Variety (Dec 1944)

'Wctluesilaj, December 27« 1944 Cnpliol* N. Y. Tom ml/ DoTsey Orch (30) tuifh tJmtle L.OU Williams, Freddie f^Jtort, Sciitinieiitoifsfs (4), Buddy B ch Jess Stacy, Bernard BVothers (2) Bill Bdileu. •'JMlisic /or Mtlliotis" (Metro), reviewed m "Vonely," JDec 13. • Capitol follows Jimmy Dorsey's band with the coiiceit-sized outfit of frerc T. D. for the lioliday period. With the picture "Music tor MiUions," whiuh'drew rave notices, the combo must Bdd up to strong business. . Introduced from the screen via a brief speech by Jimmy Dorsey, a cute idea, T. D. s line ba^nd is a bit friehlening coming out of the pit. It idds up to 34 people—11 strings, in- cliidirig harp, five rhythm (with liiba). five trumpets, three trom- bones, five sax. Dorsey and the Sentimentalists (4). That's a lot o( flesh on a pit elevator and naturally things are a bit crowded for the acts. But, they get along:okay. ■ -Dorsey'.s band, much better musi- .ally thaii his laist appearance. on jrbadway, does an excellent job of entertaining. Its numbers arc well- paced and solidly arranged for the commercial ear as well as for "beat- haoDv" youngsters. It kicks' off with iwS tlorsey standards, "Well Git It" and the ageless "Song of India." then "Sunny Side of the Street," a tasty bit of writing, and "Don't Fpnce Me In," both with Sentimentalists quartet, who. do a neat vocal job as well as brightening up th6 stand. Incidentally, the latter has been dressed by producer Allen Zee in knockout .style, topped off by gold velvet carpeting on each tier. : Dorsey's torle has always been, in •ddition to the intelligence applied to his'arrangements and mainner of presenting his . band,, the taleiit he surrounds himself with. It shows up In this 55-minute show constantly. Therie's pianist Jess Stacy to take the ipotlight in "Boogie Woogie," Buddy Rich's lightning-Iikc drum work in 'Quiet Please," various vocalists, all n addition to Dorsey's tromboning. ie does a-lengthy .solo on "Body and Soul" that's .great. . . Bonnie Lou Williams aiid/Freddie Etcwart. vocalists, come on from olT- lilage.- Miss Willisims is first display- ing fine ability oh "There Goes That Sonjt Again" and"! Can't Give You Anythjjig But Love." Stewart, \vlio has edited considerable interc:;!, is a. i ciil asset to the band with a boy- ish appearance and really swell delivery. He sings well, phrases ex- cellently and generally does an out- (landing job on "I Dream of You," "I'm Making Believe" and"That's An Irish Lullaby." It's all capped by both soloists and the Sentimentalists ' in a version of "Trolley Song" that's 'i .showmanly bit oi work. Two acts are on the- bill with Dorsey. One doesn't get enough time and the other talks too much: First Js the Bernard Brothers, one of the cleverest' and funniest of the panto • acts using recordings. They mimic the Andrews Sisters doing "Pennsyl- vania Polka," Mary Martin and Bing .Crosbys "Wait Till the Sun Shines Nellie" and a sharply-edged aping of Fi'ank Sinatra. They . have others . that are belter than the"Polka" disc and the Sinatra bit -cuts deeply. At any rate, 'they could do more; They're on first, too, another mis- take. Bill Bailey, Negro tapster, is a leally out.slanding arti.st: He hiisn't much room to show his stulT, which . may account for the overtime he dc- ■ votes to telling gags that aren't very bright. However, his tapping gets him over big. Wood. HOUSE REVIEWS 85 tar, witl) the first rate Jim Wong Troupe (6), Chines* contortionists and acros, and Tip. Tap and Toe rounding out. Both click neatly. Wong's turn, four men and a girl, exhibit. a flashy layout of spine- twisting and balancing, good for any house. The three hoofers, in chal- lenges most of the way, are potent, oiie doing rubber legmania, another toe tapping and the'third straight rhythm. Sarah 'Vaughn, vocalist, billed but didn't show. Merr. State, N. V. Eddie Heyuiood Orcli (6), An- taleks (5); Terry O'DouiieU, .3 5uii/t3, Ifnrris, Glaire & .Shnuiion. West & Le.Tine; "Mnrriaee Is a Private Affair" (M-G-M). Unfortunate part about current shows is the lack of sufficient audi- ence to bring out'the full applause quota for the performers. : ■ Openers are the 'Antalcks. three femines and two gentSi who.se catalog of perch tricks generate a 'fine warm- "P- ■ ■ Terry O'Donnell (New Acts) is fol- lowed by Three Swifts, whbs^xpert comedy juggling routine hasn't changed in years. Thiey get their usually high returns. Harris, Claire and Shannon is an other standard act that never fails to provide its allotment of entertain- ment, while We.st and Lexing, former burly comics', do okay with comedy banter and a harmonic take-off on "Donkey . Serenade." . This number liad been done previously on this bill by O'Donnell, but once its different treatment' registered on the stub- holders, repetition wasn't a drawback to maximum returns. Glo.sing the session is. Eddie Hey- wood's orch (6), an outfit made up of superior sepia instrumentalists, who perform as individuals rather than as a group. Highspot of their offering ter tune; The rest of the outfit get their fling in a trio: of other tunes, which register.. However^ the trum- pet, sax, trombone, piano, bass and druin combo would have made n bet- ter effect with moire ensemble work. Jose. Apollo, V. Boyd &: Cftapnmn; Sandfa & Fos- ter; Jim Wong Troupe (5); Tip, Tup * Toe; Billu Ecfcsline Orch (17K 'When Slranijers Marry" {Mono): Apparently this house is counting en Xmas to pull in the trade; there's Jit e on the .stage to hire 'em. That Billy Eckstine band is strictly a wild aggregation and only in two num- berswidely .separated, since one opens and the other one closes the «no\y-^does it play in any .subdued lashion. When it does, the reed and .trombone ensembles really imprcs-S .with smooth and lyric tones that call jpr more, but, brother, most of the time the: blasting would give the walls of Jericho a terrific shellack- loR. ^ Outfit, with tour rhythm, five reed MCI eight bras.s, is dbviou.sly eqiupped for lusty .stuff and th.nfs wncre the emphasis really goes. Do wur drive numbers, and while Eck- nme^ announces the titles, fhev all "and like earstopper specials. 2?'"'^".*ss is given further impetus "1 practically every number, leader features trumpet and .^ax of which, by Charlie trlJl^^:, Dizzy Gillespie ""om the bras-; .section, are good. MVch of this work, is spoiled bv an oveize.nlous drummer, who.se beat 5fi?. plenty of drive, but who makes .Willi entirely too much fortissimo. fwKsiine closes with .several vocals jnat .seemed familiar to ihc pafion.s. yJ[J,.^'-'"ie "SliU in the Mood ftir Jn^;? " •'''aee nttraction. band is wcnk Bhn,l?,s'""*''i^^ '''i!>Pe, there .being no comT?"''',''' in- evidence, and a iSlt^^ ^■'^^^ or sight novelties, emnw "'".ih the overworked bl:irc ■Cl^''';u'^.Pla«s severe limita- •Phr?" '">"'d's theatre values, .•••'d rh two New Acts. Boyd ^naoman. and Sandra ^jnd Fos- Kci<li-», Indpls. . > ■ Indiaiinpolis. Dec. 22, boU Zelaya, Cliff Wiiieliilt, Tom &, Belli; Waters, Marjorie Lane. Judy Talbot, Ray Ic Pedro; "Tlun's My Baby" KRepy. Don Zelaya headlines a holiday bill dominated by specialty acts, four of (he six being singles. They click together nicely and ought to please the 'Christmas tradie. Zelaya still has a way with an audience, getting a nice hand tor his combina- tion of longhair and lowbrow pian- istics. He demonstrates his classic stvle with "Tschaikowsky's concerto -and "Minuet Waltz." playing the lat- ter in fifths to give the irhpresision of two pianos. On the lighter side, he plays "Beisame Mucho" and "Dark Eyes." then finishes strong with a patriotic medley. Marjorie Lane impresses with lier st.-iccato taps and dizzy spins in the opening dance turn. . Ray & Pedro, a IMutt and Jeff team claiming, a Brazilian address, display .skill in bnlanci\'ig tricks blended with com- edy acrobatics that get some laughs. Judy Talbot's stylish warbling of "Someone to Watch Over Me" and "There's Gonna Be a Great Day" plea.ses the eu.stomers. Cliff Wihc- hill. who emcees the show, features expert delivery and .sharp timing in his comedy lyrics and ventriloquist routine. Tom & Betty Waters close the .show with a nifty exhibition of tight-rope walking. Biz was slow opening day but should iinprovc over-the weekend. Cor6. Roxy, A. Y. Jack :Durant, Nicholas. Bros. (2), Git Maisofi, Ben Yost 5ttioers, Roxy- ettes, Pawl Ash house orch; "Wiiiped Victor]/" (20th) Terieu-ed. in "vo- rietv" Nov. 22, '44. The Roxy stage presentation Is a tight, colorful, fast-moving package this week. No big names, although the Nicholas. Bros, and Jack Durant have marquee . valite, but enough solid cntertainmcint to satisfy. Also, despite the terrific b.o.. lure of ••Winged Victory" I20th-Fbx) there has been no skimping in the stage production numbers. . One of -the smartest novelties around in quite a while is'the sleigh- bell routine with the Gae Foster, girls. With the "Trolley Song" as the motif, girls are brought on stage with an old-fashioned, gatidily- paintcd, horsediawh streetcar.- Girls have bells ringing various notes at- tached to their costumes, thus play- ing the tune with every dance move- ment. For the finale the line and the Ben Yo.st Singers, in military cos- tumes, appear in a sock U. S. Army Air Corps number which, ties in iieatly with the screen fare. . Nicholas Bros., sepia tap and aero tcrpers. impress as always as about lops.' 'They tie up the house with approximately 12 minutes of grace- ful, speedy, suspcnseful hoofing. Jack Durant scores nicely with his somewhav familiar, comedy dialog, including stereo mother-in-law gags, draft board hitinor, Gable-Sinatra takeoffs, etc. His- nifty eccetitric comedy (erping, however, cleans up. Gil Maison with his "Frank Buck'' monkey and four dogs, also hangs up a good laugh score with both dialog and animal balancing. Mori, Earle, Philip Philadelphia, Dei:. 22. Vaughn Monroe Orch (16) with Norfoil Sisters (ti, Rosemary Calvin, Andy- Bagni, Mike Shelly,. Bob Rickey,' Johnny Bond,- Jan Murray, Jane Slater; "Strange Affair" (Col). Vaughn Monroe, one of the most personable mae.stros in the business, brings a neat Xmas package to the. Earic stage this week.. . Music is well-diversified with an equal nod to the a.k.s and the bob- bysoxers in the pews! Vaughn, him- .■;elf, gives out.with swoon-producing vocals on "White Christmas," "Very Thought, of You," '•Love I Long For,'! getting an assist from the Four Nor- ton Sisters, who also do a stint on their own consi.sting of top.pops, . The gal quartet, as well as femnie canary Rosemary Calvin, are rigged out in street suits which are hardly becoming and take away fromwhat-i e\ er allure the singers have; , . Bandf^men who garner kudos with their .specialities' are Andy Bagni with his .sax: Johnny Bond, who doubles with his trumpet and voice; Bob RickC'v on the .skins, and Bob Shelby on the keyboard. Latter clicks especially well with the old- sters : on .T tricky arrangement of "Warsaw Concerto." , Plenty' of belly-laughs are heard in the'audience- when Jan Murray, looking like a refugee from ian oxy- gen tent, takes the mike with his refreshing type of humor. Poking fun at his anemic frame, (he guy bows off to salvos of applause. Jane Slater, adroit hoofer, does a neat tap-terpsichore in lier slot in the bill. Biz way off on opening show due to last-minute Xmas .shopping rush downtown. , Shal. Tower, K. €. Ifnnsn.s Ci(i/.'Dec 22. WilA'iiis it Wil/ciH-f. Jordftii D«o Nello Sc. Eddie, Raelene ..Clnyion Toiber Orcly tO) with' Les Hnrdivg: "Sing. Neighbor, Sing" cRcp) and '•Singing Sheriff" (U). Tower holiday layout includes not only the customary standard acts. "Discovery flight" winner and.hou.se band, but also a special juvenile produbtion number which . rounds out a pleasing 40-rhinutc show. FuU- .stage set features a huge Christmas tree. New Year bells and other sea- sonaleffecls. House band tecs off with. a Yule tide medley, and Les Harding baiir tones "White Christmas" and ••Silent Night" to good rettirns. Tommy Wilkins doubles as m.c. The Jordan Duo. roller <kater-:, follow with a routine of the cus- tomary stunts on an elevated round, platform. Next come Wilkins & 'Wflkins. father and son, who give out a l'a,st line of puller aivl top it oir with some nifty tcrpiny. Raur lone Clovton, ••Di.scovory Night' winner, pounds out' .some BB-iiote boogie. Nclltj & Eddie, .sepia hoofcr.s. are. next-to-closing with some irrcky steps wliich click. The finiilo js •'The Wedding of the Painted Doll." with a cast of fourteen eufc juvcs. eleven girls and three boys. Biz good at opening show. Earl. bands as Kyser, Lombardo. Heidt, Busse, Dorsey and James. Their ren- dition of a trumpet and trombone doing '•Flight of the Bumblebee' i.-; tops. Act i^ fast moving and a hit Morg. New Acis RKO, nosfon Boston, Dec. 22. Tde Herioes <5) Al "Whiici/" Roberts, Gird Romnc & Al;ii-n Camargo tcith Mechita & Wiiia,- Jenii Carroll; Mills Brothers i4), - Larry i Flint House Orch. tl4);/'Stceet niid | Lbiodoitn^' (RKO). ■ Straight vaude routine here again this, week, and a fairly weak liiyouf to make a bid for any biz on the nr.-<t foiu: days of the bill. It ran way over first show and was only mod- erately well Received by the handful Of audience. The Herzogs, whose trapeze act depends for-its sock on the shifts the girls make when swinging which j makes it look they're falling but into the auditorium, haven't quite enough variety of tricks to hold attention, but the finale, in. which a suppo.scd , gal from the audience comes up and ; takes, a crack at it goes big. Al "Whitey" Roberts follows with his skip-rope dance and his juggling tricks with plates for a nice re- ception. He handles a GI from the audience nicely on the'stage tor ad- ditioiial interest, and does very well. Next are Giro Ronhac and Alzir;i Camargo and company; Their stuff is too long and only moderately well accomplished, but it goes all right: Next is Jean Carroll (sans Howe), whose monolog is really^ pretty sharp but possibly too intimate for a big house like this one. She finishes with imitations, however, and clicks. The .Mills Brothers, still popular here, do about five okay, arrangements and .are. nicely, greeted. Larry Flint's house orch only does phe tune on its own. but supports the show very capably. Elie. Chicago, €lil Chicago. Dec. 22. Joliiiii)/ Long-OrcU U7) toil/i Alaru Lou Wilsod; Toinmy Morgan, Bob Evans. Taylorclles (5), Tlie C/iords i2>; •'And Wow Tomprroto" (Par). Plea.sant respite from the noisy bands that have been playing local theatres of late is Johnny Ixirig's out- fit topping the current holiday lay- out Instrumentation contains enough brass to become extremely raucous but Long keeps his tone pn a sooth-, ing level even when playing jive arrangements. Result is good listen- ing. . ' , Bob Evans, playing his first theatre enfiagement after month.s overseas entci'taining the armed forces, is as sock as ever. He jsiits over a clever line of chatter, with .songs such ,as "Indian Love Call." "Gonna Write Myself .T Letter" and winding up with •:When Irish Eyes Are Smilinig" to -boffo results. Long's musicrcw opens with '•Shanty Town.^' following with a reed and nuited brass interpretation of ■•White' Christmas." Mary Loii Wilson, band's canar.v, is okay with "Trolley Song" and band rings the bell with •"You Always Hurt the One You Lovp^' and ;i .iive nriiingemeiit of "F.iu.sl" melodies. Long l^kes the sp6ili;jht for the .soloing of "Our Waltz " on his fiddle ;o line applause and brings on Tommy Morgan, ciooni'r. '.'.ho pipes •'I Dream of You." •'Don't Fence Me In." '•The Very Tliouf-ht ol You" and "I Don't W-'iivna Love' Yon" Vo iiire applau.se. B.nnd rioscs .show with "Jingle Bells'' will-! Moi';4;in and Mai'y Lou Wilson , joining, for ihe vocals. - ( - Earlier on the bill, the Taylorettc.s. five kiddies ranging from five to 11 years of :ige,' cohtrib .some nifty acrobatics lor a troupe s.o young and drav.- a heavy mitt, and The Chords, two mm, musically mimic such National, JLVHIe Louisville, Dec. 22. Rav Kinney Uawaiian Orch with Aloha MciidSi Nani, Leitiaala, Coral- Islanders; Colev Worth t Marcia. Johnny Mack; "Lights of Old Santa Fe" (Rep) and '-Ride, Ranger, Ride" (Rep). - Nicely blended combination of Hawaiian and modern music this week, with Hay Kinney maintaining the.Hawaiian motif throughout, but with a good solid rhythm orchestra (12) to background the. acts. Steel and Hawaiiah straight guitar stand but and carry the bulk of the mel- ody. Band opens with "Island Serenade." . with Kinney lending nifty tenor voice to the blend. Band as. a group has its best opportunity playing "Hawaiian War Chant"; while the electric steel guitar solo- ist garners a: nice - hand with his playing - of "Maui Chimes," "Star Dust," and "Walk Alone." Dancing portion of the show, the Hawaiian part is mostly a demon- stration ot the interpretive hula, with gyrations in keeping. Kinney has a line of six girls who look like' McCoy Hawaiians, and their hulas are on the sedate- side. Nani givc.s patrons ' some authentic island grinds and registers. Leinaala, comic dancer, is on for some laughs. Johnny Mack, white tie and tails, gets solid applause for his tap sper cialty, making use .of/a niagic cane. Coley Worth & Marcia click with Coley Worth fit JMarcia click with their' comedy antics. Routine is packed with laughs, beginning with comic violin playing, his Boris Karloff impression with lights blacked out and his. Groucho Marx bit, which caught the fancy of the opening-day house. Biz light at opening show Friday (22), Hold. VIRGINIA PARIS SonRs liil Baptist Churcli, Los .\ngeles A mixed audience of .some. 400 people, including some ol the promi- nents from-Beverly Hills along with the elite 6£ CJentral avenue, heard the unveiling of a great new voice Thursday night (21) in the Second Baptist Church in the heart of Loi Angeles' Harlem. Plus the memory of Virginia Pari.s' exceptional and unique concert, those in the church can also hoard the fact that they .saw the emergence from her chrysa- lis of a hew Cinderella. Feature editors might take notice of Miss Paris, who until recently, if not/now, was in the hou.sehold em- ploy of Loretta 'Young. The 27-year- old Negress, who bids fair to become a second. Marian - Anderson, was combination'maid aiid chauffeiirette to the film star, at the . same tim* ' spending virtually her entire wages on voice culture. . How she was originally discovered, ;ind who in Beverly Hills first heard her voice in more: than disinterested fashion, are moot questions. A couple of music lovers named Mr. and Mrs, Dave Livingstone rate part, of the credit; so do Ben Bard and Elsa Maxwell,. Anyhow, a group of patrons, all oh a part-time financial basis, have been lending Miss Paris their support the^e past few month*. Her progress was nebulous, how- ever, until the Harlem folks them- selves arranged this church concert' at which Miss Paris was the sole per- former. ■ tier voice is true and rich—-th* type of soprano and the'lush vocal quality thait. comes along once. In • generation. It's possible that further expert coaching may add consider- ably to her present talent, but she'i right as. she la for the bigtime con- cert world. At this concert she, won spohlant- bus :and prolonged receptions for each of her 16 . renditions, and the handled with equal ease the difficult arias by Bizet, Verdi, Massenet, Brahms and Schubert and the sev- eral Negro spirituals and folk songs. Incidentally, there's a marked-simi- larity between her rich delivery of ••Ave Maria" and Mariari Anderson's. This audience paid a top of $2.20 to -hear Miss Paris, In voice, appear- ance and stage presencie, and minus the facial acrobatics usual with con- cert singers. Miss Paris is deflnil* longhair boxofficc material. Her first bigtime concert will do the trick. Scho. TERRY O'DONNELL Sineer 11 Mins. State, N. T. Billed as direct from the smash "Oklahomal" Terry O'Donnell comes to vauders with a pleasingly pitched typical musical comedy type of tenor that hits the eardrums engagingly. The lad is tall; blond and has eys- appeal for the femmes. His giving* for the most part are fairly robust, with '•Donkey Serenade" and "Halle- lujah'' as his major pieces. - "I Walk Alone" provided a nice change of pace. He did well cnotigh' to war- '■ rant an encore, and siAcumbed to tht traditional weakness of the O'Don- nells by giving out with '" When Irish Eyes Are Smiling." Stage decorum and piping art excellent, but the prop .smile, reveal- ing gleaming and even ivories, coiild have been eliminated during som* passages for better effect. Jos». 3 Suds Nix $2,500 In Theatres As loser' Although "$2,500 weekly is consid- ered a hot price for a musical trio in vaudeville, here's one case where the offer was turned down because the act figured it would be losing money by accepting that kind of coin. The Three Sun.s, current at the -Circus Room of the Piccadilly hotel, N. Y.. refused a six-week the- atre tour at that price because it' would entail a $1,500 weekly loss pin income from.other .sources in N. Y. . Gro.ss earnings now tun around $4,000 as result of their Piccadilly stint and a .scries of sponsored radio shows for Kellogg's foods, Chatham blankets, Chesterfieldls and Clear- weave, in addition, they are mak- ing a series of transcriptions .spon-' .sored by Interstate Theatres . of; Texa.s, and are recording tunes, un- der the Hit label. pulflt comprises Al.Nevin.s, guitar:. Morty Nevins,> ac-cordlon, and Artie Dunn, organ. BOYP AND CHAPMAN Dancing .■> MinN. Apollo« N. T. -~ Two Negro hoofers whose work indicates they're not ready for vaude yet One of 'em's ok, but the other impresses as prematurely out of tht amateur ranks. Precision work, not very accurai*, opens, with challenge following, clos- with a stair tap that'll be ok, it fa- miliar, when they get the timing smoothed. ' . . They also ought to, change their outfits. Wear boiled shirts and white dinner vest-jackets. Both look Un- comfortable, Merr. SANDRA AND FOSTER Comedy 7 ,-«lns. ApollOj N. T. • Who killed the Dead Sea?" "You did. You bathed in it." 'Nuff .sed. Not a laugh in a carload out of this Negro boy and girl.teain, who parade a collection of stale gags, strictly aimed at the Harlem trade, and not very funny to them, either. They work on a mike, but bellow, nevertheless. ,Not good for anywhere on the basis of ihcir present act, JVferr. Russ Bennett, one time guitari.>--t , Cargill Active Again with Horace Ileidfs band, who re-• Capt. . Jerry Cargill, iiack from turned to his home because ; over two years of service in tht his wife's illness, has taken on an : south Pacific as a .special .services assigp.ment at the Lake .Mcrritt ho-- officer, is again booking concerts ^nd tel. Oakland, Cal. whore he will j .special attractions, function with a-foiir-piece toiiibma- ( Fir,st deal Is a concert tour for tion. ' i ".Air. Anthony."