Variety (Jul 1946)

Wednesday, July 24, 1946 PftRIEfY VAUDEVILLE 55 Night Gub Reviews Le Unban Bleu, N. Y. Wally Blacker, Wallace Puppets, Bob Howard, Ruby Hill, Woro Rauel; J3.50 minimum. Redecorated (good), air-condition- ed (over-strongly) and with a new show (not so strong)., Le Ruban Bleu is none the less a sturdy re- entry into the N. Y. nitery scene. The shows at this East 56th street "continental" bistro are invariably of good quality and, were it not for the high standard usually obtaining, the captiousness herewith would not be accented. Incidentally, with its most immediate competition eliminated, meaning the summer closing of the Blue Angel, the Ruban Bleu has a clear field. Show on paper looks good but Ruby Hill, glam alumna of "St. Louis Woman," still hasn't the makings for the class cafe circuit (see New Acts). Bob Howard steals the show. This jive bomber of the WHN radio'is a graduate of the 52d Street swing joints and knows how to whip up his own rhythmic pops in his own undeniable technique and pianology. A. fetching personality, the slightly burly, Harlem-happy Steinwayist plays familiar pops with a' 1946 at- tack,, interspersing ultra-modern touches to such yesteryear s .idards as "Gonna Write Myself a Letter," "Me and My Gal," "One Meat Ball," "My Blue Heaven," "Same Old Shillelagh," "Old Gang of Mine" and "Hey Baba-Re-Bop." His asides are funny, slightly saucy and once or twice bordering on the rough, per- haps a reflex from the straightlaced style of radio. As a standard with the WHN marathon Gloom Dodgers program, and his own evening stints, Howard is a seasoned songologist and. in this rather uppity bistro, he has 'em hollering for more. Ruby Hill and Nora Ravel, both New Acts, follow, in itself now good sequencing. Both single women should be split up, either by How ard or Wallace's Puppets, standard act seen here' before. Wally Blacker emcees, with piano interludes to fur- ther break it up. Carlo is back at the door, an efficient maitre d', and Tony Mele, who operates the down stairs Theodore's restaurant, also o.o.'s his upstairs,supper club which runs from 9:30 with continuous pol- icy. Incidentally, a longtime cry that New ,York could use a Theatre Dix Heures, as in Paris, when folks look for some interlude around 10 p.m., following dinner, because it's too early for a supper club, And their answer here in the policies such as obtain at Le Ruban Bleu and tho Blue Angel. This also probably will be the policy of Billy Reed's forth- coming Little Club on East 55th street. Abel. Riviera, Fort Lee, X. .1. Chandra Kaly Dancers, Betty Reilly, Willie Howard with Al Kelly, Jack Harris and Noro Morales Orchs; $3.50 minimum weekdays, $4.50 Saturdays, Sundays and holi- days. PffitiEfY < Ju| y 10 > 8AVS: "BUDDY LEWIS —Hot a otfco floor prionoli ty. 0«»» hefty mining fer hit Imprest)** of (Kewbli p*r*onallrl*>. Hi* roirtln* I* tmooth, clean and enUrtalnlrtg." .—Laza. Al rh* Etquir*, Montreal. JUST COMPLETED . . . *%„ J Rctarn RnmfirRirBt Old ESQUIRE (Montreal) s CURRENTLY . . ^kfMfl ■ Return Enftugrmtnt «eVlU GIRO'S (Philadelphia) New York:- STEVE ALLISON Pr.llad.lpWa:- I. ROTHBARD - t. SUEZ COMIC-SATIRIST BELLERIVE HOTEL Far 2 Waaht l«flluiaej Aa*]. 2*4 Management: M.CJL There is that indefinable ■ artistry of the veteran trouper that must surely have its effect on the newer generation of performer, and that's where, such standards as Ted Lewis, Georgie Jessel, Cantor, Jolson and the like, come in. Oh, yes—and Willie Howard. ' Howard is not punching as fast as he did, , say, a few years ago, but there's no doubt th^it he remains^one of the great comics of this or a by- gone day. Taylor Holmes, himself a. great trouper, once put it aptly when he said that Willie Howard is the greatest exponent of timing that there is in the business. At the Riviera, Howard, who has barely changed a line or a manner- ism over the years, exemplifies the best contradiction to the Victor Moore and Emma Littlefleld axiom of "Change Your Act or Go Back to the Woods." Howard, with his standard French professor routine, the double-talk with his longtime stooge, Al Kelly, or the soapbox spiel, can still rely on these though there are some items that he could eliminate. Howard, as usual, is still doing too much Yiddish for popular under- standing. And some of his mate- rial—the kind that can more easily be understood—is far too blue for even a nitery, where the standards are presumed to be a little more elastic than in vaudeville. Otherwise, this bill has two other acts, Betty Reilly, the Irish jiver of Spanish songs, and the holdover Chandra Kaly dancers, both of whom get over. Jack Harris is pacing the band for the show, and . also for the straight customer hoofing, the veteran Lon- don and New York maestro mani- festing, as always, a keen insight into conducting for this type of lay- out. For the Latin dancing there is Noro Morales with what is still one of the top bands for the rhumba- samba stuff. The Riviera continues to do the sock biz that started with its re- opening a couple of months ago fol- lowing a wartime shutdown. Kahn. Panther Room, Chi (HOTEL SHERMAN) Chicago, July 19. Charlie Spivak Orch (18), uitth Stardreamers (4), Jimmy Saunders, Rossie Nichols; $1.50-$2.50 minimum. Maestro Charlie Spivak's tasteful trumpeting paces a layout that be- tides a pleasing four weeks for the customers who like it sweet, dance- able and not-too-brassy. Outfit (9 brass-5 reed-4 rhythm) gets plenty of opportunity to display its versatility in that section of Spi- vak's library dedicated to the prop- osition that the kids who come to the Panther Room mainly to shake a leg will hold still for a floorshow, which tees off with "Flat Feet," one of their latest recordings. There's good ensemble and small unit work in this solid jump item, with a pleasing switch of tempo in the en- suing sugary arrangement of Mas- senet's "Elegie," sparked, of course, by the leader's horn. Stardreamers, crisp-looking femme quartet, sing "Coax Me" and "Broth- er Bill," and orch takes over with another standard, their soothing "Clair de Lune," again soloing Spi- vak. Trombonist Rossie Nichols clicks with a novelty vocal, "Shortie's Gotta Go," and is Joined by the gals in "It's My Lazy Day." Jimmy ILatin trade through bis recordings, and who makes a favorable impres- sion here. Also on vocal duty is Lorraine De Wood, a sultry looking gal who's a good vocal techni- cian with excellent sense of delivery which hides some of her vocal de- ficiencies. Tunes are in the torrid Latin vein, and customers take to her. An act for the aftconados is Roberto and Alicia, a fast flamenco team further discussed in New Acts. The Machito and Pupi Campo bands handle dansapation. Jose. Copacabana, Frisco San Francisco, July 17. Joaquin Garay, Lou Holtz, Jean Devlyn Revue (8), Noel De Setva Orch (8); $3 min. San Francisco, July 17. Following Jerry Lester at the Copa was no cinch but Lou Holtz took it in easy stride and turned in a sock opening winning plenty ap- plause on his dialect yarns and bunstering to keep them happy and appreciative. He gives them his standard bag of comedie yarns on a solid hit. If opening stanza is any criterion the Holtz engagement should pay off in spades. Show opens with Jean Devlyn re- vue, "Going Latin," which is light in costuming as well as substance but which is an adequate girlesque framing' for ' Holtz and Joaqum Garay who are the main items. Ga- ray follows the line's opening rou- tine and contribs his standard song sesh to good response. These in- clude "The Gypsy," "I'm in the Mood For Love," and his split- personality parody of "Rum and Coca-cola" which is surefire with regulars. Line returns for "Oriental Fantasy," which accentuates Bala- ncse dancing. House filled opening night for dinner with many turnaways.Ted. Leon & Eddie s. >. Y. (FOLLOWUP) Although majority of the cafes are in the midst of a business slump, there's no paucity of trade here. Spot , is still the tourist haven of 52d street getting top returns with the same entertainment formula' consist- ing of Eddie Davis—with the other acts as incidentals. More important than the bill is the hosting of Leon Enken and Eddie Davis, who collectively have done more table hopping than any other known pair of bonifaces. Con- sequently they're repeating on the tourist trade with Davis ditties be- ing a greater magnet for rustics than a three-legged chicken. Singer brings out a summer reper- toire containing some new items which hit the crowd in boffo man- ner. His new medley, and a couple of special material pieces have the usual high quota of laughs. Although he's on for about a half-hour, that's only a start as far as the patronage is concerned. y Rest of the current bill has Bob Wayne, «inger - emcee; June St Claire, stripteuse, holding over; also Odette St. John, Gloria Wallis, the Marcos and the Spinning Two, all under New Acts. Sidney Sprague line (12) are nicely costumed and have a decorative set of routines. Jose. WALLY BOAG Currently GLENN RENDEZVOUS Newport, Kentucky Management: MARK J. LEDDY Mayfair Room, Chi (BLACKSTONE HOTEL) Chicago, July 19. The DeMarlos (2), un'th Bonito Montez; Don Richards, with Charlie Sieqel: Ernie Heckscher Orch (10); $1.50-$2.50 minimum. Double-headers are anything but rare in the Mayfair Room betwixt the Brissons, Hartmans, Regans, Sablons and, they hope, Trenets: withal, the summer doldrums will be somewhat more dolorous than usual with layouts like this, acts on tap being nil as far as pulling 'em in is concerned. Not that the De- Marlos and Don Richards don't knock themselves out to please; it's merely a case of a ballroom team and a baritone being incommunicado marquee-wise. Late of "Winged Victory," Rich, ards displays his high-pitched bari Saunders holds down the male chirp tone in an undistinguished lineup , ...nil "OricAnar rtf T.AUP ' 1 pnncictincr nf "Whft Pflr«9 1 ' " Or, rfi n spot very-well in "Prisoner of Love,' and mildly so in "It's Wonderful," but his "Wagon Wheels" is too dragged out and hardly worth the effort. Distaff aggregation joins with him, too, in a medley of "I Sur- render, Dear," "Story of a Starry Night" and "This Is No Laughing Matter," which proves a nice closer for a sleek, summery session. o Mike, La Conga, N. Y. Bobby Capo, Lorraine De Wood, Roberta & Alicia; Machito Orch (13); Pupi Campo Orch (12); $2.50 mini- mum. Monte Gardner, La Conga's opera- tor, is eschewing expensive talent for this layout, figuring that the two rhumba bands will entice sufficient patronage to continue profitable op- eration. On the basis of current at- tendance, he's cased the situation properly, although the show con- tains sufficient entertainment to pro- vide further appeal to the Latin ele- ments, Spot introduces a promising new- comer, Bobby Capo (New Acts), a . ,.„.,. . „„,,•„„, capable singer, who's known to the ringiider in rebuttal. consisting of "Who Cares?," "Begin the Beguine," "Whip Song," Gersh- win and "Annie, Get Your Gun"— "Carousel" medleys, "Whiffenpoof Song" as doctored by Moss Hart, and "Glory Road." Young guy handles himself well but needs something special in the way of ma- terial to warrant going that far overboard. Charlie - Siegel's piano assists are heartily acknowledged by Richards, and rightfully so. The DeMarlos got off at the opener to one of the worst starts of the sagging season with a waltz to a badly scratched recording of "Liebestraum." Ensuing jive to Gershwin tunes reprised from Richards' stint didn't help much either, but things picked up with Bonita Montez' smoky vocalizing of Rafael Audinot's "Rhumba Rhap- sody" while the team flipped them- selves and their derricres around Also sock over a speed number to "Carnival" and tango to "Espanol," latter being a plotty item involving Miss Montez' voice vs. Miss De Mario's shape, with the former walking oil with Ihe male half of the duo and the latter snagging a Thanks Bob Dana lor se- lecting me the top woman enter- tainer on your list of the season's ten best. JANE PICKENS FINESSE A LA PICKENS "Jane Pickens .. . gave one of the most del- icately shaded performances I have ever seen. Such finessel Such dramatic understanding and utilization of the showcase!" Robert W. Dana New York World-Telegram June 24th, 1946 Jane Pickens CURRENTLY APPEARING AT THE ROXY THEATRE NEW YORK Personal Management: HARK HANNA Booking*: MUSIC CORPORATION OF AMERICA