Variety (April 1920)

- e 22 SHOW REVIEWS'' ^ ;f;,:^7--;vc:.; ■:,-^i.:---'; ^v; ,f. I' 'A."■■ ffii. -v.-- ■*!•;■ I 3"-' ii;-- %'.> W brought Up to date, but on the whole the act has not been changed . Single women featured the bill, Gmma Trentini headlining, and Rae £amuels being the extra added at- traction. Both were solid hits,, there being little or no dlflerence In the volume of their respective scores. Each carried a pi...list, as did Forde and Sheehan (New AC ) who closed intermission. A woman accompanist was programed for Trentini, but a male player substi- tuted, and he showed a keen 8$nse of vaudeville values in his selec- tions during her changes. The little Italian scored from the first She was in great voice, and It the recent postponement of her vaiideville debut at the Palace w^ because ot a cold,' there were no traces of throat trouble. She reached the high notes of "Genimini Mei' (from "The Firefly") and "ZIn Zin" (from "xN'aughiy Marietta") with never a falter. There were two encores, and the last portions of both songs were employed. Re- «iue8t calls from the house came for the second recall, but the Ham- merstcin And said she didn't "know those songs."' Mme. Trentini seems pos. -ssed of the same "pep" that added to the big voice and small body, made her the light opera favorite of her day. For vaudeville she measures up splendidly. Miss Samuels collected t •? hon- ors for the early section of the show, going on fourth. She looked espe- cially well in a billowy frock. She opened up..\i'ith "Cuddle Up." fol- lowing with "A Darned Good Man to Have Aroun*'." ("he likes his lickei" strong and his women weak"). "That Fellow Nathan" and her rube number wound up her regular rou- tine, but the holise wanted an extra ■me.asure of encores. Miss Samuels gave two and then responded with Emily Darrell landed 0Oli<l1y with her single. Most of her materia] was used the laat timfe she was here, but it got the laughs going and she tacked on a bit of*recitation about her dog that went over big. Miss Barren has selected no easiy sort of single to put over on the big time, but she is getting away with it nicely and won her share of the honors, Ciccolini, the Italian grand opera star, sang himself ^nto strong favor with the music crowd. He offered a mixed program of opera and bal- lads, getting good returns with each number. He also tried a double number, singing with a phonograph, but dome one must have forgotten to wind the machine up and it stopped almost in the middle of tlfe number. The house tittered a bit, but the accident did not disturb the artist in the least, and he had the house in hand again instantly with a rendition of "Dear Old Pal o' Mine." Ciccolini is a great artist, not as good with ballads as with operatic selections, but a real classy addition to the vaudeville stage. The remainder of the bill Jiad plenty of comedy in it and this kept the majority of the Monday afternoon audience seated, which is unusual. Santos and Hays, two funny and clever girls, found plenty of laughs with their comedy talking and sing- ing turn. The odd appearance of the two. of course, is a big asset, but aside from this the thin girl builds up a dandy straight for her partner by taking the butt of most of the better laugh lines in the act and pliiys up the linish to a corking point. She also can sing, while the jolly-faced heavyweight contributes liberally in a quiet way. the result being a dandy comedy turn that ought never to fall down. The laat time William Seabury was here he a speech-and a hand-kiss. The ^^^ forced lo break in a new dan- first encore was "The Vamp," and the second was a new number. "Wild About Moonshine." .Miss Samuels could always deliver with songs that were offered bef< -^ be- cause she has an individual style of rendition, and she generally has her own little lyric bits, aimed for comedy and generally successful In that end. There is a freshness about "the blue streak of vaude- ville," »nd she lends that quality to ail her numbers. ; Val and Ernie Stanton, the "aw- fully excellent" brothcr.s, tore in with the third hit of the show, go- ing on next to closing fo- a smash, w^ith their "goesinta," uke, gags, mouth organ and stepping. The Stantons line up with the very best of nut comedians this season. They pulled an inside laugh when one brother started to strum the uke, remarking something about "the four Hawaiians." That referred to Joe Cook's nutty Joke, and only the professionals in the liouse got it. Franker Wood and Bunnie Wyde opened'intermisslon with their skit on Greenwich Village doings. The village never showed anything so neat in dwellings -as shown by the drop, but Wood and Wyde are a neat couple and they pleased. Ber- tram and Saxton displayed real voices on number two. One of the men sang "Love to Fall Asleep and Wake Up in Manfhiy's Arms" very prettily, but too low to penetrate the far reaches of the Riverside. The medley mixture of "East Is West" and "Buddha" scored though the men deserved more than the yodeling finish was accorded, Anderson and Yvel (New Acts) opened. Everest's monkey turn closed to laughter, holding most of" the house. Two items that mar 4nterest are that a little monkey ' was born MoAday and the monkey who cai-ries off the props wears overalls. Credit for that maV be claimed by the Cheese Club. /bee. \ w ^^ fit;. it.': KEITH'S, PHILADEIPHIA. . Philadelphia, April 28. Philadelphia had its first glimpse of those funny hairy men from Ben- ton Harbor, MIcli., this week, and from what the Keith patrons showed at the Monday matinee, when the house was crowded, it looks as if tho "House of David Band" niiglil bo a real fl.\ture in vaudeville. Any- v.ay, the band was a big hit here. There was no attem))t to "kid" the • Mhlskered boj-a from the woolly West. Tho audience stared hard at the "Sutherland Si-ster" display .Avhcn the curtain went up, but took the music seriously and enjoyed the tooling of Jazz numbers as well a» anything that lias been bfCered by any group heard hero. It seems that a better program might be arranged, for some of the numhors are becoming frayed, and if there could be a little more comedy worked into their playing it niighl help some. " However, tbe "David" band I'urhlslied go.oit, music, and I'hiludolphia viiudevUIe lovers placed their stamp of approval on it. Comedy and color, with dancing Kironsly featured, filled the show from start to finish. The Curzon Sisters provided a pri'Uy opem/r with their aerial suniii;, made preiiii.-r by attractive dressing and scHlngw. It is the best of the llyluK acts in vaudeville. Next cnme Home and Cullen, a roui>!c of boys with u local following V ho slepind into a good sized hit. Their dnnoinj; got all the return.i, howi'Vtr. for t.liR i'kw minutes of talk clniclii'd in aflvr thi.-y had won an enoore were wastrrt as far as valuiy |oes. .\fi('r the halr-Krower.s had »nl.'ih(-<l >i|) with an o::M-.'i nnniber leaving a good iniinfcs.sion behind, cing partner. The new production he is now heading is a credit to him and was a big applause winner. All the dance numbers are short, which keeps the act up to top speed all the time, and to this is due much of it.s success. The girls do not go above the average as dancers, but they are a good-looking bunch, and the Hope Sisters push their spccLal- tles into the hit class through their ai)pearance and daintiness. Sea- bury's solo dances are fine /amples of the art of legmania, and the en- tire offering is a headliner that can well feature.any bill in any house on the circuit and make good. There was no rougli comedy ahead of Fenton and Fields, and the black- face boys had clear sailing in the 'next to closing spot. They cleaned up nicely, keeping the laughs going solidly and getting a warm hand at several places with a big supply for their finish. Their material Is bright, they waste no time and vary their talk with some speedy step- ping that sent them through to a real hit. Margot and Francois close the show nicely with their comedy acrobatic turn, the work of the woman on stilts being especially worth while. The Klnogram pic- tures and "Topics of the Day" par- agraphs wore up to the average. The show was over a bit earlier than usual, which may have ac- counted for moat of the house re- maining for the complete bilL - KEITH'S, BOSTON. Boston. April 28. Although the entire show Mon- day night was almost monotonous- ly reminiscpnt of liquor, the real climax came when Wilson'and Cor- don insisted upon being as Im- separable a combination as in the days of rye and- gin. Kitty Gordon In returning to vaudeville from her til-fated road show is booked In with Jack WiMon, and Monday she ran a full 20-mlnule routine In Wil- son's act after finishing up her own'' specialty. Headlined as she 'was, she ellctcd much comment by run- ning through a long routine in the Wilson act, and it is doubtful if she will be allowed to detract from her own excJusiveness by repeating her dual performance many times more. It was a novel bill, and when.Kane and Herman strolled out upon the stage in the midst of the Gordon- Wilson festivities, It looked like a vSudcviUe^ re-union or "Treasurer's Benefit ()2T" this season tft seme Bo.ston legit house. Every act on the bill, with the ex- ception of the opening acrobatic and the closing marlonett*, con- tained singing, and coming as it did simultaneous with . tho advent of daylight saving In Ma.s8achusetts, it gave- a decided summery touch to the bill. The house was. capacity and unusally loose-handed, giving a royal reception to Miss Gordon. Her entrance was well handled, and as the cvu'tains parted, she regis- tered surpri.<;e and then said with a grimace "1 was Ftartled at seeing such a crowd of faces. I have been Out with my own show and we did not see many faces at one time, you know." Her costumes are well up to her standard, and the elimination of a jaaz band coupled with the bold touch of having a lyric based on whether a woman headliner can get across without a Jaj!z..-.:^and went big. Guy and Pearl Magley, In their dancing specialty, which is given almost intact as recently played here by them as a .separate attraction,- went even better, with Gordon thnii they did alone, and arc a decidedly valuable acquisition to her act, • Wilson, following tho Oordo'h act. did not deal as s-irongly in his ox- ,icniporancous stuff as usual, and his two aisociatea, Frank Orifllth and Vera Beresford ran smoothly up to the advent ot Miss Gordon, clad in still another m<)di8te's crea- tion, stalked on In pretended anger and proceeded not . only to hold down Miss Beresford's role but at the end worked their old surprise climax like clockwork. One of the surprises on the bill •was the unexpected strength of Ed- die Kane and Jay Herman, They turned but to be a real riot. Their work unfortunately petered out into an anti-climax and they will do well to re-vamp their material in order to save their biggest laughs for the final curtain. As far as actual audible laughter was concerned, they put ft over Wilson like a tent, and the'.r brief visit to the foot- lights during the Wllsori-Gordon re-unlon was greeted with gleeful howls from" the audience. Whipple and Huston in their jiovel sketch "Shoes" were one of the refreshing spots on a more or less cjit-and-drled bill,- Huston handled his part remarkably well, as over-playing would have spoiled ft and under-playing would have lowered the really. original sketch to mediocrity. One isong put over Wright and Dietrich with a crash. Miss Dietrich used only her one costume Monday night and while it was a pretty creation, she would strengthen her act materially by a change, especially when Wright.had a couple of numbers he cduid handle alone with-success". The entire act runs nicely, the singing living up to its billing oITjeing "somewhat dif- ferent," but it was not untjl the close when they swung into that song that the audience became really enthusiastic. Kelly and Pollack worked hard In a toijsh spot with some almost hopeless material. ' The biggest latigh came from that long-released "stole a handful of peanuts from a fruit stand—-I'll have you arrested for impersonating a cop." The lat- ter part of the act. hoWever. got acroHs fairly well, due to steady plugging, -a»d theif close was sure- fire with Kelly Introducing Miss Poirack as a ring champion. Miss Pollack does an extraordinarily clever bii of facial and character work in this closing number and re- ceived u rousing hand. ' Will Oakland as a Vfavorlte Amer- if:an contra-tenor" was billed next to opening; running his entire act in evening dress. He succeeded In ex- plaining that he had a bad col^ and also succeeded in getting acro.ss lo the public the fact that he has made sonie very popular phonograph records. He sang his own number "Old Fashioned Sweetheart," and then gave quite an elaborate med- ley of extremely old songs, working them over nicely and this-was the one thing that brought the act out of the ordinary class. Tho Valentines opened the show with a nice smooth running aerial act, which has a novel closing, which went very well. A diving wheel la used for this purpose. Marlettes' Marionettes, which closed the show, is the best thing of its kind ever seen here. Despite the fact that the show ran over a half hour late, It held the audience. * Lfiiliey. FIFTH AVENUE. The show run througli quickly Monday evening, always the sign of a good' entertainment, even though Mme. Dorees Operalogue (New Acts).held the stage fur 20 minutes. Briscoe and ituuh, however. Just before the pperatlc bui)ch, held up the purfurniance. end they didn't iake that long. The two-act, there- fore, did more In leas time than the 11 people who followed them. For the couple really ^topped the show, obliged to come back after lights were down and Up again, the only show slopping process that should be recognized. Maybe it was the ginger In the first half bill that helped It along. "The Petticoat Man," played by Baldwin, Blulr and Co., Is some gin- gery playlet. It's a bedroom scene that starts like a racehorse and dies away like a snail. All over in 11 minutes, the finale cdmlng suddenly and illoglcally. If the "bedroom" thing were aimed at only, then the piece should be rewritten into 15 minutes at least and some real stuff put into it. The situation is risqUe all the time, but not risque enough to hold it up, for the author was a bit too careful about that. The sketch looks far from a finished product and must keep to the better small time or small big time If it doesn't mend. The other bit of gingei was J.ew Dockstader's telling the "pants" gag about a mother and son with long pants trying to get through on a pas.'senger train with a ticket and a half ticket, including the colored woman seated behind who wanted' a refund as she should ride free, ac- cording to the conversation. Dock- stader stuck in the colored woman for a second laugh. It's taking a chance with that one, but for com- edy the monologist gets away with it. His political talk passed well, but it contains some severely point- ed dialog against a fe>'^of the Pres- idential candidates. Dockstader's encore jokcB, with his Stan Stanley Idea of starting them, through say- ing he solicits Jokes while en route, could be thrown out all together. Dockstader has had better monologs than this one, bu: It's good enough to continue into an encore on time- ly topics. Gags, plala gags, don't s' become Dockatader In thl« lort of conversational 4lscourae x' • ^> And it's odda'on; although'Alice Briscoe and Al Rauh were the hit of the show, that Rauh's boob char- acter, if discarded by hbn,. would improve that act, U Ur. Rauh de- pends upon the boob t^ing to heiR, his singing. It's unnecessary tobe- lieve it, and if it's done for contrast it falls down, for the truth is that the couple kid so well, if both re- mained in straight character with Rauh trying Juvenile matter rather than' boob, the impression and re- sults should be considerable i;ieight- ened. The boob thing seems all wroiig, from the opening of the apt until it stops. Miss Briscoe is a magnetic brunette, who handles her- self with such ease she undeniably impresses. Besides which she gets over a song and talks well, even re- membering the "goat gag." No. 3 held Diamond and Brannan, regular visitors at this house, moro so it seems than any of the others in town. .A change in songs brings a silfy baby number for Jim Dia- mond to use. His dancing-and gro- tesque gymnastics with his arms, legs and body still hold up the turn. Elfreda Wynn (New Acts) was No. 2, with Frank and Milt Britton opening the vaudeville. They play the xylophones, witli one of the boys an unusual artist at that. His in- strument is a finely toned one and his classical solo so well executed that although done to death in the vaudeville way on every kind of a musical instrum.'ni. the house was bound to appreciate it. They fin- ished with brasses, one on a cornet the other a trombone. This seemed to jarr the routine, though they went out for Jazz, announcing an imitation of Ted Lewis' band. It might be better to stick to the xylo- phones, for that boy plays tfie "Rig- olctto" thing as well as the Doree songsters afterward sang it. That's the place to put the Jazz, on the 'phones, or near-Jazz, anything everybody else has not done like they have on brai;ses. Good turn for an early spot just below the big- gest time. La Dora and ,Becknian closed the performance in a 10-mlnute act that took In the girl, opening all in white in an afhletlc lighted costume, ring- ing, whistling and dancing. Later she did the sam6 thing on a rope, allowing her golden hair to fall down. In between she and the man did some ordinary- trapeze work, swinging all of the time while on the bars. The double of the^work aided it. There seems ti be'quite much of a stall to the act, espe- cially on the rope. The man takes part in this for a little bit. The girl looks well, J}ut the turn will have to speed up to hold the closing spot. Other aerial turns are going through w^ith thrills in six minutes. Business a trifle off Monday night No particular reason. Spring is here, with baseball and bad roads. Sittte. AME&ICM BOOF Good small-time entertainment this week. The Stirlings opened with a roller skate routine. The couple feature their dancing, as is usual with such turns. One num- ber went awry where the electrical sparking eitect to the tune of "The Anvil Chorus" Is supposed to occur. The "Juice" evidently was not on, and the nufhber went for naught, although the house was not aware of anything wrong. Gus Erdman labored hard to get across as a "nut" comedian, but he was brilliant In spots—in cne spot, to be correct —the chimes piano solo. The bal- ance of his routine Was arid > for want of proper material. McConnell and West, a song- dance-talk mixed teem, were .well received in No. 3. The opening is quite original and big league in pos- sibilities. So is the ensuing "Prof- iteering Blues" number, which the boy gets across for all it's worth, including the stereotyped patter which sounded new to thfc patrons Monday. But they have to spoil it all, as far as better grade fating is concerned, when he essays a quar- tet oT yarns three of which at least have "whiskers" on them. To make matters worse, the girl docs an an- cient "Frenchy" number to precede her dance, which further detracts from the offering. For small time it is all there; no doubt about that But the building up'^of the routine from their excellent opening might whip It Into a big time combination. Dobbs, Clark and Dares, two men and a woman, pad out their acro- batic routine considerably to qual- ify it for a "spot" in a small-time layout. But it's simply the fool- hardy falls tho men essay for a finish that get the applause.- The balance is mere hokum, a good deal of it superfluous. And if tho woman must do a "kid." why inflict that inane "Henry" IjtIc on us? The veriest layman must suspect ' is a home-made composition. Slatko'a Revellers closed the show Interest- ingly with their Jazz band act. The latter is comprised of but four men but what Jazz they can uncork among themselves! Two women and a man are up front for the dance end of it. The act sliould fit in on the two-a-day. Mildred Haywood reopened after internisision with a song routine. She accepted one encore for "Rose of Washington Square," rendered in an original fashion. They clamored for more, but she left 'em clamoring. Arthur Havel and Co., with their "Playmates," won4he house, The Bison City Four, headlining. were next to closing, and pcddu* •I their l(U6ineas and songs to anSS « claUvo returns. Samson and'nt a Hla, a combination strong arm iZk 1 JuggUnar team closed, and held^'l fair portion of the audience in, J 818T STREEtT 'V-l „.P*.?'Ji"*f'.'^l^l Hershel Henlere ia %. third the last four of the six a^ in the show were'standard big tlaik t- turns, and the entire quartet went * for hit scores. Henlere doubled ub v'i from the Palace, replacing MorrlS V and Campbell. On applause strenKth- ^■ he tied with Sylvia Clark, next S '1 closing. The jjlrl in the HeijleS € turn displayed a nifty figure and^a ;3 sandpaper voice. But the latt»*-* was forgotten when Hershel km -J into action. His comedy was effefc- 1 tive because of the contrast with' • I his clever piano playing. ^ a Laura Pierpont in "The Gulditi* ' ^ Star" headlined. On fourth she did 3 splendidly. After reviewing the act -^ for the second time it looked better ■■ than at first, and It was far mwa j effective at the 81st Street than at U-i the Palace. It is doubtful If "The '-I Guiding Star" would fit for the'^l legit, but for vaudeville it is a like- « able mixture of fantasy and »"Wuy -^ Down East" wholesomeness that I provides playlet excellence. MHis '% I'lerpont's several roles all counted. J and many women in the house "^ dobbed handlterchief to eyes more i that! once. The several comedy 'i lines got over, especially laugh-get- '% ting being that about jumping right":! on the train to "see Benny Rosen-- 1 baum." Miss Pierpont's support I Jooked good, the boy role standinc € out. .* -I Uronson and Baldwin with their -■» futuristic "Visions of 1900" provided %_ the conclu.ion of the vaudeville « portion, the feature picture follow- ;| Ing. being Elsie Kergusonln Pinero's- "^ "His House In Order." Jtlss Bald- .'3 win's cute frocks and her cute form v figured largely in the line im^tres- i sion made by the act. Its satire '| does not lose its edge through rep- r etition—an'indication that the Lait^ ^ act should serve for several seasons. ■■ Miss Clark frolicked her way 'o •; the front in easy fashion. Her cab- ' aret number attracted a big hand, and from then on the "glad girl" ■ •■ had things her own way. Maude "^ Earl and Co.. with a rhymed nov- ; ' elty, "The Vocal Verdict," drew at- t tention *on second. Miss E^ri was ' ■ in good voicK She made "Macush- '^■ la" with *its flasetto finale better liked than the trill numbers. The Darras Brothers opened strongly with .trapeze and hand-to-hand acrobatics* It is an opening turn which can use full stage through- out or close in one, as In the current engagement. The somersaulting to a hand catch at the close brought y. a rousing hand. /ice.' ? JEFFERSON. ', The Jefferson had one of the beW shows seen there in many a moon. All of which strH$es one as peculiar > as to the whyfore of this spasmodic booking: of one very good lay-out Roe and Roe (New Acts) opened. . McDermott and Hagney, a two-man pifltno turn, held down No. 1 in great -style. The duo use only ex- clusive material, all of a humorous . vein, which the vocalist gets over V for all its worth. The other man . accompanies at the upright. Laugb'> lin and West In the third spot sangi • danced and talked their way to a ; flock of bows on conclusion. Their material is classy and original, per- sonallty ditto. . " ." '- International News proved inter- • estlng at this point, wherein the '■: tustomers got in sojjie wholesale - hissing at "Pussyfoot" Johnson's •' expense, after which It forgot its bad' feelings and welcomed "Mefn'- • orles." a different style of male quartet. The act is familiar in its routine, although several new faces • are evident. Clark and Verdi, fol- lowed by James B. Carson and Co., sharing headline honors, annexed the hits of the evening between them with possibly the latter a shade in the audience's favor. The Carsons turji carries a good deal of "wise" shop talk with it, in keeping : with the copy of Varibtt Mr. Car- son 80 conspicuously "plugs" in the "business" of the ambitious actor who has played so many benefits gratis, his parents are of the opin- ion he will soon need a benefit for him to subsist on. The old Jewish couple, his parents, assist material- « : ly, particularly the "mother." The woman enacting the role suggests ' Yiddish legit training Jn her exag- gerated mannerism, but it Is these lampoonings in dialect which scors heavy for the laughs. Of course,, the turn is big time in calibre, no , doubt filling In a spare three days , here. Craemer, Barton and Sparling >i (New Acts) held down the ace spot ''\ acceptably, and Haller and Ilaler v closed proceedings, but were not so . . succeRsful holding them in, owing to a late show and the average Wil- liam Russell feature film, which concluded the program. . OEPHEUM, NEW ORLEANS. New Orleans, April 28. An ancmic-lookiiig Orphoum pro* gram on paper proved the real red corpuscle of vaudeville due to scv-' •ral unknowns kicking in with punches that sliook the applause In* dicator. . .; Herman and Shirley slipped Into high at the outset and set a pace that sent them away breezing. Bar* ■ (Continued on page 26.) Mi