Variety (April 1920)

' ,.■■*- ■ 26 SHOW REVIEWS .... . •. . ■ ■ .. . ^' -v . ■. ;s + N.J PAUCE Tha 'Withdrawal of Ume. Bmma Tren- tinl at th« twelfth hour neceiaitatad tha rearrangement of the entire bill at the Palace on Monday. The MoaconI Broth- era, aaslated by their family, aubatltuted and made It a lOO per cent vaudeville proffram of the real aort. There was. atrange to record, not one Jan sot, %xA hardly a auggeatlon of ablmmylnff. un- lesa It be a modicum of It by the Uoaconla and aome burleaaueing of it by a couple of other turna. Another thing worth commentinc upon waa the aeatlBR of practically the entire audience with the Itrat act and no ruah'' ing out before the ahow waa over. Thia nay be accounted for by the movlBfr of the olook by leglelatlon. Folka HvIdr in Jeraey oould leave the Palace by mid- night. If neceaaary, and atill catch tbe 11.15 train for their bonea.' The houia waa not ao full Monday evening aa uaual. All tite aeata were i filled but not <he bozea, undoubtedly the ' result o( Holy Week, and again It nay have been due to the abaenoe of any biff headline name to top the bill. But as a vaudeville ahow, made up entirely of acta eelected for their ''make good" ability, it is a pippin. Flrat came Capt. Orub^r and hia splen- did high aohool animal act They earned merited applause, more than is uaually accorded an opening turn at the Palace. Nelson and Crddin, a couple of men with a piano, aing'a number of well selected atory songs, all of them light In texture, well characterized a<id done In "nut" fashion, with the exception of "When BCy Baby Smiles at He." an effective but not maudlin ballad. They offer a very neat act that would be sure Are anywhere. The Moaoonls, In third spot, carry their own leader who playa the baasoon for enhancing the orchestral effect Old man IfoBooni (it seems hardly Just to call Papa Hoaconi "old" when he can still do a head aptn) fumbled hta daughter once when endeavoring to throw her oyer his shoulder, which caused a titter, Iiouls* acrobatic etenping, as usual, was the nit of the act. Val and Ernie .Stanton, with their clever tutor and pupil characteriza- tions, scored with their humorous mal- aproplama. They would score very strong- ly In Bngland. One gets the impression they hall from there. They have a new gag which la funny only to those in the business—one asks the other what the orchestra Is playing and he replies: "The tel«gram number from Oua Sun." Their routine la very carefully thought out and everything they do la flniahed. The Joseph Stantley-ivey Sawyer min- iature musical revue. In its second week at the Palace, is the only "pretentious" act and Is sufficiently so to do for one bin. It Is rather a reminiscent Imnrea- alonlstlc act magnificently coatumed and with moat effective settings. Not only are the principals good performers, but their support la far and away beyond the conventional "girl act," which Is usually made up of'a number of chorus girls who fall woefully when they attempt to do specialties. The quarete of girts In the company can sing and dance. Miss Saw- yer Is considerably thinner since last seaaon. which Is much more becoming. After intermlasion came "Topics of the .Daj^' with, thlsVeek, ahappyaeleotlonof sayings culled from the country's news- papers. Thomas H. Swift and Mary Kelley were welcomed with their famil- iar' offering. He is a corking kidding straight and Miss, Kelley is very legiti- mate, in the manner in which she accepts it Her rendition of "Buddy" is also full of expression and earned her a healthily demanded encore. . ^ ^, Leon Errol is In a class by himself with hia comedy scene, "The Oueat" To hear the audience scream with laughter yon would Imagine It waa a brand new offering, never before aeen* In New York. They will probably never tire of seeing it. But there Is too much light on the stage for the finish wherein he breaks the statuary, showing It up as mere plaster of Paris. . ^. ' ^ ' .. ^ Julius Tannen has his uaual brijllant aasortment of chatter, moat of it origin- al, with one gag no leas than 18 years old—the one about asking If one can be a Christian on fl.SO a day. Tannen has learned that it pays to wait for his audience when ne springs a subtle wheezte, giving <them ample time to dU gest each one. He finishes with an ex- > pioslve recitation—that .ia, exploaive in ■ tta rendition. The placing of good mono- ' legist In next to closing position brings baok the good old days of variety, be- fore we had "advanced." "supreme" and other flamlwyant styles of vaudeville. ' The Maglevs. a neat team of whirlwind and other kinds of faat dancing, fittingly cloaed with a brief turn. A faat moving, well assembled hill. /oto. RiNGLING.B. & B. CIRCUS. This li the second season of the com- bined Rlngllng Brothers and Bamun A Bailey Shows. It's a fast moving circus entertainment 'this year, on the whole even better than - that of last season. . Nineteen dlsplaya are programmed, the features being Bird Millman. Mile. Lelt- ael and May wirth and the Wirth Family of barebacki performers. lASt Friday night Bird Mlllman did not appear, hav- ing iuffered a sprain during the re- hearsal, preceding the opening perform- ance. The injury kept Mlsa Millman out of tbe ahow up to Tueaday of tbe cur- rent week. The Wirtha, on number IS, third from cloalag, were the hit of the show Friday alKht May Wlrth'a remarkable exhibi- tion of acrobatic riding, which Included ssemlngly Impossible feats of somersault- ing, being accorded an Individual storm of applause that ahook the old'Garden from ita aawdust floor to its anolant stoel rafters. The Wirtbs are doing the same turn which they showed in vaude- ville recently. "Phunny Phil," who Is really Phil St. Leon, furnishes a lively brand of comedy, which stands out In strong contrast to the daring straight riding tricks contributed by May Wirth and the other members of her talented family. He Is also an expert rider. The Wlrths were the second turn to be given the center of the arena alone with the usual spotlighted accompaniment, number 12, Both acts were announced' the other being lilllian Leltzel. appearing by tiew Oraham, preceding their entry Into the arena. The Leltzel turn%ran the Wlrths a neck and neck race for first honors. Miss Leltsel's breath taking gymnastics on a perpendicular rope some 120 feet in the air causing gasps of amazement Aa a thriller It makes all of the previous "death defying" special- ties put forth as the one best bet of past circus performances look extremely pale by comparison. Mile. Leltzel gains a great deal through personality that fairly radiates magnetism, a pretty face and a figure that holds the male por- tion of the audience with a vise like grip from the moment she enters the ring. Her feature atunt, embracing 20 revolutions in mid-air while ahe ia cling- ing to the rope with one hand constitutes about as lUervy a feat of skill and en-' durance for a woman aa the human mind can conceive poaalble. But while the two above mentioned acts commended' the major attention of the audience, the daring head balancing of Willie Karbe and Hillary Long on flying trapezes, rigged near the roof of the Oarden also contained thrills that sent shlvfera up and down the spines of the spectators only secondary In nature to those caused by the clever and risky work of the Wlrths and. Mile. Leltzel. Karbe, just to make harder perhapa, does his entire trapeze specialty including the upside down swinging balance while wearing eye glosse; pinched on his nose. The show opens with the customary pageant with the band clad in Chinese costumes. The pageant is colorful and the various groups lend a likeable air of variety. Theae Include the old< Cin- derella group from the Rlngllng Show of three years ago, historical figures of different periods, such as a squad of mounted battle-axe men,'eto. The freaks trail along on the tall end of the "grand entry." Zip, the veteran; the negro giantess, and a wild woman with a well developed pair, of shimmy shaking shoulders, each received individual at- tention and applause. The second display waa the elephants, fifteen In* number, divided into groups of five in each ring. John Krelger held ' ring one. Oeorge Denman ring two and Oeorge Hennessy ring tttl-ee. The "bulls" all do their tricka practically in unison, the same tricks being offered In each of thQ three rings. The pedestals used this season are considerably higher than laat. ^ was during the rehearsal of the ped- estal, trick that one- of the assistant trainers was injured'last Wednesday, so badly he died on Saturday. The "Red Cross Nurse" stunt from last year, an amusing bit of by-play performed in a manned suggesting super Intelligence by the pachyderms and the football game with its possibilities for comedy, both ' stood out, each landing a wallop. At the conclusion of the elephant turn, eight additional "bulls" are"trotted out Into the' trwk and the assembled twenty-three line up for a bow. Display, number 3 Includes the Tybell Sisters and The Seafords in "Iron jaw" turns. The Eugenes and Miss Bonsaire, also in "Iron jaw" specialties but of ia somewhat different nature, the Crom- wbUs and Rooneys In truly daring trap- eze specialties and Sylvan, unpro- grammed, also doing a single trapeze turn. Th^ woman of the Cromwell act, gained central attention, mainly through her artistic and thrilling flying stunta, and Incidentally by way of a.whlte union suit that set off her curves with a defini- tion and clarity that was as attractive as It was startling. Display number 4 was two groups of trained bears, put through their paces respectively by Miss and Mons. Fallen. A decidedly pleasing animal turn, with special Y&lue.for the kids. Display 6 con- sisted of Frank Marcirlllo, Orrln Daven- port and John Carrela each being allotted a ring for bare back exhibitions. Orrln Davenport, In the center ring, gave his regulation clean cut and unapproachable display of straight riding, pulling down a huge applause score. Display 6 was the living statuary groupings, with snow white horses 'play- ing an Important part in the various tablet^us. The broncho busters. Includ- ing Cy Compton, Hank Durnell, Art Bo- den, Lulu F&rr, Madeline Dupree and Jllllle Lapell made up the 7th diaplay. u'he reckless equestrian feats and lariat throwing, like tbe Uvlag atatuur. « part of last season's show, gave ten minutes of speedy entertainment SVi- day night one of the grila suffered a bad, fall while trying to ride one of the mus- tangm but she picked taeraelf up pluokily and went right after tbe unruly bronoho again. BIghth would have been Bird Millman. Ninth Included Leon Mitst, eaulUbrlst; the Jostiffson Troupe of Icelandic physi- ical culture experts, John 8ohut>ert, Al Sylvester, Mon. De Mario, Frank Mar- low and Mile. Marlette In pontortloniatlo feats; Jaclcson and McLaren, the Auatia- - lian Woodchoppers and the Bruno Troupe in a ladder balancing act The Icelanders and Jackaon and McLaren donated the eventa In this display. Tenth display waa Hart Brothers; Rice, Bell and Baldwin; the Four Comrades; Strik and Arena, all acrobatic comtquea; Fred Kerslake, with trained plga; H.' Rltelly, in a table tumbling turn klong the llnea of the one done by Beirt Mel- roae but not original with the latter, and Mile. Spangelletl, a male dwarf in a .riding turn done with the aid of a "me- ohanlc," Mile. Spangelletl beara a strIk-, ing resemblance to Slgnor Bhagongt who did a similar turn last season. Probably it's the same person with, the billing changed for policy purposes. The Davenports, three prettily cos- . turned women aU corking bare back riders, and Orrln Davenport, Mme. Bradna and the Clarkdons. were display number 11. Mme. Bradna bas the same flniab as last ye^r. a flock of doves which perch on her head, and a horse making a pictur- esque tableau for the get a way. Twelfth waa Mile. Leitsel. Thirteenth was Frank HuUng's trained sea lions. Alf Loyal and Mark Hullng also with a troupe of finny entertainers. The bell solo by Frank Hulllng's star berformer "Big Nep" and the antics of Mark Hul- lug's clown seal "Juneau" proved a very likeable brace of feature tricks. The Alf Loyal dog act worked very smoothly, alao held a dumb comio in the shape of a black French poodle who got a score of laughs with hia canine nonsense. Fourteen held tbe Willie Karbe and Hillary Long trapeze thrillers. Long, besides his trapeze work, slides down a wire on bis head. A dandy thriller but not sufllciently bally booed to nuJte it stand out In this display also were the Wise Troupe and the Vanettes ia first rata perch a«ts. Trilby Wbite In a corking revovlng trapeze turn, and tbe Andresaen Brothers in an aerial balanc- ing turn. The Boeders, Joe Dekoes Troupe, Four Mellllo Sisters, Seven Bracks and Bobker Araba, all. acrobatic turna of. unusual worth, made up display fifteen. Sixteen waa the May Wirth Fanally riding act The -casting turns were number sitteea. Tbese included the Clarkonlans, with Ernest Clark performing a' triple somer- sault a.nd a variety of twisters that placea him at tbe top of the heap of his respective class: the Charles Siegreat Troupe, a flying trapeze family turn, and the Sltbon Family, another aerial com- bination, both performing evolutions familiar In character but still extremely risky and Intensely thrilling. Tbe per- formance concludes with the obvlot races, which are preceded by the "rider- less racer event" in which Beauty Is matched against a horse guided by a Jockey, a standing oollseum rac'e after the fashion of the aneieht Roman ring eventa, the dog race, Shetland pony race and regulation Jockey affair. \ The clowns are entertaining but there la little in the way of novelty In this dlvlaion to cause any undue excitement This season the Blngling B,. B. Show is charging |S ton at the Garden. Friday Bight the show did capacity. Sail. COLONIAL It is a question whether or not a claqoe Was used for oae of the acta on the bllL If this was a fact, then mighty' poor Judgment was used, for Immadiatsly after tha act was oft there was an, ex- odus from a certain section* of the gal- lery, and thl8«almost broke up the one following. The tramping of the out- going crowd made the rest of the gal- lery testleas, and it Was a difficult mat- ter for the act. to get over its opening. Incidentally this incident seemed to create an element of unrest In the gallery section'of the house, and on two Occa-' siona later In the bill aota were valmost given the "bird." Happily, both' turns managed to weather the storm. , Of course. If the audience that fre- quents the upper loft of this house Is . going to resume the tactics that were firevalent there several years ago. th^re B only one thing for the management to do to nip It in the bud. ThatTs send for a couple of "strong arms" and clean up. Either that or lose a great part of ' the patronage that has been built up for the lower floor. In the event that It was a claque that Was used on Monday night, and this fact could be proven, then the act that employed this means of getting applause should be severely disciplined by the i booking office. The walking/out by-a number of the gallerltes certainly caUaed disturbance enough to make It difficult for the other acts on the bill to calm the crowd again. Tbe show as a whole, however, was one tA the best bUla that has Iw^n Mai( , around* New York in aome timai Tni lights oiit front'aUnouBOBd the ptogtBd as ;'An All SUr Bill," atop of thbi^r? don and William Dooley were warred,^ with tbe Morln Bisters couple^ wiUi them in the electrics. » - \ If tbere was any criticism to, make of the.show It would have to be that the flrat part waa a little heavy through two aketch offeringa having been placea in it The first of these was Uollls > Fuller preaented by Joeeph HArt . In , "Couain Eleanor," by Frances \Nord? / • Strom. Placed second on tbe bill tbe act did not have an opportunity' to show lt» true worth, although MIsi Muller received an ovation and the ap)* plause at the flniab was satisfaotory with the spot taken Into oonsldei-atlocr. . The second was Laura Pierpont in the Edgar Allan Wolff Effusion, "The Ouldi; ing Star" (New Acts), which closed the flrst .half. ji ■ Tbe Musical Johnsons were the'open- ° Ing offering and with popular airs'Utelr . work on the xylophones managed to : please to the' extent, of sufficient ap- plaUae to warrant the two encore'selec- ticna played. . ■ i.- Mae and Boae Wilton were third. Of course, if In this day grandmothers of 66 dress to appear 26 then It 4a: right for a ooople of young ladiea paat'.their teena to dreaa as though they were six. But in dressing they should bear In.mlnd that there are only certain type of knees that Ziggy permits to be shoWn Without tights and that'their's are not what he would pick for the without Their "Cindrella" number at the open- ing was mildly received, the applause grew for "I Hear You Oalllng Me" of- fered as a single number in which the girl singing it went flat twice and her vc^ce broke entirely at one time. If she cannot alng the number, why keep It In the act? It has been heard by nearly everyone that attends a vaude- ville show and usually properly sting. With the piano apd vioUa work the gtrla managed to regiater on the strength of the popular melodies ■ played. Then there came an insistent applause from the gallery and although those oa the lower floor were not In accord with - the gallery as to a continuation of the apt, two encores were given. The Amelia Stone and Armand KaUs . turn, "A Song Romance," had a hard ■ time getting started because at the open- ing of the act the walkout In the'gallery ocoured. But those seated in the "bal- oohy aad orobevtra managed to give ' vent to their approval as It,progressed and at the finish the turn scored. The real hit of the flrst part came with Joe Morris and .Flo Campbell. lUss Campbell is an accomplished comedienne who has personality to burn and is mighty easy tq look at. Her smile is worth.the price of admission alone and Is one'of those infeotious affairs that simply demands a responsive lightening of tbe features of those in front Henry Bergman was planted In a box and .when Joe Morris announced him he was given a round of applause. He boosted "Saraha Rose" and put it over effectively. The act actually stopi^d the ahow dead. During the I^aura Pier- . fiont act closing tbe first half the gal- ery made a slight outbreak but quieted down again. After the intermission the thought , transference turn, Zomah, opened. It held, interested and the card game bit at the finish was exceedingly tnyStlfy- . lag. Here Is the best of the acts of this, kind that bas been seen In a long while. The second outbreak occured at the opening of the Herscbel Henlere act The "bird" was slipped over, "take the air" was' shouted and finally one coin • was thrown on the stage. The uafhers got busy and were on the watoh but It ■ was Henlere's quick turn to comedy that saved him. At the finish of the act there was not question that he bad won the entire house. The Dooleys and the Morln Sisters, next to closing, had the audience howl- ing- from the opening acene to the final Rath' Brother burlesque bit. SJven though it was 11.23 when they were fin-* Ishing the audience was asking for more. The AroQ Brothers were the clos- ing act and with a splendid display of Showmanship they dashed on. did three ^ minutes and then closed. Needless to say they held the audience with the fait ' work and won applause. , Tbe low«r fioor business seemed to be the only section that was affected on Monday night because of Holy Week, WttOt RIVERSIDE. An unusually good show this week, characterized by novelty, dlveraity and solid entertainment values. The lioe Kids. (New Acts) and Belle Baker, both enormous hits, panicked the show in the second half: Green and BIyler on number two, and House of David Band closing the flrar half also scoring full fiedged knock«outs. Pat and Julia Leyolo opened and en- tertained the eaHy birds with a dandy routine of slack and tight wire stunts. Although the pair only caught half a house full they managed to grab off a couple oX well earned bows at the oon-