Variety (January 1917)

SHOW E VI E¥S 19 Davenport and Raierty. Talk and Songa. 16 Mine.; One and Two. After the opening of this mixed two- act there is not a gitjat ■ dtat to it:' The ■ young man and woman enter as a bridal couple, handcuffed together by their friends for the crime of becoming mar- ried perhaps. A hotel porter before them is wheeling their trunk. They tell him to engage the Bridal suite. Then they seat themselves on the trunk to ask each other their first names, etc., besides several other gagging old boys. The man had a senseless song about "Algernon," sounding as though out of a musical comedy of some kind and there were a couple of other vocal numbers, after the couple had walked into "two," which was the bridal suite. If the act doesn't want small time it will have to be reframed from the opening, which should be retained, but it needs an author after that, not memory. Bime. Brooks and Taylor. Songs and Talk. 15 Mins.; One. Boy and girl, both apparently new- comers to the stage. They have a few bright lines ai>d occasional flashes of spontaneous fun, but for the most part have thrown together a lot of things they have heard and handle them in- differently. The boy does five minutes or more of an impersonation of Bert FitzGibbons. Then he does the late Al Stinson's "Birds and Beasts of the Forest." Their future is all ahead of them. i Walrod and Zell. Singing and Dancing. 12 Mins.; One. Man in cork and woman in light color do well enough when they keep to their specialty, but don't when talk- ing, principally because they have not the material. The man is a first rate eccentric dancer and the woman has the knack of putting over ballads. The woman makes three changes, the man from deep purple to black evening clothes. ._ . Hager and Goodwin. Songs. 12 Min.: One. Hager and Goodwin are but one of the crowd in the two-man singing act class. Their present turn falls way below with the finish a County Fair number its only redeeming feature. While singing together the men get little harmony which would make it advisable for the pianist to stick to his keys rather than try vocalizing with his partner. A song alone by him would be much better. Beaulah Pearl. Songs. 10 Min.; One. Beaulah Pearl is a decided blonde following closely the style of other single women. Her efforts are re- stricted to three numbers, two popular and the other a widow song which sounds exclusive. The latter contains several punch lines that serve in good effect. Her opening number has all of the earmarks of a coming hit. Miss Pearl opened intermission on the Roof and got away with it handily. Grindell and Esther. Songs and Talk. * 12 Mins.; One. An elongated man and a medium sized girl, purveyors of comedv and popular numbers. The man plays a slim "boob" to good returns with sev- eral twVsts- and kicks that provide suit- able comedy. The girl is a capable number leader and also a good "feeder." The present numbers fit acceptably. They took down an easy hit. Chappelle and Tribble. Colored. 12 Mins. One. Good team of colored entertainers who get a laugh on their appearance. One of the men impersonates a wencn of the more or less clean variety. The man does a straight that is good. The two have voices and a selection of numbers that get over. The act was worthy of a better spot on the bill. Three Syncopators. Songs. 10 Min; One. American Roof. Three male cabaret singers making their initial bow to vaudeville at the American this week. They are capable singers but lack in stage culture. Pop- ular numbers serve them in good shape. When the men have polished off the rough edges their chances as a vaude- ville trio should be bright. MY MOTHER'S ROSARY. (INTERNATIONAL William Favor L. B. Walter Bridget Malley Terese Loralne Rona Marvin Mazlne Alton Burton Lennard Herbert Bettaew Father Brian Kelly Horace V. Noble Tad Fry Thomas Carey John Marvin 1 Carl Q# R unya n Frank Marvin J Patrick Shea Charles Hart Moya O'Day Nancy Chapln Dally bargain matinees at the Bronx ap- pear not to have aided the night attendance. Thursday night of last week the audience was one of the smallest of the season. Apparently the Bronx audiences do not want this style of melodrama—It Is doubtful whether they want melodrama of any sort. The wild and woollies of the International so far have been con- spicuous poor performers at the box office. "My Mother's Rosary." bv Edward E. Rose, produced by Rowland A Clifford, Inc., Is no exception. The play Is a loose and rather aimless story an to Its drametle, elements, while its comedy, although interesting at times, has been dragged in by mnln force and has nothing whatever to do with the Ule Itself. There are three comic characters, Patrick O'Shea, the familiar sort of Irishman, and two kids. Moya O'Day (Nancy Chapln) and Tad Fry (Thomas Carey). This trio has Innumerable amusing scenes, but for all the bearing they have on the story of "My Mother's Rosary" they might be played In another company. The kids enter the tale casually and never contribute a step to Its progress, th*»ir scenes being entirely detached from anything like dramatic use. As well might the author have introduced as many specialties. The story of the plav Itself is vague In places and lacking In simple clearness. Char- acter relations were foggy end the melodra- matic climaxes ill arranged. The organisa- tion averages about mldwnv between the cir- cuits extremes of good and bad. The leading woman, Maxlne Alton, looks well, but ap- parentlv lacks experience, but the two kiddles, apnarentlv about 1.% or 16 yesrs old, do very well, and the leading man, Horace V. Noble as Father Brian Kelly, is an excellent actor for the part of the priest. H*» has a full voice of good quality and renda his lines effectlvelv. In the last act he nays part of a mass In a capital ptcturesoue acene. hut pronounces his Latin vowels with a distinctness that Is far awav from the resl'tv of tho "muttered" mass. Some of the speeches the author has handed to him are the 11m«t of forced heroics, but he delivers them with a judement that almost makes than prv'nrl r*»«son»«ble. The pi«v ha* four acts in as manv scenes. The setting. 11V* most of the circuit's offer' Ings, are adequate for the style of production, but economlcaly designed and put together. cherryIIlossoms. (AMERICAN) Joseph K. Watson appears to be the moving spirit behind this organization sponsored on the American Wheel by Maurice Jacobs. Wat- son Is the principal comedian and credited with staging the piece. In both directions he does well. His funmoking is a large part of the excellent entertainment put up at the Olympic. It's a straight away burlesque offer- ing, edging at times toward the naughty- naughty, but never becoming offensive. For the reformed Olympic several bits of Watson's love making were about as daring, however, as may be allowed. The comedy depends entirely upon Watson. He never worked so well and as the feature of a burlesque show, even when he played with WUMe Cohen, he never had better material. With Watson carrying off the honors, the women, three In number, earn a fair share. Frankle Nlblo distanced the others. She Ib a short, plump woman, but for one of her figure displays astonishing speed and ginger. She led the best numbers, was concerned In ssvoral nllo apro'<»Jtle«? awd !p. nd«IJ£?'»r. did s, sinning tunc all bv her ioneffume as aft inci- dent during the running of the burlesque. In all of which activities she was amusing. Be- sides all this she wore costly looking clothing. Another principal woman was Martha Rich- ards, a slighter soubret with a most engaging stage presence and an extremely agreeable voice. What she lacked In that desirable quality of "pep" she made up in her pleasing, quiet manner. The other waa Helen Van Buren, very blonde and more than Amasonlan, whose best contribution was a series of bal- lade cftertd a* an olio later I ude. !n this style - of act her imposing presence in a white even- ing gown and her contralto voioe were ef- fective. The only other principals who counted were William Davis, a fine big straight man with an excellent voice and a simple, direct method of getting his stuff across, and Lew White, Watson's feeder, who worked a little too hard at his job and labored a little In his anxiety to make his point reach over. Late in the proceedings Ida Hoag, a chorister with amas- ingly fat legs and a charming dimple in her cheek, was Intrusted with the leadership of a number and got away with it. The show carries 16 girls, some uncommonly pretty and some not so, but nearly all slim, young and willing workers. Their costuming is good. The changes were fairly frequent and every one represented real money. There were no subterfuges such as overalls for pick numbers, nor newsboy's rags to stall in the count of changes without spreading the in- vestment. At all times the stage pictures were bright and attractive when the choristers were in sight. There are two scenes to each of the two parts of the show, representing four stage set- tings, the usual flash stage dressing. Especially hearty applause went to these numbers, specialties or "bits": Watson's mon- olog during a between-scenes shift In the bur- lesque, the talk being modeled on the Able the Agent cartoons in a New York newspaper; White's number with chorus girl solos (al- though the tough girl stuff was unnecessarily rough) ; Miss Van Buren's ballads, Miss Nlblo's specialty (particularly a rag negro ditty called something like "Do I Have to Keep On Waiting T" pretty close to the lino and therefore much enjoyed by. the boys up- stairs) and a quartet involving Watson, White and Miss Niblo and a chorister programed as Miss Murray. Of the lot probably the best was Watson's monolog, a first rate line of talk, well delivered. PALACE. After the vaudeville section of tho bill at the Palace was completed Monday night, some- thing happened which has seldom if ever be- fore had its equal. Montgomery and Perry were the tail enders of the bljl. They had just finished with a burlesque of the Kosloff dance, and the "Patrla" picture was on for perhaps a minute, when someone in the audl- enced laughed in recollection of foolery in the Montgomery-Perry act With that the entire house went wild. For the next four minutes there was steady applause for the act, but the picture continued to flash and the team did not get another opportunity to appear. But the honor Is one they can carry in their memory for a long time. Business at the Palacsr was not capacity Monday night, the boxes not holding their usual quota and the' last five rows of the orchestra being scattered. The show started with the Hearst-Pathe Weekly at eight and, with two reels of "Patrla," did not come to a close until 11.25, although there were but seven acts. Miller and Mack had the opening position, their dancing bringing some applause inter- ruptions and sufficient at the close lor three bows. "Jasper," presented by Dixie Taylor, produced laughter and applause. William Morris and Co. in "Mrs. Temple's Telegram" brought a lot of laughter, but, ex- cepting the star, is played by the poorest cast ever seen in the vehicle. Maggie Cllne was switched from closing the show to next to closing the intermission. She did five num- bers, including "Throw Him Down Mc- Cluskey." Theodore Kosloff and his company of dancers and musicians closed the first part. The act caused as great a furor of applause. Its sec- ond week at the house, as It did last week. Mack and Walker In "A Pair of Ticket*" were one of the real bright spots of the show, opening the second half. There were laughs aplenty throughout the little skit and the dancing finish with the tag line at the cur- tain sent tho offering over In good shape. Then Montgomery and Perry, and what a riot right from the start! The final burlesque bit doubled up the house with laughter. Mrs. Vernon Castle in "Patrla" held the audience. Fred. RIVERSIDE. With Evelyn Neeblt and Jack Clifford (New Acts) heading the Riverside program this week tho house started out to a capacity at- tendance Monday night with an audience that suggested a grand opera affair, clans, clothea and everything attending that meant preten- tiousness. The Riverside clientele, coming from Broad- way and the Drive, understand their big time vaudeville and while the lower grade of com- edy will catch appreciation, the lighter brand seems more In demand. The customary news pictorial opened the show proper with Lohse and Sterling coming next with their ring feata. Nana Sterling alternates on the understanding work with Ralph Lohse. Miss Sterling is an accomplished athlete and while the billing em- phasizes her appearance, her ability predomi- nates. They have a fine opening act for the big (Iip/ ■ m4 stvc '.he -Jiiveraldc chow t-i proper start. • - • ■ - Muriel Window was second. In her reper- toire of special songs with the fast changes made behind the circular lounge. With the right combination of songs and clothes she found it rather easy to captivate the house, closing to a rousing hit Moran and Wiser, who followed, gave the bill just the right touch with the comedy hat whirling, the elder man's comic efforts connecting with genuine laughs. Blossom Seeley and her ragtime support roto- the c&trci/a a jliui^v uf kuttietblklg dif- ferent In song and dance, Miss Beeley's danc- ing bringing home the hit with little effort. The turn Is nicely arranged with just enough of the "rag" work to offer a contrast for the opposite style. The numbers are cleverly broken with the Instrumental work and It might be mentioned here that the banjolst measures about forty per cent, of the act's value. His solo gave the specialty the proper color and eked out sufficient applause In Itself to guarantee the entire turn's success, w Ji'Tv °?P; Hughes and Co., in "Gowns," held the sketch spot and scored their usual re- turns, while Howard and Clarke with their song renditions and light comedy came fully up to expectations. The hill was completed with Ray and Gor- don Dooley, who have retained the best por- tions of their former specialty to comprise a corking good double act. "Patrla" was at the en , d w of the Program, holding the majority In. without arousing any enthusiasm. Wynn. COLONIAL «JI h !*i Jo L a,llal T J ltld ** nl « bt *•* • rtot and odd show, mads short through the elision 5.2? !Sr ( J M LlewTrio programmed and which did not appear) and odd because It ran In streaks, with a couple of freak features as the main attraction, although the hits °iii! l ?v.? erform . a J noe wer * Bbout ovonly di- vided between "Peacock Alley" (New Acts), 2?'? f tb £ tnt »■*• " d tne Primrose Fbur opening the second section. But two turns were In the last half. The S^?Ik f, iv Bd " Opodrich, ner olothea and sketch. She gets into the freak claas as a vaudeville act through depending upon some- thing besides talent to get over. The other freak number Is the Mrs. Castle picture ("Pstrla") closing the performance. The picture started at 10:80 and It held th! house In. but if nothing else may be said for the serial so far, It at least permits those not Interested In Mrs. Castle to leave early. The Goodrich sketch, "The Mannequin", written by Edgar Allan Woolf may have been written for Miss Goodrich. If so the author could not go beyond Miss Goodrich's acting !P n A re : M,M 0o °d>lch hsd one speech about it that was enough, for her and the speech, but «J& dld wear c, °t*«« on* walked off with an $830 wrap while forgetting to bave ber fellow pay for the bridal dress she then had on. France Bendsten as the modiste holds up the playlet for Its comedy posslblltlos Rnh^IH °JT. "XL.*. !* UIn WMliyooodful. Bach time Miss Goodrich appears. In a dif- ferent gown, the orchestra gives a loud bleat and everything comes to a stop. Mr. Woolf If • nt « t,ed t0 » sorrowful regard for his kTSI? in tbe '"V'tt, towVrd the end! b i U ifcL th#7 u Want to . Me K J n * 0««!rlch »nd nor clothes, with jewelry, this thing Is probably •f,. ,0 . od *■ anjr . olher **tog for the vaude- ville transportation. ^ After the Intermission ths Primroses fell In soft. It's the same quartet membership. With nothing changed excepting that Bob Webws girth Is now the entire comedy of the lid**? n.'H™-,, Tb# program calls them ''Vaudeville's Greatest Singing Quartet" and for once the program may be O. K.'d. After * jew quartets on small time with the jas and oke. the Primroses sre even more than «m vT hey », d,d .. ■ 0T * n • on «"' closing with Memphis Blues", announced as the first time harmonised by any vocal quartet It Jot them resounding applause and Just be- ore that they did a Hula number that also earned them substantial returns. Thess wsro the only two rags, the others being ballads, five of them In a row from the start. That's getting away with something and when It can e turned into one of the hits of the bill besides, whoever Is the arranger for tho Primroses should get a lot of credit If he's getting nothing else. An act that got In the heavy applause di- vision was Regal end Bender (New Acts) "No. 4", the second two-men turn In tho first part. It was the finish that won out so well for them. The other two-man act. "No. 2" was Qulgley and FiUgerald. with talking, singing and dancing, one of tho men doing Irish and the other straight. Tho talk about one's suit was held to pretty long and about the single bit of monotonous conversation In the turn Is the Woolworth Bulldlng-auto dialog. A piano worked In for a minute and there was a recitation per- haps called "My First Pair of Pants", mean- ing a boy. They just abdut passed In tho position, preceded by Herbert's Dogs, which has every kind, but the seeming fsult with the turn is that the opening Is too sightly for the light flash. The opening should be the finish for an exit. Otherwise It's the usual dog act with plenty of animals, also birds. "No. 3" was a sketch, "You", with Bessie and Harriet Remple, written by the latter, and as badly played by all of the four characters, although J. M. Clayton as Everyboy's Real- self would bave passed If his voice had not been too strong for the extremely poorly played Everyboy, who was little worse bow- ever, than Harriet Remple as Everyglrl. Bes- sie Remple as Every girl's Realself got the most attention. The play Is designed to re- present tho Inner thoughts of what Is com- •HiosJy- 4c-nov;a fcfl "uitiiiK,'" Jn- fchlft case h ^l«-l niteMpil'n* "to" 'Inveigle 'a young man "Into Ah engagement, with their realselves as per the characters voicing their true thoughts follow- ing the spoken ones. It might have been made Into a playlet worth while, but It mlBHcs flncHBo In every way. 8tme.