27 Mins.; Five. “The Sons of Abraham.” Joseph Hart presents Hugh Herbert in this sketch of old fashioned and modernized Hebrews, written by Geo. V. Hobart and Mr. Herbet That Mr. Herbert wrote and inserted most of the typical “Yiddish” lines and actions is as easily believed as it is seen that he wholly holds up the piece, in his character of retired merchant, who left his underwear business to two growing sons. In the father’s absence for three months, the boys, after having incorporated the business, become involved. The “old man” returns in time to save them from a receivership, by an immediate advance of $50,000 and a promised loan of $20,000 more. The sons (the parts are played by Thomas Everett and Arthur Thalasso) are modernized American Jew boys, sharply contrasted in appearance, ways and language with their orthodox Hebrew father and his lifetime companion, Speagle (Gustave Hartzheim). The sons are too loud, too noisy in fact, for their roles, but that may have been a matter of rehersal. The story is not overstrong, has no sympathetic strings, and is made blustery through the introduction of two “women” (Adelaide Folger and Carol Parson). These girls call on the sons at their place of business, today they have sent some goods C.O.D., I unless paid for on deliver, “everything is off” between the two couples. It is while the young women are at the office after the father returns. The presence of the young women begets horseplay that distorts such of the story as then exists, and the entire portion of the sketch that this section discloses could be removed, also removing at the same time the “women” from the piece. Suggestion regarding them would be as effective, if this phase must be dragged in. the elimination would reduce the running time and make the action swifter. The earlier part of the playlet drags. Mr. Herbert is doing a fine bit of playing as the father. Audience’s will like him, Hebrews among them, even if the latter will not particularly relish the act itself, as at present consisted. For one thing, it gives the wrong impression of the American born Hebrew. But as an act, Mr. Herbert will make good in it, and will make it good.
: 21 Mins.; Full Stage (Special Set; Interior) “Married.” Homer Mason and Marguerite Keeler offer a remarkably clever playlet, entitled “Married,” as a sequel to their “Lost Key.” Not only is the ideal novel, but the acting is refreshing in every particular. A feminine aphasia patient gets into the room of a hotel. A burglar who has entered before strikes her on the head which brings her back to consciousness. She rings up the doctor. He tells her to go to bed and wait for him to visit. The burglar, who has been hiding, attempts to slip out unnoticed, but a key is in the lock and the man himself appears intoxicated. He imagines that he “sees” things, when he discovers the woman’s clothing and later the woman herself in his bed. He reaches the conclusion he has married her while under the influence and didn’t remember it. The woman awakens and screams. He pacifies her by saying they are married. A blow on his head from the burglar’s sandbag sobers him. He attempts to reason out where he married the girl but to no purpose. She wants to dress, but the burglar has made away with the clothes. The man offers her his overcoat, and they talk it over. The talk is remarkably well done in a clever and refreshing love dialog. The burglar again tries to escape and is captured. While the man is holding him the doctor calls up. Pell (Mr. Mason) answers the phone and tells the doctor he is married. He informs them that such is not the case as both have been in his private sanitarium until a few minutes before the episode in Pell’s room. Pell requests the doctor to send a minister. The burglar proves to be a kleptomaniac minister and Pell has him perform the ceremony. Mason is excellent. Miss Keeler has a charming piquancy that goes well with her naïve work in the love scene.
20 Mins.; Full Stage. “The Lollard.” The theme of this new Edgar Allan Woolf sketch is that a man does not look as well in a night shirt with his hair distributed as he does all dolled up. That is why Miss Conelli as the newly wedded wife claims her husband to be a lollard. The scene is in the apartment of an old maid dressmaker. The wife rushes into the apartment of the maiden lady in her nightie and wakes her. The wife tells how she was fooled in her husband and that she is going to leave him then and there. The old maid agrees with her that all men are scoundrels. The wife objects to this, saying her husband is a fine man, but that her hair does not stay the way he plasters it. The old maid has a male boarder (to make both ends meet), and he appears at this moment, in the wee small hours. The newly wedded wife spies him, all primped up, and decides he is the man meant for her. They begin a love match right away, but he is hustled off to bed by the housekeeper. The husband comes thundering at the door and is admitted by the proprietor, who hides his wife in the other room (not with the boarder). The husband looks very ungainly in his bathrobe, wit his hair mussed and his feet in huge slippers. The old maid tells him to go up to his apartment and put on his uniform, in which he appeared when he won his wife, and she would see that he got her back all right. The man does so. He returns and the housekeeper yells fire. The boarder makes his appearance in a night skirt, and the woman, catching the drift, flops in her husband’s arms. The sketch is well played. Miss Conelli as the fickle young wife is very amusing. The old maid as played by Harriett Marlottee could not be better. The male members have little to do. It is a good amusing sketch.
14 Mins.; One. George Moore and Francis Yates are offering a real comedy noveltiy in “one” in the dual female impersonation act. At the opening one fears it is just going to be of the ordinary type of two-acts; the none guesses as to whether one of the team is a female impersonator, and having settled that point, again settles back, prepared for the worst. Suddenly there comes an age and the act has you applauding. At least this was the case with the majority of the audience at the Colonial Monday night. At the opening the larger of the two men essays the female impersonation, carrying it through straight until the finish of the second number. The smaller is the meanwhile seems to be trying for comedy at the finish of the second number the impersonator cuts loose a note in a male voice that wins the house. The smaller then offers a single number that gives his partner an opportunity to change to male attire the order of things is reversed and the smaller changes to draperies and offers a burlesque impersonation that is a scream. The act will be a welcome comedy addition to any big time bill in any sport, even next to closing.
“A $2,500 Bet” 12 Mins., Two. Man loses $2,500 on a horse named “Birdie White.” Usual complications.
19 Mins.; Full Stage. “A Turn of the Knob” For Louise Dresser’s return to vaudeville she has selected an entertaining little comedy skit with a splendid idea and a fine line of dialog and one that should keep her continually playing, for Louise Dresser is popular wherever she is known. The story is of a prominent city investigator (Geo W. Howard) who is due to play a principal role in a wedding 15 minutes after the rise of the curtain. The scene is his apartment on the 10th floor of a hotel. His future brother-in-law (Edward Langford) rushes out for the ring and during his absence an insurance solicitor (Miss Dresser) gains entrance through a ruse and proceeds to talk the bridegroom into a policy. Having just completed a searching investigation of the local insurance companies, his name to a policy would be a valuable asset to any firm, and the solicitor is anxious. In his attempt to escape, the door-knob becomes loose and is pried off, leaving them marooned. Immediately afterward, while endeavouring to reach the office via the phone, he breaks the telephone wire. To be brief, the girl finally secures his promise to the application just as the other chap returns. Finding the couple alone in the room the visitor demands an explanation, and although unaware of the promise or its meaning, insists it to be fulfilled. Incidentally the brother-in-law recognizes the girl as his ideal of a wife and upon the men’s exit, locks her in to await his return when he purposes to resume his interrupted business of making love. Langford is a bit weak for his particular role, his enunciation falling short, although as the part is of minor importance he passes muster. Miss Dresser looks better in this role than in any previous vaudeville effort and scored an individual hit. Mr. Howard fills his role nicely. The piece works jerky in sections, but should eventually develop speed and accumulate strength with playing. It pulled one of the hits at the Palace and well deserved to.
“A Turn of the Knob” Louise Dresser is this week presenting here for the first time in vaudeville, Matthew White and May Tully’s playlet “A Turn of the Knob,” a highly amusing farce. The farcical action is built around the invasion by a woman life insurance agent of the apartment of a young man on the eve of his wedding. In attempting to hurry her from the room the young man jerks the knob from the door, which then can be opened only from the outside. Thus the situation is manufactured. In clearing up the complication the young man loses his bride but gains the insurance agent (Miss Dresser). George W. Howard was the bridegroom and Edward Langford a third number of the company.
Full Stage (Special Set). “Oh, Papa.” Barring a very visible, and in this instance unnecessary slowness at the start, “Oh, Papa,” is a condensed version of “When Claudia Smiles,” a former musical play, made over for vaudeville by Channing Pollock and Ren Wolf, looks suitable for Miss Ring’s vaudeville invasion. The scene shows a room in Claudia’s (Miss Ring) apartment. Her maid (Nellie Filmore) is very active when Johnny Rogers (Alfred Fisher), divorced husband of Claudia, arrives. A few minutes of conversation reveals much of the plot, after which Roger exits to allow Mr. Brook (Fred W. Strong) an opportunity to explain his connection. Frederick Walker (Chas. J. Winniger) comes next, completing the cast, a small bit being played by Jas. Duddy in the opening. Claudia, a musical comedy star is in love with her ex-husband, but takes delight in coddling the two “old boys,” married millionaires. A complication is nearly handled by Claudia’s “Oh, Papa” line, when the two old men unexpectedly meet and take each other for the girl’s dad. The finale shows the return of Rogers and the cheerless exit of the two old “chasers.” Two numbers are employed in the piece proper, “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary” and “Dear Old Pet.” The former went exceptionally well. Winniger in a sort of polite German role monopolizes the comedy with a good characterization and makes an excellent foil for the star. Miss Filmore as the colored maid provided some contrast for Miss Ring’s appearance, filling in to satisfaction. Strong fits the type his role calls for and stops at that. Fisher had little to do, but did well enough. With the skit over, Miss Ring appeared in “one,” for some reason or other, to continue with songs with which she has become familiar in the past. This section could be comfortably shelved, except in cases where an encore is essential. And the opening should be penciled enough to allow for a brief introduction of the plot although the costume changes should remain for the benefit of the women. Until Winninger’s entrance, the cast must depend upon light comedy, and light comedy in vaudeville is more luscious in small chunks. Miss Ring, as was expected, scored an individual hit, with her principal comic running a close second. With the necessary alteration “Oh, Papa” will fill all vaudeville wants.
16 Mins.; Five. (Interior). “Brother Fans” Tom Lewis is presented by Jos. Hart in “Brother Fans,” a comedy drama that is almost a farce in idea, but saved from disaster by Mr. Lewis and his co-players. At the Palace Monday evening, Mr. Lewis, probably to oblige the stage management, did a bit in “one” following the finale of the sketch. Time was needed to strike the set for the full stage dancing act following. Mr. Lewis’ monolog of broken-up dialog in this after-portion made a hit the sketch scored a Lewis-riot, for he actually stopped the show. After the lights had been flashed for the Brown-Dolly turn, the continued applause forced Mr. Lewis to return, and gauging from the reception he personally received, Tom Lewis as a “single” would be equal to the full value he and his company may have, if not more. The playlet tells of the excitement caused among Americans abroad by a baseball game played in London between the round-the-world Giants an White Sox. Lewis invited a couple of fans, met at the game, to a private dinner in the evening. One is a consumptive who came from Algiers solely to see the game. The other is the London correspondent for the Associated Press. The newspaper man recognizes the invalid as the defaulter from America. The A.P. man insists he will turn the criminal over to Scotland Yard. With a few meller tricks, the correspondent phones the detective bureau. Lewis intervenes for the consumptive, balks the detective when he arrives, and arranges to send the invalid back to Algiers, because “he is the greatest fan in the world,” and took a chance on his life and liberty to see one more ball game. During the little meal they are having and previous to the disclosure, a film shows scenes of a baseball diamond, as Lewis “recalls” to his companions the Polo Grounds. A phonograph also echoes part of a game. Some lines in the piece bring laughter, and many more lines which should be there (since Mr. Lewis so easily handles dialog of a certain character) are missing. At the opening when the talk becomes twisted over “Tell her that you saw me” and so on, it is remindful of a section of one of the Conroy and Lamire blackface sketches. But Mr. Lewis can put “Brother Fans” over, with all of its many shortcomings. He has a good company in support.
17 Mins.; Full Stage (Special Set). “Twenty Odd Years” Taking an every-day incident for the basis of his text, Tom Barry tacked the title of “Twenty Odd Years” on this little comedy playlet, contributed a classy little routine of conversation and situations and handed it to Harry Beresford who provided a capable cast, a splendid background and the combined result is one of the prettiest little plays in present-day vaudeville. The theme is of two old men who quailed twenty years ago. One is rich, the other comfortable fixed but not overburdened with worldly goods. The latter’s niece loves the other’s son. The scene is the home of the girl, an exterior with a set cottage in the background, provided with practical fixtures, doors, shutters, windows, etc. The story revolves around the courtship with the points built on a light comedy structure, the finale bringing an adjustment. It might be well to have two elders meet in view of the audience, since it would but require a change for the gardener (Vincent Seaville) and would not necessitate any surplus dialog. Beresford plays “Nunky,” the girl’s uncle. His portrayal of the moody, but lovable old gentleman was decidedly artistic, many of the laughs arising from his impromptu actions and peculiar delivery. Frederick Howard is a likeable juvenile, carefully instructed in this instance and passable in all departments. Isabell Mendosa is of that rare type of dramatic ingenue with a clear enunciation, yet girlish appearance, and fits her portion like a glove. Opposite Howard she scored an individual hit and did wonders in the uplift. The production and general equipment is also worthy of individual comment and comes close to a class of its own, considering the size and nature of the vehicle. “Twenty Odd Years” should go on for a long time.
