Variety (November 1919)

Vn :;****s~^-' , ? J y~ ; ^v. ' : " ■' ' ■ - ' ''-'J ' '■'•'•■ :'■ •-;' : .'V'' ■■ •.'' ■-. . .. ■■- I SHOW.-REVIE ' *1 arranged her program with rood Judgment, MA with the very kbit assistance of Robert Brain*, a pianist ond violinist, she registered » pronounced hit and" will do nicely wn'oni the latest recruit* to vaudeville. After Btrd'* ■olid hit and the Bailey and Cowan riot there waa little left, bnt the O'Mearaa did plenty la the closing spot There waa a' bit too much singing by Freddie Clinton, who pre* aided at the piano, and after the Bowery number the roah for the .exit* started, leav- ing the dancer* to skip through their fast work with a very few remaining In their seats.. This Is the number which suffered through the dancing; of the Beattie children, although It was well enough done. The O'Meara act is a classy looking dance num- ber, which can hold down" an 'Important •pot on any bill, bat the singing drag* the '.act The chances should be. made as quickly ' as possible, and should be done to as to limit the songs to the smallest running, time. Dance acta need speed above everything else, and the uso of a pianist, which seema to have become the general thing In dance acts, -has a tendency to drag them rather than "Inject the speed.so much needed.' The Kino- grams and "Topics of the Bay" ran ' wag enough to permit of almost the entire house being seated, so that the clever and- good looking act of the Donald Sisters was not '■:■ KEITH'S BOSTON. ".,---■• --Boston, Nov. 1>. Considerable discussion Sunday along Boa- ton's Broadway as to whether or not Bothwell Browne and his "Bathing Beauties" .would be able to get across In Boston. Whatever doubt' existed along the Rinllo as to whist'would happen to Bothwell Browne's glri production Vanished In thin air before the big'revue was half over. Browne 1 haa certainty done himself proud In this production, both as regards'-the scenic investiture and the costuming, the lat-. ter being the strong feature of his revue next to his Oriental dance and the Browne Sisters. The Keith house billed the- Bothwell Browne act to the skies'and had an.absolute turn- away at 8 o'clock, with the simulators stand- ing tlrkctlees on the aidewatkr Browne In his specialty Oriental dance did the closest' ap- proach to an old fashioned "koooh" that has been seen In Boston since the olden days -of- fifteen years ago, when Pat White and his "Little Egypt" closed the old Columbia the- atre tighter than a drum. " The cleanup that" Browne's big "Bathlne Beauty Revue" is mak- ing this week In Boston after four continuous weeks of the "Keystone Bathing Girls" in the smaller houses comes pretty, near - furnishing final proof that the act will go big in "any community under any conditions.' . The surprise of the bill was furnished "by George M. Rosener in. his series of character studies entitled "The Anthology of an Old Actor." Coming on late, Rosener. stopped tho walkout within two minutes and put across one Of the cleverest bits of protean character work Boston has seen in many a sesson. ' - C la ire and Atwood opened in a rough'and tumble acrobatic number which had* several genuine novelttea and la. which they take some exceptionally tough comedy falls. The one point In their routine. that could stand considerable improvement is lack of speed, and if thlt team will quicken. up. tome of their routine a trifle they .'will find their act going much bigger. Lucy Bruch in a' tough spot put over a nifty violin single, much of the success of . which was due to an exceptionally carefully selected repertoire. She was nlf11 |y costumed In. pantalettes which gave a' blaarrs gypsy touch without Its being overdone 'enough to take away the real charm of the costume. "Clubmates," Oeorge Botsford's novel quar- . tet vehicle, -using Will Brandt, Jack Hess, Fred Lyon and Fred Barnes, went ovor big, the team being especially strong on its close harmony. Oeorge Yeoman In his. travesty monolog by James Madison, entitled "The Editor of the Assassinated Press,". quickly caught the house with his imaginary stenog- rapher named "Lizzie" and through this me- dium put across 20 minutes of chatter that had some delightfully original gags and sam- ples of timely wit The one fault with his monolog is that there Is too much filler in it, and he might And it well worth while to slow up his patter to serve the dual purpose of making his enunciation a little more distinct and also to permit him to eliminate a few of the weakest stretches. It's' a fiovol offering ; all the way through. X'William B. Frledlanders' comedy, 'The ■ Cat," written by Hugh Herbert, proved to be far above even the high average. It trav- - eled at high speed all the way through and the Idea of brooking It into three sections merely adds to the comedy punch. Peggy Coudray Is doing an unusual bit of dramatio and comedy work in this sketch and- could well stund a little featuring. Contrasted as she is with her huge head of auburn. hair against the other woman, who It an excep- tionally swarthy brunet, she makes a strik- ing appearance. Mullen and Francis got a big hand coming out. as Mullen In the days that he was play- ling with Coogan was always a Boston favor- ite. He Is using some of his old material, bnt hag .toned his setup'remarkably well and has A very capable partner in Miss'Francis, whose second sown Is a most nifty bit of designing and caused a rustle through the house when she wandered ont with It The Bantidells and Deyo closed the show nearly halt an hour late with only half 'a house and with the edge taken off their seven dancing numbers by Bothwell Browne's big Oriental dancing finale, which made their po- sition even worse than it would have been otherwise. The Literary Digests' 'Topics of the Day," shown in the opening Klnogram reel, have been going big for the past couple of months, but'this week they proved to be a sad col- lection of released gags and political com*., ment, falling flat and causing much comment to the "affect that they are beginning to lose their originality. '■'•' Len Liblcy. FIFTH AVENUE. The show tor the first half had enough ma- terial but' not enough variety, which was why ' the - Mil''dragged and didn't reach the usual standard..'The fault was in the succession of singing act". "Everysoilor," placed third, was the hit of the show by half a dozen lengths. Phil Dun- ning had a clever Idea and worked it out well with the gobs on the U. S. S. George Wash- ington. And be picked a fine bunch of lads to - play It. They, say that the turn tickled Pres- ident witson," and that's easily believable. It did more'.than that Tuesday night, and came -Very' near- stopping the show. Even after the piano was placed in position for Pollock -and Gibson {New. Acts) -the applause demanded another how,* that taken by the .three leads in .the .company.of ten. The army may have done the heavy .work abroad, but it's a cinch that the best vaudeville turn . produced from either branch of the. service comes from the navy— "Everysoijor." Right, now, when the day of service shows 'has gone, the. Dunning act can deliver, almost anywhere. Jimmle Armstrong, as the girl "Love" could alone carry the turn. He not only looks very good In dresses, but, better still, has one of the best falsetto voices disclosed - in years. His singing of "Put Tour Loving . Arms. Around Me,", and "Love la a Thing Divine," are most enjoyable. There, too, la more good comedy carried than in many acts which could be so. classed. All. that would be needed to' move "Everysallor" into the.bigger houses is. to tidy up the costumes, which show the. extravagant use of powder necessary for the ''''choristers." If "Everysallor" doesn't get a. big time try, it's a cinch- that Arm- strong will be beard from there. And he's a gob: product,';never, having been out before. McDevltt Kelly and Lucy, with their "Piano Movers" skit, should have started thing* next to closing but didn't, until the boys started dancing. The new i Irl in the act hasn't the appearance of the original 'Lucy but looked good ln.tighls at'the finish. It was there that McDevitt and Kelly landed with their step- ping, done at military command from Lucy. It. brosrght -a big. hand. Helene Collne, who first . showed . her turn. "Windows", last..spring, has been laying off since then because of the illness of her lady piano accompanist. Miss Collne was formerly in the'legitimate, is long on appearance, and '.baa a very pleasing voice. Her act, written by Albert-Von TUser and Neville Flosson, car- . ties a special tableaux curtain, which parts to show little scenes in "two." Her per- formance, was marred by the failure of the scene drops to be boxed in. Either.that or tho drops, -Which .weren't well painted, were very thy In width and permitted open spaces at the sides, plainly visible. The scenes really aren't heeded, . and Miss Collne, through costume changes, which she accomplishes very rapidly, could convey the idea without them. Miss Co-' line is a comedienne with a voice and should come along fast All that Is needed it some changes. The Twelve Navassar Girls, with their nov- elty orchestra, closed the show nicely, a big musical flash, with novelties and clever play- ing. Louise Gilbert, on second, Is the same songstress who appeared recently under the billing of Bertha James Gilbert. Miss Gilbert depends almost entirely on vocal tricks. Her routine Is hopelessly old fashioned. Just one newer popular number was offered, that after several coy bows. It was "Let the Beat of the World Go By." Joe Daniels was fifth with a routine which he styled as consisting of Imitations. As a dialectician Joe doesn't shine. The Sensational Gerards (New Acts) opened, the show. • • Itee. AUDUBON. A decided difference in the usual Audubon attendance Monday evening. The house was far from filled. It appeared as though tho bill- ing of the feature picture, which Is the main attraction each, week, did not have its custom- ary drawing power. The picture was "Please Get Married," nnd when it was shown at the conclusion of the vaudeville many vacated tholr' seats; ■ •.' ,-••«,. ..• - The laughing hit- wns the showing- of "Sun- shine Coraedle*," which split the vaudeville bin. Fred Ardetb'*' comedy playlet. "The Financiers," employing Ova men of American, Irish, French,' Italian and Jewish nationalities closed the show and proved that the skit, al- though seen about under several different titles, still possesses laugh-making material. Last year It waa. called "The Section Hand." With a alight change it waa re-titled "The Corpora- tion." It opens with four of the members har- monising a ballad selection, leaning against a piano. The quintet then take seats at a table prepared in banquet style, with . the Irishman presiding. A quarrel is started between the Italian and Jewish characters, with the French- man . getting in it later. Bach one talk* his native language: Branching off Into a song they close.with excellent results. Page and'Gray preceded the quintet, or .In No. 5 spot, with comedy talk and songs that also registered. Th* woman is the first to enter, attired in silk Jersey, sporting a red hat and muff v The man Immediately follows In' street - attire with * "peanut" else derby. The couple then work the comedy'angle swlth a good line of talk. She makes another change, wearing ■ilk-Jersey and lrrldescent bodice, for a song number. Although the couple have good voices, they mainly rely upon talk, sufficient to bring good results. ».'-.-, Ed Janls and Co. (Mew Acts) gav; the house one of its best dancing acts. Karl Ksrey, rendering a series of songs to his own piano accompaniment, did his share in No. 2 'spot, followed'by Edwin Holt arid Co., presenting a' dramatic comedy skit of domestic trouble* that surely should' qualify for the smaller houses. Helene S (New Acts), acrobatic, combination, opened the show and accomplished their object with excellent result*. '-..•••"'.•■';■ HARLEM 0. H. - .The try-out* and an' excellent six-net bill packed the H. O. H.- from pit to dome Monday night. No riots were chalked up but every- body went over nicely, with "Playmates" clos- ing and Charles Kanna, . preceding, grabbing off the honors by a shade. Mario and Duffy opened with their familiar triple horlsontal bar turn. The flying leaps landed solidly. The turn hold* a little comedy. Just about enough to balance the finely executed acrobatics, Rich and Lenore, second, man and woman, singing and musical, pleased'with several'bar-' nionlzed numbers. The woman plays the piaho- accordlon very well, hut the Instrument did not- sound right,, perhaps because, pitched slightly below the orchestra. A."blues" number for the. finish sent the team away for an ap- preciative hand. ..... "The Night. Boat," a comedy playlet, backed up with a substantial setting representing the upper deck of a Hudson River night boat, kept the laughs moving briskly.' The piece contains a slight plot, easy to follow, and gains Its laughs from well constructed and plausible sit- uations and snappy conversational dialog. Four; men and a woman are concerned In'unravelling, the story. All are competent'ptayerai who evi- dence the proper sort of legitimate experience. Nicely handled light effects help the action ma- terially. The turn should easily fill ah. impor- tant spot on the big time... Jim and Irene Marlln, second, scored with singing, dancing and .violin playing. Miss Mar- lln shows three or four costume change* that would stand up In a $2 show, The act carries two special sets'to back their specialties, both of wh|ch are redolent of "class." .Ah old fash- ioned cake-walk, a* an encore, done in gro- tesque costumes, landed the desired applause results. It's a long time since: Charles Kenna ha* been ■een around New York with hi* fakir turn, Like old wine, Kenna improve*. with age. Kenna possesses the virtue of being original, a. quality that few male singer* can success- fully claim credit for. His talk went over for a continuous laugh. It's a standard turn, that seems a* fresh a* the day it started, way back In the dark ages of vaudeville. <•- "Playmates," an entertaining "kid" act, whooped things closing. The various special- ties cleaned up, top score gbtng to the little soprano. The child has a remarkable singing voice. It might well be cultivated for concert or opera. Right now th* girl Is not using her vocal attainments to best advantage. A course In singing, especially breathing and vocal con- trol, would work wonders with about the best natural voice heard in vaudeville In- year*. Bell 1. ■ * . . ■. ■■■:\:<. , .;>.,<•'.'• A s --«■ -. v. 125TH STREET. The booker, apparently figuring on an eco- nomical week, placed a good act in every other Bpot to overcome the bad ones In between. This is the way the bill appeared. Nevertheless, it contained sufficient quality to satisfy the 126th Streeters In general. Terkcs Dogs opened the show, It was one of the good turns' on the bill, followed by Bar- bour and Lynn (Now' Acts), man and woman combination, that offers comedy talk that would only satisfy some rural town of small popula- tion. Ed Clcvo was next, single man with a xylo- phone offering that called for an encore. His machine Is decern ted with' gretn velvet, while he Is attired in a typical Scotch costume. Dur- ing the latter part of the turn he gets right ( -• down to real hard work, which necessitates the orchestra.pumping like a fire engine.- ■. .-,-.•-/ .Fargo nnd, Richards'.were delegated, to .No. 4, displaying a regular small time two-act., It, it m man and woman combination, offering comedy talk, songs and the playing of saxaphone*. They carry a special drop, with telephone booths in- serted, and are supposed. to be having a con- versation for tholr opening. The Impression Is conveyed that they are well acquainted,. and after the old '-'band shake" couple up, doing comedy talk. The latter Is quickly Interrupted, with the male member appearing with a saxa- phone. She accompanies him, after a change of costume to gold-braided black satin pantt,- looons. The playing, of these Instrument* 1* used for a finish, offering ballad and rag selections, which account for the good. returns, and .should be utilized more during their offer- ing, for It Is their best aBSet. 'v Arthur'■ Whitlow, in next'to closing, walked Off with all tho honors. Although It waa not a. hard thing to do this evening, nevertheless h» has sufficient comedy material to stand up with the best and' couM do 1t elsewhere.' '' -'''■ :' "Three Twins'•Jcomedy playlet closed thesSdw' Besides* having a. terribly hard *pht,. lt"8e*o»'- lotfl mora work to round it Into shape. Th* present cast looks weak. •'-»■■• •■'.:'•;.:, •rr-* -''-' ■■' ■■c'.'-r-v:- ,i- % The unusually well-bred audiences this Mth street house has been, drawing tho past month))' Is surprising even BUI Hill, the manager, con-, sidering the prise yegg collection that was woot to congregate there. This change for the better can only be ascribed, to the. corking lay-outs Danny Simmon* has been' sending down.... ,' \ Owing to the length o< the headlining girt acty "Suffragette Review," the vaudeville bill con-' slated of only seven, instead of the usual eight acts. Roberto and Coi opened, with a neat Juggling act, in which tho girl simply acts as assistant with the props, Roberto's stunt* and execution i or them warrants a trlalAp the better house*. Of the other els aots, flyTare new hereabouts, namely, Christopher * Walton, • Dorothy shoe- maker & Co., with a new playlet; borate Naee, : Tommlo Allen, anC Ou VSuttragett* Review/' Billy Elliott,' nex{ to closing, being the only' standard act. ".Mr. Ellott, beside* being handi- capped with a cold, bad to work without bis usual blackface.make-up and in strict Clothe* owing to hit trunks failing' to arrive Monday.' Vivian, Martin In' "His Official Flanc*o,'» a. Paramount production, was the feature film at- traction, and closed the show-. ■..,',.''„■."■:!>■ . '- ■-.':■. - -,•■-■..■".•.""■;■£'; '■-■;. ORPHEUM, NEW ORLEANS. .J. • New Orleans, Nov. tii The Orpheum is having a gala week. Petrova la -the cause, r .••■';. ' ": Clinton Sisters appear firstly.In. dances that hold the eye content because of the dlvertitse- ment* and prodigious amount of scenery car- ried. It is an opening act of magnitude. Hud- ler. Stein and Phillips have Improved since laefc' around, delivering -their melodies with rMstiry- and confidence. The boy* left with the entha- eiasm at Its peak:--'. / '■■ -V -...■•-... : •'< Sheila Terry and her well-groomed, thoroughly competent assistants were. _»lrd. ■ Miss Terry I* an animated, little body. She has looks and magnetism galore, scoring distlnot success. '- \v:f.' Duffy, and Caldwell were a surprise, especially surprising being Miss' Caldwell,' who has evl-.' dently been overlooked'asj a comedienne. She extracted 'many *nug chuckle* with her able psrtner, . It is an act that I* everything a com- 1 odjr two act should be. . . '. •■ '''-(■•■•. .oySJ.l-■<>; Petrova, oerle, sinuous, bizarre and infinitely atttractlve, sliono radiant and supreme, diaclos-' ing in her histrionic kit ths entire complement/ that makes for emotive appeal. She provoked a tumultuous outburst that CompeUod a s^eechi "'■ another and then another. It was a great re- ception. '. .-..-. : ; ..-, ,..-....;.:.'.' Ben Benny followed, explain I ur he was really co-headlining with the star and adding rather' intimately that; neither was Jealous. Bonny had little trouble connecting because of his wiso matter. For an encore bit he used on* of Mis* Terry'* assistants, Ooth getting away with delightful drollery. .'/ '-'^ „■ "Riding School" closed tq the usual hurrah of laughter caused by the plan'ts. It supplied an Imposing tag for a truly great show. ■-,.;-.. Q. M . BamucJ. CRESCENT, IlE^OatEANS. 'P New-Orleans, Nov. 14V i They were hanging to the rafter, at Loow'e Crescent, Bunday, when ths theatre estab- lished a box office record The vaudeville'sec-' tlon bald little drawing power, .but Theda Bara In "The Lure of Ambition" did. A couple of velvet Jacketed painter*, Janet and Warren Deland, opened. They work . swiftly enough and are capable in their pret- erit position and classification. The Iholdeatal music employed I* not helpful. The duo wore watohed with Interest. Pepplno and Perry, with their namos'duly Indited upon their de- cor deons, wero-second One of the member* " ascends to vlolinlng,- extracting several dulost tone a Neat small time musicians, and they pleased. .» .■'!,..' Howard Mir telle and company bill their turn'** a ventriloqulal novelty. It I* patterned after the other*, but proved engaging, liar- ' telto'a pleasant appearing assistant aids ths fiasBfcw'si m '-;"'$'' i ' . r-j-u'!^ *< :- :.' 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