Variety (September 1913)

22 VARIETY Lockett and Waldron. Dances. 9 Mina.; One. Columbia (Sept 14). Lockett and Waldron are from the west. Two dancing boys, it was said at the Columbia Sunday they were showing there for a Broadway pro- ducer's benefit. Barring an acrobatic dance by one of the young men, the turn frames up much as others who dance in pairs and wear evening clothes while doing it. The acrobatic single was very good and held up the turn for attention. Sime. Edith and Ada Billsbury. Songt and Dances. 11 Mins.; One. Princess, San Francisco. An attractive new turn, with kid character changes. Wardrobe is good, vocal numbers bright, catchy and ap- piopriate, and dancing satisfactory. The success of the girls here on their "break in" week strongly suggested they should be "cleaning up" shortly when the team work reaches a point of smoothness. Boni. Emmett Bros. Banjoists. 13 Mins.; One. Murray HiU (Sept 14). These young chaps with the banjos should not mind a seasoning such as the pop houses can give them as they have youth and ability. At the M. H. they were a big hit. Their music will hit any big small time bill and get away with honor. Mark. Moses and Landau. Piano and Songs. 12 Mins.; One. Bronx O. H. Two men and an upright piano. Have kept away from the usual monotonous routine of popular songs, but even at that, they fall considerably short As parlor entertainers they rank well enough, but for vaudeville, scarcely. Wvnn. Onerita. Dances. 7 Mins.; One. Murray HiU (Sept 14.) Onerita worked hard to please but the Murray Hill didn't think much of her stepping. She is a fair little hard shoe dancer, but not strong enough in that department to travel as a single. Mark. Twisto. Contortions. 5 Mins.; Full Stage. Hammerstein's. A long-legged, long-armed, double- jointed man is Twisto. With a shape like a buggy whip Twisto lives well up to his name. He closed the Ham- merstein show and did unusually well in holding the crowd, considering the style of turn on a 12-act bill. For those who delight in seeing the human form bent into ungodly shapes, Twisto is there forty ways. Mark. If 7*n don't MlvertlM In VABIETY, don't •dvartlM At nlL ROB ROY "The Bonnie Comic Opera," so the program has it. Bonnie is right This eminently satisfactory revival is sponsored by the De Koven Opera Company. It was offered Monday night at the Liberty with Bessie Abott at the head of the splendid company and James Stevens in the role of Rob Roy, created at the Herald Square theatre 19 years ago by William Pruett Jefferson DeAngelis is the comedian, a part for which his rather obvious methods are perfectly fitted. If musical comedy standards and forms have changed in the score of years since "Rob Roy's" premiere, at least the everlasting relations between book and score remain a fixed quantity. One would venture without much daring to affirm that the New York reviewer on that Tuesday morn- ing, 19 years ago, announced to his public that "The Harry B. Smith book was vastly inferior to the DeKoven music," using the same rubber stamp for the purpose that reposes in his desk today, for the current musical comedies. Nothing remains to be said of the score. The "Rob Roy" music has lived through its current popularity and survived into a permanency in the parlor music rack. Half a dozen of the ballads have even won place in the school repertoire, such as "The Merry Miller" and "My Hame is Where the Heather Blooms." But there are other compositions of less widespread famil- iarity, the revival of which is a work of highest interest The splendid, swelling notes of the finale to the first act, and the march number which opened the third act, both big impres- sive works, holding withal a sure ap- peal to popular tastes. Miss Abott is a finished artist and a delightfully personable young woman playing with an easy grace that adds a vast amount of effect to her exquisite singing. As the demure lassie she was a picture that invited approval; also when she was disclosed later as a kilted laddie. Henriette Wakefield, as Flora, was a picture not less pleasing to look at, with a voice of splendid richness to match her buxom charm. Mr. Stevens made a capital Rob, fitting acceptably into a cast of uniform ex- cellence. Ralph Brainard sang his way to favor, but when the book gave him lines to deliver he displayed an unfortunate stiffness, not to say woodenness in his reading. Daniel V. Arthur, who directs the enterprise, has done his full duty in providing the production. The three scenes are of extraordinary beauty. With a fine background to work upon the stage manager has composed a succession of colorful pictures in the handling of his forces. The big massed effects of the finales were splendidly arranged. A pretty incident of the second act was a dance by a dozen lightiooted girls dressed in Scotch kilts of pure white. The "Rob Roy" revival in short is a highly praiseworthy and successful effort to give sterling entertainment carried out on sound lines. Ruth. MADAM PRESIDENT A continental theatrical manager at- tended the metropolitan premiere of "Madam President" at the Garrick Monday evening and declared the American adaptation of the French farce had been considerably toned down. What it must have been in the original' is pretty hard to imagine. Variety's Paris correspondent has a favorite phrase for describing such things as "close to the knuckle." That wouldn't suffice in this instance with- out specifically indicating which knuckle. Fannie Ward has the leading role in "Madam President"—that of an actress with an overweening desire to display her physical pulchritude to the male populace at very close range, one victim at a time. This she persists in, whether the poor dupe is willing or not, until he indicates absolute capi- tulation. The ingenuity brought to bear in the creation of farcical complications bordering on—and overstepping—the risque, kept the audience convulsed with laughter. Candor compels this admission. It would seem that such things are not only acceptable, but very much to be desired. The plot on the whole is a sort of transposition of "The Girl from Rector's" and there were those present who declared that it was as good a farce as "The Blue Mouse." But as an interpreter of the French soubret type Miss Ward suffers by comparison with the late Mabel Bar- rison. She lacks the sprightliness and lightness of touch and her figure, when partially revealed, bordered somewhat on the matronly. Far and away the artistic hit of the evening was the characterization of the chief usher of the Ministry, admirably played by W. J. Ferguson. Evidently much was expected of him for he re- ceived the greatest reception. And he lived up to his reputation as a most capable character artist Excellent work was contributed by George Giddens, Minna Gomel, Pattie Biowne, John W. Dean, Jack Dever- eaux and Jack J. Horwitz. In fact the entire cast contributed in no small measure to the general effect designed —that of exciting the risibilities of playgoers. If the authorities do not see to it to censor the "close to the knuckle" lines and situations of "Madam President," the French farce should enjoy a profit- able run at the Garrick. Jolo. WHO'S WHO? Seated in the last row of the Criter- ion at the permiere of "Who's Who"? (Sept. 11.) was a normally proportioned man with an unusually stout woman. Immediately on the rise of the curtain, long before the star made his appear- ance, the woman exclaimed raptur- ousljj: "I love Collier; he's so funny"! Gazing affectionately into the eyes of the buxon woman, he replied tenderly: *'He's funny because you know it." Reams of criticism or review of Wil- liam Collier in Charles PVohman's "Who's Who?" could not have more thoroughly summed up the three-act piece by Richard Harding Davis offered for metropolitan approval. Even the large delegation of Collier's friends from the Lamb's Club, present at the premiere, hadn't the heart to offer any vigorous applause. At the final cur- tain the audience filed out solemnly. True there was humorous character drawing, western and bucolic types and the usual Collier bright come-backs in dialog; also the Collier "gulp" and other mannerisms. But "Who's Who?" isn't an up-to-date entertainment, mere- ly an unsuccessful effort to duplicate the former success of Collier's "The Dictator" by the same author. The situations are so few that for the most part it is merely a series of duolog between the star and other members of the cast. One of the cleverest characteriza- tions was that of "Sarah Cooper," owner of an Arizona dance hall who wants the star to marry her, telling him she'll only ask him six times. This situation occurs in the first act With the fall of the first curuin, travesty melodrama, the entertainment was virtually concluded. The remain- ing two acts consisted merely of long drawn out unraveling of the situation. That it didn't hold was not due to the cast, which was wholly competent but minus proper material with which to operate. "Who's Who?" can't get over in New York. Jolo. "THE COURTIW." Boston, Sept 17. The first performance on any stage of "The Courtin'," which is "Quincy Adams Sawyer" set to music, occurred at the Boston theatre Monday night It revealed a production which will never set the world afire and which, unless the first act is changed, will find itself an expensive frost. The courting of Ezekiel and Huldy on which the theme of the production is based, proved to be merely episodic in the operetta, coming in the second act amid a maze of interpolations. The ensembles lack in spontaneity. The music has a refreshing swing at times but these occasions are so scat- tered as to make the dreary oases which intervens seem almost inter- minable. The first act is out of the question as it stands and the only alternative seems to be to either eliminate the in- terpolations or else feature them. There are but two scenes. The cur- tain ascends on the village singing school during final instructions before the arrival of the school committee for the examination. The second scene is the living room of the Barker home and the song "Home, Sweet Home," won the biggest applause of the evening. This act, however, with its innumer- able interpolations is a thing of pleas- ure and the rural dances in which the small singing chorus seems to have made remarkable progress since the rehearsals started does much toward saving the entire production. The speaking parts are carried by Ernest Armour, George Ridgwell, Isa- dore Marcil, Walter Paschal, Paul Irving, Grace Freeman, Hester La Valle, Edna Nickcrson, Hadie Massey. The Atkinson-Brown Company, which is presenting "The Courtin'"