[New Act] Piano, Violin and Songs. 15 mins.; one. Man and woman in alikable routine of singing and violin selections by the woman, and piano playing by the man. The woman makes two costumes changes, both neat. The man wears Tuxedo.
The turn pleased opening the show at Keeney’s first half. Both have youth and ability that will stand development in their favor. Right now they can nicely in the early section of the better pop house shows.
Blanson and Edwards closed with a line of familiar but sure fire silent clowning that kept the laughs booming like the surf down at Coney from the moment they appeared until they had run through their travesty acrobatic routine with the concealed wire.
Gallagher and Claire, following, got plenty of laughs with the former Ames and Winthrop skit, “Caught in a Jam.” They got everything possible out of the lines and business and contributed to the dancing carnival with a neat eccentric double, closing with a confortable balance on the right side of the applause ledger.
Eddie Phillips, second, pleased with pop songs, filling in between the numbers with stories, the latter but fairly handled. Mr. Phillips would do well to drop the spotlight for his opening, a fast semi-comedy song. He did a brief bit of stepping at the conclusion that was liked.
[New Act] Posing, 12 mins; full stage (Special Set). Nahailda poses on a pedestal clad in a white union suit, stereopticon slides clothing her as a butterfly, sea nymph, woman standing in a leafy bower, woman on a sleigh in the midst of a snow landscape, etc. The act is practically similar to all of the numerous posing turns of its kind that have preceded it in vaudeville.
Some of the slides did not fit over well at Keeney’s. This may have been because of faulty projection of the slides themselves.
Nahailda is shapely and pretty. The act may have played around under another name, although the Keeney booker stated that name was correct. With a correction of the improperly fitting slides the turn will do nicely for the small time.
The Kuma Four, a Jap magical act, closed. The billing is misleading, as all of the magic is performed by a single Jap. It’s mostly cabinet work, smoothly handled and mystifying to the uninitiated. Two of the best of the class of tricks is a levitation and a trunk trick. In the latter the magician, probably Kuma, announces he will have a girl step forth from a trunk clad in the national colors of any country named. It’s been done before but is handled with real showmanship by Kuma.
Amoros and Jeanette, next to closing, were spotted just right and made ‘em yell with their new low comedy business. The man of this turn does a French comic, getting a lot out of the character by not overdoing it or making it up in the regulation way.
Jerry Grady and Co. fourth held attention with that good old vaudevilles classic, “The Toll Gate.” It’s a wholesome little sketch excellently played by Mr. Grady and his two assistants. At the conclusion Grady was accorded several curtains, all of which he took in character. His grouchy old man is a highly legitimate bit of artistry.
Lambert and Philippe, a two-man comedy turn, were a laughing riot third with a bunch of lively hoke bits. The finish of the turn, a ventriloquial burlesque, with one man holding the other on his lap, is almost identical with the ventriloquist bit identified with Felix Adler’s act for several years.
Gracie Emmett was next to closing with “Mrs. Murphy’s Second Husband.” The farce made ‘em yell at Keeney’s though most seemed familiar with it. Miss Emmett executed a few steps of an Irish reel at their conclusion, dancing as nimbly as a Ziegfeld pony. She has character ability far in advance of this sketch, however, which could be utilized to better advantage in a more legitimate and modern vehicle.
