Up to 9:40 the only real hit had been that scored by Walters and Walters, man and woman ventriloquists. They scored in a regular way, the house forcing them back after the lights had gone down and up again, with Mr. Walters having a sensible little speech to hand out.
The Walters have a pleasing novelty for an act of its class. It’s uncommon for a double turn in ventriloquism, and especially with one a woman, while there is a boy dummy that rides a bike and the woman leads a “walking” dummy (girl) by the hand. This makes the novelty. Neither of the couple snatches the head off of the respective dummies to allow the audience to see they had not deceived. That’s another ventriloquial novelty. The talk is brief, the singing is done in the childish was as befits kid dummies, and the man, of pleasing appearance, gets hearty laughs when smacking his dummy for breaking in on the other’s song.
Miss Walters is personable and of equal help to the turn. It’s a certain No. 2 for the biggest, and can take care of a better spot in the other houses.
[New act] Songs and acrobatics, 9 mins; one (3), and Three (6). Man enters knitting, carrying knitting bag. Petite miss emerges from it for a lisping kid number, Fair. Man goes to “three” for a session on the trampoline. Another kid number by the girl follows meaningless and mildly received. Its elimination is advisable. He trampolines some more and she enters in a third costume change, this time in rompers, for a few springs. Finish fair.
Cutting that extra number may mean speed which while not a grave fault with the routine as it stands is certainto result in a better kneaded off ring. Good pep house openers.
Bessie Browning, assisted by a male pianist, had no trouble in establishing herself in the laugh column, but her pianist was not so fortunate. Her imitations combined with delivery marked her in the hit column.
“Sultan,” a trained Shetland, accompanied by a nice looking, shapely blonde put things over in the opening points, The pony’s work mainly consists of mathematical problems, being offered by the trainer and the audience, while her pleasing personality and showmanship plays 50 per cent towards returns.
Blanson and Edwards closed with a line of familiar but sure fire silent clowning that kept the laughs booming like the surf down at Coney from the moment they appeared until they had run through their travesty acrobatic routine with the concealed wire.
Gallagher and Claire, following, got plenty of laughs with the former Ames and Winthrop skit, “Caught in a Jam.” They got everything possible out of the lines and business and contributed to the dancing carnival with a neat eccentric double, closing with a confortable balance on the right side of the applause ledger.
Eddie Phillips, second, pleased with pop songs, filling in between the numbers with stories, the latter but fairly handled. Mr. Phillips would do well to drop the spotlight for his opening, a fast semi-comedy song. He did a brief bit of stepping at the conclusion that was liked.
Neither act gave the show much headway, and Leon Stanton and Co. who followed, failed to tilt the skids. Stanton does an inconsistent G.A.R. veteran much addicted to wise cracks in modern slang. In an effort toward comedy he ruins his characterization and doesn’t aid comedy end much either. An excellent character woman depicting a shrewish old housekeeper saved the turn from an ignominious flop.
Sam Lewis and Irving O’Hay, in an act that they are discarding after this week for a new one by Joseph Browning, held the next to closing spot and walked off with the laughing honors with little competition from the preceding acts. Lewis is of Lewis and Dody and more recently of burlesque, while O’Hay last worked opposite Frank Conroy. With a vehicle they should be one of the best of the two-man comedy standards.
[New Act] Hand balancing and acrobatics, 10 mins; full stage. Man and woman, The man is on first with some baton juggling, very dexterously done. The girl is petite and besides acting as mounter is the hand-to-hand stuff on a first rate tumbler on her own account. She does forwards and backwards swiftly and handles all of the familiar ground tumbling tricks in an experienced way. For a finish the girl carries the man off, holding him aloft in one hand. This is a corking feat of strength for the size of the girl. Closing the show at the American the act did well. Good silent turn for any type of house.
