The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-02-25
VAUDEVILLE GIVES
DANCE FIRST PLACE
Ruth st. Denis Essays Brief
Bit Of the Arabic in Her
Palace Performance.
PETROvA AT RIVERSIDE
Rock and White at the Colo
nial-Social Maids at the
Columbus

Ruth st. Denis added a new feature
to her dancing programme at the Palace
Theatre yesterday clever little bit of
dialogue In Arabic. with n decided Al
/ gerian accent But as the other scenes
| OF her medieval and symbolic dances 10
back to ancient Byzantiun. still more
ancient Greece and Siam of the time OF
! Priam, It can be seen that her roper
toire could make excessive Demands on
her tongue and mouth. and that II Is bet
ter for her TO put her foot In Il.
Accordingly Miss ST. Denis confines
| her linguistic acrobatics 20 exchanging
with the rest OF her company a few
snappy bits. apparently about the latest
| hair pulling match In the Ia rem as she
floats out Of her home In Biskra attired
In blue vest and a pagoda hat and
| purple u-hloom-whatever the Arabs
| call 'em. and the proper kind OF wells
| for doing the whirling and skyiarking
with which the ouled NAH dancing girls
make the desert to blossom as the rose
In tue rest Of her dancing numbers
| Miss st. Denis confines herself to ex-
! pressing herself with her feet. And
when II comes to limbs Miss ST. Denis
showed once again yesterday that she Is
| some orator. In the first scene she D
| Theodore, Empress of Byzantium, dane
| ing for her guests in order to keep their
| minds of the near Eastern situation. II
| the original woman was anything like
| that, Constantine was undoubtedly called
| the Great because of his skin In picking
| the right wife.
Monkey God to the Rescue.
Next the winsome g1rls assisting her
| exhibit the Greek pas de trois as II
seems 10 have been done by the work
ing girls OF Athens during the noon
luncheon hour. After that Miss ST
Denis and every body perform the Royal
Ballet of Siam. with gorgeous. glitterlng
costumes. and Miss 81. Denis Is alb
Quoted and the Monkey GOD has TO be
called in to save her. though the show
doesn't really need its help.
The symbolic dances OF the St. Denis
company are initiated by another dane
ing act on the bill. that OF George
| White and his feminine four-in-hand
| They put little up to date Jazz into
| It, and one wonders If the ancient Greeks
| would not have benefited II they had
| known something OF this modern inno-
walton.
Though many players bewail the
ebbing tide after July /. II IL possible
that prohibition may prove a blessing lin
disguise for vaudeville by providing new
material for aging acts. Frank Fay
sang a new version OF The Face on
the Barroom Floor" accompanied by a
pianist billed under the name of Dryer
This touching ballad told of grape
Juice inebrate who drew on the floor
of the low drug store dive. where he
was addicted to nut slrndes. the fare
that had driven him to his fate-Will-
iau Jennings Bryan. The dry wave also
buoyed up a song by Jack Gardner. who
appeared with his wife Louise Dresser.
in an amusing sketch. The Union by
Jack Lait. telling the attempts OF the
GARDENERS for years TO play an engage
ment as husband and wife on the stage
| ~ well as on.
| How O'Brien Saw the King.
Lieut. Pat OrBrien. author Of "Outwit.
ting the Hun" made his debut m the
varieties fully ACQUIRED in his English
aviator's uniform. but armed only with
boyish smile. His tales Of his escape
from a German prison aroused thrills
and laughter. particularly wien he said
THE present King of England in my
estimation is one of the most democratic
men in the world. and I think II I had
talked to him ten minutes more than
did / should have slapped him on the
back and said. George. how's Mary"
At the Riverside Nine. Petrova came
out of the movies to find that audiences
could still appreciate her. even II she
had been masked behind the screen sc
long IT had almost been forgotten sht
could talk. much less sing.
Preparatory to going abroad to helr
along the peace celebration in Londor
! William Rock and Frances White had q
very touching reunion with the hons
folks at the Colonial. where they first
|. saw the light-the spotlight-two years
ago.
, At the Columbia the week was started
by George Stone and Eta Pillard at the
head OF the Social Maids, who put across
a two act satire. THE Boys from Home. :
in way that is likely to call the boys
from home.