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SHOW REVIEWS 29 th# couple are becoming established by the flirtation route, that baa an extraordinary •umber of now and laugh llnoi for a two- act !n tble day Bomo of tba dialog that captaraa tba loudest laughs It a bit abrupt, to say tbo least, but fits In before tbe street scene and Is by tbe .way of naturalness. It Is tbe latter especially that drives tbe points In, besides tbe unexpectedness of tbe remarks. Miss Norman (or Is It Toney T) remains rather subdued at this Juncture, Mr. Toney (taking It for granted) handling the major portion early, but later Miss- Norman bursts forth surprisingly and not only evidences she Is a most capable "feeder" but denotes unmis- takably she Is a comedienne of no mean cali- bre, with a fetching style, and a contagious laugb. Their material, In song also, sounds specially written and it Is continuously well handled. Coupled with Mr. Toney's dancing, the turn could not fall. It's a surefire next- to-closing laugh. Mr. Toney, when announc- ing they 'will show some more steps," bringing forth a step-ladder upon the stage. Is doing an unoriginal bit, used before In vaudeville, though perhaps new to present goers. And the finish would gain more strength, whbn Miss Norman pushes Mr. Toney into the drop, if the slapping bit between tbem earlier were omitted. That Is something hard to Sve up, however, for it is a big laugh with em, and well enough done, but still It is shipping, which always leaves the audience to be considered. There are different sorts of audiences. Some may not believe In slaps. Most of the first half acts were new to New York. Another one that Was not is a sketch, "Mrs. Hitter Appears," a May Tully-Rosalie Muckenfuss production, of no vaudeville im- portance, although aimed for the comedy classification. The playlet starts off wltn some promise. It is of a husband becoming a captious critic for his wife's first stage ap- pearance in an amateur performance. Tbe scene occurs at home, after the evening show. The piece sags off early, drops way down In the centre and peters out toward the end- ing, but with one situation of laugh value throughout, although much of the retort dialog employed will be humor to the un- tutored. There has been a fault In the 'com- pany, more than one, starting with the bus- Sand, who should under any circumstances jo a flippant light juvenile. It Is now taken by the player of tbe role as a middle-aged man of sedate address and mien, who depends firstly upon the dlslog and secondly upon tbe delivery of ft Combined he secures certain laughs that might be highly Increased by a vaudeville comedlsn of experience. The wife's role Is made noisy and useless. There Is a bit of fun concealed here and there, but the total doesn't place It in the biggest time grade, nor were It recast with expensive J layers would the likely result be much dlf- erent. At best the sketch can only hope for ,the small big or big small time. There It may do, on the small time, certainly, al- though In the latter event, an Inferior cast must be calculated upon. The program was opened by Blnns and Bert, acrobats on the rings and some ground work, both In straight attire, which doesn't help them. There Is a comedy bit where the lighter man walks between the poles as the ring performer swings back and forth, nar- rowly missing him each time. The team should use character make-up of some sort. They are fitted for small time. Mabel Burke sang an animated 111. song that secured encores. It was "We're Going Over." a Joe Morris war number that hit the house right The picturlsatlon carried enough patriotic Inserts to start the audience applauding, and they kept It up, for Miss Burke, and also a male plant In a stage box who sang the chorus. Of the turns under New Acts, Watson and Clark, two girls (Lillian Watson, one of them), were No. 2 on the regular program, Jetting something. The Shrapnel Dodgers four men) will get along as they are, but seem to be missing a splendid opportunity to be distinctive Just now. Goldsmith and Lewis, with a musical act, cannot hope for big time (Goldsmith, formerly of Goldsmith and Roppe). Olga Kargan, sn operatic soprana, has a vaudeville future If she wishes to ad- Just herself to It, and Margaret Edwards, who closed the performance, In her way, has a very nice way In wha'tever she did. It wss the sort of a bill the Fifth Avenue won't get for another three months. Sime. JEFFERSON. The show at the Jefferson for the first half dragged Itself through eight acts, and the time taken up was two hours and a half. The> audi- ence sat there, waiting for something to happen, but the much expected didn't occur. All of the singing acts, except one, had good numbers In their routine, but were unable to do anything with them. There was no "pep," nor any of the "or Jazz" to the show, and at one time the house started kidding the acts. The lack of "pep" cannot be put on the or- chestra either, as they played the numbers well. If some of the acts would let the musicians cut loose on the rag numbers it would help a lot. After four acts the Pathe News earned the first real applause, with scenes of the boys down at Spartanburg. Ganglcr's Dogs opened the bill with noth- ing out of the ordinary. The man held up the routine by quite a bit of unnecessary talking to tbe dogs between "stunts." For no reason at all a woman stood on the stage, and her being there Is a mystery. Copeland and Jlnds followed, opening with "Oyer There," and getting very little on It. They've three good numbers, but can't do anything with 'em, probably due to the little fellow shouting too much. A dramatlo sketch, "The Surgeon," with Henry B. Dixie and three people, ran 18 minutes. Tbe cast Is very bad, especially the "blackmailer." Foster and Ferguson had a good spot to go out and do something, but failed to arouse any enthusiasm even If the girl did get flowers. They forced an encore, and did l7 Arkanaas," which got them a little. Froilna followed the "Weekly" and earned the second applause of the show on his finish, playing "Over there." The act would be much better If he put In some new numbers, as he can play the accordion but has nothing .to work with. "Mr. Chaser," a musical act, with a special set and six girls behind three principals, did fairly well, but the applause was half hearted. The act Is using a number from the present Winter Garden show written to the music of the song Sidney Phillips did In "The Show of Wonders" ("The Girl on the Square"). Chaser, an old man with a hankering after boose and "chickens," got a few laughs, while tbe two girls who sang "You Won My Heart" (an old song that hasn't been played much, but Is a corking danos number) got nothing with It. The act has a poor finish, which may be tbe reason for the scarcity of applause at the close. Weber and Billot started out as If they were going to be the laughing Jilt of the bill, but as soon as Weber got on tbe stage (start- ing from the orchestra) the act slowed right up. However they earned three of the five laughs sprinkled through the whole program, so that may mean something. Aldln and Kenney opened to a house that was on Its feet walking out, and by the time they finished there were very few left The Pathe serial, "The Seven Pearls," closed. 23D STREET. An eight-act show at the 23d Street the first half was much better vaudeville enter- tainment from an out and out vaudeville standpoint than the current bill at the Pal- ace. Certainly there weren't the "names'* the Palace has. but the 23d Street audience enjoyed their bill to a greater extent Tues- day night than did the Palace audience the night previous. It was a show of possibilities. At least three acts may be trimmed up and score on any big time bill. In all three cases there Is nothing lacking but showmanship. With this applied in the right direction there Is no doubt as to the future of these acts. Two s re not new, but the sketch. "Their Creed," presented by Msude Durand and Co., If and as soon as It Is wblped Into shape It Is go- ing to be one of the laughing hits of the big time. The show ran along like clockwork from the very opening, which was the act of Mile. Bertha In a series of poses In bronse, her reproduction of Liberty at the close bringing f;enerous applause. The act of Mayme Rssn- ngton, the second turn, has a fast Hawaiian opening with the picks clad aa natlvss. The present quintet with Miss Remington are fast workers, and the routine Is mostly noise and dancing, although one of the youngsters manages to put over "Go Wild Over Me" In great shape. The act scored on the strength of tbe stepping. Charles F. Atkinson (New Acts) baa a patriotic monolog consisting of a recitation of the historical tale of Capt Phillip Nolan, which was the foundation of Edward Bf or o tt Hale's story, 'The Man Without a Country." It is an appeal for red fire applause. Wsrd and Faye are presenting one of the acts referred to earlier. They nave a godtt routine, but there sre comedy possibilities that could be worked out which would place them In the very front rank of two men comedy with, dancing. They do deserve credit right now for having conceived a new walk off finish. The sketch followed. The Three Moriarlty Sisters (New Acts) have a neat little act Jack Marley was next to closing spot with his regular routine of talk, but It remained for the Five Kltamure Japs to pull down the applause hit of the show. They worked nine minutes, but won out with the audience. The third eplodo of "Tbe Retreat of tbe Germans" closed the show. CITY. The City played to capacity Tuesday night, with people standing two deep. The Anton- lans did fairly well with an aerial act. They opened In Pierrot costumes, doing a short dance and finishing with a neck swing. From that, they went to the rope, going through a nice routine and making a good opening turn. Greenly and Drayton did very well, due to their fast dance for a finish. Up to that time the boys hadn't gotten any returns. The slow dance they are doing might be left out ss It only tends to drag, or something might be substituted. "A Regular Business Man" (comedy sketch) has been playing around to a more or less extent and Is Just the same. It was at one time an. act of Douglas Fairbanks and Tom Wise, they passing It on. Tbe lawyer worked hard and deserved the laughs he got, the play- let doing nicely at tbe finish. Carrie Llllle opened In "two" and remained there for 14 minutes. Also the stage was dark after the first number, Miss Llllle work- ing entirely with a spot which seemed un- rccesofiT. Her scngs (VMini as If they bad been specailly written for her. Ben and Hazel Mann pleased the large audience with songs and patter. One number Mr. Mann did went very big, be having the orchestra work with him. They could have taken an encore but showed good Judgment In not returning. Le Malre and Gallager got a lot of laughs with their war sketch. They are using a number of good gags and getting them off fast The supposed ride of Le Malre going through the enemy's lines, described by Gal- lager on the stage, then having tbe former come In with, "How do yon put this saddle on?" Is still being used 'and always a big laugh. The act got applause after the cur- tain. Bva Shirley, assisted by Harry Thomas at the piano, sang five songs with two selec- tions by ths pianist mixed In. Miss Shirley changed her oostume onoe. Mr. Thomas played a number Felix Arnt turned out for the vic- tor, and his soond selection was a part of Kretsler* "Caprice," also "Allah's Holiday." A very good piano player, this boy, but run- ning through his numbers too quickly. Miss Shirley was very hard to hear In the centre of the bouse, and It Is doubtful If they could hear at all In the rear. While taking bows she posed with a ukelele until forcing an encore, then came back and sang "The Last Rose of Summer." Tbe uke wasn't used, at all. If Miss 8hlrley thinks people want to hear one at this late date, sbe has the wrong Idea. "The Phun Phlends" closed the show and only did fairly well. The turn doesn't move fast enough to hold an audience. Conse- Suently there were people walking out during tie aot Perhaps it's unfair to blame that on the skit however, as the show seemed to be a bit tiresome and dragged out by the time they arrived. "The PnTends" are carry- ing a special set (drug store) with six girls (who make three changes) and two men. There are no musical numbers to speak of ex- oept "Whose Heart Are Tou Breaking Now," done by two of the girls. They did very well with It One girl seems to be good enough to be- come a small time single with material, or work with a partner. 8he had the best voice for delivering a song of any on the bill. The comedian goes through all his stuff In the first Ave minutes. After that It is but repe- tition. The act can be fixed up a bit. The Italian war pictures that came In the middle of the performance have been put to- £ ether very badly. Some of the captions are ard to distinguish, and two or three times tbe film ran upside down. The photography Is poor In places, and there Is very little action, so it may be best that It Is run during the performance, rather than at the finish of it HARLEM OPERA HOUSE. The H. O. H. this week is* adver- tising a 29th Anniversary, with a spe- cial big time program. Anyone having read those signs before entering surely expected to see something unusual from an entertainment standpoint. They were not disappointed, for if ever the house held a show that ran along big time lines the first half bill was one. It was opposed by the new Loew thea- tre opening Monday. It was a task to properly set the run- ning order, since it held a number of two-acts, most running to singing and dancing. No connection was notice- able, and with all the expected confu- sion the show ran through in fast or- der, with the audience approving of the show, although a bit long. Long before show time standing room was the only thing obtainable, and the house was completely filled for the opening turn. Allen, Gifford and Barry (New Acts) were given that spot, and started the show away at a fast clip, followed by Rouble Sims, who kept their attention centered upon his comedy drawings. His final land- scape effect allowed him to depart well enough. Knight and Sawtelle kept up a run- ning line of talk that gained a laugh now and then, with a good portion running to the ad lib division. They enjoyed themselves as much as the audience, which was quite some. Their dancing also pleased. Baker and Rog- ers in tramp make-ups kept up the comedy, ana together with a ballad pulled down one of the biggest scores of the evening. Their talk contains a number of ratner old boys. Santi (New Acts) were followed by Skelly and Sauvin (New Acts), with Halligan and Sykes holding down the next spot in splendid style. If the audience didn't think the show was worth while up to their appearance, then Halligan made sure. He told them he thought it was better than the Alhambra. They thought he was right for they applauded. Their comedy skit was approved of by the entire house. Chief Caupolican was next-to-clos- incr, forced to follow a good deal of singing, which did not affect him. The Chief hit them from the start with a little talk, after which he sang a pop song. For a closer he offered "The Marsellaise," in French, which was greeted with an outburst that naturally spelled success insofar as his returns were concerned. Carlo Santo's Band closed the evening, and although they were beginning to become rather tired they nevertheless remained throughout the closing act. LAST HALF BILLS. Sept. 27 to 3a AMERICAN ROOF. Tbere hare been a number of different . - sons for tbe exceptionally heavy attendance on the Roof Friday night last week. It was something unusual at least And luckily the gathering was treated to an exceptionally good sbow for the Roof. Raymond and Csverly were again the head- liners, offering their former specialty that was rather risky since It carried a good deal of their familiar cross-fire German dialog. They nevertheless kept them In a laughing mood. They held down the next-to-oloelna position with Helolse Amoros and Obey (New Acts) doing exceedingly well In keeping them seated, closing. .57 gr f*. Trt0 . 1 N#W Aoto > •*•«•« the show with singing, doing well enough to start the •rental; ]n the proper direction. They were followed by Leonard and Ward, who gradually worked themselves to a proper standing. They frame up nicely as a comedy act for the smaller programs, but could further im- prove the act with a change In working. I-i,? 07 w > ou !i k ? rol !5 b,3r «* ln mor « lambs by working straight. The partner looks well In his present make-up and Is a splendid feeder, bu JL tar 5L u « 0 the<*onflietieo they safer. The Concertos (New Acts) preceded Bud and Nellie Helm, who kept the *hoViSortni nicely, and closed well enough to uphold their position. Adelaide Bell and Arnold Oraaer (New Acts) closed the first part ^^ ,^ f J er intermission Dale Wilson (New Acts), with Wlllard Hutchinson and Co. In Le 6 .p n ?ear ,I £e.p?? r!,lf ' ""^ pta ** "* 23D STREET. The vaudeville section of the bill at the 284 Street for the second half of last week com- prised eight acts, which were run off In less than two hours, a scant average of 15 min- utes to an act. One of them ran 2ft minutes but another only 7 minutes, and still another but ten. Penn Trio and Tarn O' Shanter Quar- tet, first two turns (New Acts). Elliott and Mora, with a special drcp, have a clever skit Tbey are supposed to be man and wife In a restaurant after the theatre, in evening clothes, having a neat domestlo quar- rel, having a neat domestic quarrel. The get-backs" are snappy and funny, but the pair are what Is known In the legit as "cue swallowera." By that Is msant they antlol- B a iL. the .."f e6d! ?« M wl , th *• *•£»* »«•» *• "feeding" Is fully delivered. This refers not only to actually projecting the reply, but ths getting ready for It so tbe audience can see It coming. Probably an over-anxiety to speed things up, but It's a mistake. Bell and Monte. and Kenny and Walsh (New Acts). Ed. Lee Wrothe and Co., In "The Janitor," have a very funny farcical sketch, with four people to feed the star. It Is screamingly funny and about as consistent as most farces. Halley and Noble, man and woman, sus- tained tbe next to closing snot In good shape. Jim Halley Is an excellent eccentric low come- dian and Is properly "fed" by Miss Noble, who signs a ballad with feeling. Mme. Cronln and Co., with a partially new routine for her black-art act. made a fitting closer. It has s clever toe dancer and tbe remainder of the aot is confined to the black art. Jolo. JEFFERSON. The last half show at the Jefferson fell a bit below the average, although luckily It was well arranged and the stronger turns were placed towards' closing. Ths sarly sec- tion was decidedly weak. But to the surprise of the rather light gathering, the bill gradu- ally picked up, and finally dosed with a bang. Elsie Whits. "The Plain Clothes Oirl" (New Acts), easily carried off top honors In the second half, and for a while threatened to completely tie up proceedings. "Lots and Lots" was next, and many laughable situ- ations were overlooked by the Jeffersonlaas, but on the whole the sketch garnered Its share of returns. The son still oontlnues to be as awkward as ever. Frank Terry pulled across nicely with his standard "Mr. Boose" num- ber, the best In his offsrlng. Terry could eliminate some of his talk for more material on that order. Even the recitation Is superior to anything he offers In the early portion. Dea Rose and Jazz Band (New Acts) closed the show. Lelgbton end Ward Bisters, O. C. Pslls and Co., Williams and Mitchell and Daniels and Moore (New Acts). A weekly pictorial preceded Daniels and Moore. FIFTH AVENUE. While It was admittedly true the War Song Content proved a strong drawing throughout the week the surfeiting of the bill with so many songs made It mighty hard for ths regular acta using songs to get the attention drslrffi. And It was true, too, tlint the ma- jority </ the acta, brvrr!./* two r.kfkhce, ie- penrted on flongn to help their average. The show rnn unuHually long and many walked out on the lait two acts. The bill ran to 11, and with a songfent running a close race with two loquacious sketches one can see (Continued on page 80.)