Variety (Mar 1948)

IMS:. NlfiHT CMn REVIEWS Fronces Fffve, Jncfc Corter, Fred- die Stewart, Lirw (6), Migueltto VoWcz, Ralph Font otchs; $3.50 ♦ninimwn, $4 tueeJtcnds. With New York niteries casting about for methods to stem the cur- rent slump in biz, La Martinique is giving it the old college try. In addition to the reappearance of a six-girl line to provide production numbers,, which La Martinique hasn't had in more than a year, Uie show has Frances Faye, comic Jack Carter and singer Freddie Stew- art. Result is a well-turned show. Miss Faye, with her kuig-sized orchid and pint-sized piano, easily demonstrates her super-showman- ship and projection. H6r smgtng is' loud but never to the point of excess, and those intimate, oH- handed quips she throws to the ringsiders still draw the yocks. Material, some of it new, some old, is all good, and 'she handles tiie ballads and powetty tunes with equal facility. , She tees off with a fast "Civiliza- tion" and then does a neat change- ol-pace OTth "I'll Be Seeing You," Straight piano ren<Hti<m of "St. Louis Blues," featuring some hot jazz imtpiovisations, is good, «.and her special lyrics dn "Personality" get the ri^t land of snickers. tlie multitude of audience-partici- pation ghnmicks on tap there. The Old Knick is an extension of the hiss-the-villain drama which had a latter-day revival in the 20s, Business is on a considerable up- swing since the recent change ol show, with "The Wayward Maiden' now the piece-de. It's a boke-and- ham written by Ernsest Sarracnjo (villain of the opus), which ap- propriately enough decries the evil of drink. To point up the moral of the yarn, one of the character occasionally steps offstage to plead with the audience to forsake the demon rum. There are also a va- riety of vaudeville olios, with the cast of the legiter doubling. Added items include the show- ing of silent films, with Paul Kll- liam adlibbing a soundtrack. He's excellent, with his running com- mentary of Rudolph Valentino's "Son of the Sheik" providing some biting comments on what was. con- sidered the height of pash in the late '20s. Also singing waiters. In all,, the customer has enough to interest Jiim for an evening. ■ Jose. Blue Room, TS* O. (HOTEL ROOSEVELT) New Orleans, March 10. "Holidtti/ Toton," ice show pro- _ , , . iduced by Don Arden; costumes. After a couirte of -encore tunes, Mac/«Titosh, executed by Mtne she closes with a. straight vCKion of "My Yiddishe Momma"—aa«*a- ■ rinish corn but with plen^ of punch. , Carter, back.here after a l(May hiatus, is ptesigued .with.:tl» ..SJane trouble as on his previotis^ .stmt. Young comedian's apparently too overly-sensitive to - audience reac- tion. If they don't i»arm immedi- ately, he practically does a fold© oh the floor: He started .slowly V^tb an unresponsive audience iJie lji#t icanght (11) and, confronted with an offish. ^paction, began to toss insults at the ringsiders. That 'only heightened the tension and Idlled whatever rapport he had established.. His material is okay, ' he has a n6at delivery style and evidently possesses plenty of tal- ent. But hfe'd better learn to keep socking away when things go ^gainst him, if all that's to pay off. ■ Stewart, who holds down the "Opening spot and also handles the production number vocals, is re- viewed imder Kew Acts. line, with dances staged by June Taylor, Js soeko. Gals st» beauts, their cos- tuming ueat and,' best of an, they can.dance. Ralph Font's orch cuts the show in good style- and doubles for dandng with the boif rhumba tunes ot M^uelito Valdez^s crew. ValtSeK 'pa-scaqaUy takes no part in tfae^F. . . Stol. €1h1» Rettwit Detroit, Morch 12. Nan Blakstone, Vivian Lorri- more, 'Billy Ketty, Kolly Kohler, Zebrairs (3) with Don H^tuiUdo; TMirlimtim, $2, $2.50. Berthe; special musical arriatger ments, Ken Thompson, Elliott EbeWiordt ..and Ivan Lane; Tony Bavaar, master of ceremonies; with Arnold Shoda, Nona McDonald, the Brinckmann Sisters, Robert Fitzgerald & George Banyas, Ea- telle Nevjcomer, Jeanne Crystol, Betty Crofton, Jo Camnaugh. Con- nie Corm ond Ann Nit^Us, Ray McKiwley Och (18); $2.50 mini- mum. , Waidjnfawhy, Mayelt 17, 194^ Nan Blak-stone, a vet .performer on the nitery circuit, has sur- rounded- herself with a unit and has been playing cafes on a per- centage basis. Group's efforts pro- vide a mixture of sophistication and triple-entendrc) some of which goes over the he&ds of eftfe patron- age, but much of it lands for solid yoks. Miss Blakstone with a twin piano layout, with Kolly Kohler keyboarding at the- second piano, .gets salvos with grouping of indigoisms. Items, include' "A Lady's a Lady," "Who Took Me Home," and "Cobwebs," all of which get the desired effect from the audience. Ti'ailer for the, Blakstone efforts 'is provided by Billy Kelly, an es- sentially clever guy, but with ma- terial that Tuisses with the audi- ence.- He's young, has smart ma- terial and excellent timing, but despite these- attributes, crowd doesn't go for .his stuff. Vivian Larrimore, with satiricial songs, clicks with "Perfunjes" number and does "Forever Cerise" based on the "Amber" tome. Don Renaldo, band vocalist, han- dles stii;it satisfactorily. Business at this spot has picked up considerably since Miss Blak- stone took over, and with further ' playing time, unit should draw at the swank spots. • Stan. 014 Ri»i«k, IV. V. (FOLLOWVP) It's often a moot, point whether audiences or actors have -hammier - instincts. The average person will bet on performers until a visit to the Old Knickerbocker, N. Y. From then on in audiences win hands down. The Bammier the crowd, the better the time at this nitery. . Tliere are so many ways in which the mob can express itself. They're privileged to heckle the oldtime drah-mas, sing into the roving handntike, or from slides 911 the screen, and participate in The current layout in the town's swankiest nocturnal rendezvous is a 45 minute spectacle of beauty, youth and lavish costuming that is rich in entertainment. T^he extravaganza's music is played by Kay McKinley's orches- tra which also provides the dansa- pation. Not so much as a bootstrap is left over from previous ice shows in the room, and the new Don Aidcn production sparkles from beginning to end. On. the per- formance-side there isn't much to be desired, as the youthful cast has everything that can be asked of skaters. It's shy on comedy, but it's not missed too much amid the scope and movement of the show. An emphasis on rhythm and musi- cal background throughout gives it a mood of its own. Seven production numbers each more colorful and entertain- ing than the other—-are the back- bone of the show, which opens with "Gay New Orleans," and in- cludes "Basin Street," "Canal Street Promenade," "Shanghai Serenade," "Limehouse Blues," "Hawaiian Paradise" and "Rink- side -Rodeo," Each is interpreted in spectacular fashion. The brilliant skating of Arnold Shoda is the standout of "Holiday Town." He displayed speed, grace and endurance in difficult solo rou- tines that earn him bravos. TaU. shapely Nona McDonald shows expert bladesmanship in her seductive routines, especially in her "Hawaiian Paradise" turn which nets plenty of palm-pound- ing. A delightful touch is provided by the cute Brinckmann ■ Sisters. Their "Canal Street Promenade," in which they are costumed as poodles, is a ^splay of clever teaming, as well as precision skat- ing. Bob Fitzgerald and George Ban- yas are also spotted in specialties, as well as in the line of six love- Ues. The girls are"" Estelle New- comer, Betty Croftoh, Connie Conn, Jeanne Crystal, Jo Cava- naugh and Ann Nichols, and all of their numbers were gracefully and neatly executed. Also copping top honors of the show -is Tony Bavaar, a jiersona- ble master of ceremonies with nice pipes. He keeps the show moving. McKinley's aggregation of 18 meets every musical taste—it's sweet, it's hot and it's melodic. The band is one of the best to appear here and provides the kind of musical magic that keeps the floor crowded during the dance sessions. The boys handle the top tunes, as well as popular oldies and nov- elties like "Civilization" with a flair for musicianship as well as showmanship. Practically anything McKinley plays possesses a distin- guished authority as well as musi- cal intelligence. ■ While spotlighted constantly, the leader shares the honors with his lovely singer, Marcey Lutes, who warbles a tune nicely; Vernon Fri' ley, trombonist; Hay Beller, alto; Johnny Gray, guitarist; Johnny Potoker,- pianist, and others. All in all, the show tops any- thing presented at the spot in inonths. Capacity biz wheri caught. Carl Brisson;'Bo6 Grant Orch; ,$3.50 minitnutw. Now that the chips are down— and biz ditto—it's appaient that only the "attractions"^ can pile up sizeable grosses in the dass nite- ries. Among the top-drawer draws, of course, is the perennial Cart Brisson, back on his semi-annual stock company engagement at this East 50th street bistro which, prob- ably averages the highest per-per- son check—but gives you plenty of value in return. This goes not only for the entertainment and band divertissements but priniarUy the cuisine, wherein Nick & AJcnold and John Boggiano specialize. On the subject of cafe puUer- inners and the current seasonal tapering-off (Income Tax Blues, etc.), two dominant values must prevail. EiUier the star must be potent to offset the dollar equa- tion;, or it swings other way—the bargain pulling power is what counts. Tlie Versailles never gives it away, so it's up to the star, and 4t becomes , notable with this leveling-off process that the headliner must achieve what any star in show business is supposed to do—pull trade. That's the extra value in the tradition of the star system. It marks , the diiferential between the amount of business anything does (be it theatre or saloon) under its own institution- al location or other momentum and that extra boxofiice power Which is directly the due of the headliner. Edith Piaf proved it indubitably during her sojourn here, just pre- ceding Brisson's advent. In all the history of the Versailles the frail Frenth diseuse set a b.u. marki completely changing the character of the room as well as piling up grosses. Hence the segue from the. Gallic idiom to the Great Dane should be marked but isn't, since Brisson, too, is an established ar- ticle. The paradox lies, however, in a little wrinkle which he has added, but which isn't necessary; and that is that bombastic rave intro iac- corded him by his own pianist. Brisson can well afford to play it more modestly than have his own accompmiist. officiate as a quondam confereiicier and, in the- atrically flowery fanfare, herald the return of "that great star of stage, screen and radio." That sort of effulgence is dated; what's more, Brisson doesn't need it. Despite a domlnantly new rep- ertoire, save for a few standard things and harkbacks to those fetching Danish doggerels which his Norse following seems to de- mand, he is a preiiossessing fellow of whom his tailors must well be proud. Brisson is a.manly clothes horse whom the Merchant Tailors Assn. of America should subsidize just to show men how well glad rags canrbe worn. Of fine physique, as bespeaks a former Danish boxing champion, Brisson takes command pronto. He's a double-threat man, therefore, both on arresting stage presence^ coupled with his capa- bilities as a singing artist. Brisson enjoys still another two-ply ad- vantage: the men like him and, as "the' older girls' Sinatra," he is surefire likewise. He mixes his' ballads well. The romance songs, of course, are per- force dominant but th^re is suf- ficient change of pace from his cheery "Hello There" and' friendly signoff "My Best To You." In between there are such song eX" positions a^ '^Serenade of th« Bells," "Old LampUghter" and "Last Time I, Saw Paris," but' he bears down heaviest with the pash ballads a la "Ring of Roses," "Cigaret," a "perfume" song, a torchy "Double Martini Please" ■ < credited to British songsmith Jimmy Kennedy, albeit a lyrical parallel to Cole Porter's "Another Oldfashioned"), "Optimistic" and "Linda." . 'Backing up Briisson is Bob Grant's expert dance and Show band, including ian effective violiii solo obbligato from the rear bal- cony, plus other groupings which enhance the song stylist's show- manship. .. Abel. past and the intimacy has been strciightened by addition of big circular bar on one side of tiie main floor -'-Mid lenghtenlng of the balcony bar entire distance of the room. f With tj'pe of acts he's bringing in, it's obvious Lltman's making a play for the younger trade at the Copa. That's additionally borne out by the fact that there's no cover or minimum charge, and the drinks are reasonably priced. Which means that with limited'ca- pacity of the room, around 300, turnover will hayd to be big. Litman picked a natural to open in Frankie Laine. The vocal bend- er's hot as a pistol now and crowds have been fairly storming the Copa. Opening night was a madhouse; there was no''dancing at all because tables were crowded onto every available inch of floor space. As a matter of fact, even Laine had no room whatsoever to move around at the mike. He sells 'em well, capitalizing on the tricks which have put his disks in the bestseller class, and they scream for more. Laine limits himself to around eight songs a session but could easily stay on for twice that many, They're screaming for more minutes after he's left the floor. To introduce the acts, Litman has Un'ed up on a weekly rotating basis the town's leading platter jocks, with Bill. Brant from KDKA getting the opening assignment. Al Fremont, who hasn't been active as a dance band maestro around town since before the war, has put together an agreeable small combo that gives out with okay dansapation, and Errol Garner, jazz pianist who got his start at Mercur's before Litman owned it, gives 'em wliat they want at the baby grand from the middle of the floor during the intermission lulls. Biz Copa's going after is reflect- ed pretty generally in bookings to follow Laine, among them Vic Damone, Joe MomieyQuartet, Jane Russell and Mildred Bailey. Cohen. Kl Chieo, \. Jiminez 4, Femojido Cresna r n. Rioff $3JS0 mwitnum. * This class Greenwich Village biiu tro with ite authentic Latin decw cuisine «id floorshow has been «» jumping-off spot for a sizeaSe number of later-to-become wk names in the Yank show biz scene Once again Benito Collada, bonil face and entrepreneur, evidences that he will launch a couple of promising new entries. As for one of his better iiiminaries, Rosita* Bios, a personality songstress, the fact that ahe's the boss' wife un, dpubtedly keeps her anchored. Miss Rios is back as headUner.' with her fetching songs in Spanl ish, this tunc a little too authentic, whereas in former seasons she mixed the routine up with a famil- iar Latin pop from Mexico or South America. None the less she's a highly effective chanteuse. Two New Acts, the personable Fernanda Crespa and the magico Conde Luis, are the ones more likely for wider orbits, within and without the V. S. boundaries, bei ing the type of turns that can play anywhere. Opehers are the Jiminez Quaru tet, in „ standard Mexican guitar- and-vocal fol-de-rol. Senorita Cre- spa next, fidlowed by Los Gitanit. los (The Gypsies) with their au- thentic terps. Team looks like it's been around and standard for class niteries of this calilwr. Following the magi and Miss Crespa's returoi Miss Bios in the ace spot with her tiptop sopranoing. Per usual« the snow ends in an ensemble fiesta formation, making for a bright, tight revue of less than an hour. Abel. El ]Mh»ro<!«», Monl'l JWontreol, Morch, 13. Buddy Lester, Steve Condps, Ann Hathoway, Buddy Clorkc Orcli; Minimum $2. Latin <tuairi«r. CM Chicago, March 12. Sonny Mars, Jackie Hilliard, Mavis Minos, Rene it Rita, Gomez Orch (6); $2 tninimum. C'Inb rnpa„ Pki Pittsburafi, Marcli 9. Frankie Laine, Al Fremont's orch (7), Errol Garner; no cover or minimwn. . Majibe Lenny Litman has finally broken, the jinx'that's plagued this downstairs .spot now for a dozen years or more. Joe Hiller went broke there in the mid-30*s when it was the Music Box; Etzi Covato only managed to get by in the wartime' boom and Lou Abrams later lost a chunk opei-ating it as the Club LuMarba. Litman, who recently disposed of the Mercur's Music Bar, took over the Ibase from Abrams- and is giving the town a new poUcy. Room still isn't any tonic, being a inretty dingy affair, but at least a little more colorful than in the While obviously a low budget show in comparison with some pre- vious displays, there's a fair chance the package might bring the spot out of its doldrums. Sonny Mars, local lad, has a fine sense of timing and is quick on gags. However, he overdoes the swish and blue'routine. Jack Billiard scores with tenor- ing of "It's Almost Like Being In Love,'' "Donkey Serenade," What'll I Do," "You Were Meant For Me," "Falling In Love" and "Wonderful." Mavis Minas, subbing for Winn Seeley, is one of the better tap- sterers on the bistro route. Tall, and fresh looking brunet gets heavy applause on scrici^ of fast twirls. Opener is sock roller skating act of Rene and Rita. Although pro- jecting mostly standard routines, fluorescent co.stumes provide slick production values. Gomez and his combo are first of the rhumba orclis brought in under a new policy. Lad works with a vim on the hand-drums and gourds and group is at home on fast beat Latin numbers. Buddy Shaw's, orch backs the show lucely; Zabe, Vhin* RoU, Y. (FOLLOWUP) As it's been proven in the N. Y. cafe sector, a name rhumba band pays for itself, and a few have been known to take a nitery out of the red. Noro Morales has done that in several cafes, and according to in dlcations, business here is consid erably on the upbeat since he mounted the podium. A great factor in the Morales b.o. value is due to a large per- sonal following among the rhumba fans. By catering to this type Of crowd with a strong and almost primitive beat without sacrificing too many melodic moments, the crew stands high in the Latin dance, category. While his lead position has been threatened by the johnny-eome-latelies in the business, he still manages to entice a major portion of this type trade. The ijierger of Latin music and Chine.se entertainment works out nicely here. It isn't as incongruous as might be imagined inasmuch as the two elements bring diflerent types of patronage into the spot. The show entices the dinner busi ness and onoe the display is over thj Latins take over. It's a hold- over layout with Jack Soo arid Katherine Lee Chang making nice impressions in the singing depart ment, while Matt Tuck's risley work. Three Cantons doing aero batics and juggling. Lauri Long, emcee and terper and the six-girl line, conti-ibute a good laniily type sliow. Jose. Hep comedian Buddy Lester had a time of it warming up opening* iiight audience but finally got 'em with his rendition of "Africa," one of his better numbers. Lester'^ sharp and versatile delivery puts him ahead of a lot of performers of the same type and he is often very iunny in a solid way. His "Whistle Song," not exactly iii good taste, still achieves heavy guffas but his Richinan characteri- zation didn't go over too well. He was better Iddding around with dancer Steve Condos in impromptu dance. Again on his own, Lester lost time and laughs with "Torch Song" before hitting real form with "Alaska," "Africa" and his closing bit "Thanks for the Mem- ory." , Condos, formerly of the Condoq Bros., is a smooth terper aqd im- presses with three solid routines.' Ann Hathaway, brunet looker with nice pipes, does a neat job on "It's. Wonderful," "Got the Blues" and "One of Those Things." , Mare. lAion Eddie's Eddie Davis, Sherry Britten, Lyda Sc Yanni, Danny Sullivan, Nils & JVadytie, Peggy Palmer, Toby Deane, Waner Grch; mtn, $3.50. Leon 8t Eddie^s formula of tal- eqt presentation has held op nicely for . nearly two decades, during which time there's been little change from the original idea that made this 52d street spot the mecca for the tourist trade. During speakeasy days, Eddie Davis entertained customers on a postage-stamp-sized flopr, and drew as many as a 1,000 customers on A single night in one-third the space of the current establishment. The same formula is still followed, only Davis has plenty of stage-space,- there's good production surround-- ing him and a stagcshow compris- ing fledgling entertainers anxious to make headway in the bigtimu. The response to Davis' tunes hasn't changed much. Tlie cus- tomers still get a terrific kick out of his tunes and bonifacing. ' Surrounding him in this layout is the omnipresent Sherry Britlon, who during her long tenure here is evolving from a stripteu.se to an accomplished songstress. She now delivers special - material tunes with expert know-how; her terpmg afterpiece is merely to keep m Holdovers on the current session are Lyda and Yanni, the Greek dance team which originally came- to the IT. S. with the Edith Piaf show. They've been pleasing with their interpretation of folk dances and, incidentally, have been pull- ing in a good bit of trade from tne town's Hellenic colony. Danny Sullivan still emcees the snow capably, while- Nils and Nadyne impress with excellent lilts ana spins. However, their stifiigni dance passages ne(!d .some puncn- ing up. Rest of the layout compnf.es Peggy Palmer and Toby Deane, both under New Acts. Jose,