The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-10-14
The Public Be SeTUed
orpheum

Two audiences hungry for amuse-
ment, hungry for something to APP
plaud with sincerity, starved Monday
afternoon and night through five acts
at the Orpheum and when Al and
Fanny Stedman finally appeared they
awakened the house and stopped the
show. Up to the point of the appear
ance OF this pair of real entertainers
the program was about as entertain
lhgiy soporitic as a poppy fieldAa
Neritable cure for insomnia. Fanny
Steadman radiates good humor, scin-
tillates loneliness, displays daring cos
tunes, sings exceptionally well, and
puts over asides now and then, that
keep tine audience on the qui vive lest
~perchance something will be missed.
She cautions Ike Kahn, the orchestra
leader, to keep his eyes on his music
when she wears one of ner most dar-
ing costumes. Ike needs a wonderful
amount of selfcontrol to obey the in
junction. al Stedman ably seconds his
100 -pound GOD provider and coadiutor
in the production Of laughs, at the
piano, with voice and physique, with
mtmlcTy n verve, which with Fanny's
aid, makes the offering-we forget
what they call it-stand out as the
bright particular spot on the program.
Leroy, Talm and Bosco close the
evenings entertainment with a magic
act de luxe. This trio, known the
world over for the production Of magic
acts and dealers in paraphernalia Incl
dent ~thereunto, produce some really
remarkable experiments in magic whiGl
will not fail to mystify the most skep-
tic and blase patron for the balance of
the week. Leroy injects SOM whole
some comedy and burlesque, into the
act which is beautifully and t%astefully
staged.
For the rest of the bill audiences
Monday, of course sometimes hyper
critical, did not seem TO catch on to
with great enthusiasm. A refreshing
bit of %femininity is Jacqueline Durie,
the little French girl in Somewhere
with Pershing, billed as headline act.
She is as full of sparkle as the brand
those old Mumm boys made at Rheims,
but the vehicle for her charm is medi-
OGRE, the situations strained and i'm
probable and the other members of
the company better soldiers THAI
actors with the possible exception of
though on but a few minutes puts a
little life into the sketch. Perhaps
Orpheum patrons for the nonce, are
Sulfeited with war sketches.
Nora Norine has a well trained voice,
but it lacks dramatic power for the
numbers she chooses. One could al
most feel the restraint of the orch0s-
NioH ulAl'u " ! jun VI n
mony to second a voice that was not
there. The act is tastefuly staged.
however. and Miss Nortre has ad iir-
able good judgment in the selection of
costumes.
James (FaD Thompson and Al Pet lie
in The Camofleurs," do a slap sick
blackface act and rely for their la CHS
mainly by smearing their faces, the
paunch of the fat man and the seat
of the trousers of the slim one witt a
white substance resembling paint. The
laughs Monday came mostly from tne
top of the house.
Jelly Beans, boys with red neck'ies
and silly matinee girls enjoyed the
melodious nonsense of Sherman Van
and Hyman. Why two good voices, one
mediocre ard one a good pia"ist. cho9s
such degenerate material is Z puzzle
to multitIdes of masculine men.
The bill opened with The Musical
Hunters" a mediocre act. Topics OF
the Day, instead of the former beauti-
full Orpheum Travel Weekly and kino-
grams complete the bill.
Perhaps the show will move better
as the week progresses, but it did drag
Monday. The show was not well put
together. Stage attaches are nice boys
but are seen too often. They vary Their
performance, however, and are dimiiy
| dicerned many times during the show
in all sorts of costumes from SMUT
sleeves to trench uniforms. Al and
Fanny Steadman and the closing act
are worth the price of admission, how
ever, SO why kick.
NED COURTNEY.