Variety (June 1915)

SHOW REVIEWS 13 PALACE. •■•• »sre JsWa Tanguay attracted a Jammed house to the Palaee Monday night, but failed to appear. It waa a "Tanguay audience" and •ven though there were printed slips In the program announcing F»ank Tlnney would sub- stitute for the cyclonic comedienne there were many present who did not realize until the final curtain fell that she was not to appear. The substitution of Tlnney for Tanguay was made late Monday morning and Tlnney leaped Into the breach practically without rehearsal. At the Monday night performance ht waa still going rather roughly. The Palace was Jlmmed to the rear rail which waa decorated with a row of standees. The show with the exception of Miss Tanguay remained intact but the program waa slightly rearranged to separate Joe Jackson and Tln- ney. The program ran from exactly 8:16 until 11 o'clock. Following an overture and a news weekly Donald Kerr and EfDe Weston (New Acts) opened the bill and with their routine of stepping got oyer in nice shape. Prince Lai Mon Kim held down the second spot and saag fire numbers. William Morris and Ce. in "Mrs. Temple's Telegram" furnished the bill with 27 minutes of solid laughter and the audience gave the skit a volume of appreciative applause at the oloee of the aot which warranted the curtain calls. Another laughing bit followed the sketch. It was the act offered by Foster Ball and Ford West The characterization of the old O. A. R. veteran brought laugh upon laugh. The third laughing hit came in Joe Jackson who was placed to close the first part, moved up from second after intermission. The pantomlne comedlsn had his audience right from the start and he kept them laughing to the final bow. Opening the second part Bonlta and Lew Hern scored nicely. Bonlta opens with a number which is followed by the advent of Hearn. The "Bast River" gag is still with us, but following it the comedian puts over a comedy number that is a scream. He has an off-stage chorus for this that brought a roar from the house each time employed. The usual finish with the imaginary stuff and a number in "one," lands the act as an applause closer. The Metropolitan Opera Ballet Dtvertlse- ment followed the team and seemed to please some of those present. It is a very pretty ensemble affair with the dances nicely salted for vaudeville. Next to closing Tlnney ap- peared, lie is wearing his red carriage caller's coat from "Watch Your Step" and using one or two of the gaga from the show, but the majority of his material la the same as he had In vaudeville heretofore. The result was not what might have been ex- pected. There Is no telling what It waa, but there was something lacking la his routine on Monday night. It might have been well for the comedian to have chatted a little regarding "Verne" in his vaudeville speech. Vaudeville audiences are sware that Tlnney was In a production and the Monday night crowd would have "gotten" any of the production stuff he might have used. (Miss) Robbie Oordone in practically a new posing act was the closing turn. She Is offering nine new pictures, doing them In ex- actly eight minutes and doing them well. Fred. 1USMWKX The achievement which has been In the mind of all of the Brooklyn big time house man- agers, to have a show comprised of acta all making Brooklyn their home or It having been their birthplace, was consummated this week by Manager Ben Blatt of the Bushwlck. Just how such a bill would frame up was specu- lated upon to a large extent, but to any one seeing the Bushwlck bill this week there Is only one answer, and that Is that It Is a great success. Although It Is not headed by a "name act," tbe program contains quality from start to finish, and for fast running and smoothness there have been none at this house this season that could surpass it. Monday night found the house well filled, only the boxes hsvlng a few vacant seats. Monday was a decidedly hot day and a misty, unpleasant evening followed, still the Bush- wlck had big business, which shows that the big time can hold up during the summer, for this house has opposition on every side, both In small time vaudeville end straight pictures. It was impossible to pick out the bits of the Mondsy night show. Each act on the bill shared In the applause snd all worked with a vim (with maybe one exception) that was de- lightful. A comedy picture started. They have discontinued the use of the Chapllns here and the present pictures are a decided ad- vantage. The Clairmont Brothers (New Acts) started the flesh and blood division. The two men showed such splrltedness In their work that they Jumped Into Immediate favor and succeeded In gaining a goodly amount of applause. Old songs snd new were sung by the Old Homestead Double Quartette. The singing of these men sounds much better without the orchestra, especially with some numbers. There Is so much volume the or- chestra Is not needed. "Dublin Bay" figured conspicuously In tbe routine. James Mont- gomery and Co. (New Acts), the most dismal set of the evening, however, provoked a little merriment now and then, but whatever this turn lacked was mado up for by Ryan and Tlerney, who replaced Vsn snd 8chenck. The audience was loath to see the two boys do- part. The latter sang and sang and then every- one wanted some more. For up-to-datedness Ryan and Tlerney will take some beating. Two of their Intent numbers are "Can't Get a Olrl In the Summer" and "Wore With ▼vu Mr. Wilson," the latter used for rlosi"*. and It took the house by storm T*- Colonial Belles (New Acts), with class ."«nty, closed the first half. Lydia Barry opened interniP 8 **" with ner usual Barry songs, although she did not sing "Barry" Monday night, evidently feeling that three were enough. The piano player, al- though used for a laugh or two, should primp up on his appearance. Cotton box and pumps don't go together, and that tuxedo coatl A dramatic offering that held the house waa "War Babies" (New Acts). More life and ginger were added by Gladys Clark and Henry Bergman In their ever useful "A Baseball Flirtation," revived, so the pro- gram says, for this week only. It can be re- vived forever. New songs together with the dialog helped a lot. "Don't Blame Me For What Happened In the Moonlight" was daintily used by Miss Clark, and comedy returns greet- ed "Throwing Bull Around" by Mr. Bergman. As this Is the home section of the couple a speech waa necessary at the finish In whlcn Henry told the audience that he was getting fat through eating home this week. The Three Ankers closed. The herculean young woman with the form of a Venus brought gasps from the audience. A worth while show from start to finish is the All-Brooklyn Bill. FIFTH AVENUE. The Ford car Joke waa the headllner at the Fifth Avenue Monday night. Although the Ford works cut a "melon" the other day and scattered dividends right and left. It now ap- pears that the share for the vaudeville folks was the Ford c. J. No pop-house act Is com- plete nowadays unless It includea some allu- sion to a Ford, and the old boy haa also gotten a good run In the bigger houses and In the tabs aeen hereabouts. It haa even grown to the point where a Ford Joke Book nae been published. The show gave bully satisfaction, excepting the Forda of course. The bill ran strongly to women, but there waa enough diversity and versatility among them to keep the bill above par. If the house continues to dish up shows like the first half at the prices now In vogue at this Proctor theatre business during the sum- mer should continue right along In Its present channels. A Ham comedy was the first of the farcical films to show, and while It caused considerable laughter, It waan't a circumstance to the flood of howls and roars that greeted the Chaplin two-part, "The Property Man." Tnle Is a Keystone reissue, but has a lot of funny stage business that la more amusing than the aver- age run of Chapllns. Tbe water deluge at the finish brought the usual hearty laughs. Queenle Dunedln sang, danced, walked the tight wire, sprang some lusty chestnuts, anu then cycled her way Into big favor. Mlas Dunedln worked hard to please and tbe re- sults were certain. 8uzanne Rocamora Intro- duced herself via the m. p. camera and eang several numbers entertainingly. A surprise was the applause bestowed upon the young men at tbe piano for hla solo. There are some snappy lines to the Jane Connolly sketch and merry repartee thai amused, vet this skit stays on too long. It's light and airy, to be sure, yet a prunlng- knlfe could be most advantageously used. On. yes, this turn got the most laughs on Its Ford Joke when one of the men remarked that "it" (meaning the Ford) "haa made walking a pleasure. After the Chaplin comedy Mabel Burke sang the 111 song. "We'll Have a Jubi- lee in My Old Kentucky Home," and the pic- tures ran a close second to the hit the song made. Encores were In demand. The scenes of the picks, the pigs and the setting hen were very realistic. A splendid Impression was made by Kolb and Harland with their singing and dancing turn. This pair works harmoniously together, and each dance Is characterlstlcslly done In costume to match the period or style of the number. The offering was a decided hit at the Firth Avenue. Following the Tom Brown Sextette (New Acts). Lillian 8baw appeared and cleaned up. As the waitress In the ex- aggerated attire she devoted some minutes to grimaces, gestures and remarks that found response. Miss Shaw's voice li showing the wear and tear of stage service, afid she Is de- voting more attention to the monologlstlc style of rendering a number. The closing turn waa the Frank L. Gregory troupe 'of hoop tossers and rollers which pleased. The young men and two women watch Oregory too closely and appear to he taking tbe work too seriously. A little more speed during the earlier hslf of the tarn would help. Gregory has put some new angles to hoop rolling to good use. A weekly was shown for the "Good Night" exit. Mark. HARLEM OPERA HOUSE. The real headllner of the bill presented at the Harlem opera house Tuesday nlgbt was Harry Swift's Fox Trot Contest for two silver loving cups. Each member of the winning team gets a cup up there. Nine couples en- tered and It took exactly 20 minutes to try all of them out. The winners were awarded the decision Judged by applause from the audience, much after the fashion of the award- ing of the prizes on the old amateur nights. One thing about the dance contest Is that It had the opera house peeked to the doors with standees as early an 8.15, when the open- ing act was on. The show played well enough and was par- ticularly strong jo comedy, which Is what the audience it this bowse wants. Tbr Thi >•« Rosaries, on the wire, opened the b*'\ Two girls work to advantage snd man holds up his end with some reslly I uit balancing. There Is a little comedy work with the aid of a stage hand that gets Vstrr and Reamon opened with song and followed with patter. The comedian has a llttl of Cliff Gordon In his mannerisms. The tin got over on the comedy. Dsve Acstln and Co. In "His Wedding Mornln*' "-ere a laughing surrrRs following the team. The aet Is built Just along the right lines for small time. A Keystone relaaue of a Chaplin comedy filled In the next spot of the bill, after which the dancing contest waa held. Following the contest Sol. J. Levoy sang "Jane" to motion IIlustrations. "The Earl and the Glrla." a girl act with four principals and a chorus of six girls, seemed to strike the fancy of the small time audience In the spot following the song. The act haa a lot of singing, dancing and some "Jas" oomedy. The two men become rather tiresome after a bit Thla la especially true of the comedian playing the freah bell-hop.* He repeats his business continually. He haa a whistle and usee It continually, both In songs and for corned/ purposes. Tbe girls In the chorus make four changes, displaying some very pretty coetumea. The little eoubret Is by far the beat In the act It la a turn de- signed entirely for small time. The Colonial Quartet, two men and two women, In a repertoire of songs, classical and popular, pleased the audience Immeasurably. It Is an offering of class. The Dohertys were down next to closing and one of the big hits. Kerslake's Pigs In the closing spot were a laugh. The helter-skelter slide that the ani- mals do at the cloae went over big. A serial finished the show with the audlenoe walking out on It. ROYAL The show at the Royal the first half start- ed off well but ended badly. A special weekly Gift Night haa been Installed and aa It Is a permanent feature. It might be good policy for Manager Bgan to give the free stuff away after the show has been completed. It will no doubt prove a drawing card, hut should be arranged to not interfere with the bill. Around 8 o'clock a steady stream of patrons were coming from every direction. They had them formed In line half block away from the lobby, besides those clamoring around In- side for tickets. Long before the night show started they were standing easily five deep on the lower floor and first baloony. It waa the night before Borough Day In the Bronx. Aa schools and business were to he closed Wednesday In honor of the special day, chil- dren and young folks were numerous through- out tbe house. After Blllle Reeves amused them with hla funny tactics In a new Lubln comedy. "The New Butler." and a Hearet-Sellg Weekly had passed, Welmers and Burke started fast with neat stepping. This ooople do not seem to be working together very well, but should form a pleasing small time turn. Too much time Is lost between changes at present and when this Is perfected It should help. Harry Mines and Co., with Harry Hlnes really doing a single, sang Into Immediate favor. Hlnes' Charley Chaplin imitation is cleverly done. Although his stay waa rather long they did not tire of him and forced him to another song, which he obliged with "We're With You, Mr. Wilson," to a bigger hit than anything he had done before. Freeman, Benton and Co. secured enough laughs to fill a couple of barrels. The sketch appeare to have outlived Ita usefulness on the better circuits, but should encounter little trouble going the rounds of the better email time houses. The free gifts broke the bill here and com- pletely killed the last half of tbe ehow, ex- cepting the "War Bride's" sketch, which waa greatly appreciated. Tbe audience did not get warmed up to the sketch until the ap- pearance of OUda Varea! aa "Joan" after 10 mluntea of uninteresting talk had paesed. Miss Varels really deserves all the credit for the sketch receiving such strong sgplsuse. The remainder of the cast does not seem to hsve been carefully selected. Harry Richards and Rosle Kyle with their breesy little dialog scored a laughing hit. Miss Kyle looked neat In a light summer dress and her "feeding" waa fine for the light com- edy Mr. Richards gets over. A song with quite a few oomedy lines for a finish psssed them off to one of the hits of the evening. Ssnsone snd Delilah closed to light returns. More speed between the different balances would help. Harry Paull and Pauline Hees (New Acts) opening the second half, passed off quietly. CITY. Someone had the right Idea at the City Monday night, by opening the doors so It might cool the large audience. An attractively well arranged bill, end all present showed their sppreclstlon by heartily applauding esch and every act. whether deserving or not. This seems to be tbe only house on 14th street get- ting a Monday night crowd. Murphy and Foley, In brown face, started the show with dsnclng, snd gave It a good start. The boys are eportlng a couple of white duck suits for the summer, which does themselves Justice If not their act. Cecil Dunham was next with songs. Cecil found fsvor with her voice after her first number "Wrap Me in a Bundle." She ssng four songs, all to good results, and got herself In the hit column though on "No. 2." Jerome and Carson, doing acrobat Ira mostly, were third, snd kept up the speed. The man does sny number of good tricks In this line, and rsnks with the beat of his competitors. Joe Lsnlgsn. with talk, got laughs upon hla sppesrsnee snd figure. Joe's talk was s bit over the heads of many present, but they grasped most of It. Hla opening number la not of the best, while the one he haa next to closing would be more appropriate. Hla closing number haa a number of catchy lines and Is a big help. "School Daya" following, furnished moat of the noise of the evening hy the constant slap- stick comedy methods. The act baa not va- ried, and moat of th« nnmNT*. 1okee and tslk, are still retained, with the exception ef a number about a dog, sung by one of the girls. The old bassball song still rsmalns ths act-* big chance. A serial a week behind ths regular releasee came In at this Juncture, snd left a bad spot for Hyman Adler and Co. in bis comedy sketch "Solomon's Bargain." The stillness was brushed off quickly after Hyman got down to business, and after tbe finish he pulled down one of the hits of tbe show. Hyman Is a big favorite with the Fourteenth Streeters, and al- though he played another house there only two weeks ago, directly opposite. Nichols and Weston (New Act), next to closing, held down the spot, and did much comedy, burlesquing the violin In Adler's set. The Hartshlml Troupe. Japanese acrobats, concluded tbe vaudeville portion, and scored. This troupe Is showing nothing out of tbe or- dinary not employed by others in their line. The boys at tlms display some wonderful pedal Juggling. A feature picture closed. HAMILTON. The dope was all wrong around the Hamil- ton the first half of the week. When an In- ferior bill is arranged tbe house Is generally packed to ths back doors, but nothing like that was noticeable Monday night with a good small time show. The bill did not run any too well, for in spots It seemed to drsg and not on any one's account. Loney Haskell, seated In a lower box, must have enjoyed himself, for the way he laughed reminded one of his good old days sround tbe old Victoria. But his wife had something better In store for him. During the closing turn (The Vsldos) a bunch of flowers waa offered to the woman who still loves her busbsnd. Up sprang Mrs. Haskell snd all Loney could do was to sit there with a smile that completely covered his winning per- sonality. After that Loney thought he had enough, so he made bis sxlt Just before the feature was shown. Bromley snd Meredith started fast with their clever dancing. The girls display a neat little wardrobe and also quits some ginger. The house was rather empty during their turn. Quigg Nlckerson snd Tenny, with their different musical bits, gained laughs throughout. June Mills snd her eccentric style, sided by the rather large proportion of ground that her body covers, scored the first hit of the evening. Around the small circuits she will find no trouble setting laughs with her style of comedy. "Dublin Bay" was wol! sung by her and received moot generously. A serial split ths bill. . M M Fletcher, Ayres and Co., In Wlllard Mack's sketch "Be Game,'' did not arouse much, due to their own Inability to get the sketch over with ths right effect. Although the playlet could fit on the big time It will never get there again with the present cast. Isabella Fletcher as the mother, carrying the heaviest role, Is not big enough for It. In fact, all four players are not worthy of the sketch, which msy In time "make" them. Frank Morrell, with his breesy manner and sweet tenor voice, waa the real hit of the bill. Closing with "Jane." tbe audience clamored for more, but Mr. Morrell had already over- stayed his time and had to depart without answering the call. The Valdos, Illusionists, closed. The announcer takes most of the at tentlon away from bis partner with his con- tinual chatter. Tbe act would have made a better Impression but for a poor finish, not liked by the women. The dancing contest followed and showed how the erase Is begin- ning to slide. Two couples, and pretty poor ones, held the stage. "Her Own Way/' a five-reel Metro featuring Florence Reed, closed the show. REGENT. The show at Moss' Regent, 7th avenue and 110th street, was exceptionally light, none of the acts turning loose any floodgates of ap- plause or laughter the first half, when the pictures got ths lion's share of attention. DeOorma and dog opened quietly with Louise Mayo In songs next Miss Mayo pleased, her closing number with the "plant" Joining in from an upper box on "Jene" brought several encores. Mason and Green did fairly well. A sketch. "Tricked." with enough talk to supply a lecture bureau, dragged along, with a preceding picture giving It severe opposition in the way of holding an audience tense and thrilled. It's a story of three crooks, one a woman, and It's so Impossibly constructed one passes lightly over Ita incongruities, Incon- sistent climaxes and Its tatky talk. The speech of the woman when ehe said she was bought and paid for and all that sort of rot didn't appeal to anyone, and the man to whom It wan directed looked as bored aa tbe audi- ence. Billy K. Wells, doing a part of Cliff Gordon's set, closed strong. Tbe Gene Muller Trio gave the vaudeville section Its first real start in the closing spot, these boys speeding up the show and closing to good returns. The festure film followed. Buslneee wss fairly good Tuesdsy night. Mark. HALSEY. The Halsey. Brooklyn, Is one of the largest theatres In that borough and since Its erection a few years ago, has been playing pop vau- deville. At present It l« trying out a tabloid policy In connection with four acts, a serial pictures and an added effraction. The houee seems to be doing a fair business for this time of the yesr. Ths bill for the first half of the present week started with the Musical Hoi lenders (New Acta), who found the audience quite ready to applaud. Wilbur Held talked sad ssng. He will do for an early spot. A crook sketch was presented by Emma Montrose and Co. It Is fsr fetched snd wbst srtlng there waa to it passed along satisfactorily. ( Continued on Page 14.)