Variety (April 1920)

m- *-;r«-;h. SHOWkiVIEWS » i V. #.•■ ■ fci;-' . <Sv.v elusion of their turn. It's a neat and Interesting act, with the speed with which the Tarious trlckH are run off an important fabtoi* In its success. Oreen and Blyler. deputizing for Sl- eanor Coohran, hit 'em a hefty wallop with a cycle of ragRy numbers. Misa Oreen does the singing confining her- self exclusively to coon dialect of which she has mastered every known angle. In method Miss Oreen brings to mind . Artie Hall and similar husky voiced coon shouters popular when Hammer- stein's was in Its prime. Blyler handles' the accompanlhients expertly, never al- lowing the piano to become intrusive as the >4naJorlty of vaudeville accompaq- ' lests are prone to do. ••■■ Storting with "Toodel-oo" Miss Qreen delivered successively "liove Thy Neighbor," "Gobdbye." ''1 Get More Love J>y Accident" and "How Dd They Oet ■ That Way." Considering the fact that the audience was coming in throughout /the greater part of the act. Green and BIyler's achievement in stopping the show' so early was indeed remarkable. Third was an odd spot for an acrobatic turn, but William Brack and Company showed What a fast silent turn can do when given a real opportunity to dis- play their goods. This is the -Seven Bracks' act, also douhling at the Ring- ling' Brothers &. Barnum Show at thb Garden this week, but with' a different routine of acrobatics and rlsley work. The Kiversiders ate the comedy up and ■. returned the act a big winner In the ap* . plause division. One of the - most entertaining black ' face turns seen around this season is that of Lloyd and Wells, who in addi- tion to being first rate comics are both . excellent eccentric dancers. They held ' the show like a rock In the fourth spot, cleaning up a noisy hand at the finish. The House of David boys outside ot their freakish characteristics are all ■good mvsiolans, the team work of the ensemble numbers being especially worthy of comment. The band boasts a corking cornetist who is particularly strong on the. high register stuff. The .taking of a curtain call with the mem- bers of the band walking across the. stage in single file, with head and facial hirsute adornmfents streaming behind, ' was a good touch of showmanship. The act was an unqualified hit. "Plittation," a Moore-Megley Iproduc- tion, opened the second half. It's a pretty little turn of the musical comedy ■ type, with a cast' of clever youngsters who keep Interest at fever heat with ai succession of lively specialties. Frank . SIlis, a long legged eccentric dancer, . and Dorothy- Van. the principals, both ' scored individual hits. The act is work- ing much'better and faster than when last seen. Belle Baker, next to closing, put over nine songs, quite a record .breaking feat, followlnfr such a strong sliow. Miss Baker could have totoled ten numbers, but made a speech Instead. The Earles' closed with a well staged aerial turn, which held a goodly part of the house in as soon as they realized the qualitv : of gymnastics the Earles were per- forming. Attendance was capacity. ' ' Ben. ALHAMBRA. . Rae Samuels is causing the Harlemltes to buzz all this week and Incldently holdr ing up the Holy Week business. Only slight falling off was noticeable Mon- • day night, on the lower floor. Thd Chicago girl was programed for second after Intermission but was switched dpwn to next to closing after the Mon- day matinee. Monday night she fol- lowed .tho riotious Mosconl's who had tied the show into knots Just ahead of her. Miss Samuels.san? seven numbers and built up the same kind of a personal triumph, that used to be enloyed within these same walla by Vesta Victoria. Alice Lloyd and Lillian Shaw, in the days of Percy Williams. The house wanted to adont Miss Samuels and her present song eouipment. and shA was forced to beg off. The Mosconi Pamilv w(»re the other high light of the bill, with Dickinson , and Doagon., In the four spot, taking dCwn the next diploma. Miss Deagon's lispincr kiddisms and Mr. Dickinson's clever foiling and' appearance advan- taires Insured them for this house. Moran and Wiser, opening after in- termission and ■ "Topics." nulled down an individual pomody hit with their hat throwing and the comedian's eccentriTc sap" character. The act closes In onp and the comedian's utilization of the au- dience for throwing hats at his target head, was worked up to a high pitch. ■ At the finish he picked out a woman in the stage box and got so close to her bv Ivlne: prostrate upon the rostrom that fine had to reach out and put the hat on nl8 head. He kept returning It until It became increasingly funnier. De Witt, Burns and Torrence opened '1.their famllar pantominn and acrobatic Offering. "Awakening of Toys." Leon Varvara. a youthful pianist, was neuolng It. Varvara Is -a marvellous musician and exhibited remarkable fln- , Pering and touch, but at present the youngster lackis poise. Hp should correct njs tendency for a wandering gaze. His . glances into the entranoes had the at- tention of the house distraotM through some of his piano efforts. ' "The Meanest Man in.tho World." a comedy sketch (New Acts), followed. It Is a two people playlet and was nicely received thrbugh the capable handling. "Under the Apple Tree" (New Acts) closed the llr»t part ^ _ . Vera Sabiha, assisted by Maurice Spit- zer, closed things up and partially suc- ceeded in arresting the walkout. Spltser Is a graceful assistant and Miss Sablna an eloquent kicker, also showlnBT some pretty wardrobe. Her weakest effort was a Spanish solo dance that didn't stond up. An unprogramed .blonde con- tributed a toe dance, getting by fairly well. Co»l. ROYAL A near capacity house on deck Tues- day' to view a rather slow moving program. The only real highlights were Qeorgie Price, next to closing,^ Sophie Tucker,/Closing the first half and doub- llpg from the Palace, and Tl-ixie Prl- ganza with her "Block Party" vehicle revamped Into the ♦'Surprtse Partjf^ to \ suit these post-war days. Jean Haves was given program credit for the mate- rial a year ago. If memory serves us right, but no such program h<^orB'a|% accorded him now. The material In toe main Is the same Including the Bgyptlan travesty, the war song medley a'nd the "garbage man'' ballad. Rekoma, self-styled "gentleman equili- brist" opened and would prove himself more eiteotive if the air of surliness that pervades his style of working were am- putated. He maintains a perpetual "grouch" It appears, dividing it between the orchestra leader and the wIukb. He might limber up a little and slip a smile across to the customers. It can't, be denied, howeve^, Rekoma Is a corking 'artist in his line. George Wilson and, Ben Larson found No. 2 easy with their pot pourrl of hokum. They are worthy of their graduation from the three'i( day school. James B. Donovan and Marie Lee had things their own way with the vehicle they have been identified with, following Ethel MacDonough's ' clever conceit, "Mllftdy's ' Busy Day" (New Acts). Sophie Tucker closed interroissloh and was her usual k. o. She was a riot with.the Bronx!tes. She encored wiUi a new addition to her program, "Rost' of Washington Stiuare" with an appro- prlate costume for the "local color. The way she's doing the "Buddy" number, however, with the slide projections.'«t a1, smacks too strongly of extra "plug> ging." It's a worthy number though and scored heavy In Sophie's repertoire. She alBoMoes the sure fire "DardaneUa".tune . In her own fashion and scored big on the comedy asides arid Improvised lyrlAs. ' Horace Wright and Rene Dietrich re- opened after intermission and Impressed favorably with a better class song rou- tine, They are "somewhat different singers," as per program appellation, and evidently the change Is welcome to an audience judging from the returns ao- ' corded by the Tuesday night crowd. They encored with an exceedingly clever "So Long. Oo Loni?" Chinese ditty. Trixle Frlganza had them with her continually In the ensuing spot, but It remained for George Price tq drag down the applause, ..comedy and hit honors of the show. They couldn't have enough of the Ju- venile entertainer and thrice the lights were doused to no avail. Price appears level headed throughout and he has been enjoying this favoritism for some time. Henri Young who usually presides at the Ivories and who was also programmed its out of the turn for good. Price for an extra encore Introduces a young.girl. not more than 16 possibly, as his."sister" —and the resemblance Is striking enough to sustain the veracity of the announcement—who renders two vocal choruses.' She is clever and suggest* possibilities. Just. some more latent talent which George Price's sponsor, Ous Edwards, should be able to develop If any man should. - , Mite. La Toy's canine act closed and held thera in to some extent. KEITH'S, PHILADELPHIA. Fhlladet'phia, March SI. It used to be In the dear old days that Holy Week was a half-salary period in the show business, and If the house broke even the manager ordered himself a,new Kelly and wore an Baster smile a mile wide. No more. Tou wouldn't know it was Holy Week • n^^wadays when you watch them crowding Into the theatrea There was no difference here this week than, on any other Monday afternoon, and by the time "Topics of the Day" had been shown the house was capacity and everyone was seated for the anpearanoe of the Three Weber Girls, a corking good acrobatic act by a trio of comely look- ing misses who prove earlier that they have fairly good voices. There wei» plenty of good names on the bill, and this may put it over despite Holy Week, but the start was beyond any unfavor- able crltlclBm. The Bessie Clayton danc- ing act was the strongly featured head- liner, and put over a smashing hit that made Jt rather hard for Frances Kennedy In the next to closing spot. Whether Miss Kennedy was suffering ,_ - ,'\y :. \- ■■>■•■. • ■ \- h - - from hoarsenesi, or was frightened by the walkout, she got off to a weak start and had to work nard toward the finish to get her stuff over. She went at her Vttsk heroically, however, and managed to squeeze, through a nice sized hit. It was no fault of Miss Kennedy's, for she is a classy comedienne, with good ma- terial and a knowledge of how to use it, so that under even such tough conditions ■he was bound to score, which she did. All other acts and productions con- sidered, there is .none of the bit; dance act that holds on as well as Bessie Clay- ton's, she was given a great reception and has. niever danced to more applause than this time. The Canslons continue as a specially big hit in the act. and the .'new men Miss Clayton has added since last here are worthy successors to the others, James Clemens doing exception- ally well with his eccentric dancing. i\ dramatic offering of real distinction is that of Thomas E. Shea, who has worked out aclever bit of showmanship In the use of three bits of his most suc- • cessful plays. His acting In "The Car- dinal" and "The Bells" Is a» fine a bit of dramatic effort.as one could wish. The "Dr. Jettyll and Mr. Hyde" bit Is rather too short to give the audience a chance to appreciate Mr. Shea's treatment of this most gruesome works but every number was spletididly received and* Mr. Shea was called before the curtain for a neat speech of thanks, not for applause, but for the marked attention shown him. Mr. Shea la a welcome addition to vaude- ville and he has splendid support from his players. Anna Held, Jr., who played only one performance the last time she appeared at this house, owing to illness, was very well received, though the maiu contribu- tion by the daughter of the great French artiste Is in the wearing of some striking clothes. Emmet Gilfoyle, with coifiedy bits and a couple of songs, takes care of the major portion of-the act, and those In front seemed perfectly satisfied and accorded the couple a liberal hand. A good sized hit went to the credit of Dave Roth, a local boy, who played the piano and a one-string instrument, had a Rirl singing from one of the boxes and brought his baby on for a bow. Roth Is a clever entertainer, voraatlle and does Just enough of each of his bits to show that he has studied out his offering to the best advantage. He held down a rather-'Imiliortant spot In great thape and finished to a solid round of applause. Lepnard ana Willard landed nicely with a mixture of comedy and songs, the woman, doing most'of-the oomedv and handling it very well. They got a lot of laughs and made their exit with plenty of recognition to their credit. .The Kane. Morey and Moore act showed to the usual Monday walkout, but the boys have a lot of good tricks that they; do well and> In a showy manner. They nave a corking good acts of its kind thiat^wlVI do tor any high class bill in the opening or closing spot. KEIWS,BOSTWL Boston, March 31. , Valeska Suratt In "Scarlet," without a doubt the best thing she has ever at- tempted In this city. Is the headjlner. and has to work speedy to hold this position. The audience refiected the (not that It was Holy Week and. many of the familiar faces were not in evidence. While there ^ were quite a few standees, some seats were empty. At the Monday night performance the show started off early and slow: so slow in fact that It appeared for several minutes as though It might stop.completely. But after this . danger spot .has been passed it speeded up so fast that it was stopped once by the audience, in three position, and. came very near being stopped again toward the, finish. • ^ The reception given "Scarlet" here. Is oerhBDS one of the best tributes to Jack T.Alt. who wrote the "tab," he .evei- got Tf hiB story hadn't run so evenly, hadn't been BO. full.of, good things that even a "hick" audience-^whloh, however. Bos- ton Is not—«ould not fall but get it, things would have been different for Valefka. l^ndoubtedly as a "vamp", of the vaudeville stage she Is par excePenco. but when you ask a vaudeville audience to wait,for; even a few minutes between scenes while facing a dead curtntn tn have a lapse of time indicated, and still hold interest, you have accomplished something. ITnleBS Lalt had written Into this sketch the necessary lines to hold attention the result would have been fatal, perhaps. But he wrote the Interest In there, Valeska and her company of capable playera CBpecIally Eugene Strong, trotted it out. and the affair was a success. It Is a much better vehicle than Valeska ever showed on the stage here before. Maud Karl started off rather lame. T^ls Is due to the peculiar Gonbtructfnn of her act. which calls for quite a bit of explanation In orose at the start, and which Is supposed to be her trial as a vaudevlllian by,a jury composed of the audience, with a maglsrate. who Is the company, handling the affairs of the court. She sings a bit from opern. a ballad and then a selection which la sup- posed to show that she Is capable of hitting high "C" Whether or not she hit th 8 note only a musical expert could tell from the front of the house,'but it is positive that shedld strike some high note with enough showmanship to lead everybody to believe It was the high 'C. But her closing number Is the gem. She appears In a beautiful ^ black cos- tume, showing a couple of very pretty, plump llnibH, and sngs a song about this beinir tho real Idea of a successful vau- deville act. She. mixes something akin to "Jazz" Into this portion and still sink- ing backs ti the rear of the stage and takes the curtain with tho spot full on her. It.was a riot and she got so man.' lurtulns, that. She was forced to make a - little. 8P|eech, . Kate jBlinore and Sum W.lliams fol- lowed , her. Any others than this pair would have found It a most difficult sppl and would have been in a hole startliig. But Kate, known here, wasted no time, und opening with WllltamB Jammed the gags right over. Dressed as an Indt^in squaw with'a coupe of toy pdpoose<> strapped bn her back, she was a riot. The first part of their act Is a s dewalk patter Btunt, and then while she chainfies. Williams sings a couple of good num- bers—"Typical Tlpporory" and "Git Them While They're -Dancing'—in a classy manner. Kate then com^s back and In what might be called a latter day "Maggie Cllno" bit knocked tueiu out ol llie seats. They closed strong. Eddlb Foyer was a surprise. "The Man of a Thpusand Pooms" isn't very illuminating in describing an act. and when ISddle started off by some comedy stuff imitating a waiter In a cheap hash house relaying orders It looked kind of bad. But then he got down to busiiiess and showed why he Is holding such a prominent place. Hla recitation of "Dan- geroiis Dan MoGrew" means simplx that nobody else will ever use this poem to such good advantage here for some time to come. He recited It, acted It and staged it classlly. His "Boots,' by Kip- ling, selected by popular vote of the- house, was equally good, and be w«nt over In volplane style. For fifteen minutes Olsen and Johnson,- a couple of boys with a "nut" act, ran the house ragged. The boy at the piano Is Just a bunch of unleashed animation. His companion is equally effective as a foil. If there was a single bit of old stuff In their act it'must have been pretty: well covered up. One riotous piece fol- lowed another and they closed so strong ihat for a few seconds the show trem« Ibled and threatened to stop again. They took several well deserved bows. • • MoCormack and Mellon, a couple of dancing boys, are in two position. They do. well with their eccentric dance num-<' hers, but not so good with the other steps, and they could well toss over« board all the guff they pull at the start of their little stunt without hurtlntr the feelings of the audience any, The Nlkko Trio close the show. Three! Japanese, two men and a girl, they have' a very fair acrobatic act, with a novel Idea of tilrning somersaults and have them -registered by dials on' elevated stands for a closing. Unfortunately thcr were treated to considerable of a walk- ' out. .' - , '. \ , ., . Marco Twins, billed asl grotesque corner dians, open tho show. Not wiihlftg to do this act an Injustice, the best.that can be said Is that It probably affords a couple of persons a living, but It Is a sad commentary on the laws of this country when provisions have not beeii made which would make it unnecessary for one of us to earn a living by exploit- ing Inherited physical grotesquenesa. Zim£iiM)«y. ' FIFTH AVENUE. New Monday night figures for .thfit house may hot have been established this we^k but the attendance on that night was unUBually heavy. Extra ehalrk were placed in every available place and the solid standee crowd was never diminished. Y ' An excellent show was offered and It- brought real returns for several act! and in the eight-act program 70 per cent, or even more was big time mater- ial. Joe Cook headlined and took first honors from in next to closing with his "satire" on a vaudeville show. Joe wai a laugh all the way through. His "old. English" stuff In the tblllng of the long tale about the cinnamon cake had the- house wishing (or more. He explained' that the king's whiskers had anything that any of E. Young's House of David Band tossed to the wind beaten a mile. (Took used up his three encores—the "SInbad," Warfleld, Frisco bit: a dano»i and the Indian yarn with the finale story of why he won't Imitate the four Hawallane. In ail he tarried about IS minutes. On Just ahead. Jay Dillon and Betty. Parker created a nice Impression (New' Acts). Pete Pinto and Boyle, on fifth, delivered a hit. Tho trio Is recently off the Loow time and big time bookings look easy for the act, unless It be that the similarity In routine Is too olOjie to the act of Sablnl and Goodman now playing the Keith time in the Central West. The playing of a tune or aocora- paniment on a trunk Is a trick that has (Continued on pagre S2> 'i'M '■■'A m v.v3 "..vis* ;fsj*^ ... . a; -.vJ 7''i^ m