Variety (January 1917)

"> m ^ __„__ \Y COME RACK TO FRIM. (iNTMKNATlONAL) Attendance waa somewhat Improved At the Bronx lent week. Friday night the lower floor w JaWy welLflMed back, ^ "eV*. tA9..Wh- ence being about half capacity or a little bettor. The International offerlnga with an Irian flavor atom to have had thla ofloot In the Bronx house right along and Walter Lew- renos's "Come Back to alrln" vu no ox- ooptlon* Tho Union Production Co. stands sponsor for too piece, but tho program does not give the author. Tho star gets all tho promlnanco and In fact la tho roal atrongth of tho enter- - talnment. Ho ha* a fine sturdy stage presenoe and a brooay way of presenting his character. This In addition to a pleasing baritone voioo. Half a doaen numbers, mostly old Irish bal- lads, have been neatly worked into the story a la Ghauneey Oloott et al. Lewreace Is the prosperous Irish-American of Colorado at the outset of the rather thread- bare piece. Ue Is unproved heir to an Irish earldom lor which an unscrupulous Britain Is scheming. The Irishman's counter-plotting for his birthright, of course, furnishes the basis of the action. Into which a little Ioto story has been woven. All the emphasis has been placed on the comedy side of the tale, for the dramatlo action never does reach any degree of speed or intensity, unless the third-act curtain be considered as having some foroe. This epi- sode, a fight between the rightful heir and the pretender, was handled In so slipshod a fashion that It missed Are altogether. It had not properly been prepared and the clash oame so unexpectedly that the audience, caught un- aware, was not ready for it. This was only one lntsance of bad play construction. How- ever, the play Itself never figures as of im- portance, the appeal being made entirely on the comedy bite, Irish character types and the occasional flavoring of love Interest. Patrick O'Shale (Joseph Dunn) waa Intro- duced merely for a character bit, having but the slightest connection with the story. The part was nicely handled. Con O'Nell (Qua Vaughn), a half wltted sexton, probably had more connection with the story when the play waa written. It is he who leads the hero to the ruined church where his mother's mar- riage record is hidden, the record which proves his title to the earldom. Probably In the de- velopment of the piece as a starring vehicle much of this and other characters haa been deleted. Certainly Con'a part In the plotting haa been cut to the point where It la scarcely understandable. Phyllis Qrey makes a satisfactory heroine of the pale sort and Helen Courtney, the com- edy woman, does nicely with a light role of an Irish widow, divided in her affections between an Irish Innkeeper and a German wooer. Charles W. King as the Earl had a very email part. He had only two small scenes, but by the quiet dignity with which he Invested his purely incidental part he made these two bits stand out. The International companies have not been so fortunate In their players of small bits. The piece is In four acts. Two Interior and two ezter 4 or sets arc exceptionally elaborate for productions of the International class and both for coot and attractiveness set a record for the aeason so far. In other respects the staging of the piece is excellent watson'sTbeef trust. (COLUMBIA.) Billy Watson's show this year does not quite measure up to the leaders on the Columbia Wheel. Watson himself is funny as always, but somehow the company behind him does not play as entertainingly as was the former wont.' Whatever the cause, the audience at the Columble Monday night began to drift aWay soon after Intermission and the afterpiece waa played to the accompaniment of departing spectators from all over the orchestra floor. The show has not the best possible arrange- ment for burlesque. It haa few straightaway specialty people, the comedy outweighs the numbers and the pieces are so put together that long Intervals come between the chorus ensemblee. Watson, of course, has the same collection of heavyweights who do not lend themselves to speedy chorus formations or dancing In- tervals, and It Is for this reason that the usual layout of sprightly maneuvers haa been avoided. In the first part, made np of the familiar "Krausemeyer's Alley," there are only four costume numbers and In the two-ad burlesque but two. In one act of the burleeque the whole chorus remained seated at tables from start to finish. The setting was brightly colored, but a stationary chorus did not help toward Its liveliness. The second act of the burlesque found the 21 girls motionless about the stage again. All of this did not make for a fast-movlag burlesque performance. Much of the by-play between Krausemeyer and Qrogan (Prank Bam bard) was funny, as It haB always been, frequently over the line of good taste, but forgivable because It con- tained a real laugh. This was true In the "Krausemeyer's Alley" proceedings, and In the dinner scene, but this year Watson la re- sorting more and more to horseplay for his laughs, such aa throwing about of stuffed cats that didn't raise a smile. The dressing Is always attractive, but not elaborate, as many of the wheel attractions that have shown. The principal women do tetter than the chorus, although (here was one vlolem clash to the color scheme when Jean Leigh ton disported a vivid purple street frock and then killed It by carrying a rose- colored parasol. Miss Lelghton made a strik- ing figure In white tights In the first part finale, which brought the Watson heavyweights on In blue tights. Margie Newell Is as thin as most of the ■BSHBaBncsfiSBaamca chorus girls are ponderous. She put a lot of ginger Into her numbers, but her voice did not help. Probably the best liked number of the show waa the "Quaker Girl" bit whloh was carried through by Watson's ridiculous Jmstoeee. as a. nftACtJtawwiou* Quaker end hi* . laughable Joahlng of the girls. Another number called "The Piano Field," with Jean Lelghton at the Ivories, caught the house during the dinner scene. But for the moat part the mualoal aide of the show waa not oonaplcuous for its effetlveness. PALACE. If variety makes for splcc. then the Palace haa It this week, with Louis Mann and Co. (New Acts) In a splendidly written and played sketch, befitting the Palace as much as the Palace becomes It, competing agalnat "a plant In a box" on the aame program. The Claire Rochester single singing turn carried the plant, and the Palace atood for It after the Monday matinee, for the plant with the awful voioe waa on hand again at the night ahow. Barling thla exception, the Palace program la of extremely good value" thla week, albeit there are three or more return visits among the acta on It, One of the return dates, that of Chlo Sale's, la growing to be almoet a Palaoe permanency. But Mr. Bale can stand It at the Palace. He waa "No. 4," fine for the comedy end of the program, and that Sale la about the Palace's moat popular favorite was Indicated when the stage handa moved hie deak Into "one" before he appeared. The audience started laughing then. It waa a Kullar vaudeville demonstration for remem- nee, highly flattering to the recipient. When Sale entered to open his turn, he had to await quietness, aa his Is a protean char- acter talking turn. Sale varlee his perform- ance and had no trouble in capturing -the hit of the bill la the early position. Sale has a funny bit of business aa the old rube playing the cornet. It la the expectoration behind the organ, but while there's another big laugh In the gulping down In view of the audience, that la open to question, also his remsrk about the music and the fly. Either one la or ahould be beneath Sale'a present finished work, although the gulping down aa a "bit" by ltaelf la as fine aa anything elae he does, but It's not as refined. Mr. Sale baa changed about the running of the act a little, taking out the Janitor at the opening of the Sun- day achool aeaalon, but it couldn't even be noticed. Hla turn la ao aimed toward popu- lar regard that he might remain at the Palace for a regular run. Another return waa Beaale Clayton with a new (to the Palace) oroheetra. lt'e fortuuate for Mlaa Clayton ahe can continue to be ao agile on her toes, for while the Clayton act when starting in Its present form waa a dl- veralon between the orchestra and herself for reaulta, now It la all Clayton. The open- ing, having the two violinists sppear before the turn etarte, la Its own odd idea that means nothing and looks lees. The Clayton act cloaed the first part, Mlaa Clayton pulling it over with hef last nimble stepping. Lester Sheehan Is still with the troupe. Muriel Window waa No. "2." She ahould have been better placed, exchanging with Mlaa Rochester, who opened after lntermlaalon. The Window act haa new numbers and Miss Win- dow la getting over her material much better than ahe did when first appearing In thla neat way of presenting a change single. The "Birdies' Ball" number allows her to In- sert several whistling Imitations she does nicely, end her "Toy" song Is well handled. Mlaa Wlaslow made the mistake Monday night of overdoing the routine by using a final Hon- olulu number. Madame Doree's Celebrities (New Acts) were third, and the Mann sketch (New Acts) waa second after lntermlaalon. Mlaa Roches- ter's act, opening the second part, waa just before Mann. The Rochester turn starts with a moving picture of the girl leaving In her auto trip laat aummer for San Franolaco. At the Palace, opening after lntermlaalon, It became a good reason to allow the audience to be seated, but la any other program posi- tion the reason for It would not be apparent. On the first slide It saya "Member of the A. A. A" which may stand for the "As- sociated Actresses of Amerlcs." The picture machine la speeded up to ehow Miss Roches- ter doing some faat driving, on the saeet, and when ahe came on to sing In her so- {irano. It seemed as though that had been oat In the travel. It may have accounted alao for the plant'a poor voice. Miss Rocheater'a double voice singing In the lower tonee remains about the same. She had some trouble In getting over, although pressing the light applause into a bowing speech ending. Anna Wheaton and Anna Harry Carroll, next to closing, did about the ssme act they did in the eame house last week, and the Ahearn Troupe cloaed the performance. The comedy cycle act put In all of Its props, In- cluding one or two (and the best ones for laugha) the Palace censored on Aheam's laat visit there. The act appears to be carrying a carload of freak wheels, with some new ones among them, also s good-looking girl whose only purpose In the turn seems to be to give Ahearn a chance to prove be Is slmost as good a rag dancer as he le a comedy.cyclist. The Ishlkawa Brothers opened the show. The Palace Monday night held capacity with many Friars In to see Mr. Msnn, one of the Friars' most steady customers. In responding tc •"».»!? for a speech, Mr. Mann ad- . mJtfed tbe.preB>DC<vof the rV.cr* by rrfsr- rlng to them as his pals present. Bime. COLONIAL. This week the Colonial Is carrying one of the best arranged big time bill* that section of the city has seen In many months. While the aggregation doea not Include the con- ventional "big name" every Individual spe- cialty adds to the general effort and the re- sult Is an entertaining performance. Judg- ing Tuesday night's bualneea aa a criterion, the Colonial patrona are prone to recognise .the real artloj* oo*w)theUmdU|g..the absence of the usual aenaational top-liner. Belle Baker might be classified aa the tech- nical headllner through point of billing and position, but then Ellis and Bordonl and Maok and Walker must be reckoned with as prospective applicants for the honor. Mlaa Baker waa next to oloelng with ballads and comedy numbers (Max Wlnslow being ab- sent). Max has christened the diminutive coon-shouter with a new billing line, 1. a, "The Sugar Baby." When Max heard Mlaa Baker waa acheduled to play the Colonial he aailed for Havana. A few montha ago thla anouncement would have had quite a different effect. The Belle Baker local visits were al- ways looked anxiously forward to by Max'a barber, for Max celebrated such events with his periodical hair-cut. Instead of the uaual routine of WaLarson numbers Miss Baker la now giving all competition a chance, upon Max'a suggestion, openly—In New York aa well aa "out of town." Her two beat were "Honolulu, America Loves You" and "Mammy's Coal Black ..R.QjHfc.!'. She cleaned up a nice hit deoplte that some of the pre- vious turna had apparently eked out all the applause possible. The Mack-Walker aklt registered a aloe Im- pression, but toward the finale It aaaumed a rather dreggy appearance, possibly because of the very noticeable oca diction between that and the ■Uls-Bordoni epeclalty In the piano work. Were It possible for Mlaa Walker to temporarily drop the letter number the effect might be toward an improvement. However, this combination, two thoroughly capable en- tertainers, emu be reckoned with the best In their line. The BT11 Is-Bordonl turn likewise earned a distinctive hit with Bills' solo piano work gathering applauae aplenty. Miss Bor- donl could consistently eliminate the "Love" aong alnce Nora Bayea Introduced It here- abouts to better advantage. While they, too, seemed to overwork their time, every single minute brought the expected returna and at the*Anale the comedy speech waa eeeentlal. Frank and Toble opened with danose some- what differently arranged and probably se- lected because of their original measure* menta. The closing effort, "The Jockey," en- sured their auoceaa. Heckman, Shaw and Campbell followed, going particularly well up to the closing number when the harmony suffered through the aoprano'e natural loud voice. Tbls could and ahould be regulated for otherwise this trio run along with the beet in their field. The appearance of the trio calls for a line of commendation. Bert Melroee held a spot in tho center of the bill. Melroee la getting away from his facial and head makeup, apparently choelng the line of least resistance. He ahould give a bit more character to hla appearance, for Melrose cannot register on "straight" pan- tomime. Hla fall temporarily atopped pro- ceedlnga, though, and at the conolualon he stood In line for top honors. Moon and Morris and their dancing epec- lalty likewise realised a solid hit. Harry Bereeford and Co. In a cleverly constructed character sketch^esmd a abort path to many laughs, while La Hoen and Dupreece, who closed the show at a rather late hour, kept the majority In for the exit march. Wynn. AMERICAN. L. Wolfe Gilbert, the prominent professional manager of the Jos. Stern Muslo Publishing Co., Is top-llnlng the American bill thla week with a cleverly-constructed repertoire of hla late song hits, closing with a medley of hla former musical creatlona. Ollbert la accom- panied by a pianist and aided during the rendition of some of his ballads by Frltsl Lelghton, one of the few really capable female aong pluggero In town. Ollbert Is a corking good attraction. Olrard and Gardner are alao featured on the bill with their familiar "Dooley and the Diamond" aklt Eddie Olrard alwaya was and still Is one of vaudevllle'a beet Irish character pi ay era, handling the type In a na- tural manner, yet gathering all the results of broad comedy without becoming even slightly offensive. Jessie Gardner retains her personality of former daya and makea an Ideal "feeder" for Glrard's buffoonery. The playlet carrlea an abundance of rich laugha and every one found Its target at the American. Vaude- ville can atand for such teams and playlete as the Olrard and Gardner specialty In large numbers. One of the surprises of the bill were Belle and Mayo, a man and woman turn In "one" with the male end doing a somewhat different chsracter comedy role. They started off big despite the epot, opening the second half and the comic never lost his audience from then to the finale. They could stand the big time elevation and make good with little or no extra effort. Oeehan and Spencer opened with the con- ventional two-man dancing act, scoring nicely with their team work, but falling to Introduce anything in a novelty manner. As long aa there la vaudeville there will be two-man dancing acts snd Oeehan and Spencer will probably be found In the active list right to the finish. Armstrong and 8trouae (programed aa Arm- strong and Ford) were shifted down to a late scot between Vondar ^hnws and frad a com* paratlvely earfy tank In registering ode of the hits. This combination Is well mated, the comedy being rather nicely divided with an extreme character comic handling the ma- jority of points. His partner essays a sort of semt-strslght In the policeman role and docs much to work up the results. Barry McCormack and Co. offered the inevit- able comedy sketch with the honors going to the Juvenile. The character man la built for farcical work, but alma at an elderly Celtlo role. After seeing Eddie Olrard, this chap didn't register. The skit carries a reasonable share of laughs, the majority resulting from situations, but carries nothing bo#Oiid "pop- time" possibilities. Pernlkoff and Roae and their ballet aggre- gation cloaed the first part, going well, In addition to giving the program a touch of class, and King and King closed the perform- ance proper with an acrobatic specialty. Busi- ness was good, although the Monday night house on the roof didn't threaten any records. Wyttn. RIVERSIDE That the Riverside haa already struck Its gait aa a big time bouse was demonstrated Monday night, when the big VUih street house, which holds 1,000 on the orchestra floor, had an audience which Just comfortably filled It. The Riverside Is still without a resident man- ager, I. R. Samuels still baring It under his direction, he giving attention alao to the Royal In the Bronx. Thla week'a ahow waa headed by Edna Good- rich and Co., In "The Mannequin," by Edgar Allen Woolf. Ae an offering to display Mlsa Qoodrlch'a attractlveneea of face and figure nothing better could ae selected which also goes for the splendid gown display. "The Mannequin" la something new In the way of a newspaper playlet with sufficient twlata to make It Interesting. Mosher, Hayes and Mosher opened the show with a cycling routine with plenty of speed. The act used a comedy finish In "ons" thst waa too long drawn out. Hana Wilson and the McNallys started quietly but developed speed aa they went along, finishing la good style with dancing. Wilson Is a capable eccentric dancer with stepping of an original style. The male member of the McNallys alao dances well with the young woman looking comely. The Seven Bracks went through acrobatics In eight minutes In the "No. 3" spot that kept the house Intereeted. Hunting and Francis, In "Love Blossoms" In ths next position, were not received over enthusiastically by ths Riv- erside audience, which, to a large extent, had aeen It heretofore. Frank Hale and Btgne Peterson closed the first half with dancing. The act was the hit of the early portion. The Hale-Paterson com- bination haa kept up to date with lta offer- ing which easily brings them recognition. Mlsa Peterson doee a Hula dance that closely rivals any se»n hereabouta, with their Walkin the Dog" tend "Dance To.nado" aura fire. The Versatile Sextet furnishes excellent music for the act. Willie Weston opened after Intermission with character aonga and recitations. He got over easily, being familiar to practically the entire audience. The Edna Goodrich act followed, after which Jack Wilson, aasisted by Frank Hurst and Dolores Swarez, presented hla Impromptu revue. Miss Swsres Is new to the turn, replacing Lillian Boardman. 8he la a large girl, taller than either of the men, and la dressing the part exceptionally well, beeldee displaying a voice of considerable merit. Wilson hsd no great quantity of ma- terial to work with and bad to rely largely upon ldeaa of bis own not baaed upon hap- penings In the show. The act secured a com- edy hit. Roland Travera closed the show with magic Travers la a clean cut magician, but dlsplaya little new In bis art. More care should be taken In covering some of the trlcke aa on several occasions the Inner workings are via* Ible to the audience, especially from the side seats. The act held the house until the laat. FIFTH AVENUE. The Fifth Avenue Is having a Jubilee Week and the first half program held 10 acta. A like number make up the second half bill. Tueaday night the house was crowded down- stairs when the program started at 8. It ended at 11. Lydla Barry waa the headline, and In an eaay poaltlon for her, swept away the ap- plause returns. Mlsa Barry did the same aonga STS when first appearing at the Firth avenue with thla act. Wlllard Slmms waa luat ahead of her, In hla paper hanging sketch, and got enough laugha, but omitted the usual en- core, perhapa because of the length of the bill. The Three Dolce Sisters had the hard spot, next to closing, but the girls did very well end were brave enough to take the position, knowing the long bill ahead of them which held much singing, which they alao do. The Bisters were prettily gowned and looked well. They could have left out the ballad solo to gain time and speed In the lets spot, but held the houee nicely. Keeley Bros, and Co. cloaed the performance. "Consul," the chimpanzee, waa In the show. Whether this Is the Original "Consul" or an- other trainer Isn't known. The monks all look alike, but the trainers don't. This "Con- sul" has a nice little habit of giving the "bird" on the stsge, and It may be funny to the gallery, but It couldn't be much ao elsewhere. The show was opened by "Holiday In Dixie- land," a colored ensemble of ordlnnry merit. It has 10 people. _Wlnrh#«ter inrl t rfafr* d(-4*s,gv.<t a tang "Vo "i~ w«»h *ifi. *nlk and at* nnnits. Hazel Muller followed the monk and Mabel Burke followed HazH. Msbel singing an animated song. After Miss Barry were O'Rourke snd Kllllon. who scored the second hit, solely upon the tenor's singing, snd "The Cure," a sketch, was Just before the Dolce girls. Most of the turns mentioned In this paragraph are under New Acta. Mime.