Coley & Jaxon, as the minstrel and the maid, were a huge comedy success with a good talk cleverly handled, especially by the girl in a Buster Brown character, trailing a dog around, which evolved talk. They finished to good applause, with singing and dancing.
Ace O’Hearts, was the King offering. It is in two scenes the first showing Ellis Island, with the chorus and principals arriving on a ship as immigrants; the second is a brokerage office. The comedy section of the King show have been greatly strengthened by the new bits supplied by Madison, which is embracing the value of the King company. Business holding up exceedingly well.
Harry Thorne Co. followed with a sketch and made it easier for the succeeding turn by scoring throughout with laughs. The audience immensely enjoyed the henpecked husband and the brow-beaten wife with the reverse twist at the finish which sent the act away with three or four curtains. One of the women stood out above the other three members and scored personally, most of the applause at the finish being directed her way.
Holden and Navarre, a fresh young pair, outclassed the rest of the bill in material, appearance, personality and standards. Miss Navarre is a dainty kiddie and Navarre is a Truex-like young comic, gentlemanly and effective. They were set in a peachy boudoir, where he came home with a feather-edge bun the morning after the wedding, having been kidnapped by his cronies. The laughs got big and explosive after the introductory talk and popped along like a six-cylinder.
“Under the Apple Tree,” with John Sully, a George Choos production, headlined successfully. John Sully cleverly handled the comedy, eliciting good laughs throughout, and otherwise distinguished himself in a dance with Muriel Thomas, which received the biggest applause. Willard Hall, a nifty juvenile, and Natalie Dugan, a good-looking ingénue, contributed to the success, with the chorus, costumes and setting up with the best girl acts.
Frank Matthews and Ada Ayres, fourth, were a laugh from start to finish with their “Hard Boiled” skit, by George Ryan. The author has collected all of the known “Stingy man” gags and interpolated them, but they’re all so well handled by Matthews and Ayers, the old ones land just as strong as the newer ones.
Harry Holman and Co. led the comedy section showing number three with his new “Hard Boiled Hampton.” It’s a champ comedy playlet, by Billy Miller and Stephen G. Champlin, who have provided many sure fire lines. There, too, is a sob on the plot which has the patient young widow of a boy lost in France. In “Hampton” Holman has his best vaudeville characterization and it’s an act which should do service for him for seasons to come. One little detail can be improved on. When the bottles of supposed booze are taken from the grip, they ought to contain something – water will do, because of the colored glass of the bottles. From the front rows, it could be clearly seen that they were empty.
“How’s Your Liver?” the first of a series of scripts to be prepared by James Madison for the Will King company, was presented here this week. The scene is a health resort, with King and Dunbar is their customary roles of Leschinsky and Dooley as health seekers. The comedy bits, while built around familiar ideas, contained some new sounding dialog that gathered big laughs, especially the bit having six chorus girls as nurses labeled with various disease and the comics exchanging one disease for another, such as malaria for gout, etc.
Before an interior back drop depicting a government pension office, Lawrence and Edwards distribute 18 minutes of comedy and sentiment woven around an interesting little story anent an old veteran’s application for back pension. Lawrence makes a splendid lieutenant in uniform; tall, good looking, erect and with a perfect enunciation, while Edwards portrays the applicant, an aged Irishman who fight in the union ranks during the Civil War. The dialog is strictly original and always on the main idea, running into a complete tale from beginning to end. The finish affords a bit of sentiment well broken into with comedy and keeps up with the proceeding section. It borders on the recognition thing, but is build a bit different than the average. Edwards’ is a unique character and should show better as the turn goes along. The bigtime can use this team. They look ready right now.
Julian Dayton has a clever little sketch. It is a good laugh-maker and, with a little girl who plays the wife, cannot help but go along. Dayton is a hard-to-please husband who has a wife slaving for him. Across the airshaft is a woman who has had a great deal of experience in matrimony. She tells the wife not to let her husband walk all over her. When George (the husband) pulls in on this specific evening, he is out of sorts. Wifey wants to go to the opera. Husband finds fault with everything. It is the maid’s day out, and things do not run smoothly. The wife finally prevails upon him to put on his evening clothes for dinner, but does not tell him about the opera. George returns in the glad rags and finds fault with the wife’s cooking. He becomes enraged (the house. It is raining. He returns. The wife thinks it is her twin. She throws dishes around and surprises her spouse, following the instructions of her friend across the court. George is buffaloed. Then she springs the opera thing, and off they go. The second woman has little to do. The wife is acceptably done, some real laughs coming from her interpretation of an angry woman. Mr. Dayton is a fair husband, but owes the success of the sketch to his side partner.
