Variety (April 1953)

62 NIGHT CLUB REVIEWS PSfsidrr Wednesday* April 29, 1953 George Whites Treaty of Versailles’; Old Hand’s N.Y. Sock Via‘New Faces By LEONARD TRAUBE George White has made a re- sounding comeback ip Gotham via his cafe-angled “musicalette” at the Versailles. The town’s top scribes and show bizzers (chgerers and jeerers) turned out in force last Wednesday (22) to see what the producer of 14 editions of “Scandals” had up his sleeve after a long and often down-at-heels hiatus that had as its dubious climax a one-year confinement on a farm on a manslaughter rap stemming from an auto accident. (White insisted he fell asleep mo- mentarily at the wheel). They found the sleeve prodigious with talent, deft production sans bene- fit of the usual accoutrements (the Versailles lacking both space and technical assets), and a razzle-daz- zle musicomedy in miniature that packed a wallop disproportionate to its small cast of 10—all of them principals—plus two femme mood- setters. Within 15 minutes of the jam- and Don Liberto. Of ovation stature is blonde Miss DeWitts "Mother Knows Best,” which is rigged to the pulchritudinous Gabor menage. In the more popular vein. Stew- _ . art & Liberto caress "Rain in My | s ition. Whether visitors will rally Heart” (Yellen-Caesar lyrics; Lou j c j^ er3 f or them depends upon Cobey music) and carry it out with a matched-up dance, the lad op- El Rancho, Las Vegas Las Vegas, April 22. Gregory Ratoff & Susan Zanuck, Joel Grey, Billy Williams Quartet , Joel Friend, El Rancho Girls (8), Hal Schaefer, Bob Ellis Orch (10); no coner or minimum. Curiosity will pull plenty of traffic into El Rancho Vegas for a* gander at fabled character and screen actor - director ' Gregory Ratoff who, with Susan Zanuck, daughter of 20th-Fox chieftain Darryl Zanuck, is in headline po- erating on an elevation above and behind the orch and the femme on the stage. Another catchy en- try is "A Girl in Your Arms” (music, Jay Gomey; lyrics, Caesar), sung by Linda Lombard and Lou Nelson and concluding with Li- berto’s kinetic but slightly over- done aero takeoff on "Cry.” “Nice to See You” has # a theme song of ditto name to intro the show and for reprises, with Caesar | & Yellen getting an assist from- Belle Fenstbck 'on the w & m. Paula Stewart displays an operetta soprano on the cheerful tune. Most of the principals triple uiftily in the song-dance-comedy depart^ ments and the layout is so rapid- fire as to give the semblance of a large cast. Skits and groupings are nicely spaced and paced un- der a tongue-in-cheek script that’s mostly a rib of book-shows.* The talent is largely in the “been around” class but lacking any name lure. White has expertly teined them for their specialties, worked them into his scheme* with new, or seemingly fresh material, and made them appear as “fresh faces” for .the bolte belt. Several of them have been castoffs or pre- viously auditioned and scrapped for given shows at the Versailles. Dorothy Keller, who’s played the packed teeoff. It began to dawn on N. Y. Copa and .TV, is a socko, all and especially sundry that the, free-wheeling, eccentric dancer Gay White Way had suddenly been with fluent- mugging, and Marge transplanted to the east side Duncan is ditto. Lou Nelson, with saloon over which Nick (Prounis) similar background, has several & Arnold (Rossfield) preside. It clicko stints, topping with,a mock recalled the "Scandal”-monger’s emceeship and oldtime vaude Broadway nitery flier • some 10 tunery plus a getaway terp that years ago only because that short- rates him a virtual Uegoff. Georgie lived enterprise was tagged Gay Kaye, vet of theatres and niteries, White Way, at what’s now the rings up a fat score in his psycho- Latin Quarter; not the least of that memory monolog that’s skillfully being the pun-touched pigment in timed, in addition to other turns the title. throughout, including aT third di- Most impressive' value of the mensional view of.pop songs, show aside from its load of extra- . ^ worker in the nitery-vaude- competent performers was the 'TV-legit-film vineyards, A1 Nor- speed and cue-perfectionism vnth man j s a flexcentrick hoofer capa- which it piayed at pree.m. White ble of lifting the proceedings. Fay had cutely maneuvered a senes of DeWitt wh §’ s played a few cafes, sneak previews beginning Sunday 5q n hinndP hnvden who. in addi- (19) and ending Tuesday. (21), sandwiched between the regular Versailles* IV. Y. Nick & Arnold present George "White's musicalette, “Nice to See You,” by Jack Yellen, Irving Cae- sar, White; music and lyrics, Yel- len & Caesar; incidental .music, Charles StroiLse; costumes , Wilma; musical director , Salvatore Gioe (& Orch); with Georgie Kaye, Fay DeWitt, Don Liberto, Patti Ross, Dorothy Keller, Al Norman, Lou Nelson, Marge Duncanl Paula Stewart, Linda Lombard, Barbara Stewart, Carol Ohmart; Panchito Rhumbas; $5 minimum. strengthening of certain weak points as the fortnight progresses. (See New Acts.) As tilings stood even before opening (22), producer Tom Doug- las must have held a few doubts himself as to staying power of his main act because he had youthful comedian Joel Grey standing by four days in advance of Ratoff’s debut Grey subsequently went into the show two nights later L Billy Williams Quartet saved the shebang' before Grey joined the roster. They stop everything cold right at the top, making* wjth terrif selling of tunes. Sparked by effervescence of-Williams, who wheels along the high tenor route in solo passages, foursome wraps up “Dry Bones,” “I Believe” and “Ride, Red Ride” *as best mitt- grabbers, with other ditties getting fine salvos as well. Dottie Dee’s El Rancho Dancers pose prettily rfs they step the par- quet, hands waving and derrieres wiggling., First is a chiffon-clad round, followed midway by their Afro-Cuban holdover from last a stroblit Brazilian before finale. Bob the way musically Will. two-act bill of comic Larry Storch and singer Carmen Torres. The management told the celebrants to go on with their victuals and vita- min juice while White was “fool- ing aroynd” rehearsing his troupe. It was a typical White stratagem that fibres to pay off in diamonds. Not much carat pointage for White, though, since in his zest to is a blonde hoyden who, in addi tion to her juicy scores in the “Hardest Working Girls” and “Mother Knows Best” numbers, does a lampoon on the French chantoosies and Yma .Sumac's coloratorture that has the house in the w.k. stitches. In some ways, the big - smash be- longs to youngster Patti Ross, first because this is her N. Y. debut (she was. scouted at the Thunder- vr uut, LuvugUf Aii iiwgi, vv ,, , ' , j get his foot back in he made, the bird, Las Vegas) and second, be- most modest sort Of' deal with the cause she s a terping contortionist bistro. The coin will come two-ply; who knows what a face and body probably a new deal growing out are tor in footlight terms. She of his current click plus snowball- does an acrostnp after shedding ing TV-guester-Broadway offers, her flowing gown and with slow, Another edition of “Scandals” is tantalizing > buildup, shakes the more than a glint in the Whitefs) rafters. A good deal of her ground of his eyes. stuff is lost, however, except to That the Versailles braintrusters ringsiders. Barbara Stewart and were not unaware of the potency Carol Ohmart serve as decorative of the vestpocket revue that’s and articulate storytellers at lec- labeled "Nice to See You” terns flanking the proscenium ver- wa.s evidenced Thursday morning tic'als when, pre-dating' and intuitively After the show proper, White anticipating the smashola reviews was~ called out for 10 minutes of and column-pundit commentary, bows, credits (especially to Saiva- they broke out Thursday with tore Gioe’s sterling, backing), a bit kingsize ads in tribute to the of softshoe as per his break-in VMaster Touch” of George White. SO me 30 years ago, and was gifted The text seemed to hint at the fine by the cast with * a gold Dunhill Eye-talian hand of pressagent lighter. His previous break-in was John O’Malley, but it niftily cov- a s art aide, at age 14, to Rube Bern- ered the situation in its candid ap- stein, the fabulous billposter, and proach to the comeback excursion, then he went on to burlesque when as ; de fjom the more positive box- that field had other connotations office facets. , than now prevail. To help launch him upon his latter-day career. White brought up a heavy artillery twain who rlodically had trotted out the words & music for his "Scandals” and other showtuners. Jack Yellen frames, and samba just Ellis leads okay. Thimdcrhird* Las Vegas (FOLLOWUP) JeanY Carroll stepped into the , i departing footsies of Robert . Q. IS oJK I Lewis, after he skied east to fill contracted vid chores, and further on the last full-blown “Scandals in 1939 and Trving Caesar (with Yellen) cleffed the series at inter vals. Their biggest and sauciest num- ber is “Hardest Working Girls” and cemented her Vegas position by displaying smart comedies. Biz continues On the upgrade. ’ Few femme comics 4f any, can Hotel Chase, St. Louis St. Louis, April 21. Robert Q. Lends (with Fred El- ton), The Foursome, Tommy Reed Orch (12); $1-1.50 cover* Sandwiching nitery engagements between his TV and radio chores, Robert Q..Lewis is not only pack- ing them in at this plush spot but walloping across a wide variety of stuff. He is a click entertainer with an equally click personality whose rapid-fire whimsies drawn hearty guffaws and some of the heaviest palm-pounding dished out here- abouts. * . , Lewis doesn’t try to hog the show. It includes the Foursome, twq gal lookers and two males who seem to border on the teenage limit. They work in his teeoff and finale. Lewis also gives his pianist, Fred Elton, a sturdy bally and has him join in “Bye Bye Blackbird,” each using a separate mike as Elton manipulates the 88. Lewis gets off to a sock start with his interp of “No Biz Like Show Biz’Lwith.the Foursome. He follows with a’rollicking disserta- tion oh how he attempts to sub for Arthur Godfrey with “Substitute For Love,” in which he says that capsules will soon be available for all human emotions, drawing a thunderous mitt. After some soft-shoe byplay Lewis replaces Elton at the key- board, plays a few bars of “God Bless America,” then warbles a parody on “Change In The Weath- er” and traces the genealogy of the family name with some zany stuff thrown in to Elton’s accomp of |*“I’ve Got to Change My Name.” With the Foursome back, the cus- tomers are provided with .tiny tin tambourines for Lewis’ windup via "Hallelujah,” with all smacking the instruments. Session tees off with unbilled baritone in Tommy Reed’s outfit scoring with “Mississippi Mud” during which the tooters join for the chorus. Foursome cop a neat mitt with the first of their three ditties, “Love Is Sweeping The Country.” Both gals ,are brunets wearing eye-filling yellow strapless gowns. They follow in a tap routine with the gals working together and separately and the lads on different- parts Of the floor. Tfie changing lights aid in the solid palm-pound- ing. Ditto for their own arrange- ment of “When You Were- Sweet Sixteen.” The windup ditty, “Mr. Anthony’s Boogie,” also wins lusty approval.. Reed’s boys have plenty to do during this 45-minute layout [but acquit themselves with eclat. Saint. it’s a show-stopper. Because its touch this gal. She’s hep, knows fulcrum is dumb doras of easy how to deliver with timing of a virtue with lyrics to match, it won’t master. Her one-liners keep yocks make capital elsewhere. But in rolling between setups about gam- the show it’s a powerhouse via the hlmg, modern moppets, and top- singing and mugging of Fay De- Per rib 0 f chantoosies in parodies Witt, Dorothy Keller and Marge o/. ‘‘Went to My Wedding,” plus Duncan. Example of how the trio Yiddish River Shannon, operates is the line, “What we did Irving Fields carries on with his for the Democrats we’re now doing trio in show-stopping antics, lead- for Homburg hats.” On the smooth, ing from the Steinway in flash ballady side is “This Time” (music, pianistics. Johnny Conrad Dancers Sidney Green; words, Caesar), han- toss in sexy diversion with four died with proper pash by the re- femmes working around Conrad vue’s romantic duo, Paula Stewart for some exciting t.erps. Will. neat figure (from which she’s shed weight) accented by nature. Blonde, encased in low black net gown, utilizes a rose bouquet to hide a handmike as she runs thi*ough an animated 40-minute sesh of seven tunes, laced with dialog bits. Cany chirp concen- trates on male patrons with “L’amour,” bestows busses on same during sexy “Kiss Me,” and gives with an overlong “La Belle France,” with wartime overtones. Oldie, “When You’re Smiling,” precedes “Eyes of Texas,” as Miss Darcel milks ringsiders into a singsong. At opening, thrush got sock support from male tabler. Pair toured floor with “Alouette” lyrics for yocks and heavy mitting. Fred Stamer gives expert piano backing to Miss Darcel, Abbey Al- bert orch favors terpers with floor- filling sessions^ Bark. Latin Quarter* Boston Boston, April 22. Billy Daniels with Benny Paine; Herkie Styles, Carol King, Bob Conrad Girls (8), with Bob Peters; Charlie Wolke Orch (11), Zarde Bros. Orch (4); $3 beverage mini- mum. Baker Hotel, Balias ; Dallas, April 23. Denise Darcel (with Fred Stam- er), Abbey Albert Orch (9); $3 cover. Infrequent local appearances of Gallic imports have been sad in the past. Reception of Denise Dar- cel ignores history and augurs good biz for the Mural Room. French thrush won’t woo patrons via vocal ability. Hers is mainly a boff appeal to tablers as a person- ality, exuding s.a. and showing a As result of Billy Daniels’ an- nual visit here, the spenders are back in action, the ropes are up and customers as well as L.Q. staffers are happy. Daniels, one of the more polished performers, is always socko here and current 10-day stint, on strength of open- ing "bight turnout plus hefty res- ervation list, should be no excep- tion. While he’s toned down slightly in 'the histrionic department, Dan- iels’ format continues essentially the same as during his previous visits with showmanship and vo- calizing of topnotch variety. Socks across with sbngalog which in- cludes standards, ballads and, teaming with accompanist Benny Payne, bits of dueting and gen- eral kibitzing abound. Inclusion of “My Yiddishe Momma” and “Old Black Magic” is always a must in the Daniels* log and the guy doesn’t disappoint, resulting in boff mitt action for begoff. Carol King tefes off the layout with an ambitious and clever bal- let bit depicting, with aid of off- stage recording, the emergence of an understudy to principal bal- lerina spot. Unwinding or story allows attractive redhead to show- case slick stint of whirls and spins with nice customer reaction down the line. Billed as a comic, Herkie Styles’ weak efforts failed to register with preem audience. The Bob Conrad dancers, aided by vocalizing of Bob Peters, whip three production numbers. Charlie Wolke orch, upped to 11 men for this stanza, showbacks nicely. The Zarde Bros, combo fills lulls. Elie. Last Frontier* Las Vegas Las Vegas, April 24. Dorothy Dandridge, Eddie Bracken, Ben Wrigley (with Joy Dexter, Dick Thorpe), Nick Perito, Roy Fitzell, Dolores Frazzini, Jean Devlyn Dancers (12), Bob Millar Orch (10); no cover or minimum. One of the top shows of all time for the Last Frontier, bizwise, is this Dorothy Dandridge toplined fortnight*, with Eddie Bracken lend- ing added potent name value. Since her quiet entry into Vegas,{ nitery circles over two years ago. Miss Dandridge has skyrocketed into that strata of rare mesmeri- izers. She looks gorgeous, wears stunning gowns, has a bewitching sexiness. There’s no doubt about the outcome of her stint right at the start as she bubbles a rhythmic “There’ll Be Some Changes Made.” Keeping the temperature hot, shoe pours out “Taking a Chance on Love,” “Talk Sweet Talk,” and completely capitvates with “Blow Out the Candles.” A throbbing background cadence set to “What Is This Thing Called Love” makes the standard Cole Porter some- thing new and exciting, with beg- off tune “Just One • of Those Things” wrapping up her terrif session. Bracken makes a very neat seg- ment-nut of his deuce spot (see New Acts), while Ben Wrigley grabs chuckles with double-jointed wrig- gles and terps. Works with wife, Joy Dexter, and straightman Dick Thorpe for good hoke, low comedy pratfalls and tumbles in closing “Doctor’s Office” sketch. Devlyn Dancers frame outstand- ing legmania of Roy Fitzell, a dy- namic and versatile terper. With “Carnival in Brazil” and sizzling closer, “Elks Parade,” • Fitzell’s orch provides fine support, having tapistry plus modern leaps and floor skids are on exhibit. Fem- mes in this line get nods for know- how in qhoreo division Bob Miller Nick Perito at the keyboard and downbeating the Dandridge spot Will, Birdland* N. Y. Stan Kenton Orch (19) with Chris Connors; Four Freshmen • $2.50 minimum. 1 This Is strictly for the Stan Kenton cultists; and there are ap- parently enough of them around to keep this cellar jazz haven at overflow- during the band’s two- week stand. It's Kenton’s first Gotham nitery stint but that presents no new barriers since he’s dittoing his surefire concert formula. Although the big band (four rhythm, io brass, five reed) appears cramped on the Birdland podium, its music 4s still free-wheeling and zestful. Orch works through a 40-minute’ stint mixing the Kenton originals with his sketches of standards for socko impact. Crew shows up best on the orig- inals. Here the sidemen, all top- flight instrumentalists, get ample opportunity to display their musi- cal ideas and progressive patterns for peak results. They seem a little restricted by the melodic lines of the standards and when they start Straying from that groove with novel arranging techniques, the familiar melody gets lost in a maze. However, it gives a good sampling of Kenton’s musical ex- perimentation and it goes over well with his fans. Chris Connors, orch’s lush thrush, offers a neat breather from the flock of instrumental offerings with some classy piping. She gets off slowly with “All About Ronnie,” but really wows ’em with “Jeepers Creepers,” “I’ll Remember April” and “I Get A Kick Out Of You.” Orch has. an overall youthful look and present an appealing, clean-cut appearance in smartly tailored tan suits. Four Freshmen, an imaginative vocal-instrumental combo who round out the bill, are reviewed under New Acts. Gros. Palmer House, Chi Chicago, April 23. Kitty Kallen, Sharkey Bonana Band .(6), Johnny .Bachemin , Miss Loni, Mendel Abbott * Danc- ers (8), Eddie O'Neal Orch (12) with Lee Leonard; $3.50 minimum , $1.10 cover. Merriel Abbott, producer for the Hilton Hotels, seems to have a habit of launching femme singers into stardom. Here again she repeats with Kitty Kallen. Pretty chirper is no novice in the entertainment ( field, starting as a tot in Philadel- phia 20 years ago and: after a stretch in radio, becoming one of the better-known band thrushes. As a single she has been more or less in the supporting class cate- gory, although she has had the lead in “Finian’s Rainbow” and several disclicks. Technically, perhaps, Miss Kal- len should be caught under New Acts, since, with the exception of “Glocca Morra” from “Finian’s,” there is no vestige of the old act. It’s now a combo of smart mate- rial, ably penned by Sonny Skyler and Eli Basse, but more important it’s a new personage. She’s sep- arated herself from the mike, work- ing throughout the room and with the customers, and displays hereto- fore undisclosed talents as a come- dienne and dancer. Lass has gained authority and is ready now for the things that follow, the top niteries, TV (but not just « a guest singer) and a new record pact Singer takes a handmike and tours tlje floor with a special “hello” song but really gets started with the. wistful “Glocca” which has the room stilled. After the ap- plause dies down she changes the pace with a rewritten version of her “Daddy in the White House,” which is now an open letter to the new President, asking for a job as a singer. Plea gamers plenty of yocks, but singer switches again to show another facet with a gutty lament of “St. Louis Woman” which gets her a hefty mitt. There’s a delightful fairy tale for adults in the story of the princess and the bullfrog, but she gets back into the blues stuff with “It Takes a Good Woman,” which meets with approval from the supper crowd. She dons a straw floater, a tophat, and finally a derby to intro some tunes; the last hat bringing on Sharkey Bonana arid his group as she sings “Darktown Strutters Ball.” Miss Kallen returns to Jhe floor after her stint to parade around the room with the Dixieland group as they go up and down the aisles singing and playing “When Ihe Saints Come Marching In.” The customers chime in and stamp and applaud as the pair strut off. . Rest of the show is ’a rousing complement to Miss Kallen’s stmt with Sharkey Bonana a natural ad- junct with his Dixieland music. His opener, however, is not on the two- beat side, but he gets started with “Muskrat Ramble” 1 and then he rolls with “Basin Street” and, of (Continued on page 64)