Variety (March 1917)

SHOW REVIEWS 15 MIDNIGHT MAIDENS. ••Th« Mldnlf ht Maidens," with Billy Barry and Helen Byron leading the cast, have a ??!I'l*l*l ■ii^«.."?^?J5^ SwMtj.'' at thn ..Colum- bia ihiii week, with a lively Anish to a ahow which had been rather draggy in apota. , °. the flret half Grace King'a specialty, playing the 'cello with vocal accompaniment, waa a pretty feature, although at times she sang a little out of key. Miss Byron led an Hawaiian dance, in which tights under the graas sairts seemed out of place to those who iKnow the real dance. There was nothing re- markable about thla number, but Bobby Will- iams and Irene blaney followed it with some dancing worth while. In the "Surprise a la Minute." led by Bthel Vernon, by far the most pulchritudinous mem- ber of the female contingent, the flag finish was a thing of beauty, but while it was prob- ably essential to a proper presentation of the idea it seemed rather out of place that Miss Vernon, pretty though she is, should be com- pelled to use the "Sur Spangled Banner" as a means of throwing into sharp relief her shapely figure. It may be all right to use It that way, but many people. Just at this Junc- ture, are a little averse to seeing It put tr. such a uss. Pani, a Javanese midget, was the laugh- producer in this number. Fern. Bigelow and Meehan did some gooa tumbling preceding the march which closed the half, although th» Chaplin counterfeit was far behind his com- panions in effectiveness. The olio showed Miss Vernon's dancing ability as the principal feature, and she danced her way into the good graces of the house In excellent style. In *he second half, the train shed number and tne Pullman car stuff took up time, and that was about all. The scream came in the "Night in a Foreign Vaudeville Theatre," which showed a stage, with boxes and a back curuin. The number called for some slap- stick, but the travestlee of Mark Antony's oration over the body of Caesar, a magician, a prima donna, a wrestler, and a soubret were well put over, and kept the house in a con- atant gale of laughter. It was a little raw In places, and the pie incident reminded one of Chaplin's favorite stunt, but It pleased the audience, and that is what burlesque, as well as other forms of theatrical entertainment, is for. It might also be mentioned the closing number of the nrst half, a military march, had the girls clothed in the scarlet ooata of Britiah Qrenadle-s, the lower half of i^e cos- tume .belnv Scotch kilts. Again the tights and tie question "If the girls are going to wear kllu. why not make the costume cor- rect?" Bare knees may not be an entertain- ment, but some things, even in burlesque^ are due to the eternal fitness of things. PALACE. All of tha real big hiu of the Palace bill this %v^B. we^e bunched in the second half, composed of Rock and White. Bert Baker and Co.. and Jack Wilson and Co. These three acts, appearing in the order named, had the audience applauding all the time, the two earlier numbers completely stopping the show. The first half opened stroug with The Gladia- tors, with their rather unusual feats of strength. The next two turns let the speed down considerably, but the interest was r*> vived with Dorothy Toye. next to cIosiDg the intermission, and Adelaide and Hughes, who finished up the early section. ' Sylvia Young and Jack Waldron (New Acts) were the second act of the bill. The turn is not Just what might be expected uu a Palace program, but still good enough for a similar spot on the majority of shows at other houses. The team managed to eke out three bows by walking in on the last one to light applause. The audience was walking in on them, and that may account for the rather light expression of approval accorded them. "The Models Abroad," with James B. Car- son featured, were third. The act haa not the necessary punch and is rery llghtweighted when one considers there are 13 people In it. It was probably placed "No. 8" to get every- thing possible out of it. Dorothy Toye offered four nrogramed num- bers to Bufflclc&t applau to have uer sing an encore. She has a repertoire framed Just right for vaudeville, the lighter numbers win- ning instant favor. Adelaide and Hughes (held over), assisted by a company billed as 15. but In reality looking like six from the front of the house, were strong favorites. Opening the last half Rock and White re- ceived a tremendous ovation. Six little en- core bits were exacted from the duo. and then when they tried to "leave 'em laughing" the applause stopped the show. Incidentally the laughing hit came In the next to closing spot and was furnished by Bert Baker and Co. Seldom, if ever, has sucfh hearty laughter been hesrd at the Palace. It would be putting it mildly to say the act was a shriek from start to finish. Jack Wilson, assisted by Frank Hurst and Dolores Swarez, closed the bill. The comedian was in his usual form, but did not have the audience with him until fully a minute after the opening. Miss Swarez wears clothes won- derfully well and sings rather prettily. She Is a big girl and a corking looker. "Patria^* closed. Fred. COLONIAL The retirement of Lou Hsltz (Pc-^-a's Joy 3^»y ^ -frum the iroTonldl pfOgrtur gtVfe stlll an- other singing specialty to the vocally top-heavy bill, but the reconstructed lay-out eventually balanced itself Into a reasonably good enter- tainment, and with Just one more comedy act added, the abundance of song might have passed unnoticed. Holtx left a vacancy in the No. 4 spot, bringing Ashley and Allman up to that position, with the added starter. Bmmm Stephens, placed at the top of the seo- ond MctioB. Miss Stephens more than satisfied with a repertoire of appropriate numbers, all well rendered from behind one of those Irre- Hl4tible ' sAilIea of hers that Uitly Yadiate ' personality. Mlas Stephens is new to eastern vaudeville, good looking and carrying ohe of those sure-fire delivery styles that can hardly miss. The position was somewhat of a handi- cap, but this was quickly overcome once she launched Into the heart of her routine. With an even break In drcumstanees. Miss Stephens will get by, but she seems better suited for a spot in the first division of a big time pro- gram. Robbie Oordone opened the bill with her series of poses, Miss Gordoqe offering one of the more pretentious turns of this particular specie. The rapid changes in costume and setting mark a feature of tha vehicle, but Miss Gordofis could Improre her subjects over those shown Monday night. With her unlimited repertoire of pictures she might pick a better list than those offered at pres- ent. She has ahown a better list before. Scarploff and Varrara were second, with the former, a youthful Russisn tenor, offer- ing several numbers In English and Italian. This lad Bounds a trifle flat In Bngliah bal- lads, but bis operatic renditions brought out the extreme points of his well-trained voice. The pianist soloed to a hit and at the con- clusion of the turn the boys had managed to mark a good score. The Four Readings were next, the position -speaking well for their ability. The Readings suggest the Bards to some degree, but they have a routine of their own. ahowlag several stunts midway In the turn that might be featured by a less capable quartet. The set. dressing and general construction of the vehicle is a bit novel and away from ths cbnventlonal. Ashley and Allman gave the show Its first genuine touch of comedy and tlieir welcome was erlflenced by the applause returns. Good double acts of this calibre are decidedly scarce. They have an idea and they team ex- cellently In the rendition of some bright dla- loKue that eked a aolld laugh at erery Indl- Tldual point. The singing, of course, is ths feature with Allman's tenor voice and Irish numbers paving the way to a sure hit. Ash- ley's comedy songs touched home si^d the pair found It rather easy going throuichout. It's a good oomblnatlen with a good vehicle and one . that should keep continually busy. Sophie Tucker and her syncopated musical assistants, shsring the headline honors with Alexander Carlisle and Co. (New Acts) closed the first portion of the bill, and sewed up the honors of that division with Tittle or no com- petition. The first to show a sign of progres- slveneas In her psrtlculsr field. Sophie Tucker has built up a corking good vehicle to sunport her unique and simost Incomparable style of work and with her previous accomplishments w<»ll establlshf^d throughout the east, her pres- ent turn should please snyone with a taste for good entertainment. The ensemble number utilised for the first cliange of costume Is a bit ancient for New York, but with her ex- tensive supply of fflmllar songs, this rsn be easily replaced without any embarrassment or handicap. Tife blv aong hits of the outfit are probably called "Oh Pana" and "Strutters' Rnll." the latter a number that suggests "Wallrin' the Dos." but sounds much better. It will bear watching. After Miss Stevens hsd opened intermis- sion and the Carlisle sketch had come and gone. Johnny Dooley and Tvette Ruael, dos- ing the vsudevllle section and precedfns "Pa- trla," copped first prise In all dlvHIona. Dooley has added two new "bits" to the turn In the St. Denis travesty and the Hawaiian number and this alven the comedy section a wonderful lift. Miss Rugel. In excellent voice, after the long line of ballads and light num- bers, marked a perfect score with her two bsllsds and what Dooley didn't do with his comedy (for which that audience craved) can't be Imagined. They were well placed, and with an opportunity to exhibit their genu- ine merit, they made good without half trying. Wynn. ORPHEUM. With Its headline honors divided three ways between Brire and King, the Four Marx Brothers, and Belle Baker, the Orpheum had one of Its most entertaining bills of the season this week. It Is a blah-class prowam, the entire show being devoid of anything of an acrobatic or animal nature. It Is present day big thne yaudevllle at Its best. Mazle King, with a dancing routine fashion- ed In the best of style, opened the show. It was decidedly early for an act of this caliber, but the returns were forthcoralnjr. E. B. Marlnl has replaced Ted Doner as Miss King's partner and, although not as finished a dancer as his predecessor, the value of the act Is not affected through the excellent work of Miss King. His opening costume Is evidently the same as worn by Doner, who was somewhat taller, the eTcess In material being noticeable. Lewis and White, two girls, have gotten away from the stereotyped sister-act Idea. They rely mostly on exclusive numbers which are handled In good style. The novel bit Is that all numbers sre doubled, the girls getting sweet harmony, which Is undoubtedly their reason for refraining from solo work. The dreflslng is the only objectionable point. The first Jazz Band music the homefolks of Brooklyn have heard was furnished bv Ralph rM)nh^r'a ! i>]c»n*'»»n''f Tq»> . "H .r'»"oi9P»«r. ''np- tingent, vAo Icamecjlatcly put tnelr turn In the hit column when the Jazz music was In- troduced. The colored band used one number In this fashion whirh fairly set the audience wild. They could have done more to equally good returns. The band work and dancing hold this aggregation up nicely. Stuart Barnes with a well-framed song and talk routine, furnished one of the laughing hlta of the evening. Barnes is using a "Hard- boiled Bgg" number for his opening, which ia sure of good comedy returns. His "boob" tinish is aa atrong aa ever. Siisbb^ai SYic'taau'CdkHes^Kihi^. the fl^rsl* of the three headllners to appear, closed the first half. The combination ia one of the beat in the aong and dance divialon that vaude- ville can boaat of today. Their Hawaiian song proved one of their best double num- bers, with "Oh. Johnnie" (with a great lyric) used by Miss brice. doing very big. A medley of former successes put them in the hit col- umn without a doubt. Harry Cooper opened after intermission with his "Mall Carrier" skit, the same aa for oome time. The Four Marx Brothers in "At Home," second after intermission, scored round after round of laugha with applauae in abundanoa being awarded the several apeclaltlea. The individual hit was made by Arthur Jiarx, who handlea the bulk of the comedy. The audi- ence roared continually at his antlca. The ether boya alao gave good accounts of them- selves. In the female contingent Margaret Francisco waa consplcuoua on tne atrength of her dancing which waa eaaily one of the act's features. Belle Baker closed the vaudeville portion of the ahow. She la using practically the same character numbera aa belore with one or two new popular numbera. The aingle had littla trouble in putting over a aatiafactory hit. * The eighth epiaoda of the Mrs. Vernon CasUe aerial, "Patria," displayed litUe to commend, it contalna acme fair fire acenea, but la not substantial enough to hold the in- terest. Walkouta were numeroua during its ahowing. RIVERSIDE. A rather ungAU><fuctury bill at th« Riverside this week, undoubtedly due to the fact that the entire second half 'is taken up by Ger- trude Hoffmann and her troupe of untrained chorus maidens. It is slgnlncant that wlien the Hoffmann card was put out on both sides of the stage there was not a single hand to applaud. The entire act, consuming nearly an hour, created the general Impression of un- tidiness, harta of it w^re good, the whole affair not blending and seemingly not fully rehearsed. Miss HoOmann is a dancer, if anything, and hence does the "Spring Bong" prettily. Even if it is old, it is worth giving it some attention. For instance, the cord used to carry the swing off should be darkened and not so visible from the rear of the house, in that scene the girl with the bow and arrow has such stout limbs as to detract from the picture. Speaking about such things. Miss H. has taken on a bit of flesh, which adds to her comeliness. The act flopped woefully whenever the girls attempted to vocalize. Some are dancers, but others appeared to be worse than amateurs. As matters progressed, it looked as if the audience would be spared the inevitable Imitations; but no. Just before the diving the star came before the drop and announced that something had happened back stage and ahe would while away the time by a few Imi- tations. She asked the audience to mention the actors to be impersonated, whereupon one wag yelled "Abie Kabibbie" and another "Ca- ruso." So she gave Eddie Foy. Oeorgie Cohan, Jack Norworth. Eddie Leonard and Housa, followed by her trap drumming stunt in the pit. Then came the tank bit, which consisted of the girls falling and Jumping into it, culminating with the throwing of the fat stage carpenter into the water. Miss Hoffmann didn't participate in this portion of the "en- tertainment" other than to bdW several times when it was completed. The first act following the Paths Weekly is Loyal's Dogs, with a very fast rotitlne. The btar, "Toque," is an exceptionally bright ca- nine, who looks at his master at the conclu- sion of the act as if to say "Didn't I do well?" Bernard and Janis, two youths who were at the Palace last week, did very nicely with a piano and volln specialty They play with feeling and expresion, for their age. Someone should invent a -'^hfrvf* for "flying" a piano, as it Invariabl causes a stage wait before and " ' act In "one." '^ ' Melroae followed. la remarkable how much comedy entertainment he can get out of ap- parently nothing, leading up to his table rocking trick. Jamea J. Corbett told a few stories of his prize ring experiences and was followed by Robert T. Haines and Co., In Oliver White's sketch. "Enter a Stranger." There Is gener- ally something lacking In all the White play- lets. He appears to be constantly straining for the unusual, and In so doing he doesn't create characters true to life—or, at least, true to stage life. Invariably he aims to sur- prise his audiences at the flnlah. That's all right once In a while, but as a rule they like to be let Into the plot, even If the characters on the stage are not. Mr. Haines' supporting company isn't the best. The clean-up of the bill Is Dyer and Faye, who scored the strongest kind of a comedy hit with their nonsensical chatter and crossfire. Jolo. much to the house, for they liked him ; even his red-flre speech to close followioK a red* taiion be did almost as badly, and then came "A Soldier's Wife' (New Acts), a aketch O'Connor and Dixon were next to closing, with ' the Gillette Trio the concludlns turn. O'Connor and Dixon are playing "Hired and Fired." O'Connor and somebody else formerly played this or some other skit, but the pres- ent two-combination is new around here. The act opens with one of the boys, the coineuian. doing the Edna Aug scrub woman (as a man), then the Flanaean and Edwards' elusive soap, with the Mclntyre and Heath palm-reading gag about the Iceman next (made mind-reading in this act and the cashing of tue check for 0O,u(X) kisses omitted), after which there ia some step-ladder business suggesting Louis Simon and m^ny others, together with the straight man at this time talking In the rapid-flre Van Hoven delivery, while follow- ing was the goat without a nose, somewhat revised. This hadn't consumed over three min- nutes and. without any especial deaire to chance seeing the rest of vaudeville in the remainder of the turn, the balance of the act uas lost. As the elevator shot downward the house could still be heard laughing, which suggests O'Connor and Dixon have pieced to* gether something the small time llkea. The show ooened with Sheppard and Ott (New Acts), a mixed two-act of very ordinary calibre, with LaMont and Wright, ths t#a girls who play harmonicas, aecond. They did nicely and can stand better than the No. 2 spot on the smitli time. Aibou» every one ol the regulars secure the same Imprssslon \4 this turn at first sight, that the girls would become a corking sister act with proper di- rection, provided uf course they can handle material which they m&v bo aoie to do but . don't seem to have any kncf.\>^y^ thems«^lvas or they would never use "Mocking Bird" on the muuih organs In preference to a rag. Ncr would they close with tbei.^ extromely weak cake walk. It's a thousand-dollar act at the opening, and a 80-cent one at the finish, JU4t now. Next were the Three Melvln Brothers in acrobatics well executed, although they missed the spring board trick twice, the first tlma for a stall and the second on the leveL It seemed, as they didn't go back to it. Tha Deviins must still put more showmanship In- to the turn. They have a good routine, though familiar, and It may have looked bet- ter on the downstairs stage than it did on the roof. Wright and Davia held the No. 4 position, another mixed two-act In a skit called "The Love Ii.surance Agent," the dif* ference between this turn and the opening one being about the same relatively aa their proisram spots would Indicate. There are many two-acts on the small time, so they can't ail be good, but the mysterious part is where they come from ana wuy. The reaaon of their being there seems quits obvious. The matter of booking "The New Producer" for the small time, with its 10 people in operatic selections, appears to bring up a point for consideration. This act played the big time, perhaps with a few more people, but it is no more valuable on small tlm% not so much so, and although probably cCat- ing $500 at the American, the same result could be obtained by a Chirry Dirry Bee trio for a hundred and a quarter. And after that neither is necessary on small time, for small time doesn't make the bluff about class music big time always has. So "The New Producer," a very poorly- constructed singing act, taken from any angle, means nothing to small time, that act or oth- ers of Its kind. A girl turn for the aama money would be in immensely more favor or tlie same money spread over the bill would be to better advantage. Aa an act thla alng- ing turn is very tiresome, made more ao by the dialog, and it was the same on the big time. They are all tiresome, and always will be until the managers realize if their audi- ences want to hear class sinjilng of this sort tnev will seek the baiconlA of the opera tiouses the same as the wop barbers do who are really Interested and know music. Bime. AMERICAN ROOF. The American Roof bill tbe first half con- tained little of merit, althouf'h It may have been satisfying to the clientele that gath- ered In some quantity Tuesday evening, but .w).»a^Jhor to wo, t^e »how., Q'^thn. M»x I-itvder romic re.H'T .:k^i«lne it Is a nu'^Rtlon. since tho program held no pronounced drawing card. The first holf was verv light and grew llphter as it proRresned. The feature of the bill, "The New Producer," closed that sec- tion. In the second part was Tonimy Ray (New Acts), hailed as "The Slnftlng Fireman of tho Lusltanla," which appeared to mean CITY. Only a fair small-time show on tap at the City during the first half. There wasn't a single punch In either a singing or a comedy sense anywhere on the program. The fea- ture was the appearance of Owen McOlyney In bin protean version of a scene from "Ol- iver Twist." Fair acu that will get away on small time ecattered here and tnere. but a booker bunching them will get himself into trouble. The usual eight acts, with Jimmy Flynn singing three popular numbers, was an added starter Tuesday night. Also the Film Weekly, a five-reel Pathe-Thanhouaer feature entitled "Her Life and His," and views of the Inauguration of President Wilson. Monday. Charles and Ada Muller with hoop rolling and Juggling were a fi Ir opening turn. Vic Stone and Charles Clear (New Acts) got over on the strength of one number In the second spot. The name may Le assumed. Hazel Haa- lem and Co. (New Act.) prove a likable of- fering. Jlmmv Flynn then sang. The news weekly and the Inauguration pictures split the bill after the first four turns. Not much enthusiasm for either. Kane and Farber (New Acts) filled In nice- ly. Crelghton, Belmont and Creighton with their "Mudtown Minstrels" fell short on laughs usually their lot because the dlaloa failed to rr^uah- 'bos'!?. in .♦;.^«% r«j(ur ..b'^lf ^nf .*h% .houw Mr MrGlvn*?y ir«o htioni^ on applause, his rapid changes bringing msny exclamations of surprise. Meeker and Camnbell with material that (s now quite old sarnered a few laughs, but in the main w(>re rather a weak turn for next to rloRlnR. Wiley and Smith r New Acts) fin* Ished the bill. This name may also be a** sumed. Fred.