Variety (Aug 1946)

S6 JIOIJ$»n KE%'IKWS Wednca<Iay, August 28, 1946 Striiiifl. Bof) CjosIjv Orcli (17>, lut/fi, Toirn CnK)')t i4); DwihUls (3). Do»i CuinMiinps; "Big Sleep" (WB>, re- uicin'ri ill Vakikty, Aug. 14, '46; For payees incliiu'ti to slough Bab from the band, Beneke and Malviii i and Miss Lan« plus a bit of Tex's J whistling. The well-played, ear-doliahtiiiK Miller medley oC liij^her si"iioe se- lections includes distinctive swina > voi-sions o{ ''fiishteenth Ceiitujty ' Drawing Room," "Come H.iin, Come KKO, Boston Boston, Aug. ( have nothing but a shape. Here she ! olfeis precious little of that in a ^ ' i quickie tither o£ upper lower Dtcfc Haymei, Nicholas Bros., Dick < gyrations which she emphasizes with Buckley, the Gravsons,- Itfnrgaret ; the «id of a hip belt of multi-colored Whiting; Larry flint's Itonse Orch < maraeiis. She tHe.s to sing, too, but 120) ; "Cuban Pete" (RKO> . otters little except some whistle: in- spiring wriggles from: the Mexed-'Ufr Cros jy oil lis ndm.i; llie high tide ol i ^,,j„p ••Do„'t Be That Wav" and Dick Havmcs, the mo-st spoctacii- gallery, „ bij? bipthe. s lelleeted glory, it is , ..r,,^ ,n,or,-,per.-,ed lar thing this house has seen in a As a belated afterthought, Don probably a MWrce ol surprise to hud , vocalizing, .'^ct number two, long time, and there isn't any kind ■ Zelaya has been added since this the Croabv Sisters, stops tin- sliow of weather that Can keep him from reviewer witnessed and suffered. It with its travestv impressions of ,Ier- .-.etting the house record it the way ! must still be too little and too late, he started off thi.s show is a typical ; despite the piaiiistTComie,: to ever example of his draw Witiv the bobby make an honest to gooitness^^stage suppleinent to cinema.: Hwt that the inneslro is a smooth and capable entertainer, with more than just a touch of Bin,g's infectious personality.. Cro.sby and- his unit bring a pleasant package to Broad- way, after a'long absence. Ex-Marine mao,-itro'.s band of 8 ry Coloiina, the Ink Spots and .loan Davis,, tlie pair clowning througli -such nulibbers as "Chickery C'hick." l''or a finisher the ..band goes the sw'ir brass^-3 reed, and 4 .rlrytlim is com- j ^.^^ boogie woogic. tanks' delight po.'sed argely ot vets, and Crosby ■ House nearly filled at second sliow makes the beau geste of,introducM,ng .:,,,,,^,iji,,g .jjay Ree,s. each of hi.s featured siticmcn by ' , . .. " name and telling with what service ! » i " band; he worked.' Band's opener is |. ^.Ol Vin ^i^liaitli; .. "Sioux Citv Sue," with Crosby sin-;- | Minim. Aug. T^. iivg, then .scgueing; iiito .gagg.y patter ' Rusx Wyse, Jf„ Nml Stanleii, lien soxers.,' The soxcrs hardly give him a limit with "Hey Baba Hehop" chance, but he manages "Su in the Morning," "This Is Always,""Do You liove Mel" and others, not hesi- > ■ . ■.. .*ifale,:,]X..^V.;-..; ^ .41 Trace Sill!/ Sj/tuphonists (14) tating to squelch the congregation to : with Rud Maddock, Nate. Wexler, get himself started. Receives plenty ; I.ee Piiie.'j; Leiniy Gole, MthTop & of howls. Winds up with "Old Man LiH\ Bill Joli7i,'i(>7i, Wnltcr Nilsson; it\ which he kid.'i . himseU ; aboiil .Mnniiiiijf & IWti^i, Al .& C.bimie f'.a'i- Bing's success, saying, "This' i.s the id": DbmiTie & Ellis, Lcs /{.fioiJe ,t Crosby without Hope.". ■ .' :. House On-h (13) ; "0.5.5." : <P<ir). Group that looks to a vaiirie lind. the fowii Criers conie on next.. Four, youp.gs;t.ers itbey look 1 iUe Uiey're cutting clas.s from HoUywood liigh)^ are part of Croj-bV's rftdio :sho»*. .birt ! palnirdoldi uin; have the sock .selling, of vaMde vefs,in !: :Nenl St:inley addition.,to llie/ability to, dish out sion with Al and Connii- imiH'y. On to pace procCcdi some 0':'ra,,fme chirpini'; in ""ft'n'ts . coiip'e of fresh stories to start llir >il.'My. FiilRers',' ;aiid ''By ^ Sea." ; KidS' are ciei!n-cut iiiid good-looking. B^gpfl' to reiirise later. , . IfHrsf set'n . on the main ■;Stem.;'4n-'t S^iKtiaf^'.-.'-- Kids mix . the taps with well tunred lifts and twists ,tor: top returns. ■ ^ Lcii Mannina. using two canin;: "This Is the Ai.-m.y" the three Diin- .hills haven't rhfinged: their routin- ing, but then .thiere'.s no rc-Hsoh whv „ they should. A fast precision-dr.ill opens in nice manner with a drunk, tap stanza gets over nicely, with an j bit with canine Mitzi. bill i'e.st of added gimmick, of stop-action. Guvs I stint sags \?heii planuetf muscH> con- ..are,,better,,as unit, than when they U-ol and balanciiig with unbillej break un for ,solo stints. i mutt doesn't come oil'. _ Comedian of the Gl'iers; Gordon 1. Doraine and - Ellis look :okay. but Polk._cpmcs on next tor a single and .| ma!<^ half is *A-eak on the pipes and ^ his tenoring is overshadowed by feninie's lyric''-sopraiip itr .lh;.nr,.^son!j-. stanza. . Stanley, in own spot, had tlieni all the way with his inpreshes. Patter River," neatly accompanied by I^arry Flint'.s house band. Leadup is socky sttitT, too, with be.st variety bill in weeks. Gray.Sons please mightily with their lifts, con- torlionis and; adat'ios; Dick Buckley wows with his audience participation mimicry plus, the hat switeheroo; to bring: house :&M<''^if :.f'*':fi«''5*''*^'j"^ ■ ■ diiy s -show for radio cpninnlments) very big with classy ' warbling of ■•.Jt.'Might As Well Be" Sprin,g," etc., whilst clad in a vivid: oratige gown. and the Nichola.s brothers a be,g-olT following' their n'eryy :agilitic,s with; taperoo, A wow show frOm any viewpoint even sans Haymes. but colossal with liiin. House SRO before stagcshow! and Layout here this w'eek ision the spotty side with a., l.il^t froin vlbf l\vj 'oplijie pc' Cary Cranlish lad emcees in ice fashion.: Reels off Faivtoh with .1 blahcod. biend of aeroantic.s and To t'dc/i Hi,s- Own" (Par). Plenty of diverting entertainment on current staiiza at Loew's State'. Bill zips along at merry pace and pleases. Screen feature, "To Each , His Own, " holds over from previous ' week.. Al Trace and his zaivy musikers, comprising three rliythm, five bras.ses and five reeds, set the pace adequatel.y with an opening sizzler, seguing into "Flat Foot Floogie March," which gives the sidemen a field day for : clownatics and noodling, especialVv Red Maddock and Nato We'Xler. Its t. all solid stuff. Trace, : besides; fronting band. S<iM»I Pior, A.r. Atlantic City, Aug. 22 Andretu.i 5iiiters, Stmt irici.i, ^ Elgins, Charles Leighton, Dorothy Byton GirU; "Partnen in Tiiny' (RKO). riVo[iT"'ji-f^d"''""'^''""''"'\^lir^ ^^e"-ixed l^^anff^o"; ^ll^ftT s^l- a house record. LUe. tapslering that gets over Hipp. ItaBlo BaIfi7iiore, Aug. 2,5. well: Team is really there with the cleat stulV, registering in .both iiolos and doubles. Walter Nilsson, coni- Hi, Lo, Jack & Dame. Buddy ^[d.^ '-yclist, interlards his- trick gets heavy retuj'ns, A natural comic. With both si-rht and sound appeal, youngster doesn't need much more than his thin material to draw laughis for "Cement Mixer" and "Her:Bath- ni'T Suit Never Got. Wet." Orch takes an uninspired turn in Lpi«is, Mortielettes (6), Vic Perry, Felice lula House. Orch tl2); "Till lh« lijrid of Time" (RKO). Andrews Sisters,top the bill here this week. '^ Their first appearance in Atlantic City in five summer sea- sons, they played to capacity au- dience. ■ Expertly paced by Patty Andrews they give out with many of the num- bers which have delighted radio record, juke box and vaude audi- ences all over the country, mixing their song.s up nicely with bits of comedy for solid results. "Eight to the Bar." ''Route CO," "Rum and Coca-Cola" and many o£ the old, tavorities- are shot at the audience so fa-st that it barely has time to appreciate the numbci' be- fore Patty is off on a gag with La- Verne or Maxino as foil. ' Gals have lost nothing since their la.st appearance here, before the war. Their timing is: splli-second, their vocaling still a delight, St:in .Irwin, who. emcee-s show, gives out' with nice line before he brings on the Dorothy Byton girls; a dance octette. Girls do three num- bers. Their Hawaiian number, done on . a dark stage with: costumes glowing colorfully from the spots, is their best bit. : ' Charles Leighton really does things on the harmonica, playing old arid ^ new pieces for plenty salvo.s. Poiu' Elgins eliek with, their clever hat and club.juggling. IVnIf.-, cycling with neat funning and regis teis both ways. Bill. Johnson, baritone with plenty I per.sonality and good pipes prac- ] tically sews things up in followup. Lad's ingratiating, informal mien. Well selected layout moves bright ly and builds to effective highlight' gets them from walk on and holds with his routines is on the smart and via p.a. of newly formed Hi, Lo, ! them all the way. Teeing off with "c,, r J Tr ■•■ i -iisv side. Ofteis neat impreshesv of Jack and the Dame, with Betty i' God's Green World" he follows n?piv.nr a'' -rf '^'fi^' Grosb.v j Cary Grant, Donald Duck, Chtirchill ; Brewer thfii hew dame and .strictly with "To Fach His Own" (as a SafS rioi afterward. To i jnrl .Jimmy Cagney for good returns, ' okay. Flashy opening is provided by salute lo the pic) and for change of thrniToh^, f th"''^^ -u^ sla'>''-''s I Ros^ Wysc. Jr.. and his unbilled the Marvelettes. sextette of gals who ■ pace gives out with robust rendition iiiiuutnoni me mil, maestro is j fjmme garner soiiie robust .vocks. ; ring the gong resoundingly with fast ' of "Prologue to Pagliacci" to estab- K?r'hl°-''"V*° "^"'^ 'hough saiff borders rirL,n ',C.,f 1^""''^"' arrangements ' Guy-., hard working acroantic^ and ' getaway. Sm,^ .i P-^ °" "(^ca- oomohish femme's acro-dance i^-ip Buddy Lewis, in the deuce, is a r\?mi? r^?, .^f,./-""''^'"':^''^- 1 .-olid returns. ■ h:ird-working comic who lifts his vnkpl •, does a semi- , x.os Rhode house orch doe^ a fair impressions and mimicry ot person- fr PiVri in l-"^' t^?- ^'U iot> on the backing. Standees when alities above the average groove via iriend in gags, then talkmg himself cauaht . Lari;. " into doin.", a couple of tough rope i "^^m- ^ U- tricks Act is good until he goes -..,«- . into Skelton's television advertising I l^apitOli. W aslli " routine. Still gets lotsa laughs. "I ; WoshingtOn, j4ug..2'2: ..T^i'^'"''' Crosby come back with I Jolni Caluert & Co.;"Boi/'s Ra'ncli I Don t Know Why 1 Love You Like (M-G). 1 Do' and "Doin" What Comes Na-'i tur'lly." Lucy : Ann Polk takes a smokv solo in "l">on'l Know" an^i bui lcy. . tumbling and aero for a sprightly lish him as .solid hit. Comes back for a verbal tribute to the late Jerome Kern topped by vocal of tlie composer's "The Way You Look To- night" for more salvos. - _ 'Trace and lads go to town on well written interludes and really |down version of"Hungarian Rhap- legitimate characterizations. Is solid | sbdy" and .spotlight Pines, pianist, with Durante, W, C. Fields, Ted i for solo on Chopin's "Polonaise," Lev.'Ls and Harpo Marx and registers ; neatly done doubly with army recruit routine, I : Lenny Gale lakes over aiid clicks wh;ch has enough funn.y recollec- , with his furisteriiig. After throwing Capitol turns over its entire sIm.s show this week to the livel.y rovdinc tions. to still draw ample laughter, i a^ay some warmup gags he gets iVIakes ideal spot for yic Perry to , down to business and cleans up on lollow with pocket picking routine, pointed to a boffo finLsh via femme nmh^Mv 2!" "'"^ reaction, could', ol. John Calvert, who put.^ on 4r, ,tooge. Work<c quicldv and inoften- SO as a single with no minutes of magic,. hypnotism and lively and gets off to pleasin.g re- sponse. Hi, Lo, Jack and the Dame utilize trouble. Biz SRO on opening day and the yaude show should help to keep it O'g- ' • Tomm, Orplat'iiiii; HIpls. MiriTieapoli.'.v Amb. 24. Glemi Mtller 07-c)i my with Te.v Beveke. Artie Malvin & LHIioTi Lone, Whitson Brother,? (2) Croshv Sisters ■i2): «Mr. Ace WA). " In its proportions and layout in- cluding a large string section, as well . as, m _ the quality ot its musical emanations, this Glenn Miller or- ganization, under Tex Beneke's con- wctorship, resembles the Paul Whiteman and Tommy Dorsey out- Th;t^'J. * '^'Sh compliment, that the _pubUc apparently gets ad- vance wind of exceptional values was attested at the opening shows when despite a polio epidemic near rl';r,'."if^'* ^ attendance, w^h '^J^'^'''''''"'^* were on hand With 12 strings, nine brass <!ix ?hv?hm^'"thi"''"^K^''"^'^<'' rfiythm this orch is equipped to do full .lustice to the more pretentious musical numbers as well sw°ng oPihe ^^-'t 'hat. Its hnndimg of the .soft, sweet stuff and the liol swing ,s equally good and leave nothing to be desired. The swing is rlT'J"° melodic, make i't^'-"'^"'"!' "^^'^et and ThnL i- ..'"jr^a-smgly listenable. Those distinctive Miller arrange- ments continue to be standouts. Be- "eke IS an unobtrujiive and likable emcee-conductor who lends his tal- ents,, too, to the sax and to vo- ealizmg, w vu minutes of magic, hypnotism and even a little snappy goulislmess. backed by a dozen shapely gals. (Calvert goes over big here and in his takeoPfs of Hollywood greats, in eluding Jack Benny, Rochester, Gildersleeve and Charley McCarthy, with latter particularly socko. Tops this with Ink Spots impresh and satires on soap operas and Kay I , ,. ' , - - same smart four-way arrangements kysei 's airer to merit solid anniause the chmax number -sawmg a man s of top tunes and draw a knowim' ' ^ aiier lo meui soiia appj,iuse cad off—replete with Frankenstein, ^ reception upon initial entrance. Give Jekvl and Hyde and mad clashes into ! out with tricky workings of "Louise." i ihe audience by the ghouls, he has "Cement Mixer," "Doin' What arge segments of the .ludience Comes Natur'lly" and "Blue Skies". ! si.anding up in scats to see wiuil goo;. , Encore of "South America, Take It ! on. Act builds up to this climax Away" is a potent closer. i Edba, Irom a series of routine .stunts in- cluding rabbits from hats. sucees.sive : lighted cigarels, a magic box, hyp-] notism of soldiers and sailors brought ] up from audience and plenty of ii,se of pretty gals. There is nothing new or even bet- Biz good. Burtii, ter in the handling of the stunts, but : Don Zelaya, Million nollar, I.. A. Chico Orch (19), ieaturing Eddie Gomez, uocalist; Marvin & Chrisiina, ■Amoral & Carioca, Amalia Aguilar . Orii>iiiai, C:iil Chicogo, Au.q!. 22. AliiiTio Reij Orch (20) iPitli Jimmy '.Joyce. Jo Avn Ryan, Rocky Coluc- rio. Airliners (.■>); Prof. Backwards, I Dick & Sunny Millard; "Tv)o Sisters jrotn Bot:ton.^' iM-G). ■ <>rplf«>uiii. Oinalia Ginoha, Aiig. 25. Freddie Shirk Orch., Sheilah Rogers, Ca7iTioi!bnll.: Rflj/, Mfttoiie, Dottie Ami. Darei Al Hcndcr,?d7ii Bol> Matftctu.s,' "T'he RminroiHid" (U): Freddie Slack brought his band in from Hollywood with all acts listed above with the exception of (^aii- nonball, who was put on top of the show. Big share of honors go to Sheilah Ro;;ers for her quickly recognizable impressions of a half dozen top movie figures plus a couple of hot numbers in character. Best is. "If You Want Anything. Just;Whistle." a -sort of Lauren Bacall-ish ditty with plent.y of oomph behind it and drawing a chorus of wolf whistles from tlie big audiences. As for Cannonball, the western film specialist, hi.s comedy stumbles a little but his xylophone playing is particularly good and draws requests for encores. Ray Malone. introduced as a budding Gene Kelly, reveals a fast routine of conventional taps plus creditable semi-acrobatics. Dot- tie Ann Dare's best sin^'ing is done with Slack accompanying at the piano in "House With Blue Lights." Crowd went for her. Al Hender.son .shows nimble fingers on the guitar and sings in a pleasant baritone. Bob Mathews specializes in sax solos. Slack's band consists of three trumpets, thrtie trombones, five saxes, guitar, drum.s, ba.ss, and does the pi«no chores himself. His inter- lude of boogie at the keys evokes a noisy audience acceptance, espe- cially when he winds up with • terrific "Cuban Sugar Mill." They eat it up. " Roch. Oriental policy of top name bands SoMth of Monterey^' continues into its second month with they move at a fast clip well inter prosed, with laughs, and there ap pears to be no sag at any point (Mono) ond "Suspense" (Mono). I Alvino Rey's orch heading the house's current revue. First show .,,.1, ^— It's virtually a chili .special here ; was way off with orch playing be- Audience is warmed up for the this week—except-it isn't as hot as i ow par, general impression being presentation bv the most elaoorale nor good as gravied frijoles. In |'ac'? of rehearsal, Pace was slow overture staked here in months. ; slapping together what it ap-i y^"" » grea',deal of the bteme fall- Gene Ford, Capitol's managiu',' di-! parently was hoped would be a i'."S on Key for his stone-faced m,c, rector, has produced a "Salute to i carioca cornucopia on stage and i lob. He gave the impression of being Texas" offering built around a med- screen, management has managed tense and his brushoff of introduc- ]ey of western immbei-s bv the house ' "nly to assemble a show that is more t'ons left much to be desired. Many orch On stage this features a 12-' talently latent than Latin. Whole of the orch numbers ended leaving iTian male chorus, male and lemale ''^ing smacks o£ an attempt to main-i the aud in the air not knowing .soloists ahd a rope artist. It all gels tai" cheaply, quickly and effortlessly i whether to applaud or not. salvos. ' toiue, stage-show policy while dualing Orch opens with "Bumble Boogie" — wide moveover ot money-making and follows with "Night and Day" Trtwol- K <■ \ ^t^^'^'^\ , r.. , i *.'th Jimmy Joyce taking the vocal, mower, av. < . Chicos band and Cmco. for that Pianist Rocky Coluccio takes vocal Kaii,sfl.s CUV. Aug: 23. matter, are better left unmentioned. : .spot in a half-hearted rendition Danny Hoctor, Del. Breece, Walter , His drumming, in mufti, while band "Cement Mixer" and ehirnstress To Blake, Clayto7i & PWIlipi, Beverly^is dressed in Cubancsque fru-fru, is Ann Ryan warbles "To Faeh TTi= Lee, Tower Orch (9) ■urith Don rilf very mediocre. The generaL re.sult Own'' and ''Supulwda'' Gal h-is and Beverly Cassady; "She Wrote oi his band's efforts are coIOrle.ss and ; small Voice arid *as drownfd nut the Book" iV) and "Deadline jor commonplace. His vocalist and by orch in latter number -R-inri liiti Murder" (20t)i). conga player Eddie Gomez i.s, per- its stride with ''SiouTci'ty Sue'' i^ii „ / 7 :., V. u A "^PS the world swor.st smger, relymg which everyone takes a part—play- (Juartet of acts with house band chiefly on "cute" asides, volume and Ing cowboys and Indians ^nH «hnn>. OrehVctrb i.. nir »„ ii | and weekly am, contest winner packs cacophonous yells. 's_ OJt to the races with ■ .. '^ , ■. . ' "In the Mood." ngs' features Beneke bh Marvin and Nestor, openers, an plenty of diversity. , „.. Beverly Cassady tees: off : show acrobatic-exotie twain, turn, or bet- vocalling "The Man I Love" credit-. ter.; churn out a hybird dance. It's ably, Del Breece takes over as chief asset is phosphorescent light- emcee and brings on Danny Hocto.r: jhg. ; .Gomplete with flaming bowl '^njT'^^u- '^''^Z Mood foolish Things' features Beneke o t^jj^j; ,«ax and gives the violin an snrttliahf^ ,2^^ .^.''"".'s at the emcee ana prings on uanny nocuii uk. v-oinpieie wiin naming tiowl ami r^tfnl A.ti..'".^'''?"'"'"'-'^ -'"'t t'o'' a tap routines that get iiUro, pair offer little that hasn't ballad sin" ;,- , ! Malyin, band's over .neatly. b.-en done much better before in T ifi" v'"*^,„*^'th Simple Walter Blake follows with a lack- many places innumerable times Ex. Girl" ■ Were the Only adaiscial musical and chatter routine cept for costuming, the origination hat register!!.', He mouths a liar- of their dance would forever ren g cowboys and Indians and shoot mg cap pistols. Show could have .■■tood a lot more of this funning. High spot in band's contribution IS Rey's playing "My Buddy" and "Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" on his guitar; which is hooked up to mike backstage with vocalists. Air- liners—four gu.ys and a gal —are pleasing with "Baby I'm Gone." Dick and Sunny Millard give out l<:ari4S Pliill.v Phifadelphid; Auu. 27, Rohert Alda. George Lewis, Ray Kinney Orch {19), Grace McDonald,,. Roy Benson; "Rtmaround" (.V). <iM^% ^Ll^^ two supplementary monica while plunking a uke and a mystery. They combine, without -some fancy tap routines, doing rtiffi If wnit.son Brotho'-s. whose ] registers by hLs nonchalance as much much skill, takes on the Indian '"o numbers together, with Millard aiincuit acrobatiQ and equilibrLstic :as by his musical performance: Bev^- ada,gio, apache, nautch ahd Afro- taking the solo spot in number in leauj are embroidered with laughs, i erly Lee, juve talent discovery, Cuban. which he e.vecutos some rafiid fire . Itietr .ijnusjiaJ performance, among ! warbles "I'm a Big Girl Now" ac- Nestor Amoral arid Joe Carioci. tap-steps up and down a set Of stall's, other thmg.s. has one brother turn- ceptably. ' guitarist-singers, pick show up by Act gets good salvos, ing a somer.sault inside and outside i Breece then takes over for scs.s1ojv its bootstraps in second turn with ' Prof. Backwards does Well with a loop and jumping rope while of card tricks and sleight of hand, rapid-fire renditions of several be-■ his i comedy chatter. Ambling on P^'"^ped :<)n. the other's feet. He's aces on manipulation of cards, low-the-border pops such as "Brazil," stage in cap and gown he gets bellv- Most pretentious: and striking of and his fingers work with cigarets and "Amapola," "Tico," etc. They are laughs with his easy-going' gags and the orchestra numbers is "Red tumblers is also slick. Off to good listenable and pepper events with follows with a demonstration on the Cavalry March." The .sax section, | applause. mild humor that's calculated for the blackboard of writing words sug- calling itself "Crew Chiefs," lands | Clayton & Phillips, an aero- understanding audience. They work gested by the aud, backwards up- .solidly with . "I Know" and "Chat- i comedy duo, di.splay plenty dexterity . hard with their musical talents. .side down, and ' sideways ' pro- tanoogn Choo Choo" with some vo-; In acrobatic stunts to merit salves at Show finales with Amalia Aguilar nouncing them as he writes them ializing by Gene .and Steve Stock i finish., ,■■ , Quin. i who, if .she ever stops shaking, would Otl to solid hand. Fnos. Diversified bill this week with the pit band taking a breather for the first time in three weeks; Kinney'* ■ orch backing the acts. Kinney opens with an Hawaiian warmup tune and then brings on comely Grace McDonald: Pert little Miss has a cute line of patter and segues into a song about the housing shortage. Her terping, however, gets the bulk of applause. Roy Benson, as visual, pleases with his magic turn. With his running patter brightening up each trick, he gets beaucoup kudos with his hocus- pocus. ■ Robert Alda. fresh from "Rhap- sody in Blue" and a few more War-; , ner pix not yet released, gahis a host of new friends with his p.a.-ing. Alda knocks himself out trying to please with his tunes and succeeds. Brings on George Lewis, burly comic, for some cro.ss-fire. with Alda ' handling the .straight lines, Intersper.sed through the: show, Kinney and his aggregation score nicely with South Seas repertoiie including "Hawaiian War Chant ", ".Atoha'''and several others with gals I in grass skirts interpreting the .s ime. I Sam Makia is pleasing in his solo- , in" on: a steel guitar instrumeiU, fashioned into a con.sole. Latter i.s featured in neat arrangement oC "Star Dust." Kinney does nice job as emcee."" '•■ House nearly filled when caught (Sat. afternoon). S'inl. , K. C. BURLEY EEOPENS Kansas City, Aug. 27. Folly theatre, burley house, re- opens for season Friday (30', with Fred Spear as new manager. Opening attraction will be ''Scan- tie.s of 1947."