Variety (December 1907)

VARIETY IS WATSON'S BURLESQUERS. William B. Watson's business is to make burlesque audiences laugh, and he attends to it with admirable singleness of purpose. It makes no difference what your tastes are. Even if you begin by disapproving of Watson's frankness of method, you will end by laughing with him. There is no denying that he does go extreme lengths, but when his work verges most strongly upon the offensive he makes it funny enough to take the sting away. The Salvation Army business, which has come to be Watson's trade-mark, is used in the first part, but this is about all that recalls his former offerings. He supports a comedy entertainment that registers an extremely high average of laughs. The talk is rich in humor of the sort that they like at the Dewey, and the whole show went with a whoop to the final curtain. Frank Bambard, of Swan and Bambard, makes a capital comedy support. He plays an Irish part capably, and he and Watson work up to each other skillfully. Although a considerable portion of Bam- bard's labor is that of feeding Watson., he attains real prominence himself, and the pair go splendidly in double harness. William L. Swan was the only other com- edian. He did nicely with a "rube" part. The cast is a bit short on principal women. The Millership Sisters are a sprightly pair, of good appearance, elabo- rately costumed and neat, enthusiastic little workers, but they labor almost alone. Bonnie Whitman and Bertha Fields merely wear flashy clothes and speak certain lines necessary to the prog- ress of the action. They are large, robust young women, and their appearance in tights for the opening chorus was almost indelicate. The setting for the first part represents two tenement houses facing each other from opposite sides of the stage, and the progress of the family feud between the Krousmeyers and Grogans furnishes ma- terial for unlimited amusing knockabout comedy business. Not the least noticeable feature of this part is a finale which fills the require- ments of noise and excitement and, thanks be to goodness, avoids the "pa- triotic" number. It is a novel arrange- ment and brought the act to its finish to solid applause. The show is well dressed, six changes of costume being shown in the first part and three in the burlesque, which is di- vided into two sections, with a street drop in "one" between. The Millerships filled in here. A faint plot which requires no mental exercise to follow holds the show together without calling for any ex- tended dialogue to explain itself. There is a very short olio of only two acts, S'wan and Bambard and the Bijou Trio. The former have a nonsensical hodge-podge which is as funny as it is ridiculous. The pair have an odd, unex- pected quality about their clowning that forces laughs all the time, and they made a substantial laughing success. The Bijou Trio don't do a great deal of knockabout in their singing specialty, and the soft pedal is on the comedy. The chorus works nicely and shows train- ing, and the numbers are, without ex- ception, well staged. Hush. REILLY AND WOODS. Pat Reilly is having his program mat- ter set up this season with the words "Second to None" between "Reilly and Woods' Big Show" and the list of his ex- ecutive staff, so one is at a loss to know whether Mr. Reilly intends that his show or his business staff shall be considered as the superior to all. Mr. Reilly is with the organization, as usual, and that alone covers a multitude of sins. Pat is a funny Irishman, and he can draw the character to suit his audi- ence. His low comedy makes a descent at times; at others it takes momentary flights in flashes of Mr. Reilly's brilliancy at improvising. His rapidity of thought and quickness of wit probably cause the comedian to cast to the winds all such details as "lines." In the opening piece, "Reilly in Egypt," Tat "pulls" quotations from Shakesperean plays which makes the company gape in amazement at him apparently. The piece is a travesty on "Julius Caesar." Reilly as "Mark Anthony" is fighting for the crown, while "Julius Sneezer" (Geo. X. Wilson) agrees to a contest for suprem- acy. ^ The match comes off, but the referee "stands in" with Anthony. When he is stricken to earth the judge counts slow- ly, repeating several times, but never calling "ten," the signal of defeat. When Sneezer was on the ground, the referee counted ten so quickly he had barely time to arise again after striking the floor. It's the old "duel," of course, in another form, and it's funny. The burlesque, "Reilly in Politics," wasn't about politics at all. The "blad- der" and the "slap-stick" made a call, and caused some laughs at Miner's Bowery last Saturday night, especially when one girl said "Please don't hit me to-night, Mr. Reilly; you know you did this after- noon." The dressing is showing some pretty effects, and there are two or three very youthful, good-looking girls in the chorus. Mr. Reilly has at least surounded himself with a more comely bunch of choristers than has l>een the rule so far this season. Of the female principals a couple of the "The Electric Clark Sisters" are the more prominent, one, a little thing, working hard against the handicap of a light voice. In the olio the trio change costumes and give a varied act. The Van Der Koors are also in the olio, opening it with bur- lesque magic, an act somewhat similar to that now being played in vaudeville by Adams and Mack. Geo. X. Wilson and Miss De Monville have a sketch as their vaudeville portion, and the Van Cooks give their musical act, a Chinese laundry setting. There may have been some changep in the Reilly-Woods show lately. The cast- ing of the characters and the assignments for numbers do not seem to follow the program, but you can't mistake Pat Reilly. He's in it, and that always brings the price of admission—no matter how high—to a nominal figure for the amuse- ment received. »Vtme. Dan and Billy Collins, who have played together for fourteen years, have sepa- rated. Dan Collins will hereafter work with Billy Mailman, the baseball player. VANITY FAIR. There has evidently been a general shakeup recently in the ranks of "Vanity Fair." The program contains the names of several who fail to materialize at the Murray Hill this week, while there are about as many who were unbilled on Mon- day. The organization carries fourteen chorus girls, who will never complain of being overworked. The pieces are both short, the girls having three numbers in each. There are several costume changes more or less becoming. Tights are flashed early and late. The opening piece, "On and Off" (the title means nothing) is along familiar lines and serves to introduce two Germans and a Hebrew in a "syndicate" bit in which a quantity of business is in- troduced that might be laid aside for a few more numbers. Frank Morgan and J. Hennings were the Germans, according to the program, Morgan being by far the better of the two, although Hennings (so-called) gave a loose dance in the piece that is about the best thing seen in this line in some time and was easily the hit of the evening. It is good enough to build a fifteen-minute act around. James R. Waters seemed a bit new to his part, but with time should work in nicely. He also sang several parodies in the olio and scored. Belle Wilton, the prima donna, wore three pretty costumes in the opening piece and sang "Some- where" pleasingly. Somewhere in the chorus is a young woman with an almost-soprano voice who all but killed the ballad. Miss Wilton wears tights in the afterpiece, looking especially well in the white costume at the finish. Madge Chester was the only other woman to appear in the first part, al- though several other feminine names were on the program. She played the shrew nicely, keeping well within bounds. "A Southern Belle," the burlesque, must have beett written. It is well laid out and carries the story through to the close, being a sort of a musical comedy idea, without the music. Tint Welsh is the "big noise" in this section of the enter- tainment. His billing reads, "In with Everything,' and he was all of that and a tiny whit more. His antics were fairly funny, but he should be told that yelling is not first-class comedy. Kresko & Groves, who are evidently not with the show, started the good work with a fresh line of rather bright patter, finish- ing up with a too short dance. More of the song and dance thing would help ma- terially. Fiske and McDonough were also called in to bolster up the proceedings. The pair are first rate artists. They put over a quiet talking act and got away with it without an effort. A card was put out for Welsh and Maitland, but only the man appeared. He showed some capital comedy contortion work. The Wang Doodle Four (colored) closed the olio and ditl not fare well as would naturally be expected. Morgan and Chester received more than their share of laughs. The skit does well enough, but lacks finish. James R. Waters sang parodies. Altogether "Vanity Fair" makes rathor good clean entertainment, but comes a long way from being a first-class burlesque show. The material and people are there and it should become all of that. Dash. BROADWAY GAIETY GIRLS. Anyone who knows the popular regard in which James H. Curtin is held in the vicinity of Spring Street and the Bowery does not need to be told that last week, when his own show played in his own the- atre, was a gala occasion. "The Girl in Blue," who performed a ladylike dance at men show, may have contributed something to the size of the audience that packed the house twelve times during the week, but Mr. Curtin's loyal following under the circumstances would have turned out with equal enthusiasm for a picture show. "Suisette," the two-act piece that makes up the offering, may have had a book at one time in its career, but there is very little evidence of consecutive action left by this time. The two acts consist of a succession of "bits" with the usual num- bers interspersed, all strung along on a scarcely perceptible thread of plot. John Weber, the leading comedian, stands out from the cast as the lone fun- maker. He is a really funny German, and has worked out several 'Tuts" for himself that are amusing according to the stand- ards which obtain in the London Theatre. The audiences here are almost strictly "stag" and they have no use for "parlor broke" comedians. Weber knows what "the boys" like. He declared in a little curtain speech Saturday night that he was a graduate from the self-same gal- lery to which he addressed himself, so he ought to know. He "got to" the gallery frequently, particularly in one rather "mussy" scene with Blanche Washburn in the first part. Miss Washburn was a large sized hit herself. She has a flashy, loud style that the house seemed to like and disported herself in an elaborate wardrobe of won- drous color scheme and design. Weber has practically no comedy support. The only other male member of the cast who attains prominence is Vaughn Comfort, a ponder- ous party, with an amputated sense of humor. Mr. Comfort is prone to posing. In the first part his noble nether propor- tions are displayed in tights, a costume in which he cuts a ridiculous figure, further accentuated by the fact that he is pre- sumed to be playing a straight part. He has a good strong voice, but he spoils it by his affectations. Clarence Marks has by far the best voice in the organization. It is a heavy bass and admirably adapted to "coon" shouting. But Marks is not conspicuous as a comedian. Hattie Chew could make a good deal more out of the grotesque part she has if she gave herself up to clowning more. Miss Chew had a first-rate song and dance in the burlesque, however, in which she acquitted herself creditably. The olio has been rearranged recently. Beatrice Haynes opens the specialties with a single singing turn. She has chosen the most catchy of the present day popu- lar songs, and the delighted gallery ac- companied her through her three num- bers. Clarence Marks followed with an- other single singing act and Blanche Washburn and Company contributed a comedy talking sketch which was pretty heavy on the dialogue, and not very en- livening. John Weber was received with large enthusiasm in his German talking and singing sketch and the Bennington Brothers in an athletic act closed. Rush.