Variety (December 1907)

12 VARIETY A KNIGHT FOR A DAY. "A Knight for a Day" is at Wallack's. It came from Chicago. For stale, unvar- nished and unpolished "oakum," worn and threshed oiit years ago, the* play at" Wallack's is commended. The dialogue is at all times remind- ful of that saddening youth commonly called "the life of the evening," who "en- tertains" at a house party and is de- scribed as "clever." A basket of wine is delivered to a seminary. The principal says "a basket of wine can never go through the front door." The "heavy" of the piece is forced into a comedy role by replying to the audience, after the principal's departure, "If it can't go in the front, I'll have it sent around to the back door." John Slavin, the only comedian in the show, is hampered with some awful sickly line/*. "Slavin is all right, but his 'stuff' is bad" would be a vaudevillian's sum- ming up of Slavin's part, but still Mr. Slavin, together with a couple of musical numbers and finales, gives "A Knight for a Day" the necessary tilt which saves it from utter disrepute. Robert B. Smith wrote the book and lyrics. If Mr. Smith admits responsibil- ity for obliging Mr. Slavin to speak some of the lines in this show, Smith ought to hire a substitute the next time he is given a job. Muriel Oliver (Sallit, Fisher) asks Slav- in, "Do you remember when I fainted?" "Yes," replies Slavin, "and I brought you to—and then two more." Again Sir Anthony Oliver (Gus Thomas), explain- ing who he is, exclaims, "I am a Knight of the Golden Cross, a Knight of the Fleece," etc., to which Slavin answers, "I am a knight to-night, last night, to- morrow night and every other night." But even as horrible as these things were to hear them on Broadway after they have been driven out of "five cent" theatres, Slavin works in a "conversa- tion" with May Vokes during which he grows angry because she "shoved" him. "Don't you shove me," continually repeats Slavin, falling back on a "sidewalk con- versation" of years ago, which has lately been adopted by a ventriloquist here and there, but even the man with a double voice is so ashamed of the "shove" he causes the "dummy" to say it. The crowning "oakum," however, was the "echo." The only thing Mr. Slavin overlooked in it wa,s missing the hand- clap, and having the "echo" repeat it. Delirious, hilarious, exhilarating humor; subtle and original, causing anyone who has even seen vaudeville or burlesque to wearily look at a watch, wondering how much longer it was possible to last; also how can anyone able to pass a lunacy commission examination see mirth in such stuff as this. There is not a legitimate laugh in the first of the two acts until a few moments before the finale when Slavin appears to take away Miss Vokes, fulfilling an elope- ment appointment. He does some good comedy work on a ladder, although re- sorting tq rough tactics to score. The rougher, the louder the audience screamed, but Loui.s Simon in vaudeville has taken all the fun out of a ladder, the same as Geo. Mozart exhausted the hidden merri- ment in "I love her -curse her," which Mr. Slavin slightly transposes. In a two-act piece, the respective parts running about 70 minutes each, it might be supposed the chorus would change cos- tumes, and the chorus does—between the acts only. It is the same dressing throughout each ?<yt»on., '•horu*. girls. an<L principals, excepting the two comedy members. The outlay for dressing has been meagre, much less than is expended by the ordinary burlesque show, and the settings are as cheaply put on. The first act is an exterior, and outside of a "prop" well into which the basket of champagne is dropped to cause Miss Yokes to acquire a "souse" by drinking the water, an ex- tinct comedy expedient, the whole set may have been supplied by the theatre. The redeeming features are the music, composed by Raymond Hubbell, and staging of the numbers by Gus Sohlke. "Life is a See-Saw," besides being pret- tily melodious, is splendidly put on and worked up, coming into the finale with" an effective electrical finish, showing sev- eral brilliantly lighted see-saws teetering. The opening of the second act is an- other bit of good stagecraft, and the finale to close the show, although again electrical, makes a striking finish. Mis^ Fisher and Slavin have a duet in "The Little Girl in Blue," the second best musical selection, and this follows the "Floradora Sextet" idea, bringing in sev- eral of the company for the encores, caused by Slavin's well-timed comedy. "My Very Own" is sung by Miss Fisher, but you have to scan the program before knowing what it is about, and "I'm Afraid to go Home in the Dark," the best song in May Irwin's vaudeville repertoire at present, is handled by Miss Vokes for a number of recalls. "Hurrah, Hurrah and Hurroo for That" is full of familiar "gags" written into verse and delivered by Slavin, who had another selection allotted to him on the program, "Farewell Prosperity," which he did not sing. Mr. Slavin is the cen- tre of an ensemble number called "Whistle as You Walk Out," with ex- tracts from grand operas, but the' chorus is not vocally equal to the task, and the same thing has been often and better done in burlesque. The story of the piece is farcical, re- volving around an estate and a marriage- able daughter; also two lockets, the hold- ers of which must marry each other, re- ceiving a fortune left on that condition. Slavin is a former waiter who masks as a lawyer, and becomes "a knight for a dav," as reasonable an excuse for the title of the play as the play itself is an excuse for exploiting the title, the only drawing card in it. Miss Vokes is a "servant lady," and to some she may appeal as a funny eccen- tric comedienne, but the "slavey" role has been done in so many different styles that Miss Vokes is not comical at anv time. Mr. Slavin is funny. He can't help it. The rest of the show is so dreary anything approaching brightness stands out, but Mr. Slavin has no unction to back up his comedy efforts, and be- sides must bear the burden of the de- pressing dialogue. A comedians role was intended for that of Marceline, a cook, played by Sherman Wade, but it never reaches beyond the program billing. None of the women, principals, other than Miss Vokes, be- comes prominent. There is a "pony" bal- "THE HIRED GIRL'S MILLIONS." Scarcely have we grown accustomed to "musical melodrama" as a newcomer in theatrical nomenclature, when along come the Russell Brothers «nd without a whis- per of warning hand out a new and even more indigestible descriptive caption, to wit, "farce-comedy-melodrama." One has to pause and swallow hard before that goes down. The show is everything that the title indicates. All one has to do to enjoy the show is first to hypnotize himself with the 14th Street axiom, "Ain't the Russell Brothers funny!" and then, having divested him- self of all trace of human intelligence, sit tight and be prepared for the worst. The worst is "The Hired Girl's Millions," by Charles E. Blaney. Not that one would deny that the Rus- sell Brothers are funny. There is scarce- ly a vaudeville audience in the country that has "hot possed'"6n that poiut long since. But then the brothers did a twen- ty-minute farce. That's vastly different from a three-hour "farce-comedy-melo- drama." The piece is equipped with an orthodox villain in the person of Lewis J. Cody, and a fairly good "heavy" he is; a hero- ine (Flora Bonfanti Russell) full of ex- clamation points, and all the rest of the conventional characters. John and "Jimmy" Russell share the duties commonly apportioned to the one hero. During the action of the piece they successfully "Blaney" the villain, and de- feat his plots against the heroine. But with a difference in method. Instead of shoving a revolver under his nose and telling him to' "stand back," they romp on the stage at the critical moments and "Jimmy" Russell calls the villain a "pie-faced mut" in that curious crescendo voice of his. Of course the audience goes into transports of hearty laughter. Any reasonable person will readily understand how hard it is to accomplish "dirty work" under these circumstances, and so the vil- lain is foiled. Neat, ain't it? Norman Canby (Lewis Cody) is a super- intendent at Cooper-Macy's, a department store, where the action of the first act takes place. He seeks to possess by fair means or foul the fortune and person of Jennie McCarthy (Miss Russell), "an or- phaned heiress" and a rather pretty little soubrette. The Russells undertake to cir- cumvent his designs and in this way the sides line up for the kick-off at 8 o'clock. The circumventing business requires the brothers to go into female disguise, which changes every ten minutes. In the first act Canby seeks to have the girl spirited away, but he and his minions are de- let; also "The Original Eight Berlin Dancing Madcaps," both very ordinary. "The Original Madcaps" especially are copying the act of Winkler's "Original Five Madcaps" in all but those acrobatic tricks they cannot do, and the "ponies" may have been bunched together from different "girl arts" imported for bur- lesque organizations. The "ponies" just about pass through on the strength of being a part of the chorus. If "A Knight for a Day" can live on Broadway, it is foolishness and a waste of time for producers to worry over "nov- elties" and "productions." Give Broadwav "oakum" and surround it with anything, but don't forget the "oakum." Situ*. feated in a free-for-all fight around the notion counter, and the Russell Brother* carry the heroine off to their home for safe keeping. The indelicacy of her pret- ence in their bachelor apartments (they're only masquerading as hired girls', you know) is not satisfactorily explained away. Things happen so swiftly, per- haps there is not time for explanations. But Canby pursues. Upon his arrival at the "hired girls'" home, "Jimmy" Rua- sell disappears for a moment and returns disguised as an opera singer. Canby de- mands to be shown through the premises, but for answer "Jimmy" walks down front and sings a song. Canby went away from there without loss of time, and this wat one of the circumstances that needed no "dramatic elucidation," as the highbrow reviewers call it. But he returns, more determined than ever, and this necessitates another dis- guise. And &u iLg\>es-i~LroUfch the whole act, the brothers "spelling" each other at changing costumes, singing songs and in other ways keeping Canby at bay, while the audience laughs itself sick. The third act finds the heroine com- fortably established in a Long Island ho- tel, but danger still threatens her, for at the rise of the curtain it is noted that Canby has passed up his Cooper-Macy con- nection and insinuated himself into the job of hotel clerk, the better to carry for- ward his machinations. But here again v he is blocked, for the "hired girls" are there as chambermaids to check his every move. Forced into a bold game Canby robs a guest, and slips a pearl necklace into Jennie's pocket, where it is dis- covered. This introduces a trial scene, the judge sitting in the hotel lobby. The program covers this point very gracefully by ex- plaining in a foot note that this pictur- esque performance is quite commonplace on Long Island, but the serio-comic judge seems to feel the inadequacy of the ex- planation, because he takes the opportun- ity to observe that the court house lias just burned down. It takes only a change of clothes to make lawyers of the chambermaids who appear to defend the heroine. The villain states the case of the prosecution clearly and it looks dark for the heroine, until "Jimmie" Russell points out to his Honor that Canby is the real culprit. At one point Russell makes a pathetic appeal for clemency to the court. The violins sobbed and wailed their most melancholy notes, and "Jimmie" tried to look serious, but the audience wouldn't have it that way. If "Jimmie" was funny as an Irish servant girl, the pathetic speech made him a scream and the house doubled itself at the waist, and gasped for breath in ex- quisite delight. And so he had to go back and play "horse" again. However, by the operation of farce com- edy law the ends of justice were served and Canby went to jail while Jennie re- gained her liberty, and it all ended hap- pily, except that the orchestra leader who had sat through the mess since Monday looked a little bit more worn and tired than usual. There is a miniature chorus of six girls who livened things up a bit with a couple of musical numbers during the third act. They were nice looking girls and one wa* inclined to wonder why they were not made more prominent, Rush.