Variety (November 1908)

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14 VARIETY NEW ACTS NCXT WEEK Initial Presentation, First Appearance or Reappearance in or Around How York City. NEW AGT« OP THB WEEKJ Harry Woodruff and Company, Lincoln Square. Juliet, Lincoln Square. "The Submarine,* Colonial. The Kamaakoffs, Fifth ATenne. "The Tuscany Troubadora," Fifth Ave- nue. 3 Oaeres, 126th Street. Frank and 8adie Harrigan, Perth Am- boy. Francis and Francisco, Bayonne. Stores and Edgar, Bayonne. MDo. Paula, Orange. Orgerita Arnold, New Brunswick. John Hyama and Leila Melntyre. The Quakeress" (Comedy). as Ulna.; (io); One Full Stage (14). Colonial. The new act of Hyams and Mclnytre derive* its name from the character played by Miss Melntyre. There is very little plot structure to the skit. A Quakeress applies at a theatre for a posi- tion In the chorus. She is met at the stage door by the comedian of the show (John Hyams). That's the story. There Is ,a quantity of talk in "one" which takes its humor from the Quakeress' ideas of the stage and the comedian's airy style of enlightening her on a few point* which she has entirely overlooked in her headlong rush for a stage career. The comedian agrees to intercede with the manager in securing a position for the Quakeress which brings the couple to the full stage where Miss Melntyre displays her ability to the comedian. This permits of a couple of "ldd" songs by Miss Meln- tyre, who has no superiors in this line. One of the songs was new "Bind P-g" and fitted in nicely while the other ('Tor 6hame") was from other seasons. A very pretty song and a neat dance by the couple gave the offering a good finish. The dance is so good that it should be lengthened. Sbme of the earlier dialogue could be curtailed to make room for it. In building "The Quakeress," Herbert Hall Winslow evidently overlooked Mr. Hyam's comical proclivities. The piece haa been written almost entirely around Miss Melntyre. While she is well able to hold It up, Hyams is too good a comedian to be wasted on a polite "straight" comedy role. Dash. Charles J. Burkhardt and Co. (3). "The Italian." 9 Mins.; Four (Special Set). "Travelers." "The Italian" is a recitation rather than a sketch, a recitation with an appropriate stage background and a few characters to help out the picture, breaking the monolog with an occasional word. The interesting part of it was the excellent characteriza- tion of an Italian laborer by Charles J. Burkhardt, whose work heretofore has been along the lines of Hebrew comedy. Burkhardt looks the part and speaks with a true dialect. The shortness of the "bit" was a strong recommendation. Stretched out into a twenty-minute sketch it might have lagged, but as a short incident, it held the audience. Rush. Jeannette Lowrie and Rigo. Singing and Instrumental Music. 14 Mine.; Full Stage. K coney's. "Jeannette Lowrie (in very large star- ing type) and Rigo and his Imperial Orchestra" is the program billing for the musical act in which the pair make their joint vaudeville bow. Is It possible to conjure up anything more incongruous or grotesq than a combination of Rigo, the world's greatest male coquette, and Miss Lowrie, the very essence of robust, healthy humor f Male coquetry and feminine humor is a disastrous combination, and so it works out. Rigo waa plainly ill at case in the single number that brought him and his partner together on the stage. This is easily understandable. Rigo U an exotic flower. He is ponderously se- rious about himself in a sleek, self-satisfied way, and the proximity of the buxom, matter-of-fact Jeanette simply ruined the picture. Not only that, but Miss Lowrie sings a song called "He Had Such Beautiful Eyes," and actually dares to lure Rigo under the spot light and "kid" him with his widely advertised charm for womankind. Under her joshing the lather fearsome atmosphere that former- ly surrounded the Gypsy fades away and Rigo becomes a rather pathetic figure, a Ralph Johnston and Co. (4). "The College Inn" (Bicycle Novelty: Semi- Dramatic). si Mina.; Four (Special Set: 17); One and Two (4). American (Nov. 4). "The College Inn" was written by Herbert Hall Winslow to furnish a setting for the remarkable bicycle feats of Ralph Johnston, who is now literally "jumping over a house" on a wheel. The setting at the opening contains a country tavern and during the piece, Johnston, on a wager, jumps himself on a bicycle to the apex of a gabled roof, about twenty-five feet from the ground. From the extreme top, where he balances himself without leaving the wheel, the rider then leaps with his machine on to a chimney at the left; from there to the edge and then jumps to a springboard on the ground, going over the entire house without taking his feet from the pedals. The ascent Is made through cleata on the side. The feat is quite the best ihing in bicycle riding yet shown, although Johnston has always been the most daring of bicyclists, his jumps and leaps having caused com- ment for ever so long. This trick, with another, that of leaping from the ground to a dining table, twisting his bicycle in a half circle onto "plates," etc., along with The reading matter in VARIETY is copyrighted. Reprinting any of VARI- ETY'S New Acts, in whole or in part, is forbidden unless credit is given. stout, middle-aged person made uncom- fortable by ridicule. While Miss Low- rie gets the big type, Rigo takes his share of the honors in the choice of en- trance. The rising curtain shows a palm garden with eight musicians in Hunga- rian uniform disposed picturesquely sbout the stage, a perfect representation of a "hired band." Miss Lowrie enters and offers a song. Then there is an ex- pectant hush and Rigo, violin under arm, strides up centre. He has a solo, then removes himself, and Miss Lowrie comes to the fo»*e again with—a- number, and (all things being favorable) an encore. Comes again Rigo and the violin for more solos and coquetry and the pair finish together, Miss Lowrie singing in the glare of the spotlight while Rigo ac- companies her from the shadows L. U. E. until they exit together. Miss Lowrie could have taken some more bows after the number "I Want To Vote," had not Rigo hurried to get into action and killed a lively burst of applause. What there ir to the act is Miss Lowrie. With a single piano player of sedate manner and no distracting gleaming smiles she would do much better as an entertainer, but perhaps they still count Rigo a name to draw patronage. Lowrie and Rigo may be a drawing card, but if they play about here much longer the combination means death and distinction to Rigo's alleged fascination. Ruth. other fancy riding, is incidental to the story contained in the piece, Johnston having saved a young girl's life, thereby earning the enmity of two suitors for her hand. They melodramatically seek by fcul means to prevent him participating in a race. The race is shown in a short moving picture, the sheet when raised re- vealing Johnston and two other racers, one on a "motor," taking up the scene where the picture stopped, Johnston win- ning for the lively and noisy finale. The piece had a trial at the American on Wednesday. Everything did not run smoothly at the trial show, not un- expected, but Mr. Johnston has a first- class background for his bicycle, and a company of four, two of whom are very pretty girls. As a bicycle act, "The Col- lege Inn" is a novelty. Besides adding to the spectacular side of Johnston's tricks, it proves that he can also act, be- ing naturally and physically constituted for a matinee hero anyway. With con- tinuous playing for a short while Mr. Johnston should have the piece in good running shape. Sitne. Commencing next Monday the new Lyric, Newark, N. J., just added to the Morris chain, will play eight acts instead of seven. Last week is said to have been a very profitable one. Davis-Gledhill Trio. Roller Cyclists. 13 Mina.; Full Stage (Special Back Drop). Lincoln Square. The Davis-Gledhill Trio are cyclists, playing their first American engagement in vaudeville. The trio have a peculiar "roller" track, the riders each speeding thoir safety bicycles upon three rollers instead of a "home-trainer" or "tread- mill." The process more closely resembles the latter. The front wheel of the bike is just to the forward of the center of the front roller, the hind wheel resting in a valley formed by the two back rollers, this preventing the bicycle from moving forward while being propelled. A cres- cent-shaped projection carries three min- iature riders on little wheels which circle around as the machines work, the small "dummies" being in colors carrying re- spectively the flags of the United States and England. Gledhill is an Englishman; Davis an American. The third member of the trio, unnamed, is the announcer and was astride of a motor-cycle during the second and last race Monday evening, pacing the other two during a three-mile contest which the American won, the Eng- lishman having captured the two-mile unpaced race just before. The time was 2 mine. 27 sees., and 3 mins. 51 sees. Davis and Gledhill use high-geared machines, with not much excitement attending un- til the finish. Lower gears would cause more revolutions, giving a better effect, while if there were three races to include a one-half and a one-mile spurt with the paced race two miles, it would be liked still better. The idea is not at all bad, but local riders should be interested; The racing is legitimate or can be made so without question Three seasons ago a Frenchman at Coney Island had an outfit where twenty riders could race at one time on stationery machines, similar fig- ures to those used in this act (worked in the same manner) distinguishing the posi- tion of the racers. With the theatre management stirring up local interest by inducing riders of the town or neighbor- hood to compete, the Davis-Gledhill Trio in their act will prove quite popular. Otherwise it is merely interesting with a small amount of excitement and less novelty. Sime. Clarice Vance received contracts this week calling for her appearance in Eng- land, commencing at the London Palace on May 10, next. Ed. M. Markum has been authorized by Irene Bentley to secure her vaudeville time. Miss Bentley recently retired from "The Mimic World." Mr. Markum has placed the booking with Lykens k Levy. Leonie Pam. Character Songs. 15 Mina; One. Keeney's. Miss Pam is "late star of a 'A Knight for a Day,'" according to the program. She has a series of comic songs, that is to say the costumes she wears are comic. The songs are not and their lack of .humor is made emphatic by her method of singing three verses and a chorus of each. Miss Pam's manner is very strained. She tries so hard to make her actions funny that the labor of the ef- forts is the only thing that gets across the footlights. She does all the thjngs that Mabel Hite, Elfle Fay and Grace Cameron do, but she does them in a mechanical way that argues much re- hearsal. The one point in her offering that aroused any interest was her final song, in which she appeared as her proper self and sang a neat little number very gracefully. Miss Pam might make a captivating polite singer, but she will never be an interpreter of comedy char- acter numbers. Rush.