Variety (August 1913)

20 VARIETY FIFTH AVENUE. The show this week and the vhow last week at the Fifth Avenue will probably start a discussion—which is the poorer of the two. If the current performance consisted only of the last three numbers [Cecil Cunningham and Co. (New Acts), Howard and Ratliff, and Carl Eugen Troupe (New Acts)] the evening would have been much more pleasantly wasted. These summer shows in the Broad- way vaudeville theatres will keep good turns out of them before long. The standard acts will not take a chance of becoming sandwiched into a dead play- ing bill. No comedy appeared before 10.17 and little life. The program up to then looked like a small time show booked for a yap town. After the Dorothy Richmond sketch, "A Midnight Marriage/' in the "No. 3" spot, little hope was left. Edgar Allan Woolf should either take hit name as author away from this piece or take the piece away from Miss Richmond, who may have been a good vaudeville agent and, if she was, should have stuck to it in preference to acting. Whatever small merit the sketch pos- sesses is utterly lost in the playing. The single member of the Richmond cast who seems to have an idea what she is doing is Nellie Crawford, who plays a French maid. Perhaps having been an agent in vaudeville or an agentress explains how Miss Richmond remains on the big time with this act. Just before her was Hong Fong, a Chinaman. The program says he sings in six different languages, and perhaps he does; but it all sounds Chinese. Hong remarks, "If you (audience) don't like me, I'll go back to the laun- dry"; not a bad thought at all. Kinzo, a Jap juggler, .opened the show. With the foreigners closing the bill, and the poor acts in between, the Fifth Avenue displayed much versatil- ity Monday evening. After a long wait, Count Beaufort, with magic and disappearances, came on M No. 6." He is termed The Pro- tean Wizard." One of his disappear- ances Beaufort claims originality for. It is being tied to a stake in the cab- inet, with a substitution. The tying and untying consume too much time. Speed is the thing. Beaufort worked under a disadvantage and did fairly. His turn is not big. If it becomes that he must make it himself. Upon first appearing when underdressed it makes Beaufort's evening clothes look awkward, against him from the start in the bigger houses. Charles Howard and Jos Ratliff have framed an act with Dorothy Hayden. Howard does his "drunk" as in bur- lesque and has a good finish in a Tur- key trot, when Ratliff and Miss Hay- den also dance. Some "imaginary" business is wholly a burden since a girl is in the act, and, while the turn was the single laughing number of the program, it still will have to be tried out in cold weather for the important spot given it this week. Only a week or so ago Mr. Howard appeared in the same act with Walter James. Helen Goff, Mazie King and Co., Anthony and Ross—New Acts. 8ime. UAMMERSTEIN'S. It is the custom for roof garden man- agers to figure that a shower late in the afternoon (such as occurred Mon- day) has the effect of keeping a large number of people from dining at the beaches and hence create that many more ticket purchasers for their aerial entertainments. If that be so it didn't quite work out Monday evening at Hammerstein's, for the roof was only half filled by a quiet, well-behaved audience, which hesitated to make any noise by applauding. True, there wasn't much call, for violent approval, as most of the turns were far from entertaining. Such well- known entertainers as Mike Bernard and Willie Weston were utterly unable to lift the oppressiveness which pre- vailed almost throughout. After sing- it!^ one song, Weston appeared for his second with the announcement: "My next flopping number will be," etc As a piano soloist Bernard is a marvel; but when acting as accompanist his execution on the ivories is obtruded so far as to detract from his partner's vocalizing. The artistic hit was Elizabeth Mur- ray. Her wholesome personality and incisive enunciation carried every syl- lable she warbled clear back to the duck pond where a fair proportion of the audience stood and amused them- selves throwing stones at the wooden decoy fowl. Her success was in strik- ing contrast to Ernest Ball and Maude Lambert, who are not possessed of sufficient volume to fully qualify as roof entertainers. They got through with but one bow, due wholly to the fact that their voices didn't reach, al- though downstairs at the matinee they were reported to have been a big hit Chester and Jones, two youths, opened the show with a "hoofing" routine. ' Charlie Rossow did his old single, later participating; as one of the Rossow Midgets. In third spot were four of the' Five Mowatts with their club juggling specialty, which lifted the few already present from their apathy. Mosher, Hayes and Mosher had con- siderable difficulty in landing the com- edy, but landed substantially on the finish. Jesse Lasky's posing act, "The Three Beautiful Types," went well. In "The Dance of Fortune" Alice Eis doesn't disrobe as much as heretofore. There is really no legitimate excuse for it, as the courts have exonerated her, and it was a very oppressive evening, with absolutely no chance of encounter- ing any chilling breezes. Come on, Alice, don't let Lady Richardson, Dainty Marie and all the others get anything on you. Dainty Marie, Winsor McCay and Ching Ling Foo were the three closing numbers. Foo and his oriental or- ganization are in their fourth week and going as well as ever—that is, he was not exactly a riot on Monday night because the house was only half full and nobody got excited. But, propor- tionately, he did as well as anybody. McCay was the third of the dark acts, the lights being turned down for Lasky's posing act, French and Eis and his number. Such things interfere with the sale of refreshments. Jolo. AMERICAN ROOF The booking men for the big time vaudeville houses are in danger of an eclipse. Some of these small time bills display a much keener sense of propor- tion and value than is evidenced in the layout of many programs in the large houses. Considering material handled, the small time certainly does better, relatively, than the big time. The program the first half this week on the American Roof was a sample. It held little that could have stood analysis, but collectively made a first class performance. And it was all brought about by the distribution of the turns, although the Three New- mans (New Acts), opening the bill, should have had the opening-after-in- termission position on it. After the commencement came Spie- gel and Dunn, in blackface, with a nice easy specialty, well handled. The boys' voices are a little light for the open air, but they did very well notwithstanding. "No. 3" was "Broadway Love," the former Alexander and Stewart big time piece, with two new women in it They were billed as the Misses Hadley and Hoffman, probably assumed names. The principal player is said to be a Miss St Clair. She is the actress who discovers former husband, Jack, is mak- ing love to her room-mate. In this instance the room-mated young woman could be greatly improved upon. She weakens the act perceptibly. Miss St Clair will do. With the two women more evenly balanced in ability, the number should get over on the small time. It was never big time in subject matter. Thomas Potter Dunne was "No. 4," also the hit of the bill. Mr. Dunne is a good performer, and in his character raonolog does many things, each much appreciated. Closing the first half was "The Country School," a kid turn. Ben Lewin (New Acts) opened after intermission, followed by the Banjo- phiends. It's summer now and the Banjophiends may be still using the routine of last season, but this is a big time act, nevertheless, needing only more judgment in selections. The gloom music now in use should be thrown out, also the old medley em- ployed, and current rags substituted. That "Misery" or "Miserere" with "Sil- ver Threads" and the Irish ballad are so vjniich dinned around. It seems at present as though vaudeville's only object is to boost Ireland. A young woman who looks well and sings is in the turn. The act is all there except- ing numbers. The idea of five banjo players not going very hard to the rag thing! Brady and Mahoney captured the laughing hit, next to closing. Their "Hebrew Fireman and Foreman" is always sure-fire. The comedian has a good characterization, in clean face, and the "straight" is most excellent. Mareeno, Nevaro and Mareeno closed the show proper, with the New York Herald film instead of the Pathc Weekly at the finale. The Herald film is a regular Edison release of this week, showing the operation of the paper's plant on Herald Square. Sime. 120TH STREET. Harlem, or at least that part of it in which Proctor's 125th Street theatre is located, seems to crave quantity, and Manager Leonhardt, obliging always, is certainly giving it to them; 12 acts make up the show this week, Kinema- colored at both ends. Harlem, in or- der to show appreciation, regardless of weather, is keeping the house well filled. Tuesday night, with the mer- cury doing an ascension, the auditori- um was within two rows of capacity. After Kinemacolor, Dunbar's Goats (New Acts) went through the routine and started the evening's show off with a mild rush. Then came a suc- cession of new acts, including. Billy Shear, Melrose and Kennedy, Kear- ney, Buckley and Co., McLeod and Laird, Eilson and De Mott and Webb and Hope's Minstrels (New Acts). Claude Ranf, working on the slack wire, has perfected his specialty to big time calibre and really belongs in that class. Juggling knives, balls and pad- dling across on a unicycle are second only to his slack wire, a good finish, and one that corralled the expected applause. Stevenson and Nugent could bolster up their talk to some extent Steven- son's character would allow for some excellent material. Nugent's singing is off in spots. However, they pleased, more so because of Stevenson's dance than anything else. The Ed. Zoeller Trio closed the show with an excellent table and ground tumbling, Janet Louden appear- ing earlier in her comedy sketch. Wynn. NEW YORK. Tuesday evening was just a plain swelterer—the kind of a night you would expect to rush home, take a bath and sit around in your pajamas fanniag yourself in a vain endeavor to secure a modicum of comfort And yet the New York was almost half filled with vaudeville patrons. Just to show that ii had their interest at heart the man- agement permitted the men to remove their coats in addition to the usual smoking and ice cream cone indul- gences. Perhaps these people have no homes and the huge auditorium of the New York is much more comfortable than a furnished room. Anyway, there they were, a soggy mass of humanity on pleasure bent. The usual black and white and Kine- macolor picture service. One of the colored films—"Tested by Fire"—came in for some genuine applause, and an- other showed a portion of a dress re- hearsal of "The Daughter of Heaven" on the roof of the Century theatre. Little Marie and her Teddy Bears, Peters and Williams, Powder and Tap- man, Mme. Helena, Mile. Sahaya—New Acts. The three other turns werej Reed. St. John Trio, Payne and Lee, and Four Nelson Comiques. The first is a mixed trio (two women and a man) in an instrumental turn with Colonial trappings, a scrim drop, etc. Payne and Lee, a man and a woman singing and dancing act, a quite classy couple, who work with neatness and some originality. Jolo.