Variety (December 1907)

VARIETY 13 NEW ACT S NEX T WEEK Initial Presentation, First Appearance or Reappearance in New York City. [ NEW AGTS Or THE WEEK] Louis Mann and Company, New York. Josephine Cohan and Company (New Act), New York. Jay W. Winton, New York. Fiske and McDonough (New Act), Pas- tor's. Monti Baldini and Company, Grand Opera House (Brooklyn). Walter Jones and Blanche Deyo, Or- pheum, Brooklyn. Marno Trio, Grand Opera House. Dorothy Howard and Company, Keeney's. Suzanne Adams. Operatic Prima Donna. 22 Mins.; Two. New Yoik. It's all in the way you do it. Grand opera prima donnas of greater or less de- gree of artistic eminence have from time to time come forward in vaudeville for short appearances. Ordinarily they held their artistic temperaments in one hand, and with the other flaunted their polite disdain of the "untutored mob." And when vaudeville showed an invincible dis- inclination to be impressed, they retired shocked and angered. The trouble wasn't altogether the prima donna's nor vaude- ville's; it was rather the fault of the at- titude. "Am I not great?" the mighty ones seemed to say, and vaudeville, with its swift facility for making its own com- edy, replied subconsciously "Yes, you are —not." Either that or paid no attention at all. But here comes Suzanne Adams with a new stand. She doesn't say "Am I not great?" Instead she says "Isn't this a pretty song?" And vaudeville straight- way rises to its feet and yells, "You bet!" And 111 venture that that "You bet!" convoyed to Miss Adams as sweet a mes- sage of sincere and unaffected admiration as the most florid "bravissima" which ever greeted her arias. Nothing could be more charmingly gracious than the singer's bearing. One would even be inclined to call it breezy, if he dared apply such a term to a prima donna. There is nothing "upstage" or haughty about her. She walked upon the stage unassisted by the usual fanfare of music, strode (yes, that's the word) down to the footlights and, after including the entire audience in a cosy smile of greeting, made the most de- lightfully awkward bow you can imagine. The audience liked her from that minute. Perhaps the audience, or the strictly vaudeville portion of it, didn't understand the inner meaning of her art. It hadn't the knowledge, or the power or even the inclination. But it was content to eni'ov the simple beauty of her voice. She showed no vocal fireworks at anv time, ■ just sang her simple little songs as though she enjoyed the singing of them, and hoped they gave her audience pleasure. If the house didn't understand the un- familiar airs, at least they ro.se to a thor- ough understanding of her exquisite sing- ing of "Home, Sweet Home." It required no musical culture to appreciate anything so fine, and the noisy applause that fol- lowed Monday evening recalled Harry Lauder's first night reception. Rush. Murray Clayton and Lillian Drew. Travesty. 14 Mins.; Full Stage (Special Set). Pastor's. Murray Clayton and Lillian Drew have framed up an entirely new offering since the act was last seen in New York. Good looking back and side drops of purple and gold are now carried and give the play- ers a first-rate setting. There are plenty of bright lines and many laughs in the burlesque, but there seems to be an evi- dent desire on the part of the players to keep the offering quiet, depending solely upon the lines for laughs. It could be roughened up considerably without over- stepping the limit and would undoubtedly be more satisfactory. Miss Drew has a pleasing soprano voice. She sings two se- lections, the first off stage. The players as well as the material is greatly im- proved since last seen. Dash. Grace Orma. Songs and Talk. 1 a Mins.; One. Pastor's. Grace Orma is the latest of the long list of Western acts who have come East and received their start at the Fourteenth Street house. Miss Orma is a tall—very tall—slender girl, and most of her talk is based on her exceptional height. The talk in itself is not good—in fact, it is bad—but the woman has a pleasing man- ner and an air of assurance to carry it through. She has a good voice for "coon" numbers. Her style is also very attractive, being a sort of cross between Clarice Vance and Artie Hall. The song of na- tions now in use is very well done, and was a strong applause winner, but it is an old song that Thomas Q. Seabrooke used some fifteen years ago, and should be replaced. Miss Orma easily proves herself an entertainer of ability. Dash. Jas. A. Welch and Company (2). "Flanagan's Flirtation" (Comedy). 20 Mins.; Full Stage. Pastor's. "Flanagan's Flirtation" is a conglom- eration of singing, dancing, tumbling and burlesque. Pandora Pawtucket ("Olia" Welch) a "stage-struck" widow, is sticky about a stock star. She flirts with the actor and invites him to her house. Tim Flanagan (Jas. Welch), an Irish plumber, comes to the house to fix a water pipe, and is mistaken for the actor in disguise. After several minutes of horse play in which a burlesque on "East Lynne" is rung in, the real actor, Theodore Fans- field (Frank Welch) turns up. The sketch ends hero. The two men immediately go into a burlesque boxing match that is fairly funny, but too* long drawn out. There is also a burlesque song and dance and a little tumbling by Frank Welch. Some bright lines and a few good laughs are in the offering. Mr. Welch's Irishman is patterned somewhat after the manner of Johnnie Ray. A quantity of the talk is lost through his enunciation. Miss Welch plays fairly well. There is a lack of sincerity that hurts the comedy ends. Frank Welch's work, aside from the act- ing, is good. Dash. Juggling De Lisle. Juggling. xa Mins.; Two. Pastor's. Mr. De Lisle is spoiling a first-rate -jug- gling offering by affecting an effeminate manner and by poor dressing. Indian cluhs and hats are the juggler's strong points, and he is doing some first-rate w T ork with both. He juggles quickly and smoothly, making few misses. The conventional club juggling routine is shown with one or two new tricks that set it off nicely. Some- thing new is also shown with the cigar boxes. The juggler uses two boxes and a rubber ball instead of the customary three boxes. No comedy is attempted, al- though several laughs are gained in one of the hat tricks, which is also new. When Mr. De Lisle procures suitable dressing and drops the absurd style, he will have an offering that will place him a long way ahead of the "Number Three" position on Pastor's bill. Dash. Sam Rowley. Monologue. 12 Mins. Pastor's. This is Mr. Rowley's first New York appearance. He came from Australia on a speculation, and if the Pastor audience is any criterion it should prove a profit- able "spec." The comedian works in a clean grotesque makeup, having a style distinctly his own. The talk is bright and catchy, and is delivered with a rush, with- out waits for the laughs. Mr. Rowley works in a peculiar whistle with his pat- ter that is always good for a laugh, and the more he does it the heartier becomes the laughter. The monologist has "it on" a great many in his line in the way of voice. He has a strong, pleasant singing voice, which would show to better ad- vantage were the selections more suitable. Mr. Rowley's voice is the first thing that attracts attention, but the songs are scarcely worthy of his best efforts. Well down on the bill, he all but broke up the show Tuesdav night. Dash. Carrie Scott. Songs. 15 Mins.; One. Pastor's. After an absence of from ten to fifteen years Carrie Scott is once more blossom- ing out as singing comedienne at Pastor's this week. Miss Scott is billed as the original "tough" girl, and lives up to the billing. She opened with a popular coon Dumber, "Much Obliged to You," which started her on her way nicely. The sec- ond number is her star selection. Tt is a typical "Ragtime Liz" affair, and Miss Scott goes the limit with it. There are one or two bits introduced which wouldn't be considered good form in the best fam- ilies, but the Pastor crowd voted it im- mense. The woman did a quantity of good "kidding" with Tom Kelley. Pastor's "orchestra," and right here it would not be out of place to mention that Thomas is not a half-bad "straight" man. The comedienne finishes with a pretty "get back" song, using a "plant" in the box, which won her numerous recalls. Dash. Georgetty Troupe (4). Acrobatic. 6 Mins.; Full Stage. New York. The strength of the quartet is the pres- ence of a 75-pound midget, who acts as top-mounter and leaper in quite the most remarkable routine of hand-to-hand feats that has been seen on this side of the water. The other three members are two stocky men employed as understanders, and a comely woman, who wears a pretty frock with Frenchy chic, but does very little besides looking well. The midget is the whole act. He begins immediately upon the opening with his spectacular leaps into handstands, working with abso- lute polish of style and extreme ease. He is idle scarcely a minute. One of the best feats is a throw from the basket hold into a hand-to-hand stand after a "one and a half" forward somersault. Another is a spring into a single hand-to-hand stand from a sitting position on the floor, using only the jerk of one arm by both the understander and the top mounter. The finish is an eight-foot leap, assisted, into a single hand-to-hand stand. The turn aroused the Monday night audience to an unusual demonstration of approval. Rush. Shrock and Rice. Bicycle Riding. 18 Mins.; Full Stage. "New 8 Bells" Company (14th Street The- atre, Week Dec. a). Both men are good trick riders, working with speed and snap in their straight work, and have good comedy material. They are, however, prone to extend the comedy talk a bit too far. This may be due to the necessity in their present posi- tion of stretching the number out beyond what was designed as its time limit originally. The comedian can make talk funny, and his burlesque riding is amus- ing. The first half of the act went along to the accompaniment of spontaneous laughter, but toward the end it was some- what broken up. They have a splendid comedy idea in a burlesque upon a circus bareback riding act, the straight man mounted on a wheel and the comedian, in ballet-dancer's costume, being the "rider." The motion is capable of further develop- ment. A dash down an incline, the com- edian mounted upon the straight man's shoulders, made a good finish. Afi it stands the number gets past nicely, and with a little cutting, say of five minutes, the pair would have a good, fast comedy number. Rush. OUT OF TOWN. Hutchison-Lusby Company (3). "The Girl Untamed" (Comedy Drama). 22 Mins.; Four (Interior). Haymarket, Chicago. A story abounding in righteousness and retribution, and unfolding the narrative of the affection of a New York society man for an uncouth but spirited Texas girl, If deftly woven in the semi dramatic sketch "The Girl Untamed/' written by Jack Hur- nett. The plot is obvious. The dramatic situations, while not forcible, are filled with stirring dialogue of the melodramatic sort. Miss Lttsby is prepossessing and vivacious, and handles the comedy ele- {CoHtinucd on page 48-7/.)