Variety (September 1917)

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""J '■; BURLE.SQUE 19 UBERTT GIRLS. While thla Drew A Campbell production at the Columbia this week will probably leare a ^ uttltfactory Impreaelon with the aTorage elr- M^ cult audience, a teohnlcaK rerlew of the per- formanoe dlsoloeea innumerable opportuntlee the produeert haye failed to derelop. Par- tlcularlf In the flrat part Is thla neglect ap- parent, the oomedy returns running at a low 1^ _ ebb throughout thla entire section. Thla la -^^ solely the fault of the book material, for the roster of prlnclpala carrlea a group of bur- lesque talent that runs second to rery few on the wheel. ^ . m ^ The story la Intact, too much ao In fact, the author aacrlfldng many raluable mo- ments to explanatory dialog. The theme deals with a^-profeasor who la acheduled to make an addresa before a claaa of aeminary pupils. The atralght man (Jamea J. Collins) IDrocures the comedian (Jack Conwfiy) to Im- personate the missing professor, and the suc- ceeding action revolTes around his efforts to continue the dupe. _ _. First, let la be recorded that Colllna la fully entitled to an equal share of whatever honors this production attains. Well pro- portioned in physique, good looking, neat and with a very likable personality, Colllna light- ens the "straight" role and procures laughs that would appear decidedly "dry" In the hands of a leas capable Individual. He plays his role naturally, never straining for re- sults and never "crowda." Working oppo- site Mr. Conway during the greater portion of the ahow, he "feeda" the comic ezcel- len^^T- ....-., Conway aa an Irish comedian has few if any equals. He givea an Interpretation of the type that should never miss fire, for Conway's Celt in true to life. His dialog is but a brogue, his make-up carrylig nothing but facial expressions. But Conway, once conspicuous for his stage morals, has appar- ently overcome the scruples he personally cherished (and often deservedly boasted of), and either for lack of proper dialog or through the natural process of burlesque environment Is flirting with the risque. Sev- eral of his speeches, probably considered "double entendre" by the few, will appeal to the many as strictly suggestive. Mr. Con- way doesn't need this type of dialog to score his laughs. And he will never maintain his established burlesque standing (hitherto the envy of many less capable competitors) through this method. Mr. Conway should steadfastly refrain from anything border- ing on the marginal line of cleanllnesa in both dialog and action, for he is, or was, one of the few burleque principals characterizing the witty Irishman without the aid of such tools. He scored many big laughs, but he deserves little or no credit for whatever cor- ralled with the lines in question. In this respect a remarkable contrast was provided by the department of his "straight" man. Mr. Collins was clean, noticeably clean in every move and speech, and Mr. Collins, handicapped as all "straight" men naturally are, climbed right up to a parallel with the principal comedian on gross returns. Another principal who stood out in the line was (Miss) Barry Melton. Tall and grace- ful, she easily copped the singing honors through a style of delivery that fairly radi- ates personality. She suggests Rae Samuels in a manner, specializing in light "rag" num- bers, and working much on the clean cut style of Miss Samuels. She has no voice to boast of, but her enunciation is perfect and she gets that essential light and shade into her melodies that can best be described an "cute." This girl looks new to burlesque, at least she lacks the roughness one sees so often. She should have provided a specialty and Judging by her Individual songs It would have been welcome. Michael Puglia handled a comedy role, gathering a number of laughs, but Mr. Puglia also dipped into the forbidden tone for his best score. He too seems capable in the role selected (Italian) but he displayed nothing to Judgo by, for laughs landed on questionable dialog will never be accepted as a criterion for the principal's ability, at least never by the writer. Hilda Oiles Is the soubret. fltlniature In size, but possesHing the required "pep" to get her numbers over. Patricia Baker might be termed the engenue, singing nicely at times and aiding in the general picture. May Pen- man is an asset to the troupe, scoring high In appearance. In a quartet number with Frank Martin, Puglia and Edward Grlffln. Miss Penman added to her honors, helping the harmony to some extent. Martin and QrifDn. also Brad Sutton held down supporting principal roles satiafactory, Mr. GrifDn characterizing the King of a pirate isle in good shape. The numbers are passable and the produc- tion is of the average strength in all depart- ments, the chorus running high on appear- ance and low on dancing ability and voice, the harmony especially being off. The first half hour of the show needs some "life," for in this section much time la lost unraveling the theme and the songs selected are of a slow metre. The "Southern Girl" number should follow the opening chorus. It earned the first encore of the evening, and led by Miss Melton it should do likewise under any conditions. The second half in well saturated with comedy, and this in a large way eradi- cated the monotony registered during the opener. On the whole the show is paRnable, JuHt that and nothing more, although some rearranging and the addition of some more comedy situ- ations could be easily applied with beneficial results. Wyf^n. INNOCENT MAIDS. A Tom Dlnklna ahow en the Amerioan wheel at the Star, Brooklyn, thla week. Johnnie Jeaa la featured. The performanoe la two pleoea, divided by an olio. Tha opener la "The Ellxer of Love," and the bar- leaque "General Blnf of the U. 8. A.," both written by Al Bruce, who playa In eaeh. It may be just aa well to touch npon tha brlghteat thing In "The Innocent Malda"—lU ohorua. 'TIa true, regardleaa of how Btranga It aounda. Here la a chorua of 18 flrla that need not hang Ita head, for looka or work. In the aeoond number of the erenlng, "Sweet Hawaiian Babiea." the glrla parade throuch the orcheetra alalea. They look food at anoh abort range. They look food moatly becanaa they are moatly youthful. And when working on the atage, in numbera, they work aaally, but hard. In fact a blonde chorlater on tha end of the aecond line la allowed to go too far In her gyratlona. If permlaalon haa been given her for It, ahe should not be held to the second line, for size, alignment or any- thing elae. In one number ahe la ao active all the attention la attracted to her, taking away from the unison of the other good work- ers around her. This chorua girl aelf-fea- turlng la customarily discovered In laiy. Ill- staged group. It aeems all the stranger In thla collection. Perhapa the chorua would not loom up ao brightly, although their looka and neat dreaa- ing (running to tights) would ever be cer- tain of marking them, as a chorua. If the re- mainder of the performance were anything to rave over. It is not. at least In the flrat part and olio. The Star over the bridge, near the navy yard, is drawing its full quota of aallora nowadays, so the 75-cent Orchestra aeata have been shoved back nearly to the street door. The sailors liked this show. If burlesque will draw an audience largely composed of aoldlera and sailors thla aeason, which aeema poaalble, burlesque shows that are not will think they are. Among the boys In the service are any number, perhapa the majority, from towna where burlesque has not been a steady fix- ture for years. That is one reason. The other other is the boys want to be amuaed and will laugh more quickly when on leave than in ordinary times, having, of course. In bur- lesque the advantage of seeing burleaquob In- clusive of the girls—when they are girls. Mr. Jess was well thought of at the Star Tuest^ay nit.ht. His standard burlesque model is the Irishman, his own design, and always modern. In this performance Mr. Jeaa growa angry easily, and as easily strips hfmaelf of bis coat and hat. looking for trouble. That's a laugh each time. In the opener Mr. Jess was certain of at leaat 15 laugha, he hav- ing divested himself of his outer clothing that often. Mr. Bruce wrote in a nice role for hlmaelf in the first part, but dressed it badly. In character, as a sort of con man who looked like a tramp. Mr. Bruce's make-up would indicate. If he remained silent, that he was a Hebrew comedian, but Harry Harvey la the Hebrew of the cast, not funny at any time, even when singing parodies on old time pop songs in the olio, aa an act. There Mr. Har- vey rec'tcd about Abraham Lincoln. It was sure because of the service crowd present, but it was no riot of applause. Still Harvey fills in. Stephen Paul is the straight with little to do. Mr. Bruce apparently having grabbed off that role for himself aa well, and there la Eddie Austin in a minor role in the opener, later doing a two-act, dancing, with Kitty Gavin (Austin and Gavin). The program calls the variety section the "Grand Challenge Olio." Just what the challenge Is should be explained to the audience. The other olio turn was Mile. Odette, with three girls, posing. The poseurs were lightly tlgured. and accordingly received constant at- tention through their union suited forms, but the "pictures" held nothing of mark. They were introduced each time by Mabel Howard. one of the principal women (who likely "stepped out of her character" to do It. al- though she said nothing about that). When first mentioning the posings, Miss Howard. explaining they were from ancient paintings and statues, the originals of which were in Amsterdam. Holland, Paris or Vienna, con- cluded with. "So let the feast of the eye be unconfined." She could say, "So let the feast of the eye be unconfirmed," but it makes lit- tle difference, excepting Henrietta Harrison will probably be around next week with a hol- ler about that "unconfined." Hope Henrietta won^t forget to say that if some of the bur- lefique people were as original with their shows as they often are with language, ihere would be no theatre large enough to hold the crowds. The leading woman seems to be Billie Davis. At least she leads more numbera than the others. Miss Davis does it well enough, in her own way, but has allowed herself to omit an Eat and Grow Thin diet that aeema Just aching to fasten itself upon her. She could and should use it for the rest of the season. If Mr. Bruce wrote the story of the first part, the comedy was resurrected from mem- ory. There is the glass of beer drawn through a hose, once the acknowledged comedy device of a burlesque comedian, and at the finale uf the first part is a suffragette address by three of the principal women, each in turn Kivon a drink by Mr. Jess, to wean them of their horror of men. It's not cleverly well done and receives a Jolt from repetition. And yet "The Innocent Maids" will find a welcome on the American Wheel, no doubt Mr. Jess has been popular in burlesque for years, his is not a bad company at all, anO the chorus sends it above the average of the SEPT. MORNING GLORIES, INC Jnat what tha Idea of that *ano.'* tagged onto the tltla of thla ahow meana la not at all hard to dlacoT«r. The flrat haiard at random la that It atanda for "Incapable," but an after thonght makea one believe that It la really meant to drive home the fact to tha audience that tha ahow la Incarabla. The anawer la that a number of thoae In the audi- ence at the Olympic walked out on the troupe Tueaday night, and that ahould be anawer enough to thoaa who have the ahow In charge. It la a bit and number ahow with eight prlnclpala, a male quartet, 10 chorua glrla, and an 61lo of four acta. The latter la com- poaed of two acta out the ahow and two tuma, either eapeclally ehgaged for the Olympic date or carried to atrengthen the show. In either case the olio la not what It might be. The novelty of glrla In atrip tfghta la worn out early when the chorua for the greater part of the numbera are In tlghta anyway, and aa for the balance It la all men. Burleaque audlencea do not want men, and in thla ahow tha men work overtime. And aa for rough atufll. To an old Broad- way'rounder who haa aurvlved "The Queen of the Moulin Rouge," "The Girl with the Whooping Cough," and even "Lombardl, Ltd.," thla ahow gave him a chill. All that la needed la to twck the wagon up (no, not the patrol). In thla caae the garbage truck will do, and there will be enough d}rt carted out to force the man to make a aec«md trip, and dirt of a kind that waa ao blaUnUy fllthy It tired even tha Fourteenth atreetera. Three of tha eight prlnclpala are featured In the billing. They are Bert Bertrand, He- brew comedian; Norma Bell, prima donna, and Julea Jaooba, doing a German, very much tamed down. Dalay Mayfalr la the aoubret, who never leta the audience forget ahe la poaaeaaed of an exceedingly plump pair of nether llmba, and every ao often, for fear thoee In front will fall to take notice, ahe makea a apeclal attempt to throw one or the other of them over the footllghta. George "Red" Martin la the atralght man, working aa a "con" during the flrat part, while Bvle Clark haa a bit to play. The chorua la an Incomparable collection of ladlea poa a eaaed of knock kneea and bowed llmba. There la one thing that they do have and that la Individuality, for each one worka irregardleaa of what any other girl on the stage la doing. Aa to coatumlng, the dreaa- ing rune moatly to varl-oolored romper effecta worn over pink tlghta. with here and there a long akirt gown. Of the 16 glrla flve work aa ponlea, although they are all big enough to be ahow glrla, and the balance of ten form the rear rank. The ahow la given In two aectlona, with the olio opening up the aecond half. The opener Is entitled "The Plumber and All Aboard," in which there are ten numbera, aome pro- gramed being dropped and aome new numbera added, of the latter one that waa awltched from the aecond aeotion of the ahow waa "Joan of Arc." Note to Wlnalow: They apell it "Ark" on thla program.) "Maaon and Dixon Line" waa really the only new Interpola- tion. The Miaaea Bell and Mayfillr carry all of the numbera with the exception of "They Go Wild Over Me," handled by Bert Bertrand, and one by George Martin. Mlaa Bell alnga flve aonga and Mlaa Mayfalr three. The cloalng bur- leaque la called "A Natural Crazy Quilt," a combination of 'The Mikado," "Pinafore" and Ed. Wynn'a former act, 'The Jeater." The latter la uaed aa the closing comedy bit for -the show. It Is quite evident the management la re- lying on the production end of the last half of the ahow to carry It. They have an effect supposed to show the sinking of an ocean liner in midocean after It haa been torpe- doed. Evidently the llghta at tha Olympic did not work aa they ahould have, for one could hardly aee what waa suppooedly hap- pening on the stage. \ Of the women Norma Bell carrlea oft the honora aa far aa dreasing la concerned, look- ing extremely dreasy In aeveral evening gowns, and pulling down the hit of the ahow in the opening acene of the doelng burlesquo with a patriotic number which ahe led in full length tlghta. The only oppoaltlon that she had. and that waa alight, waa In the flrat half of the show, where Evle Clark showed a couple of evening dreesea. The aoubret con- fined herself entirely to short dresses which fiared at the waist, and her only costume that was at all different waa a bridal gown at the moment prior to the final in the flrat part. During the ahow the quartet waa uaed from time to time to bolater up the enaemble num- bera where they managed fairly well, but when It came down to the olio section, or rather fllling In a acene in "one" In the sec- ond half they did an awful flop. This ahow must have a lot of flxlng before it is right for the American Wheel. Fred. (This Is the flnal week for the "September Morning Glorlee" on the American Wheel, ita franchiae having been revoked by the Circuit through the ahow having failed, after given sufficient time, to repair itself as ordered. That thia order waa Issued was unknown to the above reviewer, who not alone doesn't mad Variety after It la published, but never reads bis own copy after It is written.—Ed.) American attractions. Accordingly that chorus should draw business. If everything else in the show fails. At the Star, the opportunity for spice was sparingly taken advantage of. That is also something. Bime. DAVE MARION'S OWN SHOW. Tha Dava Marlon ahow la apparently atlU undergoing reoonatruotlon. tha routine am- ployad laaT weak at Mlaar'a Bronx theatre be- Inn entirely different from that programed, and while tha rearrangement may ahow an Improrament over tha prefvlona raanlng order, there la atlll opportunity for that able horlaiqaa man to aihlblt hla capahUltlea aa a ataga director. For aoma reaaon or other tha ahow lacka the aspaetad Marlon "punch." What comedy la oonulned In the two paru la acoeptabla. but tha raaulU of tha Marlon dlaclpllne. aa formerly aatabllahed, la lacking. It doean't carry tha flnlahing touchea that Marlon'a pro- ductlona of former aeaaona boaated of. Hla prlnclpala dlaplay a careleaaneea In dreeelng that, doea not aeem conalatent for the or- ganlftatlon with the Marlon title. And there aeema a "loooeneaa" prevailing In the general auga department of the chorua, L e.. It laoka the anap and grace one would azpadt of a Marlon troupow But unleea all preoedenu are shattered, these defecta will be eradicated be- fore long, for Marlon uaually leavea little room for adverae crltlolam when he plaoee hla flnal atamp of approval on a production. The current aeaaon'a piece la labeled "Ble- phanto," carrying one of thoae light themea about the aggrecatlon traveling to an laland of that title, the action accompanying the Journey comprlalng the ahow. A aerlea of apedaltlea are ataged during the perform- ance which enda with a patriotic enaemble number with the prlnclpala oharacterlalng the rulera of the Allied natlona. The apedaltlea really make up the ahow, there being but few comedy "blta" otherwlae. The first of the Hat Introducee 8. H. Dudley and a mule In "one," the prlnclpala In black- face with talk directed at tha animal. Tha altuatlon la funny, hut the dialog haa Uttla comedy value. Dudley acquitted hlmaelf well during the ahow, doing the comedy role op- poelte Marlon. A comedy acene ahowlng an apartment, houaa dBce In Which Dudley, Marlon and the aupportlng priudpala figured waa the beet of the llat. corralling wall earned laugha. Dudley alao ahone In a dining car acene, where aa the colored cook and wnltM* he manipulated many laugha from tha accom- panying altuationa. Charlee Raymond la the "atralght," loud, but alwaya working, and a good man for thla organlaatlon. Hla beat acena waa In "one" with Dudley wherein he ahared tha honora gathered from good talk. He looka well, slnga auflldentJy and otherwlae marked up a satiafactory acore. Nelne wataon la featured among the women, leading aeveral good numbera to the encore divlaion. Agsee Behler playa the lead with little to do, and Inea De Verdler oom- pletea the roeter of active ladlea. Koran and Burke, two dancera of the old school, chalked up a hit with their specialty, the men dlaplaylng rather aurprlaing agUlty conaldering their apparent age. Marlon waa hlmaelf, alwaya monopollaing the comedy acenea with hla natural atyle and scoring the real big hit of the evening with a medley of hla old time oompoaltlona. Hla patriotic number, "Tou, ToilT Tou," utilised for a finale at tha Intermlaalon period, earned an even half doaen curtalna, which apeaka well for that divlaion. The ahow carrlea unlimited poeslbllltlea. and with Marlon'a attention devoted to the reconatrudlon It can be aafely predicted It will eventually develop Into i^ big ahow, biit that attention will have to be applied, for be- yond Marlon'a name and preaenoe, the ahow beara Just now no relation to hla reputation. Wynn* NO SHOW FOR 14TH ST. So far no attraction has been se- lected to open the Fourteenth Street Theatre's annexation to the Interna- tional Circuit. For the present the house is offering 'The Italian Battle- front" (film) booked in by Jerome Rosenberg. Indications pointed to the first show being the new Eugenia Blair Company. NOTES. Skippar and Knatrup opened on the Loew Circuit this week. Tha Auditorium, Des Moines, has be- come a fight club. Sol Schwartz has quit the manage- ment of the Dyckman theatre and is now devoting his time to the Play- house, Mt. Vernon, playing pictures. Adolf Bolm has been signed for the Century and will direct the staging of the ballets for "Miss 1917" and also appear in the show. Tho (irat legitimate show to play Charleston, W. Va., at the Gcorjg^e O. Wcedon house was "There She Goes," Sept. 22, with the Al. H. Wilson com- pany to follow, both attractions play- ing at a dollar top. Weedon plays Triangle pictures when no legits are booked.