One. Hope Vernon is a neatly dressed young woman who wears her hair in a braid. She has a sweet voice of high range, but no great volume, due perhaps to her practice of the violin imitations which follow her opening numbers. Miss Vernon takes a violin and bow and as she goes through the movement of playing, imitates the string notes with her voice. It’s cleverly done and fooled a lot of them at the Alhambra where Tuesday night her act was well received. In Miss Vernon’s favor is a splendid voice.
27 Mins.; Full Stage (Special Set). Aside from the beautiful stage settings, rich costumes and excellent acrobatics and contortion work of a small boy, it cannot be said that Long Tack Sam’s latest importation “Shang Tun Mysteries” created a sensation on the initial American appearance. Lavish wealth is displayed in the back drop and side curtains used to dress the stage, and many Chinese costumes are worn by the men, but the present routine failed to disclose the mysteries expected. Four men, a woman and four children, make up the troupe. The curtain arose on the entire troupe grouped in the center of the stage, singing and playing native music. The woman and three of the children start the turn by singing a Chinese song accompanied by one of the men at the piano. This is followed by the pianist singing a short number in pidgin English. Next, one of the men juggles and spins a pair of cymbals in a clever way. Then each of the four men attempts to give individual illustrations of conjuring. This part of the turn should be worked with more skills or eliminate for in each instance, the audience saw where the articles come from. The boy followed the conjuring and did some remarkable acrobatic and contortion work. While the youngster is getting his breath, one of the men balances a spinning plate upon a flexible rod which bent at all angles. The man’s cleverness secured good applause. A little more time was filled in by another of the men throwing a large crockery vessel in the air and catching and balancing it upon his forehead. This practically concluded the men’s part of the routine and the youngster again took the centre of the stage. His back bending from a standing position earned unstinted plaudits. While balancing a large candelabrum full of lightened candles on his head, the youth accomplishes the seemingly impossible. The youngster was the backbone of the act as it stood when it opened Sunday. The woman and other three children did nothing after the opening song but stand on the stage giving the numerical strength. But since Long Tack Sam’s arrival “Shang Tun Mysteries” shows a vast improvement. The length of time consumed by the act has been cut down to 18 minutes giving more speed to the routine. The men’s portion of the offering is being strengthened and reconstructed. They possess the necessary talent to make a good showing, but lacked the direction of a practical showman like Long Track Sam to show them out to make the best use of it while before an audience. Undoubtedly long before the “Shang Tun Mysteries” reaches the east it will be holding it’s own with other big acts; for Long Track Sam has a splendid foundation to work on.
“The Cowboy Caruso.” Bill Pruitt has a rather high baritone voice which he can easily switch to a true soprano. This makes his act a rather freak offering that will go as a novelty. He makes his appearance in the regulation cowboy costume, complete in detail even to the little bull tag that hung from the pocket of his blue shirt. Monday night he was a near-riot Immediately after the opening of the bill. He is offering four numbers, all of the ballad type. There are not new, but particularly well selected for his voice. His opening number is “White the Rivers of Love Flow On,” which he renders as a straight baritone. In the chorus of his second number he suddenly shifted his voice from a baritone. In the chorus of his second number he suddenly shifted his voice from the baritone to a soprano (not a falsetto), and struck each note as true as through that were his natural singing voice. This immediately won him a place with the audience and the finish of the number brought hearty applause. The numbers which followed included “Mother McCree” and “In the Garden of My Heart.” The latter was sung with a duet effect that pleased. For an encore he is using “The Land of My Best Girl.” Pruitt holds to his cowboy character throughout. With an awkward walk and a rather bashful stage presence, he makes his way into the heats of his audience. He is a novelty male single that will fill to advantage any big time bill.
13 Mins.; Curtained Easel. The man does the painting. The woman, wearing wigs correspond with type of nationality drawn, inserts her head in opening in frame. Each figure head offered is preceded by an announcement by artist. At the finish, the woman comes down front and sings while a man’s head appears in the easel opening, a comedy picture being the result. Proved a novelty at the Union Square Sunday.
14 Mins.; One and Full Stage. Bob Fitzsimmons comes on for a monolog of the flowery type, telling of his early life, and some of the high lights in his history. Talk delivered with clenched fists. Telling how a football player smashed him in the nose early in life, and how, after that, he took a blacksmith apron and made gloves with which he learned to fight. He then hikes to the wings. At McVicer’s, Baron Richter, on the program, steeped out to announce a three round boxing bout between Bob and his son. Curtain goes up, Richter takes his place as timekeeper and out comes Young Fitzsimmons, pink and big and a fine figure of a man in the palest of blue tights. On comes Bob in lavender and they go to it for three rounds, with some vigor, landing on each other with right good will. Bob is always a drawing card, and curiosity to see his son, who is booked as the one who is going to come forward later and stop Jack Johnson, should make the act magnet. On the closing spot at the first show Monday night, it packed the house.
18 Mins.; One. Dave Nowlin and Gertie St. Clair have a double that will prove a standard turn on the small time. The opening is a bit of burlesque of light opera, patterned very much after the finish in “one” Willard Simms does. This runs about 10 minutes. For the finish Miss St. Clair has a song that permits of the interpolation of a number of barnyard imitations by the man. It makes a strong comedy ending, and the turn gets over very big.
10 Mins.; Full Stage. E. Rousby in his production, “The Edge of the World,” gives a convincing demonstration of the evolution of light and colour projection. In place of the stereotyped stationary views accompanied by a study in near-nude femininity, Rousby offers a combination of moving colors before which a gyrating danseuse cavorts in spring-like garments, her cavorting running a lengthy second to the scenic portion of the piece. The opening shows what is supposed to be the edge of the world where the passion of color lies exhausted after the day’s labor (from the program argument). Soon the ocean, or what looks very much like it, floats into view with a rhythmic movement to be later replaced by the action of the many colors, blending together into a picturesque scenic effect. Meanwhile the danseuse (Violet Hope) keeps busy, skipping here and there to the soft strains of specially composed orchestration. The turn comprises novelty in ever sense of the world, the color scheme being especially well worked out. It’s a big improvement over the former brand of scenic art and since it held a capacity audience to the finish in closing spot at the Colonial it looks like a promising possibility.
12 Mins.; One. The Man Who Grows. Willard, the man who grows at will has one of the most distinct and unique vaudeville novelties extant, combining an interesting study in human physiology with a semi-comic monolog that never touches the monotonous point of a lecture, and behind both a personality and delivery entirely unexpected in a turn of this nature. In evening dress, with a colored attendant in livery, Willard explains a few facts of current and past interest, giving a line on his birth, habits, etc., the spiel being well blended with comedy. Willard, who is six feet tall normally, then exhibits his growing abilities, after assembling a committee on the stage. The elongation is visible and mystifying, more so when Willard disproves the suspicion of a dislocation by freely exercising the joint muscles of knee, neck and waist while at an extreme height. Resting on one foot he elongates the other, and vice versa, following this with a display of arm growth, extending either arm a distance of about fifteen inches beyond normal length. Realizing this to be the only act of its kind in existence, a complete review is difficult, for Willard is one of that strange species of novelty that one must see to appreciate. At Hammerstein’s on a topheavy hill he was one of the evening’s hit and without doubt is valuable card, for Willard will create comment, and with the advertising possibilities contained in his exhibition, should break into the record division if properly handled.
“Ten Minutes in Toyland” – Soap-bubble novelty; this act went very tame; special drop;
Emmet Welch with his company of eight offers A Minstrel Revision – Quartette, Interlocutor, Jesters, Dancers, etc., Have a very handsome plush drop, which with their stage setting make a fine appearance; 25 min full stage; went big.
