Variety (Sep 1942)

VednesiJayt September . 9. 1942 VAUDEVILLE 37 Night Club Reviews iContlnued from page M ; Vogue Terrace, Pitt who does a two-act with one of the dames. Costuming looks lilie some- thing out of a top-notch Broadway revue, and routines, while not too strikingly original, are satisfactory. Best moments in the DufTy turn are the audience participation numbers, especially a Maypole finale in which half a dozen fellows from the pews are brought up and made to behave like kids on a lark. It's a great howl for those out front. The Kathryn DufTy Revue will be permanent for some time, but acts change weekly. Currently head- liners are Stadlers, a crack dancing team leaning to the novelty end. Other turn is Healy and Mack, man and woman who get off some swell stuff on the bars. Male half is also an engaging comic and delivers some pleasant gagging while he's perched up high. Vogue Terrace spending most of its dough on the show, using chiefly local bands for a fortnight each. Present crew is Art Farrar's, and all right, too, in every department. Gabe D'Amico, sax formerly with Raymond Scott, is also batoning here while band's singer is Joe Fay, just a kid but with a nice voice. Vocals during the revue, 80 minutes long and presented twice nightly, are handled by Gayle Robins, the m.c. who, registers adequately on both counts. Biz since spot opened short time ago has been sensational. House- holder's test will come in the win- ter since Terrace is a bit of a jump from downtown, nearly 17 miles. Cohen. ESQUIRE, MONTREAL Montreal, Sept. 3. Jon Nicols, Walter Donahue, Lao & AJonsifa, Esquireffes, Line (8), Shotu- pirls (6), Armand Meerte Orch (7); Oht>e Garrard; No Cover, $1-$1.50 fnintnitini. This most intimate t. Montreal's cafes, seating 400 weekends and more comfortably, 300 other nights, fe-itures dancing in current show. And audiences are bating it up. This takes in the Esquirettes who do two niftily wardrobed and one scanties acts in the three-a-nlght, 60-minute shew. Half a house at the opening (dinner) filled out to turnaway biz for t: e midnight petformance. ^ liter Donahue emcees and makes a smooth personality job of it. A pleasant-sounding voice with nico control and assured manner puts him over. Towards closing he does eccentric taps th-t had the crowd calling for mor^. Jon Nicols, billed as a Metropoli- tan Opera-star, which he most cer- tainly is not, Lannot rate the billing, tut has a robust bnritone that needs no mike; he would be well advised to dispense with it. Stepping up his voice artificially he gives it harsh overtones. The vigor of his singing is shown in 'Beguine,' which earned him an encore and merited the solid audience approval. Lao ai)d Monsita. boy and girl Cuban dance team in Latin-Ameri- can rhythms, wowed the mob with some of the swiftest terping seen in these parts. So t shoes on highly pol- ished floor gave him skating and skMng effects and this, done effort- lessly and at speed, at once caught on with the crowd. They gave out an authentically tropical aura that stirred the crowd clean out of its nc thern coldness. The Esquirettes rate a bow for their precision stepology, eye-filling wardrobes, figures and clever pro- gramming. They got a good response at each appearance. Armand Meerte has an orch which, despite losses to the army, is right on its toes, doing a nice job of support to the acts and han- dling its patron dance assignments well. Olive Garrard provides pleas- an interludes at'. e Novachord. Biz good at this viewing. Lane. EMBASSY, PHILLY Philadelphia, Sept. 3. Anne Rubert, Dorothy Whitney, Grace Edwards, Dee Rogers, Charey, George Clifford, House Line (6); Pat Shevltn Orch; no cover or minimum, dinners $1.50 up. George Clifford, the Embassy's fix- ture m.c, has dished up another of his miniature revues. This one is tagged 'Life of the Party' and it fea- tures blonde Anne Rubert, a talented little minx who sings, dances, clowns and plays a mean piano. —The revuette has everything. Orig- inal lyrics, some good and some a trifle on the corny side. The dance department is taken care of by Charey, a hot conga-artist, and more polite terpwork by Dee Rogers. Contralto Dorothy Whitney, formerly of the 'By Jupiter' com- pany, is pleasing with her tuneful renditions of 'You Go to My Head,' and a couple of novelty numbers. Other canary on the bill is Grace Edwards, whose forte is the more zingy rhythms. The flnale has the entire cast, led by Miss Rubert and Clifford, in a bit called 'Born to Swing.' Embassy's air-cooled Monkey Bar was jammed when caught. Shal. MURRAIN'S, N. Y. (HARLEM) Willie Bryant, Eddie Rector, Sam Theard, .Norton & Norton, Maxine Johnson. Margaret Hall, Ta)t Jordan Orch (7), Line (8); $1 minimum u>eelcend.<:. Frank Lezama, manager of this spot, has been talking for months about putting in a topnotch colored show and going after the downtown trade that the Harlem spots once en- joyed. Last week (3) a top layout, by Harlem standards at any rate, opened here. Now if the Harlem crime wave, muggers, etc., are brought under control, the ofay tourists may venture north of UOth street again. There's a new band, headed by Taft Jordan of the Chick Webb and Ella Fitzgerald combos, a new line of girls a trio of okay acts and, for a change, Willie Bryant, the m.c, has someone with whom to work. He stands out. Only weak spots on the bill are the singers. Show opens with the line and Maxine Johnson getting together on 'Marie,' with the songstress coming oR second best. Next is Sam Theard, who swaps comedy chatter with Bryant and does an original novelty song. He was called back for an- other specialty, 'Give It Up.' He works in comedy garm and is solid with the laughs all the way. A production number around 'Perfidia' brings Norton and Norton on for three exceptionally good rou- tines of ballroom terping. For an encore they drop the Latin rhythms for a modem 'rock and ride' refrain that shows their versatility. Mar-1 garet Hall follows with some blue' lyrics, not too well done. Eddie Rector, a top hoofer of the "205, who licked an illness that had him out of action for nine years, is now making his comeback. From the moment he steps onto the stage he shows much of his former class. His tapping is deft and smooth, his waltz clog a nifty to watch, his sand dance the- epitome of knowledge. Back in 1928 Rector and Ralph Cooper, as duo dancers, played the Broadway Palace, and did well. Rec- tor apparently has picked up where he left olT. Jordan's orch is exceptionally good playing the show and for the patron dancing. They play a lot of sweet, unusual for these spots, a.s well as loud and hot. Jordan's trumpeting is featured. Fron. Lynn Farnol sContinued from page ; is apparently taking, seemingly just because he was once a movie press- agent, makes me tired, as it must others. And I can't hold with pundit Dorothy Thompson's observation that the army doesn't want 'promotion.' Who said so? How are War Bonds sold except by good old-fashioned show business promotion? How are recruits lined up for the Air Corps and the Navy except through Hollywood promotion? What helped Air Corps recruiting more than Jimmy Stewart's picture? And does Clark Gable's recent Army en- listment hurt the Army? ' What was General Dootlittle's trip and the awarding of medals in all of these public ceremonies? What about the Army-Navy awards to industrial plants? But. somebody's head had to fall to save somebody's face In the Great Hoax Marker Case, so Faraol looks it. Jack Forrester. Cap, Toledo, Bcsumes Toledo, Sept. 8. Capitol opened its burlesque sea- son here, with Bill Collins as man- ager. Four shows daily, with mid- night show Saturday. Wrestling bouts added every Friday night. •Army' iContlnued from pace around $98,000, but it is intended 1o split the lower floor, with rear sec- tions priced at $3.30. In that event the approximate gross will be $85,000. Mastbaum has 2,379 seats on the first floor. In Washington, where the 'Army' will play the National, capacity gross Gov't's Big 'Army' Cut 'This is The Army' is piling up great sums for the Army Emer- gency Fund at the Broadway, N. Y., and the Government tax department is also getting a goodly slice of the takings. Dur- ing July the admissions taxes, totaled $18,993, and for August the 10% tax on tickets amounted to $22,230. There was a slight tilt of the mezzanine scale in August, also three more playing days, which explains why the tax was great- er for that month. on the week can be $45,150 tor seven performances, but the date will be for 10 days, starting Sept. 29, and there will be four matinees and a Sunday will be played, too. Show is scaled at $530 for that stand, the first night top being $16.50, which should mean a $15,324 opening. Total for the Washington date is figured to reach the $97,000 mark. Tom Bodkin will travel with 'Army' as general manager, acting for A. L. Berman, who is the g.m. of the outfit. Sergeant Carl Fisher Is company manager. OK for Femmes in S. F. San Francisco, Sept. 8. The Board of Supervisors decided that women shouldn't be shooed away from the bar to tables in tav- erns or unescorted women banned from the drinkeries, after all. The supervisors defeated resolu- tions proposing the State Board of Equalization, liquor enforcement body, be requested to clamp one of these anti-women measures on the city. Says Varietyy Issue Aug, 12,1942 ThankM to Bob Weitman, Harry Levine, Milton Berger, Harry Kalcheim Personal Management AL BORDE Direction WILLIAM MORRIS AGENCY WILLIE SHORE Comedy, Dancing Paramount, N. Y. Making his flrst appearance In the east, Willie Shore Is dancing comedian with material and ability tot the best time existing. When caught here open- ing night he scored big and had dlffl- culty getting away. Shore opens with gags that sell and goes into a novelty sequence dealing with the importance of hands. Tops with a softshoe dance that lands strongly and then does a novelty bit In which he impersonates a waiter, cus- tomer, proprietor and bouncer In an eatery, using a small table and chair as props. Impersonations of machine fanatic, various flim stars, birds, etc., all as bits and for laughs, follow. For his closing, Shore ■ goes Into additional dance routines, with the blowofl being Pat Rooney's waltz clog, In which he does those bells as well as Pat ever did them. Shore is definite comer. Char. WILLIE SHORE