The show’s favorites were Lorraine Howard and Verne Sadler, who got a hand a entrance and bowed off with the evening’s honors. This “sister” team has been in the hinterland for seven months or more. After doing “While Dancing the Sweetheart Waltz” they went into the main number, “Wedding Bells, Will You Ever Ring for me?” from which they have titled their routine. Miss Howard’s comic comment anent their ages and the lessening chances of grabbing a husband tickled the house and drew plenty of laughter.
The Nine Liberty Girls were the feature, closing the performance with an excellent musical routine. The first half of the offering has but six of the girls on. All play saxophones save the leader, who gets pretty results with a brass clarionet [sic]. The act stands out from other feminine musical turns, in hat there is little or no attempt for plaudits until the close. The numbers flow from one to another, and the net result is pleasing. On merit and flash it stood up on the billing.
[New Act] Magic, 12 mins; one. On No. 2 with a girl as a page and two kid “plants” the former superfluous. Allen Gray has some talk that could stand rewriting. He delivers it in a monotone. Up to the time the kids stepped over the lights it looked like hard sledding for Mr. Gray, but with the added help and the ragged appearance of the two boys be managed to get a small amount of comedy out of the situation. A revision of his sleight of hand tricks would help as the present routine fails to hold anything above the ordinary. A switch in the monolog would do no harm as the act couldn’t get much less in the way of returns than it did Tuesday night.
France and Hamp followed, and in turn came Jones and Sylvester, who did nicely mainly due their rendering of “Ida” a la Eddie Leonard. Any strength to bill had was in these two acts, and it was easy going for both, the audience seemingly being willing to give any one credit for what they did, but having nothing to appeal to them up to that time.
Kelly and Post started O.K. but let down with their talk and never regained the speed. The boys sang three numbers and came back for an encore which could have been done away with. One of their lyrics could stand looking over, through it helped to send them away fairly well.
Charles and Sadie MacDonald in a conventional sketch, managed to grind out a laugh here and there, but got little at the finish. A couple of hurrah speeches by the wife to the husband served to bring a scattered hand through the house.
“Girls Will be Girls” (New Acts) closed the first half and though Florence Lorraine featured, kept the house sitting up with her Swedish servant girl bit, the running time, 20 minutes, could be cut down without doing material harm.
Harry Thorne Co. followed with a sketch and made it easier for the succeeding turn by scoring throughout with laughs. The audience immensely enjoyed the henpecked husband and the brow-beaten wife with the reverse twist at the finish which sent the act away with three or four curtains. One of the women stood out above the other three members and scored personally, most of the applause at the finish being directed her way.
Barton and Sparling (New Acts) took the show up to its highest velocity though being on a little early at that. The comedian was responsible, mostly through his voice and the ability to put over a song. The boys could have done more but doused the lights after one encore.
[New Act] Songs and talk; 11 mins; one. This is a small time couple who are delivering a small time manner with a small time result, after which there is nothing left to be said, except that they will do for the small time. The opening in one of those “meet me at the corner with your left show in your hand” things and he meets the wrong girl. Some gagging with the man constantly repeating “put that in your little book,” which instead of being funny through the repetition becomes tiresome. The man then essays a little stepping in which he gives indication that at one time he had gone in for acrobatics. A couple of verses of a topical comedy song failed to get anything.
