Variety (March 1922)

nr^' ll 80 NEW ACTS THIS «♦ Friday, March 24, 1922 NAN HALPERIN Special Songs 20 Mins.; One Winter Garden Nan HaJporin, after a couple of •casong In the legitim;ito, returns to vaudeville via the Shubert cir- cuit with a new Bong cycle. Open- ing with "I've Peen Away from the Two-A-Day," in which she explains that vaudeville was her first love, the dainty songstress makes a ; quick change from a Ilarcm low- neck dress to kid outfit, for "Its a Wise Father," a clever lyric deal- ' Inff with a kiddie's reluctance to dress herself up to be photographed. The lyric Is a gem and the Halperin delivery Inimitable. Another lightning change to Rus- sian boyish attira for a recitation, describing the murder of the Royal family of Russia, and the desire for revenge of the sole survivor, the Caarevltch, who feigns Insanity. It's a tense bit of reading and allows ,: fun scope for dramatic interpre- tation. Next In hoop skirts Miss Halperin sings about the "Olden Days," de- livering "Sleep, Baby Sleep" as Grandmother would, stepping out of the hoops revealing herself in short skirted jazz costume fo£_the modem syncopated vsrslon of the old lullaby. A bit of a shimmy and a neat little dance completed this number. For a finish another switch to . bridal outfit for "The Military Wed- ding." which Miss Ilalpern used on her last vaudeville appearance. It made a strong closer and pulled the little lady back for several bows and a beg-off speech. William B. Friedlander is the au- thor of the songs and has outfitted •: the singer most completely. Miss •Halperin was welcomed tiack to vaudeville. She is a real headlincr. Con.. ^REVELS OF 1922" (10) Song and Dance Revus 20 Mins.; Full (Special Hangings) City Nine women and a young man. Eix of the women open ensemble in a baby doll number introduced by the fellow who exits immediately. There i no chorus leader in the course of the number, probably not to detract from the sextet who are a very comely aggregation, col- lectively and individually. A sister team enters for a pop song. The girls again, production a farmerette number in satin overalls and straws. The boy does "Yoo-IIoo" on the audience idea. Eight of the gals, led by the boy, do a "Dance Mad" num- ber, starting with an "Old Jim Crow" and minuet down the line to tho modern toddle. One of the girls solos a Frenchy song and dance In sheer stockings and Jet bead shorts. The sister team again has an inning with "Swimming Hole," a rattle- rattla snscmble winding up. The six chorus gals, the sister team, a leading lady and the Juvenilo com- prise tho ten people cast. That is quite a big item for a thrce-a-day flash turn. Probably aimed for tho twice daily, it falls shy of the mark. Pruning and tightening up may accomplish the result. As la. it is just the conventional song and dance Idea. The girls are really lookers, every one of 'em and the boy is a good number leader. It is well costumed and mounted, the chorus making four complete changes. That "Dance Mad" num- ber is nicely put on, the iierry Widow waltzcr, Irish jigger, High- land fiinger, etc., each doing a snatch of solo work before assum- ing their places In tho ranks. It lacks that one distinguishing punch to elrvate it into the big time. Abel JACK and BETTY BREWSTER Songs and Dances 12 Mins.; One (3pecisl Drops) American Roof A likely duo. There Is a novelty entrance for the couple's "Bowery" numbcx', with tho "Francis dances' song, whicii has a tough dance fol- lowing. The man changing to Chinese kimona, preludes Miss Brewster's appearance. She looked very good in a fancy Chinese costume. II r song number, sung while kneeling, displayed her pleasant voice, and tho duet with Jack for tho secon*! verse wa.9 nicely harmonized. Ja«^k had a cong and eccentric ''-^nco solo during the next change, which had the girl out In Spanish costume. There was a change of costumo also by Jack, they duetting in the song and dance for the close. The finale number was not as strong as it might have been, but tho team fits well for the number two. J Ice. JA8. DIAMOND and SYBIL BRENNAN Talk and Songs 10 Mins.; 0ns Colonial As a straightaway two-act by performers, James Diamond and Sybil Brennan, have been polishing up this latest turn of theirs in the split week column, coming Into the Colonial this week for their real showing. The act Is all new, in dialog, cross-fire and songs. ~ "Stv. Diamond has subordinated his eccentric dancing to merely a pass- ing flash of It at tho finish. That they were one of th^ three strong hits of the Co^nial program Mon- day evening atffsted to the merit of their work and material. First, to those knowing the team will bo the surpise Miss Brennan has for them. At least 15 pounds lighter and sylph-like in figure, Miss Brennan makes about the prettiest looking half of any two-act in vaudevillo with her handsome salmon or garnet colored gown and hat, ng her second change. She looked nifty in the first dress, but her second is a bear. Always among the best rated straight women, she feeds as well as ever and it sounds even better now, for some of the talk glistens with its bright points. Mr. Diamond is handling more dialog than formerly, besides Iiaving prohibition comic as a single num- ber, with both in a couple of doubles and both deriving full value from everything. Diamond's bit Is about having been a "bung hole borer," with the verse made up all of words commencing w^Iih B. It has beon very cleverly written, perhaps by the author of the talk. Another bit cf laughable dialog is that of Miss Broiir.an soliciting aid for the benefit of chorus girls, with the troubles oi' the choristers re- lated in detail. The couplo open with each selling something. They tell one another what they have to sell. A "dollar-a-kis.s" bit of bus- iness earned a nice laugh through its neat way of working. TVIth A good sung for a finish the looks of the couple and the Diamond dancing ending, the act walked off all set. As a two-act -with their present material they can't miss in any spot on any bill. In this run- ning they were Just after Inter- mission, following "Topics." Simc. MARKS and WILSON Comedy and Sonss 17 Mins.; One (Special Drop) American Roof Ben Marks and Dolly Wilson are a western act. The lights showed Marks' name first, and after the orchestra vamped several times and something from the entrance about Marks being late was heard, Miss Wilson's name was shown, they being listed as separate turns. The stunt is a variation of the in- terruption idea in opening. Miss "Wilson, beourled and a bit plump, started w rbling, with Marks then In for nut caperings and stepping. To emphasize her points in admonishing him she slapped his face but finally "conned" him off by chuckling him under the chin. That was repeated before Miss Wil- ion delivered a song number. Marks was out alone with a nut number, the ly»io descrihinfe; his fear of a gong which might be the wagon. Miss V/lIhon reappeared In lace pantclottes, whicli .showeu her cliubby legs in outline. Kiddirvg as to whether &he was fat or plump followed. Marks best laugh came when he pretended to bite her arm. Tho girl surprised with a danoo while her partner was off for a change, and it d.cw a hand. Marks for the finale was in bur- lesque Oriental rig. carrying a cuspidor flaming with what v.as supposed to be incense. His amies were his own tliough the id*-a was probably adapted from Jojinny Dooley. The dno go: over J^trongly and will hold tho spot in the thrce- a-day. Ibrc. BINNS and GRILL Equilibrists 7 Mins.; Full Stage American Roof Two clever hand-to-hand work/rs who epecializo on lov.rago lifts. One lie* 1 lift dune, with tho under- standf-r face down on the stage, was a poach. A ?5traight-up for the clo-e was al.so a corker. It bro\ight the hoys bTJik for an encore, a right ankle lift. This team will fit pretty nearly anywhere, for although tho f^.ats themselves are not original, the work Is eh verly done. They are working in vests. Neat blous. s or some other dressing scheme would look better. Jbcc» MARION MURRAY and CO. Comedy Sketch 20 Mins.; Full SUge 5th Ave. A new Tchiclc for Marion Murray, having to do with the feminine half of a husband and wife partnership moralizing on bate because of her better half, for no special reason, being particularly adverse to an old flamo of hers. She, unknowingly to hubby, invited the disliked person- age to dinner while he holds the same opinion of his unwilling host. The strained situatio . between the two men Is modified by the wife getting each of tho men alone to inform them of the compliments one has supposedly said of the other and both becoming clubby enough over that fact to find the frame-up the woman ha.s put over, with the feud beginning all over again until the former admirer announces his approaching marriage. That soft- ens the husband's attiti.de, where- upon they pledge eternal friend- ship, but the wife then doer; a com- plete reverse, because oJ the for- mer suitor for her hand having fallen for another gal, throws her psychology on the matter to the winds and Immediately p.irnes her girl friend to pan the prospective bride for tho finish of the act. It's nicely put together, having a major portion of the comedy di- vided between the men. Having to tolerate each other previous to din- ner, they throw In a few quips on prohibition, both male members carrying- It along to the almost se- clusion of the woman. Kspeclally Is this true of the hus- band, who gives a corking per- formance, not ove. .^la''»^'' and probing out all the value the part holds. His co-worker was also ade- auat«», doing what might be termed •straight" for him. Miss Murray, as tho wife. Hashed a becoming appearance (all are In evening drc^s), though the didn't rightly guage the rather small the- atre for her speakin;^ voice. The playlet has enough material, coupled with the ability of the three players to take its place in the more pretentious houses <if some of the sketches around are any criterion), while It Is i* fcurety for the Intermediate theatres and bills. Ekiff. JOSEPHINE and HARRITY Dances and Talk 14 Mins.; Two 58th Street Man In blackface, womai. "tanned" up. A dancing mat is used, with a cabin drop hung in two. The man carries the act, his partner used mostly for feeding. The hard shoe work of Harrlty went across surely and there are indications daily that the older style of hoofing is supplanting In part at least the new forms of dancing that same in with the ballrpom stuff. Ilarrity's novelty stepping was what caught the fancy. A door in the cabin partly hid apparatus sup- porting a board for "upside down" dancing which has not been seen lately and which coiints as a nov- elty. Also his clogging while sitting in a chair won attention. After a short opening number, the man went Into a monolog that wan- dered for at lea-.t six minutes and there was additional chatter when Joi^ephine reappeared. Many of the gags were resurrected, finding a mark now and then. In the open- ing spot the running time was over- board. Most of the talk can be cut. for the dancing alone will sufilce nicely for three a day. Ibce. PENN and ROMA Sk.t 14 Mins.; One (Cpecial Drop) 58th Street Somewh.at changed from the usiinl two-act routines. The girl up to the i.ist few minutes does a rural kid. amusing with wise childish prattle and making an impref^sion uith tlio .haractf-rization. A village drop in one finds tho "kid" sitting on the doorstep, she venturing to the newly .irrived city chap that everything around New York is a fak*^. The boy has come up from the city to put on an entertainment whi'jh allows a cue for her to try on the costume she is to use. She t'lls him iiho thinks ho is as swo^t as he can be, then lets bim down with "well a lemon is as sweet as it can bo.' After a short sor.q duet, tho man put across «an ec-'enirio d!iiic»\ The couplo with a rhym^^d gag then won a real hand. Into jazz sud- denly, the girl warmed to a blsKs n>imb'r, the man uoinj^ u jazz vocal ciarin«:t. It s^nt them off to .arm aM)rc'iatlon. Perh.aps the rhang<^ of pace for tho close h».ip»^d a lot. The act wag on second and should be abie to take a later j^pot on this time. Ibcc. BESSIE BARRI8CALE and CO. (4) "Picking Peaches" (Protean). 24 Mins.; Full Stag* (Spscial). Palace. Bessie Barrlsca!e, former legiti- mate ar.d screen star, is at tho Pal- ace this week with what is termed a "protean playlet," which is the worlrof hei husband, Howard Hick- man, who also is appearing in the act. The offering is entitled "Pick- ing Peaches," staged under the di- rection of Carrie DeMar and Fred E. Hand. It Is presented under the name of the late Joseph Hart, It Is the first production by the Hart office since tho demise of its head. Miss DeMar (Mrs. Hart) and Mr. Hand are operating tho Hart office. The entire effort is designed to give Miss Earriscale every oppor- tunity to appear to advantage. She essays four distinct types of char- acter, while Mr. Hickman assignea three to himself and Jack Marvin, who plays the juvenile lead, also does one double. The fourth mem- ber Is Mary Stoekwell, who plays a mother role, while Eddie Tallman does a bit as a hotel porter. The„-airt opens in "two, * with a cotfago stoop at the left of the stage. Marvin, as a young naval lieutenant just returned from a cruise, is seated on the steps joshing his mother regarding the manner in which she fiirted with hii father. As he relates the story the lights dim and the drop rises, with Miss Barriscale doing the young southern girl and Marvin doubling as his father for the flirtation. It Is a pleasing opening bit and serves to present the sfart effectively. At the close of the scene the boy is back on the stoop with his mother, who asks If he has selected the girl of his heart as yet. He starts to tell her of a telephone operator he met in a New York hotel, the up stage scene again being utilized for the tale. Miss Barriscale offers more cr less of a hick type here, and lands it for comedy eft'ect. Then the boy tePs of meeting a girl in Mexico City, and Miss Earri-scale becomes a Spanish vamp. Tho final scene is played In "two,"' with Miss Barriscale as a little sma'l town Miss who, after all, is tho girl the boy has had his heart set upon, and there is a clinch for the finish, A la the screen. The boy's lines in each of the scenes are identical to a certain extent. He tells all the girls their eyes are the most won- derful he has ever seen, but the comedy effect is not gained as it should be in thi.s. In the first of the scenes Mr. Hickman appears as an old South- ern Colonel, while in the Mexican scene he Is a greaser, and finally he has .a brief bit as the rival for the girl in the last scene. Tliere Is sufilcient novelty in the act to make it worth whil^ in vaude- ville at this time, but Miss Barris- cale has not done very much on the screen sinco the Triangle and Par- alta days, and so she can hardly be counted on as a tremendous draw when judged from the standpoint of a screen favorite. Fred, (5) FRANCES ARMS Songs 11 Mins.; One 5th Ave. Frances Arms appeared In vaude- ville at one time with Delyle Alda (Arms and Alda). Now alone (and without a pianist) Miss Arms is doing two character songs, Yiddish and Irish. It Is with the Yiddish number about "Bockaway" she makes the act score, with the song, herself and her comedy in it, though at times while delivering the lyric containing points, she forgets her accent. The Irish song about "Reil- ?y" was given with a hitch to the dress and a brogue. But the nice dress Miss Arms wore last Thurs- day evening looked .so new it .«;eenied (o bulh»r JUT before getting to tJie hitching thing. Tho opening num'oer by this per- .-onable blondr- young woma.i was a long medley of pop numbers start- ing with "All By Myself." The next was the "Esquimaux' song that had only the lauglis Miss Arns put in^o it. These two might bo thrown out and others substituted. The char- acter numbers arc so far tlie best of the Arms sel'^ction a couple more of those, rvcn if there should be reprtjr!on of the accent and brogue. are prefer.ol*». Havjj:g .-omoThing of a voice and looks and iin-iinatiuns touaid a oomedi* nnes angle, Miss Arms sho-jld have direction for a vaude- ville acr. AVitli tliat and properly, she .«,iiould make it. Now the girl will have to remain content with No. 4 on the intcrniediate time, ;>t the most, and gaining that only by her appearance, for as she works she imitroves the imprr«'ion. ETHEL DELMAR and Co. ''Jungle Jazz" (Skit) 23 Mint.; One; Full Staca (Special Drops and Sets) 5th Ave. The billing outside the 5ih Ava. gave Hal Hlxon as Ethel Delmar'a principal assistant In this turn but the annunciators on the pi'osceniuni merely mentioned *'Elhel Dclmar and Co/' The JuveniLo of the turn made the hit of it with an acro- batic dance that looked much lik« Hlxons and it may have been he. The juvenile had a prolog and epilog, about Kipling's story of the girl brought up In the jungle, learn- ing the language of the wild ani- mals. Four of tho wild jpecie were immediately after disclosed in full stage; lion, tiger, panther and bear. Miss Delmar entered and "held court" for them. The tiger ac- cused the panther of having left his Itiger) home at four the .same morning. The lion testified for the tiger, but fhe panther, denying the charge, whispered in the ear of the "judge' kMIss Delmar) it was the lion's home he left. Ail tlie ani- mals and Miss Delmai* laughe^i ^^ that but the audience did not join In. Tht? animals told their stories in gutteral sounds, some soui^ling foreign. And flien on came thi. juvenile. He read out of a book how to euteh a Hon In live lessons, with the Hon reappearing in the jungle scene as it was mentioned: then the others, with the young man suddenly dis- covering them, but they were dis- persed when the girl came back and snapi)ed her whip. She told the young man he must be a novice at hunting. Admitting it, he men- tioned having just rea.-hea there from New York where the ca'narets had been closed; he was a jazz dancer and had the music with him, producing a email phone}n-aph and startiUt, a jazz record. They both danced to it, the house orchestra lending assistance. After that was over and tho male dancer had handled the joung woman as though dancing a ballet ^ir did not fit in either), the girl of the jungle suggested tho Xew Y'orker remain there and live with her in her cave on the mountainside. She pointed 00 It. He jllidn't objeet and they exited, arms over shoulders, toward it for the finish of the firs: part. That being rt junglo the procedure must have been peiTnissab'e for it was still in the act Thur^:'ltiy night. Tho epilog landed at this point, succeeded in full stage once more with domestic animals, th.e dog and cat concluding that witii a dance. If they are agreeable to having what they did alluded to as a dance. And after that was over the acro- batic danf^e came along. It was the one thing of the turn the hotise un- deniably expressed appreciation for. Then again to full stage, for the girl to say good-bye to her animal pal!', as she called them. .She was going to Xew York with a skirt about two inches above the knee. She bade them good-byu and there was seme weeping, but all got in an ensemble dance, and then it was over. Notwithstanding the animals, and the girl herself who is f-atured for no visible reason (excepting she could own the act), the "animals'* may be a matinee plea. er. How children might see this turn can not be forecast. But th may lik» It. So tho hou<=es that cater only t^ liiidren can book the turn on a gamble, but otherwise it's almost a sure thing. Tho small time would call it a -nash" on account of the people and .scenery, if they didn't have a pay .«^alary for six. Still It runs 23 minutes and coiiM be padded into 30. That woiild be two acts and a half on tho small time and that is possibly the way the .sniail tinif figures. .Some of the acts on it seem to signify as nuch. NORTON and NOBLE Songs, Dances and Talk 16 Mins.; One (Special) City. Man and wortian. Ea«h sj caks a lino or two of prolog at op«^:ilngr, announ-:'ing the prc^enta'-ion of typ'js from a musical shoiVj^^ouble conversational song first, woman In eomcdy costume. Man docs bari- tone .solo n» !^t. ricTsin^* voi-'c and exie'riencvd delivery. Wonnn 1>^ er.'fn<ric . t.medy co'^tumc in cojuedy song nhoiit sights that mry be seen from 'Irv.it.d train win«l<>v . on for single following. Song luis excel- )e ; Ivrio marked with good comedy points. Man singles jar.;: n'lnii'er conve?itional1y and co )plo close with double dance, .S'pa: " h move- ment, woman making anoucr cos- tume change, pretty cvo ir'; dre?*'. Turn fills requir'm-r,t« for poP houses. JJrU. Mi