Variety (December 1943)

48 HOUSE REVIEWS Wednesday, December 15, 1945 '■■Frank Fay;- Jayne & Adam; pi Catatio, Radio Aces On Swan Miller, /Tina Baroiiova. tuiih Ray' Harrison and H«rp Quartet, Ben Yost Singers, Gae Foster Roxyettes, Puiil Ash Orch; 'The. Happy Land; (.20th > t Torieu-ed in "Variety'. Not'. 10, "43. The current' Roxy stage show, in for' a ', brief two-week stay (the Jimmy Dorsev-fiill Robinson holiday layout bows in Dec. 22), is some- thing in the nature of a prc-JCmas lull. There can-be no doubt as to the qualit v of the individual turns, ■but token as.an entity it just doesn t jell in the Roxy standard, despite the customary trappings and the usual top production assist.. For one thing; .the Metop ballerina, Irina. Baronova, misses fire completely with her uninspired choreography interpreted in the manner of the strictlv classical ! terps school. • it might" go with- the 39lb street long- haired Met audiences, but for the uptown deluxcr with its- cross-sec- lion patronage, what she oners doesn't fill the bill, despite the fine and-.effective' production background augmented by a quartet of harpists. Miss Baronova .is reviewed more ex- tensively, under New Acts. - ' . The spotting of Frank l ay-in the mammoth house is also a . mistake. The slow, measured pace and: lei- suvelv.-air of informality *a,t are EaV.'s principal attributes definitely don't produce the formula that makes for click .Material in such a house. What makes-it all the more obvious, is that Fay is using two of the sock turns from the recently- closed 'Laugh Time'.vauder. At the Ambassador theatre, and even at the som<!what larger Shubert, where the proportionately - sized.. stages didn t dwarf his personality, Fay. not only put his act across but succeeded in creating an .atmosphere that's- so vitallv necessary for his material to make' contact. In all fairness to the coined i h.. his-John Charles Thomas takeoff and his breakdown of-the 'Tea for Two lyrics remains solid stuff. . ' . Two other acts are also recruited from the 'Laugh. Time' show: One of them is Susan Miller, who scored a neat click with her jive version of 'Coming'' Through / the . Rye" and 'Shoo Shoo Baby,' but stepped, out of her metier with Tm in Love With a Married Guy.'.which didn'tfare so hot when caught. Also from "Time! are jayne and Adam DiGatano. who, as usual, register strongly with their ballroomology. The gal, especially, has an individuality which, coupled with her good looks' and splendid tei'ps style, produced a turn of un- usual merit.- The Radio Aces, just out of the Ul-faled 'Artists and Models' revue, win a strong hand with their stand- ard novelty numbers, including'their •What Does, the Public Want,' which Is used as an intro for the entire bill, their takeoff on the radio . *Super- man'-'Shadow,' etc., trademarks and the inevitable Victory suit number Trio won a begoff. Two production numbers are high- lighted, including a carryover of the Marine outfitted Roxyettes in ah un- usual drill routine which also fea- tures the Ben Ybst Singers, and their opening ballroom ' dance, which brings on the Di Gatanos and is dis- tinguished by elaborate costuming of the chorus. ... . House was capacity When caught (8). Rose. children, a moppet about two years old: Stubholders.go. far her in a big way: . '- ■ ' ... Richard Gordon ' tees off. with 'Great Day.'and. then goes tntci two numbers from -'Oklahoma.'.'.Oh. What a Beautiful Morning,' and People Will Say." He finishes with 'Donkey Serenade.'. Solid hit with crowd wanting more. ': ■ ' , Biz good at first show. . . Earl. Palladium, London London, Dec. 1. Liirnn It MrShane, Binnie" Hale; Rau-ic. «t Landauer, Cyril Fletcher. Richard Haydn, Lamar & Rositfl, Boh Ardtn. Matfvis Ray, Fred Silvester k. Ncphcu-, Palladium Girls. Oriental, Chi Chicago, Dec. 10. Art' kassil Orch .(12) with Gloria Hart & Jimmy. Featherslone, Danny Drayson. Al Stove & Kaye Lee.. 3 'Pretenders; 'There's 'Something About a Soldier' (Col). .' Art -Kasscl. .Orch-.a .biff favorite in these parts through his long, runs ut the Bismarck Hotel., heads - current bill'and the. patrons are .finding his sweet. ..soothiiii,' music a welcome relief from the loud, brassy bands that- have played here in the past few months.. Kasscl's instrumenta- tion and arrangements bring out the best there is in a. melody. Opening, the band plays Kasscl's own tune 'Hell's Bells' followed by a semi-symphonic arrangement ■ of 'Sunday, Monday or Always- with vocal by Jimmy/Fcathcrstone who then solos 'People Will Say' with a pleasing -delivery. Gloria Hart, songstress.; with, the 'help of a sailor f rom the audience contribs •A Bundle of Blue' another Kasscl composition and a. trio comprising Kasscl. Featherslone and -Frank Folmcr warble 'Honey I'm in; Love With You.! Ben Sands, /pianist renders Grieg's Concerto to fine re-, suits and Gloria Hart returns to do 'Ma. He's Making Eyes At Me.' 'No Love. No Nothin' ' and 'Do It Again' for/solid click. .Band, Kassel and his sax. Fealherstone and Miss Hart do medley and the. outfit closes show with a .Christmas medley. :, -'■ The Pretenders, three youngsters arc-another act doing panto to .re- cordings. Town has. been' saturated with .this' type of act and it is no longer a novelty. They do the us Ual Bing Crosby. Cyril Smith and his 'Sow Song.' the Andrews Sisters and garner fair applause.. Danny Draysori is a solid hit with is swell dancing. Opens with com edy song 'Can't Do a Thing With My Hands' and then wows. .'cm with nifty tap routines, interspersed with comedy chatter: His eccentric steps are tops and the Will Mahoncyish 'off to Buffalo' stgff' is sockeroo. Al Stone, assisted by Kaye Lee has 'em literally in the aisles all the way with a clever, line of comedy patter. Of the old school. Stone": timing is perfect and he gets results out of every line; Miss Lee- is as able foil and the combination of chatter, a little trombone playing by Stone which led up to the pants dropping- exit added up to a hit in any language, Mprg. ► Tower, K. €. . Kansas Ciry, Dec. 10 Richard Gordon, The . Brad/ords (Si. Jol(iniy Mack. The Lippincot! (2). Evelyn Ecrit;. Tower Orch (9) U'illi Jack Parks & Marilyn Ballinger; •Dancing Masters' (20th) and 'Alaska Highway' (Par). Circle, Indpls. Indianapolis, Dec. 12. • Rius Morgan Orch, toith Sylvia Grey, Jesse Vance, Walter Link. Pee Wee Lewis; Nan 'Rae fc Mrs. Water- fall, the Albins (2)-, Topsy; 'Gang- way for Tomorrow' (RKO). Management 1 has taken standard vaude program; brimful of talent, and given it a revue selling, with re- sult it detracts from the tulent. dis- playod. It would have been .much better if bill was played as straight vaude which, after all, is what it is. Opening with dance scene, lack Magic' show starts off to slow gait, with Lamar and Rosita, Argentine dancers, .who have been here for years, and no longer a novelty, doing a semi-adagio. dance, supported by Mavis Ray and the Palladium gals. Bob Arderi also sings number-from which scene gets its title. Result is slow and langorous. Michael Howard, who follows. -ob> viously has talent and easy delivery. But some of his humor is more suit- able for stag audience than the. Pal-' ladium with its family trade. ; Cairoli rothers, Italian refugee father and son. are .'extremely Clevel- and versatile musical. clowns. : T.cam has been around for two seasons and offers very little-,,that's new. But they stop show and are forced; into double encore;-an unusual occur- rence. Team should have little diffi- culty in .hitting high spots in Amer- ica/whether stage or nitery./ ; . Bihnie Hale, strictly revue artiste/ is Somewhat-lost in vaudeville. She relies, maiiilv on takeoffs. which in- clude. Evelyn.Laye. Bea"Lillic, Fran- ces Day. Vera Lynn and Gracio Fields;-with-latter the most, realistic. Richard Haydn, undoubtedly clev-. er. is also misfit for'theimassive Pal: ladium. While his - lecture- on culinary, art is full of \vitticism. it is more suitable for an intimc nitery. ■Rawicz:and Landauer, two Conti- nental pianists with- radio name; score splendidly, in series of classics including Eric Coalc's 'London Bridge;'- a Strauss Viennese medley and their owii conception of 'Melo- dies of Tschaikowsky,' which is used as dance ballet for Lamar and Rosita. and Palladium , gals. . Very effective; and only instance' where -production helps the vaude. . . Second half of bill is- devoted ■ to drawnout sketch, to give Lucan and McSlianc chance to display- their histrionic ability. ■ Sketch is ov.cr- long (in. six scenes), and proves team, although brilliant, particularly the male of the duo, who. is one. of the best . female ' impersonators around, can'become boring in-too long a vehicle. ; Cyril Fletcher, in own particular brand of comedy, a mixture of cockney and Somerset- shire despite being injected in Irish setting, manages to get over well. This is more due to his radio repu- tation. Fred Sylvester and Nephew are a)so injected in'the Irish portion of the show,'and also go over. . Show is in for 12 weeks, although most of. the acts have, four weeks r contract with option. Afternoon show was . 80 percent capacity. snappy tfcrging of "One O'Clock Jump.' - . J . . - . Leonard Sues was solid win the Orpheum audience, his trurnpeting being of the style that is liked here. His opener is the jivy ."Steam Is, On the Beam.' For complete change of pace he-does "The Rosary' and then switches back in the groove with 'St.. Louis Blues' /and 'St. James In- firmary.' All-- pleased, Ross and Stone, hitting the film-vaude houses again after camp show treks, went over with li/bang.. .Hoss- runs, off some rapid-lire chatter, baritones a few songs and otherwise ■ sharpen? an excellent standard turn. ..His lackadaisical femme partner ..\ycarily stooges and. dances for good -laughs. ■Lvons" orch features .tour violins and' a viola in the new grouping to plav the excellent Forrest arrangc- meiits and'outfit is further bn-"je sweet side with- four reeds. : Only three trumpets and one slide arc used, and the instrumental- back- ground lends best support to Miss Forrest's individual singing. Brog. Keith's. IndplN. fndiaiuipolis.Dcc.il.. Bnrloii 4 Brady, 3 Iu'anou's. Ro'tisse & Co., Jed & Audrey Doojcy, June Han'. U Foliie* ■ Beauties, Ed Resener -House orch; "Ama;.in ■ Adt'O'irt-Hre' (PRC I. .-. Keith's slay.s in . the jjioove with a nicelv balanced bill that features some light magic, spectacular, aero batics. J;nock-abot:l comedy./ trick .-rope' twirling and bicycling stunts, a Stale, N.Y. Grail Family (5). The Mundels (3), Peter* Sisters XS), Joey Adams & Tony Cangoneri, Diinnin^er, Rnoy . Zujerling's, Pit Orch; IPhantom of the Opera' lLO. ' . Prior to: his excursion into radio on Uie Blue network, which has given Dunningcr .a' wider r'eputalion. with the lay public than he ever be- fore cnjoj'cd, the mindreadcr's ap- pearances in' theatres were rarities. His forte was pi ivate;entei'Uinmehls' —and at very big money. -His forte still isn't the theatre medium, with or without live radio ballyhoo,' be- cause of his tin fortunate tendency to. give his atidierice the probably false ' impression of an; overbearing;, egbtis-: - ticaV perspnalily. ... . : The Amazing Mr. .Duniuhger does some amazing •tricks'' :<in: quotes.., because he claims there's no trick to it and offers a $10,000 - reward to anybody who can prove, -lie uses stooges). He brings eight people up but of the audience and. he reads, their minds on figures, names, a se- lection fid phone book and, finally, as his one trick of magic.lv pulls a glass of water out of a sup- . posedly ehipt.y bag while two of .the.- witnesses are hanging onto .: his, •wrist's.: But at ;no lime docs he prb- ject a spirit of warmth: his humor, is dry to the point of being cold. He", has tile audience leaning backwards within a few minutes after hiS-first entrance. ' , . Otherwise.: the s|\o\v .'... a nice, i variety enlcrtainmont, opening ."with. line of girls and a sparkling emcee. | e ( u st . |M . cscnt j^y vaudeville June Hart who runs the show- smartly and entertains in fine style when her own turn comes/. ••-Miss Hart, who lias lots , of'. per- sonality, starts the acts off., with snappy inTro'ducfibiis and rcsi.steis niccly with some tuneful work oh he accordion.and nifty lap routines;: The three I.wanows, in the closing spot.; give" the show a; sm;is)-i finish- with-'seme eye-popping stuff on the high bars. Their exciting leaps-and somersaults in mid-air have:the.cus-- tomcrs holding their ..breath. ■ The two guys and. gal also know how. to grab laughs. •' Rousse, a full-dress magician, springs a routine of slick tricks in which he uses volunteers-from the audience to good adyaiitape. Bar- ton>aiHl Brady, another dress-up act, hit the funny--bone with/a smart drunk routine, with some brenk-neck tumbling efforts for added eflec- Jed and Audrey Dooley get a nice hand for itheir. expert rope twirling and cycle . specialty.. The line of eight giWs appears, in three attrac- tive, dance routines. Biz was average when caught. ' .■ . Corb. ' The Yule season is reflected in the current stage bill at the Tower. Set- ting is built with an oversize Christ- mas tree, trimmed with the custom- ary ornaments, as its focal point. In- cluding four -standard acts, a 'Dis- covery Night' winner, and house orch, the shbvv runs 40 minutes. . Show gets underway as the Tower orch revives 'White Christmas.' Ray Hughes, .pianist, takes a few bars alone in the rays of an overhead spot, and Marilyn Ballinger does: the vocal effectively. The m.c. this week is Richard Gbrdoh, tenor, who closes the.show in his own act. ' First on are the Lippincotts. in a magic act. None of their tricks are particularly new, but are worked smoothly and with okay patter. Such effects as the magic bouquets.. the oriental duck ' trick., the vanishing .'pigeon' routine 'and; others are cli- maxed by a finale in w-hich the rtiys- - tic causes a small monkey to dis- appear. House at the opening show liked it. especially the iuves. ■ Second slot has Johnny Mack, tap dancer. Well-groomed and easy- working, he. does some heat hoofing of lop quality/ For./inale he does ah impression of Bill:.- Robinson, with the familiar gags and business of the popular-veteran:. ^Discovery Night' winner is a pretty blonde. Evelyn. Ecrit'. who swings out -witii the oldie, 'Oh, You Beautiful Doll.-' The girl has a pleas- ant voice, and she .registers solidly. ■Two hows and beg off. Next-to-closing has the. Ave Brad- fords, a father and four children, ■who' have a balancing routine. The standout of act is the youngest of Russ Morgan, a band leader with an ear for a melody, is making him- self persona grata with the crowd at the Circle this week in a smooth show ;that features first-rate" music on the subdued .side, a couple of high-class soloists and three good acts that provide plenty of novelty and comedy relief. Morgan himself rates tops With the fans for his quiet, unassuming manners. . his genial showmanship and excellent work on tlie piano and trombone, particularly in. a medley of his own pieces thai highlights the musical:program. He also registers as emcee with a line of funny.yarns, sprung in informal style and always in good .taste. After the theme song, Morgan calls Out Sylvia Gray for'.a couple of swell vocals on 'Stormy Weather' and They're Either To Young .Or -Too Old." .The band then swings into a concert arrangement of- Jerome Kern's timely tune, 'And Russia Her Name;' with Jesse Vance doing well on the .sen.timchlal lyric.. Mor- gan, clicks /with the piano medley highlighted by' his latest, 'Homespun' and clinches the -good impression with a vocal as well as trombone solo on.'Small Fry.'. The band-has a good brass, choir"-but Morgan doesn't Jet it drown out his fine set of violins. Nan Rae and Mrs, Waterfall'pro- vide the heartiest, laughs.' working the: irivervicw gag. with Mrs, Water- fall coming up out of the audience to meet Miss Rae at: the mike. The meeting of-minds develops fact Mrs: Waterfall is a 'torture' singer, so.:she Orpheum, L. A. Los Angeles, Dec. ft. Helen Forrest, Ross & Stone. Leon- ard Sues, Bid King, Sleepy Williams & Pop, Selika Pettiford. Al Lyons' Orpheum Orch (17); 'Aduciiture in Iraq' (WB). 1IKO, Boston Boston. Dec. 10. Richard Him ber Orch (15); Eunice Healey, Ziggy Talent, Buster West Lucille Page; 'Crazy House" (U). Well-balanced bill . of standard vaude acts are backing up debut of Helen Forrest (New Acts) as. a solo singing name on the Orpheum Stage this week. Al Lyons' house band has been built up with extra side men brought in by Miss Forrest and Manager Bill Burton for her initial stage: engagement.' Fourth show tonight had' all the earmarks of Hollywood prcem. lights and crowds outside and special guest stars from the film colony in- side to acclaim the singer.. Work-, ing on stage after Miss Forrest-, fin- ished her final stint of the day were the Condos . Brothers, - wjth Nick m.c.'ing. . Boys'clocked off a dance routine and Steve did a trumpet solo in the absence of Harry James, former , boss of -Miss Forrest's. Buddy Moreno, crooner.. with the James band, substituted for the leader but didn't have. a -chance to : tell crowd James was working ' at' Metro that night and couldn't make advertised appearance. Dick Haymes ■ sang 'Night and Day' as his contribution in the afterpiece. Taking bows from box seats were Connie Haines, radio singer, Carole Lahdis. and Martha- Raye.. House was a bedlam when spot caught- Miss Rayc and forced her,to come on stage for some non- sense. After'"getting there crowd refused to let her go and kept her. spinning- jokes/ grimacing' and gen- erally clowning. She: was finally able to leave after doing a routine with, the Condos: but patrons were Combining a sleek radio style with a solid- jive stage style. Richard Himber's band's putting/. out a superior- brand . of stuff here this week. Band does. 'Hallelujah,' 'Begin the" Beguine,' .'Mad About the Boy" and other tunes, the" last-named featur- ing the clarinet playing ■ of Jimmy Deloye. Marjorio Lee does 'People Will Say' and 'Paper Doll' to cqtch plenty of kudos, while Jean LaSalle registers with 'Either Too Young Or .Too Old' and 'Pistol Packm' Mama,' the band supplying vervy accompani- ments. Outfit achieves nice tone coloring through the use of strings and harp, but doesn't pull the schmaltz such a combination usually brings forth. In the opener Eunice Healey does nicely w ith a couple of lap routines, Ziggy Talent, appearing solo here for" first ■ time since split with Vaughn Monroe band, works hard with comedy ' songs and chatter for a click, and Buster West and Lucille Page wind up with standard 'Fleet's In' routine. Biz. way. off following Sinatra sesh opening show playing to half-house Any show -.following would be nat: ural anti-climax, but this one man- ages to do okay nonetheless. Elie. rarities, an all-girl:dahcing and sing- ing flash! The Gray-Family. The war has also had a slight effect on this standard . turn' via the absence, of .brother - Leonard, now the armed forces, but Jbc- live good-. ' looking, well-costumed sisters are - Still hoofing ' niftily; . and Maisie Grav continues to score with ."Loch Lomond.: her. burr leaving no illu- sions, with the audience that this; isn't a bpnuic Scotch lass doing the :■ singing. Their routine in cowboy, coslunios is a far cry from Glasgow, but closer to home is their killed, number.' On fast, working fast and off. fast, they; get.the show; started •• okay. • • Joey Adams is the bill's m.c. and also keeps things moving,: working between- each act, later in .a set.' routine with ex-champ Tony ..Can- zoneri. and in comedy bits with the Peters Sisters arid The Mandels- as - ell. Adams' rriaterial has its. weak points, especially his constant refer- ence: to his draft status, but on the ..hole he's a satisfying comic. In his wofk'with Canzoneri he's giving the ex-lightweight kingpin more of a cuffing than Tony ever got in the ring—and more than one would think any fighter of Tony's calibre , would agree to take, money or no money—but it's . "all handled : good- naturedly and for a lot of laughs. Canzoneri's imitations of screen w.k^, all done like Edward G; Robinson, is in itself a good comedy bit, but: could have a better finale punch. The Peters Sisters may be Har- lem versions of landing barges, but. for all their heft they vocal a good song and hoof as though they were each 200 pounds lighter. There's no guessing their combined weight, but must be close to a large-sized blockbuster. They've been around plcntv, in nitcries and theatres, last the defunct 'Artists and Models/ and always get across, as they do. here with room to spare. The Mandels, which is the newest turn, hy Willie (and Joe). Mandel,. is eviewed Under New Acts; Scho. warbles 'Alexander's, Ragtime Band." still clamoring for more an^f ' A' '.TiolpAt ^ Tai-lrr.1' in Jai ,VnIa .-. Qhnil' Kltil^le er,Aa/1il,r .1 . Earle, Wash. December 10. Lenny - Gale,- M/iysy' tt-■'•Branch, Lane 8r. Claire, the Roxyetles.: Eileen Rilifir,: Jo. .X.bmbardi's House 'Orch; ;in Old Oklahoma"-(Rep). and 'A Tisket a Taskel' in double talk.-. The.-Albins erit.eitain plenty With some hilarious comedy dancing routines and also show class in their straight stuff. The guy tickles the customers with his imitation of Kar- loff singing 'You'll Never Know.' Topsy, a girl acrobat, docs some re- markable contorting. She sits 6h her head and does a spl.it in mid-air. her feet spreading between a pair of movable platforms! : Biz .was fair, when caught. •• Cofb. Show builds speedily to Miss For- rest's spot, opening with Lyons and Selilta" Pettiford; Hammond organ swingstress, running through 'Little Rock Getaway.' Bill King, juggler, is adept with his stocks-iiiTtradc despite game right leg.. Performer was medically discharged from- RAF because of wound. Sleepy Williams and his Pop display clever dance- routines . that are- well re- ceived. Pop, announced as; 74 his next birthday, belies that age \vith ■ Harry - Anger's stage presentation runs to. the Oriental this week; opens with six Roxyettes in man darin costumes led by Eileen Ritter., sinking 'Jade,' a composition, in ftiood oriental composed by Tommy Dorsey and . rden' Clar, local musician, Maysy and Branch go through some startling/feats oh a high unicycle— so high that when they pile up-on it end' to end Maysy's hair-do ;away .up in the fly 16ft. / Lenny Gale; is' an impressionist with a new. line of patter. - His-rou tine-'-, encompasses-- Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt and includes •-:. Charlie McCarthy. An encore revealed good bass voice in 'Old Man ,River Lane and Clare write a period to the proceedings with demonstration of "Fighting for the Funnies'.in terms of acrobatic dancing. The Roxyettes contrib an original dance impression of ■Pistol Packih' Mama' in the wild •west tradition. Arke. Capitol, Wash. December 9. Inn Ray Hnttoii Orch, with Stew' art Foster. Kim Loo Sisters, Bill Ames, Snm Jack Kaufman's House Orch,: Lynn Allison; 'Happy Laud" (20th). A listless opening audience on Thursday sat on their hands until Bill Ames woke 'cm up. Sum Jack Kaufmahls overture this . week is a musical antique, 'Bridal Rose." arid, not ■ even ■ Lynn: Allison's vocalizing could/inspire any. enthusiasm, ;. Ina .Ray Hutton is presented in an attractive house set. a back drop medallion fitting in congenially with: pillRrs of rayon. These settings came from .Madison/Square Garden, some of the remnants of Mine.: Chiang Kai-Chek's reception which used 40,000 yards of . raypn. Out of : the salvage the: Capitol got three news sets for $500., Ina Ray Huiton opens with 'Put Your; Arms Around. Me': and then introduces Stewart Foster,, for more vocalizing his most impressive^ num- ber 'While Christmas.' A' 'China Boy' electric guitar solo and in- dividual contributions from the trumpet section and percussions. . The Kiiri Loo sisters in Ihcir Chi- nese vocalizing of pop tunes got some ■ response and a heavy hand when they got around to 'Pistol Packin'. Mamma' with their own variations. • Bills Anics' voice tricks, ranging from Mayoi' La Guardia Jo Wjnston Churchill and including the news commentators brought the. . first lively reaction from the audience. Band closes with their own version of 'Dark Eyes! and 'Swanee/ River.' Arke. '