Variety (September 1907)

12 VARIETY VAUDEVILLE HEADL1NERS O F THE WEEK Below are the Headline™ on the Opposing Bills of the Vaudeville Faction* in the More Important Houses of Both Circuits.'' UNITED BOOKING OFFICES. KLAW & ERLANGER. Hammerstein's— Robert Hilliard. Ethel Levey. Orpheum (Percy G. Williams)— Geo. H. Primrose. Valerie Bergere. NEW YORK. New York— Gus Elen. Claire Romaine. BROOKLYN. Grand Opera House— George Fuller Golden. Edna Aug. Shubert— Henry Lee. PHILADELPHIA. Keith's— • Edwin Forrest— "Song Birds." Arthur Prince. BOSTON. Keith's— Tremont— Paul Conchas. Geo. Evans. Bessie Wynn. Orpheum— "Motoring." PITTSBURG. Grand Opera House (Harry Davis)— Duquesne— Julius Steger and Company. Ida Fuller. "Robinson Crusoe's Isle." Burr Mcintosh (Extra Attraction). BUFFALO. Shea's— Teck— Hilda Spong and Company. Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Cohan. "The Motor Girl" (Special Attraction). Joe Welch (Special Attraction). ST. LOUIS. Columbia (Middleton & Tate)— Garrick— Romany Operatic Troupe. KANSAS CITY. shubert— Hardeen. SPRINGFIELD. Nelson— Chas. T. Aldrich. "Side Show" (Added Attraction). "The Governor's Son." WORCESTER. Poli's— Franklin Square— Gennaro's Band. The Bogannys or Jewell s Manikins. Stella Mayhew. Orpheum— Lalla Selbini. Poli'i Edw. J. Connelly. »» THE DOOM OF THE DEEP THINKER. By J. C. Nugent. A Thinker, He; of most profound superiority, Who, from his pinnacle of sanest sense Smiled pity on the gang, which squirmed, and spake of "23/ When his cold "Itness" came in evidence. Thus kidded he the gods! and scorned mere Men, till, on one morn, A merry bunch of Clowns he chanced to greet Who hinted that he tell them, or else take it on the run, What 'twas that made a Chicken cross the Street. He failed! He knew why Lucifer from high heavens fell. He knew of tides and moons, and liquid air, And all stunts psychological, but still he could not tell Why fowls should stray across the thoroughfare. And so he wandered, wounded, back into obscurity To be henceforth a Shine, or mayhap worse, While the Clown who undid him smiled in cold 14th St. glee And rode him, making him a fool's horse. William E. Atwell, formerly associated with James Flynn in the vaudeville agency business, is dangerously ill. He has been removed to Saranac Lake. After Flynn's retirement some months ago, At- well carried on the office alone, booking clubs chiefly. The assistant manager at the Colonial is Charles Mussett, not Missett, as mis- spelled last week. 125TH STREET. . If the capacity business Monday night was due to the quality of the bill pre- sented last week, next Monday night's attendance will suffer sadly in compari- son. After the bill had received a fairly good start and had the audience in the best of humor, along came Lola Cotton with twenty minutes of "mind reading," followed by Marie Wainwright in a slow, talky sketch which put a crimp in every- thing. Miss Wainwright is using "Our Baby," the same silly piece she exploited last season, with only the finish changed. The real thing in the "kid" line instead of a dog is now brought on at the climax. The baby should make a yell for the big end of the purse, for to the applause accorded the players it can rightly lay claim. Miss Wainwright makes a stunning ap- pearance, which simply emphasizes the fact that Alexander Frank (her leading man) should take himself to a tailor and secure real evening clothes. One or two new faces in the cast are the only changes noticeable i.i Joseph Hart's "Futurity Winner." James Gordon is now cast as Wright Tarvin, while Mabel Caruthers holds down the role of Betty Shackleton, both improvements on their predecessors. Miss Caruthers especially stands out, being the best of several wo- men who have played the part. The race scene Monday night was made more ex- citing and realistic by one of the horses becomnig mixed up on the tread mill and throwing his jockey. "If you want to be a sure enough hit give imitations." Mary Ann Brown an- nounces this herself, and sure enough it was the imitations (the worst part of her act) which made her a real hit. Miss Brown sings three character songs before she hands out the imitations, and sings them so well it might be advisable for her to stick to this line of work entirely. It is only a question of having the proper material with Mary Ann ("The Mys- terious") . Monroe, Mack and Lawrence gathered in plenty of laughs with their skit on the time-honored theme, "How to Get Rid of Your Mother-in-Law." The methods em- ployed are along the broadest of farcical lines, but the skit is well handled by the trio. It pleases a great many and offends no one. Lola Cotton is a wan looking little creature with a wistful smile who calls off the names on visiting cards, numbers on bills, etc., as her father passes through the audience pointing them out. The girl works well enough, but this sort of work is pretty well known in New York. It is not exactly the brand of entertain- ment the public seeks in the vaudeville theatre. Miss Lola's youthful appearance is her greatest asset. The natty Scotch dressing and good clean acrobatics of the Sutcliffe Troupe pleased immensely. Torcat, a French im- portation, is under New Acts. The Majestic Trio, colored, is purely a one-man act, the comedian doing all the creditable work shown, his eccentric dance being characteristic and amusing. A wo- man and another man are on the stage while the comedian works. ALHAMBRA. The speculators have awakened to the fact that a Broadway production is not the only place where the easy public will separate itself from the "hard earned'' or the "easy come," as the case may be, to see a show. There were sev- eral on the job at Mr. Williams' up-town house the early part of the week, and not one wore a worried expression. Harry Bulger and Katie Barry share equally the headline honors, and the same may be said of each. Mr. Bulger was a solid hit in the first half of the bill, and Miss Barry went equally well in the sec- ond. Frank Byron and Louise Langdon easily carried away the laughing honors. Mr. Byron's "sissy" is always funny without being offensive. . The clapping business, introduced by the comedian, in his song, made a great hit with the house, and they kept him singing until he had to beg off. The applause at the finish was not strong for the house had simply laughed itself out. Shekla is doing the same routine as shown upon his arrival in this country. An Oriental setting would enhance the value of the act threefold. The woman is not a pretty sight on the stage, and should be redressed or, better still, taken out altogether. One or two bits of new business are about the only changes noticeable with Snyder and Buckley. The "Tom-cat" duo is a good idea, but a better finish should be worked out for it. The ringing up of laughs, as a conductor does fares on a trolley car, is funny. The act went through with colors flying. After hearing the English women sing three verses and two choruses to every song it is a pleasure to hear some one sing one verse and a chorus. Netta Vesta has hit upon this happy idea, and it goes remarkably well. Miss Vesta looked ex- tremely pretty in a neat, simple frock of pink, and sang three songs so well that the audience clamored for more. Dale and O'Malley followed Byron and Langdon, and for a time it seemed as though the "straight" man was giving an unconscious imitation of Mr. Langdon. The pair have evidently freshened up their talk a bit since last week but to no pur- pose. It's a long and expensive trip to England for an act of this character, when a five-cent ride on the subway will bring you to a point where a hundred better acts are asking for time, and their salary doesn't run into three figures. Pongo and Leo did nicely at the begin- ning of the show, while Lucille Mulhall and company (New Acts) closed. Jack Norworth will do double duty the coming week, appearing at both the Vic- toria and Orpheum, Brooklyn. Hetty King, the male impersonator, booked over here by Klaw & Erlanger, will open some time in October. DELORIS IS BOOKED, MAYBE. John DeLoris will leave soon to com- mence an engagement of four weeks over the Western States theatres in San Fran- cisco, opening at the Princess. DeLoris' salary is reported as $600 weekly, with transportation for company and baggage paid both ways. The Three Chevaliers, a DeLoris' act, has been engaged by the United and something like 27 weeks laid out for it. Mr. DeLoris says he could have obtained a season's booking for both acts through the Morris office had not the engagement with the United Offices prevented an ac- ceptance.