Variety (August 1918)

14 NEW ACTS THIS WEEK Chas. L. Gill and Co. (3). "The Land Over Yonder" (Dramatic). 29 Mini.; Full Stag*. Palace. It was hot at the Palace Monday matinee and "The Land Over Yonder" seemed full of prairie fires, glowing sunsets, doubtful electric effects, much dialog, bad acting and no story. The playlet is in three scenes. A slight wait at the opening and for the sett- ing of scenes left open a fine oppor- tunity for a comedy acrobat to make good in "one" but this isn't a comedy sketch—it is or was dramatic—*nd very sad, the love of a sheriff for a guy who found his wife going wrong. The sheriff was ordered to take the husband to prison where he was to be executed. They started and stopped in front of the audience, the sheriff talking. He just wouldn't deliver that guy to the warden. Once in a while when the guy could edge in a word he insisted upon going to jail and they fought over it. The guy must have won for in the second scene they are in the warden's office, sheriff still talk- ing. He told the warden all about it, and the chairman of the Board of Pardons was present. It was a long story and the sheriff told it all, all about how the guy landed his wife and the cashier of a bank on the road to somewhere and how the cashier had shot himself. It was pathetic, not the story but the playlet, on a hot after- noon with the sheriff still talking. It looked as though all the other three men had to do in the act was to collect salary. In the third scene the sheriff and the youth he cherished were around in the woods with the youth waiting to be shot or hanged when the chairman of the Board stopped the sheriff talking long enough to inform them that he was the Governor, also, and the guy was pardoned. It was a pity the Governor could not have is- sued a pardon for the act, but evident- ly he could not, for they closed it after the matinee, with probably the sheriff (Charles L. Gill) still talking. Edward Renton staged it. The story is in reality a 29-minute monolog by the sheriff. Awful! Sime. Dorrian and Kallini. Songs and Piano. 13 Mins.j One. 81st Street. William Dorrian is billed as an op- eratic tenor, possessed of a fine, reso- nant voice. Joseph Kallini who ac- companies on the piano is a fair bari- tone, with which he joins Dorrian in several ducts. Kallini was in the French Foreign Legion and dressed in French blue. His arm insignia looked as if he had belonged to the Legion's band. He had one or two numbers alone, doing best with "Smiles." Dor- rian's singing, however, furnished the duo's best wares. With "You Ask Me Why" and again with Tosti's "Good- bye," the closing number, he uncorked r.otcs rarely heard in vaudeville. His singing has a fluid but strong quality. A rearrangement of the numbers with some changes will help the pair. Both are Frenchmen apparently, although Dorrian seems of Latin extraction. His voice is capable of being fitted itto something wholly worth while. Ibtt. -Pop" Ward. Talk and Songs. 13 Mins.; One. Harlem Opera House. "Pop" Ward has been doing a "single" off and on for some time now, since Ward and Curran separated. Those who recall Ward and Curran, and thats' not so long ago, must ap- preciate Pop Ward, who can still amuse them. He enters in evening dress, kids his age, calls himself "the chorus girls' pest" and says he would like to return to life 20 minutes after he is dead to hear what people are saying about him. Then he sings "Tra La La" with a dancing finish, talks a little more, dances a Tango, sings his laughing song and for an encore tells the joke about the husband coming into the theatre looking for the man he thought was there with his wife. Pop says that four men left their seats when told a husband was outside with a gun. He had better make it the en- tire house, for the Harlem crowd Tues- day night didn't seem to be surprised that but four men left. "Pop" Ward always will be funny to those who know or remember him. He should be funny to everyone who sees him but everyone hasn't Pop's sense of humor. He just kids along and does it well and he should go along and do well* for Ward and Curran were a great team, always, and Pop is there yet, a natural comedian. When they say the average stage life of a comedian is a short one, remember Pop Ward. Sime. Trixie Friganxa (with Tan Eyck and Wiley). Songs and Dances. It Mins.| Full Stage. Palace. Miss Friganza has taken the outline of last season's turn and supplied new plumage, retaining with good purpose Melissa Ten Eyck and Max Wiley. She has several new numbers contributed by Jean Havez. She opens with a "godson" number, the lyric disclosing that the fighting man she wrote to turned out to be black. The patter and numbers then told of her experi- ences while entertaining at the can- tonments. "I'm a Bullet," a unique war rhyme, fitted in. Her specialty finaled with a novelty number, de- scriptive of what would happen if the Kaiser were captured, taken to Coney Island and had his head thrust through a hole in a canvas sheet. She chirped about heaving iron balls at that Hun's head and threw out a bunch of rubber pellets. Lifting her cloak there was disclosed a paper head of Willy Ho- henzollern and all the rubber balls were thrown back, with no damage done. The act then went to full stage with Ten Eyck and Wiley performing a dance ending with Wiley rapidly whirling his partner whose legs were looped about his neck. This was later burlesqued by Wiley and Trixie, who surely displayed nerve to go through with that part of the entertainment. Only an individual of sturdy build and one of Max's previous wrestling train- ing could have so easily handled the weighty comedienne. At that he fin- ished the burlesque by depositing Trixie end up. She was attired as a canibal suffragette and had gotten rid of a number dealing with a person named "Ashma" before the whirling business. Miss Friganza's new act looks as good as last season, if not better. i btt . Doris Hardy and Co. (1). "Speaking of Men" (X Comedy). 13 Mins.j Full Stage (Parlor). Harlem Opera House. A chorus girl skit with two people, both girls. Doris Hardy is the fly chorister, the one who has been through it all and a fairly representa- tive type in role of the present day Broadway chorus girl. Her companion is the timid good girl, from the coun- try, who is waiting for a plumber from her home town to come and get her. The fly girl is pessimistic on the sub- ject of men, they are the world's worst animal, she says, but the timid one, after turning down a "party" for that night, receives a wire from her sweetie and re-establishes that there yet re- mains some good around, mostly found in small towns. To bring that out, the timid one confessed she had de- ceived the plumber by telling him she had become a manicure. Why he should prefer a manicure to a chorus girl—still that may have been an in- side opinion of the author or author- ess. It's a conventional comedy play- let of its kind, the slangy phrases that bring laughter, with the "plot" most common in vaudeville, switched about in this skit from the "bad man" and the phone conversation, to a good man—and a plumber. Miss Hardy plays well enough for the time this act will receive, and it won't be the biggest time. Her companion could be improved upon if she can not im- prove herself. She is too timid, shyly so, among other things, but there are laughs, and for a small time audience, even more of them. 8im$. Archelees and Venus. Oil Painting. 12 Mins.; Full Stage. 81st Street Man and woman working on sep- arate frames simultaneously using oil for drawings mostly of a landscape nature. Archelees announces the title of each picture, crediting the original painter but his pictures and that of "Venus", are different subjects. So the mention of the artist is confusing and means nothing anyhow. Besides he does not clearly announce the names. Half way through Venus exits, Archelees doing one picture alone. He then states he will draw a picture of Gladys De Forrest, "America's most perfectly formed woman." He does make a sketch of a lady in an Annette Kellermann bathing suit cut off at the knees. If it is his idea of a perfectly formed woman, he should stick to landscapes. On completion of the "study" the back drop parts to find Venus posing in the position of the perfect lady. She may be the Miss De Forrest mentioned. Had she acted as a model in view of Archelees and the house, he might have gotten better re- sults, but that's a question. Venus looked alright in the pose but is too large to fit the generally accepted per- fect woman type. Archelees spoiled his appearance by whitening his temples, his brown hair looking neat enough without that decoration. The act is small time. Jbee. Three Maxims. Juggling. 7 Mins.; Full Stage. 81st Street. Three girls very neatly garbed and of pleasing appearance, with fast juggling considering the sex of the performers. They open with ball and tennis racquet manipulation. This is followed in turn with juggling of balls, plates, small hoops, sticks and Indian clubs. Most of the paraphernalia is decorative helping the general class. The work is done with hardly a miss. The turn will fit the pop time easily and even go for the better bills in the opening spot because of the neatness and the fact that tht jugglers are girls. Ihss DuQaesne and Caw Illusionist. 13 Mins.; Three (Black Curtails). American Roof. DuQuesnc evidently gumshoed in on the first sweep of the present hot weather. But as the pop houses can use turns of this kind and especially when the summer of fume and fret is here the DuQuesne act seemed to strike a happy medium on the Roof. He is a magician, a sleight-of-hand ex- pert, a legerdemain trickist, a black art manipulator, an illusionist or any- thing one cares to call a feller who makes you see an object one minute and whisks it out of sight the next. DuQuesne doesn't go in so much for sleight-of-hand but uses the "myster- ious cabinet" routine. A woman as- sists him. Two young men went up from the stage, spotted as "plants" but apparently necessary in subsequent proceedings when some little stunts were pulled off for comedy purposes. DuQuesne is not as quick as lightning nor as polished as a new front door but he has nerve and a routine that hearkens back to days before the Civil War and as he doesn't announce his tricks as the greatest and most mar- velous ever performed will be given credit for what he does and what he gets away with. Pop houses should take DuQuesne to its open arms unless DuQuesne demands too much money. Mark. Lady Tsuda NoL Songs. 14 Mins.; One (Special Drop). 58th Street. This little girl dressed in Jap clothes in front of a special drop to represent a tea garden, makes a neat appearance, has a good singing voice and with the audience thinking her a Jap, makes a novelty turn for an early spot on the better bills. She uses four numbers, closing with Tolstoi's "Goodbye," nicely rendered and sent her over strong. She was brought back for an encore and responded with a Dixie "jazz" number which should be changed for one more appropriate. She looks promising. i i £ Marguerite Sylva. Songs. 20 Mins.; Foil Stage. Palace. MargueVita Sylva is internationally known in operatic circles. This is her first try at vaudeville. So pretty a prima donna and one so gracious to an audience could hardly fail in pleasing as Mme. Sylvia did Mon- day night. She refrained from diffusing operatic arias, a point in her favor. There was only "Habernara" from "Carmen," that coming as one of three or four encores. The other numbers weret exclusive songs of lighter texture. The songbird seemed unduely nervous during her first two numbers, either that or the songs were not exactly suited to her. They were "Carry On" and "I'm Coming Back, My Honey Lou." With "Keep On Hop- ing" however she swung into much better form and from then on it was rather easy for her. She seemed pleased to offer encores, which further ingratiated her to the house. Mme. Sylva is under contract to appear again with the Chicago' Grand Opera under Campanini next season and it is said that her vaudeville appearances are for but a few weeks. Her pleas- ant personality added to her voice and value as a name attraction, should make her welcome wherever she goes. Ibtt.