Variety (April 1920)

VAUrm CMICAQO VFWICE K^- v: a 8 ;¥; MAJESTIC, CHICAGO. Chicago. ^Maroh 81. Whiting a,nd Burt, vho play New Tork about as ateadUy aa Jack Barrymore. slipped out hero and slipped In Just right As a piece of Inside scandal, George Wbltlns, Broadway's own, is a Chioagoan, and used to be a prize cake- walker on Division street and California avenue In 1896. when the undersigned Bold newspapers on the same cornes. which makes this Item official. Whiting' and his little Burtlet were remembered for a husky^liand and wafted into their .run of songs, a revue In every sense, each number staged and dressed and, what 1b more important, played. These folks know how, to begin with, and tbey go to it after that They aren't afraid to glvA their work whatever tempo It merits, and are not exponents of that vaudeville factor so often used to cover a multitude of incompetency and medio- crity—speed. By the time they reached "How I Laugh When I Think How I Cried" they were over, and safe at home, and they nlliped over that new comedy ballad hit for lagnlappe. . Sadie looked like a jewel, every Inch of her several Inches oomparlsoned with quaint charm and doll-like shimmer. Her "Sleepy Head," one of the.best things Bill Fried, lander ever tossed oft, showed her an in- dividual artist Whiting and Burt could have easily headlined this bllL As It was, the headllner was Joseph Howard, with Ethlyn Clark in the new "Chin Toy" musical melange, by miles the best and biggest that Howard has ever contributed to vaudeville. Julia Rooney shared the applause honors with the star and featured player. The set- tings were gorgeous and the clothes al- most unutterably brilliant They cost someone many pretty pennies, yea. How- ard Is the same gracious showman and always has his really sound popularity to fall back on. when he cuts back to his hits of pre-yesteryear. . Miss Clark dressed each of these, outdoing the cos- tume parade which had preceded her through her own exhibits and those on the^fvelte forms of the: showgirl sextet The .'applause was not deafening In the turn except on Miss Booney^s main, dance, showing her father's steps, but after the work simmered down to How- ard and Miss Clark alone, with Miss Rooney ce-enterlng only at the end. the outbursts were Insistent and mighty. Howard's new offering Jumped him far ahead- of his entire two-a-day past A third hit this ono an unexpected grand slam, .went to Erwln and Jane Connelly, in "The Tale .of a Shirt," a whimlslcal little tragedy in drab and grsiV. played with Inspired fidelity, writ- ten by heaven knows who—O. Henry, maybe. Miss Connolly, as a laundry waif, was life itself; he. as a roughneck drop- in, was uncanny In type and execution, right off the street bona fide. The little masterpiece held and hurt Then caine the crowning triumph—no slop, no sop, no happy ending: he kissed her and be went away and she fell slowly and weakly on the laundry table, sobbing bei^use the big lowbrow who had been the fairy prince of her shabby dreams was ashamed to take such a frump to Luna Park. Half a dozen violently de- manded curtains rose and fell as Miss Connelly gently bowed. The man, artist enough to have made this possible for her, was artist enough to leave tb? pic- ture of her pitiful desolation untorn, and did not return for bow& Not since Sarah Fadden pla^d "The Clod", has vaudeville seen so gripping and so fine an effort . . Adelaide Bell opened this irresistible bill, suffering a bit through the neoes- sity of piano solos so early while she changed, but closed to hearty handa The Rosellas, a trim girl with harp and vio- lin and a Billy Reeves eccentric drunk with a saxophone, obo and flute, sailed through neatly: a suggestion: the beer- box should not be brought > on simul- taneously with her harp, as It Is a give- away; the man could bring It on when he enters. Otherwise O. K. Allan Rogers won the house with hla first note and tenored himself Into pronounced favor until his last He has a msUUIuoua range, equally true in all registers, and his repertoire is popular and clailslcal In proportion, accurately gauging a vaude- ville audience. Uorton and Glass re- peated their familiar run of song and dances, finishing stoutly with their stairs dancing. Grace De Mar with her old smile and much new material took a comedy medal. Ideally placed after Rogers and before Howard; and In her easy and punchy variations of attack played her feminine types for high lights and low laughs throughout, being driven to a speech at the end. The Dancing Kennedys closed with their legitimate exhibits of grace and power, and In all the show went as one of the season's high spots. iMlt. PAUCE, CHICAGO. Chicago, March 31. An onuBually animated and variegated entertainment. The Jordan Girls, two chubby cuties who open the show In "one" with sweetly feeble voices, then go into stirring tight- wire-work, cleaned. They were tne first of the leg-shows that mark this bill. Jennie Hlddleton followed -In socks and a lace pinafore, and fiddled herself Into a hit that stopped the works; the girl Is a study in petite and delicate showman- ship, and is no child on the violin. Her Instrument is a wonder>box. too. Hugh Herbert In "Mind Tour Business" started the comedy and it went whistling over the top. Herbert has his own way of writing and delivering fast bitingsatlre. He is one of the national wits. His act is sure stuff and his acting makes it surer; the "company" Is just so-so. Irving Fisher (New Acts) fitted beautifully after low^ comedy with a "class" offer-i inf.. Stuart Barnes, veteran, did mildly un- til he changed to his eccentric characteri- zation, when he drew some noise. Fin- ished welL The Bothwell Browne revue of nudity.'novelty, incense and nonsense, held closely, but the concluding bows were a trifle forced. The U'l Browne Sis- ters, as before, got the clapping honors, and Bee Allard, than whose no figure anywhere Is more adorably dimply and perfect, led in the gasps. A "John" tried to make Harriette Oimbel conspicuous with single-handed applauding. Al and Fanny Stedman tore glotes to shreds and blistered bare palms, easily outdis- tancing the field in volumevand endur-.. ance of clamor. .Fanny, too, revealed un- derpinnings, but they only were incidents to a bearcat run of walloping song and comedy. Al's mugging Is of the sort fhat makes one scream with joy and not with annoyance, and some of hia piano business is new and glittering: The Rlgolettos, with the Swanson Sis- ters, closed. The versatile stunts of the brothers and the striking yodles and dai^ces of the sisters would have struck harder earlier, but did ntcely ytlth those who stuck. The'se ladies; also, showed a wealth of stockings and in them. It was. In all, one of the leggiest bills ever,as-' sembled. ... ' ^ RIALtdTCHICAGO.' Chicago. March Zli. Three girls on this bill exhibit po- tentialities beyond the standards of this vaudeville nieltlng pot And-a melting not .kit is. Though ofilclally a Loew- booked stand, the Rlalto Is supplied en- tlrelv from the Chicago office by J. C Mattnews, and he assembles the bills from numerous sources—turns on the way to or .from Fantages routes, regu- lation Loew acts breaking the Jump' from south pr west to the east or vice versa, W. V. M. lA.. acts with open- time; occasional big timers laying oft. The Rialto Is at peace with the world and anyone may play there without preju-- dice except artists already signed for the Orpbeum trio in Chicago. Thus on this bill appear performers who recently tried out for "Association" routes and were turned down, standard V Pan acts, hardened big-small timers and sojne strangers to either local observers or regular Loew fans. , , The three girls referred to are Miss Maker (Maker and Redfor), Beatrice Sweeney (single) and the blond planlete- comlc In the opening act, Allen, Clifford and Barry. ' s Miss Maker is sunported by a young chap of conspicuously pleasant person- ality, who could slide right with her into the best elroultSi If he would curb' an unbecoming over-anxlety td be "fly." Hia asides to*the orchestra ^and his In- cidental quips dull assets of breeding and ingratiation which are his natliral gifts. His coihedy otherwise is entirely acceptable. Miss Maker first appears in a dMhing eyeniug costume, with a smCTt wrap, she purveys on sight all those distinctive qualities, physical and i spirit- ual, which mark the stage thoroughbred. Her diction Is as sharp and perfect as her profile. Her dark hair Is 1 dressed politely^ Her brie^ dance at first is crisp and graceful. Later, when Redfor has changed to evening togs, she reap-r pears in shorter skirts over black tights and -reveals two of her prettiest talents. ' Her dancing becomes acrobatio, but re- calls the technique of Lucile Cavanagh In Its flying charms of physique and man- ner. The girl has the sort of all-over polish which "makes" her sort overnight en Zlegfeld's .roof. Small time will hardly hold her long. The turn "went" for a livelier Interest and a sounder hand than any other on this bill before this always frigid audience. , Miss Sweeney is a contoi^ionlst, rope> and trapeze performer, and by-the-teeth hanger. That sounds like a poor start for higher honors. But the child rings the bell. With her act staged with criminal negligence of every external aid, to atmosphere, and a routine so wrong that at times it sent her best work t^ handless climaxes, she , never- theless left a valuable Impression. In- stead of a dainty setting befitting her feminine personality and redeeming the -hard lines' of her chosen endeavors, she worked on cold and clumsy apparatus In a sombre house palace set and on a white' mat that looked like a kitchen rag, But she, herself, was fragile and unathletic looking, with chestnut hair flying ana every lithe body line unstrainftd and . gentle. Her contortions, effortless as they were, were overdone. She would "stand up" better if she revealed less of her double-Jointed proclivities, for audi- ences accept bending as art and contor- tions as freakish. The lighting for her whole act was slovenly. The girl' has a great deal to offer, but needs an Inspired director. When s^e has that she will hear salvos as she s>vings out over the head of an audience, holding by her teeth and swaying in each girlish fibre, relaxed and lovely. Miss Allen (if it is Miss Allen) is a 'buxom baby with a corking tap on the piano, comedy procilvlttes far beyond her present station, a rounded figure that'ripples and kisses the eye, and a lot of mlsdfrected Individualities. The three- act is atrocioua It Is a jumble of pianos, brass,wlolin, whistling and hoakum. The other two girls are negligible. But 'the out-up. If harnessed into a sane routine, and sentenced to sing songs not too high for her middle register, would be on tne way toward glory. The turn perished as It was. This one, too, was woefully managed. . Two pianos stood dead up and down instead of being angled so that half the audience wouldn't be looking at the back of an upright with the players hidden. One piano was black and the other mahogany, and the set,and fixln's matched about as well. This sort of act presentation Is unjustlflabie on any time. , as was a stage-hand's foot and leg which Remained visible through an exit during the entire process of Douglas Graves and Co.'s sketch. That act ran neatly other- wise, having an amazingly human fat comedian- and' a flimsy but appealing, plot Frank Ward, the finger.-dancer, got as much applause and laughter as anybody on the bill. His opening monolog starts with a whizz when he lays, "I'm orasy." That's some premise on.which to build a humorous line of talk, and he gets strong laughs but not entirely in. six-cylinder succession. When he pulls his black velvet miniature stage and does his unique'Specialty he shoots oVer the top. His new finish; a shimmy, la a convul- sion. Ward would be a novelty on the best circuits, and could qualify for No. 2 as he stands; with a little weightier and surer chatter at the start he could land anywhere and make them like It Burke and Lee.worked hard and were losers on the deal. The man is a thin dancer of the ti)ght-pants variety, and, when not ' talking too much, amuses mildly. Sweat- ing to draw dialog laughs, though, he , wShow^s hlmaAt up in a monotony or mug- ' ' ging and physical misshoplng whicli Is never pleasant and' sometimes improper, and in nis spoken stuff falls as low as thlK The girl: I want you to distinctly understand—. The man: Don't you call me no stinker. The lady has a healthy • figure and dances according to the book. ' This sh,ould be almost .entirely a dancing act with tnore exchanges of dancing style and less stalling for comedy, whloh Aoes not naturally go with the grain, yiller and Ralney appeared next to . 'Closing, doing better than when seen at the Lincoln, though the talk in the first part was scarcely audible. The woman > has out down some of her comedy efforts, imprO'vIng her quality thereby. The man does'a^omedy slide trombone bit midway in th4 act which, if it stood alone, wduld be wd^rth booking as a three-quarters-of- a-mlnute act Two bows dt the finish, with her singing "'Venetian Moon^' and the man accompanying piano'on- his straight trombone. The now frayed "Corner Store," once a famous headline act and now the gosh-dlngedest shrfear of white paste and Shameless low Com- edy, got some laughs on the rough stuff, I but not much of anything at the end., The performers in ^ this pie. and paint, lunacy worked hard and well, overlook- ing no disorderly conduct or assault and battery for laughs, yet the low-forehead bunch Bowehow did not respond with en- thusiastic yells such as one might have foreseen for this- kind of fun hurled at this kind of people. LaU. ' STATE-LAKETCHiaCO. Chicago, March 91. . Anita Diaz's Monkeys opened and pleased; Mack and Earl, quiet talk and singing, got laughs but found the going heavy otherwise, leaving, however, to a ^^od Impression; Staley and Blrbeok's durable musical novelty had some trouble making the original set. but the transformation to the blacksmith shop Was breath-stopplne—^heavy applause; Morgan and Gates killed the mob fdr a comedy bang, "A Trip to HItland," sans Bonnie Grossman (111), never went as big and-may never go as big again, being lOO per ccft^t ideal for tne iState-Lakers; Four Readings, one of the best hand bal- ancing acts of them all, thrilled. Ernest Evans and Girls and Merlin did not ap- pear In the show reviewed. McVICKERVCHICAGO. Chicago, March 31. Davis and McCoy mopped up. The man has a fresh and clear style of shooting comedy. He brings on his pretty partner in a smooth way and their repartee is corking and done corklnger and goes for the hit of the bill. Their eong delivery Is even more telling. They eouldj have done three more encores. This Is* good enough for next to closing on anybody's circuit Frank Stafford In his whistling specialty, with his beautiful 'dog, is one of vaudeville's classics, and the audience , received it as such. Mayo and Nevins, piano and singing and burlesque Imita- tions all right except the imitationi': one of a Hebrew In a recruiting olfice es- pecially objectionable, and two Irisn names for the team don't help make it more palatable; Impressed lukewarmly. ' Klncaid Kilties have deteriorated. They have a lot of war routine which is frayed. Imitations of Lauder are done without credit—without credit to Lauder either by mention or by Imitation. Joan and Kathryn King, annual visitors with a following, slid through handily. Cook, Mortimer and Harvey, basket ball on bikes, raised enthusiasm and fun; some of the boys look reminiscent of the Oxford Trio. Kinzo, Conroy andO'Don-. • nell and Murray and Lane not on.at this - flbOW. . ; ^ ■ ■ ... .■■^- 'V,.- . ' AMERICAN, CHiq^Gl^' Chioago, Marfili SI.' . Bbrt and Hasel'Bkattelle, roller'skatlilg dancers, open lit "one" with a neat flirta- tion double number closing the song in .' full stage. Their skating routine is a ; little draggy in places, but some accept- able slngfng and pretty changes made ny the woman carry the act through' tb % food finish. Jed Cai^pbell and Esther tarr have loads of'' special talk and songs and bury their really wortH-whlle violin work under it Thoy play but two violin' numbers and talk endlessly- - Plenty of appearance and personality put them over, and their audience plainly wants more violin and less talk. Thdy . went fair. '' ; ' Opening off stage with an operatic.... number that he does well, George B. ' Wilson getsilaughs from the moment he • makes his appearance. It's decidedly Hebraic, and he makes the most of it Works in street suit, very little make- up and puts a good lot,ot talh over with sheer personality. He accompanies him- self acceptably on the piano for a ftnlsh.- Went very big. Charles Mack and Co. in an Irish dialect skU, "A Ffleiidl> Ciill," made a laughable few. moments of it The oharetcers were well handled; the plot based on the gloominess, with which the friend attempted, to cheer up the convalescent. An Irish jig to the acoompairtment of bag-plpee got them off to a rousing finish. Clayton and Lennie war's a riot as usual, doing the same talk and songs and hoakum that they've dohe for years. 'Very big. AS a closer, however, the Im- perial Quintet was absolutely a loss.. Their very good voices, costumes and' entire routine was in the -wrong place to hold them in, with the result that tha ■ walk-out was big and spoiled the act for those who might have wanted to heat* the good work. ' ;' ;.,<:/ ':-:m i, '^-i^ ■'■, HELEN LEHMAN DEAD. ! , . . thlcago. March 31...; Helen Lehman died suddenly lILit^^H' 2Z, of "flb." Miss L^bnian was at one'/- time in the Follies chorus, then be- came confidential secretary to'the late'_. Harry Hamlin and latft treasurer of the Grand Opera House here. She left here to go to New York and held'sev-'. erkl secretarial and booking positions't: in the U. B. O. offices. :- V v . She then became a ^booking agent and vaudeville producer and When Al-/>. fred Hamburger had a string of »TOaU-'; time hojOses here she came wfedt again and was his .booking tnanager.'Shewas> rtcently employed as publicity expert • for the Republican National Committee, "^ and was about to return to Ne^v'York' •; again and re-enter vaudeville in'the . booking end. Miss Lehman iifai. bora in Chicago and was about 37 years old^; Singer's MMgats Cbaago Pelley.' 7 Chicajgo, Mt»fch 31,y. (Singer's .Midgets are playing the Kedzie,' an outlying small-time hotise . with a split-Week policy for the full week, matin'ee daily and .two shows niehtly, at $3,000, with a four-act vaude- ville support. This is a departure in every particular for this stand; The ' act recently broke all records at the Stake-Lake. "BOOST CHICAGO" CAFE SHOW. Chicago, March 3)f. - Will Harris has been commissioned to produce a review for the States, one of the oldest cabaret restaurant! in town, which has for several years played down the entertainment fea- ture. He will call it "Boost Chicago," the municipal slogan on which milliont are'being-spent ...''*i -i'-W ^K