Variety (Mar 1927)

/ VARIETY PRESENTATIONS Wednesday. March 30, 1927 VITAPHONE SELWYN, New York At 12 top Warners recently opened their third Vltaphone pro- gram with another John Barrymore and Dolores Costello picture ("When a Mao Loves.' version of Tdanon Lescaut") at the Selwyn on West 42d street. It's not a well laid out Vita bill. Names are an asset to Vita or any theatre, but even names may be made tiresome through monoto- nous similarity of material. Here in six numbers of this Vita unit are three highly keyed grand operatic ■elections and another operatic singer. Mary Lewis, stretching out two southern melodies to a tire- some length. The live bits of the bin are Warlng's Pennsylvanlans, one of the best of Jazz and versa- tile orchestras, scoring heavily here and mls'akenly placed to open the program, while the other number consists of Van and Schenck, an- other hit, next to closing. .Closing lo the quartet from "Rlgoletto." Immediately after the opening is Mis* Lewis, followed by Charles Hackett and Benlamlno Digit, all names operaUcally and each In suc- cession until even the greatest lovers of class music must holler ■ait. In vaudeville such bill spotting would be called murder. Vita Is canned vaude. At least the Penn- sylvanlans should have been placed midway between all of the opera, •van though not placed to close where they belong. The quartet, or Glgli number, both of the produc- tion sort, should have opened. Van and Schenck might have been placed between Hackett and Lewis, with Miss Lewis' "Vlrglnny" song cut to one verse and chorus. If this " remains Intact at the Selwyn such shifts of parts should i made. It Is preferable, however, substitute for Hackett and Glgli this bill, to secure more variety. Varners may have been misled Into believing that names mean more than entertainment. That may be so on the billing, hut not on the stage. The kick back here wU be that people will leave the house where this bill plays saying It's a poor show. At present the novelty of Vita can stand oft an overflood of names. Marlon Talley, Jeanne Cordon, Benlamlno Glgli (repeated) and Qulseppo do Luca may have their august sound as the quartet, but they had to follow Qigll, with M. Pico and Mm*. Minna Egener, be- sides the Metropolitan chorus in Action, lightness and variety ap- pear the most appealing to Vita patrons. At best the talking picture is but a composition of shadows and echoes. That over to the fore fact must be forced to the rear, not ad- numbers from "Rustlcana," while Hackett (Chicago Opera) did three numbers. In a setting, from "Rlgo- Wtto." Vita must bear in mind that these standards have been done to death, not only in vaude, but in the picture houses in person. Light operas might be mora suitably received, once in a while a real chorus girl act If Vita programs become loaded op with heavy stuff, the lack of re- lief will assert itself. There were laughs here with the Pennsylva- nlans and Van and Schenck, through songs and business, but that's hardly enough variation from class singing in six numbers to a unit. In production. Vita outdid Itself. Bach of the ensemble numbers Is sumptuously produced and plctor- ially happy. Miss Lewis looked the best In close-ups of all of the sing- ers, although It seemed a strain for her to animate before vacancy, as she nicely did. The Pennsylvanlans, youthful looking boys, in a group with the letter "P" on their fronts, presented a likeable presence, and Van and Schenck also looked well. Whoever takes care of the make-up In the Vita studios evidently knows his business up and down. Mechanically this unit not so rood. The whirr of the record was heard continuously In the center of the theatre, while at times voices and music sounded tinney, as though the mechanism had removed all of the melody. This recording Is'far below that of the first bill at Warners. In the quartet, while Miss Gordon's vole* synchronized per- fectly. It did not directly locate seemingly apart from the singer, who was seated. She was the only Instance of this sort, however, in the whole bill. Hackett, outside of his name, was a total loss here. He couldn't follow on any stage or screen, singly, the elegance of Mary Lewis' looks or voice. The Tennsvlvanlans had as their pro-ram. "White House" and "Where r>o Tou Works, John?" the tost a lively number turned Into comedy. Miss Lewis sang "Dixie Land" and "Carry Mo Back to Old Vtrelnny," given a production set- ting of a southern colonial man- sion's exterior with a party fete on. Very nice, but It seemed an though phe never would get through with "Vlrelnpy," a very slow number any\"ny. Van and Prhenek did "Me Too." "Gertie," "Because I Love . Tou" and "Phe Knows Her Onions.' | the sp.apners in the lvrlcs of the tat ■ ter especially well liked hv a llirht 9 audience last Thursday plerht. Ac eommipyl"*: each and the picture (on the f"ms) was the Vita Sym- phony Orchestra, lead hv Herman »«tler, formerly the houx- m"s!e~i SOUSA'S BAND (52) Band Music 27 Mine.; Full Stage Paramount, New York John Philip Sousa and His Band —the highest priced act ever booked Into a picture house, the considera- tion being $9,500 weekly plus trans- portation! Previously Paul White- man's band at $»,500 flat held the mark. Sousa was a revelation and a riot at the second show Sunday after- noon In the Paramount. Those who had heard his organization before wondered whether this apparently listless conductor, who eschews showoff methods, would click with picture house audiences, who have been used to seeing conductors who twisted their collarbones, ears and elbows out of whack to make it ap- pear that "Poet and Peasant," say, was hard to conduct. But here Is Sousa, as always, with that great flexible musical instru- ment which is called his band, play- ing as softly and as loudly as the music demands, but always with the virtuosity which has made It a band among bands—a leader against competition furnished by such fine —relations as Pryor"s, Vessclla's etc And her* also is that Sousa who has written the majority of the world's marches—the man who has composed stirring tunes to which millions of people annually parade, while other millions cheer as the strains of "El Capitan," "Stars and Stripes Forever," etc., ring out. Patently, then, a great attraction. After the audience has watched Sousa for a few moment* and has become convinced that his sole ex- pressive gesture In all his conduct ing is that made to the white-haired bass drummer for a "big Boom" In- stead of a "little Boom," they arc quite convinced that the organiza- tion and its conductor are so much an entity that he has no need to stoop to more directorial display to "sell" himself. The Paramount program lists four selections. Sousa plays eight. Opening with "Washington Post/' two-step written In honor of one of the newspapers In Washington, he quickly did his "Gridiron Club" as an encore. (This number's title should explain that it Is in honor of the famous club composed of the Washington correspondents of news- papers the country over.) Then came "The Lost Chord," with which the pit organ worked and in which John Dolan, cornetlst, did a solo. Jesse Crawford, out of eight but billed, handled the organ. An en- core followed. "U. S. Field Artillery," which brought out a trombone quar- tet for several passages. Marjorie Moody, soprano soloist, next, doing "Italian Street Song" from Herbert's "Naughty Marietta," a number which illustrated, by the contrast of Its coloratura passages with the pianissimo of the orchestra, that unlike other bands which pro- duce stirring noise, the Sousa band can produce quiet music of any type, even symphonic though looked upen musically as "brass." This number was followed by an encore. Miss Moody singing "There's a Merry Brown Thrush," a short number which meant little and which would send her off better if a substitute were selected. Then the blow-off—"Stars and Stripes." First the melody, then a fife corps to the front of the stage. Then a cornet corps, plus the trom- bones. Then these men lined up, put their brasses to their mouth and played like the devil, closing the short program to rousing enthu- siasm. It la superfluous to talk much about Sousa and His Band. For years one of the greatest con cert attractions in the world, it would seem that the six weeks he has booked In the Publtx houses might break some records once he gets away from this gosh-awful competition along Broadway — a competition which Is being Indulged in with the faint hope that a few of the mob besieging Roxy's for ad mission will drift to the other the atre. At the Paramount Sunday after noon It was after S o'clock before capacity was registered, and even at 4 o'clock, with the show over, the lobby crowd waiting was de cldedly moderate and no line what ever outside. It's questionable If this may be wholly blamed on the wet weather. One alibi, perhaps, Is that It Is the most difficult thing In the world to get publicity on an act In a movie house, no matter what its cost or reputation. The movie editors will argue that they arc handling pic- tures only; the dramatic editors will refuse to touch It with a 10-foot nole: the music editors display no interest for the simple reason that they don't pay any attention to the movie house attractions. So actu- ally there Is no place to plant pic- ture house publicity on the act. Therefore the theatre itself must do nil the publ'elty work—and_ that means hi'Te nil' entertainment over everything else, but with other houses selling their show, it may b* that the public wasn't really awar* that Sousa was playing at picture houaa "rices. Sousa occupied but minor space In the Paramount'* ads. Whatever the reason for the slack attendance Sunday, this much Is certain —If they let people know Sousa la coming, business will be done. That fact has been an axiom of *how business for = GEORGE OLSEN snd His Music Versatil* Orchestra 20 Min*.; Three Fox'., Philadelphia Whatever may be said about radio a* a box office »tlmu!ant or drug, George Olsen. making his picture debut with an augmented orchestra of 1», disproves every theory. Olsen will probably be singled out as on* of radio's strongest witnesses to support the pro-theatre theorem. No question about Olson's box office attraction, arfd traceable solely to radio. Olsen could not have wanted a more auspicious oc- casion to Inaugurate his film house premier* than at this Philadelphia house because, as he proved last fall with a limited dance tour through the coal section of Pennsyl- vania, his WJZ radio rep had pre- ceded him and advantageously. By some quirk of the ether, WJZ is exceptionally well 'received In Philadelphia and adjacent terrl tory, being well within the 100-mile radius of that station, as th* WJZ engineering experts attest. It ao happens that when some portions of that radius might be "dead" to WJZ Pennsy picks it op very easily, more often and to better re- sults than WEAF. Accordingly, Olsen had the "breaks" on his debut His ether rep, seemingly very favorably established, reacted sensationally at the gate. It was this- unusual business that prompted a special trip to Quaker- town (two, in fact). The Saturday matinee check-up. at the early 1:30 frolic for the first de luxe per- formance, saw a densely populated attendance, with a double capacity turnover as a result for the matinee, and capacity sell-outs for' the rest of that day. Jo* I riser, the house manager, attested to an esti- mated $8,400 for Saturday alone, with a gross of iSl.zOO for the week. Monday clocked $4,800; Tuesday, $4,500; Wednesday, $5,100; Thursday, $4,600; Friday, $4,800. This approaches th* sensational, mark established by Jack Gilbert with the "Mont* Cristo" revival the week before in the same house. Olsen is holding over this week and may stay a third or return soon thereafter for a run according to' managerial Intentions. Olsen's $4,000 for a debut orches- tra, despite his radio and Victor record rep, was frankly deemed no bargain, and Interpreted as more to the credit of William Morris' shrewd selling. Both to Olsen's and the Morris Agency's credit, the Fox people are frank to concede they were pleasantly surprised at Olsen's huge draw. Olsen has four distinct radio trade-marks to re-create in person, three of them interlocking. They are that unique and extraordinary vocal trio (Bob Rice, Fran Frey and Bob Borger) and with it. their favorites, "Who" from "Sunny' and "Hl-Dlddle-Dlddle," the synco pated nursery rhyme. The fourth is the farewell choo-choo train number, "Going Home Blues," as standard with Olsen on the radio as the "Rhapsodic In Blue" Is with W hi torn an for instance, A fun brass team of four trumpets, four reeds, three violins and two pianos are included In the Instrumentation. Following "Who" and "Hi Diddle," with trio Interludes, brass combinations demonstrated the niceties of solo and ensemble trumpeting. In between Borger tenored "Close to Your Heart" in sympathetic style, for an individual score. A novelty for stage orchestras Is the impromptu "song-writing" number, a heritage from "Sunny' 1 and a whale of an Idea for the pic- ture house audiences. Olsen talks about the new American music and the modern orchestra's adaptable proficiency to Improvise a full melody from any three given notes, and not only develops the motif extempore but also Alls In with In- strumental coloring and arrange- ment. It's an Ingenious idea, well developed. A sample of what they asked for at one performance was A-sharp, B-flat and F-natural, a weird combo but the tougher the assignment the more effective the result program la a fire* arrangement of th* good old "Zampa" overture. Gagging that Phllly la birthplace of freedom and liberty, h* takes advantage of the situation and presents a free version of the clas- sic overture. It was rouslngly re- ceived and is theatrically effective. Olsen has an Ideal pic band act. Including a and personality that permits (or almost anything. If his Strom- berg-Carlson Tuesday night radio permit traveling away New York, Olsen will be enthusiastically welcomed In the cinema houses where, if his forth- coming network radio exploitation will not carry far enough, his Victor records good stead. will in Abel "MR. JAZZ HIMSELF" Stage Band Production SO Min..; Full (Special) Oriental, Chicago Paul Ash and orchestra, support- ed by Clarke Morelle, Taylor and Lake, Muriel Kaye, Frank Blascoe, unbilled minor specialties, and bal- let of ten glrla. Production by Lou McDermott Nondescript setting for this pres- entation, something like "Living- room of the Van Per SweU country home" in a musical comedy, minus furniture. Staircases on each aide of stage provide entrances from regular stage or the raised stage in the rear. Musicians outfitted in little orange coats Instead of regu- lar tux. Unusual number of spots held by the band, with specialties occupy ing very little of the time. With none of the support sensational, there were none of the customary delays. Starts oft with band doing a classic while ten-girl ballet flits In veUe. Ash enters from the front and Interrupts with a jazz whoop, which starts th* musicians into a hot one and makes the girls shed their veils and do a version in bras- orchid costume, to a reception. Lang and Voelk, seen plenty around town the past two months or so, are too strong on the comedy end this week. Entrance from th* pit In golfing attire and with a meaningless gag tacked on failed to get a laugh. What they did later on their harmony, In spite of the unfavorable start. Is nobody's business. Picture house audiences are partial to harmony teams, good or bad. They got an average one in Lang and Voelk and they seemed to close their eyes and think ot Van and Schenck. Williams and Ross, long* and short, comedy dancers with a slow lotion routine, rely principally on tight pants and two trick steps. The hoke dance business has been stretched to the limit locally with nothing new In the line and only a few exceptions since Hal Sher- man started "em off. They followed In a deluge, with the present con- dition aa a result of lack of originality. Williams .and Rosa re liked though not as they might have been a year ago. Someone saved the best of this presentation for the last with a superb finish resulting. Roy Smeck, string wizard, tied them up and still had them roped after yells for encores. Roy was one* a member of Bennlo Krueger's or- chestra, according to Bennle's an- nouncement. Bennle also called him "The Vltaphone Soloist," that not for the benefit of the local musicians' union. Several orchestra numbers were fine. Joey 8tool* and Bobby Allen, staff, songsters, chorused In two for nice effect Staging not of the flashy sort usual here, but fitting and easier on the eye. Presentation, on strength of an uncommon quality of talent, rates as the best seen around in several months. Loop. With so much of this Black Bot- tom around, Muriel Kaye, first spe- cialty, took a different slant at It by going through a similar routine on her toes. She did the whole routine without one drop to her heels, making a short and snappy start for the rest of the talent to follow. Then followed, somewhat mildly, Frank Blascoe, an obese singer who also shows what a hefty young fel low can do 'in the way of dance if he tries, looks new to the stage. He doesn't let his voice go, and his dance, while good for a weighty guy, still isn't so much. Clarke Morrelle, staff tenor, sounded sweet In two slow numbers and would have shown better if there some antidotal pep among ths others. The last announced act, Taylor and Lake, femme singing team, had original harmonies with topical numbers. The girls are neat in looks, dress well, and should he working quite a bit in picture houses. On the production end were two routines by ths chorines, similar but supplying needed pep. The closing ensemble also brought in a colored dancer, probably "Jellybean" John- son, and an accordion team who played just a few bars. This col ored dancer should have been given a better position as he had the life that could have been used earlier. The band had five solo spots for pieces, an nnusual number. In one of these Ash gave his "can nines" a plug, bringing out a phon- ograph and playing his latest re- lease, with the band taking it up for a close. Vocal choruses are also used in the numbers, Paul Small being employed for the Job. Mr. Small Isn't so hot, but to make It worse, thinks he Is. All master of ceremonies stuff handled by Ash, who has excellent comedy help In Al Ovale, his first saxophonist Qvale takes care of the band while Ash Is away, and does It with credit Average presentation Oriental, for the Loop. "FOLLIES OF 1927" (28) Band snd Specialties 5S Mine.; Full (Special) Tivoll, Chicago Much of everything In this one. with everything good. Seems that they ean't very well miss with Bennle Krueger's band at their backs. That band Is a •la. I., on Its music and on Krueger's personality and versatility. Itita Owln set herself In strong with a dance after an opening comedy song. She came hack later In the performance, minus the "BERLIN!ANA" (8) Song* and Dances 7 Mm..; Full Stags - Eastman, Rochester, N. Y. Ludwlg yon Beethoven and Irving Berlin were stacked up against each other at the Eastman, and the re- sult seemed to show that Beethoven la a pretty fair composer, too. Hia' "spotlight number" was the last movement from his "Fifth Sym- phony," played by the Eastman Or- chestra as an overture, followed by a tableau of a gigantic bust of the composer, before which a feminine figure In white bowed in homage, the lo0th\nniv°ersary of°B "thoven" death. Beethoven also gets a big chance In the score arranged by Guy Fraser Harrison as an accompaniment to the feature picture (John Barry- more in "The Beloved Rogue"), aa some of his best efforts are repre- sented. Including excerpts from the Seventh and Third Symphonies and the "Corlolanus" overture. Berlin only got seven minutes ot the program, but it's all he needs. He answered the Beethoven chal- ber," "All Alone" and "Always," with singers of the Eastman Com- pany to help put him across, and with Thelma Biracree to give a dance that Beethoven could never have composed. The vocal soloists were Philip Reep, Martha AtweU and Rose Quigley. For a touch of color a quartet of dancing girls In Jazsy costumes to assist in the "Blue Skies" nnmber. The act bore the title of "Ber- linlana." Sanderson. "H. M. 8. PINAFORE" Operetta 18 Mine.; Full (Special) Forum, Lbs Angeles Though the human portion of this presentation Is not of the calibre in ability snd talent that would do justice to the old Gilbert and Sul- livan scores, looks as though a re- vival of this sort of stuff in con- densed form would be sure-fire at this time for picture houses, to replace the revues and tab pres- entations hurled week in and week out at the customers. William G. Stewart, who did the stage directing at New York Hip- podrome for many years and wjpo Is called a "G. & S. scholar," put this one on. He no doubt endeav- ored to put on as near an approach to the old-time productions as he could. But seems to have been handicapped In production as well as type of people. Among the principals was only one outstand- ing, Marie liorgan, who did "Little Buttercup." Henry J. Selir eel as Sir Joseph, though possibly a stu- dent at on« time of the r. & B.