Variety (October 1915)

16 SHOW REVIEWS COLONIAL. A I'oinli'ii.ition of ko'mI vaudt-vlllc and good wr.itln r Is ^radu;illy returning tin- Colonial '•to its I'ormcr -t .indium, tin- attendance Mon- day nii;lil running stninwli.it close to capacity without any extraordinary attraction on hand to accept credit for the reversal. The bill is well arranged with but one or two familiar turns und with prattle. illy every number add- ing to the speed, it ran along In splendid form. Fox and Dolly headline, with Claude Glll- ingwatcr and Co. present an an added feature. Tho former couple were In ncxt-to-closlng spot and were, as usual, one of the evening's hits. Some new numbers have strengthened the specialty and the patter routine has been carefully timed. Fox could strengthen his en- core finale to some extent, the bit with the stagf hand corralling innumerable laughs, but the tuK line Is not sufficiently strong to fol- low the preceding material. Regardless of this though. Fox and Dolly, in addition to being the favorite turn with tho Monday gath- ering, were unquestionably the hit of the program from every angle. Mr. Cillllngwatcr'iB offering a dramatic ve- hicle called "The Decision of Governor Locke ' (New Acts), introducing the principal in a serious role somewhat foreign to his former vaudeville efforts. The other sketch Is "Cran- berries" (New Acts), a light comedy skit with some excellent dialogue and a fair cast of players. Median's Dokh opened the bill and actually had the house shouting when the greyhounds proceeded to Jump. Meehan still uses the stereotyped system of Jumps nnd might show a spark of progresslveness by In- troducing u hurdle that would be raised auto- mutlcallv and at the same time show the ac- tual jhelght In figures. It would eliminate the presence of the stage attendant and add a little class to the general appearance. Mee- han's aggregation scored in the Initial spot. Natalie and Ferrari, the former exception- ally pretty and the latter a nimble footed spicier, held tho second position well, tho satire on the modern Fox Trot carrying them somewhat away from the beaten path. They dance with the best and the girl's personality adds that touch generally missing in a spe- cialty of this brand. Craig Campbell is programmed ns a distin- guished tenor, the origin of the classification bcjng problematical for Campbell's name, for some uncxplalnablc reason. Is not contained In the list of tenors who have earned distinc- tion In the profession. Mr. Campbell Is ac- companied by a pianist and offered five selec- tions, including the prologue from "Pagllaccl" with u quartet of ballads following. Camp- bell might qualify one whirl around the clr- culti 'n an early spot, hut he hardly answers the requirements of a distinguished tenor nor did he reap the results at the Colonial. Tho Sharrocks with their comedy mind reading specialty were a natural hit. the noveltv of the turn bringing it somewhat away from the usual style of Introduction. Willa Holt Wakefield opened the second sec- tion with her refined planologue. working be- fore a speclul curtain nnd accompanying her- self on what was programed as a $5,000 piano Miss Wakefield Jockeyed tho applause into a hit. but might have lengthened her specialty proper oefore encoring. A few new numbers arr Introduced with a speech added to allow the audience to select their favorite for a closer. Dolmoro and Lee In their familiar ladder turn closed with scarcely any wan-outs, the malorlty sitting close for the weekly review wh itti terminated the show. Wynn. PROSPECT. While nobody is to blame—not even the booking office, which usually stands the brunt of all kicks—the bill at the Prospect this week Is un unsatisfying one -not unsatisfac- tory, but unsatisfying. If one tried to figure out Just wherein the blame should rest he would find It a rather difficult task ; hence, nobody Is to blame. The Lunette Sisters were first turn, follow- ing the Bathe Gazette, which preceded tho vaudeville. The man operating the machin- ery used for the whirling was perfectly visible from the side seats, which destroyed the pic- ture. Lu'u Coates and her three colored boys made a lively second act nnd their acrobatics gave a strong finish. Imhof. Conn and Coreene make you laugh whether you want to or not. Marguerite Far- rell Is a neat plngcr of songs, with a clear diction. The story of one of her numbers, which rails for the first verse to be sung In a crinoline dress and with a coster dialect, Is a trifle hazy. The two don't quite Jibe. Charlotte Parry In "Into the Light" Is mak- ing tier first appearance In tho cast In three years, and Is now billed as a "single." the "and company" being omitted. Her return debut was marred Monday night by the pre- tnnture shutting off of her 11 flit lust as she had entered upon her big plea, due to a new ilecirlclan mistaking his cue. While the au- dience was not aware of the error, the full : trengtb of the act wasn't brought out. Gl-idys Alexandria and Vivian Murray are doing the former St'-wart. and Alexandria comedy dramatic sketch of clioni . girl life. "Mroadwav Love." That seotlmi of Itrnnklyn doesn't altoiiethtr "g»t" that ph"s«- of life, for the gallerv became a little o!> I p;>» rous at the crucially pathetic moment. The Frankle Heath-George Perry singlni'. dancing and talking turn was reallv the t'rst livly act on the proirram to make < m sit. up. They "got" their audience hy Miss Heath's kidding of Me lines of the previous turn. She Is full of that Indefinable tli'ng ( all- d "inaiMiotl'-in" and has developed Into a flr-t r;;te "nut" comedienne, and her t.lm«w» b;iS(l.ill "'h, iff" on the corn nt days iraine was aj ;>rerlafed Incidentally Miss Heath puts over a Hentlmental, raggy ballad with a plaintive note in her voice that plaoes her in a (lass with tho best women la vaude- ville Mr. Perry, who bus the courage to ad- vertise himself as "dashingly debonnalr," Uvea up to the self-imposed Indictment and gal- lantly subordinates himself by confining moBt of hlH work to "feeding" his new partner. It's a good act. Fddle Leonard is tho "essence of minstrelsy" and nn undoubted favorite in Brooklyn. His pianist is also an artist. He plays so well you can even forgive his rugging of such classics as itachmonlnoff's Prelude and Hu- morcsque to the accompaniment of the banjos. Loyal'a Dogs, an especially clean-looking turn with well-trained canines, made an entertain- ing closing number, holding the entire house long after eleven o'clock. Jolo. FIFTHAVENUE. Plenty to amuse on the Fifth bill the first half with a show of seven actB. five contain- ing comedy of some order. In addition to the vaudeville comedy portion of the entertain- ment picture comedians did their share to figure strongly In the laugh column. Blllle Ritchie In a single reel comedy and Charlie Chaplin In his lutest two-reeler, "Shanghaied, supplied plenty of laughs. The Namba Brothers, two young men who try to disguise themselves as Japs at the start, opened with songs, later going Into acrobatic work with one acting merely as an announcer, his partner being a capable acro- bat, ending up with walking upstairs on his head, ho claiming to be the originator of this. It put them over nicely. Hartley and Pecan brought out their former husband and wife fight talk, getting it over to sure results. The girl does a capable crying bit In this. William Onxton nnd Co. (New Acts) fur- nished some good laughs. The Chaplin comedy nt this point followed bv Maryland Singers (New Acts), then Frank Morrell with his ever welcome voice fared satisfactorily although following the singing turn. His "kidding" nlso got good returns. Laughs were recorded for Havlland and Thornton in a nonsensical skit. Cola Snnto and his band with the aid of Mngda Dahl brought the entertainment to a close. Snnto gets real results from his meu. Miss Dahl hns a high soprano nicely suite* for the operatic numbers selected. CITY. Give to them as thev shall seek nnd they are certain to fall mav be an adage adhered to by Fox's City theatre. Eight acts and a couple of films made up Monday evening's entertainment, worth while the trip to 14th street. The City's management likewise showed good Judgment In procuring two distinct fea- tures for its first half hill In Caesar Rlvoll. in protean offering, and a condensed tabloid version of Mascagni's "Cavalerla Rustlcnnna." The former was advantageously placed on the program. The City liked Rlvoll. The operatic troupe proved one of the biggest hits of the evening "Snntuzza" was In splendid voice and worked hard to please, scoring hlehlv. The tenor was nlao In good voice and added tremendously to the little offering. This companv 1* sufficiently talonted to elevate any small time bill with singing nbove the ordl- narv. Excepting one turn the remainder wan a laughing success. The sketch position was bestowed upon Lee Rcgirs nnd Co.. who did remarkably well. Gathering a number of laughs from thn bright dlnlog. The theme Is sustained throughout and has a good moral. Enough funnv situations made the little play- let one Of the narlv hits of the evening. Following a dally pictorial and Rlvoll came I^ewls and Norton, another laughing hit. The man worked ensv with a complicated song medlev. and got right to his audience. A lit- tle too much talk follows, with both seated on a bench, without a song to break the monotonv. Though th«» dlaloe la sufficiently strong enough, nnd funny, eight minutes' con- tinuous talk is too long for a house like this. A burlosnue reclftlon and a neat little dance flushed them well. Chlnko nnd Co. in the Juggling specialty closed to applause though he missed a couple of his tricks, while Minnie Kaufman, a pe- tite little cvcllcf. opened, succeeded bv Sld- nev nnd Town-ley. "No. ?.." getting laughs. A five-reel feature concluded. AMERICAN ROOF. The American Roof show the first half, 'vlth Svlvestcr Schn< ffer as the headllncr. drew a capacity audience for the night perform- ance Mondav. withal It was nn audience out to he entertained and therefore easy to plenso The flr«t half of the show was oulto small tlmev. but the after-lntormlsslon section man- aged to ge( over with nil of the finish nnd flourish of a big time performance. The aits In this section Included Frank O'Rrlcn, Itrlerro and King, nnd Svlvestor Schaeffer. The latter offered -in minutes of his regular ♦ urn. cutting the shooting, horsemanship and he:>yv llftlnir for the Hoof oerformnnce. (It uav viild the«e were Included In his perform- I'pce down "tnlro Hut the Roof audience were perfectly satis- fied with what the ynrsatlh* German per- former showed and cvldcn^d their approval with freuuent nppl:iu«e. There wns much irore enthusiasm on the" part of the nudlence at the American Mondav night over Sehacffer's performance than there \v:-s nt the Palace a few weeks airo. Tt Is safe to predict this act will easily attrai t cnoui'h business to the Loew llOUS'o* t f) pav for Itself. Mrbrre and King, lust ahead of Schaeffer. first brought the show around to a big time touch that made It easy for Schaeffer to follow up. Incidentally Brlerre and King were the first real hit of the bill. This team is a sure fire bet for a production. The man has a pleasing voice and a very likable man- ner of putting his material over the foot- lights. Miss King Is a most versatile little girl, who sings, dances, displays a comedy vein in a little character number she does that is one of the hits of the turn. Frank O'Brien with a tramp monolog opened the second half of the show. He is framed for small time and did fairly. Frances and Holland, In their dual female impersonation offering opened the show, Just about getting by. Seymour and Seymour, a two-man cabaret turn, followed. "When It Strikes Home" (New Acts), a melodramatic sketch, filled the fourth spot, and from the applause it got the Indication Is that It la good for small time. Jolly and Wild were next to closing the first part and scored with their comedy. The English material they are using does not seem to take with the small timers as It did with the better audiences, but the Cohanesque number "Nothing New Beneath the Sun" got over in great shape. - Capt. Harnett and Son (New Acts) closed the first part and pulled lots of laughs from the audience. The two midgets doing a doifble talking act Is a novelty worth head- lining over the small time. The sixth Installment of a serial closed the show. Fred. gnaws IAST WEEK ROYAL Thursday night last week the Royal had a show that was by far the best ever seen at the house. Besides the regular show, two well known big timers appeared as "sur- prises." Seymour's Happy Family (dogs), put through a rather slow routine of tricks, opening. Lack of speed is noticeable and when this is remedied It will no doubt help considerably. The announcing could also be improved. Mabel Russell and Jimmie Hughes, a new combination, held the next spot, de- riving a good deal from so early a position. The dialog carries a new idea, but that Is about all. Very few amusing lines are heard, and were it not for the eccentric dancing of Hughes, the turn would probably not have gone so well. Catherine Hayes and Co. had a comedy sketch, "A New Profession," and the laugh- ing hit of the evening. The playlet appears to be In much better shape than when last seen, although a change in the cast would help In a number of ways. Joe Towle, with about the best collection of original "gags" heard around In some time, was close behind Miss Hayes for the comedy honors. Mr. Towle should have a chance on a big time program. His comedy bit at the piano for a closer is Immense. "The netting Bettys." although following a row of successive hits, worked their way to an applause finish. This "girl act" has a well trained chorus of six girls and a young woman who appears far from capable to han- dle the lead. It Is worked at different angles thnn others of Its kind. Percy Chapman does well in his comedy bits and song numbers. Slowness In running Is a handicap. When this is overcome, also a reconstruction of the song department, the act should be kept busy. Conlin, Steel and Parks, with Johnny Parks (formerly of Morris nnd Parks) as a new addition to the turn, did not do so well, perhaps through Parks not yet being accus- tomed to his partners. He needs training In the present net, for often It seemed he was undecided'what to do next. The act remains the same, but needs a llttlo playing before it Is In shape with the new pnrtner. The Im- perial Pallet closed the show. FIFTH AVENUE. The last half bill of the current week at the Fifth Ave. was particularly strong on comedy. The latter half of the show was a riot nnd had the earlier portion contained any one with marked ability the bill would have stood an the best entertainment of the season for this house. Tim McMahon and Blanche Chappell. and the Saxophone Sextet evenly shared the head- line honors of the evening. The latter turn, framed on the lines of the six Brown Brothers, received flowers at the conclusion of their performance. A rather novel open- ing for this team was the Instruments pro- jected through the drop In "two." They opened with "Araby," following by solos and classic selections to round out their routine. In the laughing division McMahon and Chappell topped nil. Bright dialog and jokes made the most nustere laugh. They finished with a "coon" number after the talk. Eight curtain calls spoke volumes for their efforts. The show was opened with "Gold Dust," nn "educated" mule, after the usual run of pictures. This turn found the house com- fortably filled, and It had an easy time on applnuse returns. Tt was followed by Stan- ley and Gold, one of the quiet spots of the earlier portion. Miss Gold Is a stately woman, and knows how to wear clothep. though It was hard to conceive why she should sing only the choruses of a few popular numbers, when one good song might be Just as well. If prop- erly handled. Stanley's strict Imitation of Laddie Cliff registered. Andrew Kellv, a mon- ologlst. had a number of good Irish stories, and was accepted enthusiastically. Tils brogue l« one asset that should gain him a place. Redford .and Winchester. who properly Parted the best half of the bill, wire t hit. The comedian. drew Instantaneous applause. The straight did some wonderfully clever Juggling, and was well rewarded. "No Flirt- ing Allowed" was the picture Interruption, getting laughs at different Intervals. McCormack and Irving adequately dressed were a regular success In their refined little offering. "Norway" and "Don't Blame Me For What Happens in the Moonlight" were In their song repertoire that added a punch to their offering. The dialog might have been touched up for better results. After the Saxophone Sextet, and the McMahon and - happell acts, Odiva closed the show. AMERICAN ROOF. The American Roof bill the last half of last week ran light and fast, but with too many holes In It to reach the designation of a "good show." The Schwarz company In "The Broken Mirror" was tho feature, and easily held that position. Their remarkable demonstration of nearly perfect synchronism of human move- ments amazed the audience before the turn finished. The Schwarzs (two) seem to have this "mirror work" as close to fully perfected as two persons could reach. Elizabeth Cutty in the next-to-closlng spot did very well (New Acts). Closing were the King Brothers, in a "strong act" that holds a big finish for a turn of Its kind. An ex- hibition of muscular development Is given in an entirely new manner, and It Is prob- ably the first of Its kind ever seen upon a vaudeville stage. The younger and lighter fellow of tho two makes deliberate Jumps upon the stomach of the understander, while the latter Is lying flat upon his back. The act did nicely closing. Downstairs the same eve- ning It opened the American show, but was too big for that position. The first run of the Pathe "Walllngford" serial (Film Reviews) closed the show. Closing the first part were Walter Perclval and Co. In a comedy sketch. Opening the sec- ond part were Billy Devere and Sid Malcolm, a new two-act from the former Cabaret Trio. One of the boys had a cold and It Interfered with the entire act, which got over, however, mainly on the "drunk" number, although a singing Impersonation of Bert Williams was also used. Yamada, a Jap, started the show, followed by Tommy Van and Fontaine Girls, who let up somewhat with their closing number, while Beth Stone and Ralph Hughes, In songs and dances of the classical sort, passed away to silence and should lay o< until they are In possession of a regular turn, If they are capa- ble of handling It. Nevlns and Gordon In the "No. 4" position caught about the hit of the show with their finish, the handling of Ada Gordon by Chas. Nevlns much in the style Helen McMahon first made known. Miss Gordon Is a very good looking girl and rather tall, which adds to the value of this bit. She could stand stronger handling and It would make the fin- ish even bigger. The black mask worn by her might be thrown aside for some headgear more natural. The opening talk where Miss Gordon is typist did nicely, Nevlns securing many laughs on the points which he steadily got over. The turn deserves a spot In second half of any small time bill. Sim*. SUNDAY CHARGE DISMISSED. A summons for a violation of the Sunday law, served upon the treasurer of the Winter Garden, was dismissed when heard in the 54th Street Police Court Thursday of last week. The summons had been issued for the Winter Garden's Sunday night per- formance of Sept. 25. At the new subway cave-in in front of the Casino and Knickerbocker the- atres, it is said one of the Shubert brothers became involved in an alter- cation with Police Commissioner Woods, after Inspector Dwyer had or- dered the Casino closed for the evening, to prevent a further possible accident. Shubert resented the order of the In- spector and is said to have requested the Commissioner, who was then stand- ing at the brink of the cave-in, to coun- termand it. Not alone did the Com- missioner, according to the report at the time, refuse to interfere, but he is said to have informed Shubert he was thoroughly in accord with the In- spector. This led to remarks by Shubert which caused the Commissioner to walk away from him. The following Sunday night the summons was left at the Winter Garden, and since then the Garden has been giving a "straight" Sunday night vaudeville performance. If you don't advertise In VARIETY, don't advertise.