Variety (January 1920)

22 SHOW REVIEWS m ■ m- !:'!.' - PALACE. • A revue type of bill this week and yet something more. The show seemed to have everything and It can be re- corded aa one of the best of the sea- son, with none preceding It running with better tempo nor none any more satis- factory. There were a trio of turns which fall Into the revue class, two of the concert, variety, two acts which be- long to the "class" In acrobatics, a dra- matic offering of power and a laugh- getting comedy act. Allan Rogers spotted fourth and the Mosconl Brothers, eighth, led In the high scoring which was the rule. "Both acts stopped the show. But individual honors went to Rogers Monday night, as they did at the matinee and as he prob- ably will all week. There hasn't been a male voice yet heard that so com- pletely filled the Palace nor more charmed that audience. His first num- ber brought forth a storm of applause that rattled. It was "Giamlna.* Then came "Kentucky Shore," followed by an operatic bit. That earned solid returns, the kind that demand an encore. Here a surprise came. Mr. Rogers announced that he had been requested to sing the ancient Hebrew chant VEll-EU." ana ex- plained that he would sing it In pure Yiddish, the explanation being due. he - thought, because some might think It was German. The chant Is emblematic of the Jewish faith throughout the cen- turies. Rogers said it was beautiful. His rendition of It was the most inspir- ing thing ever given in vaudeville. The house was aroused further than ever. It continued a tumult of applause while the smiling Chlcagoan repeatedly bowed. The stage was darkened and the piano trundled off. Three times again was he called back, once after the opening music of the next act was started. Mr. Rogers Anally spoke his thanks and the show went on. He was billed as "the distinguished young American • tenor," and if he Isn't distinguished yet he surely will be. Perhaps opera missed ' this And, which is a lucky thing for vaudeville. His present Palace appear- ance Is sensational. Louis and Charles Mosconl, with their two brothers, sister and father, took the headline and, too, cleaned up. It's a remarkable dancing family. The family halls from Philadelphia, and there the elder Mosconl has been a "personage" in several lines of business. But he is more generally known as a dancing mas- ter and no matter what weighty mat- ters impended he never failed to preside at bis dancing school. And he Is still there. It was known, too, by vaude- vllltans that the two older boys had been. taught by their father, and now the boys cheerfully admit that at the opening. "Pop" and the Mosconl girl drew a big hand on their specialty, but, of course, Louis came through as the individual star. 'The other family act, the Four Marx Brothers, followed and took the closing spot. There they had no trouble In do- ing the very unusual thing of holding better than 99 per cent of the house seated until the final curtain. It's a taiented bunch and, though there isn't much change In " *N' Everything," the turn is Just as enjoyable and laugh-get- ting. Like the Mosconl act, an indi- vidual star stood out In the person of "red" Art Marx, Julius running second through his comedy, while Herbert showed as a clever foil for Art. Thomas E. Shea opened Intermission with "Spotlights," which really is a trio of dramatic bits from "Cardinal Riche- lieu" "The Bells" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Mr. Shea has worked out a very acceptable vaudeville offering. The idea itself very likely came from "Many Happy Returns," which made up the second section of the Actors' Fidelity League benefit at the Century last fall, the idea being conceived and staged by Alexander Leftwich. Shea was one of the specialists In that benefit. The plan has two men at stage left telling remi- niscences of old plays and stars, the stage darkening and the spotlight dls* closing the character In question. The house accepted the Shea bits with con- siderable gusto. The classy athletic pair, the Bellclalr Brothers, performed seventh after being between Shea and the Mosconis. That is a spot acrobats dream of getting. There are perhaps one or two others who might deliver If they got ,H. The Bellclafrs did deliver and should be scored for a Kit. Raymond and Dugan planted a healthy laugh, acorC* closing intermission with their airplane non- sense "An Ace In the Hole." The apple falling stunt brought ripe giggles, in spite of the fact that the apples'which felt on Dugan were green and the prop kind at the finish for Miss Raymond's blond thatch were reddish. "Last Night" started out In third posi- tion much better than it finished. . Earl Cavanaugh was amusing throughout and ne turned out a droll juvenile. The four choristers showed something In shimmy art—In fact, they came to starting things. But Clinton and Rooney are the turn'B life-savers. Julia Rooney never danced so cleverly and twice she brought solid . plaudits from the house. She carried and gave encores for both of her dunce specialties. Thu Briants opened the ghow with their "Dream of the Moving Van." The men are artists as well as acrobats and were accorded fine returns. Mme. Claire Forbes (New Acts) was second. Ibce. RIVERSIDE. Th Riverside was all set for this week with Valeska Suratt headlining in the Jack Lalt playlet '.'Scarlet," (New Acts) a melodramatic with comedy that easily held up its position, second after inter- mission. Suratt and her -name wear wonderfully well, theatrically, and Miss Suratt. has 'accomplished her avowed object for the stage—of securing re- cognition as an acknowledged dramatic actress. Her picture experience was no slight teacher for that, but whatever It was Miss Suratt has evidently listened, observed and learned. A couple Of other names were there, one local and tire other by proxy. Ros- coe Alls was the local, from the Palais Royal, with Mldgle Miller and a jazz band. All three got over, Miss Miller especially so. She's an enervating young woman with pudgy but fast legs, and literally dances them off by jumping clean from the floor as a step, often repeating. And she can jazz, so can Roacoe and so can the members of the band. Nearly all are jazzing at the finish. This met with such wholesale approval, Mr. Alls and Miss Miller had to stall for a couple of minutes in "one'.' after Alls had made a "speech." The by-proxy turn was Anna Held, Jr., who introduces herself as the daughter of her famous mother, saying "My dear mother who couldn't make her eyes behave." Miss Held, toward the conclusion, paid a most respectful tribute to her mother's memory when she said to the audience, appreciating their re- sponse: "If I can live to deserve one- half the popularity my mother earned, I shall be content." The Held turn, an ultra-dressy one in setting and costumes. has the Invaluable aid of Emmett Oil- foyle, who, as a light juvenile, com- pletely dominates It. Miss Held does a song- and a recitation besides wearing a number of gowns but Mr. Gllfoyle takes the turn along and sends it across, to the undoubted favor of the house. The act ran 22 minutes. A large portion of thlB was for the ending number when Gllfoyle sang snatches of various num- bers with Miss Held changing gowns for'each, she taking part in but one, the Frenchy song. Langford and Fredericks, on No. 3, with their "Shopping" skit • gave the team the first chance for comedy, and Howard Langford made the very best of It. His easy manner got them and they registered In no uncertain way, playing against the background of a well set shop. Bobbe and Nelson, following made a peculiar record. George Bobbe. after an opening that called both men in for comedy exchange of talk and action, put over a decided hit with "Million Miles Away," and then came Eddie Nel- son with "Rock-a-Bye My Baby" that he stopped the act with. The house would not allow the turn to proceed until Mr. Nelson repeated the song. And after that they ended with a double number composed of an arranged medley that let them down. The finish should be revised and Mr. Nelson might pro- cure another number which could make his voice gather as much reward at the flnjsh as it does earlier. while the comedy Is In good contrast to Nelson's vocalizing, for Nelson Is the comedian, he seems to be continually straining, working too hard, whether talking, mugging or singing. Mr. Bobbe as the straight gives a dignified show. White the turn, as an act could not fall any- where in almost any spot, still it may be greatly enhanced and advanced. Rae Eleanor Ball and Brother opened after Intermission, following the "Top- ics." It is musical and this gave Julius Lenzberg a chance to allow his baton and violin to rest for a few moments. for Mr. Lenzberg Is still the special. permanent attraction at the Riverside. His playing during intermission received an encore by itself. Johnson, Baker and Johnson with hat throwing closed. Chong and Rosle Mocy opened the even- ing. Margaret Ford was No. 2. Simr. COLONIAL The stage hands at the Colonial must be very happy this week. It Is Anni- versary Week, there are nine actB on the bill, seven of which carry either special drops or complete productions. They must be enjoying the "Anniversary." Following the Kinogram news weekly. Four Melody Maids with a pretty drop, open with nasal harmonizing, the so- prano belng.out of register. The quartet of girls carry their own pianist-leader and have an effective finish with the "Lucia" sextet rendered In ragtime. The next act, Lee Kohlmar and Co. In "Two Sweethearts," carries no special set and all the stage folks had to do was to put up an Interior. Kohlmar's playlet is played with the same speed that was evident when first produced here and la well standing a return engagement. Sylvia Clark Is doing her "known" act, with some of the material aha em- ployed earlier in the aeaaon with the Raymond Hitchcock ahow. She haa a strong sense of travesty and exagger- ated "nut" characterizing, scoring a hit that "stopped the show. Toto's act opens In the dark with a "Pagllaccl" musical accompaniment. His falling on a live dog and apparently . crushing it flat, is cleverly executed. After hlB burlesque ballet dancing on stilts strapped to hla feet, he now does a misfit soldier number. Some aay hla stilt bit is an Imitation of Little Tlch and the misfit soldier business la copied from Will Evans, both English comics. Such, however, Is not the caae. Dancing on stilts and misfit soldier stunts were done on the stage before any of the three artists were born. The work of Toto is quite original. Johnnie Ford and his five singing, dancing and plano-playlng girls, la superior to a majority of the girl acta His females are good looking and can do things, not mere chorus girls re- hearsed to do numbers. Ford waa one of the first of the modern brand of eccen- tric steppers and still ranks high In that field. He has a well staged act, with effective scenic environment. "Topics of the Day" opened the second half, followed by Brown and Spencer, the only act on the bill requiring no stage dressing, with the exception of a piano in "one." They are billed aa "vaudeville's singing composers." Spencer plays the piano and sings; also accom- panying MIbb Brown when she vocalizes. Miss Brown has a well trained soprano voice with all sorts of vocal tricka, but it Is "confidential" In volume and few of the words she utters are distinguish- able across the footlights. He is a nasal tenor, but with a clear enunciation. William Seabury's "Frlvollca" (New Acts). Monday evening was the first performance, falling to make the mat- inee. For the premiere he Introduced Frisco, after one of the girls has imi- tated the eccentric dancer. Frisco, in a speech, said, imitating him was a novelty and told the audience he had a new act and would be with them after he got through arguing with the book- ing office. He danced a few steps and busted up the show. A word of praise for conductor Benjamin Roberts of the Colonial, who labored hard and to good effect in aiding to put over the new act. It was nearly 11.10 when Demarest and Collette came on for "next to shut" position and their quiet musical opening started the audience for home. But di- rectly Demarest began his funny at- tempts at acrobatics those who remained were content to see it through. They wisely cut their act a bit and possibly it would be more effective In continued in that manner. DeWItt, Burns and Torrence had a tough time to score at 11.80 with their mechanlca|-acrobatic act. They could not reasonably be expected to hold the crowd In their seats. Jolo. ALHAMBRA. Plenty of variety In the current bill, at the Alhambra. The whole show went over nicely Monday night, each of the nine acts drawing down their share, with Howard and: Clark's Revue and Franklyn Ardell shading.the rest. At- tendance was slightly below capacity Monday night, the falling off being cred- ited to the cold weather. The Wheeler Boys opened with fast ground tumbling and hand balancing. The boys get away from the foreign style of working and interpolate some' pleasant comedy chatter which tends to relieve the monotony. Chappelle and Stinnette second seemed to have a houseful of friends in, everything offered by the colored team receiving a rousing hand. Both have excellent singing voices but neither gets full value out of that because of poor enunciation. A yodeling duet and an Imitation of Nor- worth and Bayes singing "Mandy" brought the best returns. Beatrice Morgan and Co. passed cred- itably with "Moonlight Madness," a po- lite farce by Edgar Allen Woolf. The action was a bit slow at the start, but picked up toward the middle section and kept the laughs coming from that point with pleasing regularity. Miss Morgan displayed ability considerably above her present vehicle. Although most of the house were wise to Bennett and Richards "surprise open- ing, the burlesque dramatic start went over Just as big as ever. The eccentric dancer had things all his own way Mon- day night. ■ Next were Helen Trlx and Sister. MIbs Trlx Is one of the few female delinea- tors of pop songs who still retains the art of delivering a "coon",ditty with the proper Inflection and dialect. "The Kill- ing Blues" as a single at the piano by Helen and a couple of double rag songs, with sister Josephine lending first aid, Bcored riotously, Franklyn Ardell closing the first half with "The Wife Savers" was a comedy panic, The act Is practically a mono- log for Ardell and he made every line oount for a roar. Howard and Clark have a full fledged Broadway production in their new sing- ing revue. The settings are beautiful, apeclal attention having been paid to color blendings. When It comes to cos- tuming, the act la In a class by Itself. Individual scores were registered by Maurice Diamond with some unusual Russian atepplng. Jack King in a travesty number at the piano from the old Stepp Mehllnger and King repertoire and Joe Howard in a comedy Chines bit. The closing tableau Is a work of art George Austin Moore had his work cut out for him following the Howard act but got away with the next to clos- ing spot handily. The war stories all landed for solid laughs and the vocal numbers were bulls-eyes. Emma Halg and Jack Waldron closing were strongly handicapped, through following Bennet and Richards and Maurice Diamond's dancing, and failed to secure their usual quota of appreciation. Bell. ROYAL A bill as colorless as a bartender's future and one of the first poor shows seen at the uptown house Is at the Royal this week. The show lacks that most important essential comedy, and Is slowed up to a walk by the bead- liner, Zomah (New ActB), who has the second after Intermission assignment There was some readjusting after the matinee Monday, for at night "The Girlies' Club" was moved from closing to third place. Captain Gruber and Mile.. Adellna dropping Into the vacancy. It waava good switch for the club act and they scored mildly. It's the former "Suffragette Review," with some fresh wardrobe and a dissected book. The cast look like the originals of the former vehicle. Barring Bobby Bernard and the unprogramed soubret, it's mild enter- tainment at best Martin and Fabrlni started things with their novel opening and dancing ar- rangement. It commences like a posing act with both principals In white flesh- ings posing on a darkened stage. They don wardrobe and when the lights sure flashed go into a worth-while routine of double and solo dances. A. C. Astor, the English ventriloquist, has Americanized his offering so much it waa hardly recognizable from Its local debut. He has dispensed with the ex- cess dummies and Is doing the act en- tirely in "one." The dummy lights a match, expectorates, etc., as in the other act A telephone bit and another piece of business (the opening and closing of the suit case with the dummy Inside) were well done and appreciated. The gags used are old favorites and sure fire. Ford and Cunningham were fourth and succeeded after a slow start. It's a long way back to "Smarty," but this team use it for an Impression double at the finish, the male doing James K. Hackett and the girl Rose Stahl. Dorothy Shoemaker In "Life" closed the first part There is one new member In the cast since last seen. The surprise finish saves this act from degenerating into meller melo and takes the under- world seasoning away In clever fashion. Miss Shoemaker gives a splendid per- formance as the woman detective who impersonates "Kat," the Italian girl. The rest of the cast are capable, the honky tonk piano player rating in the type class. Marie and Mary McFarlane, billed as , the American Grand Opera Stars, opened after Intermission and pulled down the applause hit of the. bill. Rockwell and Fox drew the next to. closing dish and wrapped up the comedy honors without losing any weight. Rockwells burlesque of the announcer in the mind reading act on ahead was good for a dlaphramatlc outburst. They clowned their way to the nearest ap- proach to enthusiasm of the evening. Captain Gruber and his animals had the sacrificial allotment. The animals ran through a conventional routine of high school and cue stunts, with the Captain and Mile. Adellna handling the ring end. Business was slightly off for this sec- tion, Con. KEITH'S. Phlladephia, Jan. 21. This week's bill did not look so im- posing as last week's, when records were probably smashed through the house selling out almost every perform- ance, but with several features whose names were unknown to local devotees of vaudeville putting over solid hits, the whole show struck a very high mark of favor. There was a small sized bliz- zard working overtime Monday, but the night show was played to a well filled house and despite several drawbacks the performance went through in fine shape. Aitie Mehlinger and George W. Meyer •held over and Mehllnger appeared alone at the matinee, Meyer being taken ill on the train coming from New York. Through a mutual agreement, Mehllnger closed and an act was substituted for the evening. It was a neck-and-neck race among