Variety (March 1917)

20 ^,r T'-^-f %^ ^'^ S H O W REVIEWS .k.. ..r^.J,y W.'il THE SIGHTSEERS. James B. ("Blotch") Coop«r, In liU pro- duction "Th« Sii(hUe«n" at tht Columbia tbU ' w6^4, iilU made a tho'rdUgbfy" eucidHiftfal of-* iuic i» iulngle the oxtreme limit in burlooque pretentiousneM with a verj liberal aharo of clean, high class comedy, the latter running to such heights one might consistently yearn for a small portion of the madlum-low brand of fun. for. after all, burleaque Is burleaque and with two such capable comedians as Will J. Kennedy and Jack Miller distributing the IT the dialog and "business" approaches closer to the plane of musical comedy than burlesque proper. Modem burlesque has brought to the Columbia any number of big. bright, expenslre productions, but It renjalned for one of the best of the old school comics himself to Introduce what looks to be the extreme limit of that clas^floatlon. as Cooper has IQ this show. i^uoper has assembled a septet of principals that work better together than any cpmbina- tlon in the burlesque field In years. In addi- tion to Kennedy and Miller. U»e show has Harry Kelly, Bobby Van Horn, Kethryn Dick- ey. Plo Darls and Kate Forsythe. Kelly Is a reriUble "Jack of all characters," offering a different line of make-up and dialect for erery scene, and the two-part piece <»rrlee no leM than eleren In all. Flo Darls U the sonbret. bubbling orer with •'pep," a Tery capable dancer and a great number leader. Miss Dickey Is the "Tolce" of the show and for burlesque her TOlce Is made to order, wniie Kate Forsythe adds no less than 100 per cent, to the appearance dlrlslon, her gowns run- ning second to few If any In the field. There Is practically no plot to the piece, which was contributed by Billy K.. Wells the scenes running along through a series of In- diTldual "blU," but the lack of a plot w noticeable to few. for the "bits" are eztremelT well handled and with a goodly aucoeeBloii of laughs oomlag In a direct line, who earea for 8n<£r^an unneoesaary thing (In barleaque) as ^ a theme? T^e production, from the stand- point of clothes and scenic InToeUture, eur- passes anything the Columbia has carried thU season and the chorus of twenty makee a IWely. good singlns accompaniment to the show Itself. ^ .« ^ Kennedy Is doing his famllUr sheriff Charac- ter, humorous, bat not ^9lstero1lt, a wonderful competing character for the quiet, seml-reflned German of Miller's. At no time through the long string of scenes does this pair beoome tiresome and erery one of the many laughs they gathered was due to that droll, wittjr, light style of comedy that seems eo forelfn to burlesque, principally beoaose that field carriea so few oomedtana capable of euoceea- fully handling VL With a broad eomle^added to this oomblnatlon the results would be little short of manrelous. proTldIng of course the additional character meaaured up to the eapa- bllltles of his assoolatee. Harry Kelly, In burlesque for numy !••;•. has nerer appeared to better advantage. Hu characters Included a seml-heaTy, irieh. "hick," Mephlsto. BnglUh LoM, light come- dian, dope fiend and Irish hiddy. oTory single one^ coming fully up to ezpecUtlons. the beet being his refined dope In the melodramatic skit (new acts) offered as the fourth eoene In the afterpiece. , _ ^,^ ,, ^^ . ^ The first part sUrted off a bit light but soon the action reached Its proper speed and from then on there was little or no doubt as to the erentual raooees 9i the organisation. The opening scene depicted a hotel in Ber- muda, running then through a scene In "one." showing a hotel corridor, a sitting room in a cafe, with the next being the exterior of the same and the fifth and last beinc the Interior of a gambling palace. The second part showed the exterior of a country club for an opener, a street scene In "one," following with the melodramatic sketch In full stage next, then an^er scene In "one" and finally the Inte- rioi' of a lunch room. Brery scene was hand- somely built, with a string of noreltles In* terrapticg the conrentlonal line of popular numbers. The best of theee was "Lamplight Lane." In which the girls Introduced costumes In (,be shape of lamp< shades which carried electric bulbs beneath. A special drop was ■Ahown for this number. The "one" scene In the first part In which Jack Miller offered some excellent tumbling brought the best com- edy returns, but an all around contrast would hardly be possible, for erery section scored honors of its own. The musical diTlsIon shows good Judgment on Cooper's part, his songs coming right up to date, with an occasional special number Interpolated among the mass of familiar songs. Two specialties were Introduced In Bobby Van Horn and The Carnival Four. Neither were up to the standard of the show proper. Van Horn offered a brace of numbers In "one" and with his ballad scored a round hand, but Van Horn is not a "specialist." The quartet Are 'light individually in vocal strength, but har- monize reasonably well on old style ditties. The yodle finish appealed to the bouse and earned the quartet a hit. Cooper has established a record in this pro- duction and while there is an occasional op- portunity for improvement here and there the show is so good on the whole it would hardly b** 'fwU- to'U.mUiB' 'net, aInioKt peiiMst o^ftntoii and review with the few available suggestions. Cooper is to be congratulated on bis effort. Wells in to be congratulated on his work and the Columbia wheel is to be congratulated in having at least one producer who is game enough to stake a bankroll on what la tbe cleanest and prettiest show erer staged In a burleeque theatre. Wyrm. PAUCL This week's bill at the Palace la weak In one respect—It lacks a comedy number In "one." yln^tv'ti «ftor the No. SJ Imvu, U^vu^t& «kud Janls (New Acts), the only other turn on the program appearing before the front cloth Is Belle Story, with her ventrlloqulal method of Tocallilng. It sounds well If you don't care anjrthlng about hearing lyrlca. On the same bill Is Sallle Fisher, retained for a second week, with her dever musical playlet, "The Choir Rehearsal." by Clare Kumm«r. Bvery word uttered by Miss Fisher, either In speech or song. Is understandable In all parts of the house, it has long ceased to be the fashion for high class vocalists to Im- press one with their ^art" by carefully swal- lowing every vestige of distinct utterance. "The Choir Rehearsal" Is an example of what may be done with the simplest kind of a tale. If properly written and Interpreted by a company of artists. Karl Emmy and bis pets opened the show with a fast animal rou- tine. Joft€iph Howard and Ethlyn Clark were third, and did not occupy anything like the time they did at the Alhambra last week In a later spot. They had to close In "one" to set for the Fisher act, which may have shut off the encores. Howard is InclininK to «n- bonpoint. and rtiould train off a trtfie. Melntyre and Heath, with their Inimitable "coonery," are as enjoyable as ever. For their third Palace week they have revived "Waiting at the Church." It Is worthy of note In Uielr numerous acts these comics have never reeoried to a single word or sentence that could be construed as coarse or vulgar, or bordering on the suggestive. Adelaide and Hughes, with their supporilng company of 15 terbslchoreanists. beautiful settings and appropriate music and lighting effects, scored strongly. Their allegorical bal- let Is especially timely and effective. Dainty Marie preceded the seventh episode of the "Patria" serial. Jolo. RIVERSIDL If anything, too much sHow at the River- side Monday night The bill comprised the usual eight acts, a Pathe Weekly and the seventh ep. of "Patria," but the show start- ed at 8 and at 11.10 the picture was lust starting. It was a oorklng bill from the manner In which the au<.ience accepted It. The audience filled the house completely and applauding almost everything. Three of the acta were accorded rousing receptions. They were Craig Campbell, Grace La Rue and Chic Bale. Incidentally Julius LencberR's Intermission oeleotlon (orchestra) was productive of pro- longed applause. The Skating Vennsee opened. A trio of really good lookers on rollers, who do singles. doubles and triple formations brlniclnr ap- plause. That three girls of the broiler class are doing It Is enough to pass them. One of tbe girls has a good comedy trick In the way that she uses her eyee. Moore and Haager had a hard time In the second posi- tion and became the only weak spot on the bill through It Moore's stories got over to better advantage than any of the numbers. excepting the encore offering. Bennett and Richards (New Acts) were big laughs and an applause hit Mr. Campbell, the tenor (helo over), was an assured success as soon as his name was shown^ for the card brought solid applause. Bach of his selections (there were five with the encore) equally well received. Clos- ing the first part "Peacock Alley" with Viv- ian Blackburn and Elwood F. Boetwlck, brought a lot of laughs. It was tbe work of Mr. Boetwick, as a genteel souse, that carried the offering. Everyone In the act fed to him. "The World Dancers" were a solid suoeess, opening the second section. Next to doelng, Miss La Rue held the stage for 30 minutes, singing four numbers in addition to the six programed. She was prepared for that many, as the cards for all were on the rack. Miss La Rue has the boy pianist, Alfred Neuman. as her accompanist, and he was sure-fire at this house. Cloelng the show ahead of the "Patria" serial was a little late for Chic Sale, but be bad the house laughing fr he first moment. The "Patria" picture proved an effective chaser. Fred. COLONIAL. This Is Jubilee Week at the Colonial, with 12 acts on the program, which procure an early start and finale through an 8 o'clock curtain, the dozen specialties running to a stipulated time arrangement, which releases the audience shortly after 11 P. M. Business was not quite capacity, but it fell but a few . numbers short of that mark, the early even- ing drizzle Monday night probably accounting for the failure to reach the attendance limit. The bill carries three New Acts, the first one opening the show. Sully, Rogers and Sully. Clifford and Wills and Harold Du Kane and Co. were favored with centre position, with the sltetch team gathering the best share of the iionors. There was nothing approaching what is theatrically termed a "riot." Jack inglis in his rather extreme "nut" arrangement in- troduced two seemingly oriRinal things Mon- day night that will probably become proy for the professional copyists before the originator has worn off l^bf jpTja.TXel Thi* j^rvcnh aoent . t)ie Fatima cigarette caliing to its uiotber was one and the concertina "bit" the other. Inglis attempts to play the concertina and finally it develops the instrument is loaded with a phonograph record. This was utilized for a closer, and sent the team off a bouncing hit. The Derkin Girls followed the opener with well picked numbers, some coming from tbe current music market and a few apparently restricted. The mailer of the duo la a natural comedienne, and while thort «b rolce has that desirable comic talsnt that fits so well with a good tinfinc partner.. Tl^T vill. Uhir "watiihing."'" ' ^" ••••■■m •• Loyal's Dogs oame next with the feature canine at his best They landed their eos- tomarv returns, after which Clifford and Wills and (ieorge M. Rosener appeared. Rosener dropped his dope fiend diaracterisation be- cause of the. preceding oonfllctlon, limiting his specialty to the Bngllsh and old soldier char- acters. His final exit suggests Foster Ball, the pair both retiring from the stage to the tune of the fife and drum eorpe in mardiing attitude. It doesn't look right and the prior ownership should be establlinied with the one at fault releasing the "bit." Wilfred Clarke provided the show with his fares Just before intermission. Then came Du Kane and Co.. opening the second section, and Carrie De Mar and Co. Immediately after. Miss De Mar In this nautical arrangement Is given an opportunity to display her ability as a comedienne, and lost no opportunity. Bob Albright closed the vaudeville section. BUSHWICK. With Gertrude Hoffmann (New Acts) and her well known turns, also the ••Patria" film cloelng. it may have been deemed the Bush- wick did not need much for the rest of lu bill this week. It didn't get much and with tbe Hoffmann act tumbling over, the program had nothing for the audience to rave tfver. The house laughed at a couple of acts. Lydell and Hlggins, and Dyer and Faye. both two-men acts with a girl in each.. Lydell and Hlggins came first. No. 4. The eccen- tric old rube character had an excellent comedy chance, being the first fun of t&e erenlnc and following Valmont and Reynen (New Acts), who were moved to third because they eould not be placed anjrwhere else. Lydell Is using the "worm and old man" gag about the chickens will get them both. Several act* are employing It which stamps it good. Dyer and* Faye. opening after Intermission, have changed about their act some since first show- ing around here, but they don't seem to under- stand how to edit It. The act Is running too long and It would drag before any, hut a Busbwick kind of an audience. The come- dian Ukes all the honors, for the straight man can't regulate his toIco. Closing the first part were Adams and Mur- ray in a Woolf comedy playlet "Cotton Stock- ings," about as meritorious as the large majority of all the Woolf fetches. Marion Murray puts the act o^er with her breety playing, good looks and clothes, doing better with the role of a female drummer uan she might have been suspected of. Mabelle Adams as a drummer also that ths buyers pass up has a whine In her voice which beoomes painful long before the act ends, for Miss Adams' voice Is far from musical. The turn closes with a vlolln-plano duet that ends It abruptly, but brings the applause, for whlcsi Mr. Woolf may be Uklng credit. Pletro was No. 2, getUng away with his accordion playing, and he stuck around for a long time. A couple of minutes chopped off would make Pletro's act much better for he plays the accordion as well as anyone In vaudeville. Noack dild some balancing, opening tbe show. It was risky, but not norel, hav- ing been often done by others in different The Busbwick held a Tsnr b|B koose tor a Monday night MiM. AMERICAN ROOF. With Ruth Roye as a headllner and a gener- ally good selection of other acts the American Roof boasted of one of the best shows of lU career tbe first half. Tueeday night found the Roof comfortably filled with practically the entire lower fioor occupied. The upper portion of the house also held a good number. The O'Neil Sisters, who are dreesing better each time they are seen, opened the show In the snappiest of fashion. The girls hare un- limited pep, which Is bound to win approral for them. Their hair Is also much more at- tractive than when clipped so short. Meehan and Knapp. a male singing team. No. 2. scored one of the singing hits of the evening. The boys do remarkably well with their ro- calizing and probably would do so with the dialog should they secure material of any worth, the present European trip talk being decidedly unsuitable. Kalma, an illusionist and magician, prored one of the most Interesting acts on the pro- gram. Kalma does his work in a clean-cut way, his manner of deception being entirely convincing. Claude and Marlon Clereland added more comedy to the show, which was apparently heartily enjoyed. The act Is the uame as in the past. One of the real hlU of the erenlng was scored by Mark Lindef In "The Criminal.' Llnder portraying several characters, for which quick changes are made. Archer and Ward, a boy and girl team, opened after IntermlBsion. The act has im- proved immensely within the past two weeks. The couple are now presenting one of the niftiest turns of Its kind In tbe three-a-day, which should warrant them a chance in the larger houses. - Wr.K'Ct-antctt «nd Go. In' ^'IIlw IjxtX Dj^j;/ scored several laughs on the strength of Stan- ton's drunk, which at times is decidedly messy. The act is now elng played by four people instead of five, the waiter part having been condensed with that of the violinist It apparently made no difference in the running. Miss Roye, next to closing, sang four num- bers. The patriotic song caught on nicely with her other numbers, Irish and "Dixie All the Time," roundinf out her routine in good style. Miss Roye easily proved her popn- larlty and soored one of the real big hits of the aymtng. OiTtiiKKi:^ and .Plst^.v « otrca* act. oonsisting of wire walking and juggling, closed the shofw. . JEFFERSON. Midwinter Carnival at the Jefferson this week. Ten acts each, first half and last half. The result with the accompanying bunting In the front, pulled almost a capacity audience Tuesday night The show was a good one. but It sagged here and there as it ran along. In addition to the extra acts there were the current Hearst-Pathe and Charlotte Walker In "Sloth," one of the McClure "Deadly Sins" series. The Havelocks. with juggling and balancing, opened the show, getting but slight attention until the few closing tricks. These brought applause. Laura and Billy Dwyer in a danc- ing specialty, which started off like a real novelty but later slowed down because of its lack of finish, held the second spot. The opening number and the floor stuff by the boy are the cleverest portions of the turn. The O'Learys, two boys with a bedroom act the opening of Which Is similar to the Flana- gan and Bdwards turn, were s laugh from start to finish. The act Is a straight two- man sketch with a fairly humorous story; that of two college room mates who. un- knowingly, keep company with the same girl. One of the boys visiting her on Monday, Wedneeday and Friday, and the other Milling on Tuesday. Thursday and Saturday. She Is a married woman wiUi a husband In Jall^ and trims both. It was a distinct laugh, although rather badly played. The Parisian Trio are not working as street musicians, but doing the turn similar to the one In the past Some time or other one of these acts is going to develop a "Barber Shop Trio" and there will be a bit of comedy to It Wright and Darls (New Acts) prored : aall time. The Morroccans (New Acts), a straight singing offering, that had class and seemed entirely out of place on this hill, soored on two of the four numbers. B. J. Moore, the tridcster. had the audience laughing with his messenger boy plant "Fashions a la Carte" (New AoU) was the class of the bill as far as well dressed and good looking women went Jones and Mc- Carthy (Chas. Senna and Lillian FiUgerald) were the hit of the show. The little sonbret is doing an act at present that should oarry her along orer the better time, and the boy at the piano has class. Sutton. Melntyre and Sutton were the closers and sooreid. Frid. COLUMBIA. The Columbia's rauderllle show last Sun- day balanced up nicely, althoui^ it did con- tain two weak spots. 'They were corered np, howerer, with hits made by others on the bill, the show finishing strong with James C. Morton and Co., Willie Weston and the Four Bolses In that order. The running order was likely altered for the night show. Opening were Paul La Van and Dobbs, a comedy aerohatlc number with a hearr fellow In blackface doing sereral hard falls that landed the turn In the applause class. Fol- lowing were Ed. and Irene Lowrey. There Is a small girl in the two-act. She Is rather cute and first appears as a boy. later changing to a soubret drees. Considerable talk and business are of her site. Her rolce Is almoet as small as she Is. The fellow does a bit of eccentric acrobatic dancing at the ending as his best contribution. There should be the possibilities of a regular act with the girl, but Just now the Lowreys axe small time The Farrell-Taylor Trio now ha^a good-looking big blonde woman in it, who plays the clarinet. She plays It too long'the first time and the act Is too lengthy, running almost 30 minutes. It brings some laughs In the parlor set The opening In "one" Is time wasted excepting to work into the parlor. It's the former Farrell- Taylor turn somewhat revised and should be brought down to not orer 20 minutes. The Three Musketeers were No. 4 and could hare been a couple of numbers further down. The act has the thinnest man on the stage outside a museum. He Is thinner than Charles Seamon. The thin one's arms are but sug- gestions of them and his legs not< much wider. In the opening number he gets cmu- edy from his slse. again also later when all the three boys change to other clothes, one to woman's dress. The "woman" when first appearing In the gown and hat seems to be made up seriously, but he sings In bis loudest baritone rolce and It sounds funny. The other two boys In erenlng dress Join him. The. finishing portion carried them orer very big at the Columbia. It Is a very entertain- ing act of the three-boy kind. Bob O'Copnor and Co. played their sketch. "Four Times a Tear." .wherein a fiy young fellow from the city gets the best of a coun- try sklnfiint. to aid the lonesome alrl whom he marries in the end. This may nave been the first sketch of Its kind on small time, but there have been many since. It pleases a small time audience. Next were Jenkins and Covert, with the men doing most of the talk- ing, besides drowning out the girl with hi* >orc*?-wuv^u" iftie H«oic«. Tbetft ih tKff TTjucfi to the turn. It might have fared better earlier. The James C. Morton act has two women la it who look well, especially the woman playing opposite Mr. Morton. It*s a eonflom-' eration of all tbe acts. Morton has been Identi- fied with and a great deal of the comedy is sure fire, with Moriofi working rery^ hadl throughout the turn. o'lKe.