Variety (December 1912)

16 VARIETY NEW ACTS NEXT WEEK Initial Pr««eatatlOB, First Appearaace or fieappearaaca In or Aroaad New York Elliott Savonas, Orpheum. Lillian Loraine, Hammerstein's. John T. Kelly, Hammerstein's. Jack and Tony, Hammerstein's. Eddie Badger, Hammerstein's. Great Marvelle, Hammerstein's. Dolle Dalnert, Fifth Ave. Bernard and Bur knar dt, Fifth Ave. William Wetton and Co., Fifth Ave. Hufford and Chain, Fifth Ave. Burr and Hope, Fifth Ave. Five Martells, Fifth Ave. La Crandall, Fifth Ave. Hart's Quartet, Union Sq. Leonard and Louie, Union Sq. ■ ' ■ » ■■ ■ —^——— , .i .■ . Grace La Rue and Co. (2). "The Record Breaker" (Songa). 25 Min.; Full Stage (Special Interior). Colonial. Grace La Rue returns to vaudeville as a straight singer with a special set, a sketch structure and some clothes. We have heard about Grace La Rue taking a three months' vocal course in Paris, but it was hardly expected the dancer would emerge a full-fleged prima donna in 12 weeks. Paris, though, has done wonders for Miss La Rue. Her voice for vaudeville is great, her clothes even greater, but her act needs attention. It drags to- ward the middle, gets slower as it goes along and only a little waltzing by Miss La Rue saved it at one place. There is a chance for her to do some dancing in the "Moon" number and even if it lowers the dignity of her Parisian registers a bit, she should put the number down to close with and top it off with a dance. The act as it runs lacks life, dragging insuf- ferably at times. The sketch portion amounts to nothing. The scene is laid in a phonograph shop. Miss La Rue, a prima donna, is eccentric. Ac- cording to her maid, the prima donna has an appointment to make records. This she proceeds to do with the aid of a piano player. A number from "Mme. Butterfly" is sung with a phono- graph in much the same manner Cissie Loftus used it in imitating Caruso. There is no novelty in the phonograph shop or singing with the machine. Miss La Rue does not make records, that's only in the sketch. Monday night at the Colonial the audience was the best that could have been de- sired for the offering and still it didn't get over to any great enthusiasm. Miss La Rue seems better equipped at present than at any other time to put over a successful vaudeville of- fering and with the right sort of ar- rangement will have no difficulty in doing so. Dash. u Moore and St. Clair. "Along a Country Lane." 11 Mins.; One. (Special Drop.) 125th Street. Stranded actor meets an actress who is home on a visit to her folks, but pretends she is an innocent rural fe- male. All crossfire, concluding with ballad duet and comedy business. Ac- ceptable big small time offering. Jolo. Ching Ling Foo and Co. (11). Chinese Variety Show. 30 Mine.; One and Full Stage (Special Drops and Set). Hammerstein's. Ching Ling Foo's reappearance in American vaudeville has been Broad- way conversation for some few weeks back. George and Leon Mooser brought Ching to this country, after guiding him over half the civilized world. They have made no mistake. The Oriental magician is a drawing card, and that is the principal point. As to the act, opinions will probably differ, but no matter what the verdict, Ching will excite interest wherever he shows, and those who see the perform- ance will admit they have witnessed something new. The whole show is not Ching. A company of eleven is carried beside the big chief, and a few of them do things. A couple of horizontal bar performers are showing a routine that's really worth watching. The Chinese lack the finish of the American performer on the bar, but what they lack in finish they more than make up by real work. A bar is used about double the size of the horizontal we know and is set much nearer the stage. Two or three of the tricks are so far ahead of anything that have been seen that the veriest novice in acrobatics readily detects the difference. Some work is done on two ropes used in somewhat the same man- ner as the flying rings which is also novel. A juggler at the opening does a few things with a heavy bowl that started the act off well. Then there is a little Miss who does plate spin- ning of a sort that caused popping eyes. Miss Chee Toy (Ching's daugh- ter) announced as the only one of the troupe who made the last pilgrimage to this country with Ching sang a rag song in English. It was amusing. Ching Ling Foo does little he did not show before. The best is the produc- ing of bowls of water. Monday after- noon the act dragged, but at each suc- ceeding performance the magician changed the turn about, and at each performance confidence has grown stronger in it. Certain it is that Tues- day night's show was entirely satis- factory to the capacity audience. Enough talk should be created to fill the house for the balance of the en- gagement. Ching Ling Foo is all right for American vaudeville. He is dif- ferent, and vaudeville is sadly in need of something different. There is a great chance for press work, and the a£t will make good on all the boosting. The actual running time Tuesday night was twenty-seven minutes. The first three minutes were consumed by an announcement. Dash. Alpine Troupe (5). Wire Act. 9 Mins.; Full Stage. ' Bronx. Three girls and two men, with the "props" handed them by a woman. They use two wires, about four feet apart, and jump from one to the other. Act is well dressed and pretentious- looking for one of its kind. Troupe does cartwheels, rope skipping, two highs, cakewalk—all on the wires—and finish with acrobatics on the ground. Good closing number. Jolo. Mrs. Curtis Burnley. "Creator of Types/' 21 Mins.; Full Stage (Parlor). ColoniaL Mrs. Curtis Burnley is one of many "society entertainers." Mrs. Burnley is a big time entertainer, only playing in society. Others play Y. M. C. A.'s and other associations, known as the small time. If 1,000 were placed into vaudeville, not more than 10 would get over. Mrs. Burnley is not of the 10. "Kid" impersonations are very well done by her. When she finishes you just want to tap your gloved finger tips and murmur, "splendid 1 splendid I" The opening "kid" song was her best, although for vaudeville one verse would have been sufficient. "The So- ciety Girl at the Races," not unlike Ray Cox's baseball bit, did nicely, al- though Miss Cox need not retire from the stage. The colored wench is not for vaudeville at all. Vaudeville has hundreds who do this thing so much better. Mrs. Burnley should drop it at once, excepting for society. With her many friends in the theatre Mon- day evening Mrs. Burnley did fairly well, but the act is too long and out- side of what she may be able to draw at the box office, is valueless to vaudeville. Dash NEW SHOWS NEXT WEEK laMal lVaaa»tatiart of LatfftttaaaU Attractloas la New York Theatre*. Wood and Wyde. Songs and Talk. 14 Min.; One (Special Drop). Colonial. Wood and Wyde call their offering in "one," "Good Night." The drop shows two doors in a corridor of a hotel separated by the elevator. The girl occupies one room, the boy the other. The action takes place pre- sumably in the corridor. Although there is little sketch structure, still the idea is hardly one to be utilized by a neat song and dance team. There are the two roms, the corridor, the insinuations and the house detective, and a stage hand who walks on a couple of times to catch the boy listen- ing at the girl's door. Not so good for a theatre whose owner once barred even the use of "damn". Wood and Wyde are on early, "No. 2," so they have plenty of time to get around front and see Mack and Walker, from whom they can learn a whole lot without encroaching. At present the act does not frame favorably with many of the same ilk playing the pop houses. There is no great amount of singing or dancing ability, nor does there seem to be any experience be- hind the players. The act didn't even get started at the Colonial. Dash Anna Montgomery. Songs and Piano. 8 Mins.; One. Grand O. H. (Dec. 8). Anna Montgomery is a big woman with a sweet voice. Its quality is more pronounced than anything else, Miss Montgomery's greatest drawback be- ing her lack of expression. She has a high range but what seemed an ap- parent tendency to "loaf and the lack of pepper which pop audiences desire and demand held her back. Her songs were all too similar to suit the Grand audience. One of the very latest bal- lads would help. Mark. "Freckles"— Grand O. H. (Dec. 16). "Peg o' My Heart"— Cort (Dec. 20). "The Conspiracy"— Garrick (Dec. 21). Gertrude Barnes. Songs. 20 Mins.; One. Bronx. "Perseverance is equivalent to geni- us." There's no question but what, at her present gait, Gertrude Barnes is destined to be one of the leading lights in musical comedy, with periodical dashes into vaudeville. This is being made manifest at the Bronx the cur- rent week, where she is appearing in a single turn. It is remarkable the strides she has made since last spring. At that time Miss Barnes came to us, an untried quantity, and despite some crudities, acquitted herself acceptably —to everybody but herself. After a couple of weeks' showing she disap- peared from the horizon. Nothing was heard of her until now, when she once more bursts upon us with most apparent results that could only have been accomplished by persever- ance, natural talent and oodles of mag- netism. Her initial entrance is from the centre of a plush drop in which she is apparently wrapped. The open- ing number being a "kid" song, bespoke careful thought in the conception of a unique entrance. This had the effect of getting her audience on the jump, after which she succeeded in holding them throughout, with five numbers. The second song was "Molly Took the Next Train Back to Hackensack," from her former repertoire, but strengthened with two new verses and a better con- ception of the humor suggested by the lyrics. This song, by the way—or one of its kind—will cause to be born the proper billing for the little woman, viz.: "The Gertrude Barnes Smile"— and it's a corker. She follows this with a clever talking number, "You Never Can Tell from the Left Eye what the Right Eye is Going to Do." Her most artistic effort is the next, "I Left My Old Kentucky Home for You," a com- bination of humor and pathos, which indicates latent dramatic ability—a rare gift in a singing comedienne. For her last song she uses a number that is (popular at the present time, "Row, Row, Row." Again she demonstrates her capacity to rise above the conven- tional by appending an "afterpiece" to this song, which is at the same time novel and entertaining. This "after- piece," a sort of a miniature produc- tion, discloses her in a rowboat ac- companied by a "dummy," and shows her in still another light, that of a travesty comedienne. She goes through a bit of burlesque drama in a manner that indicates exceptional possibilities in this direction, and earned for her Tuesday night a riot of appreciative applause. Gertrude Barnes has arrived. Her progress from now on is not a matter of conjecture: it's a certainty. Jolo.