23 Mins.; Full Stage (Special Set). In England the revue craze grew out of the fact that a few of these shows hit London for long runs and big business, which prompted a couple of wise ones to put cheaper shows out for the smaller houses through the country. The experiment, as is known, proved successful. This same idea probably was responsible for this production to be built for the small time. But the producer should have made an effort to drill the chorus more effectively. Their work is ragged. One girl of the six almost killed the singing numbers by her very harsh efforts. The chief comedian is capable of gaining laughs by talking in a funny way, which, while not new, will always pass by on the small time. Two comedians, Irish and stuttering, assist, but the dialog employed recalls burlesque of ten years ago. Even the rubber-stretched snap-back is present. At the Opera House through the audience laughed at some of the comedy, the numbers did nothing. With a good deal of brushing up of the chorus work the act should be able to travel over the small time.
10 Mins.; One. The Society for Preservation of Cruelty to Animals can not get after Ford for working his dog harder than he does himself. He is a worker and he has a clever dog that shows good training. The man sings and dances, of which some of the latter could be dropped. The act opens with a “souse” number, the dog following his master. Ford then sings and dances. Some of the harder steps he attempts miss. The dog goes through the usual routine of canine cleverness. The big trick is the throwing it in the air and having the dog land on two feet in the man’s hand. That would be a good finish, but an encore is too quickly given. One of the usual fox terrier breed of dogs is used. The turn should please. It was a success in the second spot at the Hudson, Tuesday matinee, the audience going exceedingly heavy on the applause thing.
Johnny Dooley and Yvette Rugel form a likely combination with the former’s comedy eccentricities standing out above everything else. Dooley is one of those jumping-jacks who moves in and around the footlights as though he were on springs. He also works in some acrobatics to good advantage, and employs “nut stuff,” announcing it as an imitation of Bert Fitzgibbon. Miss Rugel loomed up best on the closing number, her voice showing high range, but with the singer having a tendency to swallow her articulation. She is an attractive miss in her Scottish kilts, the Highland “bit” closing the turn. Dooley is a clever chap and will develop as he goes along. at the Royal this pair were an emphatic hit.
15 Mins.; Full Stage (Special Set). A man and woman in a singing sketch designed for the Irish vote. The stage resembles a farm yard scene in Ireland, with a live black crow on a tree stump and a number of doves fluttering about a pretty picture. The man and woman dress in Irish costume of the period of the early 19th century. Both have fair voices. The woman does very well with counter harmony to several of the ballads by the man. It is a neat little small time offering.
A good quartet, dressed as soldiers, sing old soldiers’ favorites in the pauses of war stories told by a man dressed as a Civil war veteran. While the stories are told battle scenes are depicted by a series of back cloths. Interesting and patriotic enough to be useful. It appears a later edition of old soldier fiddlers.
20 Mins.; Full Stage. The main idea this trio of musicians (two women and a man) want to impress is that it is their first appearance on this side in 17 years. The man and his partner are probably the two over here at that time, for the little girl who handles the large hard does not look as if she had yet seen 17 years. The man’s playing on the small harp is about the whole act. He shows real ability and easily outdoes the two other members. The older woman plays a little silver horn affair and she keeps up until the audience is decidedly tired of it. The little girl plays the large harp fairly well for a child. The selections are mostly Irish numbers and the others sound as if they might have been held over from the last visit. The closing number makes them finish strong. A fair musical turn of its kind that will find the audiences in some houses most appreciative.
19 Mins.; Full Stage (Special Set). This team has a sketch full of bright lines and something of a story that may pass on the small time. It seems too bad the playing isn’t better. The man is playing a familiar type of rube one-night stand manager, while the girl is the advance agent for a turkey girl show. The man’s rube dialect is bad and his sing song manner of delivery instead of being funny is monotonous. The girl also has poor deliver of lines. If someone took the team in hand and they followed advice there should be no reason for them not getting a route on the small time, at a regular salary
20 Mins.; One. Wopman and Horton from the usual male team consisting of straight and comedian. The comedian gets the majority of his laughs on appearance. His partner does not possess anything unusual in the way of a voice. The comedian does a Scotch number that gets a big laugh on his costume (not different from the others) but he made them roll in their seats at the 58th Street. In the pop house his team should find the going easy.
“La Petite Revuette of Successes, Past and Present.: Toby Claude, lately returned from England, deserves much credit for having quite an original vehicle. During Toby’s stay in England, every idea gone before had been utilized by every short revue produced there. Toby, however, has gone them one better in this way and put something new over. William Smythe, who plays in the act, produced it/ The turn opens in real Parisian Revue style, with the Compere and Commere seated at a restaurant table, the Compere telling his companion about a certain actress he has seen in different productions in various parts of the world. As he describes the star in “The Belle of New York,” he and his companion are put in darkness and Toby and Smythe come out from a back-drop and sing the “When We Are Married” number from that show. In the same way songs are introduced from “The Chinese Honeymoon,” Folies Bergere, Paris, and from the Palace, London. After this the Compere and the Commere leave the stage and enter one of the boxes in the front of the house. Miss Claude and Smythe finish the act with “Tipperary.” Little Toby Claude has picked a very useful vehicle besides a clever helper in William Smythe. The rest of the company help.
3 Mins.; One. “All wrong.” Two men. One a vaudeville actor acting as relief for a lighthouse tender (just so they can get in about “light house keeping”). This must have gone big in one of the smaller burgs for the team has a back drop with a lighthouse painted on it. For this, they should be billed as a light comedy act. Very light. After the lighthouse keeper sings a song the comedian (German) arrives and three or four gags are exchanged (including lighthouse keeping) and then the straight sings, received lightly by the audience, followed by the comic putting over a parody on “The Curse of an Aching Heart,” which saw the light of day so long ago it’s time to set a tombstone for it. A double number got one bow at the finish.
