23 Mins. One (3), Full Stage (20); (Special).
A new combination of singing and dancing and girl act It is an Irwin Rosen production and carries two men and seven girls. The men indulge in a lyrical debate over the merits of the old and the new songs. One maintains that the songs of yester year were the most effective, while the other takes the stand for those of today. The result is the interior of the song shop to decide the debate… The new songs won hands down on applause from the audience.
“Off with the Old Love”
Weird is a mild term for this affair. The Lincoln Square audience is not made up of discriminating theatregoers, but they laughed at the “drama” and declined to smile at the comedy. The setting is the living room of a gay bachelor. A woman comes to visit him. It appears that they have been concerned in a liaison, but the bachelor agrees that they will be married. She goes into another room when bachelor’s inebriated friend intrudes. In conversation with the souse it is revealed that bachelor is about to leave town to marry a country maid in his home town. Woman rushes out to upbraid him, while drunken friend interposes irrelevant remarks meant to be funny. If the sketch was bad, the acting was worse, and it was a 100 per cent flivver all around.
“Blackmail”
“Blackmail” played by Phyllis Gilmore and a cast of two, man and woman furnishes decidedly pleasant entertainment. It’s a mixture of ‘melodrama and comedy, well constructed, away from the conventional in theme… Miss Gilmore, a personable blonde, with an enunciation so unusually clear that the slight tendency to staginess in her reading of lines is readily forgiven, steps out in “one” preceding the playlet proper and delivers a rhymed prolog.
15 Mins.
Mr. Regan, of very good appearance, is an Irish tenor. He landed strongly with the opening number, “When Kelly Sang Killarney,” and was Just as good with a number telling of an Irish lad who was buried ‘neath the poppies in France… There were two encores, with “Mother Machree” the finale… Mr. Regan has a selection of numbers somewhat different from the run of others, which helped make his songs more welcome. He is a singer of power and should win his way to the better bills with ease.
12 Mins.
Kaisha is a classical dancer, assisted by two girl musicians and a leader who does a saxophone and an ocarina solo from the pit be- tween numbers. The girls are also used to dress the stage, introducing atmosphere for the dancer by similar costuming and posing. The dances show nothing new, opening with Egyptian dancing by the dancer in full stage, followed by the leader’s sax solo, later joined in by the two girls after a change, stepping out in “one.” The ocarina solo follows, the girls Joining in with double banjo, harmonizing in medley of published numbers. The act goes to full stage following, with a large Jar-shaped object in center. The dancer is concealed behind this and projects her arms through openings in the jar for a lifelike illusion of two snakes… The turn will pass nicely in the intermediate houses, but lacks the necessary class or punch for the bigger bills.
14 Mins.
The girl is pretty in a flapper way and handles talk fairly well. Man Is only half way. If he would be content to do grotesque comedy altogether he might get somewhere. But the sudden transformation from the burlesque dame to the polite dinner-coated entertainer was out of order. In all probability the rough stuff would get the most returns. We have about all the polite entertainers the traffic will bear right now, and small time audiences seem to be hungry for knockout comedy that will make ’em laugh.
16 Mins.
Albemarle, Brooklyn
Miss Earl enters and following a brief Introductory, in which she mentions her former act and tells of what she will do in her present turn, she sings the Jewel song from “Faust.” This is sung in French, splendidly phrased and delivered, and marked with a sense of musical expression that makes the number delightful to listen to. A short bit of rhyme precedes her next number, “I Hear You Calling Me,” which is pianologed in part, orchestral accompaniment being used for the latter portion of the song. This number is also delivered with a keen perception of values… Miss Earl was very well received at the Albemarle, where audiences, through their scarcity of numbers are more or less cold. “Speeches” are few and far between over here, but Miss Earle received sufficient applause at the conclusion of her specialty to justify one in which she said the act was but a week old.
11 Mins.
The opening is a sort of lullaby medley made up of snatches of such standard numbers as “Mighty Lak a Rose.” The base has a solo and the four come together again for the continuation of quickly changing numbers. They don’t sing too much of any one selection but shift around frequently. The harmony is sweet without any of those extreme effects characterized as “barber shop.” An Irish number with bagpipe imitation effects made a closer that bull’s-eyed the east side clientele and brought them back for an encore. Headlined the show in the billing and on the stage. Good class musical turn for the best shows.
The couple maintain animated toy roles throughout. The special drop in “one” discloses two panels, representing a toy shop window, wherefrom a soldier and a girl doll emerge for a song and dance number. Solo and double dances ensue mixed with a “Toys” recitation to the effect that life Is a game of toys, etc. There Is too much sameness in the act and the dances are not re- deemed even by precise execution, some of them appearing crude. A smoother running routine will probably come in time. In the deuce spot they fared rather well at the B8th Street and should hold down that spot acceptably elsewhere.
The comedy is not sufficient to hold the attention of an American audience. The acrobatic work is but mediocre, little in the way of novelty being displayed, the woman doing tumbling early in the turn that shows some ability. Her efforts on the stage are limited, due to the necessity of keeping her be-‘ hind the drop for the water business.
