Hayward and Stafford

Comic dialogue.

"Chickens."

"Chickens" is a comedy turn, new and played as such by Hayward and Stafford, who are not new as a vaudeville team. There is a special drop of a chicken farm, with a fence before it upon the stage. Mr. Hayward is the chicken farmer, mentions he is in California, and must be the Coast model for a rube. You never see his kind in the east, not even a Ford operator. For Mr. Hayward looks more like an Arizona ranch owner in a moving picture. When Miss Stafford reaches the scene, looking for a dozen of eggs, she tells her name is Dolly Chicken. Before that the audience had probably voted it was Darling Chicken. The turn becomes a matter of "chicken," with the house forewarned through some comic still slides at the opening, when the styles of chickens, on the farm and in the city, were shown. As a travesty idea for a production number or a girl act this scheme would have done very nicely. But. as a mixed two-act, talking, which it amounts to, there is not enough smartness to the dialog to hold up the act. The talk is of the double variety, which could refer to any chickens. Very, very little of it contains a regular laugh. It would not have aided the turn any if Mr. Hayward had made up as a down east rube. It's just the dialog and continuity of the same subject. It ends with a "cinch." Must vaudeville insist upon taking that scheme away from pictures? No author is announced for the playlet. It's not right now, and should be heavily rewritten. But it must be said that Miss Stafford as the chicken is perfect casting.

Variety, 54:8 (04/18/1919)