Variety (December 1907)

VARIETY 13 COLONIAL. With several acts, although not new to the city, appearing at the Colonial for the first time, the show there this week is a bully one, much better than it reads on paper to the "regular." The lightness of the entertainment was shadowed only by "Compromised," the dra- matic playlet written by Louis Joseph Vance, and played by William Hawtrey and "Company." In the company is Mis? Mravlog, who is entitled to all the promi- nence vaudeville is capable of giving her. The sketch is the strongest interest-hold- ing piece which has played about, and the audience is held until the denouement. Mr. Hawtrey is drawing his character of the blackleg husband too roughly for the contrast Miss Mravlog offers as the wife, but Hawtrey's performance is a good one, for he looks the part he plays. The feature of the bill might be called Stella Mayhew, since no other name on the program is so well known. Miss May- hew is continually shifting her act about, having a new opening songjjiis week, "I'm a Lady of Importance." Billle - Xa,ylor, from the leader's chair, without white gloves, and in a Turedo, warbles "That's What the Rose Said to Me." The audi- ence liked it, but expected Miss Mayhew would change her gown while she gave the theatre to her musical director. Miss May- hew didn't. She was a large-sized hit just the same. Another strong feature was Bert Levy, the artist, who, through an arrangement of his own invention, highly entertains with some magnified drawing upon a sheet, Mr. Levy whistling meanwhile, not speaking during his time on the stage. A picture of David Warfield as "The Grand Army Man," was drawn for an encore, and it was what could be termed a "speaking likeness," so striking was it in expression. Mr. Levy creates his subjects by merely marking out white space against a black surface instead of drawing black lines on a white surface, and his work is made more attractive in that way. He has a decidedly original, amusing and interesting act Searl and Violet Allen did very well with "The Travelling Man," aided by excellent support, while Cook and Sylvia, the first to appear, won great favor through Mr. Cook's dancing. Miss Sylvia wears two expensive gowns and sings "Everlovin* Spooney Sam," also another song after. The singing passes well for a dancing act, but the present encore might be omitted without any loss and all dialogue totally discontinued. More singing was handed over the foot- lights by the Basque Quartet, three men and a woman. The more noise they made, the more the audience applauded. There is no comedy in the act excepting the mustache of the blonde tenor. The Mowatts, six, billed as seven, juggled clubs in the bright and breezy way they have always had, scoring a big hit, the passing exceptionally being of the high- est grade, and "Frank D. Bryan's "Human Flag,s," a "girl act," went the limit for the "patriotic" thing, including the Presi- dent, and "The Spirit of 76," closing with a drill where the girl wears blue silk tights, showing some funny back views. The animal-acrobatic act from the Bar- num-Bailey circus, The Novellos, was a huge closing number. Sime. TWENTY-THIRD STREET. The bill didn't run with the accustomed Twenty-third Street smoothness Monday night. Everything possible seemed to be combining to make the show dismal. The orchestra did its very best to wreck things, and this must have aroused the ambition of the person who handles the lights. He gave his hearty support to the wrecking party, and this together with several stage waits made a really short show seemingly very long. "The Toreadors," billed as the opening act, did not appear, Adams and Mack tak- ing the place. This may have had some- thing to do with the arrangement of the program. It necessitated the changing a taut of several acts. Caron and Herbert, who had their names in the electrics on the outside, were moved from third position to opening. There is a quantity of first class ground rumbling by the "straight" man, but the comedy missed a mile. While the orchestra and the spotlight man have been mentioned as being in a conspiracy to ruin the program, Hilda Spong and Company in "Kit" should not be overlooked. They did about as much to deaden the proceedings as a "Big Name" possibly could. It is about an even break between Miss Spong and the sketch, Miss Spong's pink and white complexion suggesting more the ball room than the outdoor life of the plains. The dramatic sketch for the most part is hopelessly talky. When the action does begin, it is so jumbled over a perfectly absurd idea that you are more inclined to laugh than become excited. The sup- porting company was in keeping with the rest. The drop was raised twice after the finish, but Miss S'pong showed judgment in not appearing for the second curtain. Fagan and Byron are showing their fa- miliar offering. Mr. Fagan sings of the girls of various countries, and at each chorus Miss Byron appears dressed in the flag of the country mentioned, closing, of course, with "our flag." Mr. Fagan's dancing remains the feature. Hawthorne and Burt fared very well. The pair are using the same talk, and it is quite familiar. The comedian is funny. His loose dancing is good enough in itself to carry the pair through. Ancillotti's "mind-reading" dog "Pilu" held the interest for the short time the act runs, and the audience enjoyed the antics of the trainer immensely. "The Rain-Dears" closed the program, the rain-storm giving the act as well as the bill a good finish. The offering suf- fered somewhat through the mishandling of the lights. Aside from this the girls do not seem to be working as well as when the act was seen hereabouts before. There are one or two new faces among them, and this may be the cause. Louise Montrose, who replaced Neva Aymar at the head of the act, does exceedingly well, and easily stands comparison with her predecessor. Adams and Mack have changed their burlesque magic offering around some, and considering they were pressed into service at the twelfth hour did nicely. Jimmie Lucas is under New Acts. Dash. Waller and Magill have been obliged to cancel time through Miss Magill suffer- ing from a severe attack of laryngitis. HAMMERSTEIN'S. Hammerstein's offers a good average vaudeville show this week with "The Star Bout," Wayburn'g latest production, as the headline attraction. The playlet is purely melodramatic. It is in a sense somewhat similar to "The Futurity Win- ner," but far ahead of the latter offer- ing, however. The action is more direct, and there is less call for acting. What little acting there is is exceptionally well done for a vaudeville act carrying ten or twelve principals. Taylor Granville is the star. He injects plenty of life into his work, and goes at it in the ring as though he were well acquainted with the fighting game. Walter P. Lewis, the referee, be- sides looking like James J. Corbett, gave a first-rate performance. C. Blanche Rice, Edward O'Connor, Laura Pierpont and Owen Martin also deserve mention, al- though the latter, as one of the boxers, seems a trifle too heavy in proportion to the star. The fight scene is given plenty of atmosphere, and is intensely exciting. It has all the stage horse and auto races beaten a block. Half of Hammerstein's audience usually starts to leave during the last act, but on Wednesday evening you could count the number on one hand. Lalla Selbini, "the Bathing Beauty," is back with her offering slightly changed since first appearing atop of the Victoria. She still retains the services of the midget, and with good judgment, for the diminu- tive one deserves the credit for the warm reception accorded. Miss Selbini has taken on considerable weight touring the country, and her appearance in the bath- ing costume might be treated with a lit- tle discretion. The Juggling Burkes would improve their excellent club juggling specialty greatly if they would decide on more be- coming dressing. The boys work beauti- fully together and carry things through with a goodly amount of spirit. Both are perfectly sure of themselves, and the jug- gling is not marred by misses. Al Fields, of Fields and Ward, has a trick of "kidding" the stage hands. On Wednesday evening the crew tied a long green streamer to the comedian's coat- tail. Fields was not aware of the decora- tion and didn't know until Ward, who was also in the dark, discovered the trim- mings and started a laugh that nearly upset the act. The pair are perfectly at home at Hammerstein's.and soon had the house in an uproar. Frank Bush in the next to closing posi- tion waded right into them and kept the ball arolling. Mr. Bush has one or two good new ones mixed up with the old, and his stuff went bouncing. George Abel and Company gave the bill its laughing start with the familiar skit "Three of a Kind." There are plenty of good bits of business in the offering to- gether with a number of bright lines. Mr. Abel's work as the grumpy old general is excellent, and the supporting cast is capable. The sketch seems to be better liked on its third time around than on its first. Elsie Harvey and the Fields Brothers in their neat singing and dancing spe- cialty gave the show a good beginning. Miss Harvey has a pleasing personality. She looked particularly well in a black velvet costume. The offering might be better arranged. Almont and Dumont did very well in an ORPHEUM. The show has been vastly improved in its journey from the Colonial to the Or- pheum. It is better arranged and the changes in ite-roakeup, of which there are an unusual number this week, work to the bill's advantage. As it stands the nine acts give first class vaudeville entertain- ment. May Irwin (New Acts) is the headliner, but Fred Walton with his delightful pan- tomime sketch carries off the honors. The novelty has long since been worn off "Cissy's Dream," but it still holds atten- tion, thanks to the swift action of the quaint little make-believe plot. "Paradise Alley" closed the first half. Some of the comedy of Lew Adams and Brooks could be spared in favor of more singiug and dancing. The "bits'* of this pair, however, are well laid out. They do not occupy the stage for any consider- able time at once. Their work is broken up at frequent intervals by entrances and exits of the other characters. This ar- rangement keeps the piece moving nieely. Early in the week Gertrude Barnes wm forced by illness to retire from the cast, and her place taken by Margaret Haney. Miss Haney is a neat, graceful dancer, but she is inclined to force her vocal tonee and her high notes seem shrill and pierc- ing. Tudor Cameron and Edward Flanagan are back in the Metropolitan district with their comedy sketch "On and Off." Both are capital dancers, and the opening of tne act goes as well as any part of it. They should work up the "bawling out" inci- dent more completely. When one of the men falls in the dance the audience thinks it is a comedy fall and part of the dance. The "hi<jk w talk and business of the dress- ing room scene interested the house, and the finish won fat applause. Hill and Whittaker followed with their quiet musical number. The woman car- ries the greater part of the work. She has a pleasing voice, resembling a female baritone, and an agreeable, easy stage presence. The man appears undersized be- side her Amazonian proportions, and his thin tenor voice was lost in the duets. A violin solo with the woman accompanying on the harp was the best he did. The pair passed with an average reception. If Les Trombetta delivered the stuff that makes up their act in English they would never have received the next to closing position. Certain parts of the man's t clowning were reasonably funny because \ of his struggles with the language, but the pair have nothing to command special at- tention. The man's imitations would have been tiresome but for the by-play of comedy. The Four Lukens closed the show in their excellent casting act, and Sam Will- iams opened it. Grade Emmett and Com- pany, in "Mrs. Murphy's Second Husband," were the laughing hit of the bill. early position with their pleasing musi- cal number. Alec Hurley and Company were out of the bill from Tuesday mati- nee up to Wednesday night, and perhaps longer. No act was deemed necessary to replace them, and the program ran one short its listed numbers without the loss causing any regret. Daah.