Variety (November 1911)

24 VARIETY FIFTH AVENUE. There were not many In the house Monday night. The wet season kept the attendance down. The show Is good and should look attractive to a vaudeville going public. It ran smooth- ly, though the Pathe "Weekly Bul- letin" was forced into the heart of the proceedings. The audience liked the pictures* but there is no question about it slowing up a bill. This week it is probably a better arrange- ment to run the pictures rather than shift the running order as planned. The program contains no new acts, but there are three or four turns that haven't played New York for 20-weeks- each-season for the past five, and that was encouraging. Carl McCullough returns to the "big" eastern vaudeville after quite a long absence, and Carl- should be scolded. It does seem that after all this time, he might have discovered a new idea or two. He is doing the "Demonstrator," and the- imitations, travesty and straight. Ha is, however, combing his hair differently, some- thing, anyway. McCullough is at his best in his opening number, "Mam- my's Shufflin' Dance," a straight 'coon" ditty. McCullough has ability; also personality and appearance, but lacks progressiveness. On "No. 4," he did well but not nearly what he should do. The Langdons are in exact contrast. Everything they have in their laugh- able skit "A Night on the Boulevard" shows goaheadatlveness. The pair have a prop auto that's a little dandy. They enter in it, and it is the best looking thing for a travesty buss wagon yet shown. A pretty, attrac- tive set is also carried. This, along with a second prop auto, and a com- pany, makes the act look pretentious. The man and woman do very well with the comedy props and get a great deal from the. material. The Langdons put it over "No. 3." For their new- ness and novelty, they should be wel- come visitors around here. Eva Shirley and Sam Keasler were "No. 2," and did surprisingly well. The pair seem to fit each other nicely and should get along in the big houses. The specialty however needs rearrang- ing. The first thing to come under the hammer is the dressing. Eva's first dress shouldn't be, the second is better, but a neat, becoming style could be found, for she is a pretty, attractive girl, who should strive to get all she can from her good looks. Sammie (even though it breaks his heart) must part with the silk hat. That's got to come out. Instead of trying to be grown ups, why not just be a couple of kids? Sam Chip and Mary Marble scored just the kind of a. hit the clean cut classy little playlet deserved. Mike Bernard and Willie Weston very fine, next to closing. Mike sure can play that instrument. A new routine will be in order, if around these parts they are to stay much longer. Ioleen Sis- ters under poor conditions did splen- didly. A nice clean interesting open- ing number. Byron and Langdon caught their full quota of laughs, but with only a picture between "The Dude Detective" and "In Old Edam" it made the detec- tive sketch look pretty tawdry. VANITY FAIR The "Vanity Fair" Company, this season, on the Eastern Burlesque Wheel, is credited to the Bowman Brothers Amusement Co. Last year Gus Hill directed the show, which still plays under his franchise, having been leased. The Bowman Brothers (William T. and James M.) are among the prin- cipals. William is one of the two tramp comedians; Bob Van Osten the other, in the rather trite piece that is used to run through two acts, with an olio of three turns. This week at the Columbia, two of the acts are added, to strengthen up and lengthen out the performance. The third number is Bernier and Steller. It is a man and woman singing team, carried only for their vaudeville act. Monday eve- ning, after the second song, a ballad, the couple silently left the stage, with- out reappearing. Until they change that ballad into something they can sing, the reception will probably be repeated. Following the olio came the sec- ond act, or "burlesque." In this Messrs. Bowman and Van Osten con- tinue the characters of the tramp, by carrying out the title of the "Suf- fering Suffragettes." They are now on "Suffragette Isle," a near-relative to the old Seminary stuff. To make the relation stronger, the men are wearing skirts and wheeling baby car- riages. In -quick transition then, af- ter a march by the girls in tights, (led by Rose Stens Stevens, who nicely fit- ted into the role of the mother at the opening), comes a revision of "Tne Old Fire Brigade," with the choristers impersonating firemen. They dally about. It's a long stall that chases people home, and so it was in this case. When James Bowman finally appeared to sing "Mississippi Shore," a good many were on their way, with the burlesque not near completed. The burlesque of the "Vanity Fair" show is very bad. The comedy never enters. In the first part it is somewhat better, but the laughs are not plentiful. Though the plot of two tramps who are escaped convicts, and steal clothes to assume other char- acters, is hackneyed enough, there is still some humor left in it. What little there was that didn't hide somewhere, Mr. Van Osten got out. The opener has some suggestive lines, albeit not as broad as some of the verses in "Rock-a-by Baby." This song came in the second act with Van Osten and William Bowman singing the old "Hinky-Dee" melody? One verse was particularly bad, really nasty. When in vaudeville William Bow- man was an excellent blackface come- dian. That seems to be his forte. Certainly he shows nothing as a tramp. Mr. Bowman never seems to grip the character, nor does his physical build suit It. As a "straight" with a voice, James bowman does very well. William "Everywife," the top of the bill, closed the program. The house be- came intensely Interested from the start, although once or twice the point seemed to be rolling about in the open. U Dash. also can sing. The musical hit of the show is their number "Virginia Lou," in which Miss Stevens added a share as her best contribution of the evening. She remained off stage while singing, but the bouquet was handed to her during the march, while she was wearing a diamond pendant. (It has been a great season for the jewel- ers.) . Among the three women principals, inclusive of Miss Stevens, were Anna Woods and Dainty Diane. Miss Woods sang a couple of numbers programed (or Miss Diane. In one of these, "The Violin Rag," she put It over ex- tremely well. Miss Diane came out strongly when singing "Mysterious Rag" with James Bowman, at the finale of the first part. It made a big finish, receiving several encores. Dainty or Diane also delivered her Hues the most Intelligently among the ladies, though she was very careful the audience should never miss a syl- lable. The dressing in the first part was very pretty, though the costuming for the second act hadn't suffered a change up to the time the fire affair con- cluded. Of the sixteen choristers, four or five are pretty enough to won- der why the other managers who have appeared along the route this season did not discover some looks themselves to place in the line. One blonde chorister would grace the "show girl" line of any Broadway musical comedy. "Louisville Bill," another "rag" in the program, assigned to Virginia Kel- sey (whoever she is) had to come out as Bernier and Steller picked that for the first of the two songs in their olio act. They might better let Miss Kel- sey handle it. She may do something with the number. Of the other olio turns, Dewar's Comedy Animal Circus, is the unrid- able donkey, which caught much laughter. Dewar has a dog work- ing the revolving table, quite good, and the boys on the table got some fun out of it, but until he can train his pony to run the table without his hand on the bridle, and his whip on the pony's legs, Mr. Dewar had better close with the comedy falls of the boys. It will also make the pony feel much more comfortable. As the big hit of the night in an an around way, the Six Musical Spillers (also added) had no competition. These colored people, equally divided as to sex, give a very entertaining act. One can not help but reflect upon the absence of this turn from the big time vaudeville houses. Perhaps they are not asking sufficient salary to make some of the managers believe it. They will make the act better by dropping that dancing-cornet bit. It's too freaky, and means nothing. All the music of the show is sup- plied by the Ted Snyder Co. Bert Kalmer wrote the lyrics. Could the chorus sing as well as it looks, one or two of the numbers would have been much better received. The "Vanity Fair" needs fixing, es- pecially in the burlesque. If there is any way for William Bowman to ap- pear in blackface in the show, he should do so without delay. Sim*. COLUMBIA. Vaudeville at the Columbia Sunday evenings for the past few weeks has been drawing capacity business. The Columbia (Columbia Amusement Co.) harbors burlesque during the week, but is the "big house" of the Feiber ft Shea Sunday Circuit in New York. The others of the firm are the Murray Hill and Grand Opera House. J. Her- bert Mack is the manager of the Co- lumbia. The Columbia bills are composed usually of some of the turns from Fei- ber ft 8hea's near-by vaudeville the- atres, together with acts gathered for the occasion. Most are new each week, at least to Broadway. This is probably one of the Inducements which attracts the large attendance. Sunday night there was a sell out before the curtain arose. The Columbia Sunday audience Is a mixture of a "small time" crowd, bur- lesque goers and those who go to vaudeville but now and then. Be- tween the different parts making up the whole, an act has rather an easy time. Though it is far from a sinecure to frame up a program for one day only Marty Shea, who attends to the bills at the three theatres, presents usually a nice playing Sunday show, that proves agreeable. Last Sunday was no exception, al- though a couple of the acts (and the only sketches) on the program, had melodramatic tendencies and seemingly home made stories that stamped them as useless for anything but the "small time." There were Jack Reid and Co. (New Acts), and BlUy Swede Hall and Co. Each got over very well for the reasoni above stated. The Peerless Macks were "No. 2," following a light opening number, Lu- cifer and Kldler, comedy acrobats (New Acts). The Macks have im- proved greatly. The single thing in the turn not getting what it should have was the young man's singing of "Honeyman." That may be account- ed for through the Columbia not hav- ing missed that song on a Sunday since it came out. Toung Mr. Mack does so well with It he might get a newer number to exercise on. The young woman is dressing in far better taste than she formerly did, and they have a corking dance for the finale. It could be better displayed in "two." The speech and encore "Yiddish" talk delivered by Miss Mack, didn't com- mence to belong. Besides that she was breathless (or tried to impress the house to that effect. This "speech" thing Is a very tiresome proceeding. It's the father of the handshake, 9 some- thing Just as foolish. Harry Jolson put on his new turn (New Acts), getting the hit of the bill. Then came Ronair and Ward (New Acts), the class of the show, follow- ed by The Berrens. The latter is a musical "piano act" with the female impersonator deceiving about the en- tire house until the disclosure. It comes under the heading of a nice novelty turn. Mr. Reld and his company dropped in at this point, with Jones and Grant (colored), and the McDonald Trio, on the bicycles, to give the performance a strong ending. Sime.