Variety (Aug 1937)

^^ednesday, August 25, 1937 VAUDE^NITE CLUBS VARIETY 49 Night Club Reviews FRENCH CASINO ('Folies Bergere') (NEW YORK) CHttoi-a C. Fischer production at French ' Casino, in two parts. Staged by Jean Le • Sei-eux. Dances by Natalie Komarova; ' new music and arrangements, George Kom- "cast: Lea Aurette, BU and Bll, Lino Curenzlo, • Corlpne. Dormonde Bros., Irene Helda, Herman Hyde & Co., Les Juvelys, Tillyan. Danla and Malo, Ludenne and Aflhour, Kctty Mara and Partner, Les Men- ohlassl. Les Robenls. Rpberton, Germaine Bot'er. Nlco Roschln, Carmen Torres, Pierre and Fernand Spadacol; IC In chorus, 10 • manneaulns; Lou Breese and Buss Morgan's orcbestrarf. Opened Aug. 20, 1037; minimum chnrge, $2.B0 (table d'hote dinner); 5()c. • extra 'location* charge for first three tiers; drlnlts average 00-76c.; wine card, $8 to , 12; premiere supper, $10 a bead. The 'New Pblies Bergere' main- lains the same, high parity previ- ously established by the French Casino on Broadway, and which has made t h i s Jack Shapiro-Lou Blumenthal-Chas. Haring-Clifford C. ■ Fischer ventxire the most successful night club in the world. Fischer's new 'Folies Bergere,' reopening the F. C. after a periodic summer shut- . down, takes this Times Square land- mark into the third year of its heavy money-making "-stride arid bids fair to equal or top previous ■grosses. It's certainly head and • shoulders .above anything, in the form of nitery divertissement, to be ■ had with a $2.50 table d'hote dinner. That the $2.50 charge isn't to be ■ misinterpreted, the average tariff . per person is more nearly $5, what with the drinks or another 50c per head for the down-front 'location' charge, embracing the first three rows. As a show, in the French Casino tavalcade, the 'New Folies Bergere' perhaps excels past efforts along comedy and' novelty lines. As splen- diferous • and lavish as in the past, iwhere splash of color always ob- tained, there is a lighter touch .throughout this revue. And it's a corking idea not to overwhelm the auditor with too much spec. There . is more novelty vaudeville than in the past and the girls are even a shade better lookers^ This' time Fischer has captured all the in- gredients, and notably through Ketty Mara and Partner (New Acts), the Dormonde Bros,, Lucienne and Ashour (New Acts) and Les Juvelys (New Acts). All these, with exception of Hyde, fall in the first half so that the sec- ond portion suffers in comparison. iThat first half with its wealth of comedy, novelty, spec and talent is really too tough to follow. To the degree, therefore, that Bil & Bil, panto acrobats, allotted the next- to-shut groove don't get over. An obvipus improvement would be to put Hyde in the ace groove, with his breakaway bass viol, and advance the Bil Bros. In Sequence, Lino Carenzio m.c.'s the opening Illusions of Paris. That's typical of the 'Folies Bergere' parade of beauts and the various conceits. The Illusion-of Dancing, the Flower Illusion, the Naughty Illusion, etc., come forward. Corinne is the . stripper, but the nude stuff is limited and very tastefully done via novelty loin-cloths and bras to , shield the figure. Ketty Mara and Partner (New Adts), with a very clever monkey psrd, is a novelty sock up early in ihe show. The chimp , is an extra- ordinary clever worker; doing acro- 'batics, lifts and holds, although Miss Mara tees off her stuff in solo rashion, as if she Were doing con- iwntial acrobatic terps. She does that portion of it quite well. Malo with his partners Lilyan & Dania keynote the 'For a Man' num- ber, wherein the lookers parade in wont of Malo. This calls for a • lashion parade, and segues into a xerpsichorean-pugilistic conceit be- tween the two gals, fighting over 'i^iaio, set in a miniature prize-ring ■ndan is a nice personality. ,. Les Juvelys (New Acts) do amaz- ing teeter-board balancing and acro- 'oatics, plus head-to-head balancing on oversized rubber balls that gasp the customers. «J"^® , Bros, with their highlight the bourse number. This is a standard vaude- ville act, novelty of which is the ^iri^i^ .'"^'i"^'^ which the comedy cyclist cuts corners. A pseudo-cycle A-^ 7 game is another highlight. >ri^^! ^xl^^? ^^^^ finales the first etc Th^.l^® ^^^^^ grisettes, gigolos, rm,'t;Ji^ ^1 a clever lamppost dance routine, and the finale by Lucienne & Ashour (New Acts) takes the first ApSche hSce:^"'^^^' ^^^^ ''"^'^^ .,^11 through the first half, the ex- ^ril"*Jl^^.^.S^y«"x staging and Mme. Natalie Komarova's choreog- i^aphy assert themselves (1) on lempo and speed, (2) general brevity, so as to hold it down to a snappy 50 minutes, and (3) a color- • lui. rhumba-rhythmed tempo in the terp motif. Irene Helda, Nice Ros- chin, the Robenis and Roberton all stand out in this portion in important Skeered Last winter the French Casino (N. Y.) had a big bird nuihber in its revue and the manage- ment sent out 20 canaries to the N, Y. nitery critics. The current new show has a mon- key number and the scribes .were similarly gifted With a pet squirrel-monkey. Latter gave the newspaper- , men so much trouble through escapes and recaptures (it iipset the N. Y. Times' staid atmos- phere for a full half hour) that the boys are wishing Cliff Fischer doesn't decide to put on an elephant number and give away behemoths to the news- papermen. contributions although getting fuller opportunities later on. Lino Carenzio and Corinne, latter featured in a solo dance opportunity, tee oft 'Bird in the Night,' which resumes 'the second part. Thence into Herman Hyde's socko comedy interlude. Hyde, like a couple of the other acts, is American and not Frenchy, although the general at- mosphere is Continental. Still, it pars the traditional 'Folies Bergere' cavalcade' of international novelties from all lands. 'Algeria', is the big spec of the second portion with Gtermaine Roger doing a fine prima donna job, straightened by Lino Carenzio as the gigolo. All the color of Mohamed- land is deftly compressed into this fiash sequence—^the sheiks, snake charmer, acrobats, jugglers, slave merchants, .carpet sellers, dancing girls, camels, etc. Instead of the fore- and hind-legs of the traditional stage-donkey, this time Les Menchiassi do a comedy camel, including a bit of climbing into the audience and pseudo-searing of the ringsiders. Nico Rbschin with an eccentric dance;'The Robenis as the Arab familj^of pyramid-builders and jumpers, and the Juvelys stand out in this sequence. Bil and Bil let it down with their trite^lifts and holds, chiefly negated because of the spot. The spec finale is 'The Nobility of France,' with a prop crowri utilized on each per former as a cue for applause in the stand-out bits. The combined Lou Breese and Russ Morgan orchestras also come in for the 'crowning,' and incidentally the Breese boys, did a yeoman job playing for the revue. They further color the presentation throughout by changing to .charac' teristic headpieces, with each new number; thus a fez for Algiers, a characteristic rue de Lappe head gear for the Apache number, etc. Departure for the French Casino series to date was the spontaneous audience calling for Fischer to come on for a bow. He in turn brought on Le Seyeux and Mme. Komarova for bends, another departure, It's no great trade secret by now, of course, that this niew Fischer show went out of its way for values, in view of the early advent of the new International Casino, also in Times Square. That must mean a nite life battle of course, for the first few weeks anyway, until both find their level, with the I. C. in vading the F. C. field, with similarly patterned cabaret-theatre revues. As part of this scheme of things the French Casino management re- claimed the 'Folies Bergere' title, paying, a royalty for it, in view of the fact that Jacques Charles (of the Folies Bergeres, Paris) anc Pierre Sandrini (Bal Tabarin, Paris) are being ballyhobed as staging the new International revue. Abel. HIRST'S UNION TIFF DELAYS TROC, PHILLY Trocadero, Philly, .skedded for opening last Saturday (21) did not ring up due to reported union trouble between Izzy Hirst, house operator, and local stagehands and musicians' union anent Hirst's change of operating policy for house. Last season the Troc played bur- escjue on two shows daily sked and it is understood that deal between, Hirst and unions for house were on that basis. This season Hirst wants to install a grind policy of four or five shows a day and the unions want a new scale on that new basis. Despite Hirst's idea to drop btir- ! esque classification all around, Max Wilner, operator of the Shubert, Philly, will carry burlesque classifi- cation on shows and will reopen louse Sept. 3, alternating shows be- tween Quaker City and Apollo, N. Y., which 'Wilner also operates with Emmett J. Callahan. Meadowbrook Club (ST. LOUIS) St. Louis, Aug. 21. Meadowbrook Country Club Is situated a few miles from corporate limits of St. Louis. A combo nite club, eating place and gentlemen's club, Meadowbrook is spotted on a 120-acre tract where a championship golf course and a swimming pool are available for use by members and their guests. Scenic beauty of place is uhequaled by any other exclusive country clubs hereabouts and sets off a terraced veranda seating 1,200 persons. Inclement weather cannot mar festivities as sufficient room can be found beneath porch, protected by screens and awnings, to take care of those who utilize terrace in fair weather. In front of terrace is a circular sunken dance floor illuminated by vari-colored lights imbedded in side of floor and powerful lights placed on roof of veranda supply illumina- tion for acts on floor and band which performs under a brightly colorec canopy. It's a swank outdoor spot lor St. Louis or any other man's town, catering to class element with name bands drawing young and old for an evening of recreation, enter tainment and good food. Advent of "William Berberich wealthy owner of a fleet of trucks Name Act Famine ^Big Apple's' N, Y. Preem At Swank Rainbow Room The snooty Rainbow Room—of all places— was the debut scene of 'the jig apple' into the New York con- sciousness. Managing director John Roy took up the challenge of a newspajwrman that the Rockefeller nitery was the one place this new combination !Lindyhop-shag-squaredance-Charles- tori-and-what-have-you would not be staged. Roy decided to fool 'em and got Arthur Murray to coach a group of his instructors in the new terp routine so thai it might be presented here. Gae Foster, stager at the Roxy, N. Y., attended the finals of the 'Big Apple' contest for the North and South Carolina championship in Columbia, S. C. . Miss Foster tagged the winners and five other competing couples. They will be brought north to do their stomping in the Roxy stage show week of Sept. 3. Rising Labor Costs Worrying Nitery Ops 'The thing <that's gonria kill us all off is labor,' is the cry of the N. Y. niteries right now. Rising labor costs in a business which calls for a multiplicity of manpower is scaring off the nite club managements. They've been accustomed to passing on much of the costs—notably on service, etc.— to. the public, via the tipping sys- tem, but now the demands for a basic minimum labor fee adds up into sizable totals. MASON CITY, lA., GETS 1ST VAUDE IN 10 YRS. Mason City, la., Aug. 24. Cecil theatre will offer stage shows after a lapse of 10 years. Tom. Arthur, manager of the Cecil will relight house .\ug. 28 with 'Passing Parade,' an Ernie Young unit com- prising cast and chorus of 60. He has also booked another Young pro- duction 'Cavalcade of Hits' to follow in and will use audience reaction to these as a barometer as to whether town, wants stage shows or not. The box office take will be the acid test. (Continued from page" 1) Nitery Placements Connor-Blake Orch, Kay Gregory, Connie Conrad and Al Hurt to Blossom Heath,- Oklahoma City. Dale Winthrop, Versailles, N. Y. Ruth Russell, "Village Brewery, N. Y. • Charles and Charlotte Lamberton, dancers; Murray's Tuckahoe, N. Y. Bette Carter, singer; Betty Wil' liams, singer; "Virginia Dare, dan cer; -Half Moon hotel. Coney Island, N. Y. Three Peppers, Hickory House, N. Y. Jack Russell, singer; Muriel Lane, singer, Ben Riley's Arrowhead Inn, Riverdale, N. Y. Phil Brito, singer, Mount Royal hotel, Montreal. Henny Youngman, Gypsy Lee, ad cordionist; Surfside, Long Beach, L. I., N. Y. Ruth Daye, dancer, Paradise, N.Y. Ginger Sutton, dancer. Bob Lee, m.c; Wivel, N. Y. three years ago began rise of Mead- owbrook as pop place in this area Club and facilities are restricted to members until 7 p.m., when pub lie is admitted. Meadowbrook has a 75c. cover charge for every night ex cept Saturday, when charge is tilted to $1. Cuisine is of best and $2 din- ners are popular. Through tieup with radio station KSD bands are aired twice nightly from 9:45 to 10 and from 11 to 11:30. Show caught 'Wednesday (18) con sisted of two acts, Burt and King, novelty dance team, and Jeanne Goodner, tap and acrobatic dancer Individuals in. Ted 'Weems' orch supply balance of entertainment that satisfies customers 100%. Miss Good- ney, a brunette looker, opened show, doing a tap routine that was only fair but returning later for a fine acrobatic dance. Perry Como, bari- tone soloist, warbled three numbers that clicked. Elmo Tanner, whistler, is much above average of this class of entertainers but it remained for Red Ingle, violinist, to cop biggest hand of the orch performers. He and two pals did several com- edy songs. Burt and King gave swell interpretative 'Dancie of the Cobra,' a combo of ballroom and rhumba. Burt is a well built, per- sonable young man. Miss King is a peachy looking blonde. After a change that enables Miss Goodner to do her second number and Ingle to score with his 'Phantom on the E String,' a swell nonsense bit played on one violin string, Burt and King come back for theit 'Parisian Tango' routine that socked. Sahu. N. Y. NITERIES SET FOR LEGION CONVENTION "With the American Legion con- vention in New York starting next week, the niteries, theatres, etc., look to the usual boom attendant to such sizeable infiux of visitors. The N. Y. cops and other more conservative agencies, including the hotels which benefit from the advent of the Legionnaires, are not so en- thusiastic, knowing that sometimes such whoop-de-doos turn into a shambles. Showmanship <Continued from page 43) line on the copy, all of which is retailer-plug stuff. Audience going into the audi- torium gets a stick of Wrigley's guin, and told it's to relax 'em, so they can listen properly. After the program, on the way out, each per- son is handed a printed copy of that night's commercial, suitable for framing. • Show Is Columbia, with origina- tion at WBBM here. Rice Giveaway San Antonio. KMAC had another treat day on Aug. 14. Every person calling the station between 10 and 12 noon, and between 4 and 6 p.m., was given free a package of 'Uncle Ben's Plantation Rice.' Over 1,000 phone calls were completed, according to Station Manager Howard Davis. Swim Meet 'Cast St. Joseph, Mo. KFEQ broadcast'^■'"a' atroke-by- stroke description of - the Missouri Valley A.A.U. swimming tourney held here early last week. Remote pickup was made from side of pool in Which meet was held. Prentiss Mooney, hews-commentator on WFE<D for St. Joseph News-Press palavered the acquatics. Details Costs Chicago. Spector-Goodman here, represent- ing WCFL's 'Top o' the Morning* two-hour daily early morning period, using a one-sheet to plug the show, include in it information as to how time is parceled out into 14 individu- ally sponsored one-minute periods, giving price and merchandising tie- ups. In comparing the cost ($193.60 for 14 one-minute periods), plugger gives relative amounts to be had for that money on "WEBM or "WGN, then admits that no time is available on either of those stations, but there is on "WCFL. Price quoted includes everything: timfe, talent, and awards. Program is in the hands of Ed. F. Roche who brought idea here from the Coast. As a whole, it gives 15 tickets a day-to Balaban & Katz the- atres, and two weekly prizes of 13- day all-expense trips to Miami through an 'Embarrassing Moments' contest, sans box-tops or proofs of sale tie-ups. Agency is also using Saturday and Sunday display ads in five Chicago dailies, and a minimum of 40 billboards to plug the show. Talent used is transcribed, except for Bob Hawk, local favorite, who acts as m. c. Only stipulation as-to ac- counts is thiat they be non-competi- tive. Tucker, Belle Baker and numerous others traditionally good for a once- around in theatres that could stand top bracket salaries are no longer available either through being lucra- tively occupied In radio and on pix, or else are no longer interested in the p a. dates because of the hard work, or because the extra coin al- legedly means 'working for Uncle Sam,' because of the high tax brackets. Hun£:ry for Attractions Last week John J. Friedl was in New York following an unsuccessful talent quest in Chicago in hope o( lining up some strong. b.o. attrac* , tions for the Orpheum, Minneapolis, and others of the Publix Northwest Circuit, of which he is general man.» ager. He landed Rudy Vallee for the Orph opening Aug. 27. He was particularly anxious to set a strong name show lor State Fair 'Week starting in Minneapolis Sept. 4, finally deciding on Duke Ellington and band. That there's plenty of money, around for acts is xurther accentu- ated in a report that motor car manufacturers in Detroit are pre- pared to spend upwards of $100,000 for entertainment during special dealer showings in Detroit, Ray Gorreil, of Delbrldge-Gorrell Agency, Detroit, who will boolc shows for the auto men, is in New. York this week trying to align name shows. So far he hasn't made much, headway. The excess Income angle wherein top bracket salares in radio and pix would have to give the Government a sizable slice of the extra money earned on p.a:'s has much to tlo with the reluctance by the big money, boys and girls to give vaude a tum- ble now. But whatever the reason, name acts just won't be bothered about or with vaude any more. Hypos Salaries One cheery outlook for the estab- lished vaude performer this season is a tilt in salary. Acts with reps for bracing a bill, even though lacking as b.o. bait, are asking and getting tilts of 25-30%. With both .circuit and Indie book"* ers getting furrowed foreheads be- cause of the increasing paucity - of standard, established and effective acts, those turns with strong show reputations are so In demand they are able to gain sizeable tilts over last season's stipend. As an instance, Ina Ray Button's all-gal orch is getting (and won't take less than) $4,000 a week this season as against $3,000 of last year; Three Stooges $1,750 against $1,500; Ross "Wyse, Jr., $450 against $375; Paul Gerrits $750 against $400; Tip, Top and Toe $650 against $450; Eddie Rio and Rio Bros. $750 against $600; Three Sailors $1,200 against $850. Henny Youngman could have been had last winter for $200; this season he's upped to $1,000 net. Red Skel- ton, distinctly a vaude 'find' of last winter, has gone up to $1,000 from $300. And so It Is with flock of other grooved-in acts that vaudfllm man- agers have found can entertain 'em. They don't really need names, man- agers finding ability of true vaude genre difficult enough to get. Oddly, flash acts aren't generally getting the salary tilts other types of acts are. Several seasons ago flashes inched their way up to what is a pretty good level for vaude these times, and due to the not over- crowded field have maintained it. A good flash of four or flye people can get $1,000 a stanza regularly in vaude. These acts can work pretty regularly during the winter, and in hot months either work In niteries as a unit or split up into teams and singles lor cafe specialty turns. Strand, B'klyn, M|y Add Vaude S«pt. 2 'Warner Bros. Is considering a policy of stage bands, with acts, for the Strand, Brooklyn. 'While tentative date set for stage shows is Sept- 2, it may be post- poned, negotiations meantime being on with the unions to see what ar- rangements can be made on musi- cians and stage hands. Meantime, also, there has been no decision as to what the box office scale with stage shows would be. House has for several years been playing double features at a 40c. top. It never had stage shows. Talent would be. booked by the 'Warner booking office.