Variety (December 1924)

14 VARIETY BURLESQUE Wednesday, December 24, 1924 N01B PERSONS AT COLUMBIA'S ANNIVERSARY K. K. AGAINST "GREAT WHITE WAY," MUSICAL Midnight Performance at Columbia to Be Made Memorable Affair ~ Noted personages will witness ^ the performsncea during the week l^«f Jan. 6 at the Columbia, New ^Tork. That Is to be made an An- I^Blversary Week in celebration of X' the theatre> ISth year. f^ Nightly the boxes will be occu- ^'pled by people of prominence in I And out of the profession, while ^'^tbe special midnight performance qjon Wednesday of that we«k.la to i bold about the most extended col- j^lectlon of famous names a Broad- wway theatre ever gather^ Xor a ^regular performance. ;;' So many stunts bave been ^planned during the Columbia's An- nlrersary Week th»t the corner of Broadway and 47tii . street looks doomed to be the centre of Inter- est In Times square during all of the period over which the celebra- tion win spread. Fred McCloy. manager of the Co- hunbla. Is handling all of the de- Newark Squawk About Police Censorshq) Newark. N. J., Dec. U. Tb« burlesque people here are aqaawklac that the police censors •re 4Hiwlng too tight a rein on bur- taMne and that the elimination of *!me" Is drlTii^ the bosinaes >to New Tork. It Is claimed that tbe local b. p. desire to jan tbelr shows i|p a little, escbewlnc snot, bat adding a bit of spice that would pep up the box office. ; A. Newark elecUon wtQ be btid next spring. Local censorship as '•.ppUed may have something to do with the atUtude of Newark offl- j [ BURLESQUE ROUTE S [ I GOLOXBIA CIBCnit , ■• _ ^ (Dee. S9-Jan. 6) ; . " _.■•*"•'»■ Beauties — 29 Oayety, . Jtodiester; 6-7 Avon. Watertown; ; t-lO Colonial, Utica. Best Show in Town—29 Oayety, Kansas City; 6 Gayety, Omaha. Broadyimy by Night—39 L O; 6 ■« Olympto, Chicago. 7 Cem* Alono—29 OAyety. Pltts- i»burgh; 6-« Court, Wheeling; 7 V SteubenvUIe; 8-10 Grand O H. dan- 'i*ton. V.,*^?/"*?*"' '"•"wy^W New Ixindon: * II Merlden; 1-j Lyric, Bridgeport; .,>' 6 Hurtig &. Seamon'8, New York. y Fast Steppers—29 Empire, New- -^ ark; 5 Miner's Bronx, New Tork. Follies of the Day—29 Olympic. Chicago; 5 SUr A Garter, Chicago. Gerard, Barney — i9 Empire, »»"°o«'yn: 5 Casino, Philadelphia. Golden Crooks—29 Casino, Brook- . lyn; B Orpheum, Paterson. Good Little Devils—29 Grand Worcester; 6 New London; 7 Mer- lden; 8-10 Lyric, Bridgeport] GoTo It—20-81 Avon, WatertowTi; 1-8 Colonial, UUca; 8 Harmanus Sleeker Hall, Albany. Happy Go Lucky—29 Lyric, Day- ton; 6 Olympic, Cincinnati. Happy Moments—29 Empire, To- ledo; 6 Lyceum, Columbus. Hippity Hop—29 Gayety, Mon- treal; 6 Oayety, Boston. Hollywood Felliee—29 Gayety. S<i8ton; S Grand, Worcester. ,' Let's 00—29-80 Court, Wheeling; ,, *1 SteubenvUIe; 1-8 Grand O H. t* Canton; S Columbia, Cleveland. /. Marinn, Dave—29 Palace, Baltl- ^ nore; 6 Oayety, Washington. Miss Tebasco—29 Stamford; 80 V Holyoke; 81-8 Springfield; 5 Bm- • plre. Providence. Monkey Shines—29 Empire, To- :ironto; 6 Gayety. Buffalo. .;' Nifties of 1024—29 Gayety, St. ;4X>oul«; 6 Oayety, Kansas City. ■; Peek a Boo—29 Lyceum, Colum- bus; 6 Lyric, Dayton. Record Breskers—29 Harmanus jiBleeker Hall. Albany; 6 Gayety. ^Montreal. Re4 Pepper Revue—29 Casino, loston; S Columbia, New York. Runnin' Wild—29 Hurtig & Sea- _ »«»»'■ New Tork: S Stamford; « Qlolyohe; 7-10 Springfield. •ilk Stocking Revue—29 SUr A ...j..irfaMrt*MaS*iriiliMHIsai^HaMSBMM Asheville, N. C Dec. 88. Tlashes of the Great White Way" was billed for this town last Thurs- day night The same day tbe Ku Kluz Klan, Local tiOdge No. 840, Realm of North Carolina, passed a resolution protesting against the performance as a precaution, al- leging In one paragraph: "Whereas, It is claimed the actors In this show appear al- most in the nude and thus pre- senting a show which is objec- tionable and offensive to the moral sense of the decent ele- ments of our cltisenshlp and la ., seriously degrading to tbe yopth of our city." The resolution called upon the civic authorities and all welfare or- ganizations of the town to prevent the sh6w from appearing. An advertisement carried In the Asheville "Citixen" is thought to have inspired the action of the Klan. ; The advertisement was in the form of a billboard, from the side of which stood peeking, one- halt exposed from head to foct, a node girl. It looked to have been sketched for suggestiveness of pose- "Never So Many or So Much" The billing matter mentloBod 52 people being carried with a mortised out space that said: "^ou never saw so many girls or so much of 'em in a single show." • Another mortised space carried the names of the principals with the following misrepresentatioa: "TThe same company that opens at the Sam H. Harris theatre. New Tork City, Jan. B." Another mortised space held the prices and where tickets could be secured in town. Tbe scale was BOc. to $3 with box seats 82.60. Principals mentioned "In th6 ad- vertising were Carl D. Francis, Vera Bnrt, Saxi Holtsworth and his Saxo- phone Jasa Orchestra!, *^Rsy and Eva," the ^Duncan SlstersT ^ahow, opened last (Tues- day) night at the Sam H. Harris tbe»tre, expectant of a run there. No booking had ever been entered or considered for "The Great White Way" by that t\{eatre. Anton Sevllla Is producer of the show, reported to have been elabo- rated from a vaudeville act. STOa TONED" Mlnsky's Apollo on 125th street has "cleaned up." Its stock bur- lesque shows since several mem- bers of the cast and the manager were arrested ap* later discharged for participating ta an Indecent per- formance have be^n greatly "toned." Whether the sterilization will be permanent remains to 4>e seen, but 'the show given last week barring a few "Hells!" from Joe Rose, the princlpil] comedian, waij as harm- less as spring water. The exuberance of the women principals has been suppressed and shimmying is almost taboo. In fact the girls of the present chorus seem to be recruited from classical danc- ing circles. The costumes run to breastplates and bare legs, atid are the most daring portion of the performance, the "book" having been cleared of all double entendre and sugges- tiveness. Thursday night business ap- peared capacity, although Hurtig & Seamen's, on the s&me street, was reported to have Jumped their gross considerably by the addition of a runway, eight house chorus girls, allowed to shim and display bare legs. The principals at the Apollo re- main about the same as at the be- ginning of the season, with Harry Koler a new addition. The rest Include Walter Webber, Billy Coch- ran, Hattle Bean, Isabelle Van. Emily Clark, Fannie Albright. Charley Collins, Eddie Green, Kath. erlne Irwtn and Joe Rose. MASON BEOFENHia FEB. 16 Los Angeles, Dec. 23. The remc deled Mason Opera House will reopen under Joint di- rection of Erianger and Toblltzky Feb. 16. -- The attraction will be "Seventh Heaven," and Chester Sutton real-' A.,-^^—»»^...—»..-..^—, .. .-.^ AU BOOKINGS IN AGENCY BURLESQUE REVIEWS Scribner Issues Orders^ ''G>ulcl Have Saved $100,000" In a letter sent out this week to producers of the Columbia Bur- leaque circuit, instructions were given by Sam A. Scribner -that hereafter all engagements of peo- ple with Columbia shows must go through the Burlesque Booking of- fice. Mr. Scribner stated In the letter that if this rule had been placed Into effect the past year the Colum- bia producigrs would have saved $100,000 in salaries. The letter cites that the Keith's, Orpheum's, Loew's, Pantages' and othep clroults engaging artists con- trol their own booking office ajtd through so doing affords a protec- tion unable to be obtained other- wise. The Columbia heads may have in mind the placing of a salary limit upon people and acts, such as ob- tainri in the vaudeville agencies di- rectly operated. The placing of the limit or top salary figure pre- vents competitive bidding by vaude- ville managers booking through the agency, or raising the salary above the amount named for it by the agency. It could operate the same with Columbia producers with all bur- lesque people listed in the booking office with their top salary for Columbia burlesque named. GERTRUDE LYNCH DEAD Gertrude Lynch, 86, prima donna with the Lew Kelly Show (Mutual Circuit), while doing a scene with Keny Monday night at the Olym- pic, New Tork, suffered a paralytic stroke and was unable to finish the performance. Miss Lynch lapsed Into unconsciousness, from which she never rallied and she died in St Mark's Hospital Tuesday morn- ing at 10 o'clock, where she had been removed by Kelly and Dave Kraus, owner of the Olympic. A hurried call was sent to Dr. Julius A. Frankel, l8 East IBth street, who gave her medical at- tention until removed In a private ambulance to the hospital. Both the company and theatre people did everything possible for the young woman, with Kelly im- mediately notifying her only living relative, a brofher in Utlca, N. T., who had come here to complete the funeral 'arrangements. Miss Lynch had been with Kelly for some time and was in ex- cellent health as far as apyone with the company knew. While paralysis is believed to Uave causei her Immedlato demise, an autopsy may be performed to determine this fact. Her real name was Lynch, the actress wishing to keep it for pro- fessional use. She started her stage work when seven years old, appearing with the Baldwin-Mel- ville stock. At times she appeared In vaudeville and musical comedy as well as stock and barlesque; She was stricken about 10 p. m., Kelly quick to notice her condition and assist her from the stnge. Miss Lynch's sudden stroke and withdrawal from the cast caused Mary Lane, ingenue, to take up Miss Lynch's work with the show. BUBLESQUE CHANGES Juliette Belmont, prima donna, "Hollywood Girls" (Columbia), re- tired from the cast and Marie Ward has succeeded her. " Marie Vernon, Ingenue, with Sliding Billy Watson's Columbia left the company Dec. 20. The Slivers (white) acrobats, closed with the Dave Marlon show (Columbia) an dwere replaced by DeLoach and CorbIn (colored boys). Georgle Rece, ingenue prima donna, with Hurtig A Seamen's "Step On It," replacing Oeorgle HURRY UP (MUTUAL) ■•ebrMt* ..Jan!* UscDoaftlA tSftase jMkto Addlaoa Pifaa Doans Vl Pmnr >«T«all« BwBl* Claik Chaieatw Al H. Pox OBmadlaa Aakatk AU Mi« Isht t a*ors« BraaiUn Principal Comedian Harrjr Poppor IMta Prank Dovltt "Hurry Up" is a corking good Mutual attraction featuring Pepper and Brennan, who produced the show. This pair and Vl Penny, the prima, were last season on the Co- lumbia Circuit In '"The Bostonians.*' They have retained several of the comedy scenes from the latter and Incorporated them Into "Hurry Up." Pepper does a. clean-cut Hebrew and carries the principal comedy blirden. The second comedian li Ambark AH, a good tramp, who features eccentric old school cos- tumes with comedy glmcracks that Brennan works with Pepper, while Bernle Clark, the juvenile, pairs off with All. Clark is a flne-looklng chap with a corking tenor voice. He also hops the buck, displaying plenty of versatility throughout the two acts. Miss Penny Is an unusually re- fined looking girl with a face like a Madonna and a smile that would melt the heart of a subway guard. She sings and dances well in addi- tion to looking like a million dollars In her costumes. Tbe soubret Is Jessie MacDonald, a vivacious red- head. Miss MacDonald Jazzed and shimmied to numerous encores at the Prospe<it. and seemed tne only one capable of taking aavantage of two sets of comics and two foils. The arrangement gives the show the latitude allowed by the present management, although the chorus Jazzed heavy out on the runway, and Jackie Addison wiggled a bit in the second act after a decorous start. The production Is above the wheel averai;e, having two scenic and cos- tume flashes in "The Human Fan" In act one, and "The Sheik's Palace" in the second. Both looked like former musical comedy sets. The girls did a fashion parade In the first and were In Oriental get-ujrlp the second, wbich carried a flaahlly- looklng cyclorama and drop. Comedy predominates through the show, but the book sticks to the beaten trails. Pepper does a mon- olog down late that clicked for big laughs an°d was given an excellent delivery. The routine is identical with the one used by Jos. K. Wat- son, but this is alibied by a program line calltpg the talk an impersona- tion of Watson. It was one of the high lights ^f the evening. Pepper and Brennan also do "Mr. Harris, the Undertaker," in another, side- walk* conversation specialty in "one," "I'd like to see you hit him again"; "The sleeping powders," a table bit and several other ancients, but they were all greeted with laughs by the Prospect regrulars who seemingly never tire of the old bits or else haven't Seen them until this house switched to burlesque. The applause hit went to Miss MacDonald at the conclusion of a hot shimmy and wiggle oriental dance. It was encored until the girl was tired out. This sort of dance Is sure Are here and always is good for at least six recalls. The chorus are an average look- ing, hard working bunch of K, nicely costumed throughout. They made close to a dozen changes with- out flashing a cheap-looking set any time. This show has overlooked a sure-fire bet- In i>as8ing up the "pick out" numbers. With the principals they have they could build tip a ' corker. It's sure fire and establishes an Intimacy that brings heavy re- turns following. Mr. Brennan works hard and forcefully. He is an experienced straight man with a pleasing per- sonality and a knowledge of values that brings results. Pepper Is slow-, ly developing Into a corking good eomedian. He plays an Inoffensive clean Hebrew, and with material would compare favorably with any comic In burlesque. Work and ex- perience are all he needs to aid and abet his natural nbllity. The burlesque Is In two acts and 11 scenes. The scenes In "one" held two very goo^-lookin^g silk drapes. The p>oductIon Is modem and up to the highest standards of the Mu- tual wheel Con. ■A-... .....^...^.«.....«, atssni iiuMi GOLDEN CROOK (Columbia) Stmltht Walter La Foye Prima Donna Bde Mae Sottbr«t airlla Knisht Inrenue Lonl«* Wrlsht Comedian V. Cllft Clifford Prlnrlpel Blllr Joaeph Principal ...Carl Taylor Principal Pcta Praxler Feature Comedian Billy Arllnston Billy Arlington Is featured with this Jacob & Jermon Columbia yiow. It Is Arlington's comeback to Burlesque after an absence of five ::eason8, mostly in vaudeville. It Is almost a certainty that Arlington will once,again turn his back on burlesque "(ifter this season. Ho Is reported as receiving $S00 weekly with this show, but judging by the standing of the attraction on the s«a8on''a grosses Arlington means more In vaudeville than he does in burlesque. < uses quiet methods and overworks a prop laugh, killing some of his gags. He doesn't wow 'em at any time and seems misplaced in the show which runs to the revue thing. Prominent bits In the book by I, B. Hamp are the "hunger" one from a Broadway legit and several others equally as familiar. The show needs real hoke low comedy burlesque scenes wUh guts, and (t can also stand a little more of Clirr Clifford's tough hick. Clifford copped the comedy honors in a trav- esty bit as a tough guy. It Is also blessed with the classiest prima donna on the wheel in Ede Mae. This girl has everything. She Is unusually refined for a prima, but doesn't sacrifice anything by her perfect enunciation and artl^- Htlon. She has the voi?e of the pfb- ductlon, oceans of personality Mid "an wear clothes. In addition, ne handles a pop song as well as the Jazziest of the soubretn, though with a different delivery. Her p!aying'ln reveral scenes which called for dra- matics was away above burlesque standards. Louise Wright, the ingenue. Mid Qlrlie Knight, the soubret, arenipto the Wheel's average and round! a worthy cast in the feminine deport- ment. Arlington handled almost all of the comedy during the first act without starting anything much. Most of the revue bits died at the finishes and seemed incomplete and waste of time for the one laugh which a few gleaned. About tbe best bit in act one will bear elabora- tion. Arlington as a bearded Turk bets the straight man he can't pick him but of a crowd. All of the men principals, dressed similarly, appear, ajid they mix up. Arlington tips off his Identity each time until tbe stakes are trebled, when he fools the wise guy. A rotisserie bit, with Arlington and another looking in a window>at some roasting chickens while mtir- der, theft and other crimes are com- mitted behind their unconscious backs, was good for laughs until the finish, when it laid down. "The Detective," written by Ar- 'Ington, held a prolog in "one" tlie.t didn't get much. During the foil stage action Arlington pulled soiAe returns, mostly due to the excellent playing of Miss May. The theme la mistaken Identity. "A Modern Cleopatra" In the afit- ond act is a comedy scene very sidk- llar to one of the Marx Brothers' bits in 'Til Say She Is." This scefie was a!so lifted above the common- place by Miss May as Cleo. Arlington's musical and vaudevlUe specialty is spotted in act two 'vjd gets some returns, but not nearly A many as when last seen on the two- a-day. Carl Taylor does a second comedy role and assists with com- edy work on the Instrumests. A Specialty that clicked was Fra- zier's Orchestra, an all-male string combo, great In their specialty, but not BO good when handling bits and reading lines. Frazier's enunciation was at times as foggy as a London evening. The production seemed to aver«' age, 'barring one mangy looking divided drop, which made two or three appearances In "one." It needd dry cleaning almost as badly as the show needs a new book. "In the Court Room," a comedy st;ene which turned out to be oui* old friend, "Irish Justice," got a« much for Arlington as anything he attempted. In the bit he is lntro-> duced as the star witness in a dl' vorce trial. He Interrupts every* body by attempting to testify bli rehearsed Speech ahead of time and finishes by crossing his lawyer and. testifying for the woman in the' case. Winnie Finnel's leading of "Doodle Do Doo" didn't start any forest fires and her double with Girlie Ifnight Just aboirt made the grade. "The Golden Crook" la a very average btnrlesque show anyway yod take it Co*. Columbia's Playing Change ' By way of putting economy M practice and reducing the mileage on the stands played by Columbia shows between here and Boston and from Boston to Worcester, to New Tork, the Columbia heads have re- arranged the playing schedule. Starting Dec 29, the Lena Daley show will play Stamford, Monday; Holyoke, Tuesday; Springfield, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, moving to Providence and thence to' Boston and then on to Worcester. On the same day the Jimmy Cooper show, coming out of Worcester, will play Merlden, Monday; New London, Tuesday; lay off Wednesday and then play Thursday, Friday and Saturday In Bridgeport and then moving to New Tork. On the old schedule Holyoke was a two-day stop, with Springfield given two days and the shows going to Providence. They came out of Worcester, to New London, to Stamford, to Merlden, to Brldge- —^...^ ^.— —'—-*lJti1Sttl1l t .