Variety (May 1921)

Friday, May 6, 1921 VARIETY'S CHICAGO OFFICE Cfjicago STATE LAKE THEATRE BUILDING i :. s e= 3C GREAT NORTHERN HIPPODROME RETAKEN BY THE SHUBERTS jvui House Shubert Vaudeville Next Season—Lease Covers. 15. Years, at $85,000 a Yejqrrr-$525^Q00 Bonus to Millard & Bennett. Chicago, May 4. The Shuberta have finally re- taken the Great Northern Hippo- drome, aa frequently predicted In Variety, and will stage their Ad- vanced Vaudeville at this house. The lease covers 15 years begin- ning Aug. 1, at $85,000 a year. About 10 years ago the Shuberts let the house go at a rental of $35,- 000 a year, subleasing it to the present tenants at $50,000 a year. The difference in rent will go to the present lessees, Millard & Ben- nett, who thus will draw $525,000 gross profit after surrending the house. The advent of the Shuberts and their vaudeville to the Hippodrome is of scarcely more Interest than the retirement of the present man- agement, which will continue to operate the Pantages-Talbot con- tinuoues untiUabout June 15. Dur- ing the ocrimno.y of this i o^ime the Hlppodrorpe has attained an in- ternational reputation among per- formers as the most notorious tread-mill in the world, going con- tinuously from 11 to 11 with two shifts of actors, each doing four daily at heavy cuts. Th» Shuberfs will ppend some $75,000 remodelling, and will build out the balcony closeT to the stage by adding a string of loges. The house now holds about 1,400 and the capacity will be padded about 400 by the alterations. The Great Northern theatre was originally opened as a high class legitimate house and later became the downtown stand of the dollar shows, reverting to first grade again with Shubert management (then called the Lyric) and in turn thrown into small time vaudeville under the current ownership. The house is accessibly located, though remote from the main rialto. It fronts with lobbies and box offices on two streets, Jackson boulevard *>VA Quincy street. CHICAGO SHOWS. (Continued from page 7) excellent hoakum with cards, get- ting unexpectedly heavy laughs and close attention for the dauce as- signment. Herbert's Dogs, as stand- ard as Uneeda biscuits, opened soundly and to appreciation. The bill would be better arranged If Miss Bremen opened and Herbert's pets clos*»d. It should be shortened at least 20 minutes also. .Lai*. NEW ACTORS' HOTEL. Chicago, May 4. A new hotel catering to the pro- fession is the Savoy Hotel, located at 3000 Michigan avenue. It has 250 rooms, with good transportation to and from the loop. Mrs. Lew Butler gave birth to a son at the Wesley Memorial Hospi- tal April 28. The father is with Waterson, Berlin & Snyder offices. There Is Only ONE MAYBELLE SMART SHOP LENOF i I ! Boom 503 MOIHSTK 145 N. Clark Street PALACE, CHICAGO. Chicago, May 4. Something was the matter with the Palace audience, or it is under- going a change. That spontaneous, famous good-fellowship failed to materialize at this show. William and Gordon DoOley, the headliners, suffered, owing to the severe cold of William. Gordon's Circus, for many years seen on the small time under the name of "Thalerio Circus," is doing practically the old act. The laughs are dervied from having his dogs get after and tease a monkey. Harry and Grace Ellsworth, last seen here with "The Love Shop," came back with their own specialty. They were on too early to reap the benelits they deserved, but gave the show a Hying start. Here is a couple that has everything from personality to merit, both being able to sing and dance. Miss Ellsworth possesses a deep crooning voice that is built to order to sing "Mammy" songs, and, as an added asset, a nimble pair of limbs, while Harry need take his hat off to no one as an eccentric dancer. They put over a sweet hit, and could have tied the show up in a later spot. "Janet of France" has made a two-act out of her offering and is ably assisted by Charles Hamp. The act is carrying a little deadwood in talk that could well be eliminated, filling the space in with an up-to- date jazz number. As it was, the act finished lightly. SIgnor Friscoe has made his of- fering a commercial proposition to boost the Edison phonograph, and for his many repeated visits here has worn out the novelty of his plants. Harry Holman and Com- pany put over a laughing hit with his "Hard Boiled Hampton" sketch, taking five or six curtains and a couple of bends in one. Joe Laurie, Jr., has added a lot of new talk, though still Introducing the same father and mother. They forced Joe to make his curtain speech, which added a few more laughs to his grand total. William and Gordon Dooley, able clowns that they are, with the as- sistance of Arthur Hartley and Helen Patterson, did not seem to be able to get started, as becomes their reputation; this was most likely due to the unmistakable ill- ness of one of the brothers. The boys did an encore in one, a bur- lesque hand to hand bit seemed strung out to give the stage hands time to set "An Artistic Treat," one of the few posing acts that could carry a spot on a two-a-day bill. STATE-LAKE, CHICAGO. Chicago, May 4. Mang and Snyder opened with strong man stunts. Somehow the orchestra struck a speedy tempo and before the team knew it they were working at a fast clip. At their last trick they drew hefty response, part of which they can mark down to the fact that they performed so snappily at this show. Eddlo Clayton and Frank Lennine slapped over an entertaining line of chatter. The material Is worthy and, as these boys handle it, it brings them their weekly check and steady work. Sheila Terry, with Harry Peterson and Morris Lloyd, sang and danced. She has appeared in the three loop big time houses almost In successive weeks and had no trouble in bringing the crowd's hands together rapidly. Delta Montroscv the.blonde* capti- vating miss, was the hit. Steals on her act have been seen recently and often, but Belle can never be quite duplicated in her style of work, nor in the racket she creates. M js Montrose was liked, cheered and encouraged. To follow Miss Mont- rose was a tough job and "The Spirit of Mardi Gras" handled the task like veterans. They have new costumes and a newly arranged routine that insures the curtains the act gets. The Mardi Gras Sex- tette plays jass music in synco- pated fashion making the numbers sweet and melodious instead of jarring on the ear drums. Even though they are being featured the sextewo shares honors with a glr' singer who knows how to sing, and two dancers who score two homers. There are few Henry Santry, Mardi Gras and Sophie Tucker bands and this makes them more of a treat. Margaret Young crammed in a few numbers which were nicely taken. The three Lordens closed with their familiar comedy and thrills. Bert Baker and Three Misses Dennis not seen at this show. Such delicious Hungarian-Yiddish food ! ALEX SCHWARTZ TricesT'too reasonable for the quality. i>ut why profit"*') r ORIGINAL HUNGARIAN RESTAURANT (Across from the Cort: next door to Woods' New Apollo; One short flight up. Welcome ! —. CHATEAU. Chicago. May 4. The patronage seems to have been affected at most of the outlying vaudeville houses. This house, with a consistent policy of five good vaudeville acts and a feature pic- ture, still continues to enjoy healthy business. The feature picture for the last half was' Wallace Held in "The Love Special." Selma'Bratz and company, the lit- tle lady juggler, proved » keen showman and never missed a trick. Burkhart and Roberts, two men with a thread of a plot built a.ound the Mexican border and what might be expected proved a laughing hit. One does a U. S. soldier while the other a Hebrew comic dressed in Mexican bandit style as shown by the newspapers. Their talk is funny and well handled. Rawson and Clare in the sweet offering, "Yesterdays," never seems to grow tiresome. This act has probably played more consistent and return dates in the West than any other act in the show business, and still remains desirable through the clean and likeable appearance of both. Quite a few new and ef- fective lines have been added. Al Shane has now brought his act down to small time quality. Whether it is due to the fact that Shayne has been working small time for the last six months and has natu- rally gotten into this rut or whether he deems it wise to make his stuff meet the small time audiences' taste, Shayne's act as run now is only a good feature for the small time. He is now playing altogether to the galleries and using some of the old whiskered, sure-fire hoak- um gags that never fail. He has cut his singing down to a mini- mum—apparently not caring to strain his voice on the three a day. The Carnival of Venice, a flash act billed for Pantages consumption, a melange of instruments and sing- ing, made good as a closer to a good bill. he was formerly an assistant, then Palfrey, Hall and Brown. He has with him two talented girls, a pianists and a violinists. He does the business of coming up from the subway in the veteran eet illumi- nated with electric flashers. In crossfire the girls are lost. The opening Is Unintelligible. But at the end, when Hall does his uncanny unicycle dancing, with one girl at the baby grand and the other touching up a mean fiddle, the trio rises to unquestionable vaudeville volu^. The ~aet ,is. a sat l.sfectnry middle-of-the-bill feature for junior time. Went well at the end and got laughs on Hall's eccentric comedy. Garcinetti Brothers, hat throwers, assisted by an amusing bulldog, opened well, getting big laughs when the hound played ball with the house. Healy and Leighton, rare tappers and steppers, with some comedy and a special drop, did all right. Langford and Fred- erick in their superior satire did not whang it like they do on the big- gest time, where they belong, but were appreciated and left a sure impression of metropolitan aroma behind. James and Etta Mitchell, fast aerial work closed. Lait. RIALTO, CHICAGO. Chicago, May 4. A thimbleful present to witness a first show miscues. Moving day might have been blamed for the scarcity of "regulars," and those who didn't come missed the strong- est bill seen here for a long time. La Follette, Beck and Stone and Six Royal Hussars were the main squeeze. Denny and Louise Hurley initiated the week with hand bal- ancing, with the woman as the un- derstander. They present conven- tional tricks, receiving more than first acts get because of the woman's .strength. Fred and Elsie Burke talked and danced, dancing being their forte. The man is funny in his way. The woman seemed a little careless with her makeup. They tried to brace up the act by leaning on talk, but it was not strong enough and they almost fell. La Follette, with his two assist- ants, took the usual sketch spot. He made the lights seem dull with his rapid changes, magic and char- acter makeups. His offering is di- vided into three scenes. His first is a rapid change portraying a police- man, old man and a Frenchman. He doea his changes behind a screen, and those he does before the crowd gives a chance to study his ward- robe. By strings he throws his po- lice buttoned uniform back so as to fold over bis French suit. The sec- ond scene is making up behind a book, on the stage, to resemble Teddy, Jeff, Mutt, Lincoln, Jiggs and Washington. As a finale he does a musicmaster bit, burlesquing an or- chestra leader. His feature and closer is Chinese magic, which sent him off to curtains, bows and ap- plause. La Follctto is a neat per- former, and succeeds in his sinrt'/e attempts to entertain. Billy and Moran slipped over a pleasing act, blackface. The man handles the comedy and most of the dancing and the woman sings and did a very snappy dance. Black- face acts have always been a Hot here, but the applause this duo re- ceived sounded like a toy pistol, so they didn't acknowledge it. Rank and Gould, a tramp and straight man, pushed their comedy for all it was worth, and it was worth a lot. When a "pun" flopped the tramp would do" a 'little pantomime, ana that always saved the situation. The talk is brisk and easily caught on. The straight sings one number at the psychological moment. Nancy Boyer and Co. (two men) came through with a human appeal sketch. It is not usual in this four- a-day house to have a sketch in any spot but three, but this one was strong enough to hold this late spot. The idea is that a boy robbed a jew- eler. The jeweler goes to a cold- blooded lawyer, demanding property to satisfy his loss. The sister of the boy. who has left for the war, comes into the lawyer's office. The lawyer gets a letter saying his son has been saved by the boy robber, and the lawyer pays the jeweler for his losses. The cast is sterling, and handles every line powerfully. Beck and Stone had no resistance in get- ting the attention their singing, nuttying and tomfoolery deserved. These young fellows made those out front forget their worries, if they had any, and otherwise ran in high favor with the crowd. Six Royal Hussars flashed a first-class Ward- robe, lots of appearance and good playing on Instruments. It's a closer par excellence and worked by six women. Willie Brothers and Ham- ilton Walton not seen at this show. The latest in Men's Furnishings can be had at 21 No. Clark St. CHICAGO Next Door to COI I'MBIA THRATRK "ELI," The Jeweler TO TUB PROFESSION Special Discount to Performer* WHEN IN CH1CAOO State Lake Theatre Bid*. Ground Fleer. NORTH DKARROKN STKKKT CIIK AGO. II.I, HAZEL RENE HATS - GOWNS 3M-30R St«t«-Lakr HuiMinc Cliiraco IKKNK DI'ni'Ql'K ( HA/KI RAM»I> X COSTUMES Tel Ont Formerly with F.-iilli Mrnl,l;-nr» I HOP FRED MANN'S "RAINBO GARDENS" CLARK AT LAWRENCE CHICAGO FRANK WESTPHAL & RAINBO TODDLE ORCHESTRA CONTINUOUS DANCING AND VAUDEVILLE FAMOUS CHICKEN DINNEH8 AND A LA CARTE SERVICE AMERICAN, CHICAGO. Chicago, May 4. Lillian Walker, in her own dim- pled person, tops. Miss Walker is Miss Walker. That lets her ouL All she gives to vaudeville is her past and her appearance. She has, to say the least, strange Ideas of what the stage demands as enter- tainment. She enters in "one" be- fore a house olio and was on Sun- day night before anyone knew it and drew no reception. She seemed stage-scared, and if that was acting it was the best she ever did. She mumbled and stuttered and then said she felt she had little to say. Her feelings were prophetic. She told a few scattered items re- garding the movies, none new, and j shmi she. could. tiUnb. some. .dirt., but she aldn t. Then she told a few kid stories, crediting them to several movie kids, but as most of them hiid been heard When Mrs, Yeaman.s was a kid, thin portion run phoney. In all she did 12 minutes. Ah a draw siie showed nothing extraordinary, as there wen- plenty of vacant seats, which are the exception lure Sun- day evenings. As ■ performer she proved negative. As ■ likeable «iri sle- made only the transition from a lilrn close-Up to a vaudeville close- up. Someone should had Miss Walker into a corner and explain t<> her that vaudeville is no barn- nhow affuir wIh-m- children come in for pins. ,sh»- needs sn net, coach- ing, surroundings and m sincere ef- fort before she ean make good in this hjghly specialised branch of serious endeavor Hail. ESrminc and Brice rurnished I Hit Interesting episode, tl • ma a I having taken o'.-r the net In whi<h WHAT WOULD YOU THINK OF A SHOW WITHOUT SCENERY? Did you ever stop to think what real scenery, whether drapes or painted, will do for you? Come up and talk it over. Let us plan that new act with you or make the old one look like new. Let us do for you what we have done for your friends 2S4 COMPLETED ORDERS LAST YEAR! ASK MLLE. RHEA MARYLAND 8INQER8 WAL8H and AUSTIN KNOX and INMAN MARIGOLD GARDENS r-NIE YOUNG .ILL HARRIS UNIVERSAL SCENIC ARTIST STUDIOS State-Lake Building, CHICAGO Pac -.e: Dearborn 1776 »••»., American or Chinese food — As you like it. THE BAMBOO INN T. T. CIIOY. Mkt. ..... TIT-}? FINKRT /J'V ,H&fTCX> CAI^S- IS« TJUJI WOV.UV.. In the Heart of the Kiallo—Around the Corner from r.verj where. TnK KrM)K/VOlH OF TIIK I'ROFFSHION. lt\MMil III AMI (LARK 8TRKKTS, CHICAGO. "ST. REGIS" HOTELS "MARION" 516 N. Clark Street CHICAGO 505 W. Madison St. PROFESSIONAL WEEKLY RATES Single, without bath, $9.00 and Up. Double, without bath, $12.00 and Up. Single, with bath, $12.00 and Up. Double, with bath, $16.00 and Up. Thoroughly modern. Newly furnished. Convenient to all theatres. Free rehearsal hall. WE SOLICIT YOUR PATRONAGE NEW YORK COSTUME CO. COSTUMES 137 N. WABASI LARGEST COSTUME MANUFACTURERS IN WEST CHICAGO GOWNS Central 1801 ■. • ' , ii.' * « , i - i•;I! i •