Variety (May 1924)

Wednesday. May 14, 1924 NEW SHOWS THIS WEEK 31 neat results with harmony Binglnfr. ■.ttired in kiddles' costumes and re- maining particularly loyal to their former employer, Irving Berlin, by connnlng their cycle exclusively to T)nst and present Berlin compo- eitions A comedy special clicked particularly. AlthouKh neither of the girls boasts remarkable singing voices, they are cute and have a delivery that wins. Comedy was given Its Initial fling through the follow-up offering, ••Thank Vou, Doctor," credited to Gilbert Emery, author of "Tarnish," and provided with an especially ca- pable cast by Lewis & Gordon, who are sponsoring It. It l.s a comedy slant on crook play.», in which a slick girl crook orders a valuable string of pearls sent to the office of a noted alienist, precedes their de- livery and builds up a mytliical yarn about a mentally delicient brother with hullu"inations that he has lost a v;iluable string of pearls. The playlet lias logical wituations tluii build ui) to roaring possibilities, and It is adeiiuately Interpreted t)y a cast of live players. Kloanor >lifk.s Is especially tine as tlie giil cronU of a rcHned order, while Chej^ter Clute, an undersized youth of the Krnest Truex variety, makes an ex- cellent foil as the clerk. The re- mainder of the cast incliuies Tom Coyne, Ethel Marin and Edwin Jerome. Seed and Austin followed with their Usual line of sure-fire knock- cut comedy stuff, which also kept the mob an uproar, .Seed exerting hini.self to keep the mob rtlled up with laughing gas every minute he was on. All but stopped the show In this spot and won any number of legitimate recalls. Mclntyre and Heath, on next and clo.oing the last half, were given an ovation reception that lasted for several minutes. The ensuing chat- ter on the tribulations of the .strand- ed minstrels clicked as laugh-getters Just as forcefully as they have done for the past quarter of a century. Tom Heath as the robust, cynical lurer of the slow-footed Alexander (James Mclntyre), who was lured from his secure place in the livery stable to broadcast mirth over the universe, vi.a "The Georgia Min- strel.s." proved the usual howl for old-timers and newer theatregoers alike. Margaret Irving and George Moore, opening the second half, also grabbed up the comedy reins, with Moore clowning his way through a line of "chappy" stuff, and Miss Irv- ing dazzling them with her beauty and charming them with a splendid singing voice. Mosconl Brothers, T^ouis and Charles, aided by sister Verna and brother Willie, held over from last week, repeated with their cylonlc dancing, and provided the nearest thing to show stopper of the eve- ning. Then came Fleeson and Greenway In their song cycle, and Lloyd Ne- vada and company clo.slng with a black art novelty. Altogether, one of the best Palace vhowa this season, despite a bill not overburdened with "names." A good house Monday night with •tandees on the main floor. the main difllculty, revealing wide stretches of vacancies. Ann I'ennington and Brook Johns Instituted an appropriate lyric and a miniature automobile sedan model for the dancer's en- trance, after which they hurried through in 13 minutes. Diminutive on any stage. Miss i'ennington was further minimized within these pro- portions to somewhat affect both her footwork and appearance,' Principally using their former pro- duction numbers, backed by a pianist who soloed, Johns was evi- dently in favor of calling it a day's work after a trio of numbers, but was pu.shed back by his partner for an encore in "one." A reception greeted the pair upon entrancing but the final response fell short of solidity, equally true of the man- ner In which Jack Donohue fared. In fact, both turns were super- seded by Holt and Leonard who, spaced between, proved theniselve.-i particularly attractive within the stage treatment hero accorded and voialized their way to the toj) honors of the program. Backed by two picture inserts and the u.se of 14 girls, during a waltz, rendition, the voices of the two women, ably abetted by their de- livery, brought distinct applause that was in no way to be doubted. IJonohue clicked at intervals when liilking and amused through his stepping, but could roll up no bet- ter than an intermediate conclu- sion. , Clyde Cook, the other Hiu return entrant from Zieggy's stable, pleased in his "Lamplighter" vehicle, though an opening lyric listened as being unessential. Kobinson's Elephants made an in- teresting opener, followed by Hay- den, Dunbar and Hayden, who could do little In the position al- lotted and simply made It harder (or Yvette to reconstruct. Making use of the full chorus, neatly routining a series of simple but effective steps, and a portion of the Toyland inhabitants the act breasted the outgoing tide and turned it In Its favor. It was no- ticeable that an organ accompani- ment was especially helpful in at least two instances. Kiggs and Witchie, holding over from last week, were again to the front for actual results and brought back the girls for two numbers, one a semaphoring bit that would gain were the chorus to whip flags so as to make them snap. The act looks particularly well here, which In no way detracted from the personal im- pression made by the pair. ■The Jansleys, another holdover, were placed as the second starters of the night, risleying their way to emphatic appreciation within five minutes. This male quartet, and the way they go after It, com- prise a corking insertion for either end of any bill and, In this instance, were fully capable of upholding the assignment of putting the sec- ond half in motion. Skio. than brilliant for an occasion of this kind. A resume of the Met show, to 11.30, would Include the following acts as having appeared: Ted Claire Band, Runaway Four, Rooney and Bent, Clark and McCullough, Sacha Jacobson, Ted and Betty Healy, Grace LaRue, Jack Donohue, Nor- man Phillips, Jr.; Albertlne Rasch Ballet, Will Mahoney, Le Grohs, Blanche Ring and Charles Win- niger. Mile. De Pasquali, Lou Holtz, Ida May Chadwlck, Van and Schenck, Cleveland Bronner Fan- tJiay, Grace ISradley, Eva Tanguay. Dooley and Morton, Baby Hender- son, Thomas Burke, Ben Bernlo and Band, Helen Stover, Re itelll, Bert and Betty Wheeler, and the Kouns Sisters. The announjers in- cluded Sam Bernard and Lowell Sherman. The acts rotated from house to house throughout the evening, while the men in charge of the stapes were. Metropolitan, Elmer Rogers; Hippodrome, I'at Casey; Manhat- tan, Jule Delmar, and New Amster- dam, Pat Woods. At the Manhattan it was found necessary to place chairs ui on the stage, while the Met held standees on every level except the Horseshoe tier. uid daiuing on soinersaultliig skates. Business was h.udly nioie fair, particularly duwnstalis. lli.tii RIVERSIDE HIPPODROME Three acts, all former Inhabi- tants of the New Amsterdam under the Ziegfeld regime, with elephants and lions at each end of the show programs the territory the Hip bill la covering for the current week. Neither of the so-called "Broad- way' representatives gave any in- dications of calling a halt in the continuity, and as no other inter- lude was equal to that accom- plishment It fhrew tlie doors wide at 10:58, which may approximate a record for this house. It was, undoubtedly, a commend- able early getaway with the real punch of the evening Included in the closing act of Hagenback's (the menagerie, not the circus) lions (New Acts) through an un- easy half minute when there was every possibility of a "jam" between one of the animals and the trainer. The cage and the flash at the four beasts were enough to eliminate any idea of exiting, resulting In the house remaining seattHl and doing as much worrying as the charge d'affaires was evidently struggling through. A particularly ill-tempered ani- mal kept the patrons on edge throughout the 11 minutes with the perilous situation coming towards the finish when the trainer lies prone beneath one of the lions while the remaining three group them- selves above. Upon attempting to arise the man found himself caught under his burden, which refused to move. Meanwhile, the sulking beast came down off his perch and began to prowl around. The efforts of the trainer to get from under, when he realized the situation, were too hurried and realistic to pass as showmanship and, either way. It was a distinct thrill which ciiriied abundant sustaining power. An audible sigh of relief wafted over the auditorium as the animals were driven through the runway —outlet from an audience Uiat had betn constantly nervous through- out the entire time the act was on. If a kick was what they were looking for, they got It. nusincss was, as usual, down- olairs and along the sides, although >lie uiiper portions' continue t* be N. V. A. BENEFITS (METROPOLITAN) The four N. V. A. benefit per- formances, held simultaneously in New York Sunday night, are re- ported to have increased the vaude- ville organization's fund by some $100,000 through the actual box office sale and the broadcasting of the programs at %l each. Added to the amount of adver- tising the program contained, about $120,000, and the national budget turned in by theatres from all over the country, the 1924 drive is said to have approximated $600,000, with the sum believed to be a conserv- ative estimate. Sunday night's finale had the Metropolitan opera house, Manhat- tan, Hippodrome and New Amster- dam housing the benefits, with the general price scale being $5.00 for orchestra chairs in all of the the- atres other than the Metropolitan, where the ticket stubs were stamped $7.50, and the Golden Horseshoe boxes sustained the printed price of $220. An unofllclal checkup on the quartet of theatres gave the re- ceipts as. Metropolitan, $24,000; Hippodrome, $20,000; Manhattan, $12,000; New Amsterdam, $8,000. No specific estimate could be ob- tained on the program sale other than at the Metropolitan, where in the neighborhood of 1,000 were sold, besides flowers, which went for whatever the individual was in- clined to give. It is generally understood that the four theatres held capacity audi- ences except at the Met, where there were a few open spaces In the $7.50 section. Tickets sold at $1 were redeemable at the various box offices, other than the Met, in batches of five, entitling the holder to one main floor chair. The performance at the Metro- politan was probably as good an example of the manner in which to run a benefit as New York has seen In years. Starting shortly after 8.30 about 30 acts had come and gone by 11.30, with the show then ap- pearing to have at least another half hour, or hour, to go before the final and special pageant especially arranged for the occasion by Allan Foster. The entire evening ran without a hitch, each act romping on and off In a hurry, while an augmented orchestra, under the direction of Benny KoberU, waa nothing !«•• One could hardly tell whether this week or next was Gus Edwards' week at the Riverside. So plastered was the lobby with billing and pic- tures and so jammed the program with announcements of Gus' pro- teges, graduates and prodigies, that he seemed to be the "big cheese'' a week ahead of time. To cap the climax, after the "Topics and Fables" came a screen announce- ment giving a young biography of Mr. Edwards. It ran so long Mon- day night the gallery started to kid It and the orchestra to wish it would hurry up and let the show go on. At that, Gus will have to step next week to beat the current bill, which, though without a big "name" or outstanding hit, is showmanship plus, from start to finish. Most of the eight well-established turns have the rough edges chiseled off and are Just right for the Riverside clientele. Three headllners were given equal hilling. "Yarmark," Meyer Golden's Russian production, closed Intermis- sion to an ovation. The whole turn smacks strongly of the "Chauve Souris" enough in Itself to Insure success with an American audience. Theodore Stepanoff's floor work and whirling suffers because so much of It has been seen, but never- theless, he makes it stand out at the finish. Two or three of the girls are pretty, more than can be said for the usual act of this type. Margie Coates, next-to-closing, sang about half a dozen songs and then a couple more, with Lloyd Ibach's Band, following, and wind- ing up the proceedings. Miss Coates has nearly everything possessed by the others, and. In addition, youth. Her first two selections are not what they might be, and it Is not until she hits "What Do They Mean by Love" and "Hula Lou" that she strikes her full stride. Ibach's Entertainera accomplish the unusual; a lively, enjoyable act without too much Jazz. No brass is included in the nine-piece combina- tion, but the syncopation Is well taken care of by three saxes. Of these, Allen Quirk, with bita of classical playing as well as the popular stuff, capers oR with the honors of the act. Kendall and CXippa dances well, and Ibach, him- self, Is a dominant flgrure at the banjo, although he never leads. That the topllners were not the only hits was proven by the ap- plause greeting every one of the other turns at its conclusion. The second half was rounded out by Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Barry with their old reliable "hick" characteriza- tions neatly backgrounded into a skit holding a bit of pathos. Barry's gossipy, but lovable bumpkin Is bet- ter than ever. Ge^ges DuFranne, the French lyric tenor. Is "pie" for this house and he left them stlli hungry after two encores, on third. A notice- able point about this turn Is the work of the pianist, Carl Stelzell. In both his accompanying and short solo, he gets away from the usual run of vaudeville keyboard men, ac- complishing it moreover without fuss or pretentiousness. The only strictly comic act In th(- first half, Claude and Marion, wero a laughing wow, fourth. Miss Marlon la both an accomplished comedienne and artiste; the former because she is a riot with her hard- boiled walk and mannerisms, and the latter because she Is clever enough to retain the definitely aii- pefTling feminine touch through it all. Her singing, too, brings posi- tive results. Coscia and Verdi, dancing, started .T, bit slowly, but luiilt up to IiU- returns before they ri^tlred. The comedy Is uneven and might be Im- proved if Verdi were to ,iffect some sort of comic makeup. His business suit at present is not at all funny, and only cla.shcs with Cosrla's tuxedo. The imitations and Verdi's all-around excellency on the cello are their chief selling points. waiie RoUa opened •pe«dily with STATE Interesting middie grade vaude- ville at the jireniier Loew house this week. The Harry A. Yerkes S. S. Flotilla Orchestra is the big noise, with Dick liarton again up front actively cnoducting, having recov- ered from his rtcenl ilressiiig-room mishap, whiili caused severe liuins around the legs through the acci- dental ignition of .i shoe-cleaning fluid. The band Is a flash for this theatre, having proved itself on the big time. Besser and liwin preceding, proved themseh es a gnod low com- edy contriliution. l"or a talUiiig act they clicked iinus. tally well at the mammoth Stale, immediately pre- icding them, Hubert Kinney, .Ma- rion Witkins and Co. (.\"ew Acts), showed a ne.it tcrp nun. A. Josiiih Jordan the house con- ductor, introduced .niotlur of his novelty orchestra overtures, titled "An Alphabet of Popul.ar Girls," il- lustrating each feminine name with a familiar pop ditty, and concluding with "M-o-t-h-e-r." The Crcimwells opened. The girl's dexetrous maniiiul.ition of the vari- ous props In the jupgling Is ex- ceptionally meritorious, and her partner contributes on the comedy end effectively. Us a good oiiener in any house. Frank and Ray Piiicella, with their variety nonsense clicked ptronge-t on the stepping. The closing number is proliably new. It is a concerted dance number, with their ankles shackled in lock step. George Lloyd and Zella Goodman have a neat piano act for the small time. It suggests possibilities, and although revamped, seemingly, since first noticed the early part of the yjar as a new act, it can stand fur- ther editing. Lloyd's opening with three or four brigiit stories that sound new is a safe start. It lets down with the ensuing vocal num- ber. He announces that if they like It the song will be published. If not. It will not. The audience was very lackadaisical fn Its response, but he announced it would be pub- lished. They should get a new song. The talk is light and can stand improvement. The couple has appearance and delivery otherwise. "The Confidence Man," feature film. Abrl attentive, getting lots of laughs with his stories and knocking them for a goal with his version of "O Sole Mill." And then clowning with .lack Rose (in a stage box) the pair raised .•mother riot. The Fashion Show w.is the usual parade of girls and gowi.s, and wcjuld have passed as such, only for the clowning between changes of Holiz, ll.'imilton and Hose, which held tlie house Intact until the curtain. It was a good show and business was brisk, with plenty of standees Mond.iy iilKht. 5TH AVE. A Fashion Revue at this house, employing 15 models and four juvenile manneciuins, also supplies the opening act of eight dancing girls, who, not being professionals, put over very creditable set of two dancing routines which started the show oft nicely. The Gaudsmlths and their clever iioodles in the second spot landed their usual hit, the bouncing balloon number being a crackerjack audience bit. In this, however, one of the men ran head- first Into the card frame and smashed the gla.ss front to pieces. No other damage resulted. Mack and Velmar, a sketch team, start off slowly and never reached any height of speed, the man evi- dently obse.'ised with the Idea he Is a replica of Will Rogers, cowboy hat, chewing gum, hair lock hang- ing over his eyes, 'n everything. Tliere, however, the resemblance ends. The man has a trick tenor- falsetto voice, the best asset, with act nicely dressed and set, the girl doing acceptably. Their present vehicle, good enough for the best small time houses on Its appear- ance, lacks body for bettor time. The Four Diamonds landed the applause hit with a fast dancing act In which a couple of song numbers are interpolated. The dancing and acrobatic stunts are the quartet's forte. A dance by the two boys tied the show up com- pletely, as did the duo dance of Dl imond and his jiartner, in which the acrobatics were introduced. The woman also hailed proceedings with her rendition of ".Mon Homme," In hot!'. I'rench .iiidJOiiglish. The fast^ d.-incc finish by the four again stopped the show, evn after the names and props of the following act had been placed. This act will lit In on the lu.-t of bills. Il.imillon and K.iriiis knocked c-iut a solid score with their skit. Both are fini. bed performers and hacl to do a couple of em ores to s.itisfy the (ustc.iners Yerkc'H Hapjiy Hlx is n misnomer, as there are nino, all cr.icl<i'rj.iil< nuisirjans, most d'.uMing two cir nioro instruments. The batijoist is a versatile cuss, playing banjo, ii couple of different pitelicd saxo- phones, anil is the possessor of a dandy voice, heard in a solo nuin- ber. There are four singers in llo- oullit, heard in cjuartct effect in ati'tliir nunibet;. As ilic act l.s l.ii.l out hfiw. It IR^ a lilL' lliiii! offertnr Ixui Iloltz in a I' ii'ii spot, iirac- lic.illv elosinir the show (for only the I'asblon Show followecl hini), had tc) e-oiiteml with a noisy gal- lery .'it the opetiii.g of his act, out kept gC'ii.g and huon iud the bunch KEITH'S, BOSTON Bo-ton. May 13, To the regular follower of vaude- ville the bill at tlie local Keith hou.se this week, for the most part, is an old story. It is in several in- s.aii'^s a story that well stands rep- etition. Five acts in the heavy por- tion of the bill have played the hiiiise' before. The three opening acts and the closlns act had the virtue of being new fo most of the audic'iice. and if they have played lu^re before have slipped the mem- ory of this reviewer. Of the entire bill, Helen Stover, In fourth position, seemed to make the biggest hit yesterday matinee. A woman of personality, who has a splendid voice combined with a won- derful personality and a very fine llguie, she did her stuff In such a rare manner that the house could have stood for several more minutes of her singing. Twice she tried to cut the performance, but there was an insistent dennand for more, and if -she broke the recent Murdock ulti- matum by taking a couple of encores and making a curtain speech, she was justified and the stage manager was justified In allowing her to do it. Freda and Anthony followed her, and, as this act Is so different from hers, they were in ea.sy at the start. It was the first real laughing turn of the bill, although an attempt to cause laughter had preceded It, and tho house went strong for the act all the way through. With Freda having the big billing on the pro- gram because of his work on the guitar, Jack Anthony must be ac- knowledged to be at least 60 per cent, and is responsible for most of the giggles. The Leviathan bend, with a stage setting much similar to the one they have used on other visits here and working along the same general line, followed. It is a lively orches- tra act, well drilled and well put over and, as was expected, reg- istered with little difficulty. As has frequently been mentioned in this column, Boston seems to eat up orchestra acts week after week, until a bill that does not contain an act of this sort looks Incomplete on paper. Morton Downey, carried with the orchestra as a lyric tenor, did vciy well with his first song, but failed to register with his second number, which doesn't seem to b« suited to the routine of the band. Unless they have changed one of their song numbers, the Maude Pow- ers-Vcrnon Wallace act, "Georgia on Broadway," remains unchanged from the form In which It has played this house several times in past sea- sons. This act has charm aplenty, and for that reason Is generally good for a very good reception. It has a human trait running through It that cannot fall to arouse senti- ment and applause. But even with the best of acts It Is always a good Idea to burnish them up a bit in order to keep audiences favorable to the performers rather than the vehicle, and It would seem about time for this to happen with "Geor- gia on Broadway." The Billy Arlington turn, which followed this. Is a low comedy act which never falls to go across big In this city, which seems to go strong for acts of this type. Arling- ton, of course, furnishes most of the comedy the act has, but works hard at every point and manages to put it across with considerable pep and speed. The show Is opened by the Kis- met Sisters & Co., according to the program. From appearances the company Is a youth that Is carried with tho act, and is probably related to one of the two women who com- pose It. It has the appearance of being a foreign act, and is the sec- ond act of this particular type with a strong woman featured that has (ilaycd the house lately.. In second position, Ryan and Uyan, a man and woman dancer, open their ,act with a song from be- hind curtain, with heads protruding, and then swing Into their usual dan- clng routine. The pair seemed to he in danger of flopping In their po- sition until they used their noveltj of shoes with long boards attache^ something which hasn't been seen for ."ome> lime In the local vaudevlllt house. With their final dance, using these,, shoes, they got away big. Harry Anger and Netta Packer, with Madelyn .Shone ridleil upon to furnish considerable of the laughs, was in third position. This old roue act seems to be a bit out of tempo with the modern Ide.i oT vaudeville, ■ inil only In spots di'l the act have llie house cheering for it. I.ihbru. Akron (O.) theatre usher*, or- pnnl7rrt ejnverni years ago and be- li^vc'd to )o thfl only organization of lis kind, held their annual ban- cinet and meeting Tuesday night. Forty me mbera, many In the origi- nal group, attended the banquet.