Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-04-16
LEW FIELDS MAKES
FUN At SHUBERT'S

For five hours yesterday lanky,
jolly Lew Fields poked his fingers
into the eyes of stubby, but equally
jolly Joe Weber and got just as many
laughs as he did in the old days,
when the Weber-Field combination
was new one Five hours is cor
rect, for the Weber-Field company
played a one-day stand of two per-
formances at the Shubert Theatre
yesterday, and while there We're lots
of vacant seats at the afternoon per-
Torrance the house was packed to
the doors last night by an enthusiasts
tic crowd of fun-lovers.
And they had their moneys worth,
for Hickey Pokey," the vehicle used
by Weber and Fields on their pres
ent tour, is about the best they ever
had. 1t should be, for it Is the old
Hickey Pokey" that they used a num-
Der of years ago, revised and brought
up to date, with the addition of some
of the best that was in "All Aboard"
"Hanky Panky" and other Weber
fieldian successes added for good
measure.
iiG plOohSlAOli - AphiiS u Jul
lesuue show on such a large scale
that 1t borders on extravaganza; also
while it is burlesque 1t is of the
clean type and there Is not sug-
gestive joke or action in the entire
two hours and half that the show
runs Pretty girls galore are in the
company, and for once the Weber
Fields company has a bunch of per-
formers who can sing as well as look
pretty on the stage.
For, in the old days, you know, a
Weber Fields chorus did not need to
possess singing voices as long as
they were strong on shape and good
looks. The present chorus, number
ing more than forty, are good look
ing, shapely and have voices they
catchy music that Ray Goetz has
furnished for the new "Hanky
Panky."
OF course Weber and Fields are
nine-tenths of the show and they are
Just as funny as ever. In actions
they are just as frisky as they were
more than a score of years ago, when
they We're first becoming known as
the best of all German comedians.
There IS very little plot to Hickey
Pokey." Just enough, in fact. to en-.
dDit lne lHITOuuCliOn Oh 1uIHbtT III
songs and dances and some good
comedy, as well as to allow the
numerous and pretty chorus girls to
display their personal charms and u
lot of handsome costumes to adVan-
tage. Most of the costumes are very
much abbreviated at both the top
and bottom. but what there is Of
them is of flashing colors and fine
material. The show Is one of the
h.ag 1t..s.
Newark this winter
Miss Amanda Gray and Miss Kath-
crime Parker play the leading female
roles, while Harrison Green, Jess
TraVers and Ernest Storm are able
assistants to Weber and Fields in the
male end of the performance. Miss
Gray has a good singing voice, and,
while Miss Parker is not very strong
in that end of her work she was,
nevertheless, good in her rendition of
Mile Stones with Mr.. Green.
Mile Stones is a tuneful little thing,
in which principals and chorus dis
play costumes ranging from those of
hoop skirt days to the present-day
tango costume during the action of
the song.
The musical hit of the show is
Dear Old Heidelberg" sung by j. e.
Billsburg. assisted by the Victoria
quartet and the fun chorus. The au
dience demanded numerous encores of
this last night and every one. almost,
was whistling the air as they left the
theatre.
AS usual, in a Weber-Fields chorus,
every member can dance, and some
pretty ensemble dancing marked both
acts of the show. In addition, a
whirlwind tango dance by Mr.. and
Mrs. Kennedy was greatly appreciat-
ed, as were two dances by Larry
Cebellos and Miss Mona Desmond,
their second effort, THE Dance of the
Futurists,' being a splendid bit of
acrobatic dancing. The audience de-
manded so many repetitions of this
number that the artists were forced
to quit from sheer exhaustion,
1t is too bad that the engagement
of Weber and Fields was for but a
single day, as there has been a woe
full dearth of high-class attractions
wherein good music, singing, dancing
and clean comedy prevails in Newark
theatres this winter. Musical pro-
auctions have been at a premium in
local theatres this season. So much
so that a production like the Weber
Fields one of last night was a thing
of Joy to those who were lucky
enough to be able to witness it
DUKE WELLINGTON.