Variety (September 1907)

12 VARIETY NEW ACTS NEXT WEEK Initial Presentation or First Appearance in New York City. NEW AGTS OP THE WED! *\ Gus Elen, New York. Claire Romaine, New York. Ollie Young and 3 Brothers, New York. "The Derby Race" (Moving Picture), New York. Tor cat, 125th Street. Lucille Mulhall and Company, Alham- bra. Connelly Sisters, Henderson's. 5 Spiller (New Acts), Henderson's. Aubrey Boucicault and Company (a). "She Loves Me; She Loves Me Not" (Farce). '- ax Mine.; Full Stage. Alhambra. In the strangeness and uncertainty con- sequent upon his appearance in vaudeville, .Boucicault made a variety of minor errors. His nervousness was plainly evi- dent, and he played with a good deal of loudness. Accustomed to the portrayal of polite, frock-coated roles in the legiti- mate, it is possible that he will now go to the other extreme in correcting this, forgetting that the farce which is his present vaudeville vehicle requires a good deal of broadness in its proper exposi- tion. Boucicault plays the rich young man in love with Amy Freemont (Theresa Sheehan), a modern young woman with ideals. One is that her diletante lover shall occupy himself with serious work. To this end he sets himself up in law offices, but with indifferent success. The stenographer of this institution brings to the office a bloom (Tamour, given her by a fortune teller, and by way of discov- ering how his case goes with his lady fair, Boucicault pulls the petals out one by one, murmuring "She loves me, she loves me not." Accepting this as a test, he applies it to the keys of the type- writer and pretty much all the other articles of personal and office equipment within his reach. He is counting his stenographer's teeth when the other girl enters. The idea is productive of a good deal of broad comedy, and in spite of the faults of its initial presentation kept the audience laughing Monday afternoon. Pauline Rona, as the slangy typewriter, plays with rather more enthusiasm than skill and smoothness and should be edu- cated to a degree of restraint, while the reverse process should be applied to Miss Sheehan. The sketch is away from every- thing that we have seen in the line of talking pieces and furnishes a refreshing variety. It should enjoy a prosperous career. Hush. Burr Mcintosh and Company. "The Colonel's Christmas Eve." aa Mins.; Full Stage (Interior). Twenty-third Street. After several years' retirement Burr Mcintosh is appearing for the first time this week in a vague and rather light Southern love story of his own composi- tion. The sketch is slow and only fairly interesting for the most part, and pos- sesses not one whit of action. Mr. Mc- intosh makes an excellent, whiskey drinking Southern colonel with just enough of the Southern drawl to make the characterization agreeable. Oza Wal- drop is cute and winsome. Ralph Quilter as the Colonel's colored servant gave a good performance. Ralph Culver did not do so well with a small part. If Mr. Mc- intosh remains in the varieties he will probably try again shortly, as the public will expect more from him than he is offering in "The Colonel's Christmas Eve." Ixene Franklin and Burt Green. Singing. 24 Mins.; One. Alhambra. Six curtain calls at the end of a twenty - four-minute number is perhaps the most complimentary comment the audience could have made. This was the record of Irene Franklin and Burt Green's Labor Day ap- pearance at the Alhambra. Miss Frank- lin sang six songs with a costume change for each. She has chosen numbers verg- ing upon the character variety, and all but the final two are unfamiliar. The ar- rangement is an odd one. Mr. Green occu- pies one side of the stage with the piano, filling in the time for Miss Franklin's costume changes with selections. He re- mains in the background, keeping the soft pedal on his part for the better ex- ploitation of the young woman. She makes herself popular at the outset by a pretty stage picture and with her clever handling of a series of descriptive and novelty songs keeps the act moving to a high degree of interest to the finish. A number named "Expression," illustrating human emotions by facial expressions, was altogether delightful, and without excep- tion the songs were handled with an ex- traordinary amount of skill. Hush. Gilbert Girard. Imitations. 1 a Mine.; One. Alhambra. It is about five years since Mr. Girard appeared in America. Meanwhile he has been abroad touring England and spend- ing a considerable time in South Africa. He returns with his act greatly changed as to detail, but the same in kind. There is a striking fidelity about his imitations, and not a little novelty in the selections. One of his early numbers, the imitation of an seolian harp, was particularly true, and the closing item, the mimicry of a lion's roar, quite as good. The others were the reproduction of a number of familiar tricks of the imitators. Gilbert has a good stage presence and was liked. Ruth. Harry Bulger. Songs. 10 Mins.; One. Orpheum. Harry Bulger is singing songs for his return engagement in vaudeville as a single act. His newest selection is "Re- incarnation," taken from "The Follies of 1907." For the others Mr. Bulger tells of "Brother Masons," of the same vintage as ^'Shakespeare," which he does not sing, and another is "Always Leave Them Laughing When You Say Good-Bye." For an entrance Bulger has a double in gro- tesque make-up similar to his own. He follows this counterpart on the stage, and by so doing places himself in front of the footlights without the formality of a cold walk from the wings, giving him an easy entrance into his ifirst song. There is no talk in the act, and unless Mr. Bulger plays before an audience which only drops into a theatre now and then, there is no song except "Reincarnation" which is exactly suited to his style. The Orpheum thought well of Mr. Bulger; they recognized his name. Nime. Urbani and Son. Acrobats and Equilibrists. 1 a Mins.; Full Stage. Union Square. A straight acrobatic offering showing a good deal the same sort of routine as that which makes the work of the Willy Pantzer troupe so interesting. The younger Urbani is a sturdy little fellow weighing, perhaps, 85 pounds or there- abouts, while the father is a heavy man. They do a number of excellent two-high feats, using two of the feats in hand-to- hand work shown by the Pantzer act as features. One of these is a leap from a prone position by the top mounter into a single hand-to-hand balance. The other is the slow lifting of the mounter to a hand-to-hand stand. Urbani, Jr., is heavier than the Pantzer midget, but the feats are equally as well done. There is no comedy relief to the act under dis- cussion, and this, added to the fact that breathing pauses are frequent, permits the interest to flag at times. The dress- ing is neat and the style exceedingly smooth. Rush. Edward Gillette's Animals. 11 Mins.; FuH Stage (Special Setting). Orpheum. Edward Gillette's present "animal" act is a copy of Charles Barnold's, and a poor copy. Not alone has Mr. Gillette taken the salient features of Mr. Barnold's ani- mal act which the latter was the first to show, but he has gone so far as to also copy Barnold's billing. The program says "Gillette's Dog and Monkey Pantomime." Barnold's is known as "Barnold's Dog and Monkey Pantomime." Mr. Barnold, how- ever, has no occasion to worry over the Gillette copy. There is neither smooth- ness nor finish about the "drunks" of Gillette's, nor is there any sequence to the pantomime, the offering being poorly laid out and worked. Three dogs try to give an impersonation of a "drunk"; neither succeeds. With two of the ani- mals, it seems as though a light wire were attached, as the dogs walk back and fall down as though by force. The "drunks" arrive some minutes after the opening, and to lengthen out the running time some more "business" is gone through, spoiling whatever chance the act lias. Where Mr. Barnold has not been seen, the" tricks of Gillette's Dogs and Monkeys, the latter on strings, may be liked, but there is no comparison possible to Barnold's. either in the execution or style. It might be said that Barnold could follow Gillette on the same bill. Sime. Dale and O'Malley. Songs and Talk. 14 Mins.; One. Colonial. Hey, Billy Inman, where are you? Out West, I think, but wherever you are, Bill, come back to New York before Dale and O'Malley leave for home. They live in England and this is their first visit. Eng- land is about three thousand miles away, Bill, and you have to sail over salty cur 1 fain besides taking chances of seasick- ness and meeting short-card grafters be- fore you can reach America, but Dale and O'Malley did it. They are a couple of men, and on the program, Bill, it reads, -The Somewhat Different English Com- edians." That's the billing, and they are "different." I saw the act Tuesday night, Hill, and when I thought of you I laughed. I'll tell what they were saying when you struck me. The tall fellow said, "I am keeping company with a young lady," and the other fellow (comedian in comic make-up) asked, "What's her name?" "Miss Fish," replied the "straight" man. "Well, I guess I'll drop her a line," an- swered the comedian. That's the joke, Kill, and to work this right you must re- member they came from England, and that's 3,000 miles away. Here's another, too, Billy, just to prove what time we wasted in Joe Adams'. The tall one says, "My brother disgraced the family yes- terday?" "What did he do?" queried the other. "Went to work," replies the comedian. I've held out the peach, though, for the last, Bill. The tall fellow starts talking again, and he sounds: "I bought a horse this morning and can't use him. What'll I do?" "Get a donkey?," says the other. "Are you busy?" is the answer and the joke. Well, say, Billy, it was a hot night and the boy with the ice water off the job, But they "pulled" this stuff for fourteen minutes, excepting when they sang. Two songs. One you couldn't understand, and the other was more comedy. Whatever the fellow in the frock coat and high hat did, the other followed suit. You know; if one took off his hat the other did the same, like "follow-the-leader," with one always a little behind. If you are on the Orpheum Circuit, Bill, you are taking chances whether you see this act, but try to get back. If you don't reach here in time, we'll go to England. Confidentially, Bill, I understand Dale and O'Malley came from the English provinces. We ought to pick up a big piece of change with your "awning" story over there. Mm, Frank Winch, treasurer of the Orpheum, Kansas City, has been transferred to the management of the new Orpheum at El Paso, Texas. The Five Madcaps. Acrobatic Dances. 14 Mins.; Four (Palace). Colonial. The original "Four Madcaps" have re- turned as "The Five," the fifth and added member being a girl who in "kid" dress sings and also dances while bouncing up and down a large gas-filled ball. The idea of this is not given out. The only remain- ing share allotted to the "kid" is to oc- cupy the center of the stage at the cur- tain call, coming from the wings, where she is stationed while the four other girls arrange their tally-ho exit. The working of the act otherwise is the same as when it first came over. Some change has oc- curred in the personnel, and a musical di- rector is now carried. Sime.