Variety (October 1915)

16 SHO W REVIE W 5 A WORLD OF PLEASURE. In Two Arts .iixl Twelve S eni'g. Pr. il.j. timi St.i«< «l by I C. Huffman. Dialogue and Lyrics by Harold Atterldge. .Music by SlKiuund Romberg. Dnncs by .luck Masnn. Ballets by Theodore Ko«loff. Orchestra under the direct! n of Oscar Radln. The Characters (In the Order of their Appearance) ACT I.— SCENE 1. A Policeman Dwlght Dana First Club Man lack Hick Second Club Man Gilbert Wells Pick Grayson William L. Gibson The Strollers Collins and Hart A Chauffeur Dan Healey A Pedestrian Bud Murray Tony Van Schuyler Clifton Crawford Dorothy Gates Venlta Fitzhugh Annete Gates Ada Meade James, a waiter Gustavo Schult Sim Slim Daniel Morris Oliver Short George Moon SCENE 2. Sam Le* Holtz Blinker, manager of the Progressive Employment Agency Franklyn Botle Hector Walnut Edward Avellng Wilbur Chestnut Albert S. Lloyd V. Gates Sydney Greenstreet TeBsle, a stenographer Jack Wilson Tom Collins Jack Wilson Marjorle Eleanor Brown Vera Olga Hempstone Nelllo Marie Salisbury Lucy Lois Whitney Sylvia Stone Kitty Gordon Violet Frances Prltchard Mr. Whirlwind Maurice- Diamond Miss Hesitation Helen McMahon Miss Fox Trot Rene Chaplow SCENE 3. Dirk Bird William Banfield Taylor Yvette a flirtatious widow Stella Mayhew „, _ _. __ ( Charles Mosconl The Dancing Diners ^ Lou ,„ MoBCOn i SCENE 4. A Ballet Master Thcodor Kosloff Rosebud Rosie Qulnn SCENE 5. Miss Gotham Rosle Qulnn Toymaker Dwlght Dana French Doll Olga Hempstone Giggling Dull Eleanor Brown The Acrobatic Dolls Collins and Hart Rag Doll Kittle Hill Clown Doll Lois Whitney First Spy William Banfleld Taylor Second Spy Stella Mayhew Third Spy Venlta Fitzhugh ACT II. -Scene 1. The Arabian Dancer Sahary-DJell Synopsis of Scenes. ACT I. Scene 1 - The Good Fellows' Club. Oscar Tay- lor. Scene 2—The Progressive Employment Agency. Scene 3—Exterior of the Lobster Square Res- taurant. Scene 4—A Japanese Tea Room. Scene ">—Exterior of Tea Room. Sceno 0—A Toy Shop. ACT II. Scene 1 The Enchanted Roof Garden. Scene 2—Riverside Drive. Sceno :t—The Fleet Review. S-ene 4—The Daley Field. Scene f>—An Oriental Ballroom. Musical Synopsis. ACT. I. I "The Good Fellows' Club". .Oscar Taylor 2 •Fifth Avenue," William L. Gibson and Chorus 3 "The Dance of the Midnight Sons," Moon and Morris 4 "The Employment Agency". .Miss Wilson 5 "In My War Against Men," Kitty Gordon and Ensemble 0 "Miss Innovation." Franklyn Batle, McMahon, Diamond and Chaplow and Ensemble 7 "Girlies Arc Out of My Life," Clifton Crawford, Frances Prltchard and Ensemble « "111 Make You Like the Town," Lew Holtz and Ensemble 0 Dansc Eccentrlque Mosconl Rrothers 10 Japanese Ballet, Theodor Kosloff..and Roslc Qulnn II "I Could Go Home to a Girl Like You,' Clifton Crawford and Venlta Fitzhugh 12 "Down In Cattycorner," Kitty Gird>n and Ensemble 13 "Syncopation". .. .lew Holtz, Frances Prltchard and Ensemble Specialty Avellng and Lloyd 14 "At the Toy Shop," Eleanor Brown and Chorus 13 "Dance of the Square Heads," M" srs. Moon. Morris. Healey. Wells. Diamond. Grant. Manning, Roland, Uob.Tt-. Stoker, Blek. Murray 1»; The Ddl Dance Frances Prltchard 17 "Reminiscent Rosy-Posy" Rosle Qulnn and Ensemble 1* "Fllvhts of Fancy". . Collins and Hart in "Mechanical Soldiers".. Mosconl Brothers 20 The Melting Pot" Ada Meade APT II. 1 "The Rautlme Pipes of Pan," Franklyn Batle 'J "In Arabia" Sahary-DJell :>. ' T»i,. Wop Cabaret" Stella Mavhew 4 "The Girl of tin Fan".. Kitty Gordon. Franklyn Batle and Ensemble Specialty Clifton Crawford 3 "Take Me Home" Venlta Fitzhugh 0 "I Played My Concertina," Clifton Crawford 7 "Fascination," Kitty Gordon and Franklyn Batle X 'The Greatest Battle Song of All." Jack Wilson !» "Ragtime Carnival." Stella Mayhew and Ensemble 10 The Dancing Carnival.. Mosconl Brothers, Moon nnd Morris, McMahon, Diamond and Chaplow. Healey, Wells, Murray, Beatrice I^akln * 11 "The • Jlgaree" Ensemble The Winter Gardens fall production! Admission. $2.50! What a line piece of "pastrame!" Look 'em over carefully, every one, and then get your little alibi book out (you'll need it) nnd recall some favorable past perform- ance*, to square the greatest collection of "flivvers" ever assembled under the covers of one book. Look 'em over again, the Kitty Gordons, Clifton Crawfords, Jack Wilsons, Stella Mayhews. etc., nnd then Imagine the sole two hits of the show, the sole two num- bers to evoke even the slightest ripple of en- thusiasm being none other than your old friends, Collins and Hart, who have been pa- rading and repeating around the big time cir- cuits for 13 years with the same offering, and Avellng and Lloyd, who just completed a whirl of the Marcus Loew circuit where the intake measures from a dime to a quarter. What a fine piece of "pastrame!" Look over that musical program and try und Imagine 31 (count 'em) special numbers, nil elaborately staged and gorgeously dressed without a single earned encore. Without a single earned encore! The ordeal started with a rumble of dialog that brought on Clifton Crawford in the role of a professional escort (for some reason or other) and then the thread of the story loosened and finally disappeared entirely for the balance of the performance, but those who had the patience to wait the final curtain were relieved to find the complication of the plot adjusted with a few whispered syllables. Tho complication of the plot—of the plot only, for the show Is so complicated that a "dutch" book on Its durability would un- doubtedly prove to be a profitable speculation. Resting securely on the alibi book, Mr. Crawford's efforts were Indeed lamentable. The old "pep" and the undeniable "class" were apparent, but even Crawford's vigor burned out as the embalming process was gradually applied and at the grand finale, one could almost feel his Innermost disgust, which brings up to Jack Wilson, who. In- cidentally Is debutting in the legit and ex- perimenting In white-face. Mr. Wilson wan- dered aimlessly around the platform occa- sionally leaning on the old alibi book for a sadly needed laugh—but not a titter. The ancient comedy of former days found no re- sponse from that $2.30 crowd and Wilson was simply Wilson, that's all. His specialty, con- structed from portions of the preceding bits, went soarlnk skyward without the slightest attention, possibly because of the enemic sub- stance contained In the aforesaid preceding bits. Wilson tried his ablest to arouse even passing Interest, but notwithstanding the ex- cellent suport of his faithful Franklyn Batle. he dled-a-trylng. Wilson was merely out of his clement, misplaced as It were, but still he can hike back to the boards of vaudeville and program himself as "late of the Winter Garden." Kitty Gordon was conspicuous among the female contingent, but remembering the Kitty Gordon of "Pretty Mrs. Smith" one must record her performance In the Winter Garden show with a sigh of regret. Opportunity pre- sented Itself in slight nnd small portions, but Kitty Gordon never measured up to the oc- casion. She was In the cast as far as the average auditor was concerned, one of the many. Franklyn Batle acquitted himself well with his duties, nnd were he provided with a few possible numbers. Batle might have helprd to lift the cloud of gloom, but there were no such numbers and Batle was con- quered. Stella Mayhew eked out a round half dozen laughs with her Impromptu comedy, gather- ing a fair Impression with a "souse" bit, but Miss Mayhew, like the others, was eventually lost In the shuffle and with her went William Banfleld Taylor, who seemed to wisely sum up the situation as a lost effort and acted accordingly. Snhary-DJell. an importation, was among the prominent principals, appearing but once, In the seeond seeMon. with her dance. Snhary wore a smile nnd n few head-*. In burlesque they would undoubtedly hand her a summons, nnd then the burlesque editor would write an- other obituary notice on the "eooch" situation. Some people might smother Sahnrv's effort under the title of "art." But accrediting art with the proverbial multitude of sins one could hardly perjure the noun for the wiggling exhibition by Sahary. Nor could art shoulder the responsibilities of the chorus wardrobe. Practically naked from the bodice down nnd from the bodice up. one must credit 'he Shubert-5 with an astounding «t>nsn> of Tnndo«ty to have even thought of a bodice covering. And the "Iris irmihded nlonir the runwav w'th the possi- bility of a strav brecre rendering them en- tirely nude. But on the whole the costumes were reasonably attractive, although one nt leo«t mu-t fleuro some n«reentnee for t'2 riO C.ettine to the two hlt«. Collins and Hart \vre t'le first nnd undauntedly the stroneest. Th-t *•_• 3i» Catherine added their stnmp of atiT-oval on the turn with a continuation of liMiirhs. hut when one considers a $2.."in pro- d'l'tion !< an'ne en a "vaudeville "dumb net" that ban Ivcn »-lnw|»ii» <-diov«.- around the ennn- frv ".vhiT" wui'd Cm- nr"dacers be classified? Vveiifi' and 1 lovd stormed d>wn In "one" and cnt rtoln'd wl'b a i <et|nn of their spe- cialty, but the major part was eliminated and the boys did exceedingly well with the ma- terial at hand. A dancing carnival wound up the show proper and brought out in rapid succession Moon and Morris, Mosconl Brothers, and Mc- Mahon, Diamond and Chaplow, along with three or four other steppers. This was the crowning "fllv" to the series of preceding "deaths." A dancing carnival! Indeed! it looked more like a series of tryouts. Mc- Mahon, Diamond and Chaplow do a fairly good vaudeville turn, and Diamond (on a vaudeville stage) looms up nicely, but at the Winter Oarden, not quite! And the others hardly figured at all, although Moon and Morris added something away from the con- ventl <nal with their earlier efforts. In the production end there is hardly any- thing to merit unusual recognition. The first act has a possible finale showing the entire aggregation attired In various costumes en- tering the great American melting pot to re- turn as un-hyphenated Americans for a motherly greeting at the hands of Columbia [who soared from the balcony to alight on the stage]. Everyone arose to the strains of "America," and the Inevitable applause greet- ed the finale. It was pretentious, but stood alone in the mass of accompanying chaos. The second act carried a scenic novelty in the form of a naval review. A battleship Is shown approaching and slowly turns around. The effect of this bit Is good for those di- rectly in front, but to the side aisle occupants, It carries little Interest A toy ship shows possibilities, hut the dialog and business cramped the novel proportions of the scene and this passed along practically unnoticed. As for the other scenes, they were simply of the ordinary brand with nothing startling or even unusual on view. The numbers have been nicely staged, but except for the as- semblage of a human fan to background the "Girl of the Fan" song, there was little or no sign of progresslveness In this department. Among the principals of lesser Importance one finds Lou Holtz doing nobly under the palpable handicap, and Kosloff and Rose Qulnn danced now and then to some satis- faction. Ada Meade and Venlta Fitzhugh helped fill out the line with few results, and Jack Bick played opposite Crawford with the expected returns. Gustave Schult played at a waiter much as one would find It done In burlesque, and Sydney Greenstreet as the millionaire was rather sourly dressed for the role. On the whole one can think of little about "The World of Pleasure" to suggest anything but a night of monotony. It entails a series of successive disappointments, from the en- trance of Wilson to the finale of the second act with nothing worth while beyond the two specialties mentioned, and yon could always enjoy the former at . r >0 cents per head while but a few weeks back the latter entertained the motley thrones for a single dime. Meanwhile mothers and fathers are allow- ing their daughters to disport themselves nude as chorus girls on the Winter Garden stage, as an early start for perhaps the Lord knows what, for the sake of the management which pays the usual salary for this unusual public indecency In the hope that the yokel from out of town will give up $2.. r >0 to see nakedness, where he wouldn't pay 30 cents to see half a dozen Winter Garden shows like this one. And the Hippodrome Is but a few blocks south with a regular show at $1.50 per copy, whllo they say the Century Is doing nicely, decently, a few blocks north. At the Winter Garden the gate calls for $2.,">0 and What a mess of "pastrame!" Wynn. A PAIR OF SIXES. The H. H. Frazee Longacre theatre success of a couple of seasons ago Is at the York the- atre on 110th street this week. It Is "A Pair of Sixes." the Edwin Peple farce that makes a business man's partner at the office become his butler at home. The quarrelsome makers of a violet-coated pill were induced by their attorney to settle their differences for a year In this way, under contract, the winner of a "shown down" hand In poker to run the busi- ness durlnc that time, as well as boss his partner-butler. A pair of sixes won the hand. About the only Interest that could attach to "A Pair of Sixes" at this late date Is the per- formance given by a couple of vaudevllllans In the principal roles. The team of Nicholson and Norton are the ones. Paul Nicholson be- comes the butler In the second act. where Miss Norton first appears as the slavey, In love with the butler, much to his disgust. The customary question always arising when n Y<tud"v01tan Is thought of In connec- tion with a Rent comedv role for a legitimate staee production is: Has he the class? That Is whore n yond^villlon like Psul Nicholson nohoids t^e dlenltv of vaudeville and over- throw all the Brondwav nroducers' theories. 11° has the rio^s. undoubtedly, nnd what's more <? n Inernlnod Idea of comedy thnt a strlctiv \rf\t U*ht comedlon couldn't acquire In ?»1| of h|«» %2 staee experience. Ml -s Y^rton. as well, brines her vaudeville knowh'dec into t»1ov. knowing to a nicety how to nla"o her lauehs. nnd the lauehs obtained hv the couple nre frequent. Mr. Nicholson Is the centre of the farcical situations through- out the three acts. He Is n good-looking, tall foll-w. has the easv natural bearing that counts for so much, nnd always makes a point renBv tell, modulating his voice to further the effects. This Is the second season for the "tenm" In t'<i H eomnnnv. N'ot alone thit speaks for It- ' • "■ »o to t*>»« vo'un of Mr Nicholson nnd Miss V-r»«n In the " n ptr of Sixes" roles, n ilt It roos forther. and sovs the eve of Harry II. i.v-.-/> n wh•■« selected tnom for the cn«t. knew t-iW-nf on the vnd^vMlp staee nt vleht. vi"b"Ko n pouM hold down nny serf of n light comedy role. He shades his playing In this performance exceptionally well, and would be pronounced by brotber-vaudevllllans as "Immense." And Miss Norton as a slavey gives the character a new twist. She doesn't fall all over the stage, get mixed up in her skirts or tip over a pail of water. Miss Norton Just handles the role the way It should be handled for effective results. The entire company has been nicely put to- gether. Walter Fenner In more of a straight role the other partner does the feeding in a way to help along. Alice Claire Elliott la a pretty little engenue, who was careless of her make-up Monday evening (though that need not worry her at the York), John Houston was a breezy salesman, Godfrey Matthews, a first-class Imitation of a friendly lawyer, and Mazle Fogarty a fresh stenog. The York held a fairly good house Monday night, and they laughed. It's a good sbow to laugh at. But the audience at the York is better than the theatre. If John Cort got that house on his own terms, perhaps It was worth taking a chance, but to believe the York can go over at a one-dollar scale with combina- tions, is merely to kid oneself. The house Isn't there. It was built for cheap vaudeville, and is one of the poorest type of theatres of Its class In Greater New York. Any number of 15-cent picture houses have It pushed off the map for looks. The theatre is bare and cold; the chairs are the ordinary sort of leather-covered wooden frames, and the backs of them don't appear to have been repainted since the house opened Candy boys pass through the audience and there Is an orchestrion or automatic-piano with attachments for entre'act music that a merry-go-round keeper at Coney would throw off the island. Besides which the York Isn't In a dollar neighborhood. Bime. PALACE. The Palace Theatre's Fall Fashion Show for its second and last week at the house re- linquished the headline honors to Evelyn Nes- blt and Jack Clifford, and while the Monday night attendance was reasonably large It registered a slight drop from the usual ca- pacity. The Fashion Show, despite Its un- usual splendor and luxurious surroundings seems to have lost its novelty for Broadway theatregoers, who can view practically the same display two blocks east on almost any after- noon. The May Tully production was some- what unique last season, as a vaudeville at- traction, but its successor, although accom- panied by a plausible theme in the form of a "book" does not seem to arouse the ex- pected Interest. The women enjoyed the spec- tacle, or at least appeared to, but the men evidenced little or no surprise or enthusiasm at the display or the cast Emllle Lea's solo effort evoked enough applause to warrant an encore, but she retired with a single bow. The Princess Olga Olonova was missing, al- though programmed, but her absence failed to reveal any marked disappointment. The Fashion Show might make a great attraction for the suburbs or the road, but in New York particularly at the Palace, where fashion and finery Is the rule rather than the exception, it seems to have shot its bolt with last year's effort. * The Fashion Show was outfashioned with the arrival of Evelyn Nesblt, whose wardrobe was quite the prettiest part of the current week s program. It is such an improvement over Its predecessor than any attempt at de- scription or comparison would be almost im- possible. Miss Nesblt has finally dressed her turn with becoming affect and if the Fashion Show s displays can be taken as a basis for the current style, the Nesblt wardrobe is con- siderably ahead of the times. And the im- provement in the Nesblt specialty does not stop at the dressing. Miss Nesblt has de- veloped a singular individuality and renders a song quite as well as one could wish. Her voice was surprising also, and the dancing portion of the turn has been worked up into a great finale. As late as last season Nesblt and Clifford were being classified among the attractions who continue on reputation, but the marked ability of the duo can now hold the turn up regardless of the billing. Nesblt and Clifford wore one of the big hits and rightly deserved their liberal share of ap- plause. Ten Eyck and Wiley opened the show, fol- lowing the weekly picture program with a series of statuary work and a few dances of classical origin. The pedestal work is par- ticularly good and the pantomimic bit added to the second number Is quite as perfect as it is appropriate. A neck swing at the close of the turn Is by far the best of its kind ever snown hereabouts. The couple, while handi- capped somewhat through the early spot and the continual action throughout the audito- rium, scored a nice hit. Harry Breen, an extremist In everything he attempts, took several minutes to get the house started, but Anally had things his own way and with his extemporaneous finale eked out one of the applause marks of the even- Ine. Breen depends largely on his stage per- sonality and registers heavily on the simplest points. His routine has supplied several prominent "nut" acts with material, but Breen on the whole is in a distinct class by him- self. Everest's Monkey Circus | H constructed along the stereotyped line of the several simi- lar simian productl ins, but this particular one overshadows manv of the others from a point of excellence. The monies have a good routine of comedy proportions nnd supply the wherewithal of a continued string of laughs It did farlly well In the choice spot. Bay Samuels | fl hack In New York with a new repertoire, the best of which Is probnblv her rube composition. She is accompanied hv Louis Pollnck nt the piano and offered five numbers Monday evening. The rube charac-