Variety (March 1955)

52 NIGHT CLUB REVIEWS Wednesday, March 23, 1955 Hotel Plaza, N. V* Ella Logan; Ted Straeter and Mark Monte Ofchs; $2 and $2,5a convert. .Given a sock record Or some standout legit show identifaction, akin to her w.k. “Finian’s Rain- bow,” and Ella Logan will emerge as a truly important cafe name. As is, on her own, she's one of the more savvy exponent of talk-and- i songalogs. The difference between the standard and extraordinary in this day and age is sometimes something as ephemeral as "truly mass identification; the disclick falls within that pattern. The personality Scotch - Irish songstress—the hoot-mon tag ling- ers because of the. Finian s motif—has developed an easy style of small talk that is offbeat and completely compelling. Her au- thoritative manner with a song is now more or less trade-accepted; the new fillip is the engaging chit- chat which rings like it’s off-the- cuff ahd not too much a rehearsed ad lib routine. Even in the tune recital she in- dulges in a completely “modern” treatment, be it the Jerome Kern oldie, "They Didn’t Believe Me/ Rodgers & Hart’s “Little Girl Blue,” "Strutters’ Ball” or ‘Bon- nie Lies Over Ocean,” with the in- evitable "Glocca Morra” and other standards in between. Always a pert personality. Miss Logan has trimmed down and is solidly big league in her stance and manner: She is also in com- plete command with the interlude palaver, done with intelligence and wit: Per usual, the Persian Room’s dansapators, Ted Straeter with the main band, and Mark Monte head- ing his versatile Continentals, give out with plenty of compelling hoofology. Per usual, also, maitre d’Fred, who looks like he’s been "cast” for a Hollywood version of ’what the diplomatic custodians of the velvet rope should be, hovers over his regulars and charms the casuals so that the pdrtal-to-portal service is not the least of this class hostelry room’s appeal, Abel. .Startler Hotel, LA. Los Angeles, March 15. Gene Sheldon, Peggy Sheldon, Micki Mario, Skinnay Ennis Orch (12); cover, $2. The atmosphere- should be Very pleasant for the next three weeks at Conrad Hilton’s downtown Ter- race Room. The buffoonery of Gene Sheldon, whose baggy-pants comedies have panicked audiences for years on the saloon belt and more recently on Such tv pro- grams as "Colgate Comedy Hour,” is enough to maintain this same tenor during his 35 minutes on- stage. With Capitol Records* Micki Mario for an opener find Skinnay Ennis’ music, the 50-minute show is a sure bet for anybody venturing out after dark. Sheldon uses the tried and true pantomime routines\ he’s f(fund most receptive, and wisdom, of his choice is seen in. the fact that the opening-night crowd . was in a constant roar. There’s nothing subtle about his act. Mum for the better part of his turn in which he works first with a banjo and then his wife, Peggy, his antics are aimed for yocks, with both the 88’er and the drummer giving him sound effect assists. It’s straight clowning, but the type born of long years of experimenting with popular taste, and results show in his hand. Finding his voice for the windup with three long stories, his true artistry as a pantomimist is even more fully revealed. Miss Mario comes on for seven songs, all well received. One of these is “Prize of Gold,” her latest Capitol recording, but two out- standing are "Dark Town (Strutter’s Ball,” attuned to her blue style of delivery, and "Just One of Those Things,” encore number. Whit. Desert Inn, Las Vegas Las Vegas, March 15, Frankie Laine, Bobby Sargent, Zippy the Chimp, Donn Arden Dancers (16), Carlton Hayes Orch (12); no cover, no minimum. Frankie Laine headlines a well- paced show, with the' tempo due mainly to the pair of neat Donn Arden productions. It plays here a month. Laine dispenses for the most part a parade of his oldies and they’re goodies to an audience still receptive to his special brand of song-stylings. "Shine,” "Lucky Old Sun,” "Jezebel” and "That’s My Desire” haunt between the star’s chatter, to which he devotes much too much time in his 30-minute stint. It’s a paunchier Laine this time around, too. "I’d Give My Life To Have- Your Love” is sung as a tribute to ,its 0 cqqipp.ser# C,arL. :>1‘ A a > I Vj . 9 i a Fischer, his late conductor. Laine beats out a novel jazz. version of "Some Day” from Vagabond King” with good results. His most vibrant topp’er is "Granada," that rates S rolonged applause. Pianist-con- uctor A1 Lerner is a standout in support. . Bobby Sargpnt is a likable comic. Comedian’s dee jay character . is still okay, as in the "Dragnet” ver- sion of his life story. His old jokes, however, are very old indeed. Zippy the Chimp garners* gobs of laughter as he rollerskates into the audience or climbs into his highchair from which vantage point he knocks out piano tunes accurately on a miniature key- board. The simian tyke is a good erowd-pleaser, dancing the mambo or teasing the audience with a water gun, and goes off to a big hand. Both Dohn Arden numbers arc spectacular. The fifrst, a smalltown production idea, finds a flower- covered cottage as the setting, with the dancers disporting themselves around a huge replica of a record- player drinking icecream sodas. ■ A swaying pirate ship garners big ap- plause in the second number, in- involving the captive dancers. The routines, lighting and costumes are topnotch and production singer Art Johnson is a standout in both chorea numbers played neatly by the Carlton Hayes orch. Bob. Latin Quarter, Boston Boston, March 15. Will Mastin Trio, featuring Sammy , Davis Jr. (with, Morty Stevens), Ray Royce , Beverly Fowler, Kurt‘Jons Dancers (3), Guy Guarino, Harry DeAngelis Orch, Zarde Bros. Trio; $5 min. Biz is perking at the L.Q. for this one-weeker and the reason is Sammy Davis Jr. It’s his first ap- pearance here since his Unfortu- nate accident a few months ago, but it’s quickly 'apparent that he’s lost none of his zest or enthu- siasm, for he dishes out the slick type of entertainment that has long been , his trademark. Backed by his uncle, Will Mas- tin, and his. father, Sammy Sr., who incidentally have less to do each time around, the junior Davis whips through a 50-minute Sesh of topnotoh'dancing, vocalizing, mim- icking and general kibitzing, build- ing to a frantic sesh on the drums and trumpet. Guy appears to have cut down on his carbons, which are among the best, and is giving his Straightforward vocalizing a bigger play, which is only natural, since a couple of his Dacca platters have broken through fairly strong re- cently. However, it’s a boffo sesh throughout *and the guy’s efforts nab socko spontaneous reactions from the custome’rs. Surrounding bill is okay,-teeing off with the Kurt. Jons Dancers, two males and a femme, who dis- play some nifty Oriental steps, some of which ate of the spoofing variety. Thrush Beverly Fowler shows to nice advantage in a varied song sesh. Gal looks nice and belts the songs across in okay style. Ray Royce, an adept juggler, nabs nifty yocks with his serio-comic tricks, winding sesh juggling three top- hats. while frantically pedalling a unicycle. Harry DeAngelis and his boys cut a nice show, with Morty Stevens taking over the batoning, plus a bit of clarineting, during the. Mastin turn. The Zarde Bros. Trio fills the lulls. Elie. Eddys’, K. €. Kansas City, March* 15. Paul Gray, Three Cheers, Thurl Henry Orch (8); $1 cover. Everything jelled on opening night of this one-weeker, and the show came off as a particularly sparkling evening. Comic* Paul Gray is here fresh from the Vei> sailles, New York, and was in fine form. It’s his first stint here in about four years. The Three Cheers have the open- ing spot for their story-song idea, in which they bring the entertain- ment norms of yesteryear up to date with their song interpreta- tions and Impressions. Trio of Sally Bremer, Gil Garfield and Bert Convy are attractive young- sters with a good basic idea in the pattern of vocal groups so popular today. Some rough edges show here and there, but their youthful verve and ambition should weed these out with mqre experience. Gray is the epitome of the Eng- lish professor, apparently, but soon lets the customers know he’s in it just for fun. He registers strongly all the way with a wide variety of yarns, kidding of vocal- ists and songs, all with very broad satire. His big stock is his comedy chatter and personally flavored material, with just enough song- foolery to heighten the whole. Gray is making this week one of ,the big ones at Eddy’s. Qunu, ; i «;:• ■ . o'-i-jr,' i'i. t Palmer Henze, €hl Chicago, March IT. Celeste Holm, Jonathan Winters, Empire Eight, Charlie'"Fisk Orch (10); $2 cover. The Empire Room has itself a winner in the current bill, featur- ing entertainment of the Holm- spun variety. Cap.acity throngs turned out opening night and the rope should, be up for the re- mainder of the run. Headliner Celeste Holm woos, wins and wows 'em with gracious- ness and talent. Sweeping into, the spotlight under gallant, escort, femme displays an aedte conscious- ness of, the" almost-defunct' art of the °grand entrance. Gowned in bouffant white, with a soon-doffed green cape dramatically draped over her shoulders, Miss Holm al- most immediately has the audience in the palm of her Hand and keeps it there. Gal’s ability to lose herself in a song, drawing the crowd into its mood, and yet endowing it with the unmistakable stamp of* a per- sonality, sells song and songstress. Naughtily flicking her ball gown skirt from time to time. Miss Holm allows a peek at shapely gams. Opening with “Young at Heart,” Miss Holm goes on to rib teevee and distaff Parisian imports in "C’est La TV,” a howling bit of special, material. In "Zip,” she sings of the literary witticisms ^of a brainy stripper, while going through the motions. Occasionally she varies the mood with a torchy ballad. Gal goes off to salvos loud and long. Jonathan Winters hold? up the comic end here with several well- received impressions. Winters cov- ers an island* invasion of the South Pacific war with shatply defined characterizations of the briefing officer, platoon sergeant and downtrodden Pfc. Switching to darkest Africa, he ribs mad dogs and- Englishmen in a hilarious safari bit starring Sir Trafalgar Whitney. Although the material is not "Startingly original, Winters carries it off well for hefty yocks and good palms. The Empire Eight intro the bill in a deftly-staged production num- ber, "Yellow Ribbons and Spring,” a terp expression of girls in the spring and young men’s fancies turned to aisle-marches with music from "Lohengrin.” Numbers are colorful and well executed. The Charlie Fisk Orch provides smooth dansapation when not ex- pertly backstopping the show. Gabe. Beachcomber, Miami B« ^ Miami Beach, March 19. Betty Hutton with Jack Regis & Herb Lurie, Morey Amsterdam, The-Nov-elites, Len Dawson Orch; $3.50-$5 bev. minimum. Ending what was probably the shortest “retirement” from show biz on record, Betty Hutton is happily back on the boards to again purvey her dynamics in song and patter at frenetic pace that would exhaust most performers in short order.* No matter the period of absence, it’s a triumphant return for Miss Hutton, testified to by the jampacked house for both shows on opening night. The Hutton pattern is basically the same followed when seen here last, although there are two male aides instead of three and—as staged here last season—no team- ing with Sophie Tucker, following buildup on her doing the Tucker story for films. Miss Hutton how- ever has retained the dedication to La Tucker in song for arousing climaxer to a 45-minute stint that never lets up in pace or zest. New in. the apt is a howler anent the Dior fashion ideas, "Welcome, Mr. Dior,” a lyric-narrative on the .good he’s doing for the types who do not possess the Marilyn Monroe sort of. physical attributes: It’s an inventive piece the tablers greet happily, the distaffers leading in the palming. Aides Herb Lurie and Jack Regis spell Miss Hutton ably with vo- calistics and hoofery, then provide" smart backgroundings for her big numbers. The continuing build, walfc-around bits with the ring- siders, add to the rapport es- tablished by entrance through audience, to sustain the hold into a resounding payoff at finish and resultant begoff. Morey Amsterdam has never played this area before. He’s a sock change from the many stand- up-and-belt-'em comics who are annual returnees come season- time. The pace set by the tv vet is a deceptively pedestrian one. The guy has himself a plentiful bag of material that is full of laugh-bait. Despite an occasional line that has been kicked around by others; he tosSes off his* stream barbs and comedy-songs with easy assurance that keeps the auditors inayock-mood, A good many of his inventions are off-trail to add to the rib- tickle reaction. This is not too easy a room** for a comic of his genre* to click in, but Amsterdam overcomes the vastness of the 900- seater in short order to establish the warmth necessary'for his brand of foolery to go over. It's a cinch he’ll be added to the roster of comedians who play this town twlce-yearly. The Noveiites can call this club their home grounds. They’ve played the biggery more frequent- ly than any other act in the busi- ness. Completely at ease, they sock over & 20-minute session that sets a zingy tempo for the show. Although adept on instrumentals —bass, guitar and accordion—they concentrate on their hillbilly spoof, the accordionist setting up the howls via a**, plastic pan th^t takes to mugging perfectly their spoofs on operas and tv’ers. The act could easily fill a co-topliner spot in most clubs. Len Dawson and his crew rate kudoes for their backgrounds, as does Jack Latimer for his sound, on-the-ball accompaniment for Miss Hutton. Lary.^ Park Sheraton, N. Y. Mimi Warren Trio } Eddie Lay• ton; no cover , no minimum. :—r- The Mermaid Room of the Park Sheraton has a natural business draught. Patronage from the hotel, along with the fact that prices are reasonable enough to permit a lot of youngsters to dawdle over drinks, gives the semblance of a lot of trade. Another factor that makes this a popular rendezvous like in the quality of the musical combina- tions playing here. Trios such as Jose Melis and Irving Fields gen- erally hold long tenancy at this room. Now Mimi Warren indicates that she’ll be eligible for the mara- thon-length runs that a good crew enjoys here, q Miss Warren, an attractive and personable lass, is an acccom- plished musician. Pianist has the faculty of giving light touches to the classics for consumption in a drinkery and is similarly proficiqpt at jazz efforts. Miss Warren puts a lot of coloring and imagination into her numbers. She gets away from the usual musical figures with colorful departures from the stipu- lated melody. The routines are varied and interesting and cater to a variety' of tastes. In a spot which gets such varied patronage as the Mermaid Room, one -of the surprising elements is the prolonged applause that greets the middle and highbrow pumbers such as "Malaguena,” Schumann Concerto and others in that ilk. Electric guitar and bass back- ground gives Miss Warren good support. Other performer in this lounge U Eddie Layton at the electric organ. Layton, a longtermer here, is able to fill the room with the instrument. His efforts v are amply appreciated. v . Jo$e. Sans Souci, Havana Havana, March 18. Miguelito Valdes, Facundo Riv- ero Q, Sans Souci Ballet & Show Girls; R. Ortega & C. Rodriguez Orqs (for dancing); Rodney, pro* ducer; $4.50 minimum at tables. Sans Souci is the only Cuban nitery run by Americans. One of its show’s assets are the highly attrac- tive Yankee showgirls. Strangely enough, even the* Cuban Chorus has femmes with faces and figures*] —too often such lines, in this coun- try, have been made up of anyone the actors’ syndicate happened to send around. Perhaps producers are becoming more discerning.. Rodney produced this show, as he did the one simultaneously play- ing at Tropicana. Not having the wide area he has at Tropicana, Rodney here exchanges width for pace. The shgw moves along aS fast as a good mambo. Afro-Cuban rhythm is the domi- nant note at both niteries (that’s what the tourists seem to look* for), but at Sans Souci the accent is mdre on vocals than on terps. Miguelito Valdes’ powerful voice bellows out over the nearby palm trees, evoking the dark spirits of voodoism. "Babalu” and "Cumba- ceiro” throb through the tropical night like echoes of secret rites, not meant to be seen by white men. The Facundo' Rivera Quartet is one of the liveliest hereabouts. The two couples seem to sing for their own joy as much as the audience’s, and that of course makes for the best entertainment. The group tackles Cuban tunes with pep and personality, and they get into the swing of the music with uninhib- ited, , hip-swinging "criollo” (real Font»Izeblea«, M* B’ek Miami Bench, March 18. Dorothy . Dandridge with Niels Perito; At Bemie, Val Olman Orch, Lecuona Cuban Boys;$2.50-$4 bev. minimum. This overwhelmery has been on a femme-songstress kick for. the topliner spot in the swank La Ronde Club, the roster this season already including* Patti Page, Helen Traubel, currently Dorothy Dandridge, with Kay Starr and Marguerite Piazza following in order on the two-frame booking, policy. A glance at the names re- veals intelligent pactings by Ben Novack-—Ben Jaffe and associates, the type of vocalistic stylings vary- ing to keep the patronage heavy.. In Miss Dandridge they’vo booked a* thrush who’s riding the crest, thanks to the click in "Car- man Jones” and. resultant Acad- emy Award nomination. Exactly one year ago Miss Dandridge worked the Sans Souci •'Hotel at' one-fifth the five-figure sum she’s being paid for this stand. On the* draw side, the huge increase in salary may be justified by the* receipts at end of week. Results for the first few nights indicate a strong possibility that she’ll make good on that all important facet. The act Miss Dandridge is pre- senting is basically the same seen last time around. The classic fea- tures and lithe figure are plus val- ues, although the gowning this time out is a bit disappointing, a matter easily corrected, it being a matter of the right colors to highlight her dusky looks. The compote offered is tailored for the stylings still reminiscent of Lena. Horne. Shadings sometimes are lost, but overall the impact is sus- tained to keep and reaction build- ing. A1 Bemie, working smoothly in a tough spot—he opened the show cold—comes through soundly to wind a solid winner. The droll guy has been seen in these parts be- fore, but never to better effect in What has come to be regarded as the toughest room for comics in the area.. The dinner contingent- comes to qiiick attention • for his series of one-liners that are in the main topical, intelligent and made to order for the upper crusters who rendezvous in this room. Ber- nie boasts a plentiful portion of new material.*Standard stuff has been refreshened, and the tablers bring him back for more. Nick Perito lends an able assist to Miss Dandridge at the Steinway, while Val Olman and his orch, per usual, handle the showbacks in highly efficient manner, Lary. L’Amirak Paris Paris, March 15. Roger Pierre & Jean-Marc Thl - bault, Gisele Robert, Dary Cowl , Puppet Stars (2), Rossignols^ (2), Jean Deibeco; $4 minimum. ^Roger Pierre & Jean- Marc Thibault are a couple of bouncy, talented boys who brought the Left Bank brand of cabaret across the river, and established a beachhead here, off the Champs-Elysees, which has since become a regular for the arty and intellectual set. They brought sketches, movement and a point of view to nitery shows, and the club paid off ana boys zoomed to popularity. They left the club for music hall and pic dates, and the club languished until their return this week. This ship-shaped cellar boite is now packed again, and looks to stay so as long as this twosome keeps up their fireworks. Boys present a fast-paced hour of sketches; impressions, songs and dances, aided by a high-powered girl with plenty of s.a., Gisele ■Robert, However, though they have that rare thing among French performers, energy and movement, they have a tendency towards fa- cility and loudnesS, and speed never replaces content. Miss Rob- ert emerges as an undulating find who is stacked, can dance and has a taking sexy approach which may make her a future revue star. She is something that has been lacking -in the Folies-Bergere and Casino De Paris orbit and will probably soon be snapped up by one of these two houses. Dary Cowl brings his fey moh- olog into play for some yocks and can also ~use some sharper mate- rial, though his halting timing and insouciant verve make for plenty of laughs. Rossignols (2) make like a couple of birds and whistle their way through some musical bits for aif okay off beater. Puppet Stars (2) unstring a wooden-headed stripper, a solid trumpeter and*an egg-laying ostrich for a fine open- er. Jean Deibeco offers good piano accomp and dance music. The club is now doing SRO. With his boys back, Maurice Mesle has one of the top pop offbeatera »•here. • vi'-WfioV*