Variety (Jan 1906)

••.- ;i7, -• ■■'., VARIETY. ^W»'/" • ■■ ^^^. .^i^-■■r.'■... -^^^,■ PASTOR'S. It is standing room only at Tony Pas- tor's this week, both at the matinees and at night. There is a hill with a lot of the old-time favorites, s^me new faces and a novelty. Incidentally, there are no sketches, the bill being a variety on* ihroughout. Two old-time mono- logists are near the top of the bill, Qus Williams and Billy Carter. Williams sticks to the recitation habit with a moral tag, hut he has a new one and he has some talk and a song that are real- ly good and new. Carter was also suc- cessful In entertaining, though he needs novelty, and the Rozinos offered a med- ley act. Matieo and her "Congoites" and Col. Schults are reported in the New Acts department. Another act scarcely new yet of novelty is the Three Westons. Two of the youngsters have been with us since the time they used to dodge past the Gerry Society ten or twelve years ago to be heralded as child wonders. They are little more than children yet, but they make appeal as musicians and not as prodigies. A third girl has been added, who takes over the ■ cello solo work, and the act stands de- serving of all praise. They dress dain- tily now and the singing and playing are both extremely good. Weston has worked wonders with his youngsters and should be given credit. He is not In the new act. J. Aldrich LIbbey and Katherlne Trayer have their older act styled "The Writing Lesson." Libbey was coltish the other afternoon and cut monkey shines till the audience roared. He is funny, not because he is a come- dian but because he is so far removed from one. The Dancing Mitchells do a whole lot of things. They are not only good whirlwind dancers, but they are acrobatic to a degree. The act would be much better appreciated could they shape it up better. At present it is dis- jointed, and this lack of smoothness de- tracts from the effect. The Chamber- lins were in poor form the other after- noon and missed a number of their tricks. These things happen to the best at times, and it is not a fair test 3f the act. They are dressing it much better than they did. Frank Chamber- lin's silk shirt is a most gorgeous thing. Cogan and Bancroft would do better did they cut out their sketch attachment and go in for more skating. The comedy is not good. The skating—what there Is of It—is. They should not advertise a whiskey. Demonio and Belle have some contortion work that is spoiled by a rough and unfunny sketch. It would be far better to let the contortion work form the basis of a silent act. Bert Lennon had a fine time with the best bits of several acts. He is an Imitator. So he gives credit an^ so is able to use several good bits. If he thinks that the story of the trousers which were short- ened In tutu by eVery member of the family is worth repeating, he possesses a poor editorial faculty. It is tiresome, and even the Pastorltes, who usually are good natured, did not like it. Paul Fred- «rick, on the wire, and Donar. a ma- gician, also appear. i-l Btt-GlllCOl HURTIG AND SEAMON'S. The McWatters and Tyson Company are the real hit at Hurtlg ft Seamon's this week, and are about the only uprightly number on the bill. Their med- ley act was much appreciated, and they could have taken a number of encores had not the vltascope sheet closed them in. They still spoil their ensemble num- bers by trying to get light elfects with a single lantern, but the act Is full of action, and their selection of songs is good. Kline, Ott Brother and Nicholson are falling Into the error of holding too much to the same repertoire. This Is not because they lack acquaintance with mu- sical literature; Indeed, no musical act draws from so large a list, but they have picked out the surest hits, and as a re- sult are too much the same. It would be better to change their selections more frequently, no matter how well they are received. They are among the few brass quartets not too noisy for the stage. The Josselin Trio have some fair work on the trapeze, but they make stronger appeal with a capital act on the webbing at the close of their swing* work. This is a department ignored by many of the modern gymnasts, but well done, as In this Instance, It always goes. George H. Wood Is on the bill, probably because they need an act In one and were stuck for it. He Is announced "with a lot of new material." This Is a sad confession of ignorance. It may be new to Mr. Wood, but little of it is novel to man or woman, to say nothing of. chil- dren above the age of four. Mr. Wood has the unpleasant trick of roasting his audience if they do not laugh and ap- plaud. If he fails to make good, it is his fault, and the audience's misfortune. He should not blame them for It. He has a lengthy and tiresome routine of dreary talk about the rich and the educated, making a])peal to the gallery through a clumsy appeal to their supposed preju- dice against these classes. Half the time his act suggests an East Side agitator lecturing to a group of anarchists. Sel- dom does his talk resemble a comedy monologue. It is the worst lot of rot that has ever been Inflicted upon a New York audience, and he made but a small apology with a couple of old recitations at the close. Mooney and Holbein scored more with the man's dancing than his partner's singing. In the latter department she appears to have discovered several new keys and sings In them. The dancing is getting good enough to be talked about. If he will keep it up he will make a suc- cess. Fields and Wolley fall a little short in their air ship scene. The idea is good but supplied with old-fashioned humor. It would pay them to have a really good man write them a new rou- tine. A good man would leave out the salivated pronounclation of Pittsburg. V is not hrmbrous; it is disgusting. The Hoch-Felton company still lack vivacity a-M! a good finish, and Elizabeth Mur- ray sings In the old familiar way and telis better stories than she used to. They hud a capital reel of moving pic- tures, one of the best of recent weeks. ; IVIINER'8 BOWERY. Just because it is fashionable this season to have a t»voact burlesque, Whal- len and Martell are frying to pretend thai their Kentucky Belles have no olio. The olio Is nothing to be ashamed of, and they should pretend to be proud of it, instead of slavishly following custom and burying the artists' names in the song announcements. They also seem to be a little bit ashamed of the ch.rus. They use the girls but once in the opening, for a big act in between, and for some work in the afterpiece—be^ pardon, the second act. It's a nice, well-trained and well- behaved chorus at that, capable of mak- ing the gestures synciiironically. They sing fairly well, lock better, and can wear tights—if they are small tights. They should be given more work to do. The star act is the at jobati*- work of the Brothers Mclvm. The liurlesque man- agers have dug up a let of good acrobatic material thia year, but these young men will be coming uptown scon. They run mostly to hand-to-hand work in conjunc tion with acrobatics en the style of the Brothers Bard. They have the tricks, but they lack sureness and a certain air of confidence which comes only thrcuKh work and experience. W^hen they gain ease of deportment, stop "stalling" and can think ui) a better style of costume, they should win a place in the big bills. They should be ready for Broadway about the time the roof garden season opens, and they are worth looking over now. The best thing they do is a double throw to hands, the two boys passing each other in the air. This is the trick that will get them their contracts. Hed- rlx and Prescott work their dancing specialty between the acts. It is still the same nice little turn, with a lot of good dancing and not enough singfng to hurt. Thoy are above -the old grade of act, and are res.)ecte:l accordingly. Grey and Graham have a good musical spe- cialty marred by moments of insanity, when Grey seems to imagine that he is some five years back in history and dees some clowning not at all good. There is a quartet called the Century Comedy Foui. They sing more Vith less encouragement than any quartet in the busine.ss. There are grounds for the be- lief that they consider themselves com- edians, but nothing of the sort can be proven aealnst them. Ella Gilbert has a big number, and Lillle Crawford has two. They also take part in the bur- lesque, the first ad of which is a mutila tion cf the old farce. "Confusion." which has served before. The last act has no connection with the first, and possesses only the slight plot that a girl and her lover hire a tramp to personate a woman who has answered a matrimonial adver- tisement an;l wants to marry the girl's father. It Is a pity that thia should be the plot, for It paves the way for the nastiest sort of a sfonc. They do not need this filth. .lack Roid ronies very dose to doing rionic really g(;od at^tine;. With more carofnl work he could be lej;ifi mately funny. Frank Carroll is les.s fuhny, and not at all orluinal. The other members of the cast who have no spe clalties leave no impression. "CORKS" ON THIEVES. "Please may 1 have a 8eidl?"«aid the Human Corkscrew with unwonted po- liteness as he settled himself at the table and made a noise like a thirst. The waiter was notified of the emer- gency and "Corks" went on: "I need a sustalner. I was standing on the corner looking to see If I could catch Sam Hodgdon coming out of Keith's and a chap comes along. I give him the Happy New Year and he growls that it won't be a happy one unless they quit swiping his act. Say, I tried hard nor to laugh but I did, and It cost me a drink. ■■ ;■,• :■■...-^ ' ■ ■ ■:•.:•;;; "The guy thinks out his act like the cheap composers write their songs. He thinks of what he's seen, then he thinks it's his own and then he thinks what a thief the oihers fellows are. "There used to be a girl that sang 'Edinboro Town' in the continuous, and when some other girl sang it she de- clared that the song had been written for her. "Some of the oldest stuff in the busi- ness ought*ito be common property, but some think it ain't. I remember when Joe Hart in one of his old acts used the cucoanut shells on his knees, some dan- cing team said he was stealing from their act. Lord love you, they was do- ing that before we were in the business. "There was a man, the other day. kick- ing because some other fellow on the same bill had cupped out his fake drama, and to hear him talk you could almost imagine that he had invented travesty himsjlf. and that people who had been dead twenty years had stolen the idea from him. ,:■■'■;..:' "There is some people whio get out ideas and they get into the discard be- cause everybody swipes them, but most of these kickers who say their act Is being crabbed are as bad thieves as the other fellow who has the idea they are using. "There ain't much that's new in this business, and it makes me sick to hear some runt who has to look in a book to find out who Dan Rice was use his old gags and beef when the other fellows use the same old relics. "This act of mine is a contortion spe- cialty In a snake dress with the Garden of Eden and a real Eve is all to the fresh. There ain't no one copped it yet and I have no kick (U)mhig unless it's when some flathead irorehead backs me up against a wall and insists on tell- ing me how the other fellows are steal- ing his act and how he is sick and tired of furnishing ideas to the rest of the variety business. "I was doing an act when most of the kickers were kids and me and Walt Went worth were the contortion stars, and when I see one of the new boys orat- ing about theft because some other act is doing the same gag he stole it makes me thirsty." "Corks" looked into the bottom of the empty soldi and the head of th(.' table gave the high sign to the waiter. He had heard tales of stolen coods himself.