Variety (July 1958)

Wednesday, July 2, 1958 > U^WTY , -MGHT cun BEVIEWS 55 Frolics, Salisbury Beach Salisbury Beach, Mass., June 29. . Eydie Gorme & Steve Lawrence, Corbett Monica, Mattfso.n Trio (3 ), Sammy Dale Orch (14) *; $1.50- $2.50 cover. Dennie Mulcahy gets his l;400r seat ; beachfront boite off with cur¬ rent package, first of big budget deals, putting spot back in action after dark season caused by dry edict in the town. To the opening night SRO’ers, in to. see a show •and welcome nitery life back, Eydie Gorme &; Steve Lawrence, in for. -Week;', with Joe Guercio, musi¬ cal director;, are just what the doc¬ tor ordered. accompaniment to these proceed¬ ings. One of the more action-packed sequences is the kriife^.dance by. Tamio, who swings . a pair of wicked-looking machetes in a man¬ ner fraught with danger to himself as well as the audience. The show winds up with a Hawaiian hoedown; an ". audience participation bit in which the elements of the hula and square dance, are combined. The orchestral backing is by Ernie Warren, who does well in this bit, and Sa'm Makla’s Islanders supply the steel., guitar relief • which has been adopted to meet the require¬ ments of the cha cha as well as the foxtrot crowd; ' ■Jose. The Mr. & Mrs; couple, in first nitery stint, are fresh, zesty and youthful. . Opening with (natch) “We’ve Got Each Oother,” Miss ! Gorme . takes over with.; nicely paced songalog; . She’s on the gone kick with “After You’ve Gone,” “When You’re Lover Has Gone” to rousing hands, . then segues to bright ‘‘Coffee hi. Brazil:” With mike, she strolls stage with “I’ll Take Romance” for radiant hand¬ shakes with rlngsiders. Knocks out a great “Rockabye Your Baby”, and “Swanee” for windup. . , Lawrence joins her for medley, of whatever happened to the. old sorigs kick, 'and they tear through a batch of oldies for nostalgic ef¬ fect. Duo then take off on novelty tunes with a few. terps thrown in. He takes Over for sblo with slick “Only Have Eyes For You,” goes to “Rain , or Shine.” for maximum and then does tunes from his new ; album, “I've Got You Under My '. Skin,” “My Baiby Just Cares For Mel” He turns hr some neat im- presh bits on Ed Sullivan, Billy Eckstine, working , up to big “Lazy River.” Climax for the twosome is' . Miss Gorme’s hot disk tune, “You Need Hands.” Aud gives the duo hangup founds at finish after havr . ing been captured from start. Corbett Monica, standup comic, nabs high laugh scores from en¬ thusiastic aud with funny topical routines; He’s sharp with the fam¬ ily jokes and works out a series with a great impresh job on Sophie Tucker. Spoof on “20 years from now” is highpoint of lampooning sharpened by. use of smart lines, •' which evolves backwards to the old vaude days. Monica keeps them yocking all the way. Mattison Trio, two lads and blonde looker, open the show with bright and smooth flow of terping with authority. They’re handsome terpers who top their canto with fancy footwork to Rodgers & Ham- merstein showtunes. Lightning-fast costume changes enhance. . Music for ..the backing and for listening is led by Sammy Dale Who Wields his baton with eclat, and his crew delivers tastily. This show exits Saturday (.5). Frankie Laine opens Sunday. <6>. Guy. . Hotel Lexington, X. Y, Tamio, Mona Loy, Leialoha, Nani; Malle, Mgrno. Em ie W amen, j Orch, Sam Makla's Islanders; $1.50-$2 cover. ■ The Hawaiian Room Of the Hotel Lexington seems like a niteryriian’s dream come true. With .only a pro¬ duction .show, no names and Only a sextet of performers, this room keeps' up a capacity ; business. It seem§ that the operation is geared to an axis opposite of that of the usual nitery. The accent here is on a package deal. The food is the major lure and the show is a gim¬ mick to spice up the food. . The operation is headed by Phil Miles, who also 1 runs the Forum Restaurant, the latest (and most expensive) addition to the Radio City beaneries. The Hawaiian Room, incidentally, is not operated by the hotel, but as . a separate en¬ terprise. The room looks like a shrewd all-around promotion. The serving of the food, the menus, decor and the rest of the attributes, give the xustomers a sense of participating in a gastronomic adventure. It’s a sort of poorman’s Pump Room with a Polynesian accent. The Polyne¬ sian motif, incidentally, has be-; come increasingly popular over the’ past few ^ears, with this room be¬ ing one of the vets in the Hawaiian business. The show. is routined by Tony Cabot, who has integrated the pro¬ duction to jibe with the room’s . motif. The hula is the Hawaiian, entertainment staple, and it’s not likely that statehood for the is¬ lands ; will affect; the hip-weaving movement that has been a major influence in the poi country for years. This elementary dance is performed fetchingly by a quartet of monomonickered lookers, Leia- loha, Nani, Maile and Mamo: There seems to be no new exposition of this type terp, but when expertly done, as by these maids, there’s inr - terest that remains constant. The songs by Mona Joy f who looks sus-. piciously Caucasian* are pleasant Gatineau, Ottamn Ottawa. June 27. . Abbey Lincoln, Blackburn..Twins & Jerry Collins ,• Lee Henderson Dancers (6), Roy Palmer, Wally Muhro Q rch .IS); $i admission: "With this bill, the Gatineau Club adds up one. of its slickest 85 min¬ utes. Abhey Lincoln finds the big room a problem in some of her items, her style demanding more intimacy, but she gets around it by traipsing to the jingsiders and en¬ hancing her visual impact to strengthen the stint. Thrush. is a jazz singer and that’s relatively un¬ usual for the Gatineau, but- her -socko piping and nice savvy keep the stanza in .the power slot. The other side of the fare is just as strong, but on the comedy slant. Blackburn Twins, exhibiting top terp. and showmanship,, work: with their new partner, Jerry Collins, a clicko comic with fresh material and the-savvy to sell it solid. Tall, dapper twins Use ; the inevitable mirror bit but the spark comes with the entry of Collins who works with the twins in a zany, fast ses¬ sion Of comedy, chant and terp. Gags are fresh; plenty and punched hard throughout and routining is slick. ■ f • Lee Henderson Dancers; are on three times eachvshow, with Roy Palmer singing and dancing with the line, plus, emcee chores. Wally Muniro house band showbacks and. plays for dancing. Conn. Largo, Hollywood Los Angeles, June 27. . Beairic . Kay, Jimmie Komack, George De Carl Orch (6); $1.50 cover. Beatrice Kay and comic Jimmie Komack opened as co-headliners at. Chuck Landis’ Largo nitery on Friday (27) and it’s a. booking that should please both the young and Old spenders. It’s a show that's full of laughs; . songs, hoofing and plenty of ; nostalgia—latter s of which-is dlie to Miss Kay. The. vet song stylist, recently, sidelined because of illness, was welcomed Onstage Via a heayy hand after being iritroed by longtime friend Betty Hutton.: It was the beginning of an entertaining eve¬ ning for the. fi^stnighters who would have never believed she had been ill. This gal socked across a bevy of songs, pranced about the stage in a blue, jeweled bouffant gown like an ingenue, and . even gave out with a rendition of the Charleston. The strawberry blonde looked arid . sounded great, espe¬ cially with such numbers as “A Good Man Is Hard To Find,” “If I Was A Millionaire,” with a little, softshoe, “Ace In the Hole” and “Won’t You Come Home,. Bill Bailey.” ,. ; . " v .Kohiack also'benefited from an intro. by Sammy Davis Jr. who took time off from his show, at the Moulin Rouge. Komack is a good standrip comic who brought forth the yocks with his opening line, “Girls are like. phonographrecr ords—they come . in all different speeds.” From. this moment on the laughs flowed like Niagara Falls. He also pleased by singing “You Gotta Have Heart,” tune he sang in the Broadway staging, “Damn Yankees,” and also recently re¬ created for the Warner film. A satirical takeoff on “Elvis Presley*’ kept the patrons amused, especial¬ ly since this was an older crowd. Especially effective is the way Komack makes with the Vfaces, a talent in itself. Gerry Dolin ac¬ companies Miss Kay .on . the 88 while George De Carl’s orch (6) backs the entire show in good fashion; Engagement holds through July 6. ' Kafa. Chevalier Big 8G, Seattle Seattle,. July. 1. Maurice Chevalier scored heavi¬ ly with a $8,000. take iri his one- nigh ter at the brpheum Theatre here last Monday (23). House seat¬ ing 2,700, was. scaled up to $4.50. Following this date. Chevalier went to Los Angeles for his preeiri. at the Greek Theatre. ‘No Moola at Macambo/ Morrison Hollywood, JulyT. : The name of Jimriiy Durante on the flag out front of a night club, invariably calls for the ropes arid at. last week's, 124) past-midnight opener at the Mpcambo the strarid should have: been made of elastic. So it went for the remainder of his five-night stand, cuffoed .to the club arid a gesture to an old friend, the late Charlie Morrison, ‘ In fact, it cost the Schnoz $18,000''"out-of- pocket- to play the engagement. For the better part of an hour Sir Jeems arid his. troupe^romped, through ; rhythmic m u sic that brought hand- claps from the sit¬ ters in cadence. and Comedy as wildland rowdy as only the Du¬ rante clowns and mimics can dish it out. Jack. Roth was catchirig fly¬ ing, pieces of piano and Jules Buf- f ano took. a general roughing of his envied luxuriant hair. Still, a . Mocambo, Holiyuoud ; jimmy Durante; Eddie Jackson, Jules Buff ano. Jack Roth, Sonny King, Borden Twins, Sally Davis, Paul Hebert Orch. (7>;. $3. coveri top favorite with the clubbers, Ed¬ die Jackson strutted and shouted for a long round ;of deafening ap- lause. No harder worker in the busi¬ ness, Durante never left the stage arid kept the. room in constant tur¬ moil. Whether it was cuddling the four cuties (two of them former beauty winners) or playfully feud¬ ing with Soriny King, who can raise a storm with his high piping, the end result was . the same—a wild orgy of mad fun. To beef up his supporting cast, the. BordCn Twins arid Sally Davis lent his mountainous support in. a bumping bit . that has become : a strong prop, in his act . The spe¬ cial material of Jackie Barnett, who staged the show, while of familiar, blend, has become so in¬ fectious . . that the class, crowd clapped and foot-tapped in rhythm with the bouncy strains. Unbilled and unbidden, Edna Harris, . also known professionally as Judy Brent, came onstage to get off two brief bits in the image of Durante with prop-oboscis arid crushed fedora. It startled Du¬ rante but didn’t ruffle him. She. was later : given the heave-ho by. Barnett. Paul Hebert’s musical accomp was bright and skilled, a really tough show to play: .. . Show slated for 11:30 didn’t get underway untiT 12:20 and only then at the prodding of the . restive crowd. It doesn’t befit a. Strip nit- ery as it does the balcony of a burlesque house that , the auditors must pound and stomp to get the show started. Even the lovebirds had gone to nest. .. Helm- a time-marker for a fortnight and a. respite for the help after a month of. Mike Nichols & Elaine May SRO!s. Fresh-faced young Axidentals (three fellows and. a chick*, are energetic and listenable through a half-hour of old and new lyrics served in pleasant, if undis¬ tinguished, arrangements. One of their best is the “Close to You” ballad, with a. sound (probably un¬ intended) ^characteristic: Of pop Renderings a decade or two ago. Their gimmicky version of “June is Bustin’ Out” perks .the ears, but “Street Where You Live” is a con¬ trived rendition further hurt, by pointless clucks arid whistling. Discounting some flatted notes, youngsters seem : to . please with 'pipes and.happy mien, but there’s little In their ariimatiori and style to set ’em apart. Marge Cameron seems... miscast for her Chi preem, the Kelly’s rep being more for chi-chi comics. Femme is strictly a standup com¬ mercial .spieler whose throwa\vays too often 1 suffer, from ill-timing. Miss Cameron’s tuxm covers psychi¬ atric jokes, a modicum of thrush- irig, impreshes of tv chirpers and ridiculous song titles! Also, bi¬ zarre- book titles—-“Son of Liber- ace/ which ' is a science-rfiction thing.” Much of her stuff is tired and drew appropriate aud re¬ sponse. Comedienne is well- suited to smalleries, but. if she’s to progress she can use a stouter delivery and some meatier inate- rial. '' Marx & Frigo trio hold down winning Warmup sessions and back¬ stop entire show slickly. Josephine Premice and Johnny Haymer open July 7. : . riiiirchills, London London, June 24... Carl Hyson-s Mayfair Follies icith jane. Forrest, Rkne & Loreyitz, Tonimy Doan, Shoicgirls (4), Dan¬ cers (i), jack Nathan and Monty Tyree prchs; $2.80 cover. >' Churchills of Bond Street Is the new name of the well-known Lon¬ don nitery which, was shuttered re¬ cently by the law for selling liquor after, hours! In consequence, the club itself was struck off the regis¬ ter, but it has now legally reopened with Harry ’Meadows, continuing as operator. The current production is a tem¬ porary fill-in until a new revue can be readied this month. It is ■; a. modest presentatiori, but. .vigorous¬ ly staged by Carl Hysori, who is an experienced hand with nitery reviews.! - The talent is ori the modest side and Jane Forrest, the star, singer, is a rather brassy vocalist who belts Out most Of her numbers but can, surprisingly, change pace arid style to deliver a restrained ballad. Rene & Loreritz, an Australian aero adagio duo, do some fancy lifts, and spins on the small stage, climaxed by the girl diving into the splits from a shoulder-high .. position. Tommy Doan misses badly as a comic. His patter is frequently la¬ bored and hardly gets any audience reaction. Showgirls register .well. The show is presented in two parts—a brief edition at midnight and a full 45kminUte presentation at 1 am, ; Both shows are : nicely backed by the Jack Nathan orch with .Mority Tyree alterriatirig for the dancing times. • Myro. Le Carroll’s, Paris , * Paris, June 24. . Fernando & Freddy (8), Wanani, Mile.L Ellen, Dora Neri, Riidy Cas- teli Orch <9); $4 minimum. . Champs - Elysees cellar club comes .up with a iieat.show, getting production values bn its small floor, as well as enough single and dou¬ ble acts to build this into an okay entry. Rudy Castell orch (9) backs the acts and plays for dancing. Fernando & Freddy (8) rev up some Argentiriian fblk dances for nitery consumption. Bome.of it is more. noise than poise, but it, emerges eyefilling and the cos¬ tumes and terp level are fine in spite of the space confines. Claris is a French nude rung in for more sight values; but . the cOlorful cos¬ tumes outdo her lack of them. ; Wanani is a dusky Cuban, singer who gives out with Hispano songs. Somewhat too. mannered, a. little loosening up would give her warm voice more of a chance. As is, she adds another exotic note to the show. Dora Neri, pn the other hand, is all French in a zesty barrage of songs on Paris lowlife arid low- down, oldtime : enjoyments such as the can-can. Lusty arid vervy, with a vulgarity in the good sense. She mav develop into a staple here. Mik .& Ellen! do a snappy tele¬ pathy act. Blindfolded, pretty, pert arid intense blonde quickly and nimbly names all articles .handled- by her partner. It is. classy and clever and an asset for any boite. . Club still gets the visiting Latino set and mriny Yank show biz oglers. Show is brightly presented by Miky Leff and Frede still does her cheery gladhandlihg. Mosk. XIr- K(*Ily ? s, Chi Chicago, June 24, Axidentals 14), Marge Cameron, Marx & Frigo Trio; $2.50 bev¬ erage minimum. ■ Current layout here looks -to .be Dorchester; London London, June 24. j Harriot & Evans, Gerri . Gale, j Dorchester Girls <31, Cyril \ Grantham and George Birch ! Qrchs; $5.75 minimum. ! This, is a neat layout, not uriduly ambitious, but good enough to en¬ tertain the customers who cbme iri anyway. Harriot & Evans have been around town for some time and. are familiar to the late night eating customers; Gerri Gale, on the . other hand, is a newcomer to the West End and quite an attrac¬ tive dancer. Harriot & Evans have, an emi¬ nently satisfying . double act of pianistics and vbcalistics in which, for the large part, they rely on standard hits. There's no actual Originality in their material but there’s a high degree of profes¬ sionalism in their presentation — and that's a coriipensating feature. I Numbers like “Catch a Falling Star,” “Clouds Will.Soon Roll By” and. “The Street: Where You Live” are. naturals for their type of show; there’s also. a riice ride dbwri nostalgia. row with a batch of L.iyton and Johnston hits. Gerri Gale, a blonde looker, dances remarkably, well and is up to average in. the vocal stakes. She’s at her best when holding the floor as a terper and her interpre¬ tation- ..Of “Darktown Strutters Ball” is one of better items in her repertoire. Her opening “Roll and Rock”, has a vigorous quality; but doesn’t adequately show Off her best -talent.;'? Moulin Rouge, L. A. Los Angeies^June 27. . Sammy Davis Jr., Nita & PepyA, Dick Stabile Orch; $5.50 minimum. The return of Sammy Davis Jr. tp the Moulin Rouge within six months is l»ke money in the bank for operator Frank Scnnes. For Davis is one of the phenornena] talents in the entertainment' in¬ dustry today — and at Tuesday’s jampacked opener proved it again. On tliat night, he subjected the crowd to an extra-long show’ (three hours), but by the volume of mitt action displayed, it was evident ii wanted more. Davis was introed by. vet comic Dave Barry who amused with hia usual glib patter which broke up the spot several times. Davis came on nattily attired in white, jacket and black satin pants singing “Smack Dab in the Middle.” It was an upbeat opener that set the fuse for. an explosive evening. Unlike many of the top saloor stairs, Davis moesn’t fall in th« category of being just a. singer, dancer, mdsician, impressionist oi actor, because his varied talents encompass all Ihese fields. He runs . through a new' and old . routine which includes impressions of Si-, natra, Crosby, Lewis and even Dean Martin. Add to this a satire on thesps that imitates the tech-, nique of Actors Studio grads, and even mimed to the offstage record¬ ings from Broadw'ay’s “The Musio Man” in top fasion. A topper was his Sinatra takeoff. This showed the thin one coming onstage via the audience garbed, in his usual doodle bug chapeau, trench coat shmg over the shoul-: der, and drink to hand while sing¬ ing “That’s Why the Lady Is A Tranip." Other tunes socked over were “There’s No Fool Like An Old Fool,“ “Birth of the Blues,” “Hey, There,” and a touching ren¬ dition of “My Bess” from “Porgy and Bess.” A little solo hoofing with a dash of flamenco a la Greco also showed off his skill. A soft- shoe routine with Uncle Will Mas- tin, whom Davis credits tor hi« talent, also scored and added to the excitement w’hich generated throughout this kingsize room! . . The little guy also took time from his act to pay tribute to his father; a regular of the Mastin Trio but now sidelined because of a heart ailment. On the bill is Nita & Peppi, a boy and girl gymnastic team who fly from one end of the stage to the other in every type of twist' conceivable. Youngsters are cute and energetic. and add a charige of pace to the show. Donri Arden’s “Pari s cope Revue.” for this booking, presents a production number which comes off most effectively. Dick Stabile’s orch <24) continues with topnotch musical backing throughout the show', in addition to making it easy for. the dancers. . Davis is booked for six .week with Johnnie Ray Opening Aug. 8. Kafa. Hotel It oo so veil. X. O- New Orleans, June 27. Dunningcr, Paulette Sisters i 3), Bobby Blanque, Leon Kclher Orch (12 ) ; $3 minimum. The plush Blue Room , has an un¬ usual coupling for the current sesh with the chic Paulette Sisters and; “The Amazing Dunningcr” spot-i lighted; Leon Kelner and his orch provide the backing tor the show and terp sessions. . Off the bandstand during the show, Kelner handies the emcee chores and calls out the petite Paulette trio, three young platinum blondes, to tee off. They put style and imagination into ther songs, rolling through a‘ considerable list of tunes. Girls keep their' harmony in unison, their routine moves swiftly arid they disport them¬ selves with proper choreography sans arm-waving. Intermixed with such favorites as “Cuddle Up A Little Closer” and “How Many Times” are “Hon¬ olulu Rocka and Rolla,” a rhythmic version of “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands,'* a rousing “Saints Go Marching In” and others to get plenty of attention. The kids have what it takes—they’re young, fresh and warm, and make nice appearance, Dunninger cautions at start of turn that he has no supernatural powers and that he reads thoughts, not minds. Whether it’s mental telepathy, trickery or what, he’s clever and generates plenty of excitement among tableholders. He’s sure to attract lots of customers to town’s top nocturnal rendezvous during, his -two-week stand. His revela¬ tion of the thoughts of customers leaves them guessing and baffled .at end. Bobby Blanque. a personable young baritone with nice pipes, warmth and charm, opens the show ;Wjri& 3 toce hand.* » Liuz,