10 Mins.; One. Herman Steisel has the right idea on swinging around the pop house circuit with his ‘cello. He does not stay on the stage all night and grind out all the classics and all that sort of thing that masters of the ‘cello invariably do when playing vaudeville. Nothing of the kind. He starts out with a highbrowed selection just to show that he can hit ‘em up if he chooses and then swings into popular selection and closes with playing the choruses of Chauncey Olcott’s songs. The worlds being flashed on the curtain so the audience can swing away as Herman plays the accompaniment. It hits the pop house folks just right. Herman is a nice-appearing musician and visits his barber regularly.
9 Mins; Full Stage (Palace). A mixed couple dancing the modern steps and opening the show on the American Roof. Another craze on its last stage legs. This couple do as well as any of those who contest for cups in the dancing cabarets.
“Just for Fun” 22 Mins.; One (4); Two (4); One (8); Three (Parlor) (6). A comedian and comedienne from the legitimate, both in vaudeville before as respective features, are now copartners in a travestied mellerdrammer and drama that takes up four periods while the derails are being worked out through the medium of a song to carry a thread of a story. The song is sung in two verses in “one,” while the other periods are the meller effect in “two,” when De Angeles is lashed to a board before a revolving sawmill, and the other during the time in “three” when a “Camille” travesty is used, the finale arriving when Miss Davenport, of large propositions, falls against and upon Mr. De Angelis, much smaller in height and girth. In between is some indiscriminate talk that deals with the action of the farces to follow, also Miss Davenport’s weight and De Angelis’ chances through that. Both principals are accomplished laugh producers in their own field. Together in vaudeville they can continue to amuse the audience, although having followed a very well beaten path in the building up on this act. It is only the art of this couple that could be deepened upon to get across the material they have, but they do, and for the prominence of the “names” in connection with it, may be said to have sufficient. Still the turn could stand condensing, in each period. It needs more speed than now contained. Eighteen minutes at the most would be plenty. When that is done, the De Angelis-Davenport combination if the managers will agree with them on salary, can go over the route once with the present idea.
“One Word Bill” 18 Mins.; Full Stage – Exterior (15); One (3). George Felix and Emily and Clara Barry have a new construction for Mr. Felix’s pantomimic nonsense and the Barry girls’ songs and dances. It is called “One World Bill,” by Junie McCree. The ground work amounts to giving Mr. Felix a reason for being on the stage. He speaks but one word at a time, and that not very often, only in answer to questions by either of the sisters. The act is an exterior, bare stage really, with a fence and a table about the only set pieces in it. Mr. Felix enters behind the fance. He is pantomimically awkward as of yore, and finally clambers over the picket railing, although the opening in the fence is but a few feet away from him. When later discovering that, he climbs back, and re-enters through the gate. The fun of the new turn is all Felix’s as much the same as his former familiar and popular act, in which the Barry girls have been assisting him for a couple of seasons. The newest item in the current number is the closing in “one.” It starts with a “table scene,” Felix as the waiter, and briefly culminates by converting the table and chairs into a comedy taxicab, Mr. Felix as the chauffeur, driving the two young women off. To the audience the trio played as though roughly broken into the new act, but the regulars around the rail Monday afternoon, aware the turn was lately launched, knew that Mr. Felix would improve it in spots with repeated playing. His comedy work is nearly relieved and set off by the Barry girls, who dress well, nicely sing and dance besides handling the dialog necessary for the best effect. It’s Mr. Felix’s fun-making that holds up the turn, however; in fact, would hold up any act he is connected with. He has a field to himself over here in his particular line of work, and he is very funny at it.
“Poughkeepsie.” 16 Mins.; Full Stage. In his new sketch Charley Grapewin has the assistance of Anna Chance, in the lively roel of the wife of a traveling salesman. This new work, whoever penned it, is capable of making the laughs come think and fast. Mr. Grapewin is a drummer who lives in Yonkers. He is the victim of the local gossips. It becomes known to his wife that he has a girl in every town. He is expected home. A rather cool but calm spouse meets him upon his return from the terrible road. She tells him there is housecleaning to be done. He graphs for his hat and bags. But she finally wins her point and he agrees to do his part in cleaning up the little nest. When alone in the parlor he notices the bag of another drummer with the same initials as his own, which was taken by him by mistake. The wife sends her husband into the dining room, and decides to inspect his baggage for some clew as to what her husband is doing while away. She opens the bag of another traveler and finds in it several pictures, one from a taffee-headed milliner in Poughkeepsie. She has heard that dame was a great friend of her husband’s. Revenge she must have. He returns from his meal and is greeted with some heated arguments and censored for his faithlessness. He tries to pass it off, but can’t get it over. He had telephoned to his friend with the same initials, also a resident of Yonkers, to have a wire sent him telling him the firm wanted Jed Harvey (Mr. Grapewin) to leave on special business to Poughkeepsie. The telegram does not arrive quickly, but when it does Jed is ready to jump. He hands it unopened to his wife and tells her to read it. The wire says, “Stay home with your wife and help clean house.” The finish shows a greatly disguised Jed at home. There are few sketches that have the comedy worked out with the rapidly of this new vehicle of Grapewin’s. the audience was continually laughing. Miss Chance is perusal excellent great assistant.
14 Mins.; Full Stage, One and Full Stage (Special Settings and Drop). The Golden Troupe has returned to America, after a long absence. When here before they held the lead among Russian dancing acts of numbers, and from their present layout, in routine, work, appearance and costuming, they bid fair to retain that position. The act opens in full stage in a winter scene, Russia presumably, goes into “one” for music on string instruments, then returns to full stage, when the dancing, most important, is gone through. The dancers include a ballet stepper, a young girl, who does her little gracefully before the fast Russian dancers get into action. Of these there are several, with three of the boys proving themselves competitors for all honors in rapid whirling and twirling on their feet. It makes a fast finale, and the act provides plenty of “sight” through the picturesqueness of two changes in costume. Monday afternoon at the Hammerstein’s, after five o’clock, it held the entire house until the end. The Golden Troupe for color, life and class is well worth booking. Opening the second half with the present layout should be its position on all big bills, unless needed to close the first half. Monday afternoon the second set for the act was not hung for some reason. The first set shown is very tasteful.
Reine? Without the question mark is a female impersonator. The query might be placed after his name to keep the house guessing, as he, like most of the female impersonators of present times, does not disclose himself until the finale. Until then a big time audience would wonder what Reine? is doing as a single act. But at the disclosure some applause is gained, as this fellow looks like a girl, has an abundance of “clothes,” and Monday there seemed to be many of his friends in front. He sang three songs, perhaps four. One was something about “Sweet, sweet” or anyway those words were in the chorus. Another number was a “Mermaid.” Reine, with or without the question mark, came from the small time evidently, and will go back there. It will do him good, for this impersonator has a chance if he will or can improve his voice, now too coarse and masculine, without a seeming effort on the singer’s part to soften it. That would be very well if Reine did not use the question mark. He might take a lesson from another act on the same bill that is doing a double-voiced turn. No reason why Reine should not do this also, which would gloss over any vocal defects, and might increase his value, the combination of double voice singing by a female impersonator not yet having been tried on Broadway. But just between us, there are too many female impersonators cropping up. The best only should be given time and that’s not intended as an opening for a bad pun.
13 Mins.; Three (Parlor). Nelusco and Hurley, a boy and girl, are programmed as “Europe’s Versatile Novelty.” Be that as it may as to the “European” portion. Neither speaks during the turn, but on the act and the individuals, it would not be guessed they had arrived from the other side of the bill had not mentioned it. Some palming with cards is first indulged in by the boy, who later does some shadowgraphing, and again goes into magic, having a variation of the very familiar ever-flowing cornucopia or whatever it may be, in this instance a bottomless cabinet, small, drawn up from the floor a few feet and left hanging there. While dressed as a Chinaman Nelusco draws from this flags, birds and flowers. The idea itself that the act should consider this important enough to close with, precludes the possibility of believing it came from Europe. The shadowgraphing had nothing new. The boy and girl have some appearance, but the best thing about the turn for the big time is the Chinese character the boy takes, and that cannot hold it there. It’s a small time turn and apparently has been playing in the wilds. The boy shook hands with himself to the audience when receiving a little applause at the finale. This turn needs more experience, some originality and showmanship. All of it had better be gained on the smaller time before another attempt to put it over in the bigger houses is tried.
12 Mins., Full Stage (Special Set). The Dancing Mars, three in number, two female and one male, have a neat and rather refined dancing specialty, but one hardly heavy enough to hold down a big time position. They opened at the Colonial and just barely reached an encore. The act is composed of a young boy and girl who hardly look over their teens, with a third (woman) filling it at the opening and finale. The appearance is excellent throughout, the boy displaying two changes, sailor suit and evening clothes, while the others make several changes during the action, which is set with special scenery. There is nothing exceptional to the dances and at times the routine seems disjointed. They could fill a small time spot and get away nicely. But the speed is a bit fast in the two-a-day. The boy is limber-legged enough to suggest a production, but otherwise it’s merely a passable number, scenery and all considered.
“The Old Hag” 18 Mins.; Full Stage. Occasionally, in consistently patronizing the big time vaudeville theatres, one collides with a comedy sketch that qualifies for the novelty classification either because of a new idea in construction or the originality and build of its theme, although such cases are decided rare in a season. In Emmett Devoy’s “The old Hag” it might be early recorded that Devoy has taken excellent advantage of all the possibilities and completed a sketch that will eventually number him among vaudeville’s six best sellers of the current season. “The Old Hag” is a little domestic story, full of interest from start to close, with an abundance of good, up-to-date comedy and a corking finish. The scene is the home of a young couple, married but a year. The inevitable petty quarrels helped along with two ungovernable tempers are making things unhappy. The husband (Arthur Bell) blames everything on his wife’s mother (Maude Durand) and the wife (Ann Ptttwood) blames her mother-in-law for the state of affairs. Mr. Devoy is the family friend. With a little diplomacy he adjusts the differences. The girl’s mother, a widow, had formerly courted the family friend. The old love is renewed during the action and leads up to the finish where he proposes. She doesn’t answer and he leaves. Finding him gone, she executes a little audible acting which he hears, having stepped but just outside the door. Upon his return with ensuring embrace comes the curtain. The individual parts are excellently taken by the principals, with Mr. Devoy and Miss Durand standing out conspicuously. The piece has been produced on a two-dollar basis. With heart interest, petty thrills and always comedy in sight, “The Old Hag” is a fine piece of vaudeville property. Emmet Devoy wrote it and probably staged it. His labor has brought him a splendid reward.
