Variety (Mar 1942)

to HOUSE BEVnSWS Wcdnesdajt March 18, 1942 lise Vade Does ij^lmd^^^^ Fischer s Tiiorities,' Z-a-Day^ $l-$2 By ABEL GBBEN 'Priorities of 1842,' presented as ttTaioM vaudeville by Clifford C Fischer (In association with the Shu- berts); opened March 12, '42, at 46th St. theatre. N. Y.; stars Xou Holte, Willie Howard, Phil Baker and Paul lyraper; ertsemble music, Marjorie Fielding ond Charles' Barnes; chore- oerraphv. Miss Fielding; musical di- rector, Lou Forman; $1 mats, $2 nipht ($2.50 top Sat. and Sundav). Principals; Lou Holtz, Willie Howt ord, Phil Baker, Paui Draper, Joan Merrill^ Hazel Scott, Helen Reynolds Skaters, The Nonchalants, Gene Sheldon and' IfOretta Fischer, The Barrys, Johnny Masters and Rowena Rollins, pione Denise, Lari and Con- chito, Beocrley Lane, Joe Morris. Girls:. Ha^el Baher, Michelle Mag- nin, Mary Lou Savage, Potricia Don- nelly. Lillian O'Donell, Margaret Lone, Sheila Herman, Trudy Byers, tiane. Sheila Hermanj^ Trudy Byers, Lee Loprete, Sonia Tanya, Mumal Pins, Lorayne Lloyd, Helen Wenzel, Gott Hereford, Helen Beck, Aleita yllbert, Lee Myers, Joan Dore, Carol Gordon. Vaudeville has come back—in a legit house, the 46th Street, but It's vaude none the less. Cliflord C. Fischer has turned the trick. A veteran of the wars (Irom H. B. MarinelU to William Morris, Sr.) he has been steeped in the varied tradition and where others, such as Kurt Hobitschek and'Frank Fay failed, Fischer hasn't He's giving the customers the best CI (mat) and $2 (night) live enter- tainment bargain on Broadway. He has a four-ply starring quartet in Lon Holtz, Willie Howard, PhU Bcker and Paul Draper, alchough it's nbt the accredited headliners but Hazel Scr.tv who winds up the hit of the bill.' However, the kudos for-all •:.e generous, tne- .entertainment plehtifu], the refuse enthusiastic, Uie buEihess lusn. Result was a £2,041.50 second night (Friday); a |£68 first matinee (Friday); a $2/453 third night (Saturday) when the ttM acale tilts toJ[2.76),.an: Fischer can gross up to $30,000, ii going clean, on a )10,000-$12,000 show nut He looks headed for ^4,000 this week. The opalng night (Thursday) was fomewhat abortive and the notices Friday somevAat mixed, but in the main good. Perhaps the severest was Biook Atkinson In the N. Y. Titncs who called the talent 'mediocre.' •This burned up tito Fischer menage (from management to talent) who couldnt reconcile themselves to the ' adjective considering that Howard, Holtz and Baker have enjoyed earn- ing power of from $3,000 to $5,000 a wedc In one or another fonn of variety—cafes, presentation nouses, revue an(|/or radio.' None the less, seemingly In face of the somewhat tepid morning paper reviews, the first matlnee's take of $368 perhaps cued the economic out- IooIf the best; And the rainy Satur- day was no damper either. On Stturds^ there Is a midnight abow; .on Sunday an extra mat Is crowded in at 5:30 pjn. Both night shows sold out Fischer, who is war-repatriated American, after being long domiciled li' Pa^'is and ',IiOndon, became best known in recent years for his Tblies Bergeres* revues and the cabaret- theatre policy he created at the French Casino, International ..Casino- etc. These were still nothing more than dressed-up vaude, and the same foes for the current show at the 46th treet theatre. Despite the Broadway dopesters recallmg that 'Hellzapoppin* (en- other glorified vaudeville) started at the 46th Street before going into the Winter (warden for its now historic marathon run, Fischer's deal with the crafts and Guilds Is strict^ as a vaudeville show. Equity okayed him that he can operate under AGVA regulations; that addition of Mar- jory Fielding's 18 girls from former Club VersalUes (N. Y.) floorshows Is merely a 1042 streamlining of the variety pattern. And while the show plays re- vuesque, it's forthright vaudeville. Perhaps the only other compromise will be. Fischer's decision not to change bills fortnightly, or with any ijegular frequency; hell run 'em as long as buslaess warrants. That's how it diiTers from the Palace tra' dition of weekly changes, save for occasional holdovers of headliners, although there were record-breaking Cantor-Jessel-Winchell type of Aows towards the last days of big-time vaudeville at the formef Kelth-Al- bee flagship. The change from TSuirsday to Fri- 6vr removed all cautiousness. The mikes which cluttered up the stage only cropped up for Joan Merrill's specialty, ah upstage pianology by the. personable and dusky Hazel Scott and as a prop (dead) in Willie Howard's' satire of a John J. Anthony broadcast. Otherwise, the theatre which has housed several B. G. De Sylva lilt musicals, sans mikes, showed oS the Variety talent to ex cellA:t''advantage.'' - • • ■' ■■ The pacing too was Improved. Miss Scott wafl moved down fntm late second half to next-to-close the first halt. Johnny Ibaten,' and Rowena Rollins, whom Fischer has been privateJy touting as new coined:^' finds, e^)eelally the femme, were out the second nlgiit The Fielding girls aren't e^eelally needed but tfaafi the 1942 com- promise. They're' all right fairly Itersonable, but no' wow, but since he prime idea of Fischer's'Priorities of 1942' is for 'escapology' and comedy, he will retain them. They plug the waits adequately, if not particularly distinguished in their pulchritude or presentation. Lou Forman, who,batoned at the old Palace, Is back, looking even better with a prop Westmore, and foiling for Holtz in his pidgin- Spanish bit with C^nchita.' Lari and Conchlta are the lAtin pair who oHldate in the Brazilian routine for the first act finale. Entire motif Is Informality. Holtz emcees in a white suit and only makes a diangc almost near the end. He shoidd do so between halfs, and flash at least three wardrobe switches. Otherwise, he's the same oonferenderlng, Lapidus-telling, dia- lectic comedian. Wllll« Howard Is a funny man throughout as funny as .he has been In his long and varied rareer. Gene is now retired, referred to only as his manager. Howard does a Scotch dialect routine In the audience, with Holtx on the rostrum, that has a play on 'Chambers' and 'Potts.' That should go out It's unnecessarily vulgarrand Howard has thrown away enough oUiar stuff that he - can res- urzect not to miss this. Phil Bako's act is a bit nonde-' script but he totals up well. Joe Morris (and Flo Campbell) is his stage box plant where formerly Sid Silvers did the stooge. Baker stiU manages with the accordion, later doing a medley accomp for dancer Paul Draper. Latter is the fourth co-headliner, next-to-shut and does ao minute* «f titeellent terping to overly •nthuiUitlc returns. He somewhat ovtntayB and should cur- tan It Anoflier show-stopper is Hazel Icott lAo boogie-woogies Chrain aad other cTnsslrs, in between ■traUht venlohi of pops and kindred rouUnci. She opens vocally, but whama '«m at the Steinway. The ■iafc was ctnick, but they had to tot* bade ft* piano for an encore. Miss Soott hai been a click at Cafe Society Uptown for a couple of sea- sonc, and tho jazzophile cognoscenti rightbdly deem her out of this world. Joan ttmlOt a radio, record and cafe product tutored by Al Siegel in the mike manner, la lost without am- pUflcatlOB. A personable brimet, ihe hai an arreatuig command of the rostrum and authoritative vocal chorda. Helen Reynolds Skaters (8), stand- ard, act i9en whammo. TheyVe clidccd Li cafts and the like, and re- peat on 'West 40th street Hie Non- dialknti (3), with their comedic aero stuff, arc a bit wasted in the deuce, but have since been given bet^ ter apotUng to reopen the second half (a much hetter Idea). PhU Baker, with his 'do, do' routine; ihe radio satire on Pepslcola commer- cials, registered Charles Boyer, etCn better than opening night, with as- sistance from Diane Denis and, later, Joe JMonrls. _ HoHk punctuates throughout with stories. Willie Howard's radio satire ('Crazy With the Heat' excerpt) en- lists Al Kelly, Lora Saunders, Charles Senna and John Leopold. Later Howard, ably foiled by Lora Saun- ders, one of those tall gals with whom the comedian usually likes to work, whams with a wacky piano routine, along non-existent Topper' lines, playing the Steinway that Isn't there, bawling out people who are Invisible, etc. It's the 'mad woman' routine, he, too, had done in 'Heat.' The first half has a 'ribbing-the- other-comedlans' routine wherein Holtz and Howard..p.ut Caator, Jes- sel, Danny Kaye, Olsen & Johnson, et al., on the pan. Baker later loins 'em, bawling them out for being so unchlvalrous to feUow-troupers, and for the topper, of course, he too puts In a slug for a competitive comic. 1 Waltzed With a Major' Is a Ver- sailles excerpt which The Barrys, svelte dancing pair, first tntroed at the nltery. Beverley Lane and the IB beauts officiate. . Gent Sheldon, panto-comic banjo 1st Is shown to the best advantage he ever enjoyed, and will undoubtedly wind up bemg 'scouted' by Holly- wood, although he's been aroimd in the picture houses, etc. l«retta Fischer Is an excellent straight What impresses most with Sheldon is that In the confines of a compara' Uvely small legit house like the 46th Street (1,347 seats) he and all the. other acts show up as If in Tiffany setting. [It's a wonder some of these audible acts click at all in the mam- moth picture houses, and a reasonably s^^fe prophecy Is that If Fischer's vaudevMe renaissance has any effect on all other show business—and well it may—the trend will be back to the small theatre; i. e, U Ifa to ba straight vaudeville. The combina- tion-theit*«iJjt:ffiU!3^<W and big pictures, are someUiiiig elM again, with their 3,000 and more ca- pacities. Don't forget the old Palace had only 1,700 seats.] FoUowing Sheldon came Draper, with his show-topping stepping; more- Howard (who also did tbe Scotch hokum earlier in the last half) and the finale. A notable improvement also, since the Thursday preem. was the cut- ting down of the Yiddish asides.. It was obvious to the show-wise thpt between Howard's dialectic style and' Holtz's Lapidus lingo, the temptation for inside ad Ubs would react nega- tively. The fear was fulfilled Thurs- day night but Fischer (and the Shu- be'rts, his associates) did a quick axe- ing Job. (Ihus, when Holtz pulled an ad lib, 'IH translate it for you; we want all of you to understand everything,' he was greeted with ap- plause.) ' Fischer patently built this show for the times, on the theory they want a lot of laughs. If some of the ma- terial is familiar to this or that-group of show-goers, ifs not overly familiar to the masses,-and it can stand re- prise, anyway, in tne hands of expert troupers. So, for commercial pur- poses, Fischer really has something. The best answer is the boxofflce. From "Thursday preem through Mon- day ■ night the 13 shows grossed $21,000. Does that prove anything about vaudeville's comeback? STRAND, B'KLYN Joe Venuti Orch (14) toith Koy Starr; Hal Leroy, Gil Maison Co ,(2). Belett A English Bros. (3); 'Body Disappear^ (WB). Joe - Venuti orch appeared to be candidly Indifferent at show caught Friday (13), opening day of the weekend booking. Only, a moder- ately effective aggregation musically, getting maximum refuse when brass section is given fiul play, band is badly in need of vocal specialists. Kay Starr, singer, who tried with a couple of numbers, falls to Impress, while Venuti's violin specialty is only mildly effective. Drummer, given most prominent spotting of the in- strumentalists, registered handily solo and with band. - One of band's better orchestrations is a novelty number, 'Musical Cocktail,' In which 'Venuti has ea^ of the Instrumental-- ists doing a different number. All blended nicely. For the rest bill Included three corking outside acts, most outstand- ing on marquee as well as on stage being Hal Leroy. Leroy has been spotted around the New York metro- golitan area quite frequently of late, ut he's always okay for another look. Had to beg off, as usual, after his classic tap routlnov winding up with .siesta on chair. Belett and English Bros., two boys and femme, went big with their sock comedy acrobatic and dancing rou- tines. Gil Maison clicked with a deftly routined animal turn which includes a monkey and three dogs. Monk got laughs by making a wDd apparent attempt to bite band leader Joe Venuti whenever Maison said "Frank Buck.' Balancing with monk and dogs went big. Mori. ORIENTAL, CHI Chicago, March 14. FranJcie Mastars Orch (16) urfth Phyllis Myles, Lou Herth; Chester Fredericks & Cb. (2), DuVoI, Merle & Lee, Lois Andrevjs; 'Road to Hap- piness' (Mono). - - . To see Frankle Masters on the stage of the Oriental is like seeing Roosevelt in the "White House. It's been going on for years. For Mas- ters goes way back with Chicago stages; being one of the heart-cruiii- ers arourid town during the days of the m.c. faves. Yet despite the years he still looks like a cherub and has the same polish and the youthful ex- uberance that made him' a Chicago moniker. Masters runs the show in a pro- fessional manner. In addition, he has a good dance orchestra that's well arranged and punches out the lop-tunes wltH-a"Tilair for-fihowman- shio and musicianship. Phyllis Myles vocals 'Blues In the Night' and does It weU. Lou Herth doubles with straight baritoning and some comedy, both plenty neat Chester Fredericks tied this house up in knots with his standout nov- elty dance turn. He can play any' where. The femme Is a good dress' up for the turn and gives it a nice touch of flash. DuVal, Merle and Lee scored excellently with this audience, getting a heap of laughs on their knockabout and the burlesque adagio stuff. Lois Andrews (Mrs. George Jessel) has plenty of heart Making a great appearance, she is sold immediately, then proceeding to make this audi- ence sit up and listen to her trio of pop tunes. Iiliss Andrews hasn't much of a stage voice, but she's got a. sock kna^ of handling a crowd and a knowledge of how to make 'em like her. She had them eating out of her hand it ihe show caught, and she could have stayed longer. ' Business was pretty good at last show Friday (13). , Gold. STRAND, N. Y. CharU« Sptoak Orch with CrArrii Frank Paris Marlonets, George Roger* Dancert (3); 'Aluwys In Mv Hearts (WB), reviewed in 'Variety.' March 4. 1942. Strand presents a pleasant stage session althotigb rather heavy on straight music. Fortunately. Charlie Splvak's band is highly listenable and the overtime - given it could be possibly objectionable to only a mihor audlenc« segment What Splvak could well, use, how- ever, is a solid vocalist to spac)e out his likeable subdued swing. One femme with real pipes .would be a profitable trade for the quintet (four boys and a girl) now 'with the band. Leader of the quintet Garry Stevois, also steps out to do a couple of solos, Stevens is a soothing warbler and clicks especially well on 'Dear Mom,' but 'doesn't have enough buoyancy in either voice or mariner to carry the heavy spot he's assigned. QiUhtet blUed as The Stardnsters, offers harmony that's too simple to amount to much. Splvak's combo Is especially strong for stage work. ° The muted ar- rangements, while allowing for plenty of Jive, keep the volume down so that long listening sessions are jiossible without discomfort to an average audience. Same thing cannot be said for some other jive outfits, which now seem to be veer- ing toward the corny side in their all-out Jive. Drummer Davey Tough and an unbilled clowning Jitterbug trumpeter give additional lifts to the orch. Two topnotch turns fill out the stage show. They are the George Rogers Dancers and Frank Paris' marlonets. Rogers Dancers are two guys who do' amazing lifts, tosses and swings of a little gal, peppered with the antics of the usual comedy ball- room team. Their serious work Is'so good that the satire is really un- necessary. It would add more to the act were it done a bit miore subtly. Turn can't miss, however. ..for top audience reaction. Paris' work with marlonets has be- come pretty much.standard now and never falls to dick. His figures are spotlighted on the stage while Paris is in full view but unobtrusive be- cause of the lighting and his dark costume. Herb.^ ORPHEUM, MPLS. Minmeapolis, March 14. Ernie Fields Orch- (14) with Esielle Edson, Bye Sisters (3) & Melrin Moore. Bill Robinson, Jimmy Smith; 'Bedtime Story' (Col). This aU-Negro show is pretty much aU Bill Robinson, but .that should be enough for anybody. The plenty evidences of audience satisfaction at the performance caught indicate that the unit, opening here, iW. get by nicely. For such midwest spots as St Paul, Davenport and Sioux City, the previous Jimmie Lunce- fOrd-Robinson combo evidently car- ried too heavy a nut so that this ap- parently, economical layout 'aside from Robinson, probably *was assem- bled to bring hack the ace dancer to these hinterlands. By the time the show reaches the Oriental, thicagq, next month, a number of rough edges undoubtedly will be smoothed. Robinson, of course, takes top bill- ing over 'unknown' band. Despite the fact that he hasn't played here in 11 years, his rep imdoubtedly has percolated somewhat at least into the constiousnes of" the current' younger swing devotees who make up the bulk of the stage show crowds at this theatre. The Fields' orchestra is very much on the brass side, with nearly all numbers of the noisy, repetitive type that neglects melody for Jive. There are four saxes, five brasses and four rhythms. Field goes in for occa- sional tromboning, besides emceeing and conducting. 'Ciood Enough to Keep' gets the band off to a blarey start Then Estelle Edson sings in lively fashion Tve Got It Bad' and 'Swing Time Up in Harlem.' Individual band members grab a»e spotlight for brief soloing during Thursday Evening Blues.*^ which is plenty hot The three Bye Sisters mix a little stepping with their swing vocalizing during their satisfactory renditions of "Dadd/ and, 'Hi, Now.' Melvin Moore, still another singer, does all right with a medley of the day's pop hits and finishes with 'Marie,' The band's torrid 'Swing Junior' gives the drummer, Dick' Dixon, the chance to engage In some lusty pounding. Robinson has everybody happy with 'his ingeniously contrived and perfectly executed soft shoe crea- tions, exXiberance, good humor, mil- lion dollar personality and all- around talents. With a bit of clown- ing, storytelling and gagging inter- spersing the pedal shakEog, It's en- tertainment tops. Jimmy Smith comes on to hoof. .several musical selections on a dance-a-phone In- strument a novel offering, and he and Robinson finish with some pre- cision stepping. A good house at the Saturday af- ternoon (14) show caught ■' Reci. PARAMOUNT, N. Y. SfOite, Jftupn^Zmaig, amtt Bonny Connec BosttitU, Pop* ft Louie, Bob Winiom*; Til* Fleefs In* '(Par), retrfetoed In "Variety,' Jan. 21, '42. It's- old home 'weck here, and for the regular Paramount tana they're getting ft heavy dose of their favor- itea both on screen and stage. The picture, "Flget'a In,' la made up almost entirely of talent who have at one time or another pltiyed this house in person. Dorothy La- mour. who stars; Eddie Bracken. Gil Lamb, Betty Hutton. Cass Daley and the dance team of Lorraine and B^og- Ban all of whom are In the film, have all worked the stage here. Jimmy Dorsey's band, also in the picture, never played the Par. Current band on the pit platform, that of Les Brown, is here for the first time, but Connee (nee Connie) Boswell, Bob Williams and tiie Pops-Louis pair are repeats. The Brown band (15) has been coming along fast and probably will become one of the top outfits in the business, Musically, it's got the goods. It plays only two numbers by itself, giving more attention to the vocalists, who, in 'addition to Miss Boswell, Include tfiree singers carried by the orchestra—Jtalph Young. Buteh Stone and Betty Bonny. In Stone, singing comedian, the Brown band has a l>ig asset He also clarinets with the orchestra. Stone Is doing four numbers, with 'Good Man Hard to Find' and 'Feets Too Big' putting him across strongly. Latter number, closing, Is sold ex- tremely well. Young and Miss Bonny are on earlier. Former, a baritone, does ' Tis Autumn' acceptably; while Miss Bonny vocals 'I Said No' and 'Joltln' Joe' a number that's a bit aged. Both Young and Miss Bonny could Im- prove their selling, though they ara getting over okay. Miss Boswell closes, stopping the show. She Is on 15 minutes and Is a pp-werful click all the distance. Dressed in white and standing before the microphone, her routine includes 'Sweethearts and Strangers,' 'Heart of Texas.' 'Don't Want to Walk,' 'White Cliffs,' and for a strong blow- off sings the national ahttiem, with the audience rising to do it With her. Miss Boswell's 'White Cliffs' arrange- ment, excellent includes a recitation portion, while backgroimding on the drop are appropriate scenic effects. Pops and Louie are not on so long, dojng only a couple of aott^ioe num- bers, but they're big hits and had to beg off. Williams, with his dog. Red Dust, likewise scores decisively. The lovers of Jive who haunt this house didn't fail to go all-out for this great dog act "Whole show runs 80 minutes—just right. Char. STANLEY, PITT Pittsburgh, March 13. Chico Marx Orch (15). Lorraine k Rognan, 4 Jansley*. Ginny Perkins, Ziggy Lane; 'Dangerously They Live^ (WB). Band Leaders' union will probably have to throwAip a picket line around <%ico Jfarx. He's showing every- t>ody how useless stick-wavlne is. Once his orch (It's a new Ben Pollack outfit and a good one, too) strikes up. Marx Immediately relaxes. H« sits over in a comer of the platform, waving his baton disinterestedly whenever the sjplrlt moves him, .which isn't very often, end mimches away at a banana. Kind of a pleas- ure for a stage to have a comedian, instead of an animated piece of oak; fronting young men with horns, espe- cially a comic like this Marxman. He's rigged up In his familiar screen sartorial 'splendor' and kids custom and tradition among ' the maestri with malice aforethought Result Is an extremely amiable entertainment not only musically but in the other departmenta as well, what with two such socko acta a* Lorraine and Rognan and the Four Jansleys looking after the extra-cur- ricular stuff. Band, made up of flva saxes^ three^ frombones. three trum- pets, piahd. guitar,' bass "and' diriims, gets things off fast with 'Heart of Texas' and Ginny Perkins keeps it moving. Gal sijnger, in starle. resem- bles Martha Racye crossed by Betty Hutton and Judy Canova. and wows 'em with some Hawaiian Jumpln' Jivt and 'Now They Call It Swing.' 'Blues in the Night' Marx introduces as 'a number never before heard on any stage,' and Jansleys foUow with their risley mop-up. Four men. their foot- spinning and balancing Is A-pIus. but they're missing a bet by not enlisting Marx for a stooge midway In thi turn. Band's male vocalist Ziggy Lane, has a nice voice and knows how to use it but he's making a mistake in using numbers geared at the same funeral tempo. This Love of Mine' and Dear Mom.' They're super- arranged at such a yawning gait that nobody would be surprised If the boys on the stand take cat-naps be- tween ncrtes. Fast tune. Ben Pol- lack's 'Shondel.' foUows to pick things up again, and ttien Lorraine and Rognan' come. on tor th.elr (Continued on page 22)'' "<