Variety (Dec 1905)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

VARIETY. THE AMPHION. For Christmas week this house made a big showing on Monday night, and it looks as though the Amphion has the "South Side" solid. A good laughing show, well balanced, made up ihe bill. A feature of it, which seemed to ap- peal to the audience especially, although second on the program, was "Mile. RiccI," which Emil Hoch, Jane Elton and Co. gave. The theme is not new by any means, but it is well played, with a few innovations in the threadbare busi- ness of secreting a woman behind a screen to escape discovery. Mr. Hoch is a capital light comedian. He says he wrote the greater part of the sketch himself. If so, he should have some one else write another which would afford greater scope. Miss Elton as a French girl was oppressed by the handicap of having to use a French ac- cent, although she got through with it very well. Ella Grover as the wife lacked conviction and confidence. William Gould and Valeska Suratt, "the fashion plates of vaudeville," as the program had it (which is the usual term used by a song and dance team with new clothes), were well liked. The trade-mark of Gould is the walk-dance- step, which Miss Suratt has acquired beautifully. Some time ago Ashton Stevens, of the San Francisco Examiner, scored this act roundly for vulgarity. If it existed then, it has been eliminated, for it is clean and wholesome, with a lot of real fun now. Al. Lawrence, a mimic because he says so himself, depends a great deal upon facial contortions. Some stories are good, some new around here, while the majority are not, and in the custom- ary mimical way he draws a glass of soda. It is all reminiscent upon Mr. Lawrence closing with a humorous reci- tation entitled "A Message from the Dead." Wolflng's Stallions are handled by a girl trainer who seems to have the ani- mals in fear of her, particulary a dog, and the young lady makes too free use of the whip while on the stage. The horses are muzzled, and the house be- lieves because they would bite her for cruelty otherwise. The Chamberlains have their interesting exhibition of tricks with the lasso and whip, but hamper the act by too many explanatory remarks. Mat tie Lockett as a child im- personator leaves the idea after the first song while retaining the dress which is much out of place among the other sug- gestive songs she sings. Max Waldron is another impersonator of the female, which he does well, hav- ing several changes on a miniature stage set up on the stage proper. The act is too long, and the one where he wears a long dress with blond curls should be dropped. The La Vine Cimaron Trio made a hit with comedy, contortions and dancing. The comedian is the best of the three, and brought out the fact that an act playing the Amphion nowadays, without receiving applause, must be distinctly wrong somewhere. PROCTOR'S FIFTY-EIGHTH 8TREET. Your East Side boy will take a chance on eternity for one hundred dollars. The report has spread that it is offered here this week twice a day by Cliff Berzac (reviewed under New Acts) and the gal- lery is packed in consequence, with all the youngsters in Yorkville looking for- ward to when they can see a show and get a Christmas present at the same time. The "mysterious" De Biere, more or less of an "illusionist," had a new trunk trick. It is really unfair to judge an act of this kind. If you are at all the least bit "wise" you are apt to make an error in the calculation of the audience's opin- ion; the uninitiated viewing the per- formance very differently. De Biere at- tempts too much complication and mys- tification in his illusions, obliging those in front to look for the trick and losing the applause. Another mistake is to an- tagonize the gallery. His palming, with the exception of the egg trick, has al- ways been poor. Toledo and Price in a contortion turn show to what an extreme a contortionist must go to gain a hearing. Toledo does one turn never seen before, and if he keeps it up twice a day it is most prob- able that we won't see him doing it much longer. Foster and Foster were well liked, being applauded uproarious- ly, which is one of the many strange oc- currences in a vaudeville theatre. Sing- ing two songs to one melody is so very old, but it must be the new generation just putting on their variety clothes. The Nicbols Sisters have fallen off, both in songs and talk. Unless careful, the "female Mclntyre and Heath" will disappear. Hill and Sylvanyi ride the bicycles still in their daredevil style. The ambulance bell hasn't been rung on them so far. Reno-Richard Co. in their comedy acrobatics are now obliged to worry along without the assistance of the "ex- cess." George Darling, who was thought to be the strength if not the physical support of the team. One of the mem- bers unequivocally said that George be- came "soused" some weeks ago and al- most spoiled the act one night. Hence his departure. The miniature police- man, formerly of Luna Park and dental offices, now has his bald pate decorated instead. Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew gave "The Yellow Dragon." a second viewing of which almost tempts one to say that it is too good for vaude- ville, for the superior acting of the Drews is not properly appreci- ated. Geo. R. Deane who wrote it should write another and continue if he can keep up to that standard. Murphy and Frances are singers and dancers, col- ored, with the girl highly painted and a pair of slippers to give her feet a shapely form. Why will a colored girl, very dark, always try to emulate a mulatto in looks on the stage, and a mulatto try for the white effect? The Los Angeles Orpheum now gives matinees daily except Monday. No more side trips to Pasadena or the beach. THE CIRCLE. A burlesque show without a blond among the principals or chorus is almost a novelty in itself. This condition exists in the Al. Reeves Big Beauty Show ap- pearing here this week. There are two or three narrow escapes, though, from the light colored variety of cranium adornment. The show itself, although missing the presence of Mile. Mureal, "the star," gets along quite well, having a good opening, with the girls well dressed in costumes that have a new appearance. The change to the finale in the first part could be improved by having a designer blend the colors more appropriately, the present combination making some girls look grotesque. The girls are much better looking at long range than close at hand, and all seem quite youthful from the front. Margie Hilton is the busy young lady of the troupe, and fairly pretty. Dora Ronco handles a violin carelessly and poses as a living picture in the final burlesque, which is called "Whirl-I-Fun," and written by Harry Williams. Reeves takes charge of the stage in person dur- ing this, it following immediately his appearance in the olio with a banjo. He uses no picks and makes good with the parodies. The rest of the olio is fairly well taken care of by the Destelle Sisters in acro- batic dances, the "New York" News- boys' Quartet, with one wretched voice, and the Nelson-Farnum company of ac- robats. One, a girl, turns eleven con- secutive handsprings on a table. Thirty years ago there were turned on a cir- cular table sixty of these in as many seconds without stop. "The Chadwick Trial," which is the title of the opening number, is the most legitimate sketch for the introduction of songs that has yet been noticed in a show of this character. There is a lot of unnecessary horse-play with the blad- ders, and the "policeman" played by Joe Farnum is made so "sissifled" that it nauseates. It should be cut out. J. Theodore Murphy, as the funmaker in the opening. Is much better in the part of a judge who orders all the girls to do whatever they did at the "dinner," which smacks somewhat of the Seeley affair, is much better than as a Hebrew tramp at the other end of the bill. James Rowland played "District Attorney Jerome." and did it so seriously that it was really good. It is the absence of the nonsensical ef- forts to obtain laughs that are so evi- dent on their face in most burlesque troupes that, helps the Reeves Company more than is suspected. The girls are not neglectful in the "business," neither* are they continually "kidding" each other while on the stage. With the exception of the instance cited, the show is clean throughout. Clifford C. Fischer, of t!.-- Marinelli Ajir-ncy in this city, leaves next Wed- nesday for the foreign office, returning in a month or so. During his absence E. W6!!h< \m will be the eh:ef-in-charge hero. THE OFFICE BOY AND THE CRITIC8. "Oh, hello," said the Office Boy as I walked in the agent's office, "I'm pretty soft for you. Stealing my stuff and get- ting me under suspicion. You can bet I won't talk any more." Upon being assured anything he said would be treated in the strictest confi- dence, the Boy replied, "Well, I don't know. I'll think It over. "But gee, say," he continued, "youse have got a bunch of critics on that pa- per. I expected to read a criticism on the East River before I finished it. Do you know any critics? The 'real' ones, I mean. The dramatic fellers that when they hear a new show is coming lay awake all night thinking 'Shall I or Shall I not?' and settle the finish of the play in their minds before they see it. "I do. Some, by sight. I was an usher once. There a freaky lot. The only good looking one I know is'Leander Richardson. Hillary Bell was good look. ing, too, but he died. Guess he couldn't stand being both. Charles Darnton looks natural and Acton Davies isn't so bad. He reminds me of a large picture of Puck. "Say, did you ever see John Corbin look the house over before taking his seat. Don't miss that. Alan Dale likes children. That's a good sign in any man. "Vaudeville critics? Ah, hold up your head, you're sinking. What are them? Why, say I'll bet all I got that I can train this typewriting machine to turn out a vaudeville criticism inside of a week. All you got to do is to see the show and then ask the questions. An automatic pen will do the rest. "Say, when I was a usher, me and another feller saw a vaudeville critic come in one night, and we threw up a cent to see what we would be, ushers or critics. It came down 'ushers.' Wasn't we lucky? "That's right.- Make a holler. Youse fellers like to throw the hooks into others, but can't even stand for a kid yourselves. "You're so modest up there, too. With your nerve I would have been a presi- dent of a bank by this time. Don't be in a hurry. Come in again. We'd stay open all night to see you." TOYS TO BURN. Santa Claus, like most everybody else, appears to have gone into vaudeville. For several weeks the Proctor variety houses have been giving toys at the Saturday matinees and now the Am- phion in Brooklyn has swung into line and they are playing to crowded mati- nees in consequence. Out of town there are half a hundred houses where they throw in a doll or a jumping jack with a seat coupon, and the craze seem« to be spreading. As each toy costs nine or ten cents the distribution is not altogether profitable, though the managers claim that the gifts make friends for the house. It must be ■o, fur year aft< r year some houses re- new the praeitee which has in their oases become a custom.