Variety (July 1958)

Wednesday, July 30, 1958 PfiklETY NIGHT CLUB REVIEWS 117 Copacabana, j localite who has had a fair measure Allen & DeWood, Denise Lor,\ of .success in the U.S. and a fling Ellis &• Winters, Joni Roth, Ronnie I- 0 **'the Coast in films. Brooks’ chief Hall, Copa Line (8), Lou Dorn and j qlai ™ to farae i.h the early stages Moses -Pigd.fi Ofchs; staged • by ' r A1 w ? S i his im-'. hard; $5.50 minimum. ' several substantial nitery dates. , •——v " . Singer, however, has broadened jules Podell, the most successful with the. experience and now has latterday Belasco of the basement ! an act th ^ can stand alone without bistros, doesn’t believe in rewriting ; hasing .everything on. his big : im- a hit. The pattern has been set, pr ® s “i bn. . „ .7 it’s summertime and the living isT. ■ Aff3bl$- manner on the floor certainly easier than his cbmpeti- ^- e P s attention and songalog is tors are finding things. So why : ® Gatl & an okay reception, mess things up? . Begoff. natch, is a reprise of sev- nsmoc fin. f'u 0 - eral-.Jolsoii smashes which make a .. Medium numcs fill the ■ solid clincti^r and pAmpi* diliri* weather bill and when Joe E. Lewis ] mit ti n^ - ** ' comes back in September then you, .Tenders Tommv Wonder * Mar. know the shallows have flown hackj garet Banks give all production a to Capistrano and .the saldon seaT . fme boost and impress, during their son is higlv ?“^ s t .the bus pads j so l 0 sessions: Marcelli & Janis sup- come *n.d^o to tJotham, still- the; p i y the visual kicks with the male 1 ^.^.cjty in the_ uorld . half of team scoring nicely with: Paris ^notwithstanding they .get| }-d s fine slack wire offerings. Don themselves^ aln . tb at | Dellair in the emcee slot pleases neo- Burma road, reserved for the | both with his songs and his hari- package deais^nd the slim budgets; dling of the show; tor biddies with a harrylauder; The productions designed and pourooire. . : choreographed by Moro Landis , are Newest layout is not one of the; among the best seen in this rioom Crescendo, Hollywood Hollywood, July 22. Frances Faye; Mort. Sahl, Jack Cbnstanzo & Combo, Eddie Grady, Andy . Lambert , Ollie Mitchell, Jay . Coure; . $2 - cover, two-drink, minimum. ; % . back-wheri numbers like “All Aboard for Dreamland,’’ ‘‘In the Evening by the Moonlight’* and “K-K-K-Katy.” Renay Granville is high in the charm dep’t. With “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows,” Jean Robbins - executes a smart tap routme with impresh work and winds up with Charleston. Pal Jthese j Theriault has a great banjo turn. ” '. Action is fast, funny and furious at times with cavorting,. ..singing and styling. Spoofing of the num¬ bers With exaggerated winks, leers, and posturing by the. distaffers is 'handled with tree restraint. This It’s . strictly Flipsville nights at the Crescendo; with Fran¬ ces.. Faye -and Mort Sahl sending the cats swinging so far. but over the Strip .they’re riding outriggers. It’s a : practically perfect combine ation, with. Sahl’s surrealist-mono-: _ _ __ __^ logs, the verbal ^equivalent of. Mlssjis. a case .in which the show.'-was'' sways^* with"eyes* ciosedr dellneat- Faye s equally free-wheeling piano j tailored to ■ fit the spot; femmes, 5 ing a ballad, the silence is high v. . V; : a11 P 0 P. Singers, were rehearsed for j tribute to jazzdom’s grand dame. That if is a potent duo .has . been | weeks in the old songs w 7 ith shades Mr. Kelly’s, Chi Chicago, July 22. . Ella Fitzgerald <4), Marx & Frigo Trio; $1 cover, $2.50 bev¬ erage minimum. \Vhat Ella Fitzgerald (in tandem with Sam Levenson) wasn’t able to do last winter at the Chez Paree, she is doing now, in spades, at . this Rush St. chophouse. She’s got ’em packed so close there’s hardly room for the waiters to navigate. Kelly’s, plainly, is her kind of room, and when she gently to date. . Femmes are /all lookers, costumes colorful and fresh and general hoofing a cut above aver¬ age: ' As per iisual, music is under the baton of Bix Belair with the Frank Quinn, trio doirig relief. Current, layout holds until Aug. 6. Newt.- best but it’s no chaser. Certainly that living example of the Ameri¬ can road company of good Israeli- Arab relations, Allen & DeWpod, are , very worthwhile.: To their, c edit, neither makes pointed ref¬ erence to Montw Allen’s religioso background ana that Mitch De- Wood’s forebears came from the Loew’s Cairo set although;: at the signoff, there was an “Inside” ref¬ erence to Buddy Allen, their per¬ sonal rep, as “the Dag Hammar- skjold of the act.” NeWconier comics are to be en-< ■■■-2. . .2 : ./'v • ;; ■; .....- ■ '/ couraged at any given stage and,!. ,Bertie& Bob Heilman, duo pian- ihore than ever, the contemporary I. a f e ^ a ®\| or sum ~ show biz : scene could use more and j sta ? at P 1 ^ 11 ^° tt 5 ,I } w<)0 d plenty of them. What’s more, Allen the Bl ac kstone Hotel; _ a nd & DeWood warrant beaucoup ap^H* 18 , 1 . 5 another w^^of saying biz is probation. J on the upgrade. For the couple Blackstone, Omaha Omaha, July 22. . Bcrti. & Bob : mum. no cover or rmm- They-.are fresh, vibrant, pack plenty of verve and bounce in their variegated bits and business. They have a flock of one-liners inter¬ larded with alternating catch- phrases of “bye’’ and “it's been cancelled” that is a good cohesive pattern. Some of the fastics were a shade subtle and didn’t, register but, in the main, they’re. bell-, ringess. For a somewhat roly-poly come¬ dian, Allen is limber of limb and some . of his rubberlegmania : is amazingly lithe considering the weight. Team has authority and presence that comes from obvious schooling; which has been chiefly in Las Vegas and other west-of-the- Rockies oases. They were long with part of a touring Nat King Cole package. Their Keely Smith-Louis Prima takeoff is effective but that “Milton Berle.presents” should be edited out since that projected NBC-TV mating has since fallen through, and has been widely pub¬ licized in the : public prints. Co-billed Denise Lor, long with the Garry Moore yideoshowv seems to have switched from the chichi to the rhythmic- since her winter ’57 kickoff at the Hotel Plaza's Persian Room, N. Y, Instead of the Gallic and showtunes, site’s bn a pop kick, with special ; patter and arrangements. Her prime handicap is looseness of repertoire.; Sharper editing, including time-trimming, would heighten the end-resultWith a tightened routine. The arrange¬ ments, are good, albeit inclined to over-scoring in one or two num¬ bers. But they evidence painstak¬ ing preparation such as “New¬ fangled Tango” and a salute to Irving Berlin’s 50th anniversary vith “Got Lost , in His Arms” which defeats itself somewhat when She e-says deserting the mike. Her voice isn’t strong enough sans the e'ectronic gadget. She saluted, pianist Billy Dennison and the | backstopping Lou Dorn orch. Subbilled are the energetic acro- dancers Ellis & Winters whose, prime forte is lifting the femme aloft by the wiry male. In some effective whirls. He might. force a couple or three extra smiles while doing his stuff. have acquired: a host of friends over the years who keep them busy with, table calling when they’re, not answering requests. . Middle-aged pair seem to have as much fun as. the patrons and accompany their songs with vo^ cals and whistling whenever they feel in the mood. Trump. Avant-Giirde, A. Lbs Angeles, July 22, Bobby Short; Lenny Bruce, Meg Myles; Jos ■■ Castro Trio; '2-drink minimum^ Maynard Sloate’s current Avant Garde offering : is long on enter¬ tainment, but short bn Short. Last- minute booking of Bobby Short, long sought by this club, created the difficult prospect of packing three headliners into one compact package, a turn of events that judging by opening night outcome, has provided virtually continuous entertainment for the customers. Initial night show, two hours long, suffered, from /poor balance/ but within the framework of each act kept the full house happy and promises to pack thena in for the rest of its stand. ; Short, in ’his first appearance at this spot, was in top form through¬ out and had the audience pleading for more, after his last number. Whether accompanying himself at the piano or standup at the mike, his ability to give every tune all he’s got is a winning talefit, and one that transmits a charge of en¬ thusiasm to the crowd. Short’s too-brief 25-minute ■ appearance reached its'zenith in his rollicking rendition of “Dancing At That Movifig Picture Ball/* a tune that is particularly. palatable in local bistros, thanks to a tricky set of lyrics that kids the jpants off some sacred silent, screen institutions. Other highlights of Short’s reper¬ toire, are his treatments of “Man¬ hattan.” “I Like the Likes of You” and “I Left My Hat in Haiti.” V.; Lenny Bruce, front , and center for. 40 minutes, reaches occasional peaks of satire in his turn, which includes monologs covering every¬ thing from Hitler, up for a bit part , in a new film, to the headquarters A1 Foster’s special songs seem • Of Religions Ine., latter skqteh eas- more' tunful than heretofore -al- l ily the high point of his act. Com- though the same Doug Coudv stag- lie’s ability to infuse hipster s vo- ing is retained Abet ■ cabularly and inflection into the . . ■ Jmutterings of the most cqnserva- Bollexue fTasiilo^ Moni’l ; tive; subjects is consistently good Montreal, July 25. Norman Brooks, Marcelli & Janis, Wonder & Banks, Don Dellair, Casino Lovelies ( 10 ), Bia* Belair Orch Hi) t F.rank Quinn Trio; $1 admission. Saloons open and close in Mont¬ real with almost monotonous regfl- larity; show formats are juggled to attract the spenders but the Belle- yue Casino has remained the same for thb past decade and still gets its share and more with a lavish show a nd a handsome pony line: tx layout is no .exception. Headlining: is Norman Brooks, a for laughs. Meg Myles, Whose physical en¬ dowments tend to make talent sec¬ ondary. nevertheless offers a con¬ siderable share of the latter com¬ modity, and pleases the patrons wim a good choice of selections well executed. Happy decision to unearth the verses of her tunes improves the turn, which sizzles to a high spot in her updated airing of “Let’s Do it” The Joe Castro Trio, holding over, provided solid backing throughout and interesting tempos when allowed to showcase for it¬ self. Booking is in for an indefi¬ nite Stand.; Tube; evident from opening night. When boniface Gene Norman .Was shoe- horning palpitating patrons into vacancies: visible to no one but him, and gratefully accepted by. the paying customers! As a matter of fact, the . opening night show, and for three nights thereafter, was probably the most, costly com¬ bination seen on the Strip in some time, since. Count .Basie and his band overlapped the Faye-Sahl at¬ traction fpr that time. Sahl is a, movedowh from Norman’s upstairs! Interlude, at. the same address. Miss Faye is in for art unusual booking of a solid seven and one- half weeks. Miss Faye’s following . is ap¬ proaching the cult status. She was here only a few months ago, at the Largo, but the sellout crowd, that jammed the Crescendo for three shows opening night indicates those.; who comprise her following first turn, she blew the mike three are not easily satiated; During her j. times and. was forced to fall back more heavily on piano and instru¬ mental sets than usual.. She was also forced to work from the floor, With Basie’s bandstand setup what it was. but* this has been remedied, with Basie’s departure. Miss Faye is reunited with her bongo heater Jack Constanzo, her former accompanist, arid as usual backs herself with a. strong instru¬ mental group, Eddie Grady on drums, Andy Lambert, bass; Qllie Mitchell, cornet, arid Jay Coure, sax. Action is wild, funny, loud arid furious; the act is. not -for every club, but a bonanza for se¬ lected spots, where Miss Faye proves again she is the best curr rent substitute for benzedrine for which no prescription is needed. # ' Sahl, as usual, was sharply topi¬ cal. ranging in comments from D.S. landings in Lebanon (“I aril brought to you tonight through the courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps”) to the beat generation, telephone answering services, cof-. fee houses, film plots, sports cars and Republican newspapers (“b re¬ dundant phrase”). His wit Is sharp and has bite, and one reason: the reaction comes in appreciative roars is probably the shock and delight by the audience at hearing again the: ancient and honorable American custoiri of jibing at poli¬ ticians arid official pomposity. Both Miss Faye and Sahl are on for about half and. hour each, arid will be at the club through Labor Day weekend: . Power I' She was beset with the usual ?’i? a: Tanguay deb ut nervousness at the opener a + 5°? a ^ za I ^D. but only the most knowing !vhipVt n « S t e ' fu y y decorated- bode, ■ an( j captious aficionado would let ^ ^ ^Ait mar what came through as ri Ig 1d Q ?®S° 1 ?JS bs r t: ! tu + te ior ben- ; beau tiful performance.. 'Singer’s Sh ow holds for lour w. rks ! phrasing, always tasteful, is a through Au to . 16. Guy. , s heer delight, and the warmth and ■ ■ ; .. • wit that permeate her stuff are Blafk lirchiciv Oil : be Bringing fillips as much for the Chicago JuJv *’ 9 average night club autitor as for Billy . Ecksiine 2< 3-C \Mariv' v the. cultists.. Her 45-minute stint, Quintet Joe ParneHo Trio- c> lending with “Too Close For Com- cover rginevo 1 no, ?! ; fort .» and Ending with the inim- . itable “Tisket” shook ’em up to ._ . ■ . ' •. ■ ■ - ■ . fever pitch per the energetic palm- ; Orchid, stint is Billy Eck tine’s ing and shouted requests. anA se y e m annums, . Reaction was foregone via such ^ uslc y _ ^piped smger,^^as resr | dependables as “Sophisticated rir S !h e ^f d °f S / - 40 1 T ; i Lady,” “Red Wagon” . (her latest hi! 8 _ or , so °. f stagc-holaing. In- ! Ver ye single disk), “Lady Is ; witched. Bothered and :. dered/’ Topnoteh. support by Miss Fitzgerald’s own trio of Lou Levy, Max Bennett and Gus Johnson, on piano, bass and drums, respect tively. Star alternates Mondays end Tuesdays with Marx & Frigo Trio on 20-minute sets of very listen- able jazz. Peggy King arid Jory Remus follow on Aug. 11. Pxt. att i Trairip,” and “Bag’s Blues”: an un- Mai \ v i commonly fine scat exercise. Her. perhaps top-j « st Louis Blues” was an all-stops- stan . 2 f :i *. LGi 5‘ I out rocker that really drew tumult, stine injects enough low-pitch wit anf ? , m a memorable “Be- Dace S briov^nf keep th e Avlioie ] Pitched. Bothered and Bewil- pace buoyant, however.; Singer plies, a fine , amalgam of commercial piping and. jazz ken, the crooning complemented . by very expressive hands and all set off by stage aplomb. His catalog is a perfect vocal fit, ranging over such chestnuts as “Love Is Where You Find It,” “Give Me The Sim¬ ple Life” and. his trademarked “I Apologize.” There’s plenty of va¬ riety in the act, including a point¬ making dramatic excerpt in the Sportin’ Life role from “Porgy, 8r Bess’*, and some richly satiric stuff that evokes giggles and laughs and hefty mitting. In this vein, he offers a very clever novelty urging more show bizzers. in Government, posts, an¬ other dealing with his ancestry, and a. third which, serves as a peg for some dandy imnreshes of Como arid Armstrong (including some neat trurhoet tooting). Boff and re¬ sponse all the way.: . Singer gets fine support from his fellow-travelling Bobby Tucker on the keys and drummer Larry Mc¬ Kenna. with bassist Jerry Fried¬ man sitting in from Joe Parnel-o’s house trio. Latter; group does nice¬ ly, as always, with between-show sets. Jack Carter’s in Aug. 7. Pit. Savoy. London London, July 22. Shirley Abicair, Martin Granger Bill more Hole!. Atlanta Atlanta, July 22. " Ice-O-Rama ” icith Sweethearts of the Ice (Kathy Newman, Janet Parr, Becky Mordecai, Terry Litch¬ field); Eileen Meade, Georg von Birgelen, Freddie Martell. Emile Poisson Orch (6); produced mid directed by Freddie Martell and Georg von Birgelen; choreography by Eileen Meade; costumes by Martell & Martini; $2 minimum. . Elegant, summery surroundings of formal gardens at Biltmore Ho¬ tel’s Terrace Garden, with “mystic, rainbow-lighting” emanating from trees and shrubbery, took the curse off an opening during which about everything went wrong, in¬ cluding an unscheduled tumble by skating star Georg von B»rgelcn, who was assisted to h ; s fec-t with an obviously injured back. Von Birgelen reappeared later and gamely went through his jumping routines, but he certainly Gilded HestoU Boston, July 22. Anne Leslie, Sldel Inesta, Re- nay Gramille, Jeannie Thoinas, jean - Robbins, Ray Edvards, Pat Theriault, Vai DuVal. Orch (5) ; $1,50 cover. . It’s strictly gay ’90s, from decor to costumes and offerings, in Louis Cohen*s new 250-seater smack In the middle of the theatrical district in Bearitown. Gag black mustaches arid cards read, “Will you kindly refrain from asking our entertain¬ ers or orchestra to s ? ng or play: any sbiig younger than 40 years. Coop¬ eration in the matter: is. earnestly solicited.” It’s a potent cornbo .with hand¬ some femmes in. the gowns of yes¬ teryear piping: ; the tearjerkersi while working on a 50-foot runway atop the bar. Underpinnings have riot- been overlooked, and at least two of the bevy of lookers, are cos¬ tumed for ogling. . The show,-'.'which ‘ opiens'..:iwith showboat “Captain Andy” gimmick, has three br more on simultaneous^ ly at aU times. The customers are well sated by the musical display of yore. “She’s Only a Bird in a Gilded Gage” is the musical jnotif. with singers reprising throughout the show.. Opening night the* bar was . packed and the tables lining the wall were jammed. ...- Production is slick froni start to finish with Ray Edwards emceeing and working duets -.with' the fem¬ mes. Anne Leslie, weil-stacked sepia looker, churns up a storm with “Somebody Stole My Gal.” “Bill Bailey” arid “Summertime/’ Sldel Inesta, a little girl with , a big voice, whams out a terrific “Bird in Gilded Cage” while Jeannie Thomas Whams with “Why Do I Lpve You” and a stint of way- Puppets, Leslie Roberts’ Silhou -1 was handicapped. ettes 18 ), David Shand & Fran- j Ice-O-Rama got off to a rather cisco Cayez Orchs. • slow .start with lighting cues being | missed^ by spotlight operator The Savoy Hotel, flirting with I cabaret again after, a temporary layoff, is angling some offbeat en¬ tertainment and wooing jovial family patronage. The double bill of Shirley Abicair, Australia’s zither gal known in tv and nitery circles for her folksongs, and Mar¬ tin Granger’s Puppets had a well- packed house bubbling with en¬ thusiasm. . Miss Abicair . is a fresh blonde with the disarming ; air of a : girl doing her. party piece., for fun. But behind this is shrewd thirikmg, im¬ maculate rehearsing and consider¬ able know-how. In a 20-minute offering , the Aussie songstress, slickly accompanied by Sidney Bright, leaves the chanteuse’s Usual “double-entendre” heat and gives the . audience eight songs. These range from “Foggy Foggy Dew,” “The Spinning Song” and “Let Him Go, Let Him Tarry” to a rollicking number : called “Ed- dystone Light,”' which with well- mannered bawdiness discusses the love story of a : lighthouse keeper and a mermaid, and a ditty called “Mr. .Frog He Went A’Courting,” in which she surprisingly has the Savoy late-eaters joining in the noise effects. She also gives a new slick look to “My Heart Belongs to Daddy.” Preceding Miss Abicair ..is a splendid puppet act in which Gran¬ ger presents a circus: His puppets are almost human and he relies on sly humor and considerable hand dexterity. The show is rounded^ off, ‘ fore and aft, by Leslie Roberts’. Sil¬ houettes, eight shapely girl hoofers. : David Shand . and his music look after. the cabaret well and also blend cheerfully with Francisco Cavez’s Latin-American setup for the dancing sessions. Rich* j perched oh bafeony about third floor level of Biltmore.. A specialty skating, number by comely Kathy Newman warmed up the dressed up audience and they responded with a good hand for the shapely chick. Von Birgelen, assisted by red- haired Eileen Meade, on with a stilt-skating turn, w r as doing fine until 1 he backed up to take a how and tumbled despite Miss Meade’s efforts to prevent fall. Spotlight failure marred Von B’s act, too. Sweethearts return for another line number in fluorescent-treated costumes. They’re followed by Eileen Meade in a graceful skating turn to “Warsaw Concerto” and good reception. Line comes back for a specialty, “The Coca-Co’a Rock” (Biltmore was built with Coca-Cola money) music and lyrics by Freddie Martell, MGM Records artist who now is musical director for Biltmore. Von Birgelen, again abetted by Miss Meade and Sweethearts, re¬ turns and goes through his routine of jumps, this time without stilts and is well mitted for his gritty performance. Finaie is typical of ice shows, everybody coming on and winding up with gyrations, speed skating and fanciful patterns. This portion of show runs 40 miriutes and, after opening night jitters, should smooth out into en¬ tertaining summer fare for Bilt¬ more patrons. In closing spot is Freddie Mar¬ tell, who sings five numbers in rapid-fire order. Martell, a good showman and clever at selling a song, mixes patter with his tunes. At end of ice show, presented on a 25x25-foot rink, plyboard is placed over ice surface for danc¬ ing. Luce.