This is a French couple (a man and a woman) who do an eccentric singing and dancing act. There is not a great deal of dancing to it, but there is quite a bit of grotesque acrobatic work which is very good indeed. I presume that in the hands of American performers the act would be only passable, but with the grace and magnetism which is the all-pervading feature of the French performers it certainly develops into a first class turn. There is an atmosphere of novelty about it which makes it stand out and is going to prove a very acceptable act everywhere. 12 minutes, full stage.
YYH-2 – This act duplicated its success of last week and introduced several new features. It is far and away the best marionette show that has ever been seen in this country, and interests not only the children but the grown people who manifested their appreciation at every performance by calling Holdin in front of the curtain. 17 minutes, full stage.
AR 3 – Maybelle will not make a tremendous hit any where [sic] I think. Her voice is just about the same as it ever was—rather foggy in a way—and she does the same old recitation that she used to do in the team of Eckert and Hackett. She has grown considerably stouter since she was on the circuit last, but still dresses very nicely and retains a pleasing personality. I have booked her largely on account of her husband, who is orchestra leader in the Philadelphia house, knowing that she would be neither very good nor very bad. 13 minutes in one.
GRR 3 – This is an act by two men and a woman, the men both being German comedians. The sketch was put on here at a rehearsal two or three weeks ago, and was recommended to me as being an exceptionally funny act. There is no question but what they did get a lot of laughs this afternoon, but it is certainly about as crude an affair as I ever saw in my life. The dialect of the men is pretty good, and there are two or three funny lines, but the thing has been loosely put together and is not at all suited for us yet. Owing to the tremendous scarcity of acts I have moved it further up the bill, cutting off five minutes, but it wont do for the rest of the circuit. 20 minutes, full stage.
NH 3 – A man and woman in the whirl wind dance act. The woman being a brother of De Forest who does the same sort of a turn. It is really quite a clever act and the finish in which he introduced Svengali’s doll is about as good as anything of the sort that I have ever seen—barring a tendency of the woman to move one in a while after assuming an awkward position. 12 minutes, full stage.
ER 3 – Two men in an acrobatic act introducing also a little black and tan dog who displays a great deal of intelligence. He works with the men and seems to have a thorough understanding of everything that is required of him. The men are quite clever acrobats, and the whole act is a very strong one for an opener. 8 minutes, full stage.
15 mins. – Spec. set – Opened with quick changes of costume; went to painting. Impersonations and painting do not amount to much. Finished with juggling, at which he is best. Was very good, but not the monstrous hit we expected. Should stick to one line of work.
2 shows, 20 min. in 1 – In a revival of their amusing burlesque “The Mudtown Minstrels”. The audience did not “catch on” at the outset, but when they did, fairly rolled out of their seats with laughter, and the act finished strong.
2 shows, 42 min. full stage – No drop in their popularity, although their selections were heavier than usual today and I think a trifle too long, so I have cut them down to 35 minutes. The violin solo by Miss Rose Wedihorn, who has appeared in that capacity on the circuit a couple of times, scored a hit, and she was obliged to respond with a second number, that was even more enthusiastically applauded than the first. This is the last week but one of their engagement.
3 shows, 10 min. full stage – Man and woman in novelty whirlwind, contortion and toe dancing. The woman is very stout, but is not ungraceful, and received a good deal of applause for her work. They opened up with a duet, which was so badly rendered that I cut it out altogether, and had them confine themselves to their dancing, which makes a good act.
