Variety (Jan 1949)

g^Mlneflday« January 26, 1949 HOUSE REVIEWS 5S Capitol, JV* ¥• Blue Bon-on Orch (15) wtth nobb!/ Beers. Betty Clorfc, George vnTnn Helen Lowe. Jtimtny Mc- ffld Stan Morris. Alan Corner. Notes; Meribeth Olds. Alon Comey,Spots; ."Mon . From rtlorado" (Col); reviewed in Va- WETY Nov. 24, •48.- ' Tnk Spots and Blue Barron's or- fhestra, both riding the crest of recent recording successes, head the new Capitol stage show. As- eictpd bv two good additional acta tions with their takeoiT on tango experts with boff finale of over-the- shoulder body throws. Tommy Mercer, orch's warbler, scores with trio of tunes, "Slow Boat to China," "My Darling" and "Here J'U Stay." While he has good voice, singer has few bad stage mannerisms, including the habit of pitching his wares to-bobbysoxers in the first few rows. Jan Murray starts the laughs rolling with tale of visit to the local insane asylum, following in the same light vein with his saga Music Bail, BT. Y. Giselle & Froncois Szonj/, Jean Gibbons, Robert Hayden, . Florence Hin Loiue, Jean Letourneau, Paul Winchell, Ballet Corps (24), Clio- rol Ensemble, Rockettes (36); "A Letter to Three Wives" (20th), re- viewed in Variety Dec* 8, '48, Sonja Heme's Ice Revue Again Clicko In Debut at Madison Sq. Garden Sonja Henie, making her 12th annual appearance at , Madison Leon Leoni'doff demonstrates un^ usual ingenuity and imagination in j Square Garden, N. Y., is still the using all the v^ast technical and | most potent personality in rink cir- mechanical facilities of the great Ides. Her draw has been sufficient Music Hall stage in the present | to flood boxoffices these many production, with the: results lively, i years, and her. showmanship still „, , „t. „ . . . , .1. , I ; r-v-v . I Garden-siajed spot. Her latest Clown Laugh, which reveals that sell's insistence that every show troupe Should' do "well at the Gar- Murray has a passable voice. His! at the giant 6,000-seat Rockefeller den. ' last stint lias famine stooge as I flagship must give the tourists! Miss Henie has fortified her draw wife, and cloth doll,: as daughter, being fed radio-sponsored break-, fast cereal with "lass" getting the stuffings knocked out of her for failure to love ''Krunchy Wun- chies." Murray also has the habit of projecting some of his remarks to the juves in the first row, with the result the rest of the audience is wondering what it's all about. Similarly, trade jokes which break up the band. Duchin takes over the closing stint to play requests from the audience, consisting mostly of pop something to talk about when they; with- opulent- production,' costum- get home—^something that will I ing: in which budgetary considera- bring them back again and that I tions were apparently forgotten, • - , HKolav of orecisinn qkat- ' will bring their neighbors. While and a sock trio of acts that fill i "/ fSd duo indicate tSod some Manhattan sophisticates find, the gaps between Miss Henie and i t?n'ufji° °" mmcate gooa poien- popular diversion in announcing I the mass sequences. Result is one] tliat they wouldn't be caught dead 1 of the best displays that she's put! viewing a Music Hall show, the j on here. payoif of the policy is clear in that I There's one improvement this 1 others wlio are spotted. All earn the "institutionalizing" of the pro- i year over some of her other shows, healthy mitts. Miss Heme s partner duction now provides a guaranteed! Routining the acts is not only de-: P, a^a'" Michael Kirby, a Canuck minimum of $90,000 to $95,000 at sigiied to spot Miss Henie under ■ bladester, who provides a consid- the b.o., no matter what the pic- the most favorable circumstances, | arable lift to the dual-dance spots, lure. '-I': ": ■ ■ . ■ . ■ • > \ ■ . ■ l There are parts of the show Leonidoff's current flight into \ ... . —j„„.j„„ which could be lighted better, and standards. Band comes forward to , fancy, labeled "Flying High," is i . ^-rthur M Wirtz production star-1 j^jg jg particularly true in the back the maestro in "Stormy set in the ballroom-like cabin of i "t^9f°"30 Heme; features Michael: ^g^ugti^n sequences, which, de- Weather" with Charles Geanduso, a giant stratoliner of the future. "' fj »^ TrenJcler iWcKcUon gpjtg ^eing excellently staged and cornetist, taking a neat riff. Dick The simulated arrival of the plane 1 Y st m h {'' imaginatively and lavi.shly con- Style on the other piano also does an excellent job. Zabe. Capitol, Wasli. ' Washington, Jan, 23. Sibyl Bowan, Hal LeRoy, Mar- tells Si Mignon (4), Swi/ts (3); "Wonderful Urge" (20th). It's, a nice lineup at the Capitol currently, with mimic Sibyl Bowan and terper Hal LeRoy sharing headline/ honors for a well-bal- anced, fast-moving bill. House orch, with chantoosey Kay De Witt; sets patriotic pace for this Inaugura- tion-timed layout. At Show caught, Hal Le Roy came closest to rocking the cele- bration-weary audience back on its heels. Act is tops in its special kind of swift, precision tap. Opening with a pleasant exhibition of skill and timing to tune of "How High the Moon," terper goes into "Study of Rhythm" to accompaniment of single drum for a fine response. Ditto for the soft shoe routine to "Tea For Two." Comes back with chair dance novelty, for which he gets near show-stopping returns, though this is not the best of his repertoire. Sibyl Bowan bounces through her hep takeoifs despite a bandaged arm, the result of a fall' from a ladder d u r ing the Inaugural parade. Gal is a top drawer en- tertainer, working with enthusiasm' and plenty know-how. Some of her imitations^ like the Bea Ltllie bit, are lost on a large part of payees, who obviously have never seen the subject of Miss Bowan's drolleries. However, she has enough material on stage is through real clouds pro-1could be pointed up with vided by the Hall's steam jet sys-l^r^*'^.,,* '^^f'*';, ! greater effect. In relation to the U'/ ctie ot nuuKTi, i^ifisiiii. oiuymg I gi-ftat^ tem running through the f6otlight ifJ5i,j'^°J«°9'""P|l« *>^.,p«*'».«':'"e i entire show, it's, a comparatively trough. Ship's final arrival and ^l^^e^lf'^j; cost«^ - -• ■ ■ - ston, Kat/irj/n Kuhn, Grace Hous-1 The current display is probably ton; music, Jack Pfm^^^ at Madismi Square Garden. W. Y., i arouhd in several yearsi? and is . de- Jan. 20, '49; $6 top. f{,pT™t on a smooth and smartly sL^s''uo ""a ^evv ^bar^if ^^Laueh i'"'f,"^""^ and entertaining It; equals the task of do_minating a H^^vine interlude that's as easy to ?.?!.l„"P „.?„u I well bears out bossman Gus Eys digest as anything the C^p has had recently. ' Barron's outfit is surprising. Originally a straight mickey band. It has progressed musically with- mit coming within a mile of bop. It could progress further, but that's Yiot what makes it surprising. What does is the entertainment values within the band, Barron's glib em- teeing and the smooth planning and execution of what's available. In short, the combo puts on an excellent show. Barron has Bobby Beers, former ward of Lawrence Welk, on male vocals. The kid's a good piper and is nice-looking to boot. He punches alone ("Here I'll Stay"), in tan- dem with Helen Lowe ("My Dar- ling* My Darling'') and with the Blue Notes, a group^ from within the band. There are two girl vo^ calists. Miss Lowe and Betty Clark ("Little Bird Told Me" and "Listen to-the Mocking Bird"); Stan Nor- ris, a brassman who steps out to do highly amusing imitations of ' Donald Duck; and Alan Carrier; guitarist, who reaps laughs with his whistling and recitations, which add up almost to a comedy act. George Kolan : And Jimmy McDon- ald are vocalists too/ mostly with the Blue Notes. That's aside from the straight musical arrangements Barron, puts on from his opening !'Powder Your •Face With Sunshine" to "Cruising .Down the River," a new thing that's moving fast currently on MGM disks. ■<:■■ Meribeth Olds is a contortionist to end 'em all. She twists herself to the point where the audience, half the time, doesn't know whether .she's coming or going. And she doesn't lose anything via the fact *he's well built and sharply: cos- tumed. She does most of her work atop a table moved out from the Wings and earns a hand unusually solid for this type of act. , Alan Carney, from pictures. Is a fine entertainer. He starts off slowly, then goes into apings of Edward G. Robinson. Lionel Bar- rymore and Charles Laughton. He .even looks like all of them. From there he gathers speed for a group of imitations of union politicos aboard a soap box. He does Irish, Italian, Jewish and other takeoffs .'and the material in which they're wrapped provides solid howls. The guy's fit for any theatre. Lastly come the Ink Spots. Their Wsed Tnew DoTs and'^oM "tSnTs strike a familiar chord in any Site which th??'ve become asso- ^^"P «J «^i<»„^".e!,^ H^^nlJf rnnffr* ... ■> .. .... Roosevelt or prima donna routines. nating his well-defined routines is a continual audience delight. : Of the straight skating turns* th* McKellon Bros, show up best. These boys, in football gear, com- bine a fine brand of skating with hand-to-hand balancing- and. .cornr edy making for all-around visual; values. Jerry Mapes; son of Evelyn Chan- dler and Bruce Mapes, who pio- neered arena-sized blade shows, makes his big-show debut here. He's partnered with Jack Raifloer Grotle and Robert Uksila, Jean Sturgeon and Mickey Michaels are landing at an airport is amusingly carried out by making the ground visible through the plane's large windows. It is far off at first, but gets continually closer as the plane circles to land. Then the runways come into view and finally the plane comes to a stop in front of the airport's main building. It's all accomplished via a rolling cur- tain seen through the windows. Bruno Maine did the sets. Ventriloquist Paul Winchell and dummy Jerry: Mahoney hold top spot, in the guest artist department with their standard turn. Combo of the sassy woodenhead and Win- chell's mimicry and warbling got sock handpatter at-show caught and brought him back for repeated bows. but to continue her impact on the audiences. A previous criticism has been :her knack of following her- self with mediocre turns that man- aged to create the illusion that nothing could follow her success- fully. Now that she's succeeded by servedly a boxoffice winner. Jose, Ic^^landia : Hollywood, J;iin. 19. Bert Gervis production of musi- cal revue on . ice in tipo nets' (20. scenes), stdgi^d and directed by Richard Barsfow). Musicol arrange- big production numbers and turns j menfs by Lydia Morcus; music ond of the: Freddie Trenkler caliber, li/rics by Richord Barstoto;, oddi- tional music -ond lyrics by Felias deCola, Sidney Lippman and Syl- via Dee; settings by William Sing- hoff; technical director, Mathias E. ciated. Billy Kenny, the tenor with the amazing breath control, is the head guy and he does most of the work through "Ooh, Looka There, Ain't She Pretty," a rather weak .opening, Incidentally, in view of following right on the heels of Carney's success. Then comes ■'Whispering Grass," "Say Some- thing Sweet," "Maybe" and "If I Didn't Care." Group's biggest re- cent record, however, is "You Were Only Fooling," a disk with which Barron's band was associated. And the staging of it is nicely solved as well as providing a good finish to the show. j Spots intro the tune and start .. .Mo...it, ..whereupon Barron's men make a commotion. Barron, for the audience, explains to Kenny that tgeir, record also was a best-seller, that paves the way for a two-way interpretation in which George No- Jan and the Blue Notes and then «.enny do a chorus, backed by the band. Wood. Ciiieaifo, Ciii Chicago, Jan. 21. Eddy Duchin Orch (12), The Lofstons (2), Tommy Mercer, Jan (20thT' Wonderful Urge" tlie total impapt; of the • layout is stronger.' Miss Henie reaches her peak in the hula number, which has been her highspot for years. It remains | Kcietnen; duo pianists, Lydio Mar- ia great audience charmer that i cus: and Aldcn Delano. Opened at „tv„.w *v„„j v««ti, brings encores and remains her Lo.<! Palmas, Hollywood, Jan. 19, i„S?;o^tL,? Hf,Lil,? wSht^^^^ personality bit. Miss >49: $3.60 top. T^irPoioJi r^;»nf Lnn Henie'^ showmanship is also evi-1 Cast: Dorothy McCusker, Buff I li^^^ I dent in the rhumba and waltz num-; McCusker. Lorraine Brtnclcmann, ^loiw^^Vol^H o^rii^"|bers, both of which are excellently , Carol BrincJcmann, Dick Simonton, ffir im^ a^d arP s^^^^^ « few ' Freddy Wadle. Pat Murphy. Eddie niJn,! c,ChS ,,,H^or.of In ' gasps wlth her opening costume, in ! Delbridgc, Shirley Powell, Georgia tional. gaining solid audience ap- ^jjich sables-predominate. She's j Beard. Johnnie McKellen, Marie elegantly garbed in the other se-1 Puruiancc, Mary Arin , WiUorii quences. and surrounded with good I Louise Snyder, Jeanne Perkins, production values. . Koryle Letglr, Mory Bdhland, Sfcee. Other hit of the occasion is Goodheart, Jim McCttsfccr,. JBthel: proval. Second of the acts is aero artist Florence Hln Lowe, rubber^ spined femme, who leaves the crowd goggle-eyed with an exhibi- tion of body twists and turns that gets her into all but a permanent knot. Soprano Jean Gibbons does a solo of "More Than You Know" for minor results,: getting support of Kay HoUey's choral ensemble. Jean Letourneau, tenor, also does a number during Miss Lowe's aero exhibition. Ballet gives a more than usually Trenkler, an impish, bouncing sprite with top pantomimic values. Trenkler's peculiar hop predomi- to proye.th^ assertion by quacking in time to ai few barS witO: the band. V; 'V^''' In closing hiche Is Wynijriie Har- ris, introed as "Mr. Blues Him- interesting performance to tee oft I self." Stentorian-voiced shouter the show, with gleaming sequin i plays his role well by hopping up costumes to accentuate the gals'rand down and lending emphasis Eddy Duchin, absent from the jocal scene since 1941, makes an impressive return in the first orch "'"nwe sihce the Chicago theatre ml^ J" stage shows last sum- Jllfi: .He does a piano medley of pops to pace the layout. Pniif and brother team. The h°^5""s, are masters at comedy hnriv ^•u??.'"'"^ '^as a projectable d?nn J*''''? she unslings at the cirop_ of a bar of • This setup shapes up better on paper than in playing. Somewhat heavy on the sight side it simply does not come off. Georgie Kaye emcees besides holding a spot on his own and makes the most of his material. Opening by Ben Yost's Varsity Coeds does not measure up to previous aggregations under his aegis. Quintet of femmes look well proach that of the Rockettes, who are in the blowoff spot with one of their normally neat routines, Herb. Apollo, IV. Y. Charlie Barnet Orch (16), Wy- nonie Harris, Bunny Briggs, Wiggles Royce, Spider-Bruce & Co.; "The Cobra Strikes" (EL), It's a fast hour's layout at the Apollo this week with Charlie Bar- net's band clicking solidly. Com- prising five reed, three rhythm and eight brass, the ofay outfit does a brisk: '-'Cherokee" as laii initialer, paving the way for some ¥op stuff dexterously handled. Bunny Briggs is a ver-satile terp- er with a: wealth of talent. Opening via a bebop vocal, he shifts to some eccentric, slow motion foot- work to win a nice response. He impresses as one of the better se- pia dancers who's evolved a dif- ficult set of routines; My Baby Call," and There's Good Rockin Tonight." Feigns to warble "Rhapsody in Blue" which, Barnet previously handled with distinction, but in- stead uncorks "Got a Big Fat Ma- ma" for neat results. Band finales with a short medley of "Smiles"-' and "Tea for Two." Gilb. ^ . , . - , „ „. I precision routines. Their precision 1 to his numbers. Scores with "Love ?orare"p"^rt'lf the'aM^^^^ " " as much interest and laughs as the material itself. Customers wanted more, but comedienne didn't give, probably because of her arm. The Martells, trio of aero-terp- ers, toss their .femme partner around in a better-than-average curtain raiser. Some of the stunts are genuinely hair-raising and whip up a fine reception after a slow, start. The Three Swifts get a steady accompaniment of chuckles for their comic juggling act, which brings down curtain. Lowe. Hippod rome^) B aito« . Baltimore, Jan. 23. Ben Yost's Varsity Coeds (5), Hoctor & Byrd, Paul Sydell & Spot- ty, Georgie Kaye, Ming Sing Stars (5)* Jo Lombardi House Orch (12); "Shockproof (Col). Stout, Rita Stuart, Joan Elms^ liyle Clark. . Olympla, Miami Miami, Jan. 22, Peter Lorre, Whitson Bros., Jan Martell, Mic/cey Deems, Purcell & Apparently encouraged by the fact that intimate musicals are again proving successful, producer Bert Gervis has come up with What:: he calls "an innovation in Ice Shows." The novelty consists of in- timate staging for a type of show usually given lavish treatment. On paper it undobbtedly looked good. But the hot idea cooled off con- siderably when transferred from: theory to: theatre, and the result is a disappointing presentation in which undeniable talent shBwS : to disadvantage. The color and- spectacle of the usual ice show is; of course, lack- ing in this staging. Unfortunately, the charm and gaiety of the intir mate revue also is absent. Both the music and. the material are weak and the routines are more than somewhat straitjacketed by the physical limitations of the stage. As a consequence, "Icelandia'* will have to concentrate its itiner- Rey, Freddie Carlone House Orch; ' ary on towns where blade shows '"jfnHon Wp<t" (RKO) I are rare, for skate fans will be station west i.Ht<.u). disappointed in this offering. Cer- ~Show current-is-not-up-to^tand- ard set here in recent weeks, ' j^eter Lorre;' sets . nicely with house via rendiii<iii of Poe's"Tell- tdle Heart." It's a novel bit, pro- viding a HoUywoodite with an act instead of the usual tired gab for a change. Whitson Bros, almost walk away •„,, sr. .,. Iwith proceedings. Their balancing Rand rPtnrn\ with hoo Steohen-' stunts, interwoven with comedy,; .on ^olofnT-raravan''for an^ the mitt-meter consistently, ^^rvo PirtiruVarlt well doni is E^^^ ■ Laugh slot is okay via some fair difsafra'S^^^^ i^ickey hasB nn a r-nnrprto nnmoosed bv Deems. Jan Martell IS, a capable PPtP Rusolo taleed "Safranski" i thrush who has worked the smaller Tn^truS itself is Wghlighted i spots around the area. Arrange- w^^th Tl^minous orange hue are standard albeit effective. grounds neatly. hary. enough and whack out the usual aius. m scuhib uh t.i^ i n„ • „]i i„A npv in ntav mannpf vocal selections, but arrangements feet. Spider Bruce and the house Puree 1 and «ey ^n^«ay manner don't hold up. ! comics are okay in one of their Freddie uanone nouse orcn. oacK Hoftor and Bvrd ave a pleasing : standard blackouts. , - mixed twosomV essaying tappery ;, Comedy patter of Wiggles Royce and some ballet, setting matters is weak. In baggy pants he sports for the sock act of Paul Sydell; a straw chapeau and also carries and hil pooches Georgie Kaye is a live duck. Quahty of his humor BAKEE INTO WALTZ' Detroit, Jan. 25. aiiu iiis uuuuuco. —v j , .1, - - , „ K., n V,. The Civic Light Opera Assn'. of next with gags and some dialect | can best be summed up bV a re- ^.^ singing, after which the Ming Sing | mark of Barnet .s I ^an see you ^^j^ ^^^^^ ^.^^^ ^vodyxe- tan^tpo ''^'^ ""isic. "Satire on ' Stars, five girls and a male in have your ear to the giound ^^^^^^ ^^^^^ For S the audience, i punchy juggling and acrobatics, probably pick up a lo^^^^^^ ^^^.^^^ ^^^^ Itainly it has little prospect for Broadway, where it would have to... compete with the big traveling at- tractions, and "Howdy, Mr. Ice.'* . And even in the hinterlands its po- tential lure is extremely small. Comedies, of course, provide the , evening's highlights, with Dorothy McCusker walking away with top honors. A skating looker, she com-, bines exceptional blade skill with a flair for miming and timing that produce top results. Freddy Wa* die's few comic bits also .sparkle, ^ In the straight skating division, Buff McCusker (Dorothy's broth- er ) displays excellent form and: technique, but he's badly hampered by the limited space in which he's forced to work, as is Marie Pur- viance, who tops the femme blade experts. She has one sock number paired with Dick Simonton in a jitterbug routine. Dick Barstow's staging is as good as space permits. Bulk of the pro- duction coin apparently went for an expensive compressor (report- edly costing around $30,000 and one of five such in the country), with sets and costumes betraying, evidence of resultant tightened ■pur.se-strings. Kap.