Variety (October 1914)

14 VARIETY ^.aMte&s&ste The collapse of the Progressive Cir- cuit will have at least one important salutary effect , upon the American .«>tage. More than any other circum- stance, it will fortify the Columbia Amusement Company in its efforts for clean burlesque. And the thorough ac- complishment of this means the re- moval of the one blot that for years lias stood out like a sore thumb in the- atricals in this country. You cannot get away from the fact that theatres, no matter to what form of amusement they may be devoted, and the entertain- ments that arc presented in them, con- stitute a part of the concrete "show business," and this term includes in its meaning all forms of public entertain- ment. Wherefore, whatever tends to overcome an objectionable element in the whole theatrical body must be icgarded as beneficial to the entire in- stitution. 4K^PU3K9MK I BY FREDERICK M. MSCLOY In every profession other than the stage there are peremptory expedients for the ostracism of undesirable mem- bers. Offending lawyers may be dis- barred and physicians that transgress the proprieties of their profession may bi summarily deprived of the right to practice. Civic authority only may in- terpose to prevent an improper stage exhibition, and every one knows how very seldom such interposition has been applied and the reasons why it has not. To bring burlesque, as it has been known in this country, under a stringent corrective influence it was necessary to confine its presentation to one base of operation. While competition existed, the one factor couWl make its appeal for patronage through such salacious indulgences as unfortunately attracts multitudes of people, while the other factor operating under the burlesque designation was obliged to submit t<> the generally accepted meaning of bur- lesque, thus unjustly and unavoidably sharing the degradation as well as sus- taining loss of patronage. But, against these distressing odds, the Columbia Amusement Company has fought its op- ponents to a standstill, with the wel- come and felicitous result that when patrons of burlesque want to indulge in this form of amusement they must ac- cept the kind furnished by this praise- worthy organization of operators Henceforth there will not be two kinds of burlesque. The Columbia type i all that remains, and this means that the American stage is rid of the nau- seous tiling that for years has been re- garded with contempt by the press, the public and by the people engaged in c'lier divisions of theatricals. And right here I want to say that having proved the sincerity of their purpose to place burlesque in the list <-f worthy entertainment, it is no longer necessary for the directors of the Co- lumbia Amusement Company to ob- serve .1 greater degree of scruple in the l< ■ruinti- in of their shows than is main- tained in oilier divisions of stage en in tainnient v p\>r example, the Orien- tal dancer has always been barred by the inviolable edict of the Columbia Amusement Company. In former times this particular dance, or rather, the way- it wa c performed, was a feature of ob- vious intent in most burlesque shows. It was one of the things that brought odium upon burlesque and for this rea- son it had to go the way of all the other objectionable elements, so far as Columbia Circuit shows were con- cerned. Observance of this dictum has been so far-reaching that really classical dancing, such as it witnessed and ap- proved by the better element of theatre- goers that constitute the patrons of the finest vaudeville theatres all over the country, are excluded from Columbia burlesque. If Gertrude Hoffmann, Ruth St. Denis, Isadora Duncan or any of the other exponents of this specialty were suggested as an attraction for a Co- lumbia Circuit show, the offer would be peremptorily declined. And yet there is no more reason why this specialty should not be presented upon the stage of a burlesque theatre than that it should be barred from the great vaude- ville theatres. The exclusion of the odious effemi- nate male character, or "fairy," as it is called in the vernacular, is infinitely more desirable than the elimination of dancers of the type referred to. The sponsors of burlesque may now justi- fiably adopt all of the precedents estab- lished in the presentation of vaudeville, musical comedy and the various revues that are now so much in vogue. There no longer exists any reason why a per- formance, or any part of it, is proper at the Winter Garden and the Palace Theatre, and improper at the Columbia. The dividing line between burlesque and any other form of accepted entertain- ment has beep removed. The Columbia Amusement Company may be relied upon to conform the character of its shows to the shows that receive the approval of the recognized better ele- ment of theatregoers, as indicated in their patronage of the Winter Garden and the Palace in New York, and of the theatres in every city in the country where precisely the same shows are presented every season. The day is past when burlesque may be condemned just because it is bur- lesque and when producers of this style of entertainment must exclude anything that is accepted in other theatres. This must not be construed as an argument in favor of indecency. It is simply tak- ing the wholly tenable position that what is right in one theatre cannot he wrong in another. The Columbia Amusement Company has been over-zealous. Justifiably so. very likely, in the circumstances. Hut. having established the worthiness <>f burlesque, it can afford to release some of the barriers that were obligatory just because they were dealing in burlesque. This may be paradoxical, but it i<; the exact situation nevertheless DAVE MARION SHOW. When, four years ago Dave Marion produced the same show he is this week presenting to crowded houses at the Columbia, he was just four years ahead of the times in burlesque. The show in its entirety differed so greatly from anything that had been seen upon the stage of a burlesque the- atre that regular patrons gasped their astonishment at the innovations. But they patronized it just the same and to the extent that Marion was gener- ally regarded as having finished first on the wheel for that season. Notwithstanding this extraordinary success, Mr. Marion, in keeping with his customary penchant for doing un- usual things, shelved the show and re- placed it for the following season with an entirely new production. Great ad- vancement has been made in the char- acter and quality of burlesque produc- tions since Mr. Marion first appeared at the Columbia with his present show. Hut it must be said that the vast im- provements have only served to em- phasize the greatness of Mr. Marion's achievement at a time when most pro- ducers were just beginning to fix their fences for the approaching changes in the character of this form of amuse- ment. As it stands today, the Marion show- is a visible interpretation of all that is meant by advanced burlesque. There- is a book that scintillates with brilliant wit and smart epigram while it never gets away from the true idea of bur- lesque. It tells a connected story that is interesting throughout and it reveals character drawing that is impressive because it is true to life in every in- dividual instance. Of course Mr. Marion's "Snuffy" and "Jim, the Hick" stand out conspicuous- ly among the others, but this is due as much to Mr. Marion's striking indi- viduality and to the commanding force of his acting as to the unique and ap- pealing characters he presents. Mr. Marion comes pretty near reach- ing the limit of versatility in this per- formance. Besides displaying acting abilities of a high order, he easily passes from a powerfully enunciated dramatic situation to the dainty ex- pression of light comedy and again to an effective interpretation of a low comedy character. Besides, Mr. Marion puts over a song and dances with the best of them. From the hair-lip Snuffy, which is all true comedy, Mr. Marion makes a quick shift to a venerable heart-broken Irishman, when he recites with fine dramatic effect his powerfully written verses called "The Top o' the Morning, Ireland." And before the listeners ha\c overcome the thrill that follows this declamation, Mr. Marion is back upon the stage in the totally different make-up and manner of the typical dock-rat. "Jim, the Hick." It is all very impressive and from first to last it stamps Mr. Marion as an actor of un- usual natural abilities and carefully studied accomplishments. Mr. Marion has surrounded himself with ,i generally capable company. William Mossey gives a rattling good performance of an Italian character part in the first act, and of a hobo in the last, and Max Gordon makes a hit as the straight and sings a number of songs admirably. One of the bright spots in the per- formance is the singing specialty that is done near the opening by Tom Odell and Anna Armstrong. Besides this, these excellent performers do splendid work all through the show. Miss Arm- strong makes a stunning appearance in male attire, and she leads several numbers with telling effect. Agnes Behler is conspicuous, not only for the skill displayed in the per- formance of the part assigned her, but for the charm of her personality, and the many minor parts are sufficiently well presented to give desirable bal- ance to the whole performance. The musical numbers are excellently done and beautifully costumed. There are several effective scenes, among them a steamship wharf which is used for the opening, and a storm effect showing the departure of an ocean liner for the finish of the first part. A big cycrama effect is disclosed in the second act. This is one of the most pretentious scenes that has ever been shown on the stage of the Co- lumbia. CAMPBELL ft DREW'S EMPIRE. Cleveland, Oct. 14. The Progressive Wheel has lost the Empire. The Grand, playing the Ex- tended shows of Columbia burlesque, is closed this week. It will open s«on with dramatic stock. The Extended. Columbia shows go over to the Empire, which has been se- cured by Drew & Campbell. The firm is in a deal for the Avenue, Detroit, to be a Columbia house. Bert McPahil will continue as man- ager of the Empire, opening Monday. "GAY WIDOWS" STICK. Louis Oberworth's "Gay Widows" has not been dropped from the Ex- tended Circuit as reported last week. It was "The Yankee Doodle Girls" that was withdrawn. MOVES OVER. Sam Micals, who started the season as leading comedian with "The Trans- atlantics," has been transferred to "The Bowerys." COLUMBIA'S FILL-INS. The Columbia shows on the Exten- sion circuit will play South Bethlehem, Pa., Monday; Kaston, Tuesday; lay off Wednesday, and fill in the remainder ot the week at the Grand, Trenton, N. J. On One-Nighters. The Joe Woods "Maids of the Ori- ent," formerly on the Progressive Wheel, has taken to the one-nighters. with a route laid out through New Vnrk state for the next month or so.