Variety (Jul 1946)

48 VAUBEVIIXB PftMEfr Wednesday, July 17, 1946 Night Club Reviews Continued from page 46 their standard marioncting. Wham- ming 'cm in this show is the colored White and Peace duo, the former serving as the Lewis "Shadow" in his by-now standard "Mc and My Shadow" number, which for years had been done by the -maestro with Charlie "Snowball" Whittier, now in the Army. When White and Peace, especially the latter, go it on their own with their varied comedy, they wrap up this show tighter than Miss Du Bois' bra. Among others in and out of the show are Frances and Gray, with their interpretative dancing; and the 4 Esquires, in the production num- bers. Knhn. Starlight Roof, S. V. (FOLLOWUP) Any review of the Lombardos should be kept in type. They've been going on and on, in the same standard manner. Like Old Man River they keep rollin' along, in the same standard pattern of whipping up rhythmic dansapation of a cali- bre wnich belies the late great Larry Hart's lyric about "I can't recognize the tune." With the Lom- bardos the melodies are dominant, graceful, suave and appealing and if. mayhaps, their billing about "the sweetest music this side of heaven" is a shade too blurby and press- STEVE EVANS Offering HAPPY TIMES & JOLLY MOMENTS .Cl'KKESTLY . 8TKI ; BKVS CAFE. BOSTON ROSES-ANOEK ASSOCIATES agenty, there's no gainsaying its standard appeal through the years. The Lombardos, like the few greats who have survived through the years—Ted Lewis, Paul Whiteman and a .couple of others—are now second-generation attractions. But there's nothing a.k. about Guy. Carmen, Liebert and Rosemarie, of the clan; Don Rodney's vocals; the twin pianology; the Lombardo Trio, etc. Rosemarie, the kid sister, most recent addition, evidences her' two years' seasoning quite audibly and well. The aggregation has proved its b.o. rating year after year. Be- tween' the marathon run at the Roosevelt hotel its only alternate Gotham hostelry has been the Wal- dorf-Astoria Starlight Roof and this marks its sixth date, which certainly is. a milestone of some: sort. Alternating is Mischa Borr's rhumba-tango combo during the supper sessions and. on his own, plenty OK for sound and hoof. Abel. Persian Room, Hi. Y. (FOLLOWUP) Rosario & Antonio have a yeoman job holding the floor solo as the new specialty with the crack Pancho or- chestra at the Hotel Plaza's Persian Room, but the "kids from Seville" manage a tiptop job with a varie- gated concert of authentic Spanish dancing that's in a class by itself. Splitting up their routines, by alter- nate specialties, and featuring their own guitarist, J. Villarino, and their special musical conductor, Silvio Masciarelli, with his piano soloing, they unfold a highly ap- pealing Espagnol terp routine. All of it bespeaks extraordinary authen- ticity and painstaking preparation. Pancho has a crack dance band of liV 'per usual, and seems to be in . a Central Park South groove, shuttling here from the Essex House a block west of the park-side, and due back there again Oct. 1, before shifting to I he Waldorf. Mark Mohte's alternat- ing unit is a corking relief combo, getting plenty out of four .pieces. Abel. H>»eh Walk, iiii (EDGEWATER BEACH HOTEL ■ Chicago, July 12. Joe Jackson, Jr., Nirska, Rennld & Rudy, Henry Grant, Song Stylists (C), Line (l(i), Henry Brandon Orch (18) with Donna Lane & Jack Millon; $1.50-$1.80 cover. Picturesque setting of this huge outdoor nitery is perfect background for the elaborate and perfectly executed Dorothy Hild production. Standout is the line, featured in two nicely costumed numbers, "Story of Perfume" and "Butterfly Fantasy." Decked but in nifty gowns, line parades around the large floor in a Greek legend routine portraying the nine Muses of poetry—art. science, etc.—with one shapely femme pinch- hitting for the modern Muse of Per fume. Mc. Henry Grant gives with a running commentary while the girls do their stuff and the Song Stylists back the number with vocalizing. Second line number features dancer Nirska as the queen butterfly Waving two large pieces of silk cloth that are attached to her arms by wires, to resemble wings, Nirska docs her act with grace with girls assist ing as court attendants. Renald and Rudy continue with the mythological theme of the produce tion as Venus' boy friends in a nifty hand balancing act: Team is sure fire with the payees executing .difft cult balancing routines with an ease that amazed the aud. Joe Jackson, Jr., draws plenty laughs with his tramp cycling act. Jackson in his beat-up garb and open-toe shoes gets 'cm from walkon and his succeeding pants.-vgools 'cm for top returns. Foos. Empire Room, CM (PALMER HOUSE) Chicago, July 11. Imogene Coca, Larry Storch, Gil Maison, Ted Straeier Orch (15) uiith Kittw Crawford, Merriel Abbolt JDoncers U2) with Four Maurer Sis. & Marilyn Marsh; $3-$3.50 minimum. Sole concession made in the Em- pire Room to the commercial spirit of the times by Connie Hilton, who recently acquired the Palmer House, is the steady pop of the photoflash bulbs. Otherwise, payees are blinded by this^show no less now than in the past by one of those glittering production jobs that have made Mer- riel Abbott internationally lamous. And the impressive Chicago debuts of Imogene Coca and Larry Storch must also, of course, be listed for encomiums. Trailing . her motheaten wraps. Miss Coca easily walks oft with the show, despite a little' difficulty ex- perienced at first in projecting to the bleachers those tenuous im- preshes of early film heroines. She really gets with it, and with a venge- ance, however, in. an insane parody of a torcheuse doing "Jim." em- broidered with "Mystery of Life and "Wild About Harry," builds with the trombone bit lampooning Phil Spitalny's charmers, and whoops off like a beaten-up but still defiant Bernhardt, dragging her misbegotten chinchilla behind her. Anybody with almost any kind of a revue in mind certainly can't overlook Miss Coca. Another kind of impressionist, and one who'd show up better if he didn't have the Cocavortings to cope'with, is Larry Storch, whose Churchill and Bogart takeoffs impress most in a long line of unusual items includ- ing also Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, Victor Moore, Ed. Gardner. Garbiel Heatter and Jimmy Casney, to list the least-imitated. His Colman, Lorre. Gable and Morean stuff is only ordinary, but the rest of It stirs up plenty of enthusiasm. Gil Maison, hampered by poor visibility because of the low floor, nonetheless gets a lotta laughs with his ticklish monkey, semi-Great Dane and two pipsqueak terries, who don't always understand his.oniers. Guy's chatter is pat, and the constant ref- erences to "Frank Buck," which drive the zoot-suited simian into a frenzy, is a heat touch. Withal, it takes the Abbott Dancers, all of whom manage to look like they just stepped out of a debutante line despite routines that many another line of chorines would balk at, to polish it oft. Gals' big number is a sparkling interpretation of "Bumble Boogie-," with Hessie Smith, Miss Abbott's arranger, shining at the keyboard as substitute for maestro Ted Straeter, who's out because of illness. Marilyn Marsh, one of the Abbotteers, is soloed as the queen bee, pacing as neat a bit of terping as they've ever done. Other offering is "Summer- time," with Miss Marsh in the lead again as James Whitcomb Riley's "Barefoot Boy" and the Four Maurer sisters on vocals ot the Gershwin tune. Latter don't get much chance to display their wares, but make a crisp looking crew. At the helm is Lou Diamond, show- ing up okay in Straeter's spot. Three brass, four reed, four fiddle, three rhythm outfit cuts the show neatly, and the interim dance seshes please the customers no end, with Kitty Crawford's smooth chirping a big factor. Mike. Cafe Society Dowatown (NEW YORK) Pete Johnson, Sarah Vauohan, Tiinmie Rogers, J. C. Heard Orch ttSJ; $2.50 minimum. "ANGELS OF THE TRAPEZE" THE MOST UNUSUAL. BREATH-TAKING ACT OF OUR TIME NELSON SISTERS in their 4 th SMASH WEEK At the ORIENTAL THEATRE, Chicago ★ OPENING AUGUST 9TH AT THE BOULEVARD ROOM STEVENS HOTEL CHICAGO MANAGEMENT—MCA In keeping; With the dog-day slump. Barney Josephson has come up with a light and brief midsum- mer edition at his downtown bistro. Show features only three acts, two of them holdovers. Entire proceed- ings lake less than 45 minutes. It's a well-paced sesh of music and com- edy, however, and the customers en- joyed it, judging from the applause at dinner show caught (10). Maestro J. C. Heard, whose band backs up the acts, makes . with the intros. Orch breaks the ice with an original, "Bouncing with Barney," in which the boys take solo rides on themes from several famous jump tunes. Band then segues into "Some- body Loves Me," with its trio em- phasizing the lyrics for good re- turns,. Sarah Vaughan, one of Joseph- son's more recent embryonic vocal- ists, offers, a good selection of tunes, well-suited to her phrasing and sell- in? techniques. Her mid-register, wispy voice, embodying plenty of s.a.. make ballads like "I Cried For You." "Come Rain or Come Shine" and "Embraceable You" sound, the way their composers must have thought they should be sung. A so Dhislicated stylist, .Miss Vaughan was tabbed by the Esquire iazz poll, same outfit that pegged Billie Holli- day as one of the tops In her field. Gets plenty of bows for her. work here. Pete Johnson, another holdover, olucks some .fine boogie from the keyboard in unique style. Opening with his own "Yancey Special," the rotund pianist follows with latest recording, titled "1946 Stomp." a ragtime-boogie combo played at a 16-to-the-bar beat that has the au dience beating their silverware in rhythm. With.heavy applause from all sides, Johnson returns for an amusing version of "12th Street Rag" and has to beg off. Timmio Rogers winds up the works with some, good comics. A Dersonable young comedian with, some, fine SDeclal material. Rogers establishes the necessary intimacy with his audience almost as soon as he steps to the mike. Carrying a banjo as his only sidearm, he opens with "Fla-Ga-La-Pa," then follows through with "Good Whiskey and a Bad Woman" and "Going Up," a t ' m . e ' v P' cc e on the* demise of the OPA. stal Sapphire Rm., Las Vegas (HOTEL EL COBTEZ) e. , , La £ Vegas, Juty .8. _, Frank Parker, Stone & Barton4 Joyce de Liso, Bob Feller's Orch (5) no min. El Morocco, Monl'l Montreal, July 13 Yuette, Marc Ballero, Lorraine Kasfc, Hal Hartley Orch (13), Line (6), Continental Trio; $1.50 min. Yvette, seen locally many monlhs ago, still impresses as being one ot the best song stylists to appear here She's got a selling-knack that's' tops, gets to know her listeners and gives them what they want—and maybe a little more. Her "Annie Get Your Guns" items—"They Say it's Wonderful" and "Doin' What Comes Natur'lly" —are boffo as was her Cockney bit about the tot that's gone down the drainpipe. She's also socko with the French songs—"J'ai Ta Main" and ''J'Attendrai." Yvette's knowl- edge ot the lingo add to her sales- manship which is tops. Marc Ballero is clicko in a wide range of showbiz personality take- offs. Guy has an ingratiating per- sonality that makes the crowd take to him from the start. His - Slavic drunk routine is standout and his baseball routine displays nifty panto talent. Lorraine Kask, ballet and aero terper parlays nifty looks with talent in her modiste routine, Garners hefty mitting. Hartley's Qrch plays show smooth- ly and handles customer dansapa- tion. Line routines held over from last show, still clicko. Biz good. Laza. Gypsy Roie Lee tapped for the Latin Quarter, Newport, Ky., start. ing Aug. 9. Jack Shea "The Mad Auctioneer" Wlthet to thoak lay Rappaport, ■art (platter andMickey Aldrldot for a vary pleataat oagagomoat at th« Hippodrome, iarrfeioro. looked back for aa oorly rotora •agofomoot for two week*. WEEK OF JULY II OLYMPIA, Miami, Fla. Thanki to Harry LeWao, Mr. Fraaktl and Al WoIm Direction JACK KALCHEIM 1650 Broadway. Now York City The El Cortez has brought in tenor Frank Parker to head its new show. Joyce de Liso opens the show. She's a sexy looking gal who shakes a mean hip through a Cuban dance. Stone and Barton click with their puppels. Couple work unobtrusively behind a black .velvet curtain, and show a great deal of skill in the smooth handling of the puppets. Dolls include a colored hep cat, skeleton, pianist, and torch singer. Parker takes over next and Is greeted with a healthy round of ap- plause. His opener is "If I Loved You." Follows with "You Are Too Beautiful." "Summertime" and "They Called It Ireland" to garner solid applause. Show Is closed by Miss' de Liso, this time offering a modified Russian' striptease, ' 1 Bob Feller's orch backs the show neatly, and does okay for customer dansapation. Bea. WALLY B O AG Carrontly GLENN RENDEZVOUS Newport, Keatacky MARK J. LEODY COMIC-SATIRIST Management i H.CJ. ALWAYS WORKING 'WHITEY' ROBERTS "Now td wk. Siorlt ('lab, Council Bluffs Slatfln» Jiilj xeili, IJ»tln QuRrler Newport, Kj. T>lr. WM. MOKRIS European Representative Detirei to ettobliih arrangement for importation ta U. S. of desirable Conti- nental talent. Swceiifiil rocord. Contact MRTON SEAMAN, attorney n w. 4s<i m„ si. v., ru. e-raoo