Variety (August 1923)

c.-ff ifW* '*'iL i jny: '">/'■*-■' V^-.'H-. up' Thursday, August 16, 1923 NEW SHOWS THIS WEEK ■'»:- •«•..• ■'%r-, abort of entertainment, class and •'^Thi Wversl^S* 18 renerally re- -*rded as next to the Palace In fludevllle artetocracy. This wd^'s ' kill scarcely measures up for Provi- A»nce or Newark. Ix)weU Sherman Saadl'n**- and. while he Is an ex- *Jftent actor and leads distinction, S; does not convey that full measure Zf "nourishment" that exacting Sftudevllle patrons demand from the •olden seat of a show in the bigge«t , houses. And, since the rest of the Brojjram furnishes only lukewarm or warmed-over fare, the whole menu JJ palatable but not exciting. sun Stanley scored probably the strongest, with Lydja Barry his runner-up. Stan'«. audience stuff was onvulsing, as it has been for many a year. Miss Barr;r has set- ♦i«»d at last Into a routine so that she. too. can be labeled "reliable" • n(' bookers can pencil her in and £0 off on their vacations without a worry about that epot. There might h*ve been half a dozen people in the house who hadn't heard her do every word of it before, scarcely xnOre. Of course, It's good"fctuff and she does it supremely well. So she "was welcome and enthuslaatically taken. But the constant repetitionu. while cceptable, are not thrilling. Sherman sufferer, from underdone actresses overdo|np their pttrta. Be- ing right in the company wit'- this man who so remarkably carries the punch by repressed .*juavity, how could the women miss the point so. far as to screech, gesticulate, gyrate and do the unrelieved obvious so obviously? What subtleties remain In the vaudeville act of Sam Ship- man's "Lawful Larceny" are turned Inaitle out and exposed by Sher- man's aide«. His lubricant.methods • an^ his silender-muffled broadsides only partly redeem it. "Smiling Billy" Masoft and Alice Forrest opened intermission with some movies of Billjf, the exact dramatic sequence of which was not entirely lucid. The grand piano, set ahead, made the screen hard to see. and from the side the plctufes were unintelligible. When the sheet went vp. Mason entered from a wing (very unusual where pictures intro- duce) and made a l^t of a talk and went into s<>ng. Miss Forrest later joined, at the piano, and after a number or two there the pair did a Bayee-Norworth couple of ditties. Maidbn is a lovable chap and a * good vocalizer. But he hurts him- self by too much -Tsmiling and too juvenile a manner. It becomes quite eoiispicuous and loses - its punch, whereas p. little of H would be de- lightful. He can.sing eeveral parts of songH well, and does, and the audience liked iiim yery nmch; also Miss Forrest, who looks iweet and who has an appealing contralto. The eouple went to a speech and regis- tered blg-tlme quality. If Billy will . cut the "Smiling" out of his mon- icker and some of it out of his technique, they will both travel far- ther and faster, hoWever. Fridkin (apparently a son of the musician) and Rhoda closed. They showed in a gorgeous cyclorama, the girl entering from a vase. Their opening double, In which Rhoda executed some uncanny back bends and splits, was big, and promised remarkable possibilities. But they •ever materialized, for the girl's ■ingle was only a repetition where It amounted to anything, and amounted to nothing when not repetition. Fridkin's single wa« a Bussian routine, neither extraor- dinary nor superior to the rest of I Its kind. The double finish was a la ' eccentric jazs and Just faded the act out to courteous acknowledg- ment. If the order could be re- versed, the team would score. Harry La Vail and Sister, with line trapeze, bar, and human trapeze f" work, and a hair-raielng human I pinwheel close, started the show. L Por once an opening act lived en- tirely up to Its billing nrj^ter— "Aerial Perfection," in this Instance. It was a better act than most of those that followed. Jean Schwlller, a 'cellist made up as an aged music master, with the Inetrument tied about his nock, contributed about as dreary an Interlude as the Riverside bas ever witnessed. Sans person- ality, unusual musical accomplish- „ ment or any adaptation to hlgh- «peed entertainment, Schwlller sawed away and went away. It is a typical Class B lyceum act. Bully and Houghton^ another "once-again" number, did all right. Young Sully can dance and has youth and a personality very much like young Nat Nazzaro's. Miss Houghton Is a beauty, a soprano of culture and caliber, and a melting little comedienne. Her cloelng work, singing #ballads against a whole orchestra playing heavy Jazz, was a bear. Buslnesp was about in keeping with the entertainment—two-thirds there. Jolf. powerful soprano voices and are strikingly contrasted, one being blonde, the other brunette. Fur- thermore, me alternation of one ac- companying the other at the baby grand Is added novelty, but the vo- cal selection! are a Wt too* pedantic even for the most advanced of vaudeville patrons. The opening number, wlth'^the restaurant Idea and "musical menu" development, is not worked up as it might have been. The routine encore with "Babbling Brook' and the response It fearned should suggest to the girls that a freer incorporation of sim- ilar type numbers would be to their vaudeville advantage. » "A Ring Tangle," the veteran Choos' musical comedietta, was per- fectly spotted here and cleaned up. Lloyd and Christie cross-talked in southern dialect about women and garnered a flock o* laughs. In ad- dition to the similarity In styles, a number of points are common to b»th this and the Hibbltt and Malle combination- Leon and Cor are fully deserving of a body-of-the-bill t^.pot in the be«t of houses with their magk- routine. Several of Leon's lllusloni« are truly mystifying and unusual. ^..^ „,^ ^ The closir^vnre and water ' effect^L hlVweelf'Ts'worthy of'speci'al com ■tesr» BROADWAY Tbe favorab;<! theatre weather or the "M;iman Wreckage'' (Mrt? Wal- lace Reid) film was responsible for the capacity Monday night. The vaudeville doesn't start at this house until nine o'clock, but by 8:15 practically every orchrrtra and logo location was occupied. DeWltt and Meyers (New Acts), opening, were followed by I^hodes and Watson. The two girls have possibilities of which they do not take full advantage for vaudcviWo purpope«i. Their routine 1« spotty vaudeville, and more con.sistontly lyceum or concert They both h^fV^e IS a pip Leon Is a canny showman and his female subject's abbreviated ro*<tumini: for the concluding Illu- sion iT>ay or not be part of his show- manship. She is "transferred" from a flaming iron cage to a water tan'v, and after her immersion her .•^ilken covering clings* to her figure in fashion to suggest its almost total absence. a Joe Darcey whanged all the way with his pop songs, although some of his (Stories are rather antique. There i.s no question abcut Darcey's ability as a pop saleeman, and after the bit with the audienre plant he was forced to beg off. "Realm Girl" (New Acts). Feature closed. Ahel. a tough time getting t^e tempo In a couple of spots in the act and badly messed up one of the im- portant numbers. D. D. H., spotted next to closing, was fourth. The alphabetical vno- nologist hit up a lively pace as soon as he woke 'em up by rapping the stick on his encyclopedia, the laughs and giggles popping smartly and with the regularity of a motor boat's exhaust. Nicely throughout the act. but like the better part of the show, mildly at the end. * Ann Gray opened after intermis- sion with harp playing and singing, the latter accompanied by herself on the harp. The spot was a bad one for Miss Gray. Too quiet a turn for the program position. A good harp- ist and possessed of a pleasing so- prano that exhibits real cultivation. Miss Gray is singing too much and playing too little. About, 50-50 of each ii^ould be better apparently than the proportion now maintained. {riusiness fair for summer in the orchestra, and noticeably off In the upper part of the house. B€ll, ■ STATE'y.!^':^ The overture by the orchestra ORPHEUM, B'KLYN The show at the Orpheum, Brook- lyn, created about as much' excite- ment in general Monday night as a radio concert might at a deaf and dumb convention. And it wasn't the fault of the Orpheum audience either. Colder than a landlord's heart,,as a rule, the Monday night bunch dropped their'usual attitude of frigid hauteur and semi-conscious placidity and, actually encourage^ the acts several* times with laughs and applause. Not exactly enthusiastically," but there was little reason for enthusi- asm. , It was a quiet playing show, with 'basic reasons for the quiet- ness. Not enough low comedy for one thing, too much light comedy for another and a program order that helped to make the show wab- bly also complicated the proceed- ings. Ensma Carus, assisted by J. Wal- ter Leopold, stirred things wp a bit next to closing. Miss Carus got a reception on her entrance and her song cycle secured appreciative at- tention. She informed the house at the finish she was a native-born Brooklynlte, and so was Mr. Leo- pold. And that wasn't doing an Al Reeves either, for Miss Carus was born In Williamsburgh and Leopold in Rldgewood. The vocal routine is about the same as during the past season and should call for a new list of songs the next time around. The Four Mortons, with Clara Morton succeeding Martha in the family quartet, closed and contrib- uted a standard variety turn that rounded off the show nicely. Sam and Kitty (Mr. and Mrs. Morton) started the act as they have been doing for many a year with the con- versational exchange that stands as a vaudeville classic unmarred by the scars of time- Of the eight acts there was no acrobatic turn. Paul Nolan held the initial spot with Juggling. Burns and Lynn dropped out after the matinee Monday, and Block and Dunlap, a mixed singing and danc- ing team, deputized No. 8 Monday night. Block and Dunlap dance well, and sing like a dancing act.* The talk sailed right out the exits. Plea.sing act of its type, but Burns and Lynn should have been replaced with another comedy act, as their falllnjrout left a bad^gap in the early part in the comedy division. "The Awkward Age," an old-fash- ioned framework of cut and dried farce with song Interpolations, the farce by Herbert llaU Wlnslow, was third. Eve Lynn, Clyde Dilson and Lillian Lee Anderson comprise the ca.Mt. The stilted lines and machine made plot are antedat«d completely. An illustration of how far back the comedy reaches for laughs is con- tained in the exchange between the juvenile and Inpenue wherein he mentions something in reference to her wearing pants. She, according to stage directions, assumes a shocked expres.<=ilon. In these days when S(iuad8 of stenogs parade up and down the main stems of the .smallest villages clad in knickers that line about the pants loses its MJsniiicance. A sopr.Tno.. who also whistles stands out m a couple oi numbers. The rest is blah. Closing the first half were Wil- liams and Vanessl, two girls with a .sister turn that's diffoicnt in sev- eral ways. Both have talent and looks. The blonde puts individual- ity nnd personality into her j.izz vo^al numbers that makes 'eni red hot and the brunet dan(^*^s with Krace and agile precision. Tlic two male accompanists had thf ir own troubles with the orchejitra Monday teammates, straight man and come- dian tuning in at Just the right tempo to produce Ihe best results. That wonderful aggregation of little folks The Singer Midgets (whose versatile offering Manager Sullivan calls The Capsule Production) from their Egyptian optnlng to the clos- ing military drill In mediaeval cos- tume were a solid hit all the way and clo«ed this great bill with credit to themselve? and thp vnelfprous satisfactfon of the audience. A story of the Northern woods, "Jac- queline" well told and full of action was the feature picture which sent the patrons home with a feeling of satisfaction which will undoubtedly show results at the box office the balance of the week. mendation. The first turn, Bernd and partner (New Acts) went over \ji^. Who Bernd is and which is the partner is not stated. Margaret Merle presents seml-classleal songs in good voice. At times she seemed sliKhtly off pitch, due to the strain of filling the State. For an encore Fhe did a popular* number with un- derstanding. While singing she handles herself well, but as soon as she goes Into the recitation class seems lacking In stage presence. She has good appearance. The Exposition Jtibilee Four are colored singers whose voices blend well, although none is outstanding. They make up In energy and staging what they may lack from a vocal standpoint. Their impression of four cats giving a nightly concert is funny and done with whole- hearted abandon. The Poster Girl (New Acts) is a novel conception with a trick finish that succeeds in mystifying the au- dience, but does not help materially; in putting the act over. James C. Morton and . Co. held down the headline honors to good advantage and at times were up- roariously funny. The curtain speech delivered by Morton was fupny in spots, but dragged towards the end. Jim and Irene Marlyn closed the bill with their versatile exhibition of singing, dancing and music. The singing is not so forte, but serves ^or the introductions. The ac^ is effectively set and nicely staged and went we'l in the clcMsing.n^osition. - JEFFERSON Business picking up, but not yet up to the standard which the ex- cellent bills offered deserve, pvery act on the program is of big time calibre, and the bill played that way. Perez and Marguerite with a fa^t and smooth running juggling act opened the show, and each routine from the opening hat-umbr^lla- cigar and gloVes trick to the con- cluding pool-ball rack ^tunt. got generous rouncls of applause. Fox- worth and Francis, a hard working colored team of singers and dancers followed, the dancing (especially the man's) being their ace in the hole. Both are full of negro exu- berance, and their pep kept the act running at a epeod which they never let down. They evidently enjoyed their work .as much as the audience which made the team do a coupe of encores. Foxworth is one dancer who does not fake his taps and wings, and the audience recognized this fact. Alexander and' Fields with their smart dialog and good voices did as they pleased with this audience from start to finish, and as a two tramp act have a long lead on their competitors in this field. Their clean, up to date dressing Is a com- mendable feature also, and tiielr easy delivery in a seml-Engllsh dialect makes their comedy distinct and effective. The Comebacks are a group of old-timers who certainly have come back, and their united efforts as at present framed will be eureflre on any bill. The sympathy naturally accruing to the mere re-appearance of old time artists Is particularly Justified In this instance by the skill and ability of all concerned In the act. May Hoey Introduces each of the four men who retire upstage and put on the cork In view of the audience. After this a minstrel first part is staged with May Hoey inter- locutor, Eddie Horan and Al Ed- wards on the ends, Geo»ge Cunning- ham and George Gales sitting in. Cunningham's "Silence and Fun" acrobatics and bumps, Eddie Horan's dancing. May Hoey's eing- ing and Al E>lwards' comet playinr were each and every one pronounced individuHl hilH, and th« concluding rane dance by Horan to the singing of national airs by the others was as a total a credit to all participants, and a veritable riot with the audi- CHOC* Coccla and Verdi, with their violins and the cello, proved their value to a vaudeville program by following these succenslve hits and landing a bjg one themselves in ^the next to clrK«<lh^ posllloh. It wa.s ho easy task, and the boys deserve lots I AMERICAN ^ The only name on the blil not re- corded in Variety's files as haying already 'been reviewed -under new acts la that of Earl and Winnette who (Jpened the show downstairs Monday night. "This act isn't new either, for it is Herbert Ashley and another man, doing practically the same routine which Ashley has done with several different partners dur- ing the past five years. Its billing is "A Bawn of a New Day," and when Ashley originally did It as a three-act it was called "Madame La Vonce." It seemed unusual to open the show with a two-man comedy act, and it was all the more so to find a dancing act in full stage holding the deuce spot. The La Pilarica Trio did well in the spot, however, with their Spanish and toe dance routines, the male member of the trio putting a punch in at the finish with three minutes of hock steps as an endurance exhbition. Josephine Harmon and Georgia Sands were the hit of the bill. Mies Harmon's clowning kept them laughing every minute, and consid- ering that only a season or two back Miss Sands' work was that of an accompanist for a dance act she doe9 remarkably well In her lines and song bits.. • It was'back in 1916 when Howard and White were reviewed for new acts, and the vehicle they are using still seems to be «ood for laughs In the pop houses. The root of all evil for married couples, according to this act, is not'money, but twin beda. Alton and Allen hoked it up-with somfe poor material and very good dancing. The act runs about three or four minutes too long. More dance work aiid less talk would help. Mang ^and Snyder closed with a snappy routine of gymnastics. 5TH AVE. An ambitious and cooling breeze Monday night gave the 2«th street emporium three quarters of a house at §.30 which same remained seated throughout the eight-act program. Just an average quiet evening would sum the ^ntei4ainment with ijmf patrons seemingly perfectly satisflla to simply sit and bathe in the re- freshing drafts which circulated at Intervals. Otherwise the program eased along minus spontaneous in- terruptions although the latter por- tion of the bill threatened to flash forth a stop sign once or twice. The Arnaut Brothers, No. 6 on the score card, took hold Im- mediately and steamed it up for a substantial finale with their whistling flirtation. Succeeded by Murray and Oakland, who gave the running order what actual "tone" It possessed, there commenced to be signs of action flaunting forth. Then Havry Fox, In the flesh, who warbled one pop number very much as a pro- fessional manager would like to do it and five ditties ih all, Frank and Eddie Monroe pushed off on a trampoline followed by Pottor and Gamble (Now Acts) with the Barrett-Clayton sketch showing in the third position. The dramatic ode to reincarnation mc 'erutcly held the Interest of those assembled with what honors donated going to the Hindu character. Al Shayne offered his facial expressions and an orchestra "plant" to average results although somewhat inclined tp linger after his hour had struck. The Arnaut Brothers did well enough with their work In full stage but when out in front of the special drop for the bird crossfire went up two or three more notches to reg- ister solidly. The appearance of Miss Oaklan(\ landed with her initial entrance which supplemented by her rendering of a solo melody and the clowning of Murray breezed the couple in mln\ia any difficulty whatsoever. - Fox kidded his way through for 18 minutes, actually going to work when vocalizing and taking unto himself a stifflclent quota to elim- inate all doubt as to the Impression he made. Albert Horllck and" Co. closed with their dancing routine that was received mildly but at least held them In. A certain laxncss on the part of one of the glrlc Illusioncd as drtrimerltal to the welfare of the act and especially so In the f.na! spot where the action should especially stand out if results ^re to be obtained. f^kiff. familiar offerings and three zitt^- comers. The latter consisted of Flying Russells, openers; Jim and. Jack, spotted second, and Le Roj^ Bros., who closed the show (Ne# Acts). Jed Dooley and Co., the latter comprising a shapely and attractive young woman, gave the com'edy hec- tion a lively start in No. 4 and tit« ' orally ran.away with the show, ie^ - offAr«?d a varied routine of ciowntnft instrumeotals and lariat manipula"* tion, all of which was interspersed with wise-cracks and witicisms ftMat were appreciably welcome. l)ooley is a born clown and has a delivery decidedly helpful to this typ* of • act. His partner provided a flash through several changes of costum«r acted as an Excellent foil for Jed'A foolery, managed to sandwich a dance or two into the offering and above all managed to Inject 'a dasB of charm in everything she at« tempted. The act wowed them herf and can undoubtedly repeat the feat in any of the other houses along thf line. Mabel Harper, eccentric sing* ing comedienne, assisted by a womaf pianist, offered a diverting song cycle. With Miss Harper it Is »• case of delivery rather than voic# . that gets her across. She adhnrel to comedy numbers, enhancing them with facial contortions and other buffoonery that elevates them irons a plane of mediocrity' to one oi artistry. frell McKinley also contributed t# the comedy department with a com> bination of nifty nonsense and songs. Neil is doing practically ch« '-^ same routine he has been dolns fof years, change of songs being lh# only exception. He still carries Ih^ plant In an upper box, a stunt fhaP has long since outlived the novelty stage, yet cpntlnues to appeal to small time audiences. Ethel Parker and Albert Kenny, assisted by a male pianist, offered their familiar dance revue. Mis* Parker makes a refreshing appear- ance an(l is a splendid dancer ai well. Her partner works exreptiun- ally well with her. Besides glvinK a good account of himself in the hoof- ing department, he also has a splan- did singing voice. A duet, topped off with a neat production dahca* , plants them. Miss Parker retnfn* for nlr familiar.country girl danee, gettinc In some great klcks'and snlit ^ crawls. Her partner solps a ballad, which flts la nicely'with the scheme of things, both Joining for a n««v| double for a finish. The Lone Star Four have dls- ^ pensed wlt^i the firl formerly used in the act and are now working as a male quartet. They kre clean cut chaps and make a good appearance in white cowboy outfits. Their rou- tine Is given over mostly to en- sembles, except in one Instance, where the tenor solos a ballad.- Tha boys crowd harmoay Into all their numbers and harve an act that can , register on any bill. GREELEY SCJ. ' This Is the second week in suc- cession that two acts on the bill were allowed to use the same num- ber. If each act used the number in a different way there might ha . some excuse for the permission for the repeat. On this bill it is used by the opening act. a colored couple, and the fourth act, in blackface. The orchestra leader Is supposed to take care of this end and see to it at rehearsal time that suoh repeti- tion doesn't occur, Phil and Llttlar .j Bits, the dipeners, were the first to use It, in a routine of songe and dance bits (New Acts). Bob Ferns and Co., on fourth, waf', the other offering .n which tha number was used, and an old ona at that. Ferns could Just ha.'e easily replaced it with another by Tuesday night, when the show waa reviewed. A girl and a Juvenlla comprise the company, the boy do- ing some fairly good song and dance work, and the girl spoiling her chances with an affected personality. The show dragged through the major portion of the first four acts. Hay ward and Irwin (New Acts), a slater team, not helping any too much in the second spot. Officer Hyman did well, following them, jirlth some songs, stories and dance bits. The Jatter made the punch of the act because of, Hy- ; man's dignified appearance in the regulation cop's tmlform. He's got a likable f-tyle and drew laughs ^ven with old stories on. the strength of his delivery. Sid Hall and Co. put the first real bit of life Into the audience and took the /ihow honors for applause (New Acts). # Moran and Wiser helped Hall send them out In good humor with their hat-throwing comedy. nighu The occupants of the pit ha^ of credit. They work excellently as CITY An eight-act bill with littlr to dif- frrrniato it frcm the typical City show playd to .'i slim audience on Monday night. The cool wather break should have drawn bett* r at- tendance, hut the fact remains that it didn't. The card comprised fivt 23D STREET Average summer bill, with bit of tone and class In Dan Caslcr and the Beasley Twin.", for, without a single exception, every one of the turns on the bill Jockeyed'for ap- plause with bows, with a good por- tion of them carrying their running ttmr» over the ug uul pf - fte d CJypsy Four, all'men, offered a singing and musical pr^-ludc (New Acts), and ncqultted themselves nicely. Opening the regular bill was Vacca. rag artist, who pro- ceeded to embroider several land- scape scenes, and concluded his turn with a rncr picture of Theodore Kor)sev<lt. Marie and Marlow. with their Itali.'in ehnract*r and dialect singing and talking skit, got off to (Continued t>n page 44)