Variety (November 1921)

Friday, November 2$, 1921 NEW SHOWS THIS WEEK S3 % m songs found a few Impatient ones Making for the exits, although well fore 11. To suit' the atmosphere londay evening, judging from the tner even tempo during the couple rf preceding turns, he should hare lad 'em red hot jazs and that would »ve anchored them for anything. The Santrey - Seymour travesty concluded. It IS now billed as a Mgular act. Santrey, taking the last nrtain for his band alone, an- nounces that the writer of a quartet 1 recent pop hits has Just arrived, which brings Anna Seymour on for their hoke crossfire. Business was capacity Monday, aided materially i>y a box party under the auspices of a Jewish philanthropic orgar lzation. Abel. =E = the bill due to their working in full stage, no time being available to change the set. Miss Bayes. preced- ing the closing turn, having worked in full stage throughout her turn. The Johnsons, two men, use xylo- phones with a routine of fast pop- ular numbers employed. They held the audience nicely, with the closing time exactly at 11 o'clock. Hart. r CRESCENT The Crescent (Shubert vaudeville) had its second real vaudeville head- liner with Nora Bayes thiH week. The house used Will Rogers as a bill topper for one week, when he dou- bled with the Winter Garden. Miss Bayes opened the Winter Garden and immediately after was Parted in the^out-of-town Shubert houses. She has gone as far as Chic igo and is now on her return trip, with the Crescent the first of three weeks for her around New York, the others being the 44th St. and Rlalto, Newark. At the Crescent Bhe start- ed the week by drawing matinee busliiess. It is at t : afternoon shows that the Crescent has en- countered light business. **e nights take care of themselves, 'as the house has a small seating capacity and can be a near sell-out practi- cally all week for the evening shows. The early matinees of this week showed more encouragement than tha house has had since vaudeville has bepn installed. With the only 'logical reason being the headllner. The supporting bill is not < " the most satisfying nature. It' is top- heavy with men. Of nine acts, five are entirely of men. Arthur Terry with a bit of chatter and a rope opened the show. Terry starts atons- the monologistic lines, a de- cidedly difficult style of work for an, opening turn, especially as the talk is of a quiet nature. The Brooklyn audience was fairly well seated Tuesday night by the time Terry started, which helped him to a cer- tain extent with the rope spinning and dance at the finish, lett'ng him off to fair returns. Harper and Blanks, a colored dancing team, No. 2, proved but mildly entertaining until their final Chinese number, which shapes up as a neatly ar- ranged, novelty bit. The finish brought applause. Arturo Berpardl, No. 8, provided an expertly worked up protean of- fering; Bernardl retains a set that has seen much usage and is greatly lacking in class. For an act playing the bigger houses a more attractive setting should be used. The costume changing and character work of this chap brought forth several rounds of applause, with a generally good Impression left by a turn that runs a bit over the regulation time. A real dash of pep was provided by Felix Bernard and Sid Townes, No. 4. These boys have worked up a corking two-act, with Sid Townes getting more out of a popular num- ber than the average singer of this style of .song. To offset too great an amount of vocal work, the boys have injected some good comedy talk, which has more strength in the manner In which it is woiked up than in Its own brilliancy. The ap- plause honors of the first half were easily captured by this team. Mr. and Mrs. Mel-Burns in their light farce, "On the Sleeping Porch," Closed the first half, garnering a goodly number of laughs on the strength of the man's drunk char- acterization. Mel-Burne keeps his efforts along these lines within the bounds of decency, getting his laughs legitimately and landing them solidly all of the time. An easy laughing hit was captured ly this cOuple. The Glorias opened after inter- mission, replacing the LOckfords, who were out of the bill on account of Illness. The Glorias confined their work to three dances, two double and a solo skating bit by the Sale member. The act seemed hard- _■' to have made its appearance be- fore It , was off. These people are .far too clever dancers to curtail their offering to such a short space of time. The audience expected , more when the final curtain was lowered. - Tom Lewis with some comedy slides and chatter alon* the same lines provided the comedy punch for the spot. The audience laughed steadily at the Lewis talk, giving him his just returns. Miss Bayes. next to closing, did 30 minutes devoted to her usual style of songs. Alan Edwards Works in with Miss Bayes in some of the vocal work displaying a voice of merit and an appearance that should place him in the matinee Idol fClass. There was little doubt but what the entire audience was made •'■tip of, Bayes admirers. They ap- peared to like every bit of her work 'And came forth with the proper ap- plause in every instance. Several -encores wore necessary, each of which brought forth round after round of applause, easily scoring one of the biggest applause hits ever gained in this house. The Musical Johnsons cl ed the • show, replacing Harry and Anna Scranton, evidently taken out of ORPHEUM Business at the Orpheum, Brook- lyn, Tuesday night was a trifle less than three-quarters capacity, with Norah Bayes headlining at the op- position Crescent up the street. Singer's Midgets were topping at the Orpheum, which made it neces- sary t7 drop an act from the usual eight. TiVt of the acts ran before intermission on recount of the length of the Mii^ets* bewildering array of scenic and novelty lumbers. The little 'oiks ha ye a new scene for a closet It is programed the "Legend of Lady Godiva." The vo- calist Of the ensemble introduces the scene lyrically. He is garbed in monkish costume. A full stage set with castle, moat and lower. 1 draw- bridge is disclosed. Lady Godiva, in pink fleshings. Is led across the stage mounted on a' white palfrey. The knights emerge from the castle, descend "the drawbridge, arrayed in shining armor. A drill credited to Ned Way burn's direction closes the performance % Ten scenes, including the elephants and other Incidentals, were applauded in turn. It's an In- teresting act, no matter how many times it is witnessed. The. rest of the bill ran : ..ostly to comedy turns and played smoothly, each act getting nice returns, with the hits going to Holmes and La Vere, third, and Roscoe Ails, clos- ing the first part. The Holmes and La "ere turn, "Themselves," is one of the season's novelties. Tommy Gray is the au- thor and he has equipped this pair with a capital vehicle. A new touch was a comedy audience song by Harry Holmes. "Ha. l.a," in which the orchestra joins for the tag line, followed by a verse in which the house Is invited to join. Somehow it doesn't belong and detracts from the c'ass of the rest of the offering. The audience verse could be dropped without- harm. A new finish has Holmes carrying Miss La Vere out for bows after he has blackjacked her to stop her from talking. After a few bows he thrbws a dummy into the aisle. This got a scream. One more, with her carrying him. ought to be good for a repeat laugh. Roscoe Alls is showing practically the same routine he used with Midgle Miller. The comedian is featuring Kate Pullman in this turn along with Charles Calvert* a hard working Jazz dancer who slams over a solo to results. Miss Pullman has developed wonderfully under Ails' direction. She Is a clever foil for the crossfire kidding in "one" and looks immense In a black jazi cos- tume at the finish. The jazz band and dancing finish put them away solidly. Alls and Miss P.:llman kidded and speeched In an encore bit. The gags are mostly familiar, with some ad llbbing by Roscoe, but the dialogue is always given a punch by Alls' contortions and trick walks. They took one of the hits of the bllL Dave Roth, second, did well In the early spot with piano -playing and dance Imitations of George White and Pat Rooney. Roth does a piano bit, where he imitates a pianist in a motion picture house accompanying the Alms. Vlolinsky also did this bit and there Is some priority discus- sion. "Bell" says he did it 17 years ago with a wagon show, so there you are. The solo on a one- stringed cigar box violin was well delivered and landed. The dancing at the finish helped the Roth total to a couple of legitimate bows, which made the business of looking at the gallery and asking them "More?" seem superfluous. It shut off the applause on the lower floor like a switch. Sybil Vane, with Leon Domque at the piano, whammed over a juicy hit in fourth position. The* little prima donna opened in a hoop-skirted costume and sang "That's Enough for Me," "Remember the Rose," and after a piano solo and change to short skirts, did two operatic num- bers and closed with "I Want My Mammy," a croony ballad just suited to her personality and voice. They liked her immensely and acted ac- cordingly. Blanche and Jimmy Creighton In "Mudtown Vaudeville" also clicked, opening after intermission. Jlm- m'.e's old chin whiskered Rube character and mannerisms and his deft handling of the verbal passages between himself and the gawky schoolgirl rolled over. Hetty Martin and Phillip Moore (New Acts), one of the best of its kind, opened and took four bows. Con. lowed, getting by nicely after a slow start. The taller member clowned her way to safety. The double har- mony vocalizing was accepted mild- ly, but the tall girl kept pecking away with nutting until she thawed them. Richard Keane and Co. in dra- matic impersonations, were spotted about right, following. The com- pany consists of a male member who makes a superfluous announoement about Keane's accomplishments. Each characterization was applaud- ed by a gathering, roost of whom had never seen the originals. Cooper and Ricardo followed and had quite a job to get going. Bur- ring the first few minutes pf dialog, they didn't take kindly to Miss Rl- cardo's comedy efforts. She got to them with the bridal song, however, and the pair finished solidly but without an opportunity afforded for the uke and horn encore business they do. The idea of the salesman and the policewoman is new anj can be built into a good comedy o« 'er- ing for the Intermediate bills. GeOrge MacFarlane, assisted bj a pianist, really started the sho\ r, next. The br.rl*one. in excellent voice, sang "Belles of St. Mary," "Waiting for the Sunrise." 'Til Try to Forget You" and two popular published numbers. A short speech was necessary *°r the get-away. MarFarlane's act is unique, lnas- 'much as he stays out In "one" until through, minus piano solos. Blllie ShaW's Revue (New Acts) followed ahd dloscd to several cur- tains. One of the male dancers took a nasty looking fall, ripping his Tuxedo trousers, which was pie for Bert Fitzgibbons, who followed. The "nut" opened by remarking the chap in the act ahead did a ripping good dance. Fitzgibbons is assisted by 'his brother Lew, who plays the piano and the xylophone. While handling the latter instrument, Bert goes to the piano, extracting laughs by discordant accompaniment. One of the howls was Fltz's pantomime imitation of a back yard musician, while a song plugger delivered a ballad from a stage box. Fitzgib- bons sold them mildewed gags with remarks, ''Give the public what they I want." and "What the hell Is it all about," to riotous returns. He took the comedy hit without much com- petition, making his final exit a walk across the stage with his overcoat over one arm, remarking, "The dressing room is on this side." The feature picture followed. Con. vaudeville, in that they are the oldest women acrobatic team, started the show with a alp that was refreshing. Both girls are capable tumblers, run LOEWS STATE This week's frame-up at the State is somewhat of an improvement in ning "through the familiar stunts the respect that it puts more empha- wlth the precision that comes of sis on the low comedy. Not enough BROADWAY The last show at the Broadway Monday night ran two'acts short, as is the policy of the house. The miss- ing entries were Kdna I>reon and the Koban Japs. About throe-quart era of a house- ful were in when l\rs»* . diS^d opened with Pfr?| arl /ij»i,, *°P**on pictures. t r lex fol- practlsed ability. There is also a bit of dancing here and there that makes a neat contrast to the tum- bling. Like all good acrobats the girls also sing. But let that pass. They went over nicely. j Second held the Pan American Four, a quartet of colored men in dress suits. They dished up a brand of close harmony that just suited the regulars, the rep including an Imitation of a circus calliope, that the house simply ate up. Inasmuch as this old "tried and true" of the old-time singing fours knocked 'em over at the Fifth Avenue, which has a clientele that knows vaudeville values, it might be a good idea for the dusky songsters to dig up a couple more of the same type, such as "The cows in the meadow they go moo," etc. That probably would be new to most of the present-day regulars, and booking men^ and would more than likely be a wow Of the first water. The house couldn't get enough of, the harmony singing. The Pan Americans could have spread their applause out Indef- initely, if they had Introduced a lit- tle Jockeying. McCormack and Wullace. a double ventriloquial turn (New Acts) put a lot of life into the third spot. Emma Carus, fourth, and a decisive hit. called attention to the fact that AMERICAN ROOF With nine acts in the layout, the first half bill at the American shaped up as a satisfying pop priced entertainment. With the feature picture end devoid of an attraction of distinction, the vaudeville of the program was looked to for a large portion of the ertertalnment. Les- ter Raymond and Co. opened the show with a juggling routine. Ray- mond does his work in a polished manner, keeps up a steady line of chatter, some of which is bright and some otherwise, and leaves a good impression. Dell and Ray (New Acts), No. 2, passed along quietly, with the show getting a good boost with Josselyn and Turner, No. 3. The male member displays musical ability with the 'cello and saxo- phone, his efforts along these lines helping the turn materially. Comedy came to the front with Dobbs, Clark and Dare, No. 4, who banged over an early hit with their rough and tumble comedy. For the average pop vaudeville house this trio has the goods. The comedy is of the horseplay variety, well worked up with a solid finish that should create a howl in any of the three-a-day houses. Phil Adams and Co. closed the first half. The Adams act, which is of the glrly variety,'has seen much service, but continues to provide entertainment of a caliber to keep it in the feature class in the houses for which it has been framed. The act Is now carrying but four girls. It originally played with six. Fol- lowing the slapstick comedy turn of Dobbs, Clark and Dare, the Adams act had no trouble keeping up the pace in the comedy division. Dancer and Green (New Acts) opened after intermission, with Mae and Hill, a quiet talking turn, in the next spot. This couple have a cer- tain amount of class that adds to their offering. Their chatter is In- teresting, and with the neatly ar- ranged dance finish the returns were adequate. Otto Brothers, next to closing, tried for comedy honors, but had difficulty in keeping up with some of the earlier turns in this division. The returns were light through the greater portion of the act, with a favorable outburst gained at the fin- ish. The Three Falcons on the ring.* closed the show, disclosing a well- laid out routine with several feats of merit. Ilart. but still more than the average since the house opened. The middle of the show had m >st of the strong laughing material in "Did You Vote?' with William Mor- ris and Co., followed by Brady and Mahoney with their dialect conver- sation, ending in a serleB of parodied songs. These two bits of clowning were preceded by Re iff Bros., whoso comedy is light, but whose clean- cut dancing specialty gives their of- fering back-bone and substance. Business was somewhat off Mon- day evening. The house never did fill up by a third, although the two- thirds capacity was probably occu- pied twice from 7 to 11.30 as the people came and went. The crowd was more demonstrative than usual, with the laughs coming often and' heartily durihg the comedy numbers, which garnered the bulk of the'ap- plause. " : [ Four Bell Hops (New Acts), a quartet of ground tumblers with a dash of Arab in their routine, made a fast and sightly opening act. They did only seven minutes, but it was solid acrobatics. Irene Trevette was No. Z with her dialect songs, displaying nothing novel, but a well-dressed and agree- able enough single without special distinction. She peddled four songs. the uii. cuiiv* mivuuuuiu inewBiinw Spanish, French. Italian, and fo she is now .wearing her hair bobbed, flnish a Ja „ darkey character i num also that she is a red-head cur- ber of curwit popularity. She oc- rent y (last season Miss Carus was \ cupted 10 minute a without starting FIFTH AVENUE The first half show ran along at an even pace Tuesday night. Eight acts, all of them straight variety type, the show embracing acrobatics, singing, dancing and conversational comedy chatter, principally. No sketch or girl act in the line-up. Km ma Carus. headlining, divided applause honors with the Long Tack Sam Troupe, the latter being the other feature turn of the bill. Busi- ness was light in the balcony, and a bit better than fair in the orches- tra—for the Fifth Avenue. Black and White* .unique In a blonde). The auburn tint and abbreviated locks are very becom- ing. She is a real old home favorite at the Fifth Avenue. Everything she did Tuesday night went over solidly and there was. a surplus of upplause that more than called for a curtain speech. Kirby, Quinn and Anger, a pair, of rough and ready damping comics, and a soubret, with personality and! a voice, entertained with a line of] patter, singing and dancing that put them across solidly. Both of the men are good soft shoe steppers, and each can tumble with grace and agility. The house liked the turn, a first rate variety combination, by the way, and said so unmistakably. Long Tack Sam and his company of Chinese acrobats and balancers gave a needed punch to the show, sixth. The troupe, which holds ten P' I'formers, hop from one stunt to the other with lightning speed. The horizontal bar work of a Chinese acrobat and some difficult back bending by a Chinese girl, vied with Long Tack Sam's Bits for returns. Long Tack, in response to applause that warranted it, delivered a neat little speech at the finish, mention- ing that the Chinese at home (in China) had asked him to thank the Americans for aiding them in the recent period of stress and famine. A good showman this Long Tack fellow, and a clever artist. Lynn and Smythe were next to closing in the turn presented sev- eral seasons ago by Mayo and Lynn, and more recently by Howland and Lynn. Mr. Smythe makes a splen- did straight for Mr. Lynn's highly amusing and correctly drawn Eng- lish fop character. The talk has been brought up-to-date, and the turn generally rejuvenated. Smythe has a pleasant tenor of good qual- ity that he uses to good advantage in a ballad. A representative act of its type. Homer Girls and Lee closed with singing, dancing and piano playing. It's a conventional two girls and a male pianist flash dancing turn, with entertainment features that are sure for the pop houses. The turn landed In the money. Bell. AUDUBON The show Monday went over with excellent returns. Ward and Ray- mond and Edward Clark Co., re- gardless *>f the latter following the former, shared the Jilt honors. The Ward and Raymond combina- tion afford an excellent example of the proper delivery of comedy with emphasis on the feeder, a tall and slender feminine of matronly ap- pearance, while the comedian pos- sesses a quartet of accents. Edward Clark, following, or next to closing, also came into the limelight of suc- cess with his characters that called for overtime work. The company is a female pianist who remains at the keyboard throughout, accom- panying in fine style. The Clark act can stand up before any audi- ence. Josephine Davis was No. 2. assisted by a male pianist. She sang four comedy numbers. Hal Crane offered a dramatic skit. It contained throe characters. It Is founded on a police captain holding a mother behind the bars, charging her with the murder of her hus- band. Her son admits he committed the crime, due to his father's actions toward the family as a result of drink. It holds the usual tense mo- ments, but the lawyer for the de- fense could easily be eliminated. Mme. Rhea, assisted by a combi- nation of the opposite sex, exercised discretion in picking assistants, for they hold up the present turn. Both are capable musicians. Madame Rhea has a variety of dances and does toe work. Jussie and Ossle, gymnasts, held attention in the opening spot, with 50 per cent, of their success as a result of comedy. more than the perfunctory patter. Reiff Bros, came through with the first suggestion of comedy with their incidental conversation They broke the ice somewhat, coaxing a giggle or two for the first time. Perhaps they paved tho way for the next two numbers. Their mirth is mild, but they can dance like a house afire, and the stepping finish got'the first real returns of the proceedings. Neat looking pair, this in their Tuxedos. They are wise not to force the com- edy, but let their clean-cut dancing specialty make the appeal. The William Morris vehicle Is a labored affair in itself, but it I j made funny by the low clowning spirit in which It is handled by the two men and the woman. They act up all over the lot, with plentiful mugging and abundant roughhouse incidental business. The playlet Is built around a travesty on the blue laws, which takes the form of a dream in which the husband, who Is too lazy to vote, is projected ten years into the dark future when hboch, the- atres, short skirts and the other re- maining relaxations have been legis- lated out of existence. The material has a topical touch, and although the points are sledge-hammered across, they meet sure response. The audience was now set for the sure-fire nonsense Of the Brady and Mahoney act. Dialect comedy some- how always gets to the "pop" audi- ence, ahd the smaller of the pair with his ridiculous fireman's get-up scored. The combination of a little comedian who is browbeaten by a hurley, bullying straight man sel- dom fails, and this is no -exception. The talk was punctuated with laughs, and the parody singing finish was a surge of merriment. They sang two travestied numbers and could have done a third. *TyndalI and Laurell and Co.. athletic girls (New Acts) closed the show. "Hush Money," a Realart feature, starring Alice Brady, was the pic- ture, a light story that fitted the vaudeville interlude in quality. Ruth. 23RD ST. With a seven-act bill, which ran smoothly and speedily, those who contributed at the box office demon- strated their satisfaction to a more or less degree throughout the even- ing and It was rarely lets. The main consignment was delivered to Combe and Nevlns in the next to closing spot. They entered to a re- ception and added to it as they went along until a halt in proceed- ings was threatened. The boys ducked the issue, however, with a few words. There must have been a forced switch In the running order, as the J. Rosamond Johnson troupe (New Acts) held the opening spot, being succeeded by Paul and Mae Dolan. The latter turn, which has the man doing all the juggling, should reach ar understanding with the drummer in the pit, as the noise from beyond the foots came very near excluding everything else, not to the ad- vantage of Dolan or the enthusiast at the traps either. Porter J. White did nicely with his dramatic sketch. If recollection serves he has changed the other male member in the cast. White carried the story alon< to a con- clusion that was good for three or four curtains. Evans and Wilson succeeded with a vehicle that would be much the better for some cutting. There's a tendency toward Ustless- ness at intervals and it would un- doubtedly aid the team if the elimi- nation process were put to work. Charlie Ahearn with his gang ran riot, walloping out a substantial total for themselves with the bike rider out in front all the way. The act never gave a hint of being on the wrong side and from the first laugh, also due to the speed of th» routine, worked up to a grand fina'e. (Continued on page 26)