Variety (July 1923)

Thursday, July 26, 1023 NEW ACTS THIS WEEK .":«■, 31 ^ P I ki2 pn pfOVn BLACI^EYED SUSANS" F«m«l« Quartet 17 Mint.; On« and Two ($pf«ial Drop) fSd 8tr««t A female quartet, three of the girls In brown skin and one handling the comedy under cork in a Mammy character. The ensemble alnglng la 90 so, but the act contains all of the ingredients for consecutive email time bookings. Opening with a pop song In "one" the act goes to "two" for no reason unless to display an ordinary spe- cial drop of nondescript classifica^ tion. Three of the girls are in sport costume with green sweaters, the other doing an Aunt Jemima. Another pop song, harmonized, is followed by crossfire with Mammy handling the comedy. A ballad by one is well delivered, followed by a pop southern lyric, with all har- monizing. *Thc comic, after a gag or two, solos 'Mighty Lnk a Rose,*? giving it a sentimental rendition through patter and business with the others harmonizing offstage. The act goes to "one" again for a pop number with the comedienne doing a bit of Jazzing.* The voices are fair in the ensemble, harmon- izing. The act hold« an appeal for the pop houses through the scarcity of female quartets. . /; \; They liked it here. ' Ccn. FLO MAYO • • Trapeze 14 Mine.; Thref (Sepcial Drapes) Broadway ' * '' :.' Florence Mayo, formerly Burt and Florence Mayo, has developed an attractive turn on the flying trapeze. Opening she appears through the center of a divided drop, dressed in a yellow fringed Cloak, and plays a saxophone solo accompanied by her own pianist. Accompanist goej into a gap- fllling sr^o while Miss Mayo strips to full tights. On a darkened stage she suddenly swung up over the heads of the audience on a modi- fication of a Cooper boom from the end of which is suspended a swinging trapeze. The theatre end of the boom sways from right to left and back as well as the for- ward and backward swing of the trapeze. The feats are neatly executed lifts, planches roll-ups (from a loop suspended under the bar) and finally a handstand with the feet Just touching the rigging. Miss Mayo Is a slender well formed woman and a finished acrobat. During the act she keeps up a running fire of comment, mere pat- ter without a special point, but hjplping to give a sense of ease to the performer. , In the middle of the Broadway fehow the turn did nicely. Riuh. R088 and MAEBELL if j ','" Comedy Talk and Songt J^ * 19 MIns.; One ,*W; 58th 8t. » • ■ ▲ man and woman who have evi- dently had considerable Taudeville training. Plenty of self •confidence allied with knowledge of what makfee people laugh puta them in line. Fourth at this house, they came as near delaying the show as anything on the bill. The girl appears to he a real beauty from the front. Only one costume is used to set off her pretty face and figure and this might be improved by the substitution of something less gaudy In the way of millinery. A most bewitching glimpse of scenery when she lifts her skirt Just for an instant to get something from the safety bank at the top of her hosiery makes one wish fervently that she would take it into l\er pretty head to appear during the act in one of those ab- breviated affairs that too often prove a disappointment. She makes an excellent foil for the man, who is a good comedian of the snr.art "wise guy" type. The talk chiefly concerns fne variou.s pleasant' methods of nr aking ' love and is zippy and pointed enough to win some of the broad smiles that mean more than loud laughs. Two songs of the nut variety are well Eunfe', although the tag lino about the bear'is pretty warm for any kind of show. DU BALL and McKENZIE . Dancing 11 Minutes; One >. City A >clever team of hoofers,- who open with a song about being "Two l^orty Kleptomaniacs.** for no ap- parent reason whatsoever, except that all hoofers love to sing and will do so. The dance work offered by the pair consists of tap and ec- eentric routines. In which they do ■ome good bits. Most of the routines are duo bits, the one solo being a very good Im- pression of Harlan Dixon, by the ■mailer of the two. They'll serve « for the three-a-day houses. •'.*»?{? MUSICAL R0WELLY8 Instrumentaliate 15 Mins.; Three (Spcl. Cyc.) 125th St. A man and woman, with Instru- mental numbers. ,mo8t played on freak and improvised instruments. Tho man uses a clown make-up, and works In tux. Woman wears a summery costume of orange tint. Both work fast and lose no time In getting over their stuff. Their execution is as near perfect as one could desire, and the novel ar- rangement of their Instruments makes the olTering additionally likable. Great feature for an early 0 spot on any bill. WARD and OLIVER * Accordeonists and Songc 15 Mins.; One Annerican Roof A mixed team, nrpcarinp in S'prtn- *" * s h costume, offering a ,repcrtoir< of arcordoon selections ranRinp fron; the standards to popular nirs of tin hour. They remain on for all of their numbers, and toward the fir- Ish the girl sings a ballad, with her partner carrying the accompani- mont on the accordeon. The team has appearance, play well togey<er and should prove a t strong card In an earl> bpot In the medium houaoa. REDFERNE Singer • -i, 14 Mins.; One 81st St. Redfej-ne, who carries his own pianist, is a pure lyric tenor with the style of the concert stage. His repertoire consists of old cla.sslc ballads. Neither he nor his accomr panist makes any pretensions to showmanship, depending entirely upon their musical ability for re- sult n. These they obtain in no small volume. • Redferne is a big man. His voice is round and s.nooth, with the gift of sliding to a very high falsetto and ba?k to the natural voice wlfth scarcely any effort. He sings three songs without moving from the piano. Then both exit, bow as if the oc- casion is very serious, and on in- sistent applause return, and another old ballad is offered. The similarity of all th^ songs tends to monotony, but the voice is so fine and unusual in vaudeville that another encore is demanded. With a well chosen program and a very little tuition in showmanship Redferne will be a big feature on any program. ERNEST ARNOLD , Skating ' - 6 Mine.; Full Stag* City Arnold has a fair amount of bot- elty connected with kls akatlqs routine, somewhat dUDoult to offer Inasmuch aa lie work* alone and must keep inrrlew of the audience from the start to the flnlah of the act In order to avoid any waits. He opens carrying a dummy, which covers the uppor portion of bi« body and head, giving the Impression that he is wearing a false face and is skating on his hands. When he removes the dummy, fake "hands" are discovered on his feet. The rest consists of stunts such as skating on his hands and feet at the same time, and with his hands only. A runway is used for the finish, Arnold skating down the length of It on his hands. He'll do to start the average small time bill. ■^■-' ■ BEN BERNARD and Co. (9) ' Skit ^ 17 Mins.; Three 23rd St. ■ ■''■'^-■■'- ■ '": ■■,■■.■■,;.*■ , An improbable plot Involves two married couples, the males of which inexplicably become entangled with the other fellow's wUe. both through the same medium, a sprained ankle. Both ^. jmen are carried on by the wrong. husband and at once begin love making. In different rooms off J stage, the talk )m of the usual va- riety, suggesting what is going on inside. The encounter follows with futile explanations of the two couples aTl done with the Ingenuous- ness of the enthusiasms amateur ending with the mutual friendly handshake all round. TJuring the action for no reason at all. one couple does a song and dnnce, and each of the others sings a song. An early spot on small time bills is about all that can be ex- pected for this offering. BEN MARKS and Co. (1) Comedy 14 Mins.; One V City Ben Marks, formerly of Marks and Wilson, In a hoke routine, assisted by a girl, who appears at the open- ing and at the fini.sh, leaving the rest of the time to Marks fur a single. There Is hardly anything In the way of a gag in the routine, Marks apparently depending on delivery to get laughs. The girl does a solo in good voice, and stands by look- ing pretty while Marks does a bur- lesque oriental d^nce for the finish. If Marks is content with the very small time, his present turn will serve him. His ability could carry 'hinx to the two-a-day with a worthy act. HARRY ANGER and Co. (1) Comedy Tali^ing and Singing 15 Mins.; One State Clever man and woman combina- tion, doing an act somewhat similar to one Anger did with an- other partner three years ago. An- ger does an old sport and shoul- ders the comedy burden, while his partner handles two numbers well and makes a great feeder. A mistaken identity slant. In which the girl reporter confuses the old sport with a notable personage and is attempting to interview him, furftishe.s the framework for the ensuing comedy chatter. The son^.i are well placed and materially aid the act in rogisterlng. SWAN WOOD DANCERS Classical Dancing . ' 15 Mins.; Full Stage Lexington .Swan Wood, a personallli JVUfife, eirl and clevtr exponent of the cliipsical dancing school technic, lead.s a troupe of five dancing girls in a cln-^.^-ifal dancing turn of merit. Mi.ss- Wood if a capable solo dancer. The dances run to uHual cl;i.sHir;il styk■^^, with filmy co.«?tumeR and b.irc leps. Turn would add value to any vaudeville bill. -BeZJ.. TRELLA and Co. (2) Bicycle Acrobatics 6 Mins.; Full Stag*'* •'. State ^ Seemingly a Continental act and probably a family affair. The<elder of the men propels the cycles, while the other performs aerial acrobatics on the horizontal bar contraption moHinted across the handletkars of the bl^cie. The shapely woman merely assists with the props. The attempt at novelty through- out Is commendable. It's not the ordinary run of "hike** act. hut rather a cycle turn topped off ^Ith^ acrobatics. One stunt has a cycle propelled on rollers, with the top- moupter again aloft on the bar. The kingpin stunt was Introduced by a card reading something like, "Eu;^ rope's greatest sensation. Never at^ tempted in America before." It Is difficult to pen picture the trick, but It has as Its basis a huge cir- cumference, with two bicycles therein. A si^ecial head-dress worn by the two men meets In the cen- tre as a fulcrum, and each propels his wheel around the Inside of the circumference. It looked flashy. Good opener or closer. Ahel. CAPMAN and McCAR'AlY Dancing 12 Mins.; One City-;.v • ;'- . These two chaps ar* doing a similar routine of dances to those offered by Capman last season when a member of Miller and Capman. The two open with a song and, after unloading It on the audience, go Into dances, which comprise the entire act. The eccentric work of Capman Is the same as offered In the last act. McCarthy Is as good a dancer as his predecessor. Miller, but lacks the appearance.- This combination may make a good No. 2 In the big houses. LADD-MORGAN and Co. (3) Songs «nd Dances 16 Mins.; Full Stage Special ^ City ,/■ A sister team and a female pianist comprise the "eq^' supporting Ladd and Morgan, a youthful couple, whose strongest assets are pcr.sonalities. The boy, a Glenn Hunter type, opens with the sister team, with a song serving to bring on the other billed member of the act. The turn is set nicely as a flash for the family houses. The work of r^add and Morgan, mainly in the dances, carries a punch, though the harmony of the sister team could be much better. The pianist doesn't offer anything in the way of a solo. , PALACE After climbing Canadian Rockies and seeing broncho-busters bull- dog vicious steers, your not so very humble servant thought the show at Broadway's vaudeville pantheon somewhat tepid stuff. However, the seats at the Palace are a whole lot more comfy than on the back'of a tn>stile horse picking his reluctant way over steep trails to nowhere in particular—making the undersigned about even on the night. What discomfitures he might have felt were further assuaged by his first peep at William Halligan as a legit. For a homeless comic; Bill is a pretty gjod character man. And the manner In which he applies his cardroom nifties of . sainted memory to the interludes between Interpretations of pungent episodes by Dunsany, de Maupassant and O. Henry could not.help but quFckcn the pulses of a Friar who had been suspended himself. S. Jay Kaufman's idea for "High- lowbrow" is a snapper. If he had culled the world he couldn't have found on or off the staKe a more all- around highlowbrow than Bill, who loves to mix beer and champagne and gives a duchess or a working girl the same consideration. Even whon Bill was a cabaret floor- frollcker in Freddy Train's (Chicago, of courfle) he could knock the stullln' out of a gag song and then twinge the heart of a mellow souse with a plaintive little/ ballad. A man of many parts is Bill; he has lived more of them than authors have yet written. He will yet do Shake- speare with interpolations by Bugs Baer—and do both handsomely. Vincent Lopez, back for the 'steenth week, has a-scrim drop with the Palace front on It and several other production novelties, including two girls in bits of illustrative pee- ing. His musleaj novelties aj^ not conspicuous th's" time, though he has a solidly appreciable Lopez run of tunes and handles them in the famous Lopez way. Sure — he stopped the show. So did Michcleiia and HiUehrand (New Acts), the best thing either of them has ever done, and needing only a few playing weeks to make the act a headlinlnfj humdinger. William and Joe Mandel, not to be outdone, showed an encore bit of burlesq^ue dance foolery that topped their familiar stuff for laughs. But the most strikingly improved baby was George MacFarlane's full stage three-act. This favorite bari- tone did not quite follow the drastic advice in thl.s column several weeks bacl^to throw his expensive new turn Into the ashcan- of regrets and return to his old style in "one," but he did adopt some saliant sugges- tions made In that outspoken critique and the Improvement Is amazing. He has cut out several of his dreary ntimbcrs and put In ones apt for his own sonorous and manly delivery; he has dispf&nsed entirely with the visitation Jn wig and cos- tume that sawed kt a fiddle and grotesqued up the whole scene; he eliminated the antl-climatic finale with his pretty aide (Margaret Walker) posing as a grandmother. and the routine now has vim and character. Miss Walker, lovely to behold, has unfortunately not Im- proved greatly In either posing or dancing. But, with much less to do. she does It better and Is less angular In her athletic dances now. Mac- Farlane has come back Into his own; If he will sing his solos fur- ther downstage he win make up all lost ground and be again completely the sure and irresistible artist he Is by the gifts of nature. The Runaway Pour ran away with things In the deuce hole, work- ing Just long enoygh and walloping in a smash on their antics and busy getaway. Berk snd Raun, opening, would have fared better mid-act if Miss Saun, a shapely young con- fection, had sung shorter numbers; In that spot every second coutnted. The double Russian finish, however, got them excellent returns and they elevated their spot. Cissle and Georgle Bewell, British girls who have been singly in Im- portant Broadway shows, and who have been in vaudeville for a year or more as a team, have shaved down and improved the running of their material. The spoken prolog and a superfluity of namby pamby lyric schmoos made It creak In a spot or two, and the finish In jazz— the least Important thing the girls do- with the gingerbread production and the whol« strained Idea behind It. didn't get them at the *wid what they got earlier, when they did some effective and difficult real dancl r. as well as revealing floxible per- sonalities. They held the house In until 11:15, nevertheless, which 1» no mean accomplishment In an acrt broken up by episodes with less than nothing between. Bert and Betty Wheeler, next to shut, put it over again, an they al- ways do. The higher the game, th« more they win. it seems, and thi.-! with wh.it goes aw "low" eomefly But there is something about Bert that is far from low, even thonph he doffi most of his work on the floor. The little rhap Is penrtrat- Incrly human as well nn flhrewdlv flv. Mifla TiQHy \f nobody'H little lame s!^^, eltlior before the eustomerK. She has opera pipes and a rare senwr of timing laugh points. Great art. Lcit. RIVERSIDE The Riverside hill this week didn't promise to be such a whirlwind on paper, but In actual running It de- veloped Into a Benny Leonard with one slam after another. The only cretonne visible in th*) house Tues- day night was In a narrow strip at the back of the orchestra, and the big crowd came early and stuck like the boy on the burning dec^. The draw may have been due to the? blessedly cool weather or to the bill- board advertising all around the neighborhood of Lou Tellegen and Jack Wilson, both local favorites. In "An Unusual Surprl***'* This was only one of several panics, however, four acts making speeches and two more, worthy of the honor, dodging It by substitut- ing innumerable bows. After Witt and Winters (New ActsT had opened smartly. Mallnda-^; and Dade lifted the deuce spot out of the rut wit)) some more of that darky struttln' that Is constantly getting a stronger hold on vaude- ville patrons. Unlike the majority of white dancers, this pair extract songs painlessly, and were ii not so totally eclipsed by the stepping, tho vocal work might really stand Ouf. After two encores Dade had to beg off with a speech. Jack Henry and Edythe Maye fol* lowed with as sparkling a little mu.sical comediette as has been seen . around town this year. Henry is funnier than half of the fee4ured comedians in Broadway prviduc- Vi lions, and he doesn't overda Miss Maye Is a little honeybunch when It comes to looks. She has vivacity ' and winsomeness to match any of 'em. Add to this good voices and dancing ability and you've a team that should be saying It with elec- tric bulbs before many more sea- Rons roll around. Ably assisted by Harry Meyers and pretty Estelle McMeal. they scored the wowlest of wows. Artie Mehllnger, doing a slnglo again after many yeara also won. , his slice of success, and th«n Bckefl't - Theatre Qrotesk closed the first half' with the fourth successive hit. There has been a tendency lately In some quarters to decry the Russian stufC and claim that It Is mostly bunk that can be tt>etter done<by native Americans. This act doesn't bear out the statement, because, like the "Chauve-Souris," It is artistic and genuinely entertaining as well. The quality is uneven, however, the toy dance being ordinary and much In- ferior to Bekefl's great hornpipe. There Is none of the floor work and arm folding that are the average vaudevillian's Idea of Russian ^ dancing. After ^ Intermission and the "Topics" and "Fables," Lou Telle- gen showed his handsome profile &nd milk-white throat In the sketch of his own creation, "Blind Youth." This story of regeneration has little Intrinsic jdramatic value, but It Is an acceptable vehicle to set off its star's rather theatrical histrionic powers. It accomplishes Its purpose for vaudeville by holding the audi- ence's attention. Tellegen received an ovation at the curtain and finally had to quiet them with a thank-you. This contained a word of«apprecia« v tion for his support, not even pro- gramed, t Jack Wilson,, back after three weeks, has Improved his ^act con- siderably by the injection of a good deal of burlesque on the preceding sketch. Charles Forsythe has a voice and wastes it on numbers that, with one exception, are poor. Adele Ardsley sings too, but not so well. The third assistant, the midget Willie Ward, is by a*ll means the best and would mop up the act if given a chance. The special extra feature came with the entrance of Tellegen Into the Wilson turn. It was the novelty of It that won the crowd and not asy particular comedy or talent. Ix)u appears first in whiteface, clowns a bit, and then blackens up for a very mi'.d comic specialty. He plays a sax and steps a bit, but spends most of the time kissing and petting Miss Ardsley, whose face lOw! J like a coal miner's at the end of the act This leads to the two wisest cracks of the show when Wilson %ays. ''Acting Is only a side line with that guy," and "I'm beginning to believe all the papers said about him.*' All In all, tho clowning helps Wilson's act a lot, but it is doubtful if Tellejren's pre.«!fige benefits. "An Artletic Treat" closed and held almost everyone, due to a great extf nt to WllHon'H clowning during the first pose. ' r » . JEFFERSON Rain and cooler weather proved a l;reak for this house Tuesday night. Seven of the eight act.<. on the bill were familiar turns, the new one being Du Ball and McKenzIe, a male hoofing team, spotted seeond and doing nicely. Bobby and Bobs made a good oponrr for the layout, two men In liobo make-up and a dog. The men do some very pofxl Juf/gling bits with the club«, and got «omo laughs by using the audlenre to tlirow cork balls back to the stage at one of the team holding a fork in his mouth The dog dlnplas^cd a few clever tricks. Du Ball and MeKtnzle (New Acts) followed, and Margaret P'ord, on third, tore off the biggent hit of the bill by stopping the show. Tbo