Variety (January 1914)

VARIETY 19 Gardiner Trio. Dances. U Min.; Pull Stage (Palace). Colonial. The Gardiner Trio are on the big time, with the same set of dances they slowly built into a routine while hav- ing a long run at Churchill's cabaret. There is one exception though. A girl does a "Tango Solo." It's some- thing new in the dance line and ap- pears to have been inserted to give the young man of the trio a breathing spell. He dances with each of the two girls, and then with both for the "Tommy" finish. They call this num- ber "The Cowboy Texas Tommy," do- ing it just as they did at Churchill's, even to the "dreaming" song sung with it. These three people are a very good illustration of what the dance craze can do. It has literally pushed the trio on- ward. Ordinary "Tommy" dancers when first entering New York, the trio developed by suggestion perhaps and became popular at the restaurant with their quite ordinary "society dances." The boy has gone the furtherest ahead. He now wears even- ing dress with jet buttons, plasters his hair down closely as do other "danc- ers" about, wears a white rose as a boutonniere on his dress coat and con- forms to all requisites that "profes- sional dancers" have found they must have. The two girls are still the same. They always worked as though coach- ed, and the young man must be the stager and producer of the act. The girls are dressing better than they did, which also comes under the heading of "How To Become a Society Dancer," but the smaller of the young women seems to have suffered a calamity. When appearing at Churchill's this girl's legs were the big feature of the turn. They used to be plump and shapely. In fact the Gardiner girl's extremities and Captain Churchill's food were the two best bets around town at the time. But at the Colonial a marvelous change had happened to those legs. The shapeliness and plum- ness have gone. How much a com- plete metamorphosis could be worked in such a short time must be left to Plain Mary to tell. The Gardiner Trio has as good an opportunity in big time vaudeville as any of- their competitors. But they should be worth more money on a ballroom floor if they can get it over there. Sime. Bennett and Darling. Songs and Talk. 15 Mins.; One. Man first appears as a "drunk" on his v/ay home from a masked ball where he had flirted with his wife and didn't know it. Sings "What's the Use of Water When You Are Dry?" and com- ments off hand about the "mash" at the ball when the woman in question comes along and keeps up the deception until almost the close. The woman holds him up at the pistol point only in turn to have the drop taken on her b> hubby. This bit made considerable fun and went over big on their uptown opening. Act is away from usual run of "team" turns and should land plenty of pop bookings. Mark. If yon don't advertise In VARIETY, don't advertise at nil. The Denver*. Comedy 8ketch. 16 Mine.; Full Stage (Interior). Grand O. H. (Dec 28). Man and woman "nut" comics of the roughest and most unrestrained sort They have nothing of cleverness and not a shadow of an idea, but they make limitless noise and go the abso- lute limit of low comedy knockabout. A "scream" for that sort of audience. Ruth STOCK Flying Lamars. Double Trapeze. 6 Mine.; Full Stage. Bronx O. H. (Dec. 28.) No pop bill can go wrong with the Flying Lamars either opening or clos- ing as they have an excellent routine with the woman doing the risky work. The Lamars look young and work fast enough to keep attention riveted on their act. Mark. Castalano and Denny. Piano Act. 8 Mine.; One. Columbia (Dec. 28.) Castalano and Denny are a couple of rathskeller boys who have an odd ar- rangement of numbers for a cabaret turn on the stage, but get away with it, mostly through the final song, a good swinging rag that carries a dance. In this the fellow who sings has taken a bit of business from John and Mae Burke, that of dancing with a stage hand. As it is the closing number that brings the couple about all they se- cure, this bit should have its share of the credit. The boys are of pleasing appearance. Sime. SHORT LIVED TEMPLE GO. Camdem, N. J., Dec. 31. Short lived was the new Temple Stock company which opened several weeks ago at the Temple. The com- pany presented "Alias, Jimmy Valen- tine," and "A Woman's Way." "The Dairy Farm" the week before Christ- mas put the company out of business when the management fell flat on a monster charity benefit. Harold Clare- ment, the lead, quit when his salary was overdue, but Jane Babcock, the leading woman stuck to Manager Cake until the last Director Harry Sedley also compromised with the manage- ment and with the remaining members of the stock East Lynne opened on Christmas Day and ran for the balance of the week. The three days' business was not up to expectations and the result was that the salaries were not forthcoming and those who remained were lucky to get one-third of what was coming to them. This week a minstrel show was put in and business seems to be about fair. RAN 19 WEEKS. Atlanta, Dec. 31. The Jewell Kelly Players will close the run of 19 weeks at the Bijou this Saturday. Monday Eddie Black with his own company will open there. Mr. Black was with the Jewell players. R. Bertin. "Occultus." Gaite Rochechouart, Paris. A wax head, on a pedestal, is brought from the stage into the auditorium. Bertin asks questions and the head talks. It will calculate, whistle well known airs, sing operas, and read a line indicated by the public from a journal. This is the new act of the French pro- tean, Bertin, shown under the title of "Occultus." It looks clever, for the head is placed close to the audience. Good number for small halls—but Ber- tin wants big time. Kendrew. JANE TYRRELL CLOSING. On account of a change in the policy of the management from a stock com- pany to the stock star system, Jane Tyrrell, who has been leading woman in the Shubert Dramatic Stock com- pany of Minneapolis, is closing on Jan. 10. LOIS HOWELL MARRIED. Springfield, Mass., Dec. 31. Lois Howell and G. Swayne Gordon, with the Poli stock were married last week in Thompsonville, Conn. MATINEE DAILY. Newark, Dec. 31. The Odeon is going to discard its pop policy next week and will install melodramatic stock. The opener will be "His Wife's Secret," matinee every day. Ethel Elder has been engaged as leading woman. WAITING FOR SUNDAY. Scranton, Pa., Dec. 31. Local theatrical and movie men look for hard times when Billy Sunday, the baseball evangelist, hits town in Janu- ary. Their last recollection is that Billy took away $23,000 and a bushel of presents on a former visit. A huge tabernacle has been constructed for Sunday's use. MORTON CO. AT SCRANTON. Scranton, Pa., Dec. 31. The Lew Morton Opera Co., is scheduled to open a permanent engage- ment here at the Lyceum Jan. 12. The company, recently returned from a trip to the West Indies. ACADEMY QUITS STOCK. After two seasons of stock company plays the Academy of Music, Jersey City, will on January 5, return to its former policy of vaudeville and mov- ing pictures. "He Fell In Love With Hie Wife," by E. P. Roe, and "The Silver Horde," dramatized from Rex Beach's novel of that title, are slated among the January stock releases. A recent release was "A Romance of Billy Ooat Hill." Lee Baker, the former leading man of the 3hubert Theatre stock, Minneapolis, has been engaged for the new Richard Walton Tully ihow. COULDN'T DO IT. The LaFayette theatre melodramatic stock closes Saturday night. The house adopted a new policy last week, a white company attempting to make stock pay, but the negro patrons re- fused to patronize. WILMINGTON'S ORPHEUM CO. Wilmington, Del., Dec. 31. The new stock company opening at the Avenue New Year's Day will be known as the Orpheum Stock. The company includes Andrew A. Rogers and Anna Leon, leads; Kath- erine Currier, Jean Root, R. J. Mc- Sherry and O. A. Matthews. HARRISON FORD IN LEAD. Harrison Ford assumed the leads of the Harlem Opera House stock Mon- day, replacing Ramsay Wallace, who quit Saturday to head James Clancy's new repertoire company. Carolyn Gates will play opposite Wallace in the new Clancy enterprise. WARBURTON GOES BACK. Yonkers, N. Y., Dec. 31. The Warburton theatre is dropping from the Stair & Havlin circuit to return to stock Franklyn Clifford will head the new company. ''BONDAGE" PEOPLE. Elita Proctor Otis, Mary Shaw, Jes- sie Arnold, Tully Marshall, John Saintpolis and Ida Darling have been engaged for the downtown production of "The House of Bondage" which went into rehearsal last week. GERTRUDE BON DHILL MARRIED. The New York papers on Monday carried a Washington story that Ger- trude Bondhill, a stock actress, and John Arthur Ray, U. S. consul at Shef- field, Eng., were married in Cincinnati Dec. 23. The bride was formerly with the Orph,eum, Cincinnati and lately had been with the Poli stock, Washing- ton. She had been married before, hav- ing divorced her husband. ON WELL'S TIME. Birmingham, Dec. 31. Beulah Poynter and her own stock company opened a permanent engage- ment at the Jake Well's house Mon- day, the starter being "Salomy Jane." Atlanta, Dec. 31. Norman Hackett, in his new play, "The Double Deceiver," opened under Jake Well's direction Monday and will probably remain here with his com- pany all winter. STOCK NEXT AUGUST. Des Moines, Dec. 31. The Princess will return to stock next August. Elbert & Getchell aim to present some absolutely new plays through the medium of the Princess Stock company. B. F. Elbert and Priestly Morrison, (former dramatic director of the Prin- cess) have gone into the play produc- ing business. The Garden theatre, New York, went Into stock again Monday, the opening bill being The Fatal Wedding." Estrella Leon has Joined the Toll stock. Bal- timore, to play a special rol« In "Under Southern Skies. Sfie m.iy remain there for the remainder of the winter. Ralph Herbert haa Joined the Lawrence, Maea. Malley-Denlaon Co. aa leading man.