Variety (November 1916)

S H O W Kl VIEWS ~ . • ..!.. • —- — . -— ~ft~ ville oan stand a four-danolng tot Just now. Montgomery and Perry (New Acts) Just milt- ad the holiday attendance that filled every- thing but tba boies at the matinee and want over rery strongly, oloalng tha flrat part, hav- rajf been movef there... frcWftfo, .ft. ■.■ Opening tha aaooad pan came Gus Ud- warda and a company In a lata "Song Berne" edition that had for extra assistance this week the Hotel Martinique revus principals and choma girls. They did the "Flag" num- ber from that revue to good results, and there waa a general feeling of satisfaction oTer the turn, helped along by a young boy aa a plant In an upper box singing one of sir. Edwards' own popular songs. Mr. Edwards also appeared, as did "Oeorgie" and "Cud- dles," both now grown up. Edwards cut the act down to about 20 minutes, skipping some of the programed matter. After that were Frank Hale and Signs Pat- erson in a series of varied dances, with a singing-playing orchestra of six white boys on ths stage with them. This sort of a band is nsw to vaudeville, as previously the play- era have been content to play only. Its a cabaret idea. The orchestra plays dandy danot music and there are two or three soloists among them. Mr. Hale and Miss Peterson havs several dances, closing to much ap- plause through a fast whirling finishing dance that nicely topped off their other efforts. After Miss Halperin. French and Els, with six girls, did a new dancing act. closing the ■how. Bitne. COLONIAL A general shift in the running order of the Colonial, following the initial matinee,- brought out nicely the strongest entertaining features of the program as a whole and the Monday night program ran like a well oiled machine from curtain to curtain. Business seems to be steadily increasing ss well end the Colonial is gradually beginning to assume an appear- ance that suggests the prosperity of former seasons when It housed the elite vaudeville- goers of the town. This week marks the metropolitan appear- ance of James J. Morton as official announcer at this house and that his engagement was a Eradical improvement was plainly certified y his reception Monday night. From his second entrance, bis appearance was an au- tomatic signal for an applause round and his election wss never In doubt. While Morton is a bright Innovation for the outlying houses, his place Is at ths Palace, where that so- called cosmopolitan audience gathers. Holding his Brooklyn and Colonist success as a crite- rion, one can easily see the possibilities for the stunt st the Palace. The Ousmanl Trio opened ae programed, doing head-to-head work atop the gilded balls. Their routine is away from ths conventional, apparently hazardous, but neatly executed, and carries a series of well timed thrills. They went exceptionally big for an opening act Young and Brown were second and scored with little or no difficulty. It's so seldom one sees two good looking girls who possess sny capabilities, this combination comprise a novel surprise. The wardrobe shows good taste and the same scale of Judgment is pronounced In their repertoire. They look sufficiently good to qualify in the permanent directory of "sister" acts. aw Gibson and Oulnsn were moved up to the third spot. Everything rsn along nicely until Gibson begsn to demonstrate a serious In- clination. He recited a Kipling war poem. Just why he should break In on a perfectly good routine to Inflict such a gruesome, ill picked end equally ill-delivered portion of elocution on a helpless audience is proble- matical. It dragged out an otherwise interest- ing vehicle end brought nothing In the way of returns. The main section of the skit came entirely up to expectations and won them a success. ^ __ _ .. . .. Johnny Johnson and Bob Harty provided the surprise of the show as well as the bulk of the comedy entertainment and In addition cor- ralled the greater portion of the evening's returns. Their little summery affair fairly radiates naturalness, and naturalness In vau- deville Is sn invaluable and rather unusual asset. They have an excellently connected skit, appropriately furnished and abundant with light crossfire talk. Good acts of this calibre are decidedly rare and this one is decidedly good. .. , , , . .. Rae Eleanor Ball, a tall, stately brunette with a good share of braided hair and an equal share of personality.' offered straight numbers on the violin. A special drop adds to the picture, but Isn't essential. The closing med- ley cinched It for Miss Ball. There are but a few of the really accomplished vlollnlsitsi who can qualify for recognition In the first division as vaudeville entertainers and Miss Ball is near the top of the list. William Gaxton is being featured in B. Jay Kaufman's "Kisses," first played at the Pal- ace some weeks ago by Arnold Daly. Gaxton handles the part in a breesy manner and manages to get the rather intricate potato over without any apparent effort. Mr. Kauf- man has provided vaudeville with a singular novelty in "Kisses," a distinct innovation in the way of a skit and one that appeals to tne intellectual portion of his audience, yet enter- tains the other extreme. Cecil Cunningham was assured on general principles, while Dupree and Dupree, who closed, held most of them In for the exit march. Whiting and Burt (New Acts). Wynn. tba Royal average In "class," being without a big feature to mark It aa a metropolitan show and being short in running time aa well. Only the two long feature pictures. Fay Tincher In a<Kcystons oomedy at the opening and 'The Dawn Maker/' with W. 8. Hart, the clone, carried the "Show to the prescribed Tunntug time. It wsa an unususl placing that brought Harry Green and Players la "The Cherry Tree/' n rather quiet comedy sketch, to the closing position, where It did not by any means belong. The audience gave It complete attention, but the fact that* It was on shortly after 10 o'clock may havs had something to do with the circumstances. However, It did meet the test, drawing down the applause hit of the evening. Nevertheless It would be a dangerous experiment to use the same arrange- ment In a big time house accustomed to regu- lar bills of a higher order. John Le Clair opened the show with his old fashioned Juggling specialty, passing quietly until the finish won him a mild burst of ap- plause. Brlerre and King bid for favor on the strength of their appearance and the ef- fectiveness of their quiet numbers. They would gst better returns by picking numbers with a better swing and more animation. Likewise an animated dance would liven the routine up. As it stands, two conversation songs, which Miss King handles In semi-recita- tive styls, do not msks for speed. Neither does her character number, although there Is humor In the lyrics of all their songs. to th< If the couple take exception meats, they have only to study the specialty of Ruby Norton and Sammy Lee, "No. 4" on the sams bill. This couple go In for fast dancing, good, slppy numbers and bright di ing. The only detail of their whole offering that Is not attractive specialty material la the short speech msde by young Lee Immedi- ately after the pair's entrance song. It has no plsce in tbe turn. If Mr. Lee proposes to dance, by sll means have him do so at once, for his stepping Is exceedingly interesting. The point Is that a perfunctory speec h lead- ing up to the dance music cue Is wasted effort end takes away from the straightaway special- ty complexion of the act Miss Norton scored strongly with her high note and with her appearance and bright dressing did much to put the turn over, it waa one of ths hits. Haydn and Haydn were on after Internals- £lon. The rather forced comedy of the "fat ead" Englishman made the Bronx sudlence Isugh, but a little of that sort of character goes a long way. There could be no doubt, however, of the effectiveness of the comedian's dancing, nor of ths musical accompaniment supnlied by his psrtnsr. Here Is another ex- ample on the ssme bill of tbe fact thst straight- forward, well handled speclslty material Is best without talk, unless the tslk Is a good deal brighter then the great mass of dialog vaudeville audiences hear. Hsrry Green end players completed the second hslf, msds up of only two numbers end the film. BUSHWICK. Considerable jockeying had to be done with the Bushwfck bill this week to get It In smooth running order, mainly due to the number of single men on the program. The billing held the names of four single men and a male team. Three of the single men were programed for the first hslf, but owing to the non-appearance of Paul Gordon In the opening spot, this was cut down to two, with Lew Wilson opening the show after a short news pictorial. Wilson hsd little dif- ficulty after be got started, for the house was sested early and his efforts were ap- preciated. His present "Aba Daba" number would suggest Willis Solar, and his baseball gag was evidently suggested by Welter C. Kelly. Will J. Ward snd Girls. ''No. 2," took down an easy hit. The Ward turn consists of several up to dste numbers with the gen- eral behavior of the sextette catching on immediately. Joe Cook, the second single msn of the evening, "No. 3," did well enough during tbe msln portion of hto turn, but left lnauspl- ekrasly with the audience In doubt whether to applaud or not. The Indian club busi- ness let him off lightly Monday night. Eva Taylor-Lawrence Orattan snd Co. In "Rock- ing the Boat" closed the first half. The act secured a steady stream of laughs, and the only sketch of the evening, was acceptable. Kathryn Dahl and Charles Glllen (New Acts) opened after intermission, after which Morton and Moore took down the laughing hit of tbe evening. The two men worked Inces- santly and the audience applauded as well as Isughed. Jack Norworth headlining was next to closing, in which position he fared nicely. The London stories found willing listeners even smong the Teutonlo Bushwtcklans, who applauded most generously the tales of the English Tommies. Norworth's magnetism Is brought forward to a larae extent In his story telling, more so then with the songs, although the "My Boy" number is a sure winner. Norworth filled the bill as a head- liner, although forced to follow Morton and Moore, who secured a riotous hit. Roches' Monkeys closed the show in capable style. ROYAL. For. once the new acts breaking In for big time are In the minority In the Bronx Keith establishment. Only one number, Sutton, Mo- Intyre and Sutton (New Aots"), sre In thst classification, ty reason of their new offering, "The Perfume Shop." The show is far below FIFTH AVENUE. The house was Jammed for the first evening show election night The show ran speed- ily because there was n schedule laid out which restricted the encores and which made It possible for the eight acts, an 111. song, comedy picture and two readings of elec- tion returns, all to be presented between eight o'clock and 10:15. The Rondas Trio opened the bill and were followed by Phlna and Picks, a hit in the second spot. Howard and White (Ne^Acta) essjBusnnnsssscEsssBKSBB were next and a laughing hit Llbonlta (New Acts) were a novelty In the way of a xylophonlst. ..Ths Conlln Psrks Trio scored strongly. Mabel Burke the slngsr accompanied an ill. movie and singing the song In such fashion that two entered were demanded. The com- edy picture followed her. Leo Edwards and Co. (Nsw Acts) came after the picture and managed to land a suocees of medium calibre. Avellng ana Lloyd la the next to closing spot were the laugh hit of the bill, although a lot of their "wise cracking stuff" waa a little over the heeds of the majority. Roland Travers and Co. with Illusions closed the show and did It to ths satisfac- tion of all present AMERICAN. The afternoon show at the American Elec- tion Day started at 1.40 with a house lightly filled at the start but which picked up notice- ably as ths show progressed, with full capacity prevailing later In ths afternoon. Loewy end the Lacy Bisters opened with a dance routine that sufficed for the esrly comers. One of the girls doss a clever male Impersonation with only her shape betraying her sen. Loray and George. No. 2, offered songs and comedy. The comedian has sn Clastic mouth which he uses to sdvsntass. His "Policeman 2ft" brought several laughs from those present. A news weekly followed. Solomon." a monkey Impersonator, fooled the audience, left with ths impression thsy had seen a trained monk. The act did not get the results It should. De Vine end Will- lams brought forth several lsughs on the strength of the vounc women's work. She Is on the lump continually snd the sudlsnce apneared pleased with her efforts. The Three Marimba Maniacs, offering: a musical routine, rot alone ol<*elv. featuring xylophone work. One of the bovs does some clever fiddllnn that eencht on easily. There is plenty of snsn to this trio snd the sversge small ttme audience should find them en- Joy able. Wllm»r Walters and Co. in s sketch which wss originally trl#d on tbe ble time, broncht forth several rlnnles of laushter. Some changes have b#en msde In tbe rest since lest seen, undoubtedly to cut down exnenses. The Id** Is unique, hut only suitable for pop audiences. Net Csrr. with a son* routine distinctly of tbe Enellsh true. Is tbe heedHner for the week, and s»e u r»d bfs a*ar# of the anplause Monday afternoon. Carr's artist nnmb»r us#d to onen bronchi forth several 1au**s. with bis FNiufrao number also acceptable. "Tbe Whirl of Bong and Psnee" (New Acts) and ths McDonald Trio followed. COLUMBIA. Threatening weather filled the Columbia rather early last Sunday, ths usual repre- sentative theatrical gathering sssembllnc be- fore the entrance of the orchestra. And the mention of this combination affords an oppor- tunity for n few lines of pointed criticism, for se co nd only to ths Columbia gallery, the orchestra and ths theatrical visitors ruin the possibilities of more acts than one can Imagine. Ths musldsns hsve several differ- ent brande of harmony and seem to take par- ticular delight In making a vamp sound like a funeral dirge. They msy be thoroughly competent for the conventional burlesque number, but their Inability to accompany a vaudeville speclslty Is so evident, one nstur- ally conclude* the organisation to be either Indifferent or Impossible. This oould, snd should be. corrected st rehearsals, for a Co- lumbia showing for a new act means too much to hsvs everything Jeopardised by poor music. And those agents who congregate In the boxes snd the rear rows might confine their con- ferences to the periods between sets. Ths show ran along nicely with the Intro- duction of ths Hamilton Bros., in first spot, right through to ths finale, when the Eugene Troupe closed the afternoon session. The Hamlltons go In for ground tumbling In comedy make-up, dosing with a Isndscape view to demonstrate their versatility. Tbe lat- ter Is limited, but they stand out In their ground work and should find suffclent work along the "pop" circuit to keep going. Tbe Harvey De Vora Trio held the second position and, barring the extremely vulgar antics of the eomedlsn, scored sn Impressive mark. The wardrobe Is alive with colors, well blended to match tbe tan, and tbe girl and "straight" man mansge to offset the handicaps created by the younger chap. The girl Is a good dancer, looks excellent snd sings fairly well. Tbe final entrance was superfluous and didn't help things. The comic should tone down and clean up. Mr. and Mre. Kelso were an early hit with their light exchange of pointed laughs, there being little doubt of their hit following the initial number. Rice and Francis have con- structed a nifty little double act with the girl doubling to carry out the story. She U par- ticularly good In the character and makes a petit picture In the closing section. The turn has been cleverly pieced together and ranks up with some of the best two-acts play- ing hereabouts. Europe's Entertainers were a disappoint- ment, going In for the "straight" and light popular Instrumental numbers rather than Ibe «xpecud ragtime. Europe has a clever aggregation, but tb« individual work failed to Impress anyone until the closing number when the drummer saved tbe day. One med- ley of "Blues" might have turned the affair into a rousing hit "Wild Cherry Rag" Is all wrong at this time for such a turn, but it was featured. nSPSSm #K n . d Vano 5 d,d ™**o"bly well, thla being their aecond visit here in a short space of time, but the succeeding number. The Breen Family, carried off the bulk of today's honors. The youngest of the girls beJonee ^r^A^Z^i ff 1 SS& Sue alone could have carried the combination, but the comedian made It a sure thing xt T* e * Ma £ 0ff the Ice Wagon" (Johnny Nestor with a string of ballads In the next to closing spot registered big with each num- CTteS BU ' Cn6 T ™>^«* m0, Win«, fOr ORPHEUM. There is a corking good vaudeville enter- tainment at the Orpheum this week. It Is a bill that takes ths twists and turns that real vaudeville entertainment should, jumping from a thrill in the acrobaUo line into song, from i 0 novs n iS teug e h y dr * m *' thm m0M "»* "5 The second half opens with comedy, turns to strong drama relieved at the last minute by a surprise finish, then a comedy riot and laatly a musical offering Interspersed with more comedy. It shows good booking. Elec- tion Eve the house waa crowded on the lower and mezzanine floora and ths show wss thor- oughly enjoyed. Page. Hack and Mack were the openlna offering, providing four distinct thrilla the ten mlnutea consumed. The act was a distinct hit. King and Harvey, next, had songs, doing well at the flnlah. The ••Mise- rere" travesty was sure fire. ♦*.:?• ♦K-.J? ugen . t . wlth " The Meml Hound" held tne third position and scored cleanly. The sketch is playing much better than when first seen at the Alhambra several weeks ago. The laughs come easily and follow in rapid suc- cession and ths story builds nioely to a logical flnlah. Louise Dresser, next to closing the first part apologized for a cold which she caught on the way from New Orleans to New York. She was unable to present her best efforts. How- ever, three bows followed her singing of "Down on the Erie." Charles Ahearn and his company of comedy cyclists closed the first half, and ths tramp cyole comedian showed what he could de la "a spot on tbe bill." The act was a laugh from start to finish, with ths "Hula Hula" prop becoming a riot of laughter. Ahearn has a peach of a girl in the act In a little danc- ing bit. Her good looking freshness Is a Sreat contrast to the make-ups of the come- lans. Dugan and Raymond in "They Auto Know Better" opened the second pert to lsughs. Robert T. Hainea and Co. in "Enter—A Stran- ger" proved mighty Interesting. Ths Intense drama of the playlet gripped the audience and when the twist came at the &n!ea It was worthy of the laugh and applauss which fol- lowed. The real laughter hit of the program cams with the advent of Laurie snd Bronoon In their talking oddity in "one" entitled "Lost and Found." The team started ths audience laugh- ing almost Immediately after thsy took the stage and continued to keep them amused to the last, finally atopplng the show completely. Walter Shannon and Marie Annls (New Acts) In 'The Garden of Love" cloeed the vaudeville section with a News Weekly com- pleting the show. Fred. 81ST STREET. The show at ths 81st Street house for the first hslf of ths current week played along small tlms propositions as a whole, although ths specialties seemed to register ths ex- pected feisrk on the individual angle. The natural contendere for headline honors were the Breen Family (reviewed under the. Columbia notice) and Brands Fowler and Co. In "The Hyphen," which apparently has met with some opposition as a booking proposi- tion. This skit is in a clsss of its own, for whils no one csn consistently question the merits of ths playlet or the acting of the principals, It deals with a dangerous topic for stage exploitation. At the uptown house the sudlence wavered In their enthusiasm, denoting their satisfaction only 'at ths finale when the complications sre adjusted. Miss Fowler snd ber two msls principals fit their respective types and carry the tension along at an even pace, but the hyphenated thorns leaves a large question as to ths practicability of chsneing It ss sn sttraction where tbe col- lective views of the sudlence carries a doubt The Breen Family closed the show, holding the limited house in for the finale, appearing Just after Ketchem snd Cheatem, who found it rather easy going with their familiar offer- ing. The spot wss a gift to the trio and ths opening routine guaranteed a safe passage for the entire affair. The ahow opened with the conventional pic- torial weekly with P. George and his musical novelty starting off the show proper. Oeorge has a unique affair In his varl-shaped in- struments and measures up to all the essen- tials of a good opening turn. Abbott and White, with a piano and a list of popular songs, comic and otherwise, pulled through to a safe hit with the closing num- ber, followed by Miss Fowler, who In turn was followed by the customary flve-reeler over wh'- r. *?■•!" pnrff—j'nr midlines seem to shew niopj ;tir.rj pmr.fni; Interest, applauding at the climaxes and ri-KlMerlng their approval of the Individual members of tbe cast In r nt>i^r w»rm fm Mnn Wimn. If you don't advertise In VARIETY, don't advertise.