Variety (November 1916)

o SAM HOWE'S BIG SHOW. 8am Howe has tried hard, but somehow hi» show frequently mioses Are. It has a good quartet of principal women and nice-looking choristers—22 in number for good measure— and in dr«sbtna aud siuge equipment is above the average of the wheel offerings for 10- 17. Howe supplies the comedy himself. He has almost a monopoly of that commodity. His clowning supplies some few amusing moments, but not enough to support a whole evening's entertainment unaided. Perhaps it is thlB shortage of comedy cou- pled with the fact that there are no spe- cialists to supply variety to the succession of "bits" and numbers alternating that made the entertainment seem loosely and inexpert- ly put together. None of the men except Howe had a ghost of a cbanoe to do any- thing but feed Howe, and It must be said that his returnB were pretty light consider* ing the offort that was made to throw every- thing In his direction. The numbers were excellently put on. The girls worked with plenty of ginger and will- ingness. What amusement the proceedings auoided wsb due to the chorus and prlnolpal women. There were two big outbursts of applause. One came at the finale of the first part, a picturesquely worked out ensemble away from the familiar patriotic thing, and Eva Mull's handling of "South 8ea Isles" about midway or the burlesque. The hit of the latter was no less than the time-worn trick of drawing out girls from the line to sing solo. The house couldn't get enough of this, and the device registered a hit that might have gone to something more novel and ingenious if it had been present. Miss Mull is dignified by display typo on the program and led many numbers, oho Is an attractive petite soubret and did much to impart "pep'' into the proceedings with her sprightly presence and pretty frocks. Doe . Loretta was the statuesque prima donna. Her assignment was to show the boys how white tights should be filled out and she did that to the complete satisfaction of everybody present She sang agreeably, too, and on oc- ittttloii spoke her lines gracefully. Just for good measure she added a stunning picture of herself In a crimson plush gown with a train. It fitted her to the last provision of the statute of limitations. The two other print Ipal women were Edith Hall and Btefl Anderson, both capital leaders. Miss Hall during one number with Harry Bowen did a first-rate bit of fast stepping and at all times was animated beyond the others, even when she occupied a subordinate position In whatever was going on. If she were given broader opportunities It appears likely that she would make a better Impression. Howe and Miss Mull did "Yaka Hula" with- out the Hupport of the chorus and, thanks to the number itself and the lively Incidental dance, they put It over emphatically. Why Howe elected to do no more numbers himself must be a mystery. He scored with this one and "Rag Time Kosotaky" 'much more positively than wit** any of his clowning. The two pieces Involve tt» scenes, some of them rather elaborate for a o-rUsque snow, and the paraphernalia must have represented a considerable outlay. The costuming of the chorus girls was on the same generous scale. They had a change for every number, and these ran up to 22 In the final count. The "bit" in one Involving red fire stuff between Uncle 8am. Miss Columbia ana Mex- ico fell dead. It was designed for a whoop- hurrah applause bit. The best It got was s hoot and a giggle. Also a series of .lvlng pictures without anything to recommend It aroused no particular Interest. Besides Howe and Bowen there were six men named on i-e program, but none of them did anything sufficiently important to identify himself, unless It was their singing as a quartet In support of Miss Loretta during one number. CABARETG1RLS. The Regular Burlesque Ooer. who sat in the next seat, after having been gypped near the box office by the speculator who hangs on the window's ledge in the lobby, said be- fore the show started that he had seen "The Cabaret Girls" in Cleveland a short time ago and that he wanted to see It again, so be could tell his friends he had seen "the worst burlesque show ever, twice In succes- sion." Maybe the R. B. O. was right and maybe he wasn't, but the fact remains there Is hardly a laugh In the whole show, and a bur- lesque show without a laugh is a sorry thing, Indeed. The brightest spot was the phoney diamonds flashed for a minute or two in the second part, in the planting of a robbery scene. There was one giggle that t^e comedians managed to get, and that was In the so- called "Up-to-Date 8atlre entitled 'The Cab- aret Girls' Vocation,' " which was the after- piece. The reason for particularly remarking on the dearth of laughs Is tne line that heads the program which states: "To Those That Know That Mirth Is Medicine and tat Laugh- ter Lengthens Life. I. H. Herk, Kelly and Damsel Submit the Cabaret Girls." This Bhow will need a large doso of that mirth medicine to lengthen the life of the production If the censors ever get a flash at it. The producers are cheating on the chorus. Eighteen girls programmed and the same num- ber » ruuu»ITVTd , ""rio».v • ri»a—arciflpj. Bu«. T"ffcJC»y~" n'cht a C^rtlfl^d Ptihilo Aronimtnnt rould not h:«.v«- fljrur«M more than 1ft A* a «rt the girls are not a bud looking iot; all they need is to be rehearsed for a few mornings so that they would work in unison. Only 14 really work as the chorus, as the two girls on the end starred themselves by work- ing way dowo stags from the lino. Their dress Is distinctive for the greater part of the numbers, at least to the extent of their wearing black bespangled soubret dresses for almost every number. It Is the same one that they wear la the opening that ever and again reoccurs during the performance. The strU ar*. all lv tighto that ian from tixti opening of the show, the general effect be- ing that they were trying to exhibit as many various shades of pink as possible. However, one of the two end stars Is a real good looker and makes a pleasing Impression. There are but three sets of costumes In the entire show that look at all new. The girls make about five changes In the first part In the first scene, wear long plush, fur- trimmed ,coats throughout the^second scene and In the afterpiece there are three changes. One of these sets Is a cheap com- bination suit Eight principals: M. J. Kelly, doing Irish; Joe Rose, as Dutch, and Irving Gear, a Hebrew comic, comprise the trio supposed to furnish the laughs. Jessie Stoner Is the prima donna, with Margie Catlln and Dot Barnett, soubrettes. Claude Llghtner and Harry Parker are the straights. The prima donna has a voice and the nerve to resurrect 'My Hero." She looks fairly well In clothes. Miss Catlln Is lively ^nd looks good in about a half a doxen little soubret costumes she wears. She got over all the way with the boys in front Miss Barnett doesn't get much of a chance, but holds up her end wheu the opportunity offers. No attempt at anything like a book. Th-j show consists simply of a number and a bit, another number and another bit It wouldn't matter so much If the bits were good and If the numbers were of the snappy variety. About four numbers bring honest encores. "Hello, Frisco," by Miss Catlln and Joe Rose, and "They Called it Dixieland." with Miss Catlln leading, are two of them. "When the Sun Goes Down In Romany," led by Miss Stoner, and "Walking the Dog," with Miss Barnett, completed the quartet of near hits. As for the bits, the least said the better. Fred. THE ETERNAL MAGDALENE. (INTERNATIONAL.) Paul Bradshaw, Elijah's son. .Albert Gebhardt Arnold Macy, bond salesman. ..Charles Collier John Bellamy, of "The Star '..Howard I. Smith Elisabeth, Elijah's daughter.. .Myrtle Bellalr Martha, Elijah's wife Edythe Tressldor Elijah Bradshaw Wilson Reynolds Rev. Birmingham Smollett.. ..Taylor Carroll Billy Monday, evangelist Arthur Davis The Woman Eugenie Blair Judge Baacomb, retired Jurist.. .Brian Darley Dan Burke. . .1 Horace Stoneham Blanche Dumond Fanny Clifford The combination of "The Modern Magda- lene" with its prestige of Broadway presenta- tion and Eugenie Blair's name should have been a more potent attraction at the Brooklyn grand opera house last week than It turned out to be. Toward the week end the audience was nearly a quarter short of capacity in the lower floor, although upstairs was rather bet- ter. The play Is, of oourse, Infinitely better than most of the International dramas that have appeared hereabouts. Otherwise It never could have had a metropolitan hearing. Its preach- ment Is platitudinous and Its treatment of the "Red Light" subject novel only in that It ap- proaches the subject from a curious angle. The satire upon hypocritical respectability Is not sincere. No more Is the picture of the fallen woman reasonably true to fact Indeed the author apparently realised the unreality of his painting. The device of having the whole action take place during a dream, could have no other purpose than to cover the un- convincing, fictitious color of his creations. For the purpose of the pop houses, how- ever, the piece does well enough. Audiences of the grade to which It addresses Itself are not keenly analytical. The theatrical force of the play makes its appeal, as does also the "daring" of the subject. The organisation headed by Miss Blair Is an excellent one. Twelve characters are con- corned in a fairly even performance. Miss Blair finds The Woman a congenial emotional role. She makes it effective without resort to ranting or the common tricks of staglness. llrr performance stands out clearly as a capital hit of easy, authoritative playing. 1 he only member of the cast who offended ux In t nicety of method was Fanny Clifford as Blanche Dumond. She mady the already stilted speeches of lady of "the district" even more unbelievably stagey than they mi d«'d to be. Brian Darley as Judge Bascomb likewise went to extremes of emphasis, but bis part leans toward comedy and the "pop' circuits take their comedy 'undiluted, so he was at least effective e^en if he did take liberties with the niceties. Harold I. Smith handled John Bellamy exceedingly well, and Albert Gebhardt in his small part as the son made a splendid Impression. The single setting of the Bradshaw library made a first rate background. It Is carefully designed and In some particulars expensively carried out to give the Illusion of a home of wealth. The play and company made a good Impression on the Brooklyn audience. WASHINGTON SQUARE PLAYERS. A now set of sketches (four) was put on last week by the Washington Square Players at the Comedy theatre. They are an Improve- ment upon the first lot of the season the players did at the same house, bat this last group of skits dots not so far run ahead of the others on the whole that there Is any rea- son to go wild. It's probably not so easy to select four play- lets for public consumption at 92, cast them with a company of growing semi-professional actors and mount them according to the par- ticular or peculiar ideas of the large mass of persons mentioned as belonging to the Wash- ington Players' directorate. The program lists more persons concerned with the management than are In the company of actors. There may be too many cooks around this organisation. The present list of sketches, as they are Played, are "Trifles," "Another Way Out," "Bushido" and "Altruism." Of these two will get over one way or the other; "Another Way Out," through Its rawness, and "Bushido" by Its gruesomeness. "Trifles" may mean some- thing. Perhape If It Is seen several times It will be discovered what. "Altruism" has a nice satirical Idea badly done In script and Playing. "Another Way Out" by Lawrence Languor, must have been written to provide Jose Ruben, Gladys Wynne and Helen Westley a further opportunity to play a sort of triangle situa- tion, which they also did In "Lovers' Luck," one of the best of the former Square playlets. But In the "Way Out" skit Robert Strange steps forward to grab the comedy honors through his role of a hick book agent The story Is In a studio, where an author and sculptress are practising marriage without a license. Instead of pursuing their own un- interfered-with course, their friends have made them heroic for the experiment and deluge them with Invitations. To vary the limelight monotony, the couple decide to flirt with outsiders and still the talk. The author Is almost crushed In his first attempt to cap- ture a lady of quality who, after all. only wanted him to write advertisements, while the woman, when encountering the book agent, wss dismayed tot learn that he would have nothing to do with her while the llason ex- isted. Then, as the only way out, they con- cluded to marry. The rawness of the writing may be permis- sible In sketch repertoire of this $2 character. It provides variety, as does "Bushido," by Takeda Isumo, programed ns a Japanese his- torical tragedy. The set Is a Japanese pri- vate school room. Among the scholars Is the youthful descendant of a deposed monarch. Emissaries of the current ruler learn of the boy's presence and demand his head. Then comes at once to the school another boy, al- most the exact Image of the one wanted, and when the two representatives of the king ar- rive that afternoon at the school, the strange boy's head la delivered to them as the youthful pretender's. One of the reps who knows the original lad, pronounces the severed head as the correct one. It afterwards develops it was his own son he looked at In a small Jar. The same man was supposed to have been a traitor to his father, the deposed king, and sacrificed his son to save the young royal personage. The knifing of the boy, the thud on the block and the return to the room with a head believed to be Inside the Jar make a most gruesome moment. The at- mosphere is continually of the most depressing and morbid character. But It may be that one in four demands the contrast. "Altruism." If not made vague by its title, Is the single one of the playlets vaudeville could use. Well cast and mounted, it would do, rewritten by a vaudeville author. It's by Karl Ettllnger and.billed as a satire adapted from the German. "Altruism" |s defined dur- ing the dialog as "Love thy neighbors." It's repeated two or three times, but doesn't aid the audience In getting the satire, excepting when that Is plainly put before them, as when the man with a dog was Indifferent to the at- tempt of a beggar to drown himself but of- fered a reward of $200 for the recovery of his $80 dog which had Jumped Into the water. As played at the Comedy the piece Is mildly entertaining, but not big enough for the clos- ing position. "Trifles," by Susan Glanpell, Is dramatic, with the Instinct or Intuition of women stsndlng out as against the clumsy ef- forts of lew's officers to And s motive for a woman strangling her husband. Messrs. Strang and Ruban give the better performances of Ihe evening, but Mr. Strang was a little load In the last piece. Among the women, Miss Wynne did not have the com- petition encountered in the previous reper- toire. Marjorie Vonnegut seems- always cast for tragic parts and from that has picked up a sobbing voice she cannot change. If Miss Vonnegut can regulate her sob she will leave a much better Impression. John King did fairly with the beggar role, the principal one of "Altruism," but the business at the finish of the sketch ssved his role and himself. T. W. Gibson did his best work as the Jap school teacher. Miss Westley fits one type, a Frenchy appearance attached to the vamp thing and fits so well she gets away with It on fit alone. The Washington Square Players In a theatre of the Comedv's capacity will have a Job draw- ing a $2 audience to fill the house, with this repertoire or any other, for they seem to figure their sketches as more important than themselves. That they are and always will be, but the public likes to go R0-50 on the play and the player. They hear about one and want to know the other. They know the Washington Square Players as an advertised name, but there Is nothing approaching a star among the group, nor are many of them $2 actors—yet. But there are perhaps enough In New York willing to pay $2 to hear the rawness in "An- other Way Out." That is the single thing at the Comedy theatre Just now tLe box office oan depend iinon. Rime. If you don't advertise In VARIETY, don't advertise. PALACE. fc-2mJ p * th, T 1 ■E r T ,t T »• sos a vaudevtllo headllner at the Palace (or anywhere also) accomplish the rather remarkable featoJ drawing and entertaining simultaneously slnoo it has long been an established fact that headllners are selected solely for their box- office weight with the stage value a secon- dary consideration. This week Nora Bayes is increasing the normal attendance and Uk- loc **»?.**• legitimate hit with what Is undoubtedly the best repertoire of new num- bers she has ever hunched for a single spe- cialty. The general Improvement la. not centered solely in her act, for Miss Bayes shows a noticeable Improvement In voice and appear- ♦ ftn i?\i « Sh6 ^ "twxjuced, among a'wardrobe that defies description from an average male human, a wig, and lacking every evidence of age, Miss Bayes really looked 20 years young* er than on her previous appearance. Her repertoire Is cleverly mixed and provides the essential opportunity to display her versa- tility In vocalising dialects. Every single number scored individually, particularly the song story anent the "Man and Maid/' Al- though compelled to a series of bows, aha refrained from the usual "request" reper- toire and left the house thoroughly satisfied and fully entertained. ' Following the usual news pictorial, the Au- 8t /*.l la ? Crelghtons opened with a combination of 'silent stunts," carrying a cleverly con- structed routine of Juggling, contrasted with an equally good routine of ground and equil- Ibrlstlo work. The two men work excep- tionally fast, and In this manner contrive to offer a wide collection of tricks in a com- paratively small working period. They gave the show a splendid start which was easily held up by Leo Beers. Beers Is using the whistling entrance and exit again (claimed by Albert Whalen and temporarily dropped by Beers upon Whalen s complaint), with a par- ticularly good list of numbers constituting the main body of his specialty. The frame of the turn, which rests solely on his entrance and exit, brings the affair somewhat away S? m ..H! 6 . oonv « n "«nal planologue act but if this "bit" is not rightfully his own, he should eliminate It, regardless of the consequences. Beers Is capable, an accomplished entertainer and apparently able to originate, but his talent sinks into a questionable position un- der the cloud of piracy. The Canslnos were moved up from fifth to third spot, bringing Olive Wyndham and Co. (New Acts) to the closing position of the first section. Ths Canslnos have not altered their routine of dances, but have added a rather picturesque drop, some new costumes and a bit of speed. Hussey and Lee were a solid hit In "The Fox Hunters," a former Sully-Hussey act and one of the best of the Hussey list Lee seems to fill every requirement opposite the comedian. Husseye comic songs will always carry this couple, but the exchange of dia- log makes it doubly sure. They run along with the best two-men comedy turns In pres- ent-day vaudeville. Bert Melrose opened the second half of the bill, devoting his entire time to the "Mel- rose Fall," which carries preliminary laughs In the preparation of the paraphernalia. Mel- rose went over with muoh to spare, after which came Miss Bayes and In turn Norton and Lee and the Danube Quartet, the latter a casting turn that kept those who remained in for the closing trick. Norton and Lee were somewhat handicapped because of their position, but Miss Norton's rendition of the "Butterfly" number guaranteed their paasage. The dancing also helped some, and at their finale they had registered sufficiently well to insure a hit and Justify their presence. Wynn. ALHAMBRA. It is "Jubilee Week" or "Fall Festival" or anything else you want to call It at the Al- hambra this week. Whatever It is, It gave Harry Bailey an excuse to string up the red, white and blue around the front of the house and stick a bunch of incandescents Into the sign over the entrance reading "12 Star Acts." This twelve-star acts thing did have Its effect on the Alhambra's box office, for at eight o'clock Monday night the house was almost sold solid with Just a few straggling seats on the extreme sides of the house. Although there were twelve acts announced there were In reality but ten on the program, the picture being given credit as an act as was also ex-Acting Mayor of Greater New York, Francis P. Bent, who filled In at City Hall on a disappointment for a few mlnutea several years ago. The picture opened and the lecture closed. Blanche Sloane opened the show, going on at 8.10, with the house walking In. She had rather a hard time of it at first but a few breezy remarks got the audience in a humor that was good and her final tricks on the rings brought applause. Sammy Weston and Sidney Clare, on second, fared none too well with their opening number, but later the stepping and two popular numbers brought an applause return. Spencer Kelly and Marion Wilder and Co. were placed a little too early. However their medley of old songs was sufficient. Burley and Burley, Scotch contorting comics, are present- ing practically the same act as they did here some years ago, their comedy talk being full of "old boys" and some of their English wit falling to land. James Conlln, Grac and Eddie Parks were the first real hit of the bill. Conlln's piano playing striking the audience as particularly good and stopping the act. Robert T. Hatnet and Co. in "Enter—A Stranger" olosed the first part with four curtains to their credit Meehan'o Canines opened the second part