Variety (Feb 1906)

10 VARIETY ALHAMBRA. The bill at the William* Harlem house this week is practically that, given last week at the Orpheum. The enter- tainment has been moved oyer almost in toto. "The Mascot Moth" illusion has bene- fited immensely by its first week before an audience. Most of the roughness and clumsiness that marked it in its initial performance* have been rubbed away, and to all but the most sophisticated of vaude- ville followers it is mystifying. The Burmese gong, which makes up the first half of the act goes smoothly and ef- fectively. The trick kettle which yields all the drinks that a Broadway bartender ever heard of, is used Itetween times. The trick is far from befog a novelty, but Max Sterling works in some elaborations, and fills in the time necessary to setting the stage entertainingly enough. Maey and Hall in "A Timely Awaken- ing" made a strong appeal. Most of the honors go to the woman of the pair. Her work both as the patient wife and the sporty woman who appears in the dream is quiet and displays talent of high or- der. Oarleton Macy is a good looking figure in his dinner jacket and although his part is a colorless one, he fills in the picture acceptably. James F. McDonald takes the high sounding title of "raconteur," a classi- fication which is not l>orne out by any special delicacy of humor in his mono- logue. His act is good in places, but as a whole does not stand out coin pell ingly. Hawthorne and Hurt get away from the general run of work in their line. The Hebrew comedian has some really funny business and a catch line that wins a laugh at each reception. Their talk is bright, too, and they close their act with a fairly good dance. Howard and Bland work on an almost bare stage. They call their offering "The Stage Manager," and it shows a Monday morning rehearsal at a vaudeville the- atre. This ground plan offers opportunity for Bert Howard to play several flashy piano solos, and an imitation of a music box. The audience liked this to the ex- tent ofthTee^neores^ They liked Leona Bland's burlesque dance and song as well, although her voice was without any great degree of melody. The rest of the act was made up of by-play with the or- chestra, some of which was funny. The Patty Brothers, who do some re- markable head-to-head balancing, was a sensation in Harlem. The feat of one of the pair in walking down a short flight of stairs on his head, brought out a gasp of surprise not unmixed with horror. The Nichols Sisters, working in black face as a couple of pickaninnies, do an act that is clever enough to carry it as a careful impersonation alone. Their talk is laughable and they do a coon laugh that is contagious. Alburtus and Jessie Miller open the bill and at the other end are the Five Romanos, a dancing act with acrobatic frills, much on the order of The Three Madcaps. One of the girls is so stout that she Incomes unintentionally a com- edy feature of the turn. Coke. HYDE & BEHMAN'S. There were no blanks in the Hyde and Behntan grab bag this week. Cressy and DayM with "Town Hall To-Night" and Frank D. Bryan get about an even break in the billing for the honor of being the chief prize package and approval was meted out to them by the audience in about equal measure. It was noted of the Cressy sketch that even the members of the orchestra, who represent the sublimest degree of satiety, sat up and took notice. More than that, their faces frequently bore an expression that might be likened to a smile of human iintelligence. "Town Hall To-night" is one of the sketehes in vaudeville that will bear a second hearing. Its humor Ls fresh and true, and both of the principals are verit- able artists in something more than the trade significance of the term. Mr. Bryan's company of "American Girls" make up a spectacular ballet de- lightful to watch, and his impersonation of Hoosevelt is clever. The act opens with a descriptive song by Mr. Bryan, followed by the flag ensembles. Bryant led each number dressed in Russian, Japanese and last in "Uncle Sam" costume, while six girls shed their outer garments and blossom into a composite flag of the appropriate country. As a recall to the American num- !>er Mr. Bryant makes a speech about his hobby—the saving of the old battleship the Constitution—which is rather too long. His purpose is entirely laudable, but he might say as much in fewer words. \vdney Deane with "Christmas on Black- well's Island" has an excellent vehicle for his trio. The three sing well and the lines which are scattered through the sketch are bright and witty. George Holland has all the comedy of the act and handles it with skill. Fred JarvLs contributed little to the effect, acting largely as a sort of animated prop. Marvelous, Frank ami Bob was an acro- batic turn with a number of side specialties. The straight member has but one leg and did several excellent feats on the horizontal bar. A fox terrier who made up the third member of the act was the hit. It did handsprings ending in a standing position and a number of remarkable stunt act ranks well up in its class. Leona Thurber shfg^Jier coon songs ac- ceptably, then stands back and permits her four "blackbirds," or pickaninnies, to work for her. There are two girls and two boys. The girls are snappy and good dancers, the boys not so good. The Four Emperors of Music do a musical turn in which there is little novelty. The instrumental work is smooth, but the brasses are turned on pretty strong. The Bessie Valdarr Troupe of bicycle trick riders work in much the same way as the Kaufmann troupe at the Hippo- drome. The four girls are very nice look- ing and dress tastefully. Three of them look well under twenty, while the fourth is probably not much over. Lillian Tyce and Irene Jermon, billed as "the real Irish girl and the dainty singing comedienne," make up a sister act of a very acceptable sort. The Irish girl is seriously handicnpj>ed by her lines an,d jokes which are not of very good quality. Coke. PROCTOR'S FIFTY-EIGHTH STREET. Nine acts and the motion pictures kept the matinee performances at Mr. Proctor's Fast Side house going until after half past five this week. The death of her brother necessitated the retirement of Louise Dres- ser from the bill on Tuesday night, but her place was tilled by Mme. Avery Strakosh, a grand opera singer. She was secured for just one performance to meet the emerg- ency, and on Wednesday James Thornton came in to fill the gap with his monologue. K. A. Roberts led the bill. "Dick Tur- pin" is still being given unexpurgated and closed with a burst of enthusiastic ap- plause. One of the most popular acts on the bill was Jewell's Manikins. The music hall l>erformnnce of the marionettes is carried through with remarkable effect. Kvery one of the little lay figures is exceedingly life-like, several of the dances being so skillfully manipulated as to give a start- ling reproduction of the real thing. The actions of two wire-worked clowns was funnier than that of many living fun mak- ers. Joe Fields and Mark Wooley stand head and shoulders over most of the field of (Jerman comedians. Without taking any- thing from them, Fields and Wooley have as good a turn as many of the scenes that used to make Weber and Fields the talk of the town when they were at their old music hall. And some of the Fields and Wooley talk is as good as that which came from the Broadway playhouse and grew up into New York slang. The act is without horseplay or slapstick, and shows what can be done with an act of this sort. Ilolcomb, Curtis and Webb have a sketch called "A Winter Session," of which the comedy work of a Rube done by Sam. J. Curtis is the saving grace. The act shows the interior of a country school house. It tells no story, develops no comedy, except such as Curtis makes himself, and is ap- parently built arouml the singing ability of the three. The Five Mowatts have probably the best club-throwing act in vaudeville. Some of their rapid-fire exchanges of clubs in which all five took part was bewildering looked like a display of fireworks, with the polished metal of the clubs flashing. The boys are wholesome looking youngsters and manage to convey the impression that they take delight in their work. Delmore and Oneida do a splendid Japa- nese perch act. The woman is shapely and graceful and her balancing feats are above the average. A real comedian appears in the musical act of Waterbiiry Brothers and Tenny. He works in blackface and his name is Tenny. Instead of getting all his comedy out of shrieking false notes, he has thought up some business that is funny and worked in an occasional joke. The added feature was Ed Blondell in "The Lost Boy." Blondell has toned his act down in places and worked it up in others so that it goes much better now than it did several months ago when it was seen at Hammerstein's. Daly and Devere in Irish comedy were also there. Coke. HASTY JUDGMENT. Many vaudeville artists complain that the report* sent in to their superior by the house managers on Monday afternoon on their act and its reception are premature, and does not do them justice. If an artist is obliged to make a jump, traveling all night, he Ls illy prepared the following day to give his best performance, and it is known that a "Monday afternoon audience" is notoriously cold. It is the consensus of opinion among the artists that no final report should Im» for- warded before Tuesday afternoon at the earliest, and if a report on Monday is de- manded by the head of a circuit, it should l>e preliminary only, and be followed up by another the next day or before the end of the engagement. It has been suggested that there being such a radical difference of opinion ex- pressed by various audiences sometimes, that the house managers ought to be in- structed to forward a report daily, and the average taken at the end of the week, which would give the controlling spirit of the house a truer line on the value of the act. An apt illustration of the benefit accru- ing to the artists is furnished this week by the new Williams-Tucker sketch at the Gotham in Brooklyn. Ed. F. Girard, the manager at that house, dcnoWtng full well that it being the first presentation of the sketch, it would be hewed, nacked and added to at each performance, deferred making a report on it until after the Wednesday night show. House managers should be given plenty of leeway in this regard. An early and final report may ofteu be misleading, and when so surely prejudicial to the artist, who is obliged to overcome the effect of the first impression conveyed by the hasty judgment. If the general managers do not deem it expedient to send out an order to this ef- fect, at least an exception should be made with new acts ; also all acts where a de- ferred report is requested by the artists for a valid reason. No harm can accrue to the management, and it will be beneficial to the players in- asmuch as they will not be in fear of an early misstatement of their act, for which they may be in no wise responsible. AUDREY KINGSBURY'S NEW ACT. Audrey Kingsbury, who conceived "The Girl in the Clouds" will shortly appear in New York in her latest creation sup- ported by a company of two. The act will play a week or so out of town first. MOORE HITE. Geo. Austin Moore, the comedian in "Fritz In Tammany Hall," and Mabel Hite. of "The Girl nnd the Bandit," will come into vaudeville with a sketch, opening Feb- ruary 10, under the direction of M. S. Bent- ham. There was a rumor some time ago, that this would happen, but a final decision has now been arrived at. The three Hlckmans have been booked for twenty-five weeks by M. S. Bentham, playing most of the tine- West. Fields and Ward played the four Proc- tor houses in the city last Sunday giv- ing two shows in each, making a record possible through Hie aid of the Subway. The Imperial Theatre in Brooklyn is the only vaudeville house around charging the tax on passes for the benefit of the Actor's Fund. Others should follow the example. A large income will be derived from this source. ROYAL ROYALTY. A song writer who has had a couple of fair "hits" received a statement from the publishing firm showing that the credit for three months for copies sold was $3.25. The doctors are still hopeful of the writer's recovery. Dan McAvoy with his Fifth Avenue girls will again appear, opening at Proc- tor's Twenty-third Street on February 12.