13 Mins.; One. “Sister” act. Girl opens with lively number. Each has solo with effort for audience to make out what the words are about. The blonde in particular mushes her articulation. The girls make several changes, the last being most attractive. For the closing the blonde sings while the brunette whistles an accompaniment. She’s there with the whistle. The girls should reframe the turn and give the whistling greater play.
17 Mins.; Four (Special Farm Setting.) Bouton and Parker have a novel musical act for the pop houses. The man is an old farmer, while the woman plays the daughter. They get music out of the milk cans, the old well, pickets on the fence, and for the closing the girl sits in a prop auto and plays the melodeon, singing an old number that pleases. Both sing. The girl has a good voice, of high range. Act is well staged and got over nicely.
12 Mins.; Two, One and Full Stage (Special Set). Seldom has vaudeville gathered as many useless people together as “The Little Lambs,” a “girl act” that looks as though it has just come east from the smaller small time of the middle west. In the turn are six chorus girls who know naught but how to screech, an eccentric woman and eccentric male, neither of whom commences to be funny, and a juvenile that has youth as his only excuse for the role. When this combinate isn’t screeching, it’s trying to sing or dance, and when doing neither, a couple of them go in for a bit of double mirror business. As a sigh escapes when it looks as though the act must end, it starts again, and goes along to the longest 23 minutes on record. The act also looks as though framed to fool someone, but it can hardly hope to fool New York, and will be fortunate to remain the week out at the Broadway. Tuesday night it was “No. 3,” after having been programed for an important spot.
23 Mins.; Two, One and Full Stage (Special Set). Seldom has vaudeville gathered as many useless people together as “The Little Lambs,” a “girl act” that looks as though it has just come east from the smaller small time of the middle west. In the turn are six chorus girls who know naught but how to screech, an eccentric woman and eccentric male, neither of whom commences to be funny, and a juvenile that has youth as his only excused for the role. When this combination isn’t screeching, it’s trying to sing or dance, and when doing neither, a couple of them go in for a bit of double mirror business. As a sigh escapes when it looks as though the act must end, it starts again, and goes along to the longest 23 minutes on record. The act also looks as though framed to fool someone, but it can hardly hope to fool New York, and will be fortunate to remain the week out at the Broadway. Tuesday night it was “No. 3,” after having been programed for an important spot.
15 Mins.; One (Special Drop). For his return to vaudeville, Harry Bulger, who has been experimenting with musical comedy for the past several seasons with indifferent success, has taken his idea from the trade mark of Smith Bro.’s cough drops. The opening shows a drop in “one” picturing what is supposed to be the factory of the famous candy cough cure, with the familiar photo of the brothers on the side wall. Bulger and his aide walk on attired as the Smiths and after a short introductory duolog, Bulger plunges into a discourse on the history of the manufacturers, which is followed by a series of comic lyrics. The talk is bright, and although containing a few “elders” is sufficiently strong to hold its own. A political number probably known as “Mr. Wilson’s Alibi” should be discarded because of whatever political differences the average audience may represent. It is not very complimentary to the President and was not taken with very much favor. Another turn appearing later, singing, “Our Hearts Off To You, Mr. Wilson,” were rewarded with a reception on the opening line, a fact which speaks for itself. Bulger’s ability to handle his particular line of material in either talk or song is sure to get him over anywhere. He pulled a big hit at the Broadway and with a short workout should classify for the medium time, his one call on the big string resting on the reputation, which has not been over-straightened during his sojourn in the legit houses.
14 Mins.; One. The metropolitan reappearance of Mike Bernard and Amy Butler as a vaudeville combination establishes very little beyond the fact that Bernard is apparently still in his own class as a rag pianist and a very noticeable and general retrogression in so far as Miss Butler is individually concerned. Offering the conventional double routine, the piano solos by Bernard stand out conspicuously and earned the bulk of whatever reward followed their combined efforts. A medley by Bernard is utilized for the introduction, followed by a series of comic and popular numbers by Miss Butler, during the action of which Mike introduces his version of “The Patrol,” a unique solo as offered by Bernard and sufficiently strong to hold up the center of the turn. With all due respect to Miss Butler’s past performances, the present vehicle seems one-sided. At the Broadway, in a decidedly difficult spot, the couple held their own for a while, but toward the finale the pace lost speed. One must wonder where Mike Bernard would be if he possessed half as much business sagacity as artistic accomplishments.
15 Mins.; One. Norine Coffey is a single with appearance and a sweet, powerful voice which she uses to good advantage. Her present routine consists of four published numbers. A little song story is interwoven, and makes a good bit in the act. The first number, quiet, is followed by “Victrola” which Norine puts over with the necessary vim to get some very good returns. After that operatic selection is used which shows Miss Coffey’s voice off to good advantage and the ballad encore fits in nicely although it is not very new. The dress worn is a stunner and it is no wonder she clings to it during the entire act. As a single woman Miss Coffey was a mile ahead of the Broadway and should not have been “No. 2.”
30 Mins.; One (Special Drop) and Two (Semi-Circle). Josie Flynn and Misses hail from Philadelphia. Miss Flynn and a woman of more corpulent proportions appear in blackface. The other girls fill in the semi-circle. There’s the usual minstrel routine with individual song numbers. The songs by two willowy blondes, one who showed “hoofing” ability, were heartily encored. Miss Flynn is the busy bee and she carries most of the act. Act pleasing with strength lying in the novelty of women working in blackface.
20 Mins.; One. Foreign male trio. Two sing while the third, the youngest, plays the accordion. Act was a hit at the Broadway through the musician’s work. He almost does a “single,” is young, has a likeable personality and displayed sufficient versatility to frame up a “single” for the bigger houses. He is a good whistler and showed aptitude in dancing to instrumental music. He needs a little more pep and seasoning. The boy’s pop melody was well received. The other men sing well and render a stereotyped routine with “Snooky Ookums” thrown in.
14 Mins.; One. No excuse for these boys “dragging” out 14 minutes. They show bulldog tenacity in hanging on to comedy “bits” that avail nothing. They dance better than anything else although the straight is not a bad little vocalist. The team has versality and willingness Act rearranged, speed and more play on the stepping would help greatly.
