[New acts] Monologist. 14 mins; one. White is a monologist, probably formerly of a team. His methods indicate plenty of experience. The range of his chatter is rather wide, mostly topical, starting with politics and ending up with high prices. White started off with a nut song and followed his monolog with another – “Chili Bean.” He offered a dash of rhymes brought up to date and went into “Songs My Mammy Used to Sing,” delivered partially in falsetto. He earned an encore, yodeling for that. White has a strong single for the three-a-day houses and he can easily deliver in a spot. He was spotted second at the American probably because of another single on the bill.
Roy Harrah and Co. closed the show with roller skating. This is practically a sight act also, but Mr. Harrah takes it out of that class by interpolating a bit a chatter here and there. The skating was excellent and landed. The talk could be improved.
Duncan and Lynn (New Acts) fourth, and Carlos Circus the third of the trio of silent turns of the first half, closed that section pleasing with a routine of tricks of four ponies, a stunt or two on the revolving table by a billy goat, and the usual rough stuff by an unrideable mule. The mule is a particularly vicious brute, nearly sending one of the plants in the orchestra Tuesday night. A buck dance on a slab by one of the ponies is a corking feature trick, the cute little animal hoofing it to perfection and keeping time in a manner to make “Hello” George Scott sat up and take notice. Good animal act, this, but like several other turns on the first half bill, suffering from position.
Thornton Sisters (new Acts) were second and the Camille Trio, a standard knockabout triple bar combination, third. The Camille Trio, three men, affect the grotesque make-ups in a vogue a generation ago. They’re all experienced performers on the bars, and the Roof audience accorded the rough and ready comedy plenty of laughs.
Stewart and Olive opened with a regulation singing and dancing turn. Both are excellent hoofers, the girl shining just as well in soft shoe work as in the legmania stuff, and the man also showing more than the average in a couple of dancing imitations of Pat Rooney and Eddie Leonard. The singing is the weak spot. The team could easily remedy this by dropping all the published numbers and securing exclusive material which would not disclose their vocal limitation.
Harry Lander was a featured comic with the “Behman Show” last season, and is to be starred with the Jack Singer show next season. Lander is filling in a week or two in vaudeville before the burlesque season starts with former Lander Bros. act. He’s tramp comic of the old school, supplemented with mannerisms all his own and an original method of handling low comedy. Lander’s best score was made with the travesty dramatic recitation identified with the Lander Bros. act. It’s an odd little lyric with a peculiarly twisted word at the end of each line. The straight warbled a ballad or two with results and made a good foil for Lander’s clowning. If the act intended to remain in vaudeville a new finish would have to be secured, as the present finale isn’t strong enough to follow the comedy stuff which precedes it. The act held up the second half, doing very well next to closing.
George and Ray Perry, banjoists, opening after intermission, pleased with a series of standard and pop selections. The medleys were well chosen. Bringing out some effective close harmony as well as firstrate rag fingering. The team gain a lot through a refined stage presence and neat dressing. They play real banjos, not phoney banjorines or freak mandolins with calf skin heads, and handle the instruments with the ability that comes with long practice. Inasmuch as big-time vaudeville seems to be going back to first principles with one string fiddles, trick harmonica players, old-fashioned tramp comics, etc. there seems to be no sound reason, except the apparent prejudice of booking managers, against the African harp, why the Perrys style of act shouldn’t get in on the revival thing. Double banjo turns are about as abundant as tips in the Automat on the better bills today and because of not having been overdone for the last eight or ten years would probably shape up as a novelty to the present generation of big-time patrons. The Perrys look like an excellent bet for No. 2 in the better houses.
Harry Fisher, assisted by a girl (formerly there were two in the company), opened the show with his cycling routine. The girl was on first with bit of wheel work, following for some reason by a dance. The last was out of place. The girl, however, showed her worth later, appearing in an “Annslie Kellerman” to show off a nifty figure while she tramed [sic] with Fisher awheel [sic].
Arthur Millard and Miana Martin ran as the headline. They have fashioned their routine into a sort of song revue, the wedding song at the opening sounding exclusive. Through a lyric arrangement the groom explains to the bride several spots in New York where they are going on a honeymoon, which permits a Chinese hit, the number being “So-long Oolong,” and their Bowery bit with the tough dance finish. The team is not rich is vocal possessions, but it secures pleasing results.
Tom Mahoney was the laughing hit of Tuesday evening. It’s a matter of record that he lands every time he plays this house, and he plays it a number of times during the season. His monolog with the bricklayers’ union meeting the main idea is “pie” for the west siders. They love the brogue chatter, though they know it well, Little if any change in his routine, with the “aye” song at the finish tickled the house as usual, and with the last line telling of a place where they had bottled beer, the “aye” was a great shout. No doubt about Mahoney being the American’s favorite monologist.
