Variety (April 1953)

Wednesday, April 29, 1953 PBSzISTf HOUSE REVIEWS 69 Music Hall, N. V* - Saludos Amigos/’ with Alma Ro - ta & Antonio Valero, Calgary Bros Bobby Brandt, Choral En- semble, Corps de Ballet, Rockettes, Music Hall Symphony Orch con- ducted by Raymond Paig&; "Shane” (Par), reviewed in Va- riety April 15, 53. With a Latin American fiesta the cay theme of the Music Hall’s stage offering, Russell Markert has pro- duced an oddly uneven show that only sporadically catches the usual sparkle of the Hall spectacles. Set- tings by James Stewart Morcom this time are colorful but not overly imaginative. Highpoints are pro- vided by the Calgary Bros.’ comedy routines and acrodancer Bobby Brandt. , Music Hall symphony orch intros the show with a somewhat brassy medley of tunes from Gilbert & Sullivan. Baton theatrics performed by conductor Raymond Paige at the show Friday night (24) must have struck some in the audience as ridiculous and more in the na- ture of a dance act than the lead- ing of a symphony orch. Medley .. segued into a beautifully lit “Lost Chord”, number featuring the Choral Ensemble in a very effec- tive rendition. “Saludos Amigos” kicks off with the “Bellas Flores” number, featur- ing Alma Rosita & Antonio Valero in lively flamenco dances both as solos and with the Corps de Ballet. Dancers draw mitting and give way to the Calgary Bros., who go into a side-splitting comedy act. Best part of their routine is a slow-motion fight which they execute with un- usual skill. Team really gives the show a lift and manages to come up with something refreshingly new and different.'" Brandt takes his time to get go- ing but performs some astonishing acroterp feats in the windup. He’s followed by the Choral Ensemble giving a routine offering of “Or- chids in the Moonlight” and “Per- fidia.” Climax has the Rockettes, attrac- tively costumed by Frank Spencer, going through some fancy sambo steps before forming their custom- ary precision - tap line. “Noche Caribe” and “Wow, Wow, Wow” provide the number with musical background. Patricia Rayney is the soprano soloist and comes. off nicely. Hift. Palladium, London London, April 21. Grade Fields, Merry Macs (4), Robert Maxwell, The Rastellis (4), Edwards Bros . (3)‘, Jimmy Wheel r er, Terry Hall, Krista & Kristel, Palladium Girls (16), Woolf Phil- lips Skyrockets Orch . The Palladium audience is prob ably the most loyal in the world; that fairly obvious truism was more than evident in the vociferous wel- come-back accorded Grade Fields She is still “Our Grade” to Lon- doners, the Lancashire Lass whose success has never gqpe to her head and whose quality as a performer seems to improve with maturing years. There is no “side” to her artistry and she never loses contact with the customers out front Her act is as polished as ever with a deft mixture of current hit tunes, a couple of ballads, and com edy numbers in her traditional and * engaging style. It is the songs in the latter group which regularly gamer the strongest reaction and in this stint she has one perennial fave, “Only a Glass of Champagne," and a boffo newcomer ip “Mr. Goggabee.” Her pops are shrewdly chosen and tailored to fit the rou- tine, with “That Doggie in the Win- dow” as her opener*and “Wonder- ful Copenhagen” and “The Ugly Duckling” as other strong entries. Among her ballade is a fine inter- pretation of “Watching Over- You,’ and a surprise hit with her emo- tional rendition' of “The Lord’s Prayer.” The latter may not be regarded as normal vaudeville stuff, but the Customers loved it. Audience loyalty is again - demon strated for the return of the Merry Macs. This close-harmony quartet with their stylized and* precise vocals, have a powerful local fol- lowing which will be strengthened by this stint. Their smooth and faultless arrangements provide a distinctive quality, and in* a slick session they collar a tofc score for their lineup of songs. Introing adroitly with an appropriate lyric about meeting old friends; they segue into an oldie, “Side- by Side,” to hefty returns,-and follow with a lively arrangement of “Hambone” and “The Scottish Samba.” For their bowoff they do a popular re prise of “Pass the Biscuits-Mandy.” . A newcomer from the U.S„ harp- ist Robert Maxwell,: makes -a socko. impact and, by the second perform- ance, had been elevated to the final spot before the intermission. A complete master.of*his instrument ,. e , appears equally at efcse with ionaL style medley, he follows with i heated-up version of “The St. .ouis Blues,” maintains that pace with “Spoghetti Rag,” but waits for his final number, the “Second Hun- ganan Rhapsody,” to display his full artistry. There are^no mixed opinions about his impact and he qualifies for the Palladium’s noted begoff treatment. Another first-time act from America, the Edwards Bros., are a trio of skilled acrobats who are self-accompanied at the keyboard. They register in pleasing style and 'ustify the warm mitting received or some of their nifty tricks. A Continental team of musical clowns, also making their debut here, are the Rastellis, a quartet with novel ideas, an innate sense of humof and an understanding ap- proach to theatre conventions. The act is occasionally ragged in make- up but the overall effect achieves a cqnsistent merriment. One of the high spots is simultaneous playing of two concertinas by one of the performers. Jimmy Wheeler, w.k. local come- dian, is. too obviously straining for effect and, although he has added some new patter since last seen in town, has left in some of the more distasteful parts of his act. Terry Hall (New Acts) is a young ven- triloquist who will, in due course, make his mark; and Krista & Kris- tel, Continental twin trapezists, again impress with their skill, tim- ing and precision. The Palladium dancing line fills the two opening spots with pleasant routines and the Skyrockets orch give unfailing class backgrounding for the entire production. ' Myro. Chicago, Clii. Chicago, April 24. Patti Page, George Shearing Quintet, Dave Barry, Carnevals (2), Louis Basil Orch; “Never Wave At a WAG” ( RKO ). v v—m equally at efcs t with* hght popular music .‘as * with the, — — classics. Teeing off with ■-* This one-weeker should have a lot of draw with Patti Page the top record songstress at the moment. In addition, it has the George Shearing unit, for the more pro- gressive jazz fans, but also offers a more than palatable stint for the other seatholders. Dave Barry capitalizes on some unusual sound takeoffs and the Carnevals start off matters with fast terping. House band, which does an in- tricate job in pacing the acts, works from the pit this week due to 3-D installation work going on. Maestro Louis Basil still manages to bring on the acts with fanfare and hullabaloo, not being cramped by the narrow space. Carnevals, a youthful pair, get some laughs with their highsehool-type jitter- bugging, but really rate yocks- with their Charleston carbon, complete with a short gown from the ’20s. Shearing offers four relaxing numbers with, of course, most* of the *chording by 88’er, but it’s complemented by the brilliant vibe work of Cal Tjader. Seems the vibe man picks up the chords as Shear- ing breaks away from the keyboard, so there’s always a stringed per- cussion mood. Most of the num- bers are in the standard catalog and in the lighter vein, but in upbeat tempo, as in “Lady is a Tramp.” Shearing has a wry quip for each number that gets chuckles from the hep audience* “How High the Moon” gives Jean Thielman, guitarist, a chance to sock over a few rapid fingerings. Whole group gets out of the set pattern with a touch of Latin on “Caravan,” which has Tjader switching to hand drums and Thiel- man to harmonica. It’s more ex- citing fare and.gets a big mitt. Barry has some fine vocal imita- tions of sounds that he weaves into most of his stories. He does a series of traffic noises before catching a mitt with a broken-down record of Mario Lanza. He throws away some shorties before going into the effects of television, which allows him full play to bear down on the various video programs. His “Pri- vate Eye” clincher could have been better with some cutting. Miss Page, America’^ No. 1 wax woman, tees off with a tunc not her own, “Side by Side,” but which provides her with a peppy -starter. She gets into her . own book with the plaintive, “I Went To Your Wedding” and then switches the pace with a new tune based on the “William Tell” Overture that has a catchy lyric. .. - Chirper does a round of her hit tunes of the past few years, with “Tennessee Waite” getting the best reception. She conies from the wings with a beagle hound puppy wearing a most forlorn puss. She cuddles him as she sings *her cur- rent bestseller, “Doggie in the Window,” with the. band members doing the “arfing.” It's a. show bit natural and .when £He lets the, pooch but on a leaser $nd it pulls, or attempts to pull,‘her away from the mike, it. gets heartwarming chuckles from the mob. * Miss Page and-her'“doggie’- haveito beg off. *.► / *» Stabe, Capitol, Wash. Washington, April 26. Bill Lawrence, Dolinoff & Faya Sisters (4), Leonardo & Anita, Bobby Jule; “Sombrero ” (M-G). There’s less variety and more novelty than usual in this split- week lineup. This is the session in which Capitol departs from its regular full-week pattern to make way for three day run of the Metropolitan Opera Co. Novelty of bill wears towards end and re- sult is less interest and slower pace than customary here. Headliner Bill Lawrence is very much the same gauche, self-con- scious type of singer he was when Arthur Godfrey first launched him. His brand of boyishness ap- parently goes well with the juke- box crowd, though response at show caught was less hysterical than when he was here last. He has a listenable set of pipes, with good pitch, but little warmth, color or *distinctiveness. Steers clear of too much patter, which is iust as well, since it adds up to little. Of half-dozen tunes, current and old, -best bet are “Your Cheating Heart” and Johnny Mercer’s “Goody-Goody.” Faster tempo of latter is welcome relief from bal- lad routine and gives Lawrence solid sendoff from galleries. “I Get a Kick Out Of .You” impresses as weakest link in act’s musical chain. Lawrence fans like through- out, others take indifferent atti- tude. Dolinoff & The Three Raya Sis- ters bring curtain down to biggest mitt action of bill. Novelty terp routine has been virtually un- changed for years, but it’s still solid entertainment and skillfully produced. Make fine start with a doll routine featuring colorful costumes and a “wedding of the Dainted doll.” . Best is still the final number with Dolinoff blacked out in his jet tights, which *mkke him invisible against the black drop. Effect is garnered by means of this optical illusion of invisibil- ity, with Dolinoff making the Raya Sisters achieve all kinds of gravity- defying and zany stunts. Bobby Jule does oke as curtain- raiser with some hep juggling and some weak comedy. There’s a Shade too much cuteness in his efforts to get chuckles, but get them he does, and pewholders go for his brand of dexterity. Leon- ardo & Anita round out bill with a south-of-the-border ventro rou- tine of which the topper is a char- coal drawing gimmick with mov- able lips. House gives them a fine sendoff. Flor. Olympia* ltfia’ , *tl Miami, April 25. Gus Van, Sheila Barrett, Walton & O’Rourke. Jimmy Stutz* Vince & Gloria Haydock, Les Rhode House Orch; “l Confess ” (WB). Well-rounded layout installed here this week adds up as one of the most solid to play this house in a long time. Bookers in this case have come up with a varied assort- ment of crowd-pleasers from top- liners Gus Van and Sheila Barrett through supporting acts. - Veteran Van, now.a resident of the Beach, winds a nostalgic trip through old vaude days to present a deft, easy approach that marks the heart the oldtimers project to hold the newer generation’s inter- est throughout. Mixture of dialect yarns and songs, plussed by caval- cade of hits he was associated with, ranging from “Oh, You-.Beautiful Doll” through “Me and f My Gal,” mates the palms. Tqpper is par- ody on “Cry” with ribbing of modern-day song salesman winding him into sock sendoff. Another vet trouper who retains the talent which brought her up in .the ’30s is Sheila Barrett. The tall, j slender impressionist displays pre- dilection for biting carbons of Tal- lulah, Garbo, with change of hair- do and facial twists in front of aud adding to impact; plus her charac- ter ideas such as the Brooklyn , gal and the devastating lampoon of synthetic southern lass loading It up at a bar, to add up a wham se- quence that had them pounding. Puppet work of Walton & O’Rourke earns solid returns with the deft pair handling their figur- ines in top fashion. Array of types shows imagination — a dowager, colored pair, hula dancer, torch singer and piano player—with fresh sounding dialog and lyrics adding to overall effect. Vince & Gloria Haydock set a fast pace .with their nimble hoof- ery. Personable youngsters handle themselves in showmanly manner to win healthy plaudits. for their heel-and-toe routines. Juggling of Jimmy Stutz hits high on the mitt,meter. Works his clubs, balls and hoop tricks in slick pro- gression with big palm-rouser a stunt with flaming torches against blacked-out tf age, Les Rhode house oreh handles the skowjoacks ex- pertly, • .n ,}/utuv ,*Lary. ■ Benny Parlays Delayed Take and Pout Into Frisco Boff: Davis. Jr.. Gisele Shine By JOE SCHOENFELD By virtue of a successful “break- in” engagement at the Palladium in London, a few fortunate U, S. cities are getting an opportunity to see and enjoy still another top Arnerican entertainer in the stiraight-vaude idiom. While cer- tainly no stranger to the variety stage, Jack Benny has too long been missing from the domestic theatre stages. And like Danny Kaye and Judy Garland and Betty Hutton, it took a click (late last year) in Val Parnell’s bailiwick to persuade Benny to take a tem- porary stroll outside the radio- television world in which he has for so long been a dominant figure. Opening night (Tues.), Binny, the suave master of the long, slow take and the expressive pout, com- pletely won a Frisco audience. Heading a fast-moving, almost thoroughly entertaining variety revue, Benny looks as much a cinch at the b.o. as he is on the stage. Following his three-week stand here, he will play Seattle, Portland and Vancouver. He’s following what has now be- come the w.k. Palladium pattern of Curran, S. F. San Francisco. April 22. Jack Benny, Will Mastin Trio featuring Sammy Davis. Jr.: Gisele MacKenzie, Frakson, The Carsony Bros. (3), The Martells & Mignon (4); musical director, Mahlon Mer- rick: staged by Macklin Megley; $4.80 top. presentation—a four-act first half with the star taking over the last half. Plus his own unquestioned ability to hold and, please an audi- ence, Benny has fortified himself with some cracker jack acts. In fact, one of them, Sammy Davis, Jr., also lends some b.o. as well as entertainment weight because of Dast success here at the Fairmont Hotel. Another performer in the layout, Gisele. MacKenzie. gaining a reputation on records (Capitol) as well as having a radio rep (“Club 15”), show's an extraordi- nary flair as an entertainer, con- sidering her limited personal ap- pearance experience, and she’ll build via word-of-mouth as the three-week date here progresses. Davis and Miss MacKenzie dom- inate the first half and up ahead of intermission Benny is only a name in the program. In the sec- ond-half opener, the Martells & Mignon, three men and a girl adagioists, are at best only a five-minute stage wait to permit the audience to get reseated. A standard act for a number of years, the adagio turn has gone to seed—or “fat” would be a better word. The three men look as though they’ve been laying off in a 24-hour cafeteria while con- stantly hungry. Fortunately, their cumbersome efforts are not ex- tended too long before Benny makes his first appearance. Miss MacKenzie, spotted next- to-closing Davis for the. intermis- sion curtain, appears destined for the heights. She has ability and a surefire stage presence that will carry her to stardom if she’ll hold certain mugging propensities in bounds and get better costuming for her willowy figure. The decol- lete doesn’t look like the right fit in this case. She has a fine singing style for diversified numbers. Particularly outstanding in her delineation of a chorine’s dream of stardom ■— Ethel Merman singing “I’ve Got Rhythm”; Judy Garland doing “Over the'Rainbow”: Marv Mar- tin’s “I’m in Love With a Wonder- ful Guy”—on the bare backstage of a theatre after the show's cur- tain has -rung down. Up ahead, she's effective with “Pretend” and “Wild Horses” and she finishes strong with “Le Fiacre.” She held the audience all the way and could have stayed beyond her 16 min* utes. As for Davis, he is a rare talent —a crackerjack at dancing,. com- edy singing and mimicry. He’s the act. but actually the billing is “Will Mastin Trio featuring Sam- my Davis, Jr., America’s greatest trio.” His father and uncle are on the stage to give stfme authenticity to the program rote, but Davis is a one-man gang and even if the act were billed as an octet he would live -up to it No doubt a* strong sense of loyalty binds him* to father and uncle Mastin, but there’s no logic to the act’s rou- tining which sidetracks at ‘least 50% of the audience attention from young Davis, Why Davis must be flanked by" hfs tfrtthter r tfhd ^Jl ‘ (Uptime; he’s on the stage is completely mystifying, particularly when Uncle Mastin is silently parroting everything young Davis is saying or singing or, when not moving his mouth, grabbing attention by fingering his tie, straightening his hat or smoothing his cuffs. It's scene-stealing at its worst. Open- ing night, by actual count, Uncle Mastin straightened his bowtie 43 times while *his nephew was try- ing to hold audience attention. Other contributions to the act by Pana Davis and Uncle Mastin com- prise some slight dancing and not particularly effective rhythmic handclapping. A* the preem show, the act was on 27 minutes, in the first half and it besneaks the talfent of voung Davis that the audience could have taken more, much more, even after-such a stretch, of side dis- tractions. Whether sinking or dancing, or imitating Mario Lanza and Johnnie Ray, or Jimmy Cagney or Jimmy Stewart, or doin'* Jerry Lewis as funnv as Lewis himself, Davis is a sol ? d smash. Show's first two acts are okay novelties — the Carsony Bros., thro* hand-balancers who have a surefire, closing trick in one-hand stands on canes, and Frakson, the sleight-of-hand artist, who is most effective in pulling n^m^rous cigarets out of thin air. Frakson also talks, but what he says is largelv lost. In comparison with his dialer*. Vishinsky sounds like Anthony Eden. Benny got a very warm recep- tion on his entrance and told the audience that he was here “by court.esv o* Lou Lurie (part-own- er of the Currm) and t^e Collec- tor # of Internal Revenue.” adding, “For peonl» who know my Income best, it’s Humphrey two-to-one.” Benny’s material sparkles with newness and freshness. It’s funny and it’s witty — and he pxoertly uses t**r delayed ta^e and the pout to build laughs without spying a word. During the last half Be^nv also renrises Davis for “Halleluiah” and a Sinatra - Eokstine - Daniels takeoff on “Old Black Ma°ic”; and Mis 4 ? MacKenzie fo»* “Anf wiederschn” and “Don’t, Let ihe St.-rs Get In Your Eves.” On the latter song the songstress is guilty of her worst over-mugging. Benny’s tontine with “The Three Landru Sisters” (Iris Adrian, Muriel Landers and June Earle) d’dn’t get a full measure of laughs onening night. Somewhere, the timing was off this mrnball rou- tine, a repeat from Benny’s last Palladium d^te (and just before th^t on his TV show). On- the other hand. Benny squeezes, the most humor pr'csible from this by now standard hillbilly routine, emp’nving five rn'm and a deadpan kid, ’ Cntbv Staples. Then as an encore, with a snazzy robe to cover the overall 1 ’. Penny gives the audbmne Ifc only listen to semi-legit fiddle pJaving. with a tape-recording behind him the voice of Bennv, the actor. It’s an excellent finale. Mahlon Merrick . rates special mention for the manner In which the show h played musically: ditto Macklin Megley for the smooth staging. Palace, X. V. Congaroos (4), L add Lvon (2), Del Ray. Ross & La Pierre, Buster Shaver & Olive, Tippy . & Cobina , Dave ApoHon, Howard & V/anda Bell, Jo Lombardi Bo\*rp Orch; “The Blue Gardenia ” < WB ), re- viewed in Variety March 18, '53. It’s now difficult to tell whether eight-act grind or two-a-day is now the usual order at the Palace The- atre. On Sunday (26) Danny Kaye, et al.. bowed out of the house and on the following morning the grind policy set up shop vdfh an extremely tasteful bill. Booker Danny Friendly is now finding it e n sier to set up cards for this the- etre. After all, the only other Stem house now using acts in the regular sense is the Paramount. ‘When the Palace first opened, it had to compete with several other theatres and generally got the leavings. The initial layout under the grind policy constitutes good va- riety. There’s pace and solid play- ing values. There’s a newcomer to local houses, Del Ray; otherwise there are vets of the vaude circuits playing here and all do well in their respective spots. Opening day was enlivened by guest ap- pearances. Morey Amsterdam and Jackie Gleason cuffoed during the day, • Dave Apollon, who last appeared 81 u l kObntinucd on prfge 1 ft))*