Variety (February 1914)

16 VARXBTY NEW ACTS NEXT WEEK laitial PrvMoUtion, Pint App«armac* or Roapp—ninc* In or Around Now York Emile Agouite, Simone De Beryl and Co.» Hammerstein's. Lew Shank, Hammerstein's. 4 Shapely Sylphs, Hammerstein's. Harry Ellia, Hammerstein's. George White and Iiabelle Jasen, Pal- ace. Aleen Stanley, Bronx. Lee and Cranston, Bronx. Petahing and Co., Fifth Ave. Venie Kaufman, Alhanibra. 4 Kasraca, Alhambra. '*Telephone Tangle," Bushwick. Weber and Fields and Co. -'Mike and Meyer's Trip Abroad" (Tab Musical Comedy). 30 Minutes; Full Suge (Special Set). Auditorium, Chicago. Chicago, Feb. 25. Borders on the old travesties these two comedians ^made famous. Has plot and is full of life and ginger, and the chief members of the company take part. The plot concerns the kortunes of Michael Dillpickle (Joe Weber)-and Meyer Bockheister (Lew Fields) who are doing Europe on a letter of credit. Mrs. Wallingford Grafter (Nora Bayes), Pierre Poisson (George Beban), and Josh Kidder ^Harry Clark). Poisson is about to lose his hotel and is in despair. Mrs. Grafter comes to him with the notion ne sell some of his works of art and tnus recoup his fortune. He decides to sell his famous statue of "The Dying Gladiator" for 110.000. even if it does go to a man in Englewood (localism). The tourists get the idea that they may get rid of their letter of credit by pur- chasing a half interest in the Poisson hotel in order that they may get free food for a couple of days before the proprietor learns of its worthlessness. Later it is discovered the statue has been broken and there is much despair until Mike and Meyer offer to pose as the statue and deceive Mrs. Grafter. This is where the most ludicrous part of the entertainment comes in. The two in grotesque style, and all in white, pose, and are subjected to all sorts of annoyances. One of the big laughs is where Weber, who is prone on the pedestal says plaintively: "Meyer, I am laying on a nail." The comedy is fast and furious. Some of it is new and some old. The scene is embellished with a large chorus. Tango dancers flit in and out adding variety. Harry Clark has a number with the chorus in which he does some active danc- ing; Miss Bayes wears green hair, and there are numerous other novel- ties. It is an act such as suits the people in it, but demands just such people to put it over. Reed. The Brissons. Contortionists. 7 Mins.; Full Stage. (Special Cyc). Hammerstein's. Man and woman in full white flesh- ings, make pretty picture in relief to black cyclorama drop. Good, but not sensational routine contortion act on platform. Jolo. Job Joacfaaon'a Icelandic Qlima Troupe (4). Secret Sport of Iceland. 14 Mine.; Four (Exterior). Colonial. The program says that Job Josefs- son's Icelantic Glima Troupe presents the secret sport of Iceland called "Glima" and some of its marvelous tricks of self-defense which is nothing more than fighting and wrestling with the legs and feet. One of the Iceland- ers in native costume, presumably Josefsson himself from his prominence in the act's billing, makes an announce- ment in "one," taking up three minutes. It was hard to catch all that he said but in drifts one learned what the Glima troupe would do, where the word originated and that the Icelanders first exhibited this style of "secret sport" in 1908, at the Olympian games in Eng- land. Then followed the Glima work in which two matches of a wrestling nature were shown, the loser being the one who first touches the floor with any part of his body. Each man take^ a griphold on a strap attachment at the hips. The Glima defense against the boxer was interesting, through the marvelous usage of the legs and feet by Josefsson against a negro boxer. There were also Glima tricks against a man armed with knives, from attacks from the front and behind, defense against a man with a revolver, and against three men at the same time. Admitting that much is of a hippo- drome character the act is quite a novelty. It also shows to what great use the legs and feet may be put to in divers ways of "self defense." In- cidently it also shows what wonderful practice the troupe has gone through to become proficient in this respect. The Glima troupe can be shown in any theatre in the United States and com- mand close attention. It's worth see- ing once. The act closed the Colonial show and held most of the folks in Monday night. Mark. Charlea Thompson. Juggler. 10 Mine.; Four (Interior). Colonial The Colonial audience didn't take any too kindly to Charles Thompson (said to be from England) Monday night for the simple reason that it had repeat- edly seen everything he did before. He finished up with the thr^e stick manipu- lations which various Chinese and Jap acts and Archie Onri have shown so skillfully before. Thompson is a neat looking young man and executes some of his tricks expertly, but he shows nothing out of the ordinary, and would receive more consideration in the pop houses. Mark. Farinilio Opera Trio. Singing, Instrumental. 13 Mins.; One. Miner's Bronx (Feb. 22). Two men and a woman. Open with "La Chachuca," all three singing, men using mandolin and guitar. Men saxo- phone duet. Woman vocal solo, "Come Back to Erin," with men joining in to harmonize. For encore, "Finincula." Good voices. Big small timers. Jolo. If ron don't advertlM In don't AdTortiM nt olL Sam Pearl and Dave Roth. "Piano^AcL" 17 Mine.; One. American Roof. This "piano-act" opens with the now stereotyped announcement of one of the men, his partner, is unable to ap- pear, with a stage hand afterward de- veloping into the missing member. They sing, play the piano and one-string violins, besides changing iiito "even- ing dress" with "silk lids." If some act will please go out and buy regular sack suits that look as though they were built for them, and have neat soft hats or derbys for the head (if hats must be worn), the chances are they will be a riot on the dressing end alone. The extent this "evening clothes" thing has gone to in upper and lower vaude- ville is appalling. If there is "class" to the people in an act it will crop out somehow without the dress suits that so often look so funny. Pearl and Roth changed to evening clothes before com- mencing to play the one-string instru- ments. They were "No. 2" on the /-mcrican Roof bill, but may improve that position on the larger small time bills by improving their act, which will possibly happen when the present opening is omitted, less attention paid to the one-stringers and both agree that neither shall talk while on the stage. Sime. The Dunedina. Cyclists and Wire. 12 Mins.; FnU Stage. Great Northern Hip., Chicago. Chicago, Feb. 25. Man and woman, both proficient on bicycles and on the wire. Act opens with cycle work, swift and to the point. The man later mounts a four-seated bike and pulling it to a vertical posi- tion goes from seat to seat until at the very top he plays a banjo while keep- ing the machine in motion. Follow- ing this comes some neat wire work. The two dance and perform some pretty figures. Later the woman rides a unicycle along the wire backward and forward and then the man performs, on the bicycle, doing nearly as many good tricks in this dangerous predica- ment as many cyclists do on the stage floor. The act is neatly dressed and is out of the ordinary in many particu- lars. The performers were trained by James E. Donegan. It had third place on the bill, where it gave complete satisfaction. Reed. H. B. Martin. Cartoonist 10 Mins.; One. Palace. H. B. Martin is billed as "Alan Dale's Cartoonist." He drew the illustrations for the newspaper reviewer for a long time, and his stage offering is along those lines—caricatures of stage ce- lebrities made with a very few rapid strokes of the chalk. Some are plain black, others with one or two colors. Those of the musical comedv stars arc accompanied by the melodies with which the subjects are best identified. For instance, Lillian Russell's "pastel" has "My Evening Star" for its inci- dental accompaniment. George Co- han's. "Yankee Doodle Dandy." H. B. Martin is as good as most of the others—perhaps a little better. Jolo. Dorothy Dale. Clothea Display. 14 Mins.; Two. Hammerstein's. As Dorothy Dale stood on the Ham- merstein stage Monday matinee watch- ing some of her friends and acquaint- ances in the audience applauding at the conclusion of her "act," George May and his wise bunch of musicians played "Don't Blame It All on Broad- way." As Loney Haskell stated (and Loney did all the talking during the "turn"), Dorothy Dale married a rich fellow from St. Louis. Some of the understood facts that Loney did not mention in connection with Miss Dale's Hammerstein appearance in the poor- est excuse for an "act" ever presented on any stage, were that after that mar- riage to a son of a wealthy and re- spected St. Louis family, Howard by name, Miss Dale, then Mrs. Howard, steered her husband to Paris, and while honeymooning over there the couple ran through something like $60,000. A great deal of this amount was expended in clothes, Dorothy getting a hunch that a millionaire's wife should be well dressed. One of Mr. Haskell's face- tious remarks was to the effect that Miss Dale was only a bride of "thirty- two days' standing," and so it seems to follow that within that time Dorothy worked fast. Returning to New York, the Howard-Dale story is that the new- lyweds ran up a hotel bill of $600 in a week, then Mister Husband thought he ought to go home and make another touch. To make it a good one, the kid from St. Louie opined he should take his bride to the southwest and let his family have a flash at her. Dorothy disliked traveling with only a husband around and carted along a young woman companion. After reach- ing the Howard family estate, they were invited in and everything passed well enough up to the first meal, when someone in the Howard group at the table commenced to say grace before the meal, as were their wont. Dorothy didn't see anyone in the party she knew by the name of grace, and she snick- ered, followed by the young woman companion from New York. Two audible snickers were more than enough to bust up any Howard meal, and the chill commenced right there. Shortly afterward, either before or after 32 days of bridehood-standing ended, Dorothy saw a lawyer, asked for some slight sum of $500 weekly as alimony, and returned to New York— still married. These and other minor details concerning her which have re- ceived newspaper publicity from time to time were sufficient for Hammer- stein's, and Monday matinee attested to the strength of Dorothy's standing in the Times Square district. A repre- sentative audience gathered. For an "act" Dorothy stood on a revolving pedestal and showed off some of that $60,000 gambol in Paris. Dorothy said nothing, hut if she had told the story of her home life since leaving home, less than six years ajjo (she is now 21) is would have been va.^tly more inter- esting. Mr. Haskell did the talking and jokinp. Loney said he didn't know he was to have been the goat; that some moving pictures to fill in waits missed fire. Rut Dorothy t'idn't miss on this one. She picked a regu- lar when landing Howard. Sime.