Variety (Oct 1906)

VARIETY U Shows of the Week By Rush COLONIAL BELLES. Ju the billiag and playing of this ('umpbell &, Drew offering prominence is given to the six comedians somewhat at the expense of chorus numbers. "Down on the Baby Farm" is the name of the open- ing piece. There is no attempt to deliver anything like a connected story, the time being given up for the most part to m succession of comedy bits by the com- edians, most of which are first rate. Charles Robinson, who gets semi-display type on the program, makes an exceed- ingly good German. He has most of this work here and does exceptionally well with it. His full, rich comedy dialect makes all his talk good whether it is tunny or not. Robinson displays consid- erable versatility, giving a tramp mono- logue in the olio and playing a Hebrew in the burlesque. Each is well done. Frank Milton does well as a "rube" sheriff, and L. A. Lawrence makes a bet- ter "straight" man than is usually seen in burlesque. The other comedians, Billy Cook, George Edwards and Goff Phillips, do only fairly with secondary parts. Rose Carlin, the soubrette, does rather well with a song or two, but displays no originality in dressing until she appears in the olio, her gown for the opening following the style of the familiar soubrette since the world began. Marie Richmond wears a black gown built for the graceful display of her ample curves, but otherwise figures rather incidentally in the proceedings. Miss Oarlin's olio offering consisted of a pretty brown costume, admirably set off by large fellow plumes in the hat. Her voice is pitched too high for the success; ful handling of "coon" songs, but is sweet in quality and agreeable for the most part. George Edwards as an Irishman carried the burden of a good laughing travesty sketch, helped out by Lawrence. One good bit was a burlesque with a tele- graph key. Robinson's monologue in text and man- ner of delivery is away from the usual olio monologue. All Robinson's lines are bright with a laugh tucked away in them and his makeup is in character without going to extreme of the grotesque. Frank Milton and the DeLong Sisters call their offering a "musical comedy" act. although the comedy was not perceptible. The work in the musical department passes. Charles Falke, with illustrated songs, has a good ballad singing voice and pret- tily colored slides. The burlesque introduced a greater va- riety of dressing by the chorus. Alto- gether the Campbell & Drew offering is up to standard in costuming and general character. With few exceptions it is clean and free from suggest!veness. Rush. COLONIAL. W. H. Thompson (New Acts) and Kar- no's "A Night in the Slums of London" furnish the novelty for this week's offer- ing at Mr. Williams' Broadway establish- ment. Delia Fox is liberally featured next to Mr. Thompson, and did very well with her audiences, particularly through the last song. Ned Wayburn's "Daisy Dancers," the renamed "Daisyland,** is given with Dorothy Jardon in her old place at the head of the act, backed up by six dancing girls. Miss Jardon carries the vocal bur- den of the piece with a strong voice of evident training, but the act seems to luck the snap and finish that mark the rest of the Wayburn offerings. The Artois Brothers have a good act in a field that is pretty well worked out. The strength of the offering is in the com- edian, who has a method suggesting with- out encroaching upon the work of James Rice. Several of his clowning tricks were good for a solid laugh. The "straight" man does a quantity of good work in straightaway bar feats. The Olympia Quartet are billed as giv- ing "their latest singing offering," for which reason perhaps they make it a point to sing as little as possible and fill out a fifteen minute occupancy of the stage with talk. The talk is funny in spots, but the audience would willingly have listened to more of the singing. Much of the uninteresting dialogue might be forgiven them in consideration of the fact that their buffoonery was away from the knockabout and that the comedian knows his business. All four men work in blackface wearing military uniforms and would do well with more negro num- bers. Les Brunins, "expert billiardists," have a layout of first-rate showy tricks with a good finish in which the woman circles the table on a bicycle with a revolver attached to her head, to be discharged by a rocket- ing billiard balL Walter Jones and Mabel Hite gave their eccentric comedy sketch with the usual effect, and Raymond and Caverly spun their twisted German dialect talk to a high percentage of laughs. The parodies are not as good as the text, which has a number of bright points. "A Night in the Slums of London" is much the best of the two pieces Fred Karno's newly arrived "speechless com- edians" have given us. The slapstick and rough clowning is admirably relieved by an interesting story of some dramatic value, and there are a number of good comedy bits. «t'i TWENTY-THIRD STREET. The first appearance in New York this season" of George Evans is made the oc- casion of a good deal of featuring in display type and street electrics. Evans is using a considerable amount of his old stuff, together with a bit of new talk and a "local" here and there. The monologue goes with the Evans smoothness even to a very expert bit of song "plugging" which carries its own excuse in the skillful way it is handled. Valerie Bergere comes back to the city in the pretty little sketch "His Japanese Wife," George Griswold's playlet, in which Miss Bergere so successfully returns to ki- mono and slanting eyebrows. What the sketch lack« in dramatic value as com- pared with "Mme. Butterfly" it makes up in dainty little comedy passages delivered with a good deal of cleverness by Miss Bergere. Jacob's dogfl opened the bill. Jacob would appear to have been playing in the tall grass and thereby beoome utterless careless in the matter of adorning his per- son with suitable raiment. His frock coat looks as though it had not seen iron or iiipuuge since Ja<x>b left New York, and that was many moons ago. The trappings aie not u whit better. Ue has an enter- taining act, too, and his carelessness is thereby made doubly inexcusable. The Sharpe Brothers did very well in the number two position with excellent dancing and Eddie Leonard dressing. The skillful use of the spot light helps their work not a little. Jennie Yeamaus rather missed her usual effect at the Monday matinee, although she worked with her wonted smoothness and confidence. Miss Yeamans has changed her specialty not at ail, and did she start with a better appeal to her audi- ence would establish friendly relations more completely. ■ Hyams and Mcintyre have not the knack~ of altering their offering much. Syllable for syllable it is the same as when first played. The answer is probably that the sketch as they have worked it out serves its purpose admirably. Radford and Winchester do well with comedy juggling and the O'Meers Sisters in a pretty dressing of rich brown won their way to popularity immediately. The Lasky-Rolfe "Immeusaphone" is seen here fur the first time. the Uiugiis. The pair will have to progrestt to win distinction. .Juisepli Carroll and Will J. Cooke did little better than fair with a talking act with parodies on the side. A good deal of the talk in the early part had a familiar ring to it, and in an effort to work up a bit of business involving a sheriff's visit to a saloon they bored by too much repeti- tion. The comedy man's beard looks very badly. The parodies were all new and vveul well, puitiuularly one bearing on poli- tics. The Levine-Cimeron Trio, with acro- batic and dancing offering, were also uu the bill. ,^ ■:_■•'■ •■.^•..•..':■■>■• ."; HYDE & BEHMAN'S. Edna Aug and Cinquevalli divide head- line honors. Miss Aug has at last given over her time-honored scrubwoman special- ty in favor of several character songs. These are good in Miss Aug's peculiar vein. There are three singing numbers, of which the first is much the best. The singer sometimes becomes confused in the han- dling of her dialect. Her talk is laugh- able for the most part and her gown looked very well. Cinquevalli returns to this side of the water with an unchanged act and the same comedy assistant. All his work has the distinctive mark of expertness and good showmanship. The comedy of the act is splendidly handled in a quiet way. Emil Huch and company show "Love's Young Dream," a comedy playlet, for the lirsl time (New Acts). The Hughes Musi- cal Trio opens the bill. The woman makes an excellent stage picture in a tasteful gown and is the only one of the three who appears to be at ease behind the foot- lights. Both men go through their work without a Hash of expression. The break- ing of a banjo string even failed to disturb the wooden fixity of one man's counte- nance. They go rather strong on theit brass numbers for those sitting down front. Artie Hall makes a mistake in attempt- ing to get away from straight "coon" shouting and buck dancing. She has a tjuantity of negro dialect talk interpolated ill one of her songs, in which the dialect «locf« not convince one as beinjr close to na- ture. and the talk is not too amusing. Miss Hall niiglit also wait until her final exit before removing her elbow glove to prove an alibi by n wliite arm. Her "coon" numbers were gofwl as long as she kept to the shouting and she uses taste in her cos- tuming. IJaymond Finlay and Jx)ttie I'.urke liold to a routine of talk and com- edy that suggests the team of the early variety days. There is liumor in both, but they nee<l t(» [uitch up the dialogue. Some burlesque and a touch of travesty brought KEITH'S. .:..The process of sitting through the Union Square bill this week is not unlike a ride through the Weehawken tunnel, i^etty much everybody plays lighting effects to win and the spotlight expert works over* time. Harndin's Electrical Ballet, renamed "Starlight," holds over for a second week without change. There is not a good dance in the whole proceeding and the mere act of watching blinking lights dis- posed about the persons of a score or so of half visible girls does not make absorb- ing entertainment. ....•.,.'.: ' Hally and Mehan almost gain distinction in a dancing and singing blackface act. One of their stories is splendidly worked up to a climax, but falls down there. The straight man does an excellent dance and the comedian works with a good method. The Royal Musical Five were badly placed after Sue Smith and Paul Fisher (New Acts), a heavy musical offering, but were very well liked. The Tossing Austins in an early posi- tion won an amount of applause that is seldom accorded an act that works so early. Miss Austin has improved in her dancing and the comedy juggling of her Ittirtner carries the act nicely. Mr. Aus- tin might work up something better for an encore. Thomas Meegan and company pad out a lliinsy sketch with wild comedy situa- tions and talk in which there is no humor. There may be a spark of humor in Mr. Meegan, but William Wagner and Theo- tlora Dudley are utterly devoid of that gift. Mary Dupont has a sketch belonging in the same class, although she manages to get real laughs with her work. Her partner, Williard Hutchinson, gives evi- <lence of the need of training. Johnnie Johns with an old style black- face monologue did exceedingly well. It looked as though he would have to make a curbiin speech before they would let him go. Mathews and Ashley gave "A Smashiip in ('hinatown" without change except for a new parody on the political situation. Cooper and Robinson made their usual ten-strike. Robinson is one of the best colored comedians doing this sort of work, lie has a method all his own and both his dances and those of Ojjoper show top- notch ability. ' " Kimball and 1^'wis opened the show, followed by the Crotty Trio of singers and dancers, who suffer fr«)m liad dressing ;ui<i arrangement. Voung Sandow and Lambert and Count DcBulz and Brother are under New Acts.