Variety (Dec 1939)

WedncsJay, December 6, 1939 VAUDE-NIGHT CLUBS VARIETY 45 Unit Reviews LA VIE PAREE (MINNESOTA, MPLS.) Minneapolis, Dec. 2 A. B MuTcus itiiif, 'La Vie Paree' with Leon Miller, Roberta Jonay, Howard Boyd and Jigsaws (4), Ben McAfee, Ha Cha San, Bernays, Janada, Ruth Dunell, Bob White, Floyd Bennett, Singing Sextet, Condy and Flower, Show Girls (24), Jncic Malerich; 'Heroes in Blue' (Mono). This 4,000-."!eater dispenses with its own m. c, line of girls, orchestra and usual four vaude acts this week in favor of the A. B. Marcus 'La Vie Paree' unit. The elaborately staged and costumed revue, running mainly to spectacle, seems just what the doctor ordered, except for the in- trusion of occasionally bluish gags, stories and dialog plus one song that seems in very poor taste. It's stuff that's out of line in a house cater- ing considerably to family trade. 'Paree' seemingly is the most lav- ish, colorful and dazzling of the Marcus shows offered here. Pro- ducer has plenty of flash and the production numbers, while they may not be artistic, arc bewilderingly im- pressive. Garish costuming pirovides a veritable riot of colors. And the stage is densely populated much of the time to create an impression of bigness. With the orchestra overture elim- inated. Jack Malerich, house leader, confines himself to playing pop re- quest numbers on the Wurlitzor, and "he plays them well. The show proper, which runs 70 minutes, starts slowly with its parades of showgirls in bizarre, colorful and revealing costumes and the stepping by the chorines. It gains momentum grad- ually, however, and quite properly, the classiest features are reserved for the final portion, creating enthus- iasm out front and sending cus- tomers away well-satisfied. Best of the production numbers has a group of chorines, swinging from and disporting themselves on trapezes. Outstanding comedy is the knockabout acros offered by Howard Boyd and his Jig . Saws, Roland Romas, Art Stanley and Sparky Kay. Their clowning, tumb- ling and stunts go over big. Boys figuring in the show's funniest skit, a burlesque prizefight. Ben McAtee is another comedian, most of whose stuff is ancient, including an old burlesque standby, the all-aces poker game. Meriting praise are the fine danc- ing of Leon Miller and the jive an- tics of the Six Jitterbugs, girls and boys who liven up the proceedings no little and are good for plenty of laughs, too, Ruth Dunell, prima, sings well. There's also a mixed LORD & STEWART TaUors of Today — And Tomorrow LONDON: 19 Albemarle Street PICCADILLY, W. 1 NEW FORK: 660 FIFTH AVENUE HELD OVER! 'WHITEY' ROBERTS NOW ON 4th WEEK Best Coffee in England QUALITY INN Leicester Square LONDON, WEST-END RUTH CRAVEN THIS WEEK LOEW'S CAPITOL WASHINGTON Dlrectlnn: NORTH £ FLAV.tl singing sextet that handle its num- bers neatly. Roberta Jonay, an- nounced as 'Mrs. Roose\?elt's pro- tegee,' does a novel exotic peacock dance. Rest are so-so. Janada stands on her head. , Bob White is a singer and Floyd Bennett a straight man. Ha Cha San is a 'bronzed goddess' dancer. Condy and Flower, man and woman, have a comedy act and the Bernays are dancers. Every- body doubles at various times. All in all, a lot of show—a real bargain—for the 40c top Near capa- city at the first Saturday matinee (2) performance. Rees. DAVE APOLLON CO. (PAR, ANDERSON, IND.) Anderson, Ind., Dec. 1. Dave Apollon Orch. (14), Sue Rl/an, The Colstons (2), Ben Bert, Gene Bayliss, Malone, Moruin & Malone, Gail Man7iers, 12 Glamour GirU; 'Little Accident' (V). Dave Apollon broke in his new unit, 'Hitting High,' here Wednesday (29), before taking the road for a 10- week tour of southwestern cities. Two-day stand opened cold with Apollon virtually unknown here, but built steadily to near-capacity at this 2,000-seater for the final show Thursday (30). Show was im- mediately rebooked for a return weekend stand Dec. 9-10. New unit finds Apollon not sparing the horses on talent or expense. Na- tives here, accustomed to semi-name bands with one or two supporting acts, had never seen anything like the entertainment outlay presented by the veteran maestro. Show opens with a number by the line (12), followed by Apollon's standard 'Dark Eyes' medley with his Filipino Band. Ben Beri, jug- gler, gets over with speedy ball-and- club routine. Line is back for a number segueing into turn by the tapster trio of Malone Marvin and Malone, brief. Gail Manners, semi-operatic song- ster, heavy on looks, leads off with operatic selection, following with 'Over the Rainbow' and wham- ming 'em with a swing version of 'Chiribiribin.' The Colstons, bur- lesque ballroom team, on next, could stand slight cutting in their over- long routine. Ten members of the band are downstage for a jam session with Apollon. Seven minutes of cross- talk nonsense between Apollon and Gene Bayliss, comic follows. Ex- cellent timing marks this youngster as a-comer. Heaviest accolade goes to Sue Ryan, blonde comedienne, closing. Opens with takeofTs on opera singers, torch warblers. French chanteuses etc. Winds up with rocking rendi- tion of 'Jumping Jive' which has pew purchasers pounding their palms plenty. Walk-on finale winds up solid 60 minutes of surefire enter- tainment. Apollon himself works hard and is onstage practically throughout. En- gaging line of chatter does much to build a heavy sendofT. Saranac Lake By Happy Benway Saranac, N. Y., Dec. 3. The 'Dual Thanksgiving' holiday gave the gang a break in the Colony, Those who missed their turkey on Nov. 23rd, managed to gobble a mess of the gobbler on the 30th. Charlie Broom and Mrs. William Chase, of New York, bed-siding rela- tives at the Rogers. Jean Ryan, who ozoned here for one year, got her final okay and left for St. Louis, home. Dr. Jack Ross, who came in from N. Y., is the new Will Rogers house dentist. After three solid months of strictly in bed; Forest Glenn gets O.K. to be up for one meal a day and added mild exercise.' Dr. George Wilson acting medico- in-chief of the Will Rogers, staged a supper at the Lodge and 45 medicos attended. Thanks to Dot Maxwell, Mrs. Ella Perry and James (Worcester Ga- zette) Lee for books, mags and papers to this Colony. Steve Gregory, local musician, handing out venison steaks to any and all of the Colony who can find a spot to have them broiled. Rosco Fox, formerly of. the Fox Bros, hoofing act, hello'ing the gang. Write to those you know who are New Acts NITE WITS (6) Comedy 30 Mins. Leon & Eddie's, N. T. Three boys and three gals thrown together doing summer entertaining on the borscht circuit, this sextet is one of numerous similar groups which have mushrooined recently. Outstandingly successful bunch, and the one which no doubt encouraged others, was troupe which began at the Village Vanguard, Greenwich Village spot, and hurdled from there to the Rainbow Room in Radio City earlier this season. Like the others, members of this crew provide all original material and music. Principal writing is by Sylvia Marks, who wears a recently- awarded Phi Beta Kappa key from NYU. She's aided by Arthur Laur- enls, who does lyrics, while Kieve Landis provides tunes and piano ac- companiment Others are Sherle Hartt, Dorre Lyons and Mervyn Nel- son. Nite Wits, in their present state, are extremely unpolished, both as to performance and writing, but pro- vide a neat novelty as attested by the undivided audience attention they hold at Leon & Eddie's through nine skits and seven momentary bits of mimicry, running about 30 min- utes in all. Majority of the satirically comic sketches are mild, running from utter corniness to extreme sophisti- cation. Pulling in of sail on both sides is needed. There is also a tendency to private jokes, really funny to the few in know, but maybe a mystery to the majority. One ex- ample is a 10-second bit by Miss Marks who, all by herself, applauds vigorously, then announces, 'I'm Milton Berle's mother.' Basic thread of the skits is that they represent New York scenes. Better ones include the group in bathing caps going through routine from Billy Rose's Aquacade; strip tease bit by Miss Marks in which she gets every innuendo in without removing anything, and various night clubs with Mervyn Nelson the m,c. in each. 'Moon Over Flushing' is best tune. Herb. Portland Civic Theatre Folds After Fbt Try and About $2,800 in Red Portland, Me,, Dec. 5. Maine Civic theatres. Chamber of Commerce - fostered vaude-legiter here, closed Saturday night (2) 'for reorganization' after dropping a re- ported $2,800 on its first legit try, 'Of Mice and Men,' a Ben Stein pro- duction featuring Guy Robertson and Iris Adrian. Attendance numbered 225 on the opening night (4) and biz failed to pick up markedly as week progressed. Veteran showmen here distributed blame for the bustup between fail- ure of the management to organize audiences, the poor choice of an opener, and unfavorability of the season for new theatrical enter- prises. Robertson, the leadijig player in 'Mice,' is credited w'th a major boner in having shown up 30 min- utes late at a midweek Rotary lunch- eon, where he was scheduled to speak, and thence launching into a semi-bibulous defensef of John Stein- beck's play against the 'charge' of obscenity, remarking that the. av- erage radio and film production might be legitimately to labelled. Rotarians, none of whom had uttered a peep relative to the drama's moral worth, responded In kind to what they took to be hostility on the part of the outsider. Idea behind the ac- tor's appearance had been to bolster the lagging fortunes of the Civic'* occupant, but results are figured to have been the reverse. A vaude show, booked by A. & B. Dow, of New York, was scheduled for the coming week, but that'f off now. Pardo Will Conduct 12 From Late Irv Rose Band St Louis, Dec. 5. Tony di Pardo is planning to re- organize the orch batoned by the late Irving Rose and start with local engagements. Pardo will start with 12 footers who are rehearsing here. He is expected to come to St Louit within the next few weeks. Butterworth to PJL Charles Butterworth Is to make ■ number of personal appearances in the east, dates being arranged by Jack Curtis. Comic will work with Judy Starr. TheJHEATRE of the STARS MADGE MARLET Sonfs 11 Mins. Show Bar, Forest Hills, N. T. A wealth of radio warbling is pay- ing dividends to this attractive thrush who rates as the best act to play this nitery in several years. Miss Marley, strictly a class number, came in after 13 weeks with Al Pearce and a guest shot on the Ford Sunday Hour. Previously, she sus- tained on NBC for three years and recently made 36 records for Victor. In addition to a flawless mike tech- nique, she has excellent diction, good range, precise attack and pleas- ant tone. The result is a solid click in a spot where vocalists usually die. When caught, she opened with 'Chatterbox' (written by Jimmy Brainin, house band pianist) and fol- lowed with 'Beguine' for a hearty salvo. She encored with 'Oh, Johnny' in a duet with Dee Orr (house maes- tro) and 'Small Fry,' the former ber ing especially well-interpreted in a special arrangement. Gilb. BOOKING AGENCY GENERAL EXECUTIVE OFFICES LOEW BLDG. ANNEX 160 WEST ST. NEW YORK J . H . L U B I N aiNERAl MANAGER SIDNEY H. 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