Grace Hayes and Co. held down the “ace” position fairly well, all things considered, with better grade published numbers. An unbilled piano accompanist constitutes the “Co.” The Three Blighty Girls captioning their offering “rare bits of Scotch vaudeville,” concluded with an interesting song and dance routine, the clogging going the strongest. With intermission to follow at around 10 the trio kept them seated unto the last.
Then came Nat Navarro and Co. – or rather Buck and Bubbles, the sub-billed amber pair of precocious youngsters. What Buck couldn’t accomplish with improvised piano picking and gum masticating. Bubbles finished with his stepping, and between the pair they panicked the house. For the rest Nat Nazarro performed several acrobatic feats with a midget sort of topmounter.
J.C. Nugent entered with his slightly inebriated gait and monologed a flock of wise talk, which the customers were quick to appreciate despite its depth, some of the neighbors opining “Clever!” and kindred complimentary asides. Mr. Nugent’s success lies in the fact he recites familiar homilies in a naivety quaint and humorous style.
Maud Lambert and Ernest R. Ball held forth in the deuce spot in rather flippant style, after the orchestra vamped and re-vamped a couple of times. Per usual, Ernie Ball’s medley of past pop hits k.o.’d them, although the spot was very early for the reputation of the act.
Robert Emmet Keane is toplining and looking after his laurels in great shape. His routine is the same flock of sure fire stories with the nut song preceding and the war poems concluding as of yore.
However, it remained to the Wilton Sisters to chalk up the hit of the evening. The young women make cute “kid” appearances, thus further enhancing the value of their undoubted versatile talents. They pulled the speech thing and re-encored with “Left All Alone Again Blues” vocally. The house was at their mercy from the start and they could be up there yet, according to their reception.
The Pickfords opened the six-act vaudeville bill with their familiar combination equilibristic-tumbling-juggling routine and departed to hearty applause. The man is a thorough showman and a past master in playing up his feats and building up the act to a k.o. climax with each succeeding piece of business. The closing wine bottle stunt in “one” go to ‘em strong.
Closing were Santrey’s Jazz Band and they walloped over a tremendous hit. The comedy recitation with musical accompaniment made a fine contrast for the jazzing of the instrumentalists and Santrey’s vocal numbers.
The Morton family were third, giving the show real timber right where it was needed. Mr. Morton worked like a Trojan, pulling every known bit of hoke in the catalog, but it all scored for bullseyes. Whenever the proceedings threatened to lag Morton senior pulled a fall or a bit of eccentric stepping that made ‘em howl. The children contributed a full share of the fun, the boy especially, working up the comedy bits for full value.
“Moonbeams”
A girl of anywhere from 12 to 18 opens the act in “one” before a special drop upon which there is a large moon. The girl dances and then recites a prologue. The moon opens up and a second girl comes forth and does a song with scenic effects in the opening in the drop. This routine is repeated for four other numbers. The act is very quiet, at no time does it get moving, each number is so much like the others in tempo that it might all be the same. An effort has been made to put over novelty numbers in a little different manner. The effort is praise-worthy. One or two of the ideas are rather neat, but the act as a whole has neither the go nor the punch to put it over.
