Variety (January 1921)

10 BURLESQUE Friday, January 21, 1921 BURLESQUE DRESSING ERA SIGHTED FOR NEXT SEASON -t ~^JC Less Numbers for Choristers—More Expensive Mate- rials—Expected to Improve Appearance of Pro- duction—"Sporting Widows*' This Week at Columbia as Sample. ♦- The signs of the times in bur- lesque are that next season on the big wheel (Columbia) there will be le«a "numbers" to a show with chor- isters, but more expensive dress materials. This statement was brought out Monday while "The Sporting Wid- ows" was going through its first matinee performance at the Colum- bia, New York. Its a John O. Jer- mon produced show. In one num- ber all of the choristers paraded down a staircase in bridal costume It made a stage picture, .r*. bur- lesque producer near by comim nted upon it "This show has but six changes of costume so Jermon told mo, and doesn't that look it?" he said "There's a wealth of dressing that bays something. "Next season you will see me do- ing th sar thin t Less n .nbe and more expensive material in the costuming. I think it means a lot for the looks of the performance and you need not be surprised to see it generally adopted. I have decided elfe«t changes should be the limit, but have each one of the eight count." THE TEMPTERS Jack Conn, a. promoter Brad Button Adum Souae, an e*iap»d convict • . CharlcB Burn* Daredevil Ralph, an escaped convict... Ted <Juiok San T«y. a china Harry Candor. Reilly a cop ~ . ,-i zSrZ John Doe, a epend. r Ted Qui< k IflM Vandergilt, society leader......... Miss Percle Judah Klsle Cash, her friend Babe Lope* ]sab«lle Cheatam. a debutante.......... G«rtrude Ralston and Abe Cohen, the plumber Bert Bertram- "The Tempters" at the Olympic this week ranks as an average show, with the usual mixture of good and bad points that goes with that clas- sification. Last season the show was >erated by the late Ghas. M. Baker* Lew Talbot produced and is playing it this season, through a leasing or sharing arrangement With the Baker estate. Bert Bertram! Is the featured comic this seison again. Another holdover is Gertrude Ralston, last season the prims, b\\i this season the ingenue. All the res! of the cast are new. The scenic equipment is from last seasons show, with nothing new added. Mr. Bertram! is a Jew co edian Df the standardized type in mal , -up, wearing the conventiona' crepe Seard and derby hat. His method Is considerably more modern than his make-up at times, however, and at others distinctly up to the min- ute. He is a good dancer and sings well eneugh to get away with a comedy song. Here and there dur- ing the show Bertrand shows flashes of first-class comedy fo m, bu for the better part he sticks to the cut and dried laugh-getting routine that has been the stock in trade of the hundreds of Hebraic comics that have preceded him in burlesque and vaudeville. A "book" is programed, with Ber- trand credited with authorship. It's tiie usual fiction, consisting of bits, numbers and specialties. There are laughs in both ,ections, but Just laughs, the comedy never reaching the stage where it produces any- thing that approaches the riotous. It's a clean show, neither Bertrand nor any of the cast resorting to even "spice" or finger. Bertrand also pro- duced the numbers. All passed nicely, but like the comedy, none rose above the average. Charlie Burns is the second comic, do'.ng a modified sort or Dutch," with small black mustache and dia- lect after the regulation. Brad Sut- ton, straight, also does a character or two excellently. Button standi out in a Chinese opium Joint scene in the first part, where he puts over a very legitimate bit as a "dope. This is played seriously in the main. with suggestion of travesty Inter- polated occasionally. Bertrand also shows to advantage in the dope scene, Miss Balston likewise con- tributing to making the enter- taining. She has the only voice the s* y •« pleasing soprano Percie Judah, a statin sque blonde who is ■trong o. ''*nk i. the prima Miss Judah h.-.s about four contralto tones that are tuneful, but when her voice breaks to soprano, it is light and wavery. She wears clothes like a Broadway prima, this asset mak ing up largely for vocal deficiencies It may be that Miss Judah's songs are not pitched in the proper key to suit her vocal limitations. That, however, is a matter for the show leader to look into. Babe Lopez, the soubret, has a wisp of a voice, a cute lisp, and is of the chunky pony type that makes a nifty annearance in tights. : dances fairly, but puts over the num- bers assigned to her *h lots of spirit and a willingness that evi- dences a sincere desire to please. ITd Quick and Harry Candon other male members of the cast. There is a sort of jazz band spe- cialty in the first part. They get a fair amount of Jazzy nnlody out of the conglomeration of "instruments." Ha be Lopes does a "Daddy" jazz number here, in cabaret style, as- sisted by the "band," and gets it over. One thing is immediately notice- able—the eight girls in the front line of choristers. They're all young and all good lookers. The 16 chor- isters on the whole are also a comely lot. and speedy workers. Two of the most tempting "Tempters" are Beatrice Beryl, the trim blonde end "pony," and Billie Hahn, the shapely brunet, who appears with her in the panel scene. The costuming is up to the aver- age. With Bertrand and a cast that is individually good, it seems odd that "The Tempters" is not a better show. The answer seems to be the material and the lack of another woman of the aoubret type, in addi- tion to Miss Lopez, to put pep into the numbers. Miss Balston and Miss Judah each f 1 their respective niches nicely, but neither dances to any extent. The scenery does not show the wear and tear of two sea- sons, that might be expected, the show holding up well from a pro- duction standpoint. Tuesday night is Amateur Night at the Olympic. The hot se was not quite capacity, but good for the cold evening. The amateur section pro- duced plenty of laughs, but was a bit tamer than last week, the "acts" as a whole being too "good" to bring out the comedy remarks from the audience comedians that the ex- tremely "bad" acts did th-* rrevious Tuesday n'ght. It is a settled thing, however, that "amateurs" are a box office draw at the Olympic, re- marks about the house, before the show proper started, disclosing that many had come expressly to catch the 'amateur" entertainment. BfM. SPORTING WIDOWS. Vf T Mend Al K. Hall r |*WQMa, Hi" Fn-'inl.. Hob smrtzman port or Dopvtn »i«>orn« wviut >Ui.u Mm'i. y June I.e Veay In. .-i Nut Oertruile Heck Imft Nuih-r KuK*n!e I .a L'.lanc Phil Ko<>'c Frank Jonlln IJffht lMm« .... Jack Babnon Wnk.-in ll.irry Warfl Urandmotfetr Anna ijiiih »}ran«l«on * <i«-ortfo D. WeUt ('•ruiiddauKlitrr J unt* l.e Way »;ra<o Margaret Ellin MUSICAL STOCK IN K. C. TRIES OUT NEW PLAY Company Presents a Local Writer's Offering. EVA TANGUAY Ffnn «.«',<; KM—t eae a in one fofttnmr. TK.DDY WMDMAN Counted Them. Jacobs & Jermon present their 1920 edition of the "Widows" at tho Columbia this week, featuring Al K. Hall, the elongated loose, putty- noeo*. funmaker who has developed ,.. . « * into ma-td. vh" be*t «i.. enHffte come- dians ln» burleeojue. Hail is surrounded »y a cast that doesn't set the woods on lire and he deserves a world of credit for holding up the comedy end; in fact, making it overlap so that the minor d« Regencies °f the east tlon't become important. Another factor ihat excuses per- sonal shortcomings in some of the members is the excellent produc- tion, both as to costumes and scen- ery, that Jacobs & Jermon have given tiie show. The book also Is a strong factor for which Douglas Leavit. also A. Douglas Levitt, also Abo Levitt, is credited wiLir* au- thorship. The piece is titled "Simple Simon, Jr.." but the title has no bearing on the first part of the show. Doc- tor Dopem's Sanitarium is the background for scene I and Hall makes an immediate impression as M. T. Head, a "nut," in his first number, "Bimbo," a pick-out af- fair. After that it was easy sail- ing right through to the race track scene, from which the burletta de- rives its title. In this scene Hall, as the owner of Simplo Simon, Jr., a race horse, substitutes for his jock, who is ill, and wins an imag- inary race by lapping the field, as described by George Weiss, the corking juvenile straight. Weiss, in addition, is prominent in a specialty with June Le Veay. the engenue. They do a double song routine with Weiss at the piano, getting three numbers across to big returns through Miss Le Veay's sterling soprano voice and the young man's salesmanship, which offsets his vocal limitations. Other specialties are the Rex Trio, a passable male singing com- bination and a singing and dancing offering of Kugenie Le Blanc. Open- ing in a sweater and skirt for an indecipherab'e tough lyric, the sou- bret makes a quick change in view to knee-length dress and. cap and follows with some hard shoe step- ping and "hoeh" steps that just passed. She should eliminate any attempt at any style of dancing that requires graceful carriage or kick- ing. Hall, in his dancing specialty, as- sisted by the Seven Jazzers, four cornets, two trombones and a horn, opens as the leader of the musical aggregation and then hops to his hard shoe hoofing. He stopped the show in this bit and also made a distinct Impression in another scene with an impromptu snake dance travesty. Most of the business was new, several scenes registering strongly, one in particular deserving special mention. It was in "one" labeled "Entrance, Jamaica Race Track," a drop in "one." Hall and Bob Startz- man, who did a tramp character throughout, arc trying to beat the gate. The gate man lias a badge hanging on his coat which Startz- man unp'ns and transfers to his own, getting in. He returns a mo- ment later and slips Hall the badge, at the same time asking for a re- turn check, which is refused, where- upon he decides not to come out. Hall pins the badge on, and after passing #he gate man, drops the badge at the latter's feet, telling the doortender he has dropped his badgo. The latter picks up the pasteboard and thanks the "crash- er," who proceeds into the race track. Weiss handles a "tout" role in this and the next scene in clever fashion. The costume flash of the show was scene VI in act II, "Peacock Alley," a full stage arrangement, with a staircase which the choris- ters descended for a fashion parade, all beautifully gowned as brides, pages and bridesmaids. The com- edy touch here came near the finale, with Hall as a "dame" making his descent attired similarly, his face hidden from the house by an os- trich fan. The chorus of 18 are a good look- ing bunch and average " up with the wheel standards. Some of the girls worked as though recent ad- ditions, but- the troupe as a whole slid through the numbers in fairly graceful fashion. Gertrude Beck, a shapely blonde girl, with an average singing voice, made a pleasing .figure in tights and handled lines acceptably, with Miss La Blanc trying to register in the aoubret role and not quite making the grade. The real of the males were Frank Joslin. Jack Bahson and Harry Ward, who han.U 1 minor roles and did a specialty as the Res Trio. Another iceno worthy of mention was "An Old Fashioned Home." with the choristers attired in hoop skirts and the *C4 ne depicting the Interior of an old home with a drop showing a winter scene with a church in perspective. The vocalizing here was especial- ly gooj, the old lime songs surg by Weiss and Le Veay getting solid Kansas City, Jan. 19. The Hi Jinks .,1 us leal Comedy Co. will offer as a feature for its sixty- sixth continuous week at tho Em- press theatre, commencing tomor- row, "We"Watvt a Dtvorcet" written especially for the company by Mar- garet L\ Kchard. a Kansas City playwright. i The Hi Jinks company is headed by At and Loie Bridge and has proven that musical stock at popu- lar prices can be made a winner here. Some weeks ago it was announced that the organization had changed its name to tho Popular Musical Comedy Co. on account of a com- plaint made by Arthur Hammer- stein, who owned the title "Hi Jinks," but the advertising still fea- tures the title in question with the exception of the display matter in one newspaper where "Popular" Is used instead of "Hi Jinks." TRANSFER CO-OPERATION. Burlesque Men Talk of Organizing Trucking Business. A move was started this week among cwners of burlesque road shows to organize a co-operative transfer company, to handle the shows' baggage at the various stands on the wheel route. Bag- gage handling and scenery transfer prices have leaped to nearly triple what they were two years ago. It is pointed out that if each producer comes in on a co-operative transfer company the amount invested in trucks and equipment would be saved in one season. The move primarily is intended to check the profiteering tendencies of the transfer companies, and the sponsors believe sufficient outside business could be obtained from other lines of show business to make the plan pay and even clear a little money for its promottrs. Letters wil' be sent out this week calling a meeting of burlesque men to talk over the matter. DROPS AVENUE, DETROIT. American Shows Can't Repeat in Detroit. The Avenue, Detroit, drops out of the American wheel route Feb. 6. Irons & Clamage, the lessees, will play burlesque stock in the Ave- nue beginning on that date. The American show-, will continue to play the Cad'dae, Detroit, for the rest of the season. Next season they will go into the Avenue again, the latter replacing the Cadillac, which will be dropped. At the beginning of the season and for several weeks after, it was found profitable for the American v heel to have two houses*in De- troit (Avenue and Cadillac). About Nov. 15 or k> business began to drop in Detroit, the slump in gen- eral mercantile conditions affecting all local theatrical,.. Up to a week ago none of tho American shows repeated in Detroit, a different show going into both the Avenue and Cadillac each week. As a result business was not materially affected In either house. Last week, however, the American wheel rout- ings reached the point whtfre it was necessary to begin repeats of shows at the Avenue, that had played the Cadillac earlier in the season and vice v^rsa. The break created on the Ameri- can route by the falling out of the Aver.ue, between the Empire, Cleve- land, and the Academy. Pittsburgh, will remain an open week for the present. ANNOUNCEMENTS STOPPED No "Next Week's Attractions" from the Stage. SOUBRETTE SAVES HOTEL. # Omaha. Neb. Jan. 19. Jackie Wilson, a soubrette ap- pearing In a local tab act. and Jim Elliott, appearing In the same act. discovered and extinguished a fire in the Mi Hard" hotel here. Tho Columbia Amusement Co. will send out instructions this week to all house managers on the Co- lumbia circuit to the effect they are to forbid any advance agent, com- pany manager or member of any company hereafter from making any sort OX verbal announcement or otherwise from the stage with re- spect to "next week's'' attraction. The reason for the order is because of the practice of several agents speaking from the stage an! telling the audience their show is "the beat show in burlesque," etc. CONTINUOUS FLOPS AT HAYMARKET, CHI Second Burlesque House Re- verts to Original Policy. The Hay market, Chicago, stopped the continuous show' policy plan Monday, In operation there as an experiment, in conjuction with .American, wheel, attractions, Ripe* I>ec. 18, or thereabouts. The Hay. market, like the liijou. Philadel- phia, where the continuous idea was tried out for two or three weeks, and dropped last week, played five vaudeville acts and a feature pic- ture, in addition to the burlesque, starting at 1 p. m. and running through until 11. It was found after a trial neither ot the houses did sufficient extra business to warrant the added ex- pense. In the instance of the Bi- jou. Philadelphia the location be- ing off the main artery of traffic, was ascribed as the reason for the non-success of the continuous idea. No one at American headquarters seemed able to figure a reason for the flop of the continuous at the Haymarket. except that the audi- ence just didn't come in at the supper show. Both houses will continue the for- mer regular two-a-day burlesque policy with the American shows. While the vaudeville was dropped this week the feature picture was retained at the Haymarket, the show opening with the film. The vaudeville and supper ahow how- ever, is definitely out. COLUMBIA BUSINESS GOOD SINCE HOLIDAYS Burlesque Wheel Universal Re- ports Patronage Holding Up. The business on the Columbia wheel of burlesque, since the holi- days, has held up with the spirit of that period. Last week, the secdnd following New Year's, was no exception, it was said, the flood of patronage being universal at all of the Columbia's many stands. BEDINI GETS SUMMER SHOW. It was definitely settled by the Columbia officials this week that Jean Bedini would produce next summer's "Summer Show" at the Columbia, New York. The show will be principally made up of the present "Peekaboo" company on the Columbia wheel, but with a new book and added people In the cast. Among those already engaged for the Bedini Summer Show are, Cliff Heckinger and Landcll Sisters. They were placed through Harry Bestry's office. WASHINGTON HOUSE REOPENS. The Capitol. Washington, the new hotise built on the site of the old Lyceum, will open as an American wheel stand Sunday, Feb. 13 with Jacobs & Jermon's "Grown Up Babies." The Lyceum was gutted by lire a year ago, and at first it was the intention of the District of Columbia Amueement <'<>. to re- construct it from the ruins stand- ing. Later it was decided to put up an entire new structure, which re- sulted in the Capitol. The capacity will be 1,800. BOOSTING "AMATEUR NIGHT." Sam and Dave Kraus. managera of the Olympic, New York, play- ing the American wheel shows, are three -sheeting a notice for their "Amateur Night" recently in Var- iety. Tho poster will carry an- nouncement of the event, a page reproduction of the Variety notice, and will be posted throughout tha city. Young Mclntyre III. Win J. Mclntyre son of Jim Mc- [p*yre (Mclntyre and Heath), come- dian, with "Some Show" (Ameri- can) hat been ordered by his physl eiar to take a six months' rest to build lip his health. Mr. Mclntyre leaves the show this week. H's successor has not been Killed as yet. BURLESQUE CHANGES. Three Jolly Bachelors. Merrigan and Howarth, join* d the "M ii<ls of America." returns. The Hex Trio offered "Miss the Old Folks Now," but Bounded a trifle fiat, doing much better in their later specialty, with the ensemble harmonizing. The entire company In this scene I were in period alt ire and the good '.ooking set as a background made ■ It a welcome diversion for a mu- leaque aggregating Con. ILL AND INJURED. Helen Warren of ti-6 "Dance Shop," San Francisco Orpheum, broke a blood vessel in her leg last et' while selling paper* for a benefit from a police patrol wagon. Miss Jeanette Hackett. who is fea- tured ir the act, doubled in the re' "Little Miss Vamp." at the San Francisco Orpheum, suffered the ■•■ i of one of its members when Jean Lan? sustained n broken kneecap. Tessie Darling* formerly with the Morgan Dancers, who has been residing here. r<-j>l ced Miss Lane. William Vidocq (Haynes and VI- docq), a vaudeville ng'-nt for the past year, is repotted very ill. LcRoy Hartt (LeRoy and Mabel Ilartt) is ill in St. Lou..-. A, M Bruggemanj owner of the Empire, Hoboken (American whecDi has been seriously 1!* for the I;!* 1 two weeks with spinal meningitis in St. Marys Hospital liohok- n. A number Of the MoratCg Troupe, doing aerial gymnastics, fell f'"" 1 the rigging while the act was pav- ing the Concert at the Casino, Sunday night. The cur- rung down, it being the The man is reported h° l injured. Brooklyn tain was last act. seriously