[New Act] Talk, 19 mins; one (special) full. Opening with both in a ‘phone booth, getting the same number and stalling as to where each is going to spend the evening, the matrimonial argument starts upon their meeting outside and carries on through another “drop” depicting the car ride home, and finally into “full” for the parlor, where most of the action takes place. Plentiful as to laughs, provided by the husband, getting able assistance from his partner.
They ate it up at the 23d [sic] Street Monday night, and the act is no doubt “set” for the smaller houses.
Dorothy Dahl and Co. have made some slight changes as to the “straight,” but the theme that prevailed through her former offering still stands. The dialog as used missed fire a couple of times due to Miss Dahl’s stammering over a few lines of the “wisecrackin’” kind. She seemed weak throughout the 13 minutes. Besides the vocal efforts failed to help despite a leaning toward the “blue.”
Paggie Dale with her two male assistants gave the evening a start with dancing ushered in by an introductory lyric sung by one of the boys at the piano, the other boy dancing with the girl. Usual as to routine until toward the end, when an acrobatic bit of stepping, in which the girl is handled by her partner, picked things up and sent the act away in much better shape. Lack of coherence with the boys down in the pit also tended to make the running seem ragged.
[New Act] Acrobatics, 8 mins; three. Two men, straight acrobatics, in kid get-up sox, knickers and all, one entering on pushmobile, the other performing some business with a top balloon. They go into their acrobatic work, handstands and head stands, neatly performed, with dispatch. For a finish, a variation on a familiar, but sure-fire feat is performed; an ankle lift from the floor with the knees as the fulcrum. Great for either end on the present time.
[New Act] Comedy Acrobatic, 10 mins; full stage. Although there is but one man billed, there are two in this act. It is one of those straight-and-clown acrobatic turns along the lines of the old Rice and Prevost act. The clown does a flock of falls all the place, while the straight offers a number of stereotyped turns and twists. It is a small-time opening act.
[New Act] Dancer, 11 mins; one. Nat Burns is a hard shoe dancer who also included some comedy chatter with his stepping. He appears a likely candidate for the small time in an early spot. Both talk and stepping, while not extraordinary, will entertain small-time audiences.
Next to closing the Texas Comedy Four served up some ditties that were satisfactory to the audience. The way that the boys handled the “Memphis Blues” went a long way toward their scoring.
McKay and Ardine held the next-to-closing spot with their former vaudeville offering. George kidded and clowned as usual, a whole lot of his fly stuff getting past the Fifth Avenue buunch [sic]. New touches were “Broadway Rose,” a ballad offered seriously by McKay as an encore. The latter was in a clowning mood for he walked on during the opening of “Going Up,” which closed the show, and after clowning a bit walked off with a tag line.
Stevens and Lovejoy, in a dancing conceit, got over nicely. Both are good steppers and have quite some production, with two special drops and a pretty gold-and-blue cyclorama. The act contains an idea that requires all the scenery to unravel and winds up in a fast dancing double in the full stage set. The dialog is mostly in rhyme and tends to slow up the action considerably between dances. In an effort toward novelty speed has been sacrificed most of the 15 minutes running time being occupied with the rhymed unfolding of the story.
Walter Fenner and Co. in “The Bet,” preceded the picture and, although nothing could be said against the members of the cast, the playlet has not real punch until the conclusion. The title being derived from a bet of $50 which is made whether a girl has a heart or not. He accompanied by one girl companion, enters a supposed slum resort as an aristocratic couple. The story is framed that he has never taken a drink but is about to make a start as a tippler. The conversation is overhead by an underworld women sitting nearby. She jumps up, commanding his not to drink, thereby showing that a woman has a heart. He leaves the room after paying the debt and the fact is revealed that the two girls are friends pulling this bunco scheme whenever they have a sap.
