Variety (June 1921)

Fliday. June 3, 1021s VAW!)EVILLE REVIEWS lencCi t?Jie was * hit of huge 'SK H '•' monologued his way into gnait of laugha after battling 5S-iiiBt the house a bit. But he got i^ and held 'em to the end. Cool- ie out, t lie phrase "that's bunk" ^^ on the lipji of half of the audi- ence testifying to the impression D. n H,? had left. Any monolojyrJHt who has 'em talking about him after the iSow »i)d boosting him as they leave TKft,th»*trc must hove something. iTjb.H.- »^a«- • ,1P|M» Lincolns, a double dancing torn, cIoHed the show. . They were noorly spotted for an act of their ♦ype and would have done much letter further up in the show. They di4 e«collontly considering the han- AicaP Paihe Weekly closed. Bell. REGENT. The holiday matinee business at thi? Moss house In the Harlem dia- trtctdrew about half capacity at- t^hdance. Obviously, the weather ^i'to blame. The house ran three sAows Monday, as against the usual t#|ce daliy. That l» the custom up tftere oh^ the wee!?-end days and hblldafy*. The * MoH Brothers, a two-man pWvh act. opeaied, tliKtinKuishfd ;by the fact that the understandei; bal*- airacM the perch on the forehead in- iteaa of the prescribed shoulder position. With the larger and seem- ingly tno re cumbersome perch the afcoirtder balance t%'as resorted to. The duo efloct gobs* get-up under- dre.«tsikl by full lehgth tights to which they stripped eventually. A jpoOd opened for the time. LuciUe and Cockle, with the blrd«' mistress the outstanding fea- tape be^ausc^ 6f her showmanly jhknner of handling the parrot and the cockle, showed Ko. 2 to resound- ing approval. Their reception by the children, who weiw present in large iJumbers. on the matinee be- cause of the holiday, marks it as eacoHent aiipeal for the tots. Ethel Clifton and Co., with their •Diamond Cut Diamond' playlet, is ft' miniature meller gem and the twists banged it across for an of- fering awtt5 £rom the general run of crook playlets. The *co." consists of a man and another woman, the latter billed in the lobby as Jean Storm. The chatter listens very r*alii»tiq and on the up and up—not the 8tudie,(^ third hand gleanings of an author-observer, but like thi^t of Cfie who has learned the lingo from actual contact with the grifter and 4emi-moi^de breed. The sketch is alao tastefully mounted and appro- priately' costumed,, whiah adds that muct^.more to it-r-*iufllcient to stamp It big time. I ' • t • . ifenry and Moore, "with a new vehicle, "Escorts Supplied," walked oft with a sweet hit, Henry gave a couple of imitations (announced) of,Watd and Van .ind Ben Bernle, among other things, and also wrestlod with hl^ fiddle in hoke fashion for* telling results. Inci- dentally, would It not be advisable to arrange for Miss Moore's exit In the course of Henrj's violin tor- ture session, Instead of having her «tand aside holding her hands and doirtg nothing? Otherwise it looks like bfg-tlmewards for thelf course. Willie Solar, modestly sub-billed fca "the international musical com- edy star," sufficiently* overcame that ambitious monica to walk off "With the hit honors of the show. The mugging, the trick whistle and all combined tc make his 12 min- utes* stay a welcome one. Frances Mink and Eight Palace Boys (New Acts) closed. A Dorothy Daltqii feature, "The Idol of the North,^ and the u-sual collection of short film subjects completed the program. trie stepping and Miss Quinn fur- nished "sight" value that contrasted nicely with the low comedy meth- ods and make-ups of the two men. Following, Both Berl and two male assistants. ofTered an interest- ing study in comparisons between the variety style of turn and the so-called modern vaudev'lle produc- tion act. The Beri act carries satlne drapes*, the two boys in it wear Tuxedos, and Miss Fieri dances "classically." It's all vaudeville ■*cias»" personitled. But aside from Miss Beri's dancing there Is but fair entertainment. It pleased. The show had two decided hits, one in the first half and the other in the second—Dolly Kay, fourth, who opened to a "reception" and closed to a small-sized riot, and Herman Timbi'rg, who also got in the reception class, next to closing, and who at the finish gathered more than enough curtain calls to satisfy any headliner. John B. Hymer and Co. in **Tom Walker in Dixie," splitting the top with Timl)erg, closed the first half and kept 'em interested throughout (he fantasy'. I5ob and Tip opened 3Lt\<X received more than several acts following. The loop the loon busi- ness of the little fox terrier at the finish pulled applause of the hefty kind, Donald Sisters closed with a hand to hand balancing turn, an unusual tyj)e of act for two women. They got over, the house' sitting througli until the finish, The nlnning order was changed at nigl\t. Fi ices same as last season. . Jicll. 5TH AVE. HENDERSON'S. Decoration Day marked the tran- aition of Henderson's. Coney Island, frona the pop vaudeville and feature picture policy which has obtained during the winter, to the regular nine-act big-time summer show. The change was not ushered in aus- piciously Monday afternoon as far as attendance was concerned. Coney Island got the worst of the weather break Monday, and Henderson's veenied to catch it a bit harder than some of the other Island amuse- ment resorts. It was damp and threatening until around 2 p. m., which condition kept many away Iroyp Coney and favored ilie neiijli- uoiliood liouses. '"" Henderson's lobby has been re- decorated and the interior looks •pick and span, the chair coverings tending toward creating an atmos- phere of coolness, which perhaps Will be more appreciated later. Ow- ing to one of the aO'« Kobediiled for a spot ill the first half not arriving Op time .Monday afternoon, the show had to'be generally shifted around. The niafineo line-up liad Sydney tad Townley and Crawford and Broileri( k, two mixed doubles of the flirtation, singing. d.- .cing and talJiing variety, fjliowing each other, serond and third. The two acts are aimilar in franie-up. if not in ni.iterial, and the coiifiiction was too obvious not to be noticeable. M(.'l)..\ iit, K'»'lly and Quinn, i)ro- Rranied tliii-d, opened the second iialf. Ti,,. rough and re.idy comedy •nd d.incijiK of the trio woke 'em ^\ following the dreariness of the Top.'is. with their leleased gags and ^nr.\]] t.r.\n nrwsjiaper humor. Mc- "^'Viit ,infl Kelly rolled up their **KUhiuon with their double ecceu- Comedy seems to be coming into its own aroi^nd the big time vaude- ville thea,tres. for this week at least. Running into two good comedy shows in fnev,' York in orte week is a iecord. Another reason for the manner . in which these two .shows played (Alhambra the other) is the start the shows received. An opening or a No. 2 act that gives the show a real sendoff deserves as much, if not more credit than the act next to clo.'^ing. Often it is the No. 2 that makes the success of the next to clo.ser possible. In this week's bill tlie oi>enlng act gave the show the start; Four Casting Mellos, and It is not the best casting acting the business either, but they work fast and have a woman flyei* adding greatly to the effectiveness. It is seldom a woman flyer Is seen. This act has a girt not only a good flyer but a corking looker with It. They got more than rhany other casting acts that beat the/n to death for doing r^al tricks. Violet Carlson (New Acts) was No. 2, and while .'•he did not do big, ^he held the show to a level. She .only did 11 minutes and followed^an act that didn't do more than six at the most, so, this left It pretty well up to ^llorgah and Gates to decide whether the show was to be a real one or not and the two boys stepped out and put it over pfcttlly. The nonsense of the two seertied to hit from all angles and the audiehce was on their toes to go right alOTig with them. There are several funny bits in the act. Old, perhaps, but still funny and very well done. They fH along Very well around the num- ber 3 or 4 spot In the big bills, where they will do the bills a lot of good probably more so than later down on the program. Morgan Is a very good dancer but is doing only enough of It now to show that he could If he had to. Always a good angle to get over to an audience, Gus Edwards' Newsl»oys and Girls (New Acts), took up about 25 minutes of the running and there ia enough entertainment in it to keep the ball arolling. Anything with kids in it is half over before it starts. Frank Farron placed a solid hit after the PJdwards act, due mostly to a bit th^*^ Frank Bush did years ago and is probably sti'l doing, the soused dame coming Ivome from Coney Island. Farron statts off in the same voice Bush uses and the opening talk is identical, but after the opening he gets away from the talk. The other stories are not so good although the Fifth Avenue audience laughed at them. A tenor voice of sweetness lielps and the song at the finish left the audience in fine fettle for Henry Santrey and his Rind, who caught them right from the start and held them a full 35 to 40 minutes without losing attention for a seeond. He could have gone on another h.^If hour and the .audience would have been .satisfied. They applauded long after the lights went out. This act doesn't come under the Jazz band hea<l at all. it is purely a vaudeville enter- tainment with a man at the head of it that knows vaudeville values ru; well as anyone can know them. He has the specialty running as smoothly as though it were a play that had been on for a sea.son. Num- bers and business fit Into each other with perfect accord and his liea\ ier numbers are as well liked as the ligliter ones. The ban«l is great, it makes real musie and not mere noise biit good .is it is, S.in- trey can go down in "one' with ;i piano player and |»ut it o\cr in ;inv \audeville theaite, Toney and Norman closed the show and this house seein.s to In- the real .<^pot for .Tim 'rone>. Up- started fine and then he couldn't l>e stopped. lie hit the bullseye with every shut and the more they laughed the b<'tter he got, until they put ou tlie ' pa'.ilomime I'laya' to shyt him off. Several \ery funny bits that appeared to be new showed up, the one In which this iMirtner pats him on the bald spot and Jim taking a bow thinking it applause, got the biggest scream for him. Miss Norman also worked with more spirit and interest than when seen the last time, Slie is an excellent foil for the comedian. INSIDE STUFF ON VAUDEVILLE. GREELEY SQ. Nothini^ i.appened Mondu> ol^lit that disturbed the succession of acts that got across and little more until Adrian clowned on next to closing. They were doubtful about him, too, until his "prop** stagehands got into the going. Adrian's nut recitation try and a phoney Spanish song won mild In- terest. But the house went Into an uproar when the plump "stagehand" started losing his overalls. The two assistants and Adrian Just about hit their stride at the close. That was excellent harmony work in the singing of "Chili Bean." On the form displayed the act as a trio could have encored, but the house was not insistent l)y any mej^ns. Two Whiie Steppe.-s (New Acts) opened the show. Barlow, Banks and Gay found a good spot second for their singing routini', which started off, well with a medley aiid wound up with an operatic selection. That won them enouph to encore, but they let it go at that. Davis and Chadwick. two colored men. got something on their danc- ing, but simmered down to nothing. It is one of a flock of colored J,i<^ts using the "Jail-house" song, Which certainly isn't strong enough to c!ose with. They passed out with- out protest. Johnson, Rob and Gibson (New Acts) were fourth. TuVner and CJrace closed well with, h. juggling routine, made different with the Aid of the golf atmosphere: also the per- formance of a woman juggling makes the offering unusual. J bee. One of the "inside" laughs of the Friars* lengthy "Midnight Frolic** held at the Hudson last Fi iday night, was put over on Miller and Mack, who appeared in "Memories." Eddie Dowllng, as an old Tad watchr man, was supposed to sleep on the Job and dream of noted old-tim« theatrical favorites. l?arly in the act Miller and Mack stepped, out ot a trunk as Harrlgan and Hart, stepped around a bit and retired within the trunk. After there were a rtumbt^r of bltd, Irjcludir.g I'at lloonej'v as the original Pat, a bit of "The Parisian Romance,** and "Jenny Lind," which had Ducille Chalfonte trilling at her best to an encore. It was humid and, for twenty minutes, Miller and Mack wilted within the trunk. Subdued giggling over their predicament started all over the houses, even during Miss Chalfonte's warbling. Afterwards Dowling said the trunk bit was designed as the comedy point of the act. LINCOLN SQ. Obviously, the holiday business Monday took quite some edge off Tuesday night's attendance. It is unusual to find an empty 'seat at 9.45 at this Loew house of evenings when the first act goes on. but that night there were several to spare. Peddrick and DeVere .(New Acts) showed in No. 1.^ Fisher andl^loyd, a two man team in blaok and tan (the comedian doing the ebony cork) held down No. 2 well enough with some more or less alleged comedy talk and a familiar reper? toire of songs saved only by ok» cellent delivery. Tlie mast effefltive' chatter revolves < around «e\wal minutes of obvious punning on the. "dicing business" nud the . "dying ' business. The pop songs can ■ also stand rejuvenation. ,, ,A1. H. White and Co, In the sketch .si)ot showed a new vehicle with their "Appearances" skit. White is a seasoned and capable enough cliaracter actor who has made a specialty of Hebrew character de- lineations. His support, however, can only be <]isnus.sed as strictly schooled novices, little or more. But it pleased the Irish customers at this Loew house—so it must be a good act! Harry Ilicky LeVan. and Claire DeVine, from burlesque, on their annual sojourn In vaudeville for the summer, toplined this show, can do it In any liouse of the same grade. LeVan Is a past master as a low comedian and Mi.ss l>eVine, a stale- ly blonde of modest poise and effec- tive vocal range, made excellent foil for the comedian and qualifies as an ideal opposite for a cut-up of LeVan's type. They were the hit of the show. The Hondas Troupe, a male sex- tet neatly clad in Tuxes, oflered a variety routine embracing ground tumbling, pyramid work, talk, dance and hokum. Kverything scored. Good closers for the time. Vivian Martin in "The Song of the Soul" was the picture attraction. Two acts with, perhaps, the best-run records in vaudeville of th* present time, for consecutive engagements, belong to the same pro- ducer, Charles B. Maddock. The acta are "The Sirens" and "Rube- , vlllc." "The Sirens." with Frank Dobaon, Is in its 150th conaecutlve week of playing with but one week out, for travel. The other is "Rubevllle," . playing without a break, summer and winter, for six years, exceptingr one s\immer when the 'compan^ arose against working, taking six weeks off. . :i":'.r!>'^: .. Mr. Dob-^^n will prqn'ably leave the Maddox management In fire or t;ix weeks when "The Sirens' will stop, lie Is going Into production •work. During the time "Kubevillo' has played. Harry W'atson and Ucg_ MerVille have remained with it. audeville local book- depend- A question of values arose the other day In a New York booking office. The head of the olfire had offered $375 for an act. The head of the circuit saw the act and offered $260. The agent for the turn argued the matter, when the head of the circuit suggested the head of the office also see the act and set its value. Bui the head of the office,' who had seen the turn before offering 1375, told hia boss he didn't have time to see the act. The escpected measure of vaudeville busines.i over the summer la far from largf, but still, as in previous years, there may be several houses of the pop vaudeville variety open over the hot spell. In some cities this will be so through opposition managers falling to agree to close- They have not even conferred about it so far; although there have been cxpicsslons tb the effect that "if so and so closed for summer, we would close, too," etc. the spinning, dancing and talk. The si)inning of the large rope at the finish was applauded. Alice and Mary ^fcCarthy.. the two kid liarmony singers, passed nicely In' the deuce spot \yith a cycle of published songs. The young.sters have personality, voices and ca\ jdiince, but they yvill, never climb, far, .with the present vehicle. The s^rvlc^es 9^ a competent autlipr ,wpul4 benefit, / . , , JJennp^t 5>is(er^ ^nq^ vo.,, thrpe gopd( looking girls in bathing .suits, hav^ a,., iutereuliiig rovUihe of atijir. letics. The third member doasp't do jnuch but dress the stage pnd act as, referee in a boxing iMatch, One of ,the girls lias a l<?ft liand that would look good On a whok^ lot of professional j)Ugs. She Jabbed hor £o-worker and got away with- out a counter oj» numerous occa- sions* A corking wrestling match completed their excellent specLilly. The Three Misses Dennis followed in more harmonizing and phased. "Scandal in the Town," tl»eir strongest numbei elsewhere, didn't get much here. The girls rogi.s4ered, however, with personality and splendid voices. After Miss Barry cajoled her way into the good graces. Mniria Do and Co. closed with their posing. The act, which is one of the prettiest of its kind, was greeted In absolute silence up to the final picture. Bilslness was just short of ca- pacity Monday night. The bill as an experiment didn't prove any- thing, but another strong comedy act up furtber might have made a tremendous difference. Con. sufficient to gain comedy returns. The Blossom Sisters and Band closed the vaudeville section." Those giHs have an offering which denotes class and is a fitting closer for any of the Loew bills. The glt\n show Utile in the line of exceptional dan- cing, with their costuming and good lobks holding the turn up. The band employed displars its ability with straight inlaying, Bofnethlni^ that'l.^ not accomplished J&jy the .avc^iifee Jazr organi^atiotl. i. KEENEY'S 125TH ST. The holiday bill at the tJpfOWn house for the first half consisted of all female vaudeville, six acts, and a pictu2-e that was made with a local neighborhood cast a few weeks ago. The movie has been drawing like wildfire all week on account of the home talent and the publicity that Manager Dave Robinson manufac- tured f.>r it; Oii«» of tt\« prinripft' roles i.s portrayed by the female leader of the Kanawha Club, the Harlem Democratic organization. Albert Hawker, the winner of the Funny Face contest, conducted re- cently by a local daily, has the com- <'dy lead. As a comic Albert will never win any coiii«-sl.s, Huw lit- managed to cop the prize in the contest is not discernible from this showing, L>diii Barry walked off with the honors of the vaudeville section in the next to clo.siuK spot. Miss B.arry worked hard and didn't let the apath<'tic audience bother any. She finally hooked Um ni with her :n"lo- drania travesty and, though they muffed in.iny of in r nioic subt'•' touches, there w<-re enouuh wise ones present to swing the balatice in h^r favor. The rest of the bill w<'rit along without starting ninth of anythintr. tlie house being unii-u.atiy chary of Mpplause at the lini-.h of the tiiin.s. n.i'/<'l >U»ran, who open«^'d. got about as uiu( h a.^ any oinj wnli her lunal METROPOLITAN. There Is a st.*\mp of distinction upon this Brooklyn Loe^/ house that places It in a niche by Itself In the realm of three-a-day. The house takes a back seat to none of the dark borough theatres. Manager (Jeorge Schenck has a theatre of Which he can be Justly proud, with his large staff of assistants trained up to the minute as to tlie handling of patrons. Monday evening, with the weather warm, the attendance filU'd the big house to ne.ir rapacity. The Met ai»poars to be getting an early i-T'fWiii niar>y cc.jrui.of? (*i.it H.t H.fr>. with an efni.il number taking tiicir places. Miclion Brothers, two boya with a sl.ished routine to six min- utes, opened the show with three coiking tricks that i)laco them In the class of big-lime open«'rs. Dave and Lillian, colored, lillrd in. due to tlie non-.-. i>i;c.':ra!;ce of George Moiton. They limited their efforts to nine minutes, gainhig most by the ;j(rol>;iti<^ dancing of the man. They had little dilfiiulty in holding uj> the No. 2 spot. Chisholtn arul I'.reen. In a rural <omedy skit, pro\ided one of the c«x- cepfion.illy brifiht niiiiule.>i. Thi.-i (oiiple has a \i'hi«'le of consider;. '»!<• merit, nicf-ly stag<d and delight - lully han<lled. The <li.ilog is full of sure-fires that are sent ovir without a slii)-up. Mabel Harper kidd<Ml her wiy along with comedy .'^(in-.^s. t.ilciri'.: down several l.iunln with h»r .unique comedy. The .M.t i-' .t I.iii^i- house for a Kirl with a small \oi(M'. but Mis«i H nper m inised t" in ik*- lici'.self heuid, with the cl«t\vniri4 .With the weather breaUing for oM^door amusements Monday after- noon, i^ie business at this Brooklyn house .topped expeqtations, the hotuse getting a good, ut^xt for th6 first performance, both floors hold- ing an acceptable quota. A woll- acranged medley of patriotic airs by the orchestra procured returns, with Harrison and Van (New Acts) opttn- ing, getting along nicely, Doherty and Dixon (New Acts) No. 2 hit a responsive chord. Ted McLean and Co., with a com- edy-dramatic sketch, held the audi- ence's attention. The small time ia largely devoid of sketches at Ihi.i .oieaMon of the year. From the re- turns garnered b^' this playlet, the advi.sabllity of eliminating th<'ni from* the summer bills Is questiun- able. The McLean sketch is a standard vehicle On the throo-a-day and should have little trouble in keeping them intcrcisted In any kind of weather, Weber and Rose (flctitiouii names) had patter and songs. Th« Idol Dancers, also ma.squeraded un- der an assumed name. "Post Time," a male quartet, next to closing, proved the disappointing feature of the bill and waa to be moved to an earlier position for the evening show. The turn wasi using two new members cold Mon- day and suffered accordingly, the comedy being handed to a Hebr<'W comedian who had just been placed I., the act and apparently h.id not shown his wares to any one before- hand. Miller, Cuby and Little, a male aerohatic trio, closed the show with a bang. J. ♦h9 h.^a ILL AND INJURED Charle.'i (;ilpln, "The Ilmpcror Jon«'H," temporary Indisposition. T«'H.>ia Kosta, who recently closed with "I'rincess Virtue" / at th« Central, has been confined to her home for several days with an at- tack of ptomaine poisoning. James Sweeney, manager New Theatre, Port Jervls. N. been confined to a local hospital for several days with a stomach dis- order. It was originally believed that he would be forced to unrlergo an <»peiation. The trouble cleared up. however, without it. He is re- covering. .limmy Flynn, Fe'vt pitigcrer. 1.^ laid up home as a result of an au'o •^rni-^Ii -uii oil Columbus CircJo last we.k. A!i<e Allen Is at the Am'^riean Mo>pit;il. t'hii ;igo, taken ihere lor in o|)erifion. Dolores, who reeently l.-ft "Sally** .it the Anistetdam, has been con- lined to her home for heveral d.i.v j with an alt.ick of tonsililis. jf^ii^ All! leave shortly for Lutope.