Variety (February 1921)

8 VARIETY'S CHICAGO OFFICE Chicago PALACE, CHICAGO. Chicago, Fob 23. A capacity house. The closing act came on first and more than proved its worth. In a fast singing ami dancing revue it did what they say is impossible, opening yet stopping the show for a half-dozen bows and a speech. The phenoms were John- ny Muldoon. Pearl Franklyn and Lew Rose. This is a brand-new act a'rotimi l/eYe, oUl/cOliiti''fKvfly >lu»<d an early repeat. The dancing of Miss Franklyn, the shivver and ec- centric stepping of Mr. Rose, the wholesome appearance and voice of Muldoon, create a sweet combina- tion that deserves not only a spot but can land billing. Lillian Price and Bud Bernie, a singing and piano team, with a little building up might mean much, too. Bernie reminds one of his brother, and is a wizard at the Ivories, while Miss Price has a crooning voice built to sell pop numbers. Her Imitation of Belle Baker was the weak spot in the act. Solly Ward and Co. had many friends, who received him with open arsm, and he reimbursed them with many a laugh, working thirty min- utes that seemed like fifteen. Bruce Morgan and Franklyn Gates have a new opening, coming out of a cellar door then going into their routine, that has always been surefire at this house. Morgan's dancing while Gates blows a funny whistle took them off to an easy encore of a bur- lesque on legit actors. Babcock and Dolly show a little improvement, but still deal out a small-time act. Kitty Gordon, in the same routine as on her last eventful appearance, amazed with her beautiful gowns and served her purpose as a head- liner. Jack Wilson, assisted by all of Kitty Gordon's actors, Including Miss Gordon, put over a laughing hit. His burlesquing of the preced- ing acts proved Just as funny as aJways. Wilson is now working en- tirely in white face and finds no trouble in getting laughs. Nobody was shot this trip. Immediately on. his finish the entire downstairs arose en masse and started for the exits. Wilson made a speech and implore*} them to wait for the closing act, saying it was an injustice to the management, performers and them- selves. This did not stem the tide homeward bound, and the Three Weber Girls finished to a handful. Though the act is a novelty on ac- count of the three good-looking girls, it is mediocre in ability. MAJESTIC, CHICAGO. Chicago, Feb. 23. An exceptionally t trong vaudeville show, containing about all tho in- gredients required—a "name," lots of entertainment, v/lety, change of pace, display, comedy, music and class. Julian Eltinge (New Acts) was the figure of central attention. Henry Santrey, worth headlining, banged through. Mary Haynes ar. 1 Anna Seymour struck splendid com- edy veins. Kate Elinore wowed them with the hoak. Ben Beyer, cyclist, opened. Pear- ion, Newport and Pearson followed. The show had a good start by then. "Magic Glasses" drew the trey and went through as well as most turns in the spot. The skit is another ex- position of that wholesome doctrine that if a girl marries a poor man she will have kids and be happy, but if she marries for gold she will have her heart busted. The pap was ladled mostly by Grace Gordon, a pleasant ingenue-lead, who rubs the fur of a matinee audience the right way. The act is inconsequential, harmless and so-so. Mary Haynes tore in with a piano- accompanied single that left a hi-re- mark. Here is a gal who enters her field fully prepared. She has a whole line of exclusive songs, every on a perfect fit and a perfect hit. She clowns, she shows an excellent voice at times, she is a good-looking Fan- nie Brice. Her material spills as many wise cracks as any female-de- livered routine. Her "wardrobe is fetching. She doesn't stall off for changes, but sticks right to her business (a la Rae Samuels) and seeks no trick effects. Stopped the show with a legitimate success. Henry Santrey and his ultra band found tho accustomed welcome. Santrey is a subtle kidder with a voluminous voice, not afraid to go for the works behind a Hum* r, 1 ..eked by a band which on its own could panic them. No end of appre- ciation. Harry and Anna Seymour next; Anna Is a nimble wit with a mighty pretty figure and a sweet face, gifted for any *ind of comic attempt, and nn impersonator of rare gift. Tier La Rue impression, while sho did not feature it. was a gem in lipht satire an 1 "amaikablc mimicry. Her brother's single dance held neatly while she changed to a flaming scarlet dress, very becom- ing, and thereafter it was almost a single for her. going to thunderous applause and an Individual encore. Kltinge prot a reception and left them sweetly. Elinore and Williams belted out the usual laugh-riot hit, not losing many patrons, but suf- fering a little from walkouts c iused by Kltinge's personal draw. The team had nothing to apologize for, however. Herman and Bhirlev closed, holding in the average staj ers for final acts. The Majestic has blown itself In n set of new drops, a welcome \, itation for the eyes that have to look at the same old scenes week- after week. Lait. KEDZIE, CHICAGO. Chicago, Feb. 23. Business looked very big Thurs- day night, opening the second half bill. The show did not stand up as anything sensational in strength. Sulton, an educated Shetland pony, personally conducted by a tall blond girl, worked with horse senser and ea«e- through ' MrtWting stunts and the like; pretty well re- ceived, an average opener for this time. O'Hara and Neeley, two big girls arriving in sumptuous wraps and settling down to harmony bal- lad doubles, one at times sitting at the piano, and singles, held for No. 2 and got away prettily. The pia- nist might do less singing and might entirely do away with solo singing; she has good personality and is an asset to the turn, but will keep it small time beyond hope if she does single-handed numbers. Took three bows, helped by a lyric asking for approval. Lester and Moore, a strange team of men in extreme get-up and make-up, started a laugh on en- trance. Their nut' dancing is sprinkled through the act and. with their eccentric appearance, makes the hoofing effective. The rest of it is a waste of time. The material is grewsomely cheap and efforts at stretching the act out to fill time are painful. More dancing and less stalling would make this a next-to- closing act. even if it ran only eight minutes. Ray Snow and Narine, in "one," held next to closing with snappy talk directed against the pretty figure of the girl, never of- fensive and on the whole quite pleasant. Snow does a straight rec- itation with a comedy twist chorus for an encore, the applause bit of the routine. Snow is a smooth, light comic and would get over anywhere if he had some continuity or a main thread in his talk. As it is the act amuses more than it impresses. Took three bows, late. "Flirtation" was not billed with any "credits," but it is recognizable as one of the early Menlo Moore acts. There are six people. Frank Ellis, who got his start around these corners, has developed the act into practically a monolog for him- self. He got a host of laughs and the cracks were wise and punchy. But he snowed the rest of the turn so completely under that it would be economy to save four fares and play it as a two-act. Ellis is a dancing, comedy singing comic of powerful resources and attributes. His personality is sure fire. The two other men wire minor but be- haved well. The girls were neither tremendously attractive nor tre- mendously talented. Four curtains. Weston's Models closed, holding in 95 per cent, of the family trade. Lait. about her etudlo experience. Miss Walker neither tings nor dances, but says she soon will appear in a play specially written for her. The entertainment atarted with Siegriat and Darra, a man and woman, who do hand balancing and tumbles in a delightful manner. Well liked. George Gifford bur- lesqued through many dances and talked, *n Ary amjistny, manner abo^t women. McVickeritea took to him nicely, and he could to advantage use hla encore dance as part of his regular routine and benefit mate- rially. Marietta Craig and Co., two men and a woman, offered a sketch based upon a plot with more whis- kers on it than many of the mem- bers of the House of David Band. It opened quiet and closed the same way. Taylor and Arnold, man and woman, sing and talk merrily. The Woman puts over her stuff in good manner, while the man plays the piano. They use a "Blue Sunday" song number that hit the audience solid. Grace DeWinters, formerly appearing in big time, is a ventril- oquist of no small note. Her ma- terial is bright and her crying number is a humdinger. Then Miss Walker appeared and was followed by that veteran success of big time sketches, "The Broken Mirror," pre- sented by Fred Schwarz and an- other man and woman. The sketch is based upon the servants breaking a mirror and a master just over a "souse." The servant man in order to fool his master when he looks into the mirror mimics him through the mirror frame. Went over with a crash with the audience asking for more. Four curtains. Neil McKinley, with his volumin- ous tenor voice, capers through a lot of "nut" material, and is ex- actly the type of entertainer Mc- Vickerites pay to see. He is assist- ed by a "plant," who sings very pleasingly. Everett's Circus of Monkeys sent the mob away well satisfied generally. Baines and Loraine and Royal Four not seen at this show. McVICKERS, CHICAGO. Chicago, Feb. 23. Lillian Walker, of moving picture fame, headlined, packing the house and keeping a long line waiting out- side. All her screen admirers had seven minutes of interesting talk AMERICAN, CHICAGO. Chicago, Feb. 23. Booking two quartets into one six-act show Is, to say the least. unusual. When those two quartets, with only ona short turn between them, both feature the same long, heavy operatic number, it becomes extraordinary. This took place on the last half bill at the American. The accepted rule of priority did not apply either, as in one instance a pianist is carried with the four, who does the accompanying, whereas the other uses the house orchestra, thus not giving either the preference. The audience im- mediately got the angle, and gave the second turn at least as much applause aa the first, this either be- cause of sympathy for a game try or because It was the* finish of a hard working turn. But, unless the matter can be actually put up to an audience contest, in which event each act would have to hazard drawing second money, such pro- LUCY BRUCH "THE LITTLE GYPSY FIDDLER" Next week (Feb. 28), B. F. KEITH'S PALACE, New York bailing for Europe May v Friday, February 25, STATE-LAKE THEATRE BUILDING sac cedure Is unwise and cuts into the limited amount of entertainment possible en any single bill. The first quartet was Dunbar's Salon (one "o," pleaae, Mr. Printer, if you don't want to have me run out of town). Singers, a mixed foursome with male tenor and basso and feminine soprano and contral- to, In a special set of hangings with Kalph Dunbar's ne>er falling mon- ogram conspicuous, and a male pUnlst. Aff*. a. palatable, .wn. Of solos and combinations, with 3emi- classics and the better pops chang- ing off, the tenor led off the opera baby, a famous Caruso role, and was Joined by the others. It was splendidly done, the soprano taking the play away from Mr. Tenor be- fore the finale. It won a hand and brought on a brief encore, leaving a highly satisfactory impression of the turn, which would be ideal for lyceum circuits and is all right for pretty fair vaudeville wheels, too. The other quadrangle was the Volunteers. A lengthy and cheap effort to put over an eccentric start, organizing the quartet from the audience and pit, served only to delay it. The act never got a start until it began to sing. A tiny tenor, not a bad comedian, either, stood out all the way, though every voice of the four, the regular quar- tet arrangement, was ample. To the surprise of the house this tenor, too, started off the Caruso specialty, and this quartet, too, tiled on and ehimed in. There was a rousing hand and then some stalling for a show stopper. Strangely enough, when the show had been mired through the off-side tactics, the second tenor, the apparent leader of the act, made a blunt little speech that brought immediate cessation of applause and let the Royal (Jas- colgnes come on In what seeme<l precipitate suddenness. The entire "showmanship" of the Volunteers is atrocious. This four should come out in a bunch and get to it. The comedy bits from the tenor might be left in. But at the finish the four should take their calls, not have one man standing as though glued while the little tenor-comic scampers on and off through the wrong entrances. Any way, if there is any value in buc- kling up a program, such value should at least be utilized instead of getting the audience to make a fool of itself and then telling it that it did so for nothing. Only in vaudeville are such things con- doned. Mack and Brantley, skaters, opened the bill. The pair has nov- elty and speed and all the gim- cracks going with a No. 1 flash; went very well, the house staff re- ported, this reylewer having failed to make t. Marion Gibney sec- onded. Miss Gibney is remembered as a knockabout "nut'* comedienne and acrobatic dancer with Lew Cantor's feirl minstrels last season. Her single is by Paul Gerard Smith, one of the rapidly rising mid-West- ern authors. Smith came back from the war and began to write for vaudeville. He knocked a goal with Hampton and Blake's act and has hit several high spots since. He is only a name to the local show col- ony, and no one of the "regulars" has ever seen him; but he seems the goods. Miss Gibney uses his snappy whimsies to good effect and does a little athletic dancing. She is dressed straight and neatly. The turn will do, and Miss Gibney will make the best time in good time. Bayle (so the program said; maybe it should be Boyle) and Patsy, in "one" with a not-quite- urban drape curtain, gave a zigzag performance. The man is tall and strained. The girl is chubby and talks indistinctly. There are plenty of released jests and some that are individual, and a plant furnishes one good laughing moment by getting up in a box at the climax of a kiss- ing bit. The couple is attractively dressed and tries hard to be pow- erfully amusing, sometimes hitting and sometimes missing. Poise is the man's principal lack, and what he mistakes for heartiness becomes sometimes only explosiveness. The team needs a few quiet tips from an experienced director, as it has considerable talent going to waste and is saddling itself with consid- erable waste where it has no talent. The (Jascoignes held in every mother's child of the capacity house. It is one of the sweetest, clevertsfc most diverting and most spectaca* lar juggling turns before the pub* lie It took curtains after the exit overture had been struck up. Biff tune ia all over every breath of It. Lait. RIALTO, CHICAGO. Chicago, Feb. 23. Vhe Overseas Revue, featured, closed a rather slbw'-moving: bill. This revue has many changes in both cast and material and took just 45 minutes of the audience's time, and when they got through the crowd was satisfied and showed it through many encores and applause. The Overseas Revue formerly was a production in Chicago, and then was condensed for Orpheum time, and now we see it altered to suit small- time audinces. The French girl now with the turn is the same as of the Orpheum appearance, and she sure can paries vous. The Ferraros, man and woman, open with good tum- bling, but chatter a lot in between, and this means nothing. If they had bright material their turn would ele- vate itself from the just ordinary class. Blighty and Nolan, another man and woman team, might have suc- ceeded much better in a later spot. Charles Deland and Co., one woman, have a fairly good plot, and Deland's numerous references to the devil's home might be considered not essen- tial, yet. instead of being offended, the crowd was amused. Bootby and Everdean, another of five man- and-woman teams on this bill, were the first to wake up the mob. Miss Bootby's impersonations of various types of humans had her listeners* hands together many times. The best of all her types is that of the parrot, and it's a treasure. Her part- \ ner might watch his postures at the piano more carefully. Patrick, and Otto, two men in hunter's costumes, took the laughing honors and treated their audience wonderfully. In turn the crowd showed their appreciation of their successful efforts at enter- taining by interrupting many gags with hilarious outbursts. The straight man is a crackerjack sup- port for the Jew comedy that Is handled so cleanly and nicely. By. this time every one was set for the long and fast-moving Overseas Re- vue. Makarenko Duo, man and woman, open before a gorgeous drop/ and had stage r.rops to fit. Beauti- fully gowned, the feminine member attracted a lot of attention. These two sing operatic selections melodi- ously and then warble medleys. They are showmen of first water. Frank Gould and Kramer and Patti- son were not seen at this show. DESIGNERS FASHION for thfl PROFE38ION CREATORS of Original Contumea R &^tr N H <&?. e We can take care of the coatamlrig of productions as well as the Individual. Phone Central 4364 MAY8ELLE . SMART SHOP LENORE BERNSTEIN MODISTE Room 503 145 N. Clark Street ART EIER & HENRY ULL1VAN MERCHANT TAILORS If) 1 fir. 1'KOI I *"»ION 610 State-Lake Bldg. Chicago, III *««p-i i i THEATRICAL and STREET FOOTWEAR v, DESIGNERS MAKERS «•<• RETAILS PS AISTONS INC. 14 W. 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