Variety (October 1922)

°^..^n.. iiSf ■n- Friday, October 6, 1922 NEW SHOWS THIS WEEK 21 1^' they went along", each doin^ ft trifle better than Ittf predeceHsor right down to Johnny Burke In next to cloeinsr spot, who walked off with the llon'e share of laughs and ap- plause. There can certainly be no rt cause for complaint on poaition from - any specialty on the program, for the booker shftwed excellent Judg- ment In building up his program. And, still, the opening act might be clasaified as an exception, for the ' results it attained and the style of work delegate it to promotion from the dreaded No. 1 spot. ' This is Archie and Gertie Falls, the latter a buxom miss with oodles of personality, plus ability, while the male member does a routine of bumps that claims a classification of its own. Since the days of Rice and Prevost the bumping fcrop of acro- comlcs has savored of the imitation . brand, but not this couple. It's the most original and boat specialty of this caliber unveiled in vaudeville In some seasons. They earned a half dozen recalls. Boyle and Bennett have a unique dancing specially with explanatory lyrics Introducing their various step ' routin^^ Boyle is a recognized ^/ dancer of merit and Miss Bennett ' mfikes a perfect opposite for him. *' The linish is an original oddity in ■ dance and earned them a safe hit. '• ■ Bert I^evy was on third, working * under diftloultles with a new light- ' in^ apparatus. Levy conflned l)l» effort.s to a few comio cartoons and crayoned likenesses of Al Smith '• (predicted as our next Governor by * Levy) and of President Roosevelt. Powers and Wallace, witli Iheir -. comely little bench skit. Southern ', ditties and the wedding travesty, gave the bill it.s initial "kick" and from their openiiifr to the exit kept the house in good humor. The light comedy is' sure lire anywhere and the vocal eltorts and dancing com- bine t»» make it an aceeptable 'buy ' for any manager. Frances Arms, a character .singer, has wisely chosen an appropriate routine of popular numbers, opening . with a "Blues " melody and featuring her Jewish lyrics and comedy patter. Mi>*» Arms strongly suggests Fannie Brice in voice and mannerisms, which doesn't necessarily mean she is a copy of "Miss Brice, since the style of both emanates from one Harry Delson, a cabaretist of better days. Many a Yiddish comic owes it to Delson. Miss Arms has a cork- • ing voice and utilizes it for both "straight" and comedy results ef- fectively. She scored an impressive fait and earned It. Jessie Busley and Co. closed Inter- mission with the cx)medy sketch "Batty," a novelty, well written and admirably played by the featured principal, who essays an Irish semi- Biddy type. Unlike the majority of such affairs, the climax and adjust- ment of complications are excellently arranged here, and the finish holds up the interest right to the curtain. Leedom and Gardner opened the AAcond portion with their routine of nonsense. Miss Leedom gathering a quorum of laughs on her figure and the not too frequent references made to it. This girl has a natural man- ner of working, accentuates every comedy situation and dialogrue point ,, and never goes to extremes for re- turns. Gardner likewise knows his game and plays It perfectly. After laughing continually through this specialty one Is apt to wander air- ward and begin to speculate what . the turn consists of. As a matter of fact, it Is made of nothing other •; than a combination of likable per- r. sonalities very cleverly commercial- .-, ized by the natural and matured talont of the principals. McKay and Ardine have some- ■> what of a new routine and ^it's the •' best edition this popular vaudeville team has ever offered. The dialog in •■one" at the opening Is partly new lind partly old, but all gilt edged and .^ productive of consecutive guffaws. " McKay's vocal selections sound like restricted numbers, built on com- edy themes and fitting excellently. ' It Is to be hoped he will never again take himself seriously enough to in- :. terpolate a popular ballad. The dancing is, of course, one of the " features of the act; likewise the ' «cenory, which is up to the level of the accompanying points. It's a great feature turn for any big time • bill. They galloped home a hearty •hit. Johnny Burke and his "Drafted" routine found the going smooth and pleasant. Burke has mighty few competitors to fear in the market of comedy monologists, if any at all. His routine carries not a syllable of superfluous gab and every expres- sion has a comedy climax. This, with Burke's own method of sales- man.ship, insures Ivis pass.age on any bill, under any circumstances and in any position. And his piano finale . is both appropriate and entertaining. « He can be credited with 100 per cent, in every d»'partment at the Colonial. M ; The Dc Peroa Trio, two men and ,A woman, have an offering some- ., A^rhat away from the conventional .J "closer," the und»is(.indcr exhihlt- -» il W C H«un*« Rtrwngth fcaLs tluit will keep the majority <U an;, auilionoe tteat''(l for the exit march. The I'alln. ^Vo.•Ul:. proj.nted . .scenes .showin>< the burning of Smyrna, thus e.>«tahli.«hinK a r«?cord > in speed for cxhlbilinu aciu;il scenes of a disaster 15 day.s after it hap- * pened and coverlni; a di.stancc of !»eyerul iliou.sand nuh--; in delivery. Wynn. XE BROADWAY Monday night's closing show at the Broadway drew rather well, con- sidering the mid-summer grade of weather, the lower floor running but a few back rows short of capacity. The program, topped off with the customary feature and the weekly scenic reels, was exceptionally well constructed, considering that It could be classified as nothing better than an excellent small-time gather- ing of talent. With but one or two exceptions, every act corralled what is generally accepted as nn "ap- plause hit,'' one or two getting to the point in reception that called for a speech. The evening's high point of merit in laugh and applause went to the Charlie Ahearn production without competition. Ahearn, with his "Key- stone" harmonists and his rapid routine of travesties, kept the house in a continual, uproar and after a string of curtain bows, held up the succeeding specialty for a brief while for .1 final return. Ahearn is carrj'ing an abundance of excess in scenery and props and offers enough entertainment to provide an after- piece for a burlesque show. The Vivians opened with the ex- cellent t^^harpshootlng specialty. This combination stand unique in their line, giving an entertaining perform- ance without going after sensational feats or utilizing springs or strings in their work. The girl has per- sonality pluy skill and the trick siiota earned them both periodica! applause. It's a corking oi)enlng or closing act, still in a class by Itself in a line that has about become out- lawed in vaudeville theatre.*. Burns and liorraine held the secor.d spot. The dancing brought them through, but the impressions oi Jolson and Cantor by the vocalist nuirks the turn as i small time buy. The double dance routine brought .some scattered a!)r>lauHe. Sybil A'ane. the soprano, bobbed hair and pretty', with an excellent voice and a rather weak routine dim! ed into the hit column, but much of the resujts attained may be safely cretlited to her accompanist. This chap shows sense in his selec- tion for a solo. He gives speed and music and i)lenly of both. Miss \'ane, with the closing medley of ancient favorites, worked her ap- plause to a speech. McLaughlin and "KvaJis were another hit with their little character skit. The patter went over to a succession of laughs and the finish brought a brace of encores. The closing melody "Frances" fits snugly, but it's a bit old for the finale of such a pleasing and original novelty. The same composer might be solicited for a new finish. It would give added value to the turn. Marino and Martin, a comedy two- man talking and singing act held the next to closing spot and with their "wop" dialog and dialect mak- ing good with plenty to spare, Wynn. ;■ ■ ■ 'T, 3BXV Inir entertainment. She could have done more on the applause volume. Andrew Mack used 20 minutes of an Interested audience's time and left them in a splendid mood for the low comedy turn of Bea Marks and Dolly Wilson, next to closing. This pair delivered the goods in that spot. They have a catchy opening. |3en Mark's card Is flashed here to the accompaniment of loud voices off- stage—"He's late. Let the next act go on." Then Miss Wilson appears and goes into a capital "blues ' num- ber, a plump blonde girl who han- dles the slow rag stuff like the best. Marks burst on in the middle of the song, and they work up the familiar Interruption argument for usual re- sults. Marks does nut comedy through- out the rest of the turn, effective in the usual way, alternating with stepping and falls, while Miss Wil- son gives some more of the always welcome blues. For the finish Miss Wilson appears in short pantalettes, her chubby figure being a hit with the boys upstairs. In spite of her curves she does some astonishingly sprightly acrobatic dancing for thunderous applause, and tlie hokum burlesque of an Oriental dance in burlesque half-naked costume by Marks (who Is as thin as his part- ner is plump) is a iuirrah getaway. They did 20 uproarious minutes. Graceful ballroom dancing by the Dancing McDonalds closed the show. This little pair have im- proved greatly, and they get all that's possible out of the familiar routine of waltz, fox trot and whirls f in the accepted straight style. Hush. 23rd STREET A neat small time bill at the 23d Street for the first half. Some of the feature names, such as Andrew Mack and Josie Heather, belong to the big time, of course, but the frameup Is generally of "pop" char- acter. The Mack name Is a powerful draw in this neighborhood. The old 14th Street theatre, where Mack has been a regular for most of a gen- eration, draws a large portion of its Chelsea neighborhood, stretching up town. The purlieus of Chelsea are loyal In their theatre afl[lliation and they flocked to the 23d Street In a rally round the Mack name. This block party aspect was emphasized Monday by "opportunity night." For this sort of an audience Mack has a capital vehicle. His dialect stories are fresh and pointed and they go straight home. The "Mrs. Halloran" song, with its accompany- ing bit of neat stepping, put an ef- fective period to the routine and made Mack the applause hit of the evening. Josie Heather's group of comic character songs has a wallop for audiences of this grade. Her effects are broad and her delivery energetic enough to register on a clientele that doesn't care especially for subtlety. The final number, "The Boys Are Getting Wiser," has a neat topical twist, and the girl-in-the- trolley-car number Is a good bit of broad travesty. The act is prettily dressed with silken drapes and Ml.ss Heather carries a trim looking young man pianist whose handling of an impres.<*ive solo selection was a feature. Like the two features, the rest of the bill is pure vaudeville, with generous apportionment of comedy and fast dancing, the two elements that furnish the backbone of this st\ le of entertainment. The frameup was well varied in character, al.so a \aluable detail. (Jardinetti P.ro.«., comedy acrobats opened the show (New Acts). Col- lins and Dunbar fitted well in tli'' X<). 2 {.pot. The.s«- two, man aiid woman sing»^rs ;in(l tbin'^ers, woiU Qui'-tly anil ronliof tho mn^^lvos to song and dan' o .sf>». uiliy. The opei;- ing is a conver.«atJonal son.i?, but after th.it IIm-v ijo from oiio st\le of dance to nnoih»T with small wa.'»te of time. The waltz clo;? at the lini-h was a dandy bit of t.ippin^ and th" I)(»y'.s cccontnr step.s .'ire (':ipit;tl. Miss Ileatlur san?? half a dozen special jiMmb»M>< and to*^>k up an even quarter of an hour of iniereal- AMERICAN ROOF Ordinary and average I^oew sm.all time program on the roof the ilrst lialf to a fair audience on the warm Monday evening. The hit came out In the second part, next to closing, in Ray Hughes and Pam, a nut comedian with a good looking and shapely girl. The comedian showed some fine falls and the girl showed a finer shape, frank- ly displayed to help the comio make some more fun. The falls and the figure were the best of the material, though the turn is certain for small time. Mr« Hughes has a little of everything from his makeup up and down, though the falls are his own. A broken neck mi^ht result from an attempt to copy them. The roofers were easily plea.sed by the two-act, especially after it had followed "The Mysterious Will." a farce with three people that might have been a farce with three other people. In general scheme it was quite bad enough and the playing made it worse. Preceding the farcelet were Lee Mason and Co., a female baritone or deep contralto with a male piano player. Miss Mason made no bones about the Impression the house re- ceived at the outset, to the effect she was most likely a female imper- sonator. Miss Mason informed the audience she was not and there would be no wig removal at the cor- clusion. In other ways she kidded herself along and got Into the good graces of the house, though at first It did look as though there might be an explosion of derision In the up- stairs sectlork Miss Mason has been on the small time for some while and apparently understands how to handle that character of theatre- goers. She opened the second part. Closing the first part was Gladys Delmar with a jazz male band of five pieces, a typical small time turn for the Loew houses and made up for the small time. Miss Delmar at first played the piano with the band, then sang nnd danced in front of the boys. With the bands now going good on big time, the Delmar act seems In proportion for small time and comparatively will do as well there, not alone this band and leader: probably any band and lead- er. The older small time grows the less Its patrons are being educated to look for In the way of vaudeville, it seems. Opening the show were Pescl Duo, Mossman and Vance, No. 2; Ward and Dooley next, with Calvin and O'Connor No. 4 and Bender and Hcrr closing the show. Sime. 58TH ST. Six acts of vaudeville and .« double f<^ature bill of pictures w.ift what the .""iSth Street offered the fir.st half. Whether it was the barg.iin in pic- tures or the show Itself that drew is a question, but on Tuesday night, with it rather warm, there was al- most capacity for the night show. In addition to the two featuros there was also a Pa the weekly, which was orl early. Headlining the vaudeville Servai.s Le Roy oft'-red the my.stery art, "Subduing a Woman with liayonet.s' (New Acts). It is u flash of the 'Sawing a Woman In Half" tyf)e. but at present it. does not app'^ar to be properly sold to th'* a'uli*fice. The art Interests up to the i>oint of the flni.sh. .'md then if jii.st lies there. The hit of the .show was r.irricd f.ff )>v Oklabonia P.oh Al- bright. IIi3 prr^rrrrtl—.^in^l^— man ■ .'ifred to get over only fairly w»>]t, but when, at the flni.sh of the act. he pulled a colored piar-o pl.ayer and a lioofing darky he wont ovr for a million dollars and stopped the show. f>penin>; the bill R irte nnd Mclvln with a r»-ally good two man hand- to-hand balan-^ing act with several LONDON *. -^ ■■ (Continued from page 3) duced at the Rote, February, 1591: Ben Jonson's comedy. "The Alciiem- Ist." which follows, was produced by His Majesty'* Servants In 1610; the next will be a Ford tragedy, which will be followed by P'letcher's pas- toral play, "The Faithful Shepherd- ess," which was produced In 1633. For this last production Sir Thomas Beecham has written special music and will conduct. Somerset Maugham's "The Circle" has been translated into German and will bo produced at the Ber- liner theatre. Eric Fane, who threw up his part in the Arthur Prince-Harry Gratton production of "'Moon and Son," has another job as professional foot- baller. He has signed up for Ports- mouth City. Following a party which was not "dry" and a performance which was considered more or less rowdy, Gor- don Bostock put up a notice dis- pensing with the services of the company now playing "The Broken Wing" at the Duke of York's. This wa.s promptly torn down by Mrs. Frank Wyatt (Violet Melnotte), the owner of the theatre, who later on managed to calm Bostock's anger. Having terminated his tour of "The Priest and the Rabbi," M. D. Waxman is now in London looking for a West Knd house at which to produce a new drama. Ivor Novello, the actor-composer, son of Madam Clara Novello-Davies, who sails for New York on the Aquitania Sept. 23, is well repre- sented in the West End. Apart from the music of "A to Z," his "Dusky Nipper"' In "The Dippers" at tlie Criterion, Fay Compton uses "Page's Itoad Song" as a lullaby in "Secrets" and Marie Lohr hums "Bless You" in "The Reurn" at the Gloi)e. His latest work, "The Land of Might Have Been,*' will be fea- tured by Clara Butt at her big Albert Hall concert Oct. 8. As nn actor he is about to leave for Venice, there to "star' in a feature film which Will be produced by Adrien Brunei, who was responsible for the A. A. Milne screen comedies. "Tho Way of an Eagle" finishes at the Adelphl Sept. 30 and will be transferred to the Aldwych Oct. 2. Several Important openings are scheduled within the next few weeks. These include the produc- tion of John Drink water's "'Mary Stuart" at the Everyman, Sept. 25; "The I^st Waltz," which will bring Jose Collins back to London dur- ing October; the return of "The Co-Optimists," who will take over the Prince of Wales'; "Dede" at the Garrick and "The Island King" at the Adelphl. Sir Charles Hawtrey will in all probability revive "Jack Straw" during his forthcoming sea- son at the Savoy and will also pro- duce George A. Birmingham's se- quel to "Oenoral John Regan," which Is entitled "O'Grady's Woo- InB-" The Andre Chariot-Paul Murray production of "Dede" will be tried out at Liverpool Oct. 9. At the conclusion- of the run of "The Man in Dress Clothes" Sey- mour .Ilicks will appear in a new play by Frank Stay ton. His other plans Include the making of a se- ries of screen comedies after the fashion of Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew. ( Complaints from Dublin assert that about 60 per cent, of th% Al)bey company are amateurs or "part time" actors having othejr employ- ment during the day. Most of them are In government Jobs. The Abbey Is only a small theatre with a hold- ing capacity of well under £75, and therefore is unable to carry a big salary T.st. The performances are also naturally hindered by the ama- t'^'ur element, who can only rehears(» at ni^ht or on Saturdays and Sun- days, with the result that few of the very novel tricks earned strong ap- pl.iuse. The two best tricks are the jnntp.'i into a hand-to-hand lift, one u.sed at the opefiing of the act and the other at the clo.sing. The latter is well worked out and scores heav- ily. Newport, Stlrk and Parker (New Acts) with a comedy sln'^ing and d.mcintr off<>ring holding the second spot managed to land fairly well. The personality nnd singing and dancing; of the girl helped a lot toward the medium sized hit that thf'V pulled out. Arthtjr Astlll (New A<t.s). an English act witli whistling, imitations of animals and ventrl- loqtiial work, proved a novelty, but I he .'run Her houses Is where it will b«' rno.tt apr»reclated. —A M . rmh t. followed thi.<» act. and Jn fh»' next to closing spot Hat Barr.tt and Noi'a Cunt^n provf d to be the" laugh iui of the little bill. LeRoy closed The fMaturo pictures <»ff»*rerl wero the Va "A I^ong Chnmc" anrl the I tiit.Ml Artists' "The Three-Must- (Je'-Thfies.' Frod. productions get Mumci»ni rehearsals. Bromley Challoncr has com- menced his autumn tour of "New Wives for Old.' This will last until Christmas, when he returns to the West End for a season, during which he will play the new farce in the evening and "When Knights Were Bold" for matinees. The dramatization of Helen Math« er's story, "Coming Through the Rye." was produced successfully at Cheltenham, the authoress' homo town, Sept. 17. The play was pro- duced by Godfrey Tearle and is des- tined for the West End. Arrangements have been made for Tucker, the Singlnir Violinist, and his wife, Violet 7:nsex, to vi»lt America In the near future. This engagement will take Tucker home' after a long absence, but it will be his wife's first trip across the At- lantic. The third annual Variety Ball will take place at Covent Garden, Nov. 16. This, the biggest social function of the year in London theatre and vaudeville land, is on behalf of the Variety Artists' Benevolent Fund and Institution, of which R. H. Gil- lespie is the president. Jack Ha.skell'is about to start producing on his own. By arrange- ment with Jenie Jacobs he has se- cured "The Ghost Between," by Vin- cent Lawrence, which was played in America by Arthur Byron. This he expects to produce before the new year with an all English cast. The Actors' Club has acquired the premises occupied for many years by the Vaudeville Club, which has been lost In the new concern, the Knickerbocker. Reports from Blacki>oo! predict the "flop" of "Angel Face," and "In- side" information goes to the extent of saying that Norman J. Norman expected little else and has already scheduled "The Balance," which Leslie Henson and Tom Walls pro- duce at Manchester on Oct. 16, as its ' successor. "The Balance" is drama, and the work of Leon M. Xion and F'rank Dlx. The cast includes Ethel Coleridge, Mary Clare, Tristan Rawson, George Bealby, J. H. Barnes, George Elton, Sebastian Smith and Arthur RIgby. The "in- side" people who have been watch- : ing rehearsals for "Angel Face" mark the cast as their reason for ' predicting a failure. •; -,,■ V '' Claude Rains, who played the Sarah Bernhardt part In "Daniel" on the St. James' production, ha.s been seriously ill following nn operation, but ^as now resumed his part of the Japanese man-servant, Billy, in "The Bat" at the St. James'. William Stack, who was cast for the leading part in the Baroness Orczy's now play, "Leatherface." which is to be produced Sept. 2r», threw up his part Sept. 19. Frank- lyn Dyall. who is producing the piece, win play It. Otnclally the resignation is, as usual, attributed to ill health. Other principals in this production arc William Farren. Edward O'Neill, Sydney Pax ton. Louise Fredericks and Saba Raleigh. When the new Baroness Orczy : play, "Leatherface," Is produced the ; ordinary supers will be replaced by actors, some of them one-time well- known players. These "extras" will get a little over "super" money, and there has been » rush to get on the payroll. ' ^ Sir Walter and Lady de l''rece (Vesta Tilley) were involved in an accident while traveling from A.'jh- ton-under-Lyne, a suburb of Bir- mingham, to London, Sept. 17. Their car was charged by another car which was coming out of a side turning and turned turtle. Lady de Frece was seriously injured, .«?us- talning a fractured rib, but Sir / Walter and the chauffeur got clear with a few cuts and bruises. While the flre-brands of the A. A. have been hurling defiance at thn managers and railing at the em- ployment of Chinese In "East f Suez" at Ills Majesty's, the Chinka themselves have been on strike, re- fusing one night last week to "go on." This action, it is understood, waa the result of their objection to being filmed. Manny and Roberts, "the Messen- ger Boys from Broadway," are th«* current vaudeville "top" at RivoH (Whitechapel). The theatre will b«* closed during the Jewish New Year celebrations, after which the Trlx Sisters will have an opportunity of judging the difference between tho West End and the East, The Andr<» Chariot production of ■T)cde" will be seen at the Garric:. when "The Man In Dross Clothes" flnl.-ihe«. At one time If was thoughr the French player, Maurice Chev- alier, would play the leading role, but now it is understood Joseph Coynfe will be seen In It. ChevalhT was seen with Elsie Janis In one of the earlier Palacs revues. Coyne has not played in the Weal End for over three years. • •:-'