“Girls From The Follies”

Singing and comic dialogue.

"Continuation of Cohen's Peregrinations in a Foreign Land, called 'Cut-Rate Cohen' at T he Jardin De Danse," "Cohen On the East Side," "Pipes of Pan," "Oriental Love."

The Strause & Franklyn Amusement Co. is the sponsor for "The Girls From The Follies" in which Harry Steppe is being starred and featured. ... As a matter of fact the entire program needs to be revised, for in the second half it is mighty hard to follow just what is happening and were it not for a few announcements made from the stage the audience would be in the dark completely as to what is going on on the other side of the footlights. It is barely possible Joe LeBlang has an interest in the show for the entertainment is billed as "A Cut-Rate Novelty in Two Acts." This billing is all wrong as far as the show itself is concerned, for it seems to be one the best little entertainments on the American Wheel. But, while we are on the subject of the program one might state the billing for the second part of the entertainment is also slightly misleading. According to it the afterpiece is a "Continuation of Cohen's Peregrinations in a Foreign Land, called 'Cut-Rate Cohen' at T he Jardin De Danse." Then one watches the curtain rise on a roof garden scene that discloses the illuminated buildings which form the skyline to Times Square. There may be some that believe Broadway and Time Square are a foreign land to the people of Cohen's type. "Cohen On The East Side" is the opening burlesque. The setting is a scene in Chinatown, with certain liberties taken for the furtherance of the plot. There isn't much story but there are 15 musical numbers and a specialty or two that make it worth while and highly enjoyable to the class of audiences to which the production is intended to cater. A corking set of principals lead the numbers and 16 girls (eight ponies and eight show girls) that are on the stage almost all of the time and work hard. If they are not on the stage they are in the dressing rooms making a change, for there are different costumes for almost every number in which they appear. The songs are about evenly divided between published and specially written ones, and they run the gamut from rags to semi-classical ballads, with comedy numbers and a "tough" song added for good measure. Of the comedian Steppe naturally carried off the honors with his characterization of Cohen, the second-hand clothing dealer, with George Ward feeding him in the character of a "Dutch butcher. There are three other male principals, Joe Phillips as a tough bartender, Hedge Holmes as a "con" man (doing a very good straight), and Harry Van, doubling as a "dope" and a "cissy," displaying a very good voice for burlesque. Of the women three that qualify, with Virginia Wilson leading on the strength of voice. She is a soprano of attainment and handles three numbers exceedingly well. Laura Houston is the soubret. She is a rather pretty looking little blonde of plump proportions who works hard throughout the show and always has a pleasing smile. Tuesday night at the Yorkville she seemed to be suffering from a cold and that handicapped her. Gertrude Ralston as a suffragette, who the program says "is suffering for the love of a man," gave more or less physical intimation to the contrary, unless appearances are most deceiving. However, she has a very pleasing contralto voice which she uses to advantage and can wear clothes. Marie Revere is also counted among the women principals, but she has but little to do, except lead a number down at the close of the show. The opening of the second part is the Ralph Herz-Mephisto scene from "The Soul Kiss." Homles does it and gets away with it in fairly good shape. The back drop is a novelty for burlesque and it got applause. Following the opening prologue there are a series of specialties with the chorus working behind the principals. Joe Phillips and Laura Houston offer an imitation of Harry Fox and Yanzei Dolly and it might be said for Phillips he almost has Harry's whistle. But as the team work well together and the little suggestive stuff he pulls isn't too rough one might just as well let him get away with it. There is one thing proven in the second part of this show and that is that burlesque audiences attracted to the Yorkville would rather have a couple of good voices on the stage than a dance that carries even the slightest suggestion of a "cooch." Harry Van and Gertrude Ralston were the first proof of this and earned a double encore. Miss Wilson, who followed with a specialty designed to disclose her voice, sang "Pipes of Pan" and was so heartily applauded she was forced to respond with an encore and scored again with another classical number. A few minutes later when a number was offered entitled "Oriental Love," with the chorus appropriately attired, it was permitted to pass without a murmur and the encore taken as stolen without a single plaudit from the house. And then, "The Sensation of all Sensations," La Luna, "The Girl in Gold," who offered an exceedingly mild bit of a dance, but one which is evidently designed to be roughened up in the towns standing for it, passed out of sight with just a slight ripple of applause. So much for the clean burlesque policy which has been laid down. The two one-act pieces of "The Girls From The Follies" should please wherever it plays, for it is a good fast working entertainment that runs through from beginning to end without an salacious scenes or suggestive dialog and scores solely on merit. Incidentally just another suggestion to the agent regarding that program. It might lead a certain dignity to the attraction if in the cases where the Christian names of the principals are not used in connection with their surnames, that the latter be prefaced by either Miss or Mr. whichever the case may be. This refers especially to the order of the musical numbers.

Variety, 41:1 (12/03/1915)