Variety (March 1922)

Friday. March 24, 192« BURLESQUE 11 r CHICAGO STOCK BURLESQUE . LEADS ALL WHEEL HOUSES THERE t ?l«^ H: Slale-Congress Works Up to $7,000 Weekly—A. Leo Stevens Producing—Inexperienced Men Backed Promoted Venture •1 I Chicago, March 22. BurlcsqiM^ in,Chicago, as far as the organizetl circuit liouses are concerjiocl, proved to be a dismal failure tliis season. Two houses of the Aniorican circuit have discon- tinued tiicir regular policy while the two houses operated by the Colum- bia ciriuit ha\ e come nowhere near the retuins iliat they have had in past season.^. Tlie shows were with- drawn from the two houses of the former circuit, due to internal af- fairs, but at no time did any of the shows housed in them during the season do anywhere near what would be co:isidercd a legitimate proflt, Willi most departing with a «ubstantial loss. While, on the other hand, the legitimate and vaudeville houses here, even though their business was not up t6 the mark of a few seasons back, have been running along prolital>Ie. With an analysis of theae conditions, it could only be conjured something was wrong with the modern day burlesque produc- tion. The burlesque patrons are still about and still enjoy shows of the burlesque production type, but they have been fighting fhy of the regular wlieel burlesque houses. The diagnosis after observation shows It to be that the producers tried to progress just a bit too fast with burlesque and get away from the old time and old style show. The old show which always proved a winner was one that consisted of a few comics, a straight character roan and an avalanche of women. The type of comedy dispensed con- sisted mostly of gags and scenes and a book was unheard of then. 'Then the major portion of the at- traction, and what brought in the money, was compo-sed of women, and plenty of them. Naturally tlie prccient day bur- lesque show carries women and plenty of them, but it got away from the idea of having he women ap- pear early and often. This de- parture, it is claimed, was uesponsl- ble for the keeping away of many patrons from the houses and an- other reason was given as too much Bimilarity of attractions. With the old story being current ihat "if T see one burlesque show. I see them all." On a dim section of State street, Just outside the borders of the loop, In a portion of the city which is mostly i>opii]atod by lodging houses, "«r>'p" and 'lilm" Joints and a mu- •eum hero and there, is located the State-Congress. A good many years ago it was operated by Izzy llerk. as the Cayety. but waj abandoned When the lodging houses and 'gyp- pers"* begnn to appear along the thoroughfare. This season an en- terprising trio consisting of an automobile dealer, a diamond mer- chant and a former judge leased the house and formed the Yankee Amusement Co., Inc. After they had signed the lease they looked about for a form of entertainment and stool^ burlesque was deoldod upon. A producer was engaged and Weekly Chang.-s of bills were given. From August until l^ecomber the house did in the neighborhood of J3,000 to $n,.>oo a week, in excc.s3 of the business <lono by the Haymarkct *nd Engkwood, the two houses of the Amerloan circuit hero. During the latter month a new producer Was engaged and with the new man *n, the st\le of entertainment was changed f..r the better. After the "rst two we'ks th^ shows given liore Were the talk of the town and •old buries.nu' 'fans" from all over Chicago 1 etjan to swarm here for their ontrrtainment. with the result •the Intake Iwre since that time h'«s been averagiin; between $0,000 and r.OOO a week. The style of ^nfortalnment fur- nished was iiofhing but the <>1<1 Jashlonod slap>ti..U burlesque, with '^■t and smart C(»medy aui' situa- tions, uitj, soiu' l)Onl<'rit.g just in »"e exfrmu- !,iii none too spir-y to Rive off..use. Th • man who devls..d this type cf r-nt»rtainrnont was A J^o Stevens, a fi»rmer comedian a? d burlesque stoi k producer, who has produced stork shows in »f\«Mal New York house?*. Stevcnij siinpl.v went into his CHARLIE JANSEN SHOT Former Burlesqua Comedian Was Eighth Avanue Jeweler trunk and from it dug ur> a miss of script .-aid gags and each week took a certain i)ortlon of tliem, brushed atid freshened th<m up. then blend- ed them and augmented thi-m with niusieal ni:mbers and managed to round them into a show running from one hour and ten minutes to an hour and a half. To this he added three vaudeville acts which extended the performance to two hours in lenirth and built up a steady clientele for the house,,. The result of the building up of this steady patronage has been that the house is at i>resent averagitig more in gross receipts than either the Columlila or i>tar and Garter, the Columbia circuit houses ia fhis city. For the current week the title of the show is 'The Dathing Ueauties on the IJeach." The name is quite reminiscent of the Gallagher & Hernsteln title on the American cir- cuit, but that rejtlly means nothing, for the customers swarm in ^lere to see a show regardless of title. With the title selected the scenery and setting must in some way syn- chronize with it. That was done very easily with the five scenes shown in one act. One of the .scenes gave the exterior of a^ide show at Coney Island, the next the exterior of an amusement park and another a panorama of a bathing beach. All of this scenery looked as though It had been prepared for the current, attraction as it was freshly painted and made a good impression. The opening scene was In front of the side show with a mother taking her kids down to the beach for a day's outing. The entire gags and dialog were indulge 1 i.i by the two kids and the mother with the barker and also enabled the i>rincipal come- dians to make their debut. Lew White, a Hebrew comic, is the prin- cipal fim maker here. \Vhite gives i wmlse of showing up to good ad- vantage with more cxp<rienc^, but in ins present surroundings does ex- ceedingly well with his bits and scenes. As his foil Charles Fritcher is employed in a "Dutch" role. Fritcher is iust the average foil for a principal comic and serves the pur- pose he is intended to. Bob Sand- berg i^roved to be a capital straight man and one especially qualilied to work with the comedians here. Bus- ter Lorenzo, one (if the only men with a singing voice gives promise of developing into a character come- dian of no mean ability. He has a good conception of conledy values and manages to ease his stuft and material over in "impressive style. J<'an O'Goi-.ian. tho juvenile, is a pleasing looking youth, who talks his lines with ease and finesse, but Is dehclent in the vocal end. There are four women principles, also Leona Fo.r, prima donna, who does not "prim" as a prima donna should. Lcona has not tho "pipes," but she is listed to go and a woman who can warble is announced to take her j>late next week. Miss Fox, how- ever, is con.petent as a character woman, and as such served in good stead. Carrie Finnell, a buxom blonde, pro\cd to be a most capaljlc rough and ready poubrct. Carrie lias a faculty (if tea'-ing the custonuTS along while d'jiag Ik t worlc, and in this way has e.'^tal>lished herself with them. Carrie talks h«T lines with firmness and goes tlirouijh her business in a fasliion as though she means it, and that, of (ourse. lias its effect on the audience. SIh' is in- ( line<l to MUgf^ «)n the border of pro- priety at tini«'S, but just catch'-s lier- srlf in the ni«k of tini'* an<l ictites gra<'efully. Minnie Fitzgerald, the soubret, seems to stand out lead and sliouldt-rs over tlie balame of the princiiial women, f^'h'* has a .sweet, winsome personality and ex- cecdiiifily pleasing siii;Tiiig voiie and a manner of a. quitting le-rsrlf in scenes with the comedian in most m'-ritorious f,(v;hi..fi. Gra'^.^ Gr*'<n, th«' im,'cnue, iiowvei'. shows a laxity of .ability in all diieclions. Slic leal- ly lias nothing more to do. (hougli. than to ai»pi'at in the i»ict'iie. All of these peoph- aj.p»;ir< d in the fii-st se»ne and enai fc<l \aiioij« pi»M'es f»f business ,'iiid dialog w hicii .'^t'vens had dug up from da\ s gone bv. 'i'lny. lir)w«ver, nitnag-d to go through th.-m with virn. \ig"r and rntiiusi.isni. wlii. li \.-. rath- r mtu<ii'il for stork p< I fi.rnx r.s v. Iio ar«- < t>i7i- Jielled t<» do two '-lloWH in Jb" .ifier- nof)n and two .if ninlu s»«v»n d.-iyx a w».-U and i.h'-.n'^»- ir- Hi«i|- si>are time for th<' foiiov itig v .-K s rhfiw. I'racfirally all "-f th" >••, ji's w«r." Ml the old \Hit:«g«'. but liM..k«d fo- t,'.flier s«) that they er<;ijed th*' de- sii»-d irnpi- vioii The bi's arid sit- ualionx; aic [>"■ / > !iivro..s to inen- Charles Jansen, jeweler on Sth avenue, who waa shot by hold-up men aind badly beaten, is the Charlie Jansen of burlesque; for several seasons with the "Bowery Burl^quera" and other Hurtig & Seamon shows, following his brother, Benny, as principal fea- tured comedian. On the death of his father, he retired to conduct the jewelry store. Jansen was taken to Bellevue Hospital, seriously hurt. .lie re- covered consciousness long enough to i<fentlfy one of the thugs, who i Was arrested in the case* by the crowd attracted when he shot Janson. BURLESQUE REVIEWS STRAIGHT BURLESQUE OUTDRAWS CONTINUOUS STEP LIVELY GIRLS With his current season's edition of "iStep Lively Girls," Arthur Fear- son has stepped somewhat away from the conventional in burlesque, providing a eort of semi-revue con- s ructed along burlesque principles, the result being entertaining. I'ear- son winks a keen eye toward econ- omy, but he managed to procure the proverbial pound of results from every ounce of talent. Likewise, with' craftily conceived color schemes, he gave his scenic Investi- ture an atmoj-phere of pretenti(^us- ness and his j)roduction an at of ex- tra vaganre til at to the initiated smacks more of flash than of cash, yet the result is just what is desired in burlesque—consequently. I'earson. in a<idition to Ijeing credited with a good show, can be credited with a fund of common tense both as pro- moter ajvl producer. For some unaccoimtable reason the manugt-ment .^addled an extra BIG REVIEW Pretty anl P'tu- ^1\y Smltli Nt»v>r Miik-c* J.>e t'r<-«ij Irn s>.*tib!o *. •. U-s'io PaiNor I'uurit of .No:iCCauiit.. !:;t'i'h II ^ki-TS StzciinR Vamp Kl**.** I'ormelljr Old 11.>y lliiiMeif M.«n>- ].«vaB Last Hut -Not Lvast. H-tny Kl'.by Helen of Troy..... !.<» lie no» Cieopatm • Ni-cy Kl:bf attraction on the I'earson phow at Three Shows Doing Biggest Busioass Last Week Without Aid The three shows doing the big- gest gross on the Columbia wheel last wee! were "Follie^ of the Day," $9,500, at Miner's, Newark; 'Step Lively Girls " I6.9C0. at the Gayety. Roston. and Lew Kelly Show, |7,800. at Columbia. New York. The point that has interested the Columbia ofholals In the three gfosses is that none of the houses had supplementary entertainment, such as plctuies or vaudeville, the straight burlesque outdrawing any of the Columl)la houses operating last week with the continuous idea. COLUMBIA jNJtIEWBURGH Cohen's Opera House, X<'wburgh. N. y., will play tht; Columbia wheel shows as a week stand, bcKinning March L'7. James K. Co!Tl>er'e "Folly Town" is schedided as the initial Columbia attraction. Cohen's has been playing the American nYiows all season, as a split week, another Cohen house in I'oughkeepsie taking the shows the second half. The current week is the final one for the American shows. COLUMBIA STARTS Chicago, March 22. Completing the first \ e'ek of its continuous policy Saturday tho Co- luml)lr- here chalked up a ijross of $2,500 more on the week than It diJ tho preceding week under the old two-a-day policy. It h.as been announced the Star and Garter, the other CoIuml>ia cir- cuit house, will inaugurate a similar policy beginning April 2. $7,800 FOR LEW KELLY SHOW The Columbia, New York, did about $7,S00 with the Lew JCelly show last week. tion individually, for tliey are all well known to burlesquers. There are 18 chorus girls. There is plenty of work for these girls to do, as they work during a gnater part of the show and arc compelled to go thi-ough their routine four times a day. It seems really re- markable to SCO tho caliber of girls that are ai)pearing here. They are all topnotchers and many of them are recognized as piils who liave appeared lure in cal)arotH and re- vues and also filled In with big musical FliOws during their stay here. lUit they are the tyi)o who do not profess an eagerness to travel, SO have found a |>'rnianc(<.t homo here \\h<>re th^y (ni kci-p going for an e.xteruled period. Tliese girls are paid from $;{0 to $10 a week, and I irom the enthusiasm of tho i>airons j when they appear in numbers seem 'to be well worth the amount ex- ! pemb.'d for their uifkeej) here. The costuming of the girls is most ap- proF>riate, and this we<k there were eitjht ( hanges, a new costume b'ing shown with each number. These i costunu'S were all spick and span in I ajij*' ai aiice .antl give- evid«'iice fif be- ing ^iven good care. The numlxrs are the traditional t>pe of burli sque jiroduftion t n'-»'nil>l' s with no en- d«-.'ivor ttjward llashiness and in- tjicacv'. .*<fevens himself doe«» the staging f»f i!ie book and numbers. 1'h»> .'idniissinn i>iiee loTe Is 50i-. for the low* r floor and bahony. w ith T.lf. Ining asked for Hi'* b'>x t<<afs. The house >«'ats a little f.v«r l.fiOO I»«'rsons. Tuesday an«l I'riday night«» were the liybt Juistness niuhts iK-re pri«)r to th- ad\»'rit of Si<\fns. so for the forrn«r nmht Ic arrang^-s no\«'!iy and surprise* f'';it\ir<'S arel the latter ni^ht is atn.it'ur night, wherj 12 a't.H ftre useff. S'lnco the inaiig'iraM'.n of th"S.- fi'.at'.ires the house lias J»ern jlaylpff to rt turn- away at the ni«ht p<. rioi inanees on those cvenir.gs. Loop, ihe Ct>Iumbia this week in Middleton and Spellmeyer. Monday night * busine.-«s was off and U is douLtful , if the added ft-ature could or would i prove of any magnetic value i bo.x oftlce. The show Itself seemi 1 (.sufficiently strong to hold up busi- j nesa to its normal point, but the ; Columbia management in its neW i order of things, apparently is look- j ing over no looplioles to give the ! -much for little" policy a thorough testing. The book and lyrics are credited to Eddie Dowling, and while several popular numbers are interpolated. Uowling has succeeded in gettini: away from the cut and dried "bita" of yesteryear's burlesque. Ue has done wonderfully well considering his allotment of possibilities, and with the exception of the familiar black, while and ghost "scene, well redressed, his "bits" smack of origi- nality. The latter scene in the sec- ond section provided solid laughs as handled by Hilly Gilbert and Gene Morgan, the latter doing blackface. It's timeworn with age. but staged somewhat dilYerently than •! yore, and it welded snugly into the run- ning order of the show. Gilbert is principal comedian and depends solely on exaggerated ward- robe and a slight facial makeu. for his returns. He started slowly, but once the fiudietice realized he was the rom^diai). it came rather easy for (tilberi. He never overexerted himself ,and never needed to, for with liis' natural style of delivery and the lines pwvided, his path was an easy one to harrow. Je.'^s Weiss and Harry Kelly shared the honors in tho male division with (Jilbert, Kelly getting a goodly .share of laughs with his charaete<"iv:ation in a cafeteria scene. Kelly could be given more comedy, for b.o is cai)a- i>le, a seasoned burlesquer and car- ries a splendid style of delivery. Weiss is a igimble juvenile, wlohls a tlight dialect, which ho could profitably exploit, atid, with his d.incin.?. little as offered, <'arned an individual hit. Oppo.slie Gilbert ho scored as a sli'k "feeder" and was a welcome addition to the cast. Gene Morgan and Chnrlos Kemper fill in to advantage in spots, but otherwise do liltb», a!;, a^rh Mor- gan's specialty in the afterpiece i helped immea;rurably. In tho female division t!ie bulk of Ihe labor falls to I'atti Mooro, a lively miss with an elastic pair of kickers, whose principal forto Is ac-" robatic dancing. While the girl Is not overworked, fihe is too niuch in evidence In tho number le.iding and row id snf.'ly .sh ire more with Evelyn Cunningham, or one might suggest that Florence Talbot be given an ad- ditional song or more. Those three make up the'f inininc contirgent of principals, witli Miss Moore, despite her many oi-por! unities, running sec ond to Mi^s Cu!itiingham. The latl#r'H specially fcavo lier the hon- ors and overbaj.mcod the nifty score chalked up by her co-partner. The Moore girl i>« surr there with her ped:d extremities, but her weak voice haridi. apped the returns ac- (juired by h<r hgrobatlcs. Evebn Cunningham Is good to look at. Likewise she can sing. Her r<-iM-rtoire of .monies included a freak nuniJ>er. Another number tl at stoo'l out conspicuously wa.M a modernlze<l Apache dance by Weiss and Moore. Tho coujile h<i\e their twists .and stei)s syiehroni/.t'd to i»erfection and tho (latue i>ulled them IntJ the hit c<.tltimn. The To\l,jnd scwne andlt.-i accom- ]).j!iying nufnber was well arranged ml proviib-fl a ]»r«'ity stage picture for the first part. Miss Moore led this .affaif a<»vith a niarf h drill and a sf»lf> dance, getting the scene and number over in g«»od shape. Tho chorus is about of the aver- age Columbia type, without any of tlu" girls itanding r»ut conspicuously <;rh'T for lf)f)ks, voice or exceptional ;ihility. Th«-^y work well together, aiming more for general r»».^!jlts than !ndi\ iriual h )n<»rs. I'red Nice is given '•r' (lit for tin* numbers and .Nii e of- f»*rs a nice i online witout showing t \thing that might appr^xn h a bur- le.^que noveltj'. I'earson has a good comedy show and a clean r»ne. It's* ni>t a show that will cause unusu.il comment, but it will please any burb-sque andiencr, Wj/nn. Except for Harry Levan. prit.va]>al comedian, and his partner. Ralph Kogers, Henry Dixon's "Big Keview" hasn't much out of the onliniiry. The troup doesn't need anything else. This pair can tarry any ag- gregation that Is fug enough to till tlie siag»» without reference to en- tertainment ability. I^van and Rog<«rs make 'Tlio Hig Heview" the top laughing unit of the second string ^.Mrcnit. They qualify by wide margin for the Columbia cot»'rie of .*.hows. L«van and his partner b.avc the rare knack i>f peddling genuine bur- lesque c -medy wi'.h a smooth, casual n-incbalanr'e ns though they were forking ec.tirely extempore. Most of their ^tuff is liovel to a degree and all of it is the grade and quality that makes any sort of bur- to the<hsque audience laugh. In the first j act there is a bit involving only the T»air. with the sfraisht man. Harry i Klhly, that must have run 20 min- utes and was a continuoiai roar. It was the simplest kind of clown- ing, nothing more than Levan strumming a ukelole and Kogera dancing, but it was rich in com- pelling comedy that none could escApe. Both men are legitimate in their methods to an extraordinary extent. "Legitimate" Is a pretty elastic word in Wheel terminology, but It applies forcefully to the pair. Levan has the knack of making double entendre register by an In- tonation, a pose or a quirk of ex- pression and he can deliver spice without coarseness when he want» to. For Olympic purposes he didn't have to want to and he went pretty well along toward the limit at times. Hut his stuff has the saving grace of being droll. He plays a sort of Patsy, the roFa with which he has long been Iden- tified and carries It out consistently throughout. Rogers does a rather clean-cut "wop*—clean cut in the respect that it Is di«essed without grotesque effect and the dialect is not emi)haslzed In the usual over- emphatic way. Rogers has every- thing, an unctuou> style of humor, a fiist rate voice and more than average dancing ability. He can go .after the roughest kind of rtistard pie comedy and still make It heartily funny. Ho had a barber fdiop .scene all to Idmstlf in the second a«'t, with slupi>itig about of lather and a lot of other mcHsy stuff, and It was a low comedy scream. This wa-s nfs only real sulo chatu-e and he built it up to one <if tho evening's hits. I..evan had wider-territorlty for spreading himself. In a less expert comic It would ba\e b«en a case of monopoly, but he carried It off wit out tiring himself or the house. He' was back and forth all the time and in adtlition to the bit mentb^rod did a fifteen-minute talking turn with. Kilby that spail;le<l with crackling roruer.salional exchange.-', some of It none loo delicate but all Immensely amusing. Hi.i piano playing en- t» r«'d Into this for Jarue n turns, and a .«iong al»out Snlnrnan and his wives bnlit on the rt-fraln, 'It *l'akes a .Mighty Good Man to Do That.- neirly stopped tlie proceedings. The three women were pale and mild. The prima donna, either Bes- sie Baker or Elsie Donnelly (you couldn't tell from the program da*a) has a f^howy vohe with ;i fine high not<», but she does rot stand out. She was much In evidence In the first act, but did not appear in the second at all. Tho other two are .May Smith, a slim bl«>nde and L»f- tio Boles, blonder but of th.' j)ony proportion**. Nelth»^r Impn-ssed either In singing or dancing. There wa.i a bbindt* daiicing demon on the fiont line furthest' from th" drum- mer and another to her left .(^nmrMB whcr»» and concealed sonn'where in the group was a third girl with a rnelodh,us femab^ baritone. The three were allowed to bardie a chorus nttmber at the op'^ning of tho second prirt and th<» ei.jwd greeted them joyously. It".-* a fair bet that Ihat trio could havo done a lot toward .«<{)eeding ibc shiiw i.p If they had been tunwd loose eailier and oftener. In Its equipment the show is an average N'.\ 2 affair. The whole first net to<dc place In the same setting, while there were three sets for th" .«;ec..nr!. The ro.^fume.^ am sightly and plcniifiil enough without being unu.sual. Three other women are Hs'«tl la the f>rot;ram, but they c luld not be identined. Also Bessie Fiaker and B..ldM«» Gore" were promised in a spt< i.iltv that did not nia't-ri.ilize. Jfmh. 'i Wn.LLAMS-RIFE CONTRACT A contraet fi>r five^vT.ars bus been (•nt«r( »1 In'o b.\- .Mollis WillLim'? and <^M'Oft,'e W. Rife in conaecti..n with Mr. llife's franchise on the Colum- bia liur1e<qiiu ciri.uil. Fn b-r fh.> teiiiK o.' '•• .Jr^ie'inont, Miss \SiIIriins %Vjil i»ro«luce and play In her own sliow und«T the franchise durlnj? tlie liJe of the c.iniracl.