he will endeavor to read from his “vaudeville cookbook"’ and supply the audience with a ‘‘recipe of fun’’. He rendered “It Doesn't Mean a Thing’? and a special number based on the Darwin theory of mankind. Rahn's number, for which he donned a hat of the jelly-bean cake-eater kind, entitled ‘“‘When Those Valentino Cake-Eaters Come Stepping Around’, had all the rudiments of a “recipe of fun’, and the song about the beauty shop, entitled ‘‘Down at Dizzy Lizzie’s Beauty Parlor’, provoked applause of proportions demanding an encore. ‘‘What Wonderful Things They Can Do’’, another special number, somewhat weaker than those preceding it, was also rendered. R. C. —_—-_ GORDON AND HEALY Reviewed Wednesday afternoon, December 26, at Loew's American Theater, New York. Style—Talking and singing. Setting—One. Time—Fifteen minutes. A bridal opening between man and woman with the usual “I'm happy,"’ followed by the gloomy groom and the pugnacious wife secrapping. Following her exit, man monologs and sings “That's a Lot of Bunk" acceptably, altho we didn’t know whether to apply the title to the preceding monolog or not—at any rate, the talk did not draw laughs. Woman returns in a change and the ‘Niagara Falls—that place is running ‘yet’ gag was resurrected. More talk preceded the concluding song rendered while the two sat on a sofa after the manner of a bench act “He Goes to Work in the Nighttime and She Goes to Work Every Day” was the number used. Its lyric is distinetly suggestive. That slap on the girl's leg could be omitted, also the use of the word Hell’, Will get by on the medium time, bot not essentially different frem several others to make it distinctive, M. HK BAND-BOX REVUE eviewed Thursday after: aoe 27, at Loew's American Theater, New York. Style—Revue. Seiting— Specials, in one and three. Time—Twenty-three minutes. De A jazz band and a young fellow and young girl who dance, the band filling the time necessary for rest and changing costumes the dancers. There was the usual violin solo also. The band fs no better and no worse than some—in fact, it is better than a great many, but was noisy in the first number. The dancing is better than many others, the girl shows considerable promise and the young fellow likewise. The hangings were pretty and effective and the act as a whole, altho not materially different from many such, nevertheless made quite a hit when reviewed and is a good medium-time flash act with a punch M. H. TEX McLEOD Reviewed Monday afternoon, De cember 24, at Palace Theater, New York. Style—Ropespinning. Setting— Two. Time—Thirteen minutes. Tex McLeod in dressing, spinning of ropes and spinning of yarns is a pretty close replica of Will Rogers as the latter used to work a number of years ago. Assisting was a young girl, who, in a riding habit, danced with McLeod, jumping back and forth thru a whirling lariat with alacrity. The gags registered laughs and the feats of spinning, hands Held the second spot nicely and took a couple of bows. M. H. LIONEL ATWILL In “BY RIGHT OF LOVE” A Dramatic Playlet by Edgar Allan Woolf CAST Clyde Worthing, a Famous Actor..Lione! Atwill Martin Dalmar, also a Theatrical Star.... « «++ Manart Kippen Renee, “His” Wife adennesnceueeume Elsie Mackay William Coleman, Dnteenenmn "Manager. . eedaaéee Barry Whitcomb Dalmar’s “Butler...............-Harold Harding Scene—A Room in Dalmat’s Home. Time—Evening. Reviewed Monday afternoon, December 24, at Palace Theater, New York. Style—Playlet. Setting—Special, in three. Time—Nineteen minutes. The story of ‘“‘By Right of Love’’, the playlet by Edgar Allan Woolf in which Lionel Atwill and supporting company appeared, is of Martin Delmar, a theatrical star, who neglects his wife Renee and is jealous of Clyde Worthing, another star’s success. During a seene in which Clyde is expressing his love to Renee, Martin catches them and challenges Clyde to a duel, explaining that both pistols are not loaded and that they will simply ACT the scene which is similar to a new play in which Clyde is appearing, Clyde accepts, ‘a shot is fired, Clyde falls and feigns death. He hears what his manager, William Coleman, really thinks of him, and learns that Martin wants the part, also that Coleman, who has previously expressed uadying friendship, is ready to give it to him, Jumping from his seat, he discloses the subterfuge, and how he smeared red ink which had been spilled on the table on his shirt to aid in the deception. At the conclusion Clyde leaves with the girl. The piece shows nothing new in the me chanics of the stage nor in situation. The exe cellence of Lionel Atwill’s playing, however, (Continued on page 23) JAMES COGHLAN says:— The comedian tcho pulls old jokes receives sparse applause occasionally but he ought to be spanked with a red hot atove lid. COGHLAN’S JESTER No. 2 is worth ten thousand dollars to the per former who appreciates ORIGIN ALITY! THE JESTER is NEW, GOOD, CLEAN, LAUGH ABLE, SURE-FIRE and 100% ORIGINAT What ther book of vaudeville mater’a claims this distinction? The JESTER cor tains sixty-four (9%x6454) pages 5 Mono nd Female Single Gags. Quartette Ventriloquist Act, Burlesque Tab. for 10 characters, Minstrel First Parts, Minstr Finale. Best Parody ever written on Gunga Din, Poems and Parodies on Popular Songs PRICE, $1.00 JAMES J. COGHLAN. 93 Wade Street. WELDON WILLIAMS BLICK © COLOR TICKETS FORT SMITH,ARK. © logues, 8 Double Acts for Male and for two Males, Act, y City, N. J peyote sia amageipe