Variety (December 1912)

VARIETY 21 MISS PRINCESS. The Park theatre isn't going to do business with "Miss Princess," be- cause, as a show, it isn't there. Neither a comic opera nor musical comedy may explain why the program calls it an "operetta." That John Cort selected book, music and lyrics of American manufacture won't have much weight with the two-dollar buy- ers of entertainment. It really does seem, though, that if Mr. Cort, quite a nervy producing manager, as past performances tend to prove, had chosen a stager of abil- ity to put "Miss Princess" on, it might have done better. The show needs what it hasn't got: lively numbers and comedy. There are plenty of songs and lots of well costumed chorus girls, besides some chorus men who are regular fellows, but there is no action. Neither is there any comedy of mo- ment, and, after that, the story doesn't warrant talking about. The manager, in trying to please the critics, has the pleasant prospect as- sured him sooner or later that he will go broke. The manager who figures on pleasing the public that pays to see has the best future for a balance on his check book. For "Miss Princess" a defense may be offered: care was exercised not to lower the "class" of the performance. Still in the centre of the second act, Hale and Pater- son, ordinary "Tommy Dancers," gave a brief exhibition and held up the performance while they were brought back from the wings to bow four times. "Humpty Dumpty," the pret- tiest song in the score, received two encores. So there you are! If the people with two dollars want rag or popular stuff, why not give it to them, while they are in the mood, and dodge manuscripts that read as the one carrying "Miss Princess" must have? Frank Mandel wrote the book; Will B. Johnstone turned out the lyrics, and another Johnstone, with a good turkey trot surname, Alexander, wrote the music; but Alexander kept his melo- dies in the elite class—that is why you won't hear them outside the theatre. Another catchy song was "Come. My Sweetheart," with music by Joseph Strauss. It has a perfect strain for a "Yodel" song. Either Andrew Mack or Chauncey Olcott could afford to pay a stiff price for it, when "Miss Princess" is laid at rest. Someone slipped Felix Haney a "song-recitation." Haney is the near- est approach to a comedian in sight, with little opportunity for funmaking. But his recitation is about a hand- rolled cigarette, and it's funny enough. That it brings applause may be stood off through the fact that little else dur- ing the evening gives the audience a reason to quicken their circulation by hand clapping. The two principals are Lina Abar- banell and Robert Warwick. Abar- banell is heavily featured. She sings, plays and looks well in the title role but is wasted. Warwick makes a handsome U. S. Cavalry officer. He is also against the stone wall the show itself erects. Henri Leoni and Jose- phine Whittell attract attention, not necessarily favorable, and there are others like Ben Hendricks and John H. Pratt, but "Miss Princess" was pretty poor picking for any cast. Simt. THE CONSPIRACY. Encouraged by the remarkable suc- cess of "Within the Law," it was a natural consequence there would be an epidemic of "underworld" plays. "The Conspiracy" is most timely, having for its subject the pursuit of "the scarlet band," an organization of traffickers in white slavery. This delectable topic is handled with the utmost frankness, but never with the slightest indecency or suggestiveness. The theme or mo- tive is directed toward the "uplift move- ment." After the first quarter of an hour, consumed in creating atmosphere, the play resolves itself into a "gripping" and "tense" melodrama, developed along modern playwriting and play- writing lines. The "Comedy Relief," clever enough in its way, has been dragged in ruthlessly with no regard for the seriousness of the situations. The best bit of comedy "business," em- ployed in all three of the acts, and for the final curtain, is the taking of calis- thenic exercises by one of the charac- ters whenever the clock strikes. This was used in vaudeville the past two seasons in a sketch seen all over the country. And the literal acting to the accompaniment of the words of the fic- tion writer is one of this season's vaudeville sketch novelties. But legi- timate audiences won't mind. There are but three central charac- ters—practically only two—the third being a quick-witted and ready-tongued reporter who falls in love with the hero in spite of her having been for three weeks a white slave victim and having killed a man to protect herself and her brother. The main part is "Winthrop Clavering," a fiction writer for a daily paper, an eccentric old codger, with a mania for solving crime mysteries, ap- plying Sherlock Holmes deductive methods to his work. John Emerson brings to the role of the amateur crime detector a delight- fully human performace of a selfish, conceited, but honest literary hack. Francis Byrne is the Park Row news- paper man who falls in love with the heroine at first sight and assists her to rescue her assistant district attorney brother from the clutches of "the scar- let band." He gave an intelligent por- trayal of a rather stagey melodra- matic reporter, putting over effectively the comedy retort lines allotted to him. Jane Grey has the difficult emotional role of a girl lured to a disorderly house and there kept a prisoner for three weeks. For four years before that time (up to the beginning of the play) she and her brother had been working to bring the white slave dealers to jus- tice. Her depiction of the stress of emotion over the constant imminence of a possible exposure of her "shame" and the injustice of the necessity for standing trial for murder in the event of her secret being made known, was very effective. Barring Helena Rapport, who played a Spanish woman, a member of "the scarlet band," with a German dialect, there was revealed a cast of uncommon ability, but with a decided failing to strive for individual laurels at the sac- rifice of team work. This is an unusual state of affairs in a Charles Frohman presentment and would indicate that the manager had not given the production his personal supervision. All things considered—including the prestige of Detective Burns—the chances for the success of "The Con- spiracy" in New York are doubtful. Jolo. HARRY LAUDER SHOW The Casino held $3,000 Monday at the two shows Harry Lauder first par- ticipated in for his fifth return journey after the American eagle, silver backed. William Morris continues to be Lau- der's impresario. It looks like a life agreement between them. They have both made money out of the business association, Lauder through the excep- tional management he was fortunate to secure over here, and Morris because he has a most remarkable star. Lauder is an enigma. A thorough showman, who never lets anything get away from him, and a personality that accounts mostly for his bank roll. Lauder with the Scotch people is sim- ply a barometer. If he's bright, they are bright; if he's sad, they are with him. to a man or woman, in song, talk and actions. What the peculiar hold arises from that Lauder exercises over his countrymen and women an Ameri- can can neither grasp nor understand. Monday evening Mr. Lauder sang seven songs. The new ones were "Same as His Father Was Before Him," "She's the Lass for Me," "The Kilty Lads," "A Wee Deoch-an-Doria," and "A Wee Hoose." (One or more may have been used by him last sea- son over here.) Old stand-bys were resorted to in "The Softest of the Fam- ily" (Lauder's masterpiece and a num- ber he will be very fortunate indeed if he can ever touch) and "I Love a Lassie," the latter suryar' without the lass in sight. Mr. Lauder is there with the red fire in two numbers. He's there strong, too,\and to clinch it sang "A Wee Hoose" without accompani- ment. It's a descriptive song of the old home on the hillside. Lauder can still fashion lyrics to the public's lik- ing, also attaching those simple little melodies he thinks an orchestra can't play and that make so good with those in front. Lauder was somewhat rough in looks at the orchestra Monday eve- ning. With sixteen men under him Max Faethaurer did probably better than might have been expected, but the Scotch singer divided his resting time between frowning at the musi- cians and looking at Sir Thomas Lip- ton in a stage box. It can't be that Lauder is falling for titles. He per- formed before the King and Queen at the Palace, London, last summer. There were others there, too, but that might have been enough glory for one year. No one went entirely crazy when Mr. Lauder drew attention to Sir Thomas in his final speech. Surrounding the star Mr. Morris has placed an all-foreign bill, excepting the Musical Cuttys, who did their usual "No. 4." There arc six acts be- sides Lauder (on for sixty-five min- utes), winding up with a Scotch band, including the fancy bass drummer who made people dodge his sticks while entering the house, the musicians do ing a little ballyhoo on the outside be fore the show. Other than Rex Fox. the wire-walk- ing ventriloquist, who does too much and remains over lon« with a novelty that is made the centre of the turn instead of the finish, all the turns are under New Acts, excepting Carl Ro- sine. He opened the show with magic. Mr Rosine has a neat little bundle of tricks that have been shown before by other illusionists. The remainder of the acts are Velanche's Football Dogs, Arthur Astill, Little Freddie Fackin. It's not a big vaudeville show, but with Lauder will do, for the people pay to sec the Scotchman. Slme. COLONIAL. (Estimated Cost of Show, $4,225.) The twelve-act show had several twists after the Monday matinee, but at the night show there was still room for much improvement. The audience (before Christmas is the excuse) was scattered in all parts of the house. There was a half house down stairs, about a quarter balcony, with the boxes lightly populated. The gallery seemed to be composed of a music publishers' claque, who gave vent to their feelings for only two acts. They might have scattered the applause about a hit and made a show of covering it up. It was so in- artistically done; and then, as long as thousands arc being spent for adver- tising, why confine the claque to the gallery, at a quarter a throw. Add a little class and slip out a few box seats; that's the way to "make acts." No prestagc in gallery applause. This cheap way of doing things is foolish, often. The Dolce Sisters, opening after in tcrmission instead of "No. 2" or "3" where they belonged, were palpably the first target of the claques. But even with the boosters who sounded funny to the rest of the house, they couldn't get away with the close har- mony thing on "All Night Long," a song which is not for them at all and should be dropped. At best, it is a hard number to handle. How the girls expect to come into New York at this late date and put "Circus Day" over for a finish is hard to imagine. The song has been dead a long time. These girls are the net result of mu- sic publishers, and unless they secure a new repetoire very soon they will be hitting the small time, where there are sister acts now which have it over them like a tent. Lambert and Ball were the other "claque act." although this couple do not need the assistance of any one, and a thing of this sort merely makes them look queer. The interest of the show centered in two sketches. "More Sinned Against Than Usual," the Arthur Hopkins* travesty, and Mrs. Louise James' "Holding a Husband." The former was moved into the sec ond half, second after intermission, and the latter placed in the first part, "No 5." "More Sinned Against Than Usual" is an odd bit and unless the audience - gets the idea right from the jump they don't seem to catch the real humor throughout. The piece has been kept up to its very good opening standard,