Variety (Feb 1907)

VARIETY Shows of the Week - HYDE & BEHMAN'S. Charles Warner and company in a con- densed version of the Englishman's famous temperance drama "Drink" (New Acts) make the feature, backed up by a bill of more than ordinary weight. A curious arrangement is the presence in the show of three single man acts, George Monroe, Billy Van and Willy Zimmermann. Ziinmeimann uses two new impersona- tions and has extended the comedy in- cidentals of the Oscar Hammerstein imita- tion employing the leader and the orches- tra members. "Maury" Levi is now in the series. Zimmermann has caught the man- nerisms of the former Joe Weber musical director perfectly. Levi's jaunty air and method of leading with thumb and fore- finger are shown with just the right de- gree of exaggeration, but the facial make- up is injured by a poorly fitting false nose. Monday night was the anniversary of "Billy" Shafer's birthday, and Zimmer- mann faced the Hyde & Behman leader in the latter's own uniform, with an ex- cellent imitation of his leisurely leader- ship. The Ivennard Brothers opened with com- edy acrobatics. They have some capital ground tumbling and the comedy goes fairly. The finish, a novel bit of clown- ing, won a solid laugh. The Rooney Sisters did very well with their sprightly presence and fast dancing. The sisters have in a high degree that talent for graceful dancing that seems to run through the Rooney family. They make one of the neatest and most at- tractive "sister" acts in vaudeville. Billy Van, with a few new lines, but the same old Van method of blackface eomedy, made an amusing number in his songs, stories and comment. He sailed rather close to the danger line of bad taste once or twice, but caught himself in time to avoid offense. George W. Monroe does not deal in subtleties or delicacies of humor. His comedy is broad, almost as broad as he is, but it is none the less effective in winning the laughs of his audiences. There are unlimited good lines in his monologue, but his makeup and burlesque of the Irish woman are what establishes him in the good graces of his hearers. There seems to be no good reason why Mindell Kingston, of World and King- ston, should not sing more. She has a voice of unusual volume and purity, but seems to chose rather to feature her ostrich feather dress. Miss Kingston could use another number during the early part. John W. World makes a funny tramp, following much the style of Wal- ter Jones in his former musical comedy days. A first rate soft shoe dance was one of his best contributions. The pair open in 'one" wearing street attire and later go to the full stage. Except where this arrangement is demanded for stage setting purposes it should be dropped. There is little in the talk that is amusing, and the part preceding the specialties of the two is plainly a barefaced time-filler. Miss Kingston makes a pretty figure in her second change, and the semi-acrobatic dancing of the two is well worth while. The Jackson Family of cyclists closed. The team work is fast and sure, the for- mations involving the entire octet being particularly attractive. BACHELOR CLUB. A military travesty in three scenes fur- nishes the first piece. Some of the humor is rather broad and obvious, but as a whole it gets away from the everlasting card game and money changing. Our old familiar friends, the "inflated bladder" and ad lib business were in evidence rather more than usual, but Harry Hastings, in the first part, has a quantity of amusing clowning and Tom Coyne made a good Irishman. As the burlesque shows are running, the "Bachelor Club" is up to standard. What- ever there is of rough clowning is funny and gets laughs, which after all is the test of its value. What goes a long way in making the offering worth while is the uniform shapeliness and good work of the girls. A chorus dressed in white tights looked well in the first part, and in the burlesque an outfit of red tights made a good stage picture. Viola Sheldon was a decidedly attrac- tive figure in all her costumes, remaining in long skirts for the greater part of the time. She has a good, clear soprano voice of sufficient volume to carry her numbers and is graceful. The other women prin- cipals have little to do except wear their costumes and help out the stage picture. Five acts make up a fairly amusing olio. Mabel and Cecelia Lavelle open with a first rate "sister" act. They have u pretty dressing scheme and make an ex- cellent quick change to a Spanish costume. Their voices passed, and the dancing was considerably above the average. The Famous Armstrongs, a trio of trick bicyclists, put a good average of enter- tainment in their act. The falls of the comedy man rather suggest the work of Fred St. Onge, but there is not a great deal of this. "Gertrude" does whistling and bird imitations fairly well, but neglects to tell what birds she is imitating. Miss "Gertrude" looked well, and her stage deportment was graceful, but the makeup was a bit thick and not too care- fully put on. White, Brennan, Waltjen and Mildred have an interesting singing act. Ruth Mildred dominates the numbers with her unusually heavy volume and tone, and gives an odd effect to the quartet. The bass has a good resonant voice and a tenor of good quality rounds out the sing- ing organization nicely. The bass is the comedian. Dressed as a messenger boy he does some mugging and clowning, but for the most part the four confine them- selves to singing. Miss Mildred might have her frock constructed on more grace- ful lines, her dressing being rather un- tidy. Arthur Moore, limelight operator at the London Hippodrome, fell to the stage din- ing the first act of "A Treasure Ship in Fairy Seas" and died from his injuries January 10. Verdict "accidental death." Ed Cullen, la«t year assistant manager with Hagenbeek and year before manager of the organization, has signed with the John Robinson Show as assistant manager for the coming summer. - By Rush KEENEY'S. The long-heralded Silent Tait (New Acts) makes his American debut this week in a rather early position on a bill of good average. Ryan, Richfield and company are the features in "Mag Haggerty's Recep- tion," the delightful comedy sketch which they have played recently around the local houses. It remains unchanged in its text or laugh-winning qualities. The Five Majors return to this neigh- borhood after a lengthy absence. Their singing and comedy offering gets away from the familiar all-man musical organi- zations to which American vaudeville is ac- customed. The numbers have a foreign flavor and the quintet makes itself amusing in a quiet way and without noise or buf- foonery. The act runs smoothly with a sort of military briskness and the dressing is novel and picturesque. Huston and Dallas open the bijl with their comedy juggling specialty. There is nothing particularly novel in the layout of the juggling but the pair manage to have something, either in comedy or tricks, happening every minute and the offering runs its allotted length to a first-rate de- gree of interest. The woman fills a more important place in the act than that of mere assistant, doing a quantity of very fair juggling on her own account. The team was well liked. Zinell and Boutelle are better, much better, when they sing than when they talk. The early attempts at comedy are not interesting at any point. The man is not a comedian and would be a much more entertaining person did he work straight. Adelaide Boutelle made a pretty costume change and was forced to respond to a re- < all for her number "Love Me and the World is Mine." She has a splendid voice and an attractive stage presence. In the later numbers William Zinnell's agreeable bass voice was heard to advantage. Deaves and Deaves is probably the new name of the team which billed itself here- abouts not so long ago at D's and D's. If so they have improved immensely. The man is a decidedly good negro comedian. He did well with Ernest Hogan's "Shame on You" with a quantity of incidental talk much on the style of the original. The woman is wearing a new set of costumes, displaying good taste in color and style in both changes. The talk is poor, but there is little of it and the dancing and sing- ing ore excellently worked out. Nora Hayes, with her likable personality, agreeable singing and eccentricities of talk and manner, won a big reception. Miss Bayes is busy every minute of her short act and delivers a laugh a minute. An odd, but altogether pretty dressing scheme, gives her an added touch of distinctiveness. Ties .Intuits, European .acrobats, closed. The man and woman work neatly but there is too inuch of the balancing. They do a hand-to-hand stand once, and could use this sort of material to good advantage by plan- ning out routine tricks ending in that position. A rather unattractive costume of cerise silk was made worse by the use of black shoes which looked as though they belonged to another suit. Pt Frece announces the opening of the Holbeck Palace, Leeds, about March 4, and also makes the startling announce- ment that if it pans out well he may build another hall in Leeds, somewhat nearer to the centre of the town. Fred Poole, one of the proprietors of Poole's dioramas, which have been running successfully for years, was strolling along the banka of the River Kennet recently with the object of enjoying some fishing, when he was suddenly taken ill and ex- pired. New York should get a shipment of ths new Paris theatre hats, which are low one-story affairs that can be actually seen over, though they are tasteful and neat and have those little adornments belonging to all things Parisian. The hat nuisance has been so bad here at times that they have been thinking of using those periscope canes sold at novelty stores for seeing a procession over the heads of the street crowd. This cane hat a small opera glass at the top, with an adjustment of sighting mirrors like those by which you could see through or 'round a brick in the old penny peep shows. James De Voye, trainer of the cele- brated horse "Billy," died at Leeds. Manager Dring of the Cardiff Empire was married at Oldham to Ina Hill, a principal of the Carl Rosa Opera Company. Manager L. C. J. Li verm or* left over $65,000. Manager Worswick, Wakefield Hippodrome, left over $55,000. Chronicle a divorce for Conductor Sale of the Roval Standard; also for Tom English, years with Hi Henry. Billie Burke opens at the Vaudeville forth- with in the "Belle of Mayfair." Fred Karoo is to revive the glories of Richard- son's Show at the Olympia Fair. This year the Margate municipality made $10,- •125 on amusements, which is quoted by a London County Councilman in an argu- ment for a little municipal vaudeville. Prince and Princess de Broglie, now at the Tivoli, are reported to have signed a contract »with the director of the Scala. Paris, to appear there during the month of May for a consideration of $3,000 a week. The first Yiddish music hall has been opened in London, way out near the erst- while haunts of "Jack the Ripper." The great success of Yiddish drama at the Mile End pavilion probably paved the way for this interesting venture. Prince's Hall on the Gentile highway of "Christian" street, not far from Petticoat lane, is the locale of the new establishment. The hacking is by "Controls, Ltd." There is no pink and gilded efflorescence of orna tnent: no gallery built on Hogarth's line of beauty. There is no fancy palm tree drop -nothing but a white sheet. There is no orchestra of half a hundred, as in Leicester square musie halls, but piano. fiddler end horn roll music out as they might at an Arkansas dance. Through the kindness of the Ringlings, the Dunedia troupe of cyclists has been permitted to accept other engagements. Iiester A. Murray, manager of Car No. Charles Griffin, superintendent of the I of the Barnum & Bailey outfit, has re- Buffalo Bill show, has been ill for some ported for duty fc time, but is now fully recovered.