Variety (November 1917)

20 SHOW REVIEWS PALACE. P.vrrHlfliil vaudeville la •♦. *td ?eiaoa this M I'k.- There 1- rrt!re!y too much dancing, and one set of "hoofers" could have been dropped out of the bill without jarring Its equilibrium In the least but. allowing for the deluxe of lower-pedal activity and legman la the hill, especially the closing section, gave Immense aatlsfactlon. Interest was centered In the vaudeville plunge of William H. Crane (New Acta) In a comedy play, and the return to the corner of the only and original and perpetually youthful Bessie Clayton. Lucy Glllett and her Juggling turn held the opening spot and received more applauae In thlH position than scores of acta aaslgned there before. The Caltes Brothers have apparently given up the comedy sketch Idea and have gone back to their old dancing turn, with the opening Including the former "hit" on the dark stage. They got the best returns on their dancing. The younger chap baa grown like a sunflower, his height baa forced him out of the "cute kid class." The boy was thought for a long time by the audience aa a Lllllput. He has fooled them. Al. and Fannie Stedman were "third." The same Stedman act, with even the aame bal- lad they used at the Palace before. Their comedy capers were well received. Dennett and Richards got the first continued applause hit of the night. Their opening slowed them up* but once the eccentric dancer got busy the result was never In doubt. The dancing had to follow the Oaltes. too. Such la vaude- ville Irony, though. Adele Rowland did very well, although her song routine could stand rebuilding. She put bver the "Knlcklng at the Knitting Club" effectively and registered with "Love la a Wonderful Thing." Mlsa Rowland baa Jost none of her stage charm and her voice ap- peared to good advantage. Just before Inter- mission was the William II. Crane sketch. Diamond and Brennan started the closing section. Mr. Diamond worked hard to please and kept his legs and voice active as well. Mies Brennan showed her figure is still an asset to the turn not to be denied. The Bessie Clayton act Is really a dancing classic. Miss Clayton haa kept right abreast of tho times and demonstrates what stage experience and dancing showmanship means nowadays. As to cleverness, class and hard work. Mlas Clayton Is there two country miles und a city block. The Mosconl Brothers (in the Clayton act) are a novelty In their line of work wherein they go In for all sorta of acrobatic twists and slides, with one man doing the lending and the other taking the "feminine" half. Both the boys are wondera In their work and one had the Palace audience gasping at the agility and use to which he can put those short legs. Paisley Noon doee his allotted share very creditably while Charles F. Strickland Is not only a good accompanleat but Is about the best tanking Ivory manipu- lator In vaudeville captivity. He baa nice personality. The Misses Llghtner and Newton Alexander had a tough spot. But with the comedienne of the trio getting In her customary good work, that ranges from the EI fie Fay facial twist to the Eddie Foy grin, the registration was easily landed. The act did exceptionally well next to closing. May Wirth had the clos- ing spot. The Wirth Family assisted. Miss Wirth Is a circus queen but a "queen" who does risky things on horseback and does them In a manner which shows that youth must be served. The best act of. Its kind In vaude- ville. Mark. RIVERSIDE. The Riverside bill this week ran a bit beyond 11. but the turns wore arranged to bring out the greatest collective value as placed, and tho show developed Into a genuinely enter- taining one for tho uninitiated vaudeville pntron. Although carrying nothing new the acts combined to give a splendid performance and the gathering Tuesday night seemed highly pleased at the finish. Business seems to have dropped a trifle at the uptown house despite the excellent shows recently, probably the result of the combination and of condition and circumstances. Tuesday the orchestra was light, but tho upper portion of the house was well dressed. The bill carried several feature acts, with none In particular headlining, the features including Conroy and Lemalre, Maurice and Walton, Lambert and Ball, and Paul Dickey and Co. In the opening spot came the Morln Sisters, who followed the weekly Pathe scenes, dancing through to a safe hit with plenty to spare. The military opening gives them a flying start with the eccentric dance collecting the greatest returns. The double finish Is nicely staged and practically insures the girl's applause safety. Bailey and Cowan wore In second spot and kept tho speed right tip to the notch. The banjo playing by Bailey Is easily the best muslrnl novelty around here at this time. Tt's too bad nalley can't aid In the vocal de- partment, but his cello and banjo make one forpet Hint. They have lined up a fast routine, deliver It exceptionally and should find plenty of hie time work. In the third spot rnme Dickey and Co.. with "The Lincoln Highwayman." a sketch aided by the massive scenic and "prop" • ■'I'Mpinriit. Dickey's enunciation seemed a hit off T-.w-'.-lp.y Tiiplit, but i'he lli«mo was made Hear nnd the finale brought the troupe a ^olld hand of appreciative applause. It's a big production of vaudeville and a good one principally bemuse of Its novel measure- ments. The Fnrber Cirls have a new repertoire. probably tbe best they ever offered. Con- stance Farber Is continually Improving In h« r comic delivery nnd earned surefire laughs with her solo patter, the comedy number ac- companying It helping considerable. They wvre one of tbe big bite, giving tbe shew ita first real good et&rt. Maurice and Walton closed tbe flrat part. Maurice appeared throughout In evening dress, the uniform of the American-France Ambulance Corpa, to wMch Maurice waa at- tached while abroad, having been dropped from the dreaalng. A dance called the Chas- seur's Fox Trot carried a program notation It would be presented aa done at tbe front by the couple, but the novelty waa lost through the absence of the proper atmosphere. For a finish the pair gave a leeaon In one-stepping, explaining the movementa as they glided through them. A lobby display carried photo* of the couple at the French front. Nonette opened the aecond half with her new violin and singing skit, accompanied at the piano by Jerry Jarnagln. "One Day In June" haa been added to her repertoire of eong, with "For Tou a Rose" standing out nicely In the medley. The dreaalng and stage arrangement la pleasing to the eye and the act as a whole seined to touch the proper apot at the Riverside, for Miss Nonette waa forced to an encore and speech. Conroy and Lemalre came next, and with their "The New Physician" wrapped up a tidy bundle of laughs. In the succeeding apot Ball and Lambert found them equally easy to register their usual hit. The Flemings cloned the show. Wyna. COLONIAL. The top-scoring points of the ahow aa ar- ranged Monday night were cloalng lntortnls- alon and the cloalng apot occupied respectively by Hale and Pateraon (New Acta) and Harry Fox. The honora oi the evening fell to the latter In spite of the tough position. For a single of hla type to close a bill la some as- signment and that he can add the punch of a bill la another Indication that Fox fits vaude- ville too well for him to again bow out from Ita ranks. The house waa far from capacity downstalra, but the Colonial seems to be off on Ita lower-floor patronage thla aeaaon. Also the patrona In that section seem to still be possessed of the ley air, leaving the heavy applauding for the upper regions. Several turns did succeed In rousing the orchestraltea however, with Fox leading the offenatve. The bill waa off In apota and a rearrange- ment of four acta Monday night made a better running show than that of the matinee. The Manklchls opened the ahow with their expert foot Jugglery and top-spinning, lit up by the rich hangings and dreaalng. Ed Morton dis- played his ditties on second. w«.lnf r »ber well. Mszle King, assisted by E. B. Marlnl. waa moved from laat to No. 3. Mlaa King Is the girl who.hopped Into the limelight some years ago by walking down the stairs of an office building on her toea. She la still clever as a toe artist, though not aa spectacular aa some of the others. Juliette Dlka showed No. 4, almost sll of her aonga tinged with France and patriotism. Not until the finish did she catch on rightly, and then, robed In shimmer- ing silver, she well handled "Joan of Arc" sung in French. Thla won her a recall with the "Marseilles" and an extra encore with "Over There," also In the tongue of the sister republic. Cole. Russell and Davis started the going after Intermission with their skittish "Yeggs." It Is mildly amusing with fair returns, prob- ably because It was placed down too far on tbe bill. The act has been showing In the West for some time. Eddie and Lou Miller got a hit following, the brothers dispensing their pleasing harmony with telling effect. Hassnrd Short and Co. In "The Ruby Ray." next to closing (billed for closing Intermis- sion). It Isn't tbe best of Maurice Henne- quln's work, but it Is tastefully staged. Rather a late spot for the turn. It did fairly. Ibee. ROYAL The matinee performance at the Royal Mon- day ran until ten minutes to six, but when It came time for tbe night show one act had eliminated Itself and saved 24 minutes In run- ning time. The show Monday evening ran until after eleven, with the closing act com- ing on at that hour. The departure of Miss Juliet necessitated some rearrangement, but there was no notable roughness In the eve- ning show running. "The Star Spangled Banner." followed by an overture by Nat Kamern's orchestra, started at 8.1S and the news weekly filled in until 8.33. when the Three Mlzungs (New Acts) were the first of the vaudeville. McMahon, Diamond and Cbaplow, In the aecond spot, were one of the real hits though on early and working with the handicap of doing their dancing In "one." Charles Orapewln and Anna Chance, In "Poughkeepsie." won laugh after laugh, Mr. Orapewln ad llbblng with some topical talk that also went over. William Edmunds and Edna Iieedom in "Oolng to the Wedding" were first billed to open the second half but moved up to the spot vacated by Juliet. The turn has some material that wtna laughs, but In the main It la of small-time calibre. Marlon Craig Wentworth's "Bonfire of Old Empires" closed the first part. The playlet Isn't to be compared with Ml«s Wentworth'a "War Brides." The Royal audience bestowed greater applause on the marching troops In the picture that accompanies the sketch than •>n any portion of the act. Blossom Seeley and her quintet of boya loomed as the applause hit of tho perform- ance. There wasn't any singing to speak of in tbe first part of the show, Just three songs to be precise, and the "Seeley'a Syncopated Studio" was just the thing needed to enliven the bill. The audience waa strong for the turn, in its second week at the house. Next to closing, Felix Adler delivered the laugh hit. Hla la a nut act pare and almple, that la pure m place*, but It la the almpleneae of delivery by Adler that wins. He had the audience at all times and they laughed when he willed* them to, and gave undivided atten- tion to a ballad, applauded to the echo at the finlah. Meehan'a Canines closed the b|)l. holding the audience to the laat and seemingly pleased the Bronx Junior Police, who were present In force. Bualneea waa off on the lower floor. Frsd. FIFTH AVENUE. The flrat half bill at the Fifth Avenue waa a big show In point of varied novelty, with Ita new acts, among which were Mary Marble and Co., In a Chinese sketch; Harry Tlghe, doing a alngle, and Hugh Herbert and Co. in a Hebrew playlet. They, with Scale, are under New Acta. It made an Interesting pro- gram. A couple of the turne passed through rather lightly but these were not among the neweat ones. After the seal atarted the performance came Oerald B. Grlffen, an Irlah singer, lately star- ring In a production aa per hla announcement when stating he would alng a song written by him for that ahow, "Way Down Deep In My Heart," a neat number of the Irlah type for a tenor and well sung by Mr. Grlffen. The number la probably aided by the sug- gestion In melody of "Somewhere a Voice la Calling." Mr. Grlffen taken the popular Idea of an Irlah lad's native "dress" costuming and clings entirely to an Irlah repertoire. The poaitlon, No. 2, waa against him at the Fifth Avenue. He haa a tenor voice of qual- ity and la of appearance for hla type of numbers and where the Irlah vote la atrong ahould have no trouble In registering. Accord- ingly Mr. Grlffen ahould arrange two reps for vaudeville, one for general acceptance and the other atrtctly Hibernian, then be given the after-lntermlaslon spot sometime In a big houae for an exact line to be secured. He sings with 'the orchestra only. Following were Dolley and Nelson, who did aulte well and went very atrong with the Hula finlah. Dooley'a bicycle riding to some extent conflicted with that of 8lg Frant' act at the flnsh of the show. Franx mentioned It but the confllctlon waa not more than sufficient to give Franz an excuse. Then Mabel Burke sang an anmlated Harry Von Tllzer number, "Give Me the Right to Love Tou." Mlsa Burke did very well but received no help from the moving picture scenario. Thla la the aecond Von Tllier HI. song In this way at the Fifth Avenue in two consecutive weeka and each of the pictures contains a minimum of action. The only thing of note about the Von Tllzer film was a fadeaway often worked but at other times the figures were really stereoptlcon. However, the song waa encored, for which the song and alnger are to be credited. After the three other new acts. In aucceaalon, happened Joseph L. Browning, next to cloalng, a change In the running after the matinee taking him out of No. 2 and placing him there with the bill moved up somewhat Tlghe waa Inserted between the Marble and Herbert turns. Mr. Browning does a travesty on a minister, in dress and speech, the dress trav- esty being there through hla garb upon a stage to deliver comedy while in It. Whether It la sacrilegious, or no. Including some of hla talk, is something for Christians to decide. The ministerial character has been employed be- fore upon the stage for comedy purposes and without offense. Still one remark made by Mr. Browning, leading up to "The Almighty— manager" doesn't sound Just right for comedy when there Is no effort to disguise that the "Almighty" with its pause afterward waa written for a laugh. However, the house liked Mr. Browning, although the Fifth Avenue audience Is widely separated In personnel from that found at Philadelphmla or Pittsburgh. Chick Sales handles a minister character among Sales' protean changes but somehow there sounds a difference in this Browning effort. Quite a good deal of his material la first class and he does well with It. using a grin of his own often that pulls the laughs along although bis biggest score was away from the character at the finish when he sung to tbe melody of "Sunshine of Tour Smile," concluding by stating a ballad of that kind was the most appealing to vaudeville after all. and the Intimation of this especial lyric Is that vaudeville must have Its lyrics very plain to get them. Mebbe so. Closing the show were the Slg Franz Troupe. Wonder how many booking men have seen this act? And who could claim the moat of It. Charlie Ahearn, Bill Ritchie or Slg Franz? It Is a comedy cycle turn, mostly freak wheels with a girl featured for a solo trick riding. The girl Is youthful and a much better femnle rider than usually found In this kind of a cycle turn. Franz, In tramp char- acter, announces the tallest giraffe In the world. He rides it. It Is very high for a single wheel. Franz talks too much and a better finish might be given the turn that is set within street drops. In freak wheela the bathtub and bedstead (with trailer) are there, without any distinctive or original comedy In wheels or action. If Franz believes he can follow wllb this turn the Ahearn act over the big time, though the Abearns may not be on big time now. ,Franz has some Job. The turn haa grown too familiar to big time ap- parently to even follow Itself, so what can Franz expect, unless he Is content with the smaller time or can create something new. Sine. if they refrained from singing. Dorothy Roys atarted with the possibility of making it very bard for the rest of the acts on tbe bill to follow her, but hurt Her- self with a long, slow, war ballad for a finish. Previously she had put over three good num- bers with pep. Mlas Roye has looks, voice, and a nice delivery. There is no reason why ahe shouldn't be able to make 'em sit op a little. Wolford's Dogs followed and did fairly well, due to the monkey In the act that does com- edy. The doga go through the ordinary routine but the monk scampers around, hav- ing a fight with one of the dogs every few minutes. It holda up the Interest But If anything happens to that monk—Zowle!—un- less there is another monk somewhere. Har- ris A Lyman (New Acts), after the canines, and were, in turn, followed by "The Red- heads," now a sorry'resemblance to what was once a blg-tlme act, taking everything Into consideration. The girls, with the exception of one, look none too well; there are no voices and the comedy bits are few and **r between. Saxton. who leada the company, worked hard and got over his lines fairly well but didn't cause the house to go into an uproar. The act seems good enough for tho smaller houses but after that Is a big que*' tlon. Mel Eastman (New Acts) opened after in* termlsslon and gave the second half of the bill a nice getaway. Hopkins, Axtell and Co. kept things going right with their street car and Pullman bit. The boy works his head off and made most of hla stuff go over. The woman has little to do but handles her lines neatly, making the going easier for Mr. Ax- tell. Herbert and Dennis, next to closing, had a pretty tough time getting started, but Her- bert's acrobatics for a finish put them over. The Three Romans closed the show. JEFFERSON, AMERICAN ROOF. The Roof held but a fair attendance Mon- day night. Murphy and Barry opened with dancing nnd singing, one of the boys doing most of tbe latter. They are wearing white flannels which would look much better If cleaned. The boya might help their act along If the recent remodeling at the Jefferson continues to bear aa good fruit In so fsr as attendance la concerned as It did Tuesday night, then the expenditure which was said to have been quite heavy, will surely make the returns count on the proper side. While It waa aald Tuesday night business was some- what behind last week, it nevertheless was above the average generally attained by the house before the alterations. It Is also draw- ing a different clientele that speaks well for the future. Heretofore It was a cosmopolitan audience that appeared unaware as to what was going on, but since the change has come about, it Indirectly has changed the attend- ance for the better. In addition a further change that adds nicely is the increase In the orchestra pit There are now 16 pieces, headed by a leader who appears proficient enough an a vaudeville leader to follow the acta and pick up cues rather quickly. The orchestra also gives an overture prior to the show, and while It will probably take some time before the audience becomes accustomed, It further aids to the class of the house. Sam Collins warbled "So Long Mother," followed by Dawne June (New Acts). Bud and Nellie Helm were placed at a dis- advantage, but scored. It waa too early for them, and with their always enjoyable offering gained but a passing notice. They could well have been placed further down on the program, with the switch proving better to the entire ahow. It waa a good act simply wasted In the apot. Leonard Anderson and Co. In their travesty started off rather strong- ly, but gradually weakned, but little comedy things pulled them across. The trio are now doing an over-abundance of kidding. Thla had Ita effect. An episode of the German's Retreat fol- lowed with the 16 Navasaar Girls In the next poaitlon. Heron and Anderson have changed their specialty, perhaps for the better In their estimation but unknowingly for the worst. It hardly contains tbe entertaining qualities It formerly possessed with the returns fully show- ing It. It Is slow throughout, notwithstand- ing the final minstrel bit helped considerably. The early dance by the woman could be omitted, for while ahe may be able to do soft- shoe dancing with ease, she nevertheless falla to display any merits at real kicking. She looked awkward and appeared more so in a gown atyled years back. But there Is still sufficient opportunity for a passable two-act and they might Just as well commence rear- ranging. Gere Grady and Co. In "At the Toll Bridge" proved aa amusing aa ever. Bobbe and Nelson easily upheld their por- tion In the next-to-closing poaitlon with a rearranged routine that now contains some- what of a story. When before the special drop In "one" of a supposed summer camp, with the ensuing chatter relating to It. the boys kept moving also nicely although forced to continue while the audience appeared un- moved by a number of "gags" that went sail- ing right through the exit. The singing over- came that and other defects that might have been noticeable, also allowing for tbe rather husky voices they probably secured through tho sudden change in the weather. Bobbe looked fine In a summer outfit of white flan- nels and a green coat, while Nelson In his comedy make-up got his main points across with rarely a rolsn. Between ♦.hem they marked up the biggest score of the evening. The Five Metzettes closed the show with acrobatics, doing quite some stalling while working up a couple of big tricks. They re- peatedly missed on that account, and Anally brought the house down with a three-somer- sault fling in the air and a catch on the undcrstander'a shoulders that seemingly hurt the top man's ankles.