Variety (February 1925)

f Wednesday, February 11, 1925 VAUDEVILLE REVIEWS VARIETY 11 I" PALACE Th* palace thla week baa another *cr«at vaAidevllle bin. One that oontalna all of tbe Inxredlenta. In- olu41nv "namea," local color, va- riety and tbe other eesentlala. It's a great blU. not because of theae. but becauae it ia buUt upon tbe only ;, foundation upon which a great bill ' can be conBtructed—comedy. Anyone doubting the Importance of comedy acta In the layout of a •tnooth show, with as many Kunches aa a compressed air drill, should back Into the Palace and ^t a load of this week's menu. The comedy turns were delight- fully sandwiched in between the class and names, and were spotted, Holmes and L<e Vere, third, open- ing after intermission; Lew Reed and Jos. Termini, and next to clos- ing Frank Fay, Harry Rlohman, "Tvette Rugel, the EMdle Slkins or- chestra, and the Club Rlchman bunph should also, be included in mi claaslftcatlon, for Rlchman rilade them faugh when he didn't tMkt them weep with his delivery oCr'aobblng ballada. This turn closed tlte first ihalfr ran 93 mlnutea and 3i>un4 up a palpitating reaoundlag t, iilchmai^ clowned, sang and got pliBasantly frVeh ' and personal. 'FVette Rugel sbid three ballads iMth grand opera pipes, and Muriel De Forest and Bee Jackson danced. ll^tBB De Forest's contortion kicking contribution, would make daily dosen converts .01^ of a flock of rheumatic patien^, and Bee Jack- son's delivery of a Charleston ou<rht to win her a pension from the At- Untlc Coast Line J.allroaU. 'fne act Is a holdover in its second week, ° by unanimous consent. A couple of real waiters, standing around for "atmosphere," may have been dicks guarding the De Forest sable and ermine heaters. Vera Lavrova treyed In a rou- tine of songs that were arranged by someone who knew vaudeville. Miss X^avrova strained some of Walter Kingsley'a adjectives, carrying bill- log of the "Internationally Famous ' Xkiterretatlve Prima Donna-" In ad- dition, she Is In private life—ac- .cordlng to Klngsley—the Baroness Royce-Garrett. If Jimmy Johnson, of "Dashing, Crashing, Bashing, XlAshlng" fame, can top that one he can help himself to the hype in hyphen. The singer has the range of a big league center-fielder, and scored solidly with three pops and an, operatic item, her only offering on the altar of technique. Following right On her heels we're Holmes and Le Vere In their novelty comedy turn. The act retains Its' original construction, but some new comedy business has freshened It DE CARLOS AND GRANADA CO. (7) Oaneing arid Miksic '--itr 16 Mina.; Full ' ' > American Roof '""' ■ '*' -^ ■ De Carlos and Oninada are 6 pair bC talented South American dancers. The woman, of a dark exotic beauty. Immediately Imparts to the turn the Spanish atmosphere necessary for Its full enjoyment. The couple do iui excellent Spanish tango, while a waits of the same national f)avor is more novel but not as gracefully performed. Their closing specialty is a par- ticularly savage Apache dance to the strains of the famous Offenbach homber. In this De Carlos literally \icks his partner around tbe stage. The costuming for the dance Is par- ticularly colorful.' The inatrutnental accompaniments are played by Rasaplo'a Argentine Orchestra of Ave pieces who also flU in the costtime change waits with specialties. Four various-types 6ft mandolins and a violin make up the instrumentation. Rasaplo, the violinist, does one Solo with comic In^rludes, that might be replaced by something more musically in- trinsic. American 'Jai^z is avoided, the orchestra, stroking to native tones exclusively. Olven top billing and In the before-intermish spot on the Roof, the act wa3 liked thoroughly, but there are hous^' where Us really artistic music and dancing will be even more appreciated. up. A bit of droll clowning at the piano by Harry Holmes was laughed at. Miss Le Vere's male imper- sonation and her switch to norm.il self for a song duet helped. It's a likeable novelty and full of laughs. Lee Reed and Jos. Termini stuck over another hit after Intermission and Topics. Most of the comedy accrues from pantomime, and .the handling of the musical instruments. The dancing member is a sweet tap dancer, with a floor touch as light as a "wir^" in a circus mob. Florence Reed (New Acts) fol- lowed in "Tinsel," a sketch by Reginald Ooode, which gave the legit actress plenty of scope for emotional pyrotechnics. Frank Fay, with his two funny looking "planta," was next to shut and took one of the hits of the bill. Fay was right in his own >»ck yard and never went better, ft^. 'z inserting a bit more clowning of his own, which is always enjoyable for, as a light comedian. Fay is a whole power house. Leon and Company closed and :held them with his fast routine of magic. The clpslng trick, "fire and water," is a real mystery. The en- tire act is routined for speed, apd there isn't a wasted motion. The bin opened swiftly with "»% Arleys" in a corking perch balanor ihg routlh«, followed by an unusual d*ucer in Ted and Al Waldman, two harmonica fiends, who play "blues" and operatic numbers as though they were handling a vlctrola. Al Waldman does a solo, manipulating the Instrument with his lips alone, which made a strong closer. An ehcore was a duet with harm6nica. ana* a pair-of tablespoons. Just a great show, that's all, aod Just under capacity in the boxes. . Con, COLONIAL SEXTETTE Singing IB Mins.; One and Full (Special) State Mixed sextette offering a reper- toire of vocalizing and featuring operattcs. All six have trained voices and harnlonlce well. To carry oilt the billing they appear in Co- lonial costumes. The routine embraces an opening ensemble of Ave, three men and two women, in an operatic selection, fol- lowed by female soloist in an oper- atic aria, with the other Ave Join- ing in the latter refrain. The sex- tette from "Lucia" and another en- semble sends the act off to good re- sults. '' Should hit on any bill where good music is appreciated. EMo. HIPPODROME The colossal Hip, with the ex-. caption of the extreme top flight, looked about sold out Monday night, which is about as eloquent and comprehensive a criticism of the show as a trade paper, not so heavy on "art," c4n report. Orthodox big-time vaudeville lovers might sit through the show and come out shrugging their shoulders, however. And it is pal- pable that the Hipp Isn't "regrular"; it is IndlviduaL It has an amazing psychological effect on Its audiences. The spectacular dimensions, the palpitating organ, the dazzling in- candescence of countless lights, the populous and voluminous orchestra, the acts augmenSad by human and scenic effects, the impression that "wonders" are going on across the footlights, and the Indescribable efficiency, courtesy and ubiquity of the army of uniformed attendants. And, besides, the show always seems able to stand analysis by the regulation standards. Moved Into any theatre. It would be a brtlllant entertainment, and this weeJTs is up to grade. If not a little beyond It, Houdlni, that gifted showman, does it again, and is again held over for next week. This program has a brief lecture on spirit fakirs, foliow&d by three exposures. The first is an intricate combination show-up and escape, as brilliant as anything Houdlni has ever accom- plished. The two, which follow, are strikingly simple, good for clicking comedy, and bang in with a convic- tloo of the sort that makes "talk" and answers in part why Houdlni packs the,crowds. Every tnagtclan, trickster; mounte- bank and illusionist should be made to watch Houdlni at least 13 con- secutive performances before he Is given a license to practice. Houdlni Is no longer in any of those groups. A study of his technique might give some of the others a substantial hint on hew to do it, what to do, and what absolutely not to do. Hbudhii minimizes the hokum, wears no false beard, does not strut himself and makes himai^lf plausible and pleasant, as well as having first wori^ed out "the goods." and, sec- ond, how to deliver them. Foster's 18 cutles are all over the show, as usual, being in on the opener and the closer a«d alOfiDst every other number. The Petchlngs and Cartotta Russell, augmented by the sweet, 16, dp the musical prop act. and make it look like Hippo- drome calibre. Dare, Cole and Helene, following, could have used a few aids, too, as nothing happened until the fast flip-flop somersaults on padded shoulders for a blowoff. Poodles Hannaford had the girls, too, but that was -one act which might have gone along on its own, always surefire, and especially adapted to Hipp consumption. Poodles knocked them silly with his bareback mounts and falls, and his unique clown routine. An encore In "one" stood up with his single ec- centric dance, following a "Tille ' by the girls, which is something.'a follow. Duel de Kerekjarto, with his tell- ing foreign «ilr and his truly meri- torious violin work, would have done even better than he did bad he gotten under way sooner with an audience-aimed number instead of first displaying h'j extraordinary fingering, and his equally nimble and well-trained hair. He finished strong, though, going to a Speech. Five Dubekys (Mfew Acts), Juve- nlle balancers and aerial tricksters. made a neat intermission o]>ener. Walter McNally (New Acts), Irish baritone, drew a hand and sang and sang, rather disappointing and not Hipp headline material. £va Shirley and her band had a gorgeous set. Eva was dlsoovered seated in a golden shell. She was exquisitely dressed in white and sli- ver and came down for a ballad. Somewhere, somehow. Miss Shirley has been acquiring voice culture. It cannot be only the perfect acoustics of the Hipp that made her lyrical soprano, and her mellifluent chest- tones so musical, true and touching. Someone might whisper to Eva that a trifle more animation in song ren- tlitlon would help her. Otherwise, she is splendid. Sam E. Lewis now does the hoofing in the turn former- ly essayed by Bobby Roth. The band is adequate. Harry Watson, Jr, with little change from the now hardy peren- nial, the telephone and "Battling Kid" skits, got plenty of laughs. This audience didn't seem to tiave been surfeited with his stuff. He now has a pair of banjolng boys be- tween the scenes, a welcome relief and a vivid surprise that Watson 'would change his act at all. The closer went like a house afire, to the glory of Grace Elder and Allan Foster. Miss Eider, formerly of Elder Sisters, has been battling and battering around the intermedi- ate for about five years. It took her some time to make the big show, but when she did she did it with both dainty feet and all above them. A neat, trim, easily-liked girl, she first shows in subdued Eddie Leon- ards, not a male impersonation^ but a semi-something tliat way. Four girls In formal evening togs, male, work^ with her from her own outfit. Presently they are Joined by the 16, and then It becomeq a snappy re- vue, replete with charm and action, dancing of various sorts, and Miss Elder appearing In several costumes and dance styles. In gold tights, her limbs displayed to fascinated gasps. She doei ex- cellent tap dancing, some fancy splits and a Leonard Imitation more notable for Its graceful execution than its fidelity, which is Just as well, for the house Is more inter- ested in Grace than in Eddie. With the Hipp chorus and pro- duction this is a smash act. Even without it Miss Elder and her pret- ty quartet should henceforth have no griefs in the booking ofllces of the very best. ^Lait. E. F. ALBEE» B'KLYN The show was completely switched about from the original program layout and as revealed Monday night, the first half was a I'erpslchorean marathon which be- came tiresome with each succeed- ing dance turn. Everybody hoofed in the flrst stanza. Zoe^ Delphlne Co. (New Acts) opened and danced on wires. Lew Murd«ck and Mil- dred Mayo, second, stepped some more, although with considerable dash and to great effect. Murdock's limbs and their comedy antics found much favor with the Brooklynltes. Harry Self in tbe trey hoofed some more whe? not doing smart talk and aongs. Delf is a comedian of tlie flrst water and an asset to the smartest bills. His material is brilliant and effective. The conclud- ing travesty nun^ber on aesthetic dancing, with its "interpretations" of the choreography, is a classic New Wayburn's Deml-Tasse Re- vue runs 37 minutes with about SO thereof featuring some more danc- ing. It's a big act In every sense of the word and a greaC flash for the best bills. The Intermission period featured a specially arranged song plugfest. which, however, had the redeeming feature of being entertaining. In- dividual members of Andy Byrne's ITench outfit were Introduced for Instrumental B|)eclaltles. Robert Warwick and Co., with a sketch, reopened after Intermission. Mr. Warwick- needs a new vehicle to do h^n better justice with the vode fans. Mary Haynes* restricted song cycle won for her an individual score of high rating. Miss Hayne.s sells her stuff for all It's worth and the high value of her basic material makes the effect go double. Houdlni, doubling from the Hipp, is the draw of the week and did 40 minutes. He is here for one week. His escape from a stralghtjacket was the piece-de-reslstance of the routine. The' cabinet Illusion and the needle trick are two other high lights. Probably equally as Inter- esting as anything in the act proper was Mr. Houdlni's six or seven minutes' encore discourse on spirit- ualism and "Margery," the Boston medium, Uoudlnl was through at 11.20, fol- lowing which most of them became aware of the late hour dnd made as If to exit, but Pepito, the Span- ish clown, commenced to interest from the start and held a goodly majority in. Abel. S8TH ST. A better brand 6t comedy than the &«th Street has had in some time: or, at least, it struck the audience a.s being Just right. AlYln and Kenny gave tbe abow an excellent start. This act has changed little in months, and the comic Is still using the Joe Jackson dangling cuff and the Blutch Landorf short-legged walk. The best part la the walking In front of the other man on the flying rings, who barely misses the comic each time. Sure fire. Doris Lester and Co. (New Acts) were followed by Mrs. Gene Hughes In "Be Alice," a comedy gem that rocked the house. Mrs. Hughes has a sketch made to order, with the writing credited to Ned J. Healy. Mrs. Hughes as the twice-wed wom- an and mother of the boy who makes love to the wife of her flrst husband put every comedy line, twist and turn of the dialog over to big laugh- ing returns. She is adept in her particular style, makes every comedy point score, and looks like a million dollars, displaying two very hand- some and becoming stage outfits. Stanley and Blrns danced their way into favor, and Ryan and Lee started off slowly, but soon had the audience howling. The scrap and the subsequent mlnce-meating of English as she is spoke" by some of our unschooled folks struck the neighborhood crowd right between the eyes. The Cameo Girls (New Acts) closed. Mark. AMERICAN ROOF From the audience's viewpoint this show was Just ordinary, shy on laughs and about as invigorating generally as American shows have a habit of being- Monday night a thick-skinned but thin-numbered gang sat stolidly through a good portion of it. The all-Amerlcan-new-act first section Cpened with Samaroff and Sonia, a Russian couple presenting a troupe of dogs in a fairly intelli- gent and amusing routine. Jack Housh and Co., in the deuce, ap- proached the real fait class about as closely as anything on the bill. Houfth is a tenor with stage pres- ence as well as a workable set of pipes, and in his assistant he has a most attractive young woman. Third were Mills and Duncan, do- ing a couple of old rubes, ivtt the opposite extreme, taking a header because of seedy material not re- deemed by any overdose of talent. The f^st half was closed by tbe top-liner. De Carlos and Granada, scoring neatly with Spanish dances to the rhythmic music of Rapsoplo's Argentine Orchestra. Intermission was followed by Mabel Harper in a series of eccen- tric comedy numbers. Not until the last of them did she penetrate deep- ly into the favor of her audience. The conversational aongs employed are not striking enough in them- selves to get over soundly, and it is only when Miss Harper makes com- ical use of her hair and her figure that the laughs begin to pour in. Lew Welch and Co. in "The Prod- igal .Father," by Joe Browning, landed a good many comedy Jabs along the way but left the house waiting for a final knockout punch th^t never came. Welch is a cap- able "Heb" comic who has aban- doned the chia whiskers and sloppy style of his predecessors for a more smooth method of appearance and delivery. In Eldon Costello, who formerly appeared In one of the In- numerable "Abie's Irish Rose" com- panies with him, he has a manly and likable Juvenile. Clark and Roberts (New Acts), a couple of boys in brown^kin whose potentialities far exceed their pres- ent offering, were next-to-closing and were liked without being the riot the bill needed badly at this stage. Cook, Mortfmer and Har- vey pleased 'em, as always, with their novelty basketball game. "The Dixie Handicap" was the film. 23RD ST. (NEW POLICY) A three ring policy went Into ef- fect at Proctor's 23d Street this week, with • stock productions, vaudeville and pictures compris- ing the triumvirate of features. Al- though the vaudeville and stock idea is nbt entirely new, having originated with rep troupes, the ad- dition of feature films gives It a slight semblance of an Innovation. This goes, at least for the Chelsea district which has not had a legit show in the neighborhood since the old 14th Street reverted to Italian opera and the Grand Opera House dropped its subway circuit fran- chise for vaude and pictures. The introduction of the new poI>- icy also precipitated a new scale of $1.10 top for the evening ses- sions and 75 cents top for matinees. Under the former vaude and pic- ture policy the house played six acts and a feature picture at a 25- cent top in the afternoon and 50 cents In the evening. The boost, ho#ever, did not keep out the curi- ous on Monday night, when the new policy ushered In to a rapacity audience. And if the enthusinsni wit' which the venture was greeted can l>e taken as a criterion the new combinntlon Is In with the Chelsea- Ites Just so long as It can provido such rollicking laugh sliows a.** "Getting Gertie's Garter," the wtock presentation of ',.he initial show. A four act vaudeville bill preceded the v stock entertainment with a fllm feature, "The Lighthouse by the Seas," featuring Rin-Tln-TIn, clos- ing. Daley, Mack and Daley opened the vaude section with some fancy roller skating that incorporated several hair-raising stunts as well. Following came Spencer and Car- roll, who clicked neatly with a rou- tine of talk, slnKlng and dancing. Welch and Madison Sisters also proved an entertaining trio with a mixture of snappy talk and har- mony numbers, while McGrath and Deeds were the usual wow with their nut comicalities and easily walked off with honors of the vaude department. "Getting Gertie's Garter," com- prising the second unit, also had a walkaway with the mob. It seemed a happy choice as an introductory offering, being a genuine actor proof laugh show with an added essence of spice such as has ever been acceptable to small-time audi- ences. Despite the general ifnpresslon that "Gertie" would be served up here In abbreviated fottn, the show ran true to script minus deletions ' and consumed over two hours. The ■ presenting company was the same > unit that has been holding fortiv. for the past two season's at ProQ- nor's, Elizabeth, N. J., and will al- ternate with the newly organized company headed by Wilfred Lytell and Mary Louise Anderson, and which bows in next week at this house in "My Lady Friends." The comi>any presenting "Gertie's Garter" is a particularly adequate one for comedy bills, with the result that they got more out of the per- formance than tho rank and file stock. Since most of the bills at tho Jersey stand have been come- dies, the players have developed into competent farceurs, which un- doubtedly accounts for the even performance given Moaday night. Edgar Mason and Ruth RIckaby ^^ handled the leads adequately, the latter as Gertie, and the former as the Irate husband, whose honey- moon was Interrupted on his wed- ding night. Another entangled couple was admirably played by Jo- seph Moran and Olga Hanson. Jo- seph Crehan ran away with com- edy honors as the bewildering but- ler, while Frances Morris, Charles Dingle, Frederlca Going and Russell Parker were also likeable in their respective roles. A. J. Edwards di- rected the piece. "The new policy looks like sure click from all angles unless the neighborhood folk balk at the tilted tariff. The show Is given on the continuous performance plan, with the stock show eliminated at the supper session, which Is held up by the four act bill, feature pictures and other screen fare Those coming in for tho supper show can remain for the night stock performance, providing they can stand a double dose of the vaudeville. Edba. l.iiulili V L( >'. I I J».i : J ifj'* c ji 5TH AVE. May WIrth headUned the blH at the Fifth Avenue the flrst half, as- sisted by Noko, a comedy rider, and a company of three in the ring with her. May Wlrth In her present turn has developed an act that Is far and away the best thing of Its kind that there is in vaudeville today. She has blended a vocal touch with the riding that makes her stand out. On Monday night there were a cou- ple of spills in the act, but instead of marring the performance they ' proved to be applause . winners, through the audience expressing its admiration of the gameness of the riders In returning to their work. The riding act placed as it was, two removed from closing, was easily the applause hit of the bill. The laugh hit went to Clayton and Lennle in "A Sundae in Lon- don." which came immediately after. As a vaudeville show the bill cer- tainly was diversifled sufficiently to please the most ardent vaudeville fan and on the whole it proved to be pretty good entertainment. The one weak spot was the two new:; act offerings, one a single wotnaa' and the other the closing tiu'n. Meehan's Dogs opened, and were., followed by Carroll and Gorman. Frank Dixon and Co., In "Lonesonme ' Manor," managed to cuU a few laughs in the third spot, and it looked by this time as if the show were well under way. Then came Frances Williams (New Acts), who slowed up things to a certain ex- tent. Jack Benny, with his chatter and violin, more of the former and less of the latter, managed to get any number of laughs in his casual manner and scored nicely, following the singer. Then the May Wlrth offering came along. The act is admirably IlKhted and the touch of the rider tlrnt singing off stage and then. making her appearance, fpllowed by a beautiful white horse Which nuzzled her affectionately as she offered another song, started things nicely. When the quintet of riders got down to real work It was easy Koing for them. Clo.iing the show, Bryan and Falr- chlld (New Acts), who, with a piano accompanist, offered a more or less conventional dancing act. A feature picture completed the program. Fre4,