Variety (May 1918)

SHOW REVIEWS 19 PALACE. It was just 11.50 Monday night when the exit march sent what was left of the audience out Into the rain. One Edwards' biggest "An- nual Song Revue," showing at the palace for the first time, had started one hour previous, It being the seventh and last turn. During Its running many walked out but that should not be charged against the act, for It followed the Liberty Loan drive which, In Itself, con- sumed around SO minutes, and as there was no intermission, the show In total, taking In the opening news film, lacked only 10 minutes of four hours. The Loan subscription period was attended by an address from "Parson" Edwards Davles, whose speech was of the polished order. But the drive Itself was too dignified. The bill itself seemed lacking In "pep." It was long In starting, and while there was ■ccrlng. there was no hit of extra propor- tions attained—in fact, but two turns came near the hit olaes. In the long show, how- ever, the short dramatlo novelty offered by Helen Ware stood out (New Acts). Trixie Friganza, assisted by Melissa Ten Eyck and Max Welly, held over for the sec- ond week. Following the Ware playlet was not easy pickings for the Jolly Trixie, but her antics with welly' tickled the house and she well earned the right to give her humor- ous encore bit. The Edwards production, billed as "The Fountain of Youth," holds a number of clever people and a numerous chorus, which has six- teen girls and six boys. The voice of the comely blonde, Olga Cook, was heard to ad- vantage. She Is easily the star of the revue and seems headed for a production. Dan Healy showed as a likable Juvenile and came through with a* clever dancing number. A scoring dance effort, too, was that of Helen Coyne, a graceful toe artist, who was once In tbe Metropolitan ballet. Marguerite Dana was also In the cast, as was Mario Villanl, an Italian tenor, who was prone to mar his ex- cellent voice by singing off key. It's a big act, but needed speeding to hold down the closing spot on such a lengthy bill. John Swor and West Avey, on sixth and Just preceding the Liberty Loan, carried off comedy honors. One or two new bits present, brought new laughs from those familiar with the blackface turn. Ed Flannigan and Neely Edwards showed "Off and On" In third spot, but failed to start anything until their en- core bit with the "uke" and harmonica. That finish pulled them up into the running. The Primrose Four were second, with their old ballads which were listened to, but not enthused over. "Hesitation Blues" for a fin- ish got them more than anything else. The Seven Bracks, an Interesting acrobatic com- bination, opened the show splendidly, the fast and exceptional "Rlsley" work bringing lib- eral retiirns. Ibee. RIVERSIDE. There is an especially Interesting show at the Riverside this week, with Just enough "low comedy" to make the dressier turns stand out more forcibly.) Judging by the kind of people that frequent that vaudeville house, the time would seem to be ripe for the establishment of a real muslo hall in that neighborhood. They are apparently people of means with a willingness to spend their money for entertainment and refreshment. Mazle King, assisted by E. E. Marin!, gave the show a pleasurable send-off with her neat dancing act, in which she Is constantly on her toes. Browne Sisters, a couple of young and attractive-looking girls, with lots of life, play piano accordeons with apparently rhap- sodic relish, parading back and forth with neat dance steps and otherwise simulating personal enjoyment in their professional ef- forts. Smith and Austin, misfit hoofers, travesty v« ntrlloquists and general nonsense purvey- ors, were laughed at for their ludicrous ef- forts. Elizabeth Brlce at once won the good will of the audience by an opening number b< walling the separation of the team of Brlce and King, owing to Charley's enlistment, In which she hopes you'll accept her as a single, with such lines as: "Here I'll try to make a hit—there King will do his bit," and so on. Her best number Is a story song about a pair of newlyweds. They had an earnest speaker on the Liberty L»an Monday night—impressive and carrying conviction. Bessie McCoy offered a German helmet as a prize to the largest single pur- chaser of the evening, whereupon a smart young representative of the Gotham National Bank, who has evidently been assigned to purchase $50,000 worth of bonds for one of the bank's clients, made a lot of "clever" bids, among them offering to top any other bid for the helmet provided it carried with it a kiss from Bessie McCoy. Another man In a balcony box, realizing the situation, be- gnn running him up, and as a result, the bond speaker tried to have both high bids stand, but did not succeed In getting away with it. At any rate, they kidded the bank representative into bidding $37,000 for the helmet and made him come upon the stage for his kiss, and, all told, secured his signa- ture for $M),000. The subscription for the day wns $110 ( . r i00, making the total for the current Issue at that house $1,476,500, or only $23,- fiOO short of a million and a half as the con- tribution from one house on the third Liberty Loan. (Mark and Hamilton, with the familiar "Wayward Conceit," with, as usual, a number of new quips right up to date on the timely topics. For that reason the act will never Krow stale. Watch Bert Clark's work. Ob- serve how he never tries to talk over a laugh —that he stalls till the psychological Instant and then wallops over his come-backs, and you will begin to understand the science of "making good." Santly and Norton now wear gray Tuxedos, which distinguishes them somewhat from the regulation uniform of the dress-suited hoof- ers. They fared nicely and had the good sense not to out-stay their welcome. Bessie McCoy, with her two male Blnglng assistants, and her historical pat riot lo review, together wltb her gorgeously caparisoned dances, went so well she had to make a little speech. Due to the Bond sale and the number of lengthy turns, Jack Wilson came upon the stage at 11.30, too late for hardly any act to keep the audience seated. He was In white face and limped as though suffering from a sprained ankle. Jolo. COLONIAL. The bill lined up as an amusing show be- cause of the presence of plenty of good com- edy plus the animal novelty (Marck's Lions). This worked out in a measure in spite of the prolonged Liberty Loan drive. Monday night the show was out around 11.15, which Is early, considering the loan sub- scriptions. Tuesday night, when a fair house was in, the exit was 35 minutes later—Just In time to debouch tbe crowd Into the down- pourlng rain. That was not the fault of the Liberty Loan workers, however, who had planned to be brief, and were successful in their work (Edward Davles speaking). But an eccentric patron started buying bonds for men in uniform present in the bouse, and the collecting of single dollars, enough to buy three $50 bonds, consumed much time. There was one change in the running order from the program when Mario Lo and Co. were sent from closing to the spot allotted to the Hon turn, which was closing intermission. The foreign act was then put in to open in- termission, and the cage was set up, but Trixie Friganza, who doubled from the Pal- ace, refused to follow the Jungle cats, who were then placed In closing spot. There Marck's novelty held close attention, though the act is by no means tbe sensation here that was claimed for It abroad. Miss Friganza, resplendent in a purple coat of spangles and a gown of white crys- tals, delivered a hit on seventh. It was easy pickings, made sure with the burlesque dance after Ten Eyck and Welly performed their part of the entertainment. That he can whirl on his shoulder the weighty Trixie speaks well for Welly's condition and his early athletic training. The popcorn-color haired Frank Fay was a favorite. Following the loan stunt in next to closing, he soon showed his class by quickly wooing the house back into the show humor, with the assistance of "Helmar," his pianist. Fay also eked out a hit, earning an encore in spite of the late hour. The third hit went to "believe me" Milt Collins, who offered his Cliff Gordon style of monolog, on fourth. Collins has built a talk routine that Is up to the minute, and he scored many hearty laughs. His success in- dicates that dialect is no bar if the material Is there. Ray Fern and Marlon Davis fared very well with their "Nightmare Revue," which Gertie Vanderbllt takes credit for presenting. On third, Fern's "nance" tickled the house, while the good looking Miss Davis flashed some rather odd clothes. The Eddie Miller Duo went over nicely In second spot. Eddie's handling of "Hello Central, Give Me No Man's Land." found healthy response, and the boys' "Rlgoletto" number brought them out for a well earned encore, it being the "Shanghl" duet. Chas. De Haven and Freddie Nice, re- united, opened intermission In fine shape (New Acts). De Witt Young and Sister with neat Juggling opened the show. The Mario Lo turn was slow, but produced pretty effects. Ibee. ALHAMBRA. Deeplte an excellent bill on hand, business at the uptown Keith stand was far below the average of the house Monday night, and It was apparent that a large percentage came solely to see Grace La Rue, the headllner, for the bulk of arrivals came late and exited Imme- diately after Miss La Rue had completed her specialty. And Miss La Rue never appeared to better advantage, running completely through her repertoire and being forced to encore with a medley of the numbers she had popularized in productions. Of them all. slio appeared best In "Cherry Blossom Land." In which she wielded her wonderful personnllty to Its limit. Her "arm work" and long strld*** over the stage are particularly fascinating and she tops those little stage tricks with a voice that rings as clear as a bell. Ornco La Rue was easily the program's hit and well de- served all the laurels she gathered at tho Alhambra. Another "single" woman on the bill can safely be credited with second honors, Riving tho show a touch of character singing thnt Is easily equal to the beet. Ray Samuels. Miss Samuels, for no reason whatever, gathered practically all the music publishing represen- tatives in New York at the house Monday night, the crowd coming In with her Intro- duction and after working their limit. It ft rather dlnapponted. for Miss Samuels hns but one or two published sont;s In her routine. Her many months' work In tho outskirts has seasoned her for New York, and notwith- standing the scores Rhe has gathered here In former years, her present turn look* better than any she has previously offered. The "Rube" song Is espeelall well handled and the patter accompanying tho "Alexander" ditty le excellent. One of the missing char- acter plays was a Hebrew song. In which dialect she Is particularly good. She should, If possible, add this type of song to her pres- ent routine. Ray Samuels, one of the best character singers of her style to ever storm big time vaudeville In the east, has been fol- lowed by hundreds, but has never been dupli- cated by one. _ The Levollos opened with their wire work and Juggling, combining the two Into a rather nifty little specialty, the speed and accuracy Insuring them a bit. Alexander, O'Neill and Sexton were second, with Alexander offering his female impersona- tion In brown. This chap, once a peer in his line, Is losing the vocal finesse he once was credited with. His sex was easily discerned early In the turn through this defect alone. His dressing Is still up to the mark and his form holds Its own, but the masculine tenor of his voice is a natural drawback. The double dance by tbe boys was well liked. There were two fine bits of character work on the bill, one by Hugh Herbert in "The Lemon" and the other by John Hymer in "Tom Walker in Dixie," with the finals run- ning pretty even. Herbert handles the He- brew character with a degree of naturalness that warrants his entry Into production work. Never offensive, always funny, he plays the type as It really exists. Hymer's darky dialect and mannerisms are too well known to call for a review. He was a "cinch" hit from beginning to end. Hawthorn and Anthony opened Intermission with a sprinkling of the former.Anthony and Mack specialty and some new material which suggests a touch of the Duffy and Ingllsh turn. This occurs at the finale when the couple bow on and off with various instru- ments. Hawthorn, formerly a partner of Ingllsh, probably has a right to this "bit," so no suggestion of piracy could be consistently made. It's a good comedy turn and should find little trouble in connecting. Hawthorn is an excellent "straight" and Anthony, de- spite his many partners, still remains a "true" comic. McKay and Ardine were on late and, with a following in Harlem that few can boast of, they "cleaned up." The dancing was especi- ally appreciated with its dialect comedy get- ting its full returns. Fink's Mule* dosed the bill, the "company" earning the majority of laughs on the fallB. A corking show. Wynn. ROYAL. One of tho best known of all stage props was worked overtime at the Royal Monday night. The evcr-bu»y article was tho piano. Just as an idea of what a piano deluge was there, thie accompanist in the May Naudaln act hadlan Inning and spot all to himself. Frank Vvestphul trotted on next and sparred a few rounds with the muslo box, and Just when it seemed time for a respite for the piano It was again trundled into view in the Scphle Tuckor act, while that long-haired Ivory keyboard manipulator went at it hammer and tongs. Westphal hopped in view again, and was in the Tucker finale with another piano seance. Jimmy Conlin bobbed up later for hie familiar fol de rol with the instrument. William Ferry opened and proved a good one in th«» spot. Aubrla Rich and Ted Lenore went along quietly until they swung Into the musical section wltb the accordion and guitar and the returns were big. There was ap- plause for Charley Grapewln and Anna ('banco when their names were flashed, show- ing they were not forgotten in the neighbor- hood, and their little playlet with the touch of nature at tho finish added another niche to their popularity. Their dialog was full of th» uHual Grapwlnlan satire and humor and the Ilronxltes enjoyed It Immensely. May Naudaln, vocalist, with light operatic routine and a voice of high range, with piano accompanist, was in fourth position and she did very well, all things considered. On the program she was carded to appear in the sec- ond division, but with Sophie Tucker on ahead there would have been nothing for Miss Naudaln. Miss Naudaln has a series of old numbers, to be nure, and doubtlessly carried because of her preference for them and their suitability to the voice. For an encore she offered a war song that sounded new and had the usual patriotic sentiment. Frank Westphal acted as though he had studied his Htage lessons under Jim Morton's tutelage as far as the opening section of his turn is considered, but elicited hearty laugh- ter throughout by his booblsh antics. Sophie Tucker, as radiant as the rainbow and seem- ingly happy as a big sunflower, was a sure- fire cleanup with that beaver moving Tro- Jai.llko workers backing her up. Every song was well recolved and put over in excellent Tucker style, while 'tis needless to add that the Jazz part was a whole show in Itself. Great stuff for the Bronx, and they ate it up. Aftor intermission came the Liberty Loan appeal, with Pat Rooney's eon being the fea- ture, with a recitation and a dance that proved conclusively that be Is a chip of the old block. Sophie Tucker went through the audi- ence and got a lot. of money—for the loan. She got right Into the work and once offered a kiss to anyone buying $5,000 worth In bulk. It was a mighty tough spot that Conlin and Class had following so much singing and piano playing, but they stuck and won out, a hli being registered. Conlin and Glass ap- peared In the program spot originally laid out for Kramer and Morton. Rooney, Bent and Co. appeared In the "Over There" farcical sketch that proved a laughable affair. The act gives Miss Hent a rest over other turns offered by the Hooney-Tlent combination, al- though tho encore In "one" had the audience yelling for more of their old routine. Tho Mopper-Marbury act closed, with the audience filing out In bunches as the hour was unusu- ally late for vaudeville uptown. It might be well to add that tho Loan collection amounted to more than $4,000 at tbe Royal Monday night. Mark. RINGLING BROS. CIRCUS. Chicago. May 1. Despite an aggregation somewhat weaker than last year, Ringling Brother* Circus did a much better business than last season. Open- ing splendidly and shading off to a fair busi- ness on the second week. The new spectacle. "Days of Old," Is a gaudy and elementary appeal to the children, with plumed knights, ladyes fairs and that sort of thing. The kiddles loved It. About a hundred girls are used in the ballet, and as many supers are utilised to represent the ▼»"•«• hangers-on that were presumed to have been the correct atmosphere In King Arthur's time. Lily Leltsel and May Wlrth were the head- lined attractions. There Is no doubt concern- ing the merit of these artiste*. One Is the best web worker In the business. She Is so desirable an attraction that Morris Oest and Fiorenx Zelgfeld competed strenuously for her services after her circus tour Is over. Zelg- feld won out, and Leltzel will do her act In the fall at the "Midnight Frolic." New York. As for Miss Wlrtb, there Is no doubt that she occupies the premier position among the hosts of equestriennes who have eosne and gone while May held her position securely. Miss Wlrth hasn't changed her act from thnt of last year. Bbe doesn't have to. There can hardly be any Improvement. The bit where she jumps on a moving horse with baskets tied to her feet la still the high spot of her act. These two performers had the entire loor to themselves during their acts. As twin hubs of the big Ringling wheel, they were sur- rounded by the following spokes: Elephants, presented by Burt Partridge. M. G. Denman and Ross Roberts; Three Jahns. perch acrobats; The Ortons, wire-walkers; Flexible Schubert, trapeze; Melnottes, aerial; Mlrano Bros., high perch. Castello-Rooney troupe of equestrians; Fire Highlanders, horsemen and bagpipers; Daven- port-Walton troupe, equestrians; Roy Rush's collies; Hullng's Seals; Bgner's Geese; Cur- tln* Collies and Ponies. — Chlng Hlng Lee troupe; Four Roedera; Four Jansleys: Jackson and McLaren; Bob Kir's desert athletes; Davis and Rooney. society riding; Carr and Sameck, equestrian posing; Flllls Family and Mr. and Mrs. Don Curtis. msnage horses. Nelson Troupe and Clarkonlans, In aerial feats: athletic acts by Tbe Lanoles, Hillary Young, Tsmakl, Otsgawas, Johannes troupe. Mons. De Long and the Bovans; Psrcy Clark's dogs; Bob Huddleston's bears, monkeys and dogs: equestrian acts by Melton troupe, Mar- tin family and De LaVans; Kerslake's pigs; teeth acts by Norton sisters, Tybell sisters and Ellet sisters. In addition there was the veteran troupe of Ringling clowns—over 60 of them^the Hippo- drome races and other features. AMERICAN ROOF. One of the usual shows at the American Roof for the first half with nothing extra- ordlnarv on the bill and the running decidedly tame. Down stslrs the picture, "The Kaiser,' wan evidently drawing them In, but up on the Roof business was light Monday evening. Bert Wheeler and Co. opened, doing a com- edy juggling act that depended mostly upon ths props In the turn to get it over and failed to give the show more than the average start Harrington and Mills, a colored boy and girl, sang their way through three songs mixed up with some talk and dancing that got them a little, but not enough to brag about. McLellan and Carson, on rollers, provided the first real laugh, the boy's talk causing the merriment, and helping the act along consid- erably. He is also doing some nice work on the rollers and the pair present a turn that should easily hold Interest for them in the smaller houses. Belle Montrose helped things along with her impersonation of an amateur filling In on the bill using a "plant" in the audlenoe to help towards the finish. The house enjoyed the girl's discomfiture and with some singing at the finish she got awsy nicely. Hattle Kitchener, playing a violin with a canary bird as the feature of the turn, closed tho first half. The net is called "The Golden Plrd." The bird sings upon hearing muslo the same as all canaries do, but It Is also sup- posed to imitate the call of any bird Miss Kitchener plays upon the violin at the re- quest of the audience. Every now and then the bird Is singing while doing the impersona- tion and also having Its heed down at the bottom of the cage while warbling. It's got to bo some bird to chirp with Its head lowered. Tho turn could stand some cutting. It Is now running 17 minutes and that's a trifle long to listen to a violin and a bird which, after all, Is only a matter of showmanship, tip on the Roof they fell for it to a more or Icrs extent, and the girl and her winged partner did fairly well, which made a good record for both. Bruce and Betty Morgan opened the second half with a piano act that held. In between the four songs, some very worn-out gags. They failed to cau«* a ripple. The couple should fix up the talk. It Is now doing more hnrm than good. A couple of real laughs In the turn would go a long wnys to helping them along. S. Miller Kent presented his old "Raffles" sketch. "The Real Mr I " that has the trick finish the bonis detective and his pal. The playlet depends upon the suspense as to the real "Mr. Q." It still remain* of value for small time. a« It I* some year* since Mr. Kent last played fh1«< then very successful sketch. FlrMx nnd Chldlow. next to cloning with *onr« and tnIk. *ot away nicely and wers followed by Howards Rears, who closed the -how.