Variety (Dec 1905)

■■ VARIETY. SHOWS the week AFTER THIS—WHAT? One of the best posted men in vaude- ville was speaking of the high salary question the other evening and indulged in speculation as to what would be the outcome of the steady increase in sala- ries. Already we have the ten cent house, but it is not believed that the ten cent circuit is the solution of the problem. Rather is it the transitory stage, leading no one knows whither. There was a time when the variety business of the country was of the sort described by Nick Norton in his inter- esting reminiscences. There were houses of note through the country play- ing the leading acts and making it pos- sible for a player to stay six months ir. a house through a weekly change of bill. Then came the combinations, and in a short time the first of these followed by others until there were more than enough combinations to serve the houses. The direct outcome of this was the museum. The combinations shut out clever players who sought some outlet for their talents and the addition of a variety bill to a museum hall became general. Persons who would not pa- tronize the variety theatres found It proper to inspect the natural curiosities of the museum and, since a variety bill was a part of the museum they took that in, too. At first the museum bill consisted of five or six short acts played over and over again through the day, but from this was developed the idea of the con- tinuous performance which became al- most a craze. The museum annex was dropped and a splendid bill was pro- vided at a small cost. With prosperity came an increase in the salaries of almost all the perform- ers and the manager found that he would have to raise his prices of admission to meet the new condition. This was fol- lowed by the reservation of seats and now most of the variety houses with the exception of those belonging to the Keith circuit proper, are of the two- shows-a-day sort. Higher prices demanded the best shows and forced out a class of players not considered good enough for the big bills. These now find engagements in the ten cent houses just as their fore- runners turned to the museums. As the museum idea developed the continuous performance, so will the ten cent show evolve some new idea. Just what that idea will be no man may say, but that from the despised "family" theatres will spring the next deevlopment of vaude- ville. Some man will strike it just right and all others will follow in his foot- steps. The question is "What will that idea be?" One of the vaudeville jokers went to the plumber who keeps the opera artists' vocal pipes in repair, to have his sing- ing voice improved. A fellow artist similarly afflicted, asked if the prac- titioner was to be commended. "They say he's a great golf player," was the dubious answer. ALHAMBRA. R. A. Roberts has come to Harlem alter two weeks in Brooklyn and finds a warm welcome at the Alhambra, though even the holiday crowd received in silence ancLdlsgust his filthy comedy as the hag. Apart from this Mr. Rob- erts offers a clean cut exhibition of good acting marred a trifle by long speeches. His changes are wonderfully made and it is a pity he should hurt the effect by comedy scarcely to be tolerated at Min- er's Bowery Theatre. The Military Oc- tette is one of the best musical acts yet put out by Lasky and Rolfe, who seem to make a specialty of this sort of thing. In the American section of the show, the man who plays the officer does not show familiarity with military usage and spoils the effect somewhat, but the playing on valved trumpets is capital and the act is sufficiently diversified to appeal to all musical tastes. The selec- tion of numbers has been made with care and discrimination. Two young women in natty uniforms add to the effect, but why, oh why. should we have inflicted upon us the female leader? She is a nuisance and replaces a leader of merit. The Onlaw trio show their old tricks to good advantage and Louise Gunning is as clever as ever. Her voice has re- tained its freshness wonderfully con- sidering that she has been doing vaude- ville and opera for the better part of five fadYoecxuDiL shrdlu un un un un unn years. Nothing better than Fanny Rice and her animated dolls could have been found for Christmas week. She is a clever entertainer and gives a capital rendition of one of the Chevalier songs, though it is in no sense an imitation of the man who has just foresworn vaude- ville. A change of dolls would be ap- preciated, for she had been using the same manikins and the same songs for too long, but the act is clever and pleased. George W. Day smartened up his monologue since he went on the cir- cuit at the Colonial, and the new stuff is of a better grade. He clinched his early Christmas dinner Monday by tak- ing his first encore bow in his shirt sleeves, as a sign that he was all through. Day when he is good is very good, and he was in one of his good hours the other afternoon. Watson, Hutchings, Edwards and Company are still doing the Vaudeville Exchange, though they need some new work very badly. They have been playing this too long and walk through the act without giving much heed to their points, with the result that the fine points are lost and there is left only the broad appeal through Mr. Watson's make-up and the finish of the turn, which dates back to the ancient days. It is being used in one of the burlesque shows this season and they did not get it from this act, either. Gourley, Sully and Gourley have some acrobatic work and Larkins and Patterson do some colored comedy that is liked by those who have not yet tired of the negro in vaudeville. Pictures wind up the bill. Edith La Velle. while doing her bi- cycle act at Houston, Tex, week before last, fell on the stage and broke her leg. HYDE AND BEHMANS. .latins T. Powers has the black type at Hyde and Behman's this week. Mr. Powers should save up his programs, for it will probably be a long time before he gets as black on a vaudeville bill. He is about through with his "once over the circuit" and he will have to make good if he comes in again. From his present offering it would seem a difficult matter for him to make good, since his hit now is scored through the employment of five chorus men. They earn their sal- aries, since they hold up a high-priced and unentertaining specialty. Mr. Pow- ers stepped on his dog Tuesday evening and lost -die small chance that bit of- fered. Eddie Leonard and the Sharp Brothers do plenty of dancing. The Sharp Brothers do a little more than their share. Mr. Leonard should work more himself, he is the one we want. He has good song selections, notably the opening number. • His great fault is letting the act sag a little at the fin- ish. Emil Hoch. Jane Elton and Ella Grover have a sketch which suggests that Mr. Hoch saw Clayton White and Marie Stuart when he wrote the act and the Barrows-Lancaster sketch when he devised his make up. At that it might have been acceptable had Miss Elton played her part of the soubrette with a French instead of a Teutonic touch. They need a finish. A verse of the song sung earlier would serve. At present the stage manager is in doubt as to just when to drop the curtain. Smart- ening of the lines and' a new climax would improve the sketch materially. The Althea Twins open with some acro- batic work and McWatters and Tyson show their newest version of a familiar specialty. They have cut out the dress- ing room scene, though they retain the character song to the extent of two verses, Mr. McWatters working the blackface change with a stereopticon slide showing the rest of the minstrel troupe. He should scrape the slide to give him a share of the light where he hits. There is the basket trick again and two songs spoiled through an effort to get light effects with two lanterns. A bright stage is far better than these fool light effects, but performers can- not see it this way. Miss Tyson makes a real hit. She fairly sizzles personality and she has the Fay person in the back- ground when It comes to mobility of countenance. She can make more faces in a given time than a small boy who has partaken of green apples. The Zan- cigs are as puzzling as ever and here they are placed to advantage. They are on the stage some twelve minutes and hold the interest every moment of that time. Their Manhattan appearances have been spoiled by their place at the end of a program. Here they more than earn their salaries. Harry Rochez spoils his dog and pony act with a too free use of the whip. It would be better to pass over a break than to administer correction in view of the audience. The pictures held the better part of the crowd to the end. HAMMERSTEIN'S. Absolutely no novelty marked the Christmas bill at the Victoria, the man- agement preferring the tried acts with known names. Fred Karno's troupe of pantomimi8ts had one of the leading places with the now familiar "Night in an English Music Hall," which pleased the holiday crowd. There is little or nothing to the act so far as the comedy is concerned. The man who plays the drunken fellow in a box is a pantomim- isi of merit and did some good work. The others go in for the rankest kind of horse-play, and bun and apple throw ing form the chief appeal. It is all too English in its ideas of humor to please an American audience, and were it not for our tipsy friend the sketch would never have gotten past. Binns and Binns were announced "first time here." The billing in all likelihood refers to this season. It is a pity that the younger member of this team cannot be led to appreciate the fact that he can be funny and clean at the same time. Filthy garments are not in them- selves at all humorous, and a neater style of dressing would not interfere with the comedy, while it would improve the value of their act. They should cut out some of the oldest tricks. Jewell's manikins have a complete program, making two "stage on a stage" acts on the same bill. Slowness in the changes is a fault to be rectified, and the act runs a trifle too long. Some of the ideas are new and clever. The clown dance was really laughable because of the grotesqueness of the postures. Canfield and Carleton were hoodooed Christmas night. Half of the tricks went wrong and the act moved slowly. Mr. Canfield should work out the photograph gallery act he tried out at Pastors some years ago. He needs a change of act and in this he has the germ of a better idea than the present offering. Wilfred Clarke and Company were ice-making machines for the two minutes following the rise of their curtain, then they caught the house and thereafter they went with a rush, winding up in two real curtain calls. The act seems cer- tain to score anywhere because Clarke has solved the vaudeville essential of action both for himself and his players. Lee Harrison has some new stories for a change and one of these, the sea- side love-makers' union, runs entirely too long for the humor that is in it. The real joke lies only in the conclusion and he should cut the price list out. Similar things have been told in vaudeville be- fore. The Golden Gate Quintette do some good dancing, though not as much as they used to do. They need all the dancing they can crowd into the act and they need to get rid of the young woman who can neither dance nor sing, though she essays both. She is very tiresome. Foster and his dog pleased and Alcide Capitaine made more of a hit than she did in Brooklyn. Maude Beverly, a well known per- former, died the early part of this week. Madge Fox has a new act with Ave girls and a comedian, for which sho says she has been offered $500 weekly by Martin Beck, of the Orpheum Cir- cuit.