Frisco, returning with by far the best act he has ever shown, went through and over. Loretta McDermott and Eddie Cox give him more and better support than he ever got from any jazz band. Loretta is the cute dancing jelly bean of always, and Cox sings melodiously and hoofs it brilliantly. Frisco has acquired poise, which does not hurt his Apache character and does help make him as an entertainer. He gets in all his dancing and whizzes over (if one can whizz and stutter at the same time) many a nifty. Frisco has been credited with handing out more bright lines and using less than nay other natural jester of the day. Now he uses a few famous cracks himself. He is a headliner at last, not as a freak or a fad. He entertains today. Whereas hitherto he was a Chicago institution reputed to be a New York sensation, and Chicago claims its own verdict on its own institutions.
Willing and Jordan, next to closing, looked good and sang well, going through five songs and an interpretation by the girl of how an Englishman and an Italian would present one of the numbers, the former being decidedly weak, as was also one of the other melodies. The couple did acceptably but didn’t seem to have the power necessary to hold that particular spot on the Roof – as that still remains the most desired position up there.
Faulkner and Ward, a two-man comedy talking act, held the next-to-closing spot. Ward was seen around here last season in a single as the “Hebrew Dough-Boy.” These boys are well paired. Faulkner doing straight to Ward’s comedy. Their talk is all centered on automobiles and safety first, otherwise “A Lesson in Traffic.” Their talk is wise-cracking and delivered with a punch. They blocked all traffic and had to signal for the show to proceed.
Then came Paul Hall, formerly Master Paul, with a violin and pleasant personality. For an opener he used part of “Poet and Peasant,” then into a ballad. An imitation of several song-birds and a medley of songs of yesteryear followed, with “Old Black Joe” with a girl singing off stage to complete this turn.
Gypsy Meredith and Co. followed, assisted by a man. A special drop is used, showing a running track. From the moment this team made its appearance it was one continuous round of laughter. Miss Meredith as the school kiddie and the man, a track runner, exchanged some bright chatter before going into their strong hand to hand balancing. Their talk is fresh and witty and their strong arm work very entertaining. As the act stands at present, this pair can held the number two position in any bill.
Walter Ward and Ethel Dooley, in “What We Can Do,” doing just about everything, closed. They open in “one” with a song of introduction, then go to full stage, where a very pretty special setting is employed. They do some fast and snappy clever stunts on the bicycle then do some rope whirling. Ward imitates Fred Stone and Will Rogers with several interpolated gags. The pair finished with a whirlwind dance that put ‘em off to a hefty hand. Miss Dooley makes three very pretty changes, one for each number. Held 100 percent of the crowd in. They were recently at the Palace and proved that big time caliber always shows whether playing big or small time.
Morgan and Gates came next and proved the laughing hit of the bill. These two artists dished their stuff out to the audience in showmanly style and just made ‘em howl. For an encore, they impersonated two old-time dramatic actors, that proved themselves performers of the first waters.
Eddie Allen and Grace Brinkley, in a neat little turn, followed, and showed themselves to advantage. Eddie is a handsome juvenile, sings and dances with too much ability, but Miss Brinkley, a winsome doll, equals her beauty with her songs and dances. Their chatter brought gobs of laughter.
Coleman Goetz, the popular song writer, came next, and ran away with applause honors. He sings his own numbers, telling several original gags with an unusual style of delivery, several of these very risqué, which he might eliminate. He is assisted by a piano player who seems very amateurish.
Clifford and Bothwell came next and showed the patrons a nifty novelty. Miss Bothwell, a sweet woman with an extraordinary voice, plays the piano and sings several selections, while Clifford paints a few pictures of a rose on the back of Miss Bothwell while she plays a selection on the piano. Could not have gone much better.
