Variety (May 1926)

F Wednesday, May 86, 1926 LEGITIMATE VARIETY 47 lb* part herself In the premier pro- * U Many of the lines are bright and «rl*inal; the story Is certainly new, Znd there seems quite considerable «aa«ibiUty for the making of "Gold Ed Dust" Into a worthy stage pro- jection. Hughe*. f IF I WAS RICH Chicago. May 12. sfemedy In three acts by Wm. Anthony JZauHa. ■Urrl&t Jo« Laurie. Jr. Staged !E?Sr«5ented by tha author at th« La3alle Sitta Oetttaira by Yelltr.ll. jimna Blertlng..' J°« r * T, /?*xri r ' 2* Murray Pembrook Jo»eph Kllgour William Dunroy Hay Walburn Xhn Bplovln Charle» Dow Clark •ath Sterling Z 10 }?* P unn Harold Rogen O- o. Byron gjffrtU vVn Nea. Mildred UUard Sjldred Dellham Vola PHce Swum Dorothy Fenron MreT Pembrook......; M Dorothy Blackburn VMowy Burton....*•»• May McCabe SSrce Hildrath Fred. Irving Lewla Seotenant Spauldlng John T. Doyle jUchard McDenndtt Joseph Balrd Joe Laurie, Jr., has lots of friends In Chicago, .and upon a basis of his wide personal - acquaintance and popularity the run of "If I Was Rich" must be figured. It's a first rate little comedy of the domestic stripe. Warm, human and funny, its chances'to grab off a nice run, however, boil down to Joe Laurie, Jr. The show could hardly be a real hit on Its own. The piece was known in Philadel- phia as "A Great Little Guy." Pos- sibly the change of title may have Veen due to the earlier appearance In Chicago of "Tho Fall Guy," with Ernest Truex. There Is a shade of resemblance between the two pieces, the central character being a har- rassed young-husband trying to do things with $40 a week that simply can't he done. Also Laurie, like Truex, has a tear in his work. The cast includes Ray Walburn, at Cohan's Grand last spring in the title role of "The Show Off." He is sans his mustaches but still strong on the old horse laugh. He enacts to the life a radio announcer* who boosts himne^f rlcnty. Joseph Kil- gour, familiar villain of the Alms, Is cast as an over-mortgaged plutocrat that falls hook, line and sinker for FLAYS ON BROADWAY The Great on* Rarrue In St aeenee produced by Lee and J. J. Sbubert at Winter Garden tor run, opening May 18. Book by Harold Atter- Idge. mualo by Maorle Ruben*. Lyrics by Karl Llndaay and orcheatra directed by Al Good man. Staged by J. C Huffman. Supervised by J. J. BhuberL Principals indue Haatl Da»u, Florem, Amea, Billy B. Van, Charlotte Woodruff. Jack' waidron, Molly crDoherry, Jack Benny. Jay C. Fllppen, Oudrun and Gallo- way, Deslree Tabor, Betty Allen, Miller and Lylea, Deuel Bisters, Pat Kendall. .\lr.t ai. -Wit j*eV Sakgram, ray and Cap pel la. Kelo Brothera. Ara Oe>-ald. Half red Young, Arthur Treacher and Nat Wagner. Foster girls In one chorus. 100 girls and boys In other choruses. Mister Lee was over In Europe last year when J. J. unveiled the Paris edition of "Artists and Models," and it so happens that Mister Lee is away this year, as his brother brings out "The Great Temptations" and Improves on the Shubert trade-mark of a naked a tale that the impoverished young husband is the estranged son of a big millionaire. A grouchy old bunny, disappointed in life and love but hyman and kind under the crusty exterior, is played by Charles Dow Clark with great stress on sentimental appeal that will get un- der the skin of any ordinary lay- man. In fact, because the show Is so full of pathos as well as laughs, it rates better than a straight away comedy. Exploitation Is needed if the show is to remain at the LaSalle for any extended period. Everybody that became a Laurie fan during the "Plain Jane" run will have to be In- formed that the boy humorist is back. Joe himself has some great hook-ups with the Jewish and Cath- olic elements as well as the city hall, and he Is expected to have a busy calendar of after dinner speeches, as upon his former ap- pearances. * Up to 12 weeks is the guess at the present time. BdL NEW YORK THEATRES ■; retire:. :ytr. r/s\"/aV.Ve\i:/»"ysYii7eSv>*\; yj<\\~f$:. **Yiftc;«Yfav,; r» ,7»n ,.7«\'.7#n', lew Amsterdam Th r eA - , w 4 i d •* i*"*-" Evenings, t :20 Mats. Wed. ft 8aY, 2:20 ■Hanger. DtlllAghts 4 BlcgMd. Ml Dtt CRARLKB DILLINGHAM or««nU MARILYN MILLER And bet Star Company ta 'SUNNY' Aristocrat of Muitlral Comedies Fill TON THBA., W. 41 St. Eva. 1:10 rUL1UW Mats. Wed. * Sat . 1.SO CHARGES DILLINGHAM presents IN A CLAIRE la a Comedy by Frederick Lonsdale The Last of Mrg. Cheyney' With Roland Young and A. B. Matthews Staged by Wlnehell Smith fflRT Thea.. W. 4Sth St. Eves: «:I0 Mats. Wed. and Sat.. 2:30 . George Jessel in The Jazz Singer" NEW 4TH EDITION aa~ VANITIES JO« COOK. FRANK TINNE1. JULIT78 TANNEN DOHOTHY MM PP. Uost Beautiful Girl la World EARL CARROLL ^TutrU Only Matinee Thursday Tiie MARX BROTHERS "COCOANUTS Martin Roclc Thea.. 41 St. it 8th Av. martin oeca MfttB# w , a< A sac A. H. WOODS Presents FLORENCE REED in THE SHANGHAI GESTURE by JOHN COLTON IK n» 97 GREAT MUSICAL HIT JRVINO Ub'd.XN'S GREATEST MUSIC * OEO. &. KAUFMAN'S Cleverest Book LYRIC Tht »- w - 48 8 f - Evc «- * l Mats. Wed. A Sat.. 2:30 MUSIC BOX Th - w - ♦* «. ■vaf.it ITIWIV. dva Mats. Wed. 4k Bat. CRADLE SNATCHERS A Sparkling, Clever. Scintillating Comedy with MARY BOLAND And a Wonderful Cast VANBEEEILT S.S W^^SlS LEW FIElJ>g' NEW MUSICAL COMEDY HIT "THE GIRL FRIEND" With EVA PUCK ft 8AM WHITE lfTVffftQfVl Thra,. W. 45th St. Evs. 1:20 THE D3AMATIC HIT Pnlltser Prise Play CRAIG'S WIFE Br GHORGB KELLT with CHRYSTAL HERNE The ^'f A. L. I ipCDTY W 42d St. Mata "rlanger *-»»«-r\ I I Wed. A Sat. MUSICAL COMEDY TRIUMPH TIP-TOES £|th QUEENIE 8MITH, ALLEN "EARNS, ANDREW TOMBES. HARRY WATSON, JR. BELASPO t, '*« . w - ** St. Evs. »:3<» HAVID BELASCO Trrsenti! LENOREULRIG a» XUliU BELLE WISDOM TOOTH LITTLE Wc,,t 44th st * Kven,n s». *:4o Mata Wed. A. Sat. at 1:3* PI VWJIOI1TH Thra. W. 4S St Etb 8 30 rL I Wl VU 1 n Mlt( Thuri-8at . 3:3j rOPCI.AR MATINEE TIUJRfiDAI! WINTHROr A>rKS preaenta GILBERT. & SULLIVAN'S 10LANTHE If you don't advertise in VARIETY dto't advertise woman by adding an almost naked man—the ultimate duo. For that's the real sensation, pornographlcally speaking, of J. J.'s great big show up at the Winter Garden. Roseray and Cappella, from Paris, trot on midway of the first half to do a very fancy dance with very few clothes and lots * of thrills. Monr. Cappella Is a~ well butit Tel- low who wears a tiny, beaded loin- cloth, skilfully adjusted and open at the aU«sallow for a great flesh display, while Roseray wears some beads on a head-dress and a rhinestone thlngamajlg Judiciously spotted. Otherwise, she has free- dom of the body and with her part- ner does the dance that will keep this show in town for a good run. Roseray's body, it might be men- tioned, Is whitened to make us be- lieve that she's a statue being adored by a worshipper, but as her body isn't as firm as a statue should be, the Illusion was broken. Being naturally a modest girl, however, she took her bows In a shawl. The show girls, with the uncov- ered bosoms, are plentifully on dis- play at all times, the show starting with a mythologlc number called "Art Has No Frontiers," in which the Gods of Olympus send pleasures and vices down upon the world and tells the reformers that nakedness, etc., is really art and "that peo- ple shouldn't object to it. Which was more or less needless, because everyone knows that the- Shuberts keep art uppermost In mind and wouldn't allow nakedness on their stages for any other reason. The sketches are begun with one called "Questions." wherein Florenz Ames chokes oft* the nagging wife, Hazel Dawn. Then BUly B. Van and Jay Flippen get nasty in one called "On My Veranda." A sketch they did on the opening night, which had Fllppen disguised as a girl and Van getting free and easy In a bed, was out at the Saturday matinee, when the show was re- reviewed. "The Bhanghai Mixture" sketch was a close follow on the Woods* hit and had Miss Dawn in the Florence Reed role, while "Hard Lives" was an artists' studio sketch concerned with the husband, wife and other woman. "Officer O'Fish- enfwas very funny and in It Wil- fred Seagram portrayed the perfect cop, while In "A Harlem Incident" Jay Fllppen worked In black as a colored woman, pulling the nasty one .about her shooting a colored gentleman because he said "April Fool" at an inopportune time. The specialties started with the seventh scene in the first half, the Guy Sisters (from Paris) doing a snappy dance before beaded cur- tains and using plumed costumes. They also came on for a specialty in tho second half, having a special curtain with themselves and cos- tumes reproduced thereon, actual plumes being used on the curtain, which was costly In appearance. Miller and Lyles used the "IS is a seventh of 28" sketch in the first half and another dialog specialty in the second part. Jack Benny did some announcing and established himself as one of the show's individual hits, working with Dorothy McNulty In one skit. Here Miss McNulty played a dumb chorine trying to tell a joke which Benny Judged was too raw for the boys and girls. Another first act specialty was a burlesque dance on the Roseray and Cappella affair, while In the second part the Kolo Brothers, veterans at the Winter Garden, came on third from closing and whammed a a tremendous hit with their rube acrobatic stuff. Jay Fllppen sang two blue songs In his specialty, and disappointed. The Foster girls also scored in a neb- bing number. The big numbers opened with "Any Step," which had Jack Waid- ron leading the chorus through a fast routine, while "Pincushion" farther down allowed Nina Susov, a contortion opportunity, which she handled well, accompanied by se- lected girls. "Sesqui-Centennial Baby" had a Liberty Bell drop, and was aimed at the Phllly expo, which is a flop up to now. "Maid of Jade" was the number wheTein the naked dance was done, while in '.'Guards of Fantasy," a song about the "Cru- saders was sung, girls in armor did a march and then the fat girl's chorus was brought on for comedy. At tho opening a march of uncov- ered girls was used, but went blooey and was cut aftrr tho first show. TJ-.e first half closes with a sen- sational fl.-tHh, "Valencia," a Span- ish tune, which was rendered with the full chorus on a series of steps, all using Spanish shawls for a big finale. Second act opened with a pardon scone and parado numbers, done with groat taste und beauty, while "Chevalier of the Highway" was the on* about the gals undressing to frolic nnd bcinp surprised by rou^h mon. This led Into a second dancf by Rosorny and Cappella and this timo the man wore trousers. "H^nuty in Vanity" Tod into a scone, before the firoek Acropolis and had pals lying around In bo ^ch;i nal" fashion. And for a flash posed n«'V" wesQ< r«vf*tl**l bn'Mnd i)1m«s. th*> tarian and concerned with keeping draughts away. "Atlantic City Girl" was a bath- ing suit number, while "Dancing Town" was a costume flash with various sections of New York rep- resented. "March of the Lanterns," with full chorus murching up and down stops, closed the show, elec- tric torches of red and yellow being used. Primarily, "Temptations" is a dancing and ci?:ht show. Some of the comedy i? as sour as It is vile. Last season's "Gay Paree" sketches were tame compared to tho ones in which t lippeii rvirttcipatftt, while the nakedness of "Gay Paroe" was confined to poslner, but in "Tempta- tions" thcro '» c .rrMaruVc *r.urow- ing done. Both tho Parisian teams impress favorably, while a new dancing team, Gudrun and Gallo- way, also won applause, as did the Deuel Sisters, new to Broadway, but nice looking, good dancers and capable in skits. The cast is good throughout, although Paul Mall, who opened with the show in an Al Jol- i:on imitation specialty, was out by Saturday and not missed. A radio sketch was also taken out, as were some specialties, while the running order had been so skilfully changed that what had been a rather tire- some show had its various elements so mingled that It gained greatly in effect. "Temptations" cost barrels to produce, looking less like a store- house piece than anything except the last "Artists ar\d Models" re- cently In the Winter Garden. There are no stars, and the individual sal- arlea,4ook to be moderate through- out, with some low priced people handling a good share of work. The show is in at a $5 top and played to 8. R. O. from Tuesday to Sat- urday and is quite likely to keep up the pace for a few weeks, but even without the standing room it will get plenty on nine shows weekly to stay In the Garden until the weather changes and the time comes for another "Artists and Models." An undoubted stolen bit, apart from what may have been copped from Paris, is the "fat girl" chorus, with four of the 16 heavies In it from the 6th Avenue night club. While the night club claims a re- vival credit, the fat Amazon stuff Is from Billy Watson's Beef Trust (burlesque) with that title explain- ing all. Billy Rose is In a panic over the copy. He threw cards into the orchestra from the balcony the opening night, panning Jake Shu- bert for copping; also having sand- wich men parading Broadway with similar signs. As a plug for the 6th Avenue club it wasn't bad. and Is said to have "burned" Jake, but It's nothing to the yelp put up by some Parisian managers after J. J. left over there. Bisk. CHINESE THEATRE Chinese show business In cosmo- politan Greater New York, as en- countered in the two Chinese the- atres on the Bowery, a few blocks north of Chinatown, introduces s new style of theatrical divertisse- ment for those Occidentals who would care to invade a strictly Oriental domain In search of a thrill, an oddity or a presentation that is "different." It will prove to the "hteh-hats" that the late-entrance stuff is not confined to the partierre or the "golden horseshoe" of the Metro- politan opera house; that It is Just as fashionable to be late at the Chi- nese theatre as ft is at the class productions, premieres, etc. It will disclose that the Oriental. Is an avid patron of his theatre, being content, fortified with a few packs of watermelon seeds, fruit or other edibles, to sit through a five-hour theatrical entertainment from 7 p. m. sharp until midnight. For the actor, the average Chi- nese performer will be rated a mar- vel when it is learned that a reper- tory troupe not only offers seven different plays a week, but 365 dif- ferent productions a year and can possibly play 600 different scripts before repeating. Therein lies the commercial suc- cess of the Chinese theatres. (There aro two: one is the old Thalia the- atre, at the Manhattan Bridge Plaza and tho other is the Maiorl Royal, above Delaneey street). With tho limited Chinese popula- tion (there are only about 6.000 Orientals in New York), a week's run of a play would be obviously out of tho question. Repeated re- calls of the Fame limited groups of patrons must be rolled on for box office prosperity. It Is not unusual to sco tho same faces day in. diy dut, for six nights from Monday through Saturday. Tho Sunday matinee show, which starts at 1, is for the suburban laumlrymen, res- taurant help, etc., who come in for their Hunday diversion. The 1 p. m. start is to p'ii/ilt commutation back to the outlying points-. A r i0 admission is charged, with Ihe faslilonnMe crowd, I.e., the mcrrhants, restaurateurs, et al. coming Inte, but not too late, in view of the 9:30 p. m. cutting of the Rf-ale In hV.f when the, admission from thence until the midnight clos- ing is $l; henc:o the not-too-lat" •■ntranre so as not to li^ uc •us , ed to sion system is that after 11 p. if business is not overly brisk, the gates are down for drop-ins, that being figured as a business booster for future showings. A trip to the Chinese theatre Is only best appreciated under expert guidance as this reviewer's Journey with Charles King, an Amcrlcan- born Chinese graduate of a local university, whose colloquialism is as native as Babe Ruth. Mr. King occasionally essays professional tourist trips for choice parties, when not at his dut<es as an executive of the Palais D'Or restaurant, the renamed Palais Royal in Times Sviuare. The Chinese* orchestra .is stationed in the stage, to the left of the ros- trum, beating the percussions in ear-piercing style and twanging the Chinese liddlcs in eerie fashion, for every character's entrance and exit That band by the byo Is the most lackadalsacal outfit seen, taking their work very matter-of-fact and only evidencing interest whon props and the other stage-hand come out to chat with them. That back-stage crew atyne is worth the admission. In the Chi- nese theatre, it Is the accepted thing for the property man and the stage- hand to wander on and off the stage, most often on. They are ap- parently "unseen" by the native audience, which has eyes only for the players, with the sta^e crew's duties considered something neces- sary to the physical presentation, but otherwise viewed as abstract beings. The hard-boiled props . and stange-hand accordingly loll oh the stage, In "four," or cross down front to talk with the percussionist, scratching their heads, or shuffling along aimlessly. The opus reviewed was "The Per- fect Fool" (at the Maiorl) and while a tragedy, according to Mr. King, It waxed humorous for the main, with vocal Interludes an essential contri- bution. The "singing" of the Chinese thesplans is another thing neces- sary for explanation. The more raucous their voices, the better their art, according to the Chinese interpretation. Hence, it follows, that the worse their voices sound to the Occidental, tho better they rate among the Orientals. A Chinese singer, or In truth a! Asiatlo etage aspirants from the lowliest geisha girls of Japan, and tho singing girls of China, prepare themselves for the stage by getting up with the dawn and standing in front of their windows so that the harshest morning air strike* their tonsils and larynx, tn order to further en- courage the rasping squeaklshness In their voices. Therefore, the Chinese theatre is the direct antithesis to our stand- aid^. The stage mechanics are ob- vious, and not hidden. The audi- ercc's imagination is relied on, with the physical scenes merely sug- gested by the action. The stage floodlights are at either side of the rostrum; the action is ajl In one continuous scene; costume changes firo effected by the property men coming on and helping the charac- ters into their new trappingb. The Chinese comedy if oft times 'blue," but an undue exposure of tho 'imhs would Incite n mob to revolution, and is not permitted Comedy and oth°r sidelights on the Chlnere are the entrance of fac- tional tong lieutenants at peace with each other for the nonce. The tong chieftains, I.e. the subordi- nate officers, are given door-pass courtesies for everything. The big haters do not deign to "crash the gate." but pu> their way It is not unusual In the course of h m x formance » • r.ee pr^ps vime c*own to the arid* r.f the stage, staring into tho Mdtence in fa. U )f borne frlenC, and, not seeing hlu, si «»ke his head in : vi ndermen*. T»\e Ch?nese sudie ice however, di e» »\ct "see" this b«'».lay. all eyes ic- ing on the playtrs. The latter themselves are ap- parently well-schooled to articulate clearly. Hence, all comedy quips are unanimously appreciated- The vocal byplay Is nullified by the piercing musical accompaniment which drowns out the voices almost entirely. The "music" Is not par- ticularly harmonious, but replete with a fetching Oriental tempo that gets to one in short time. A $10A">0 annual reward for a Chinese star Is unusual, but while the compensation is small and often less than a waiter's in tho ordinary run of chop suey restaurants, the native idolatry of tho Chinese thes- plan not only parallel*, but exceeds the American worship for stage and screen favorites. The apparent respect of the stape folk becomes striking in the numcr- frying'. te*boflit.tfrH re*uUin Svale. An - hl**a probably being humani- I other feature of tho chine 1 -*' sdml 1 -- ous "asides" when tho characters step Into shallow "one" to address the audience on .lnllmut^ terms, with the customers II fo nlng very re pectfully and not ntfmpting any Intimacy as would be th»r case in our theatre. Chinese plays are gen->rallv royalty-free, beint? traditional or from repertory, although "Tho r.r*»at Fool'' was specially written by Chan, the produc er. Business Is gene- .-, Jly pood with th'- gross In<^s1 Iniahlo |>r hist of the 'hlfting sealer, de-idhe:i 1m, etc. But at a 110 admission for a Chinese; the turnout Is prodigious. Abr\.