Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1948-01-22
After Dark
With Merriel Abbott's Shows
Mayfower Lounge Is Happy

HARRY MACARTHUR.
The European trip was a double
research journey taken with her
husband, a successful Chicago doc
tor. While he moved from capital
to capital doing medical research,
Miss Abbott went along doing thea
trical research. Having in her thea
ter career produced stage shows for
Chicago movie theaters, ballots for
George Whites Scandals and
other Broadway shows and musical
films starring Jack Benny, Miss Alb
bolt knows her way around show
business. One of the things she
knew when she went to Europe was
that there ought to be a lot of en-
tertainers Eat liberty" there and
eager for a chance to come to the
United States.
There were, all right. Novelty
acts of the type domestic show busi-
ness doesn't breed abound there.
And acrobats. There are acrobats
all over the place, according to Miss
Abbott, that being q trade that, in
European countries, passes from ia
ther to son. One of Miss Abbott's
summer discoveries, she reports, is
a magician with two absolutely new
tricks that have never been done in
this country" That, 1t seems, is
enough to insure his success. The
producer, sets the talent hunt down
as a success, though she did not
bring back all the people she liked.
The faint of having lived in a coun-
try under Communist rule keeps a
lot of performers out Of the United
States, Miss Abbott says.
Miss Abbott occasionally, if not
often, has found herself at odds
with those for whom she produces.
There was the recent case of the
Empire Room at Chicago's Palmer
House. For years the Merriel Abbott
Girls have been featured there, un-
til their boss finally thought a
change ought to be made. Turned
out she was the only one who
thought so. The management set up
such a clatter she had to override
herself and put the girls back in
the Empire Room.
So far no one at the Mayfiower
has seen At to complain about a
single move made by Miss Abbott
as entertainment impresario Of the
Hilton chain. She has sent the
Lounge Marge and Cover Cham
pion, Tommy Dix, Forian Zabach
and some others, who have cheered
all the old customers and added
some new ones. Currently she has
installed Artini and Consuelo, who
are, in a word, fine. Their dancing
is more dancing than trickery and
has quite a light-heated fair about
it. The Lounge also has a new
orchestra leader In Pierson Thai, a
concert pianist Of considerable skill
and artistic range. The Lounge is
a lucky one to have Miss Abbott
arranging its entertainment.
Another of the weeks new shows
Is the one which has brought
Kenny Youngman, Sara Ann Nc
cabe. Sis and Sonny Arthur and
the Lindsey Dancers to the Club
Cairo. What with Tuesday nights
snow, they all had q bit of trouble
getting their first audience warmad
up and Miss McCabe even was So'
far of stride as to fiat q note Of.
two. After she and her listeners
developed rapport, however, there
was not more of that and she dem
onstrated that she. is a singer. of
talent. Mr.. Youngman seemed a
little bored by it all at the opening
show, but that might be attributed
to his material. If you don't get
around much any more you prob
ably will find him a funny fellow,
but if you do you will have heard
all this before. Sis and Sonny Ar
thur are slapstick dancers and the
Lindsey Girls are young and shapely.
The secret behind the door to what
used to be the Shoreham's SWIM
ming pool upper leveD will be re-
vealed next Wednesday night at 9
o'clock. That's the date set for the
opening of the new Palladian Room,
which, according to advance reports,
will be quite a place. It's named
after the man whose architectural
style is responsible for its decor,
Andrea Palladio. PaIIadio estab-
lished the italian school of archi-
lecture which inspired Thomas JET
ferson In the design of Monticello
and those other places down In the
Monticello country.
Music for both cocktail dancing
and supper dancing In the Palladian
Room will be by Sande Williams
and orchestra, who have appeared
at a number of top-flight New York
and Chicago hotels since their ses-
sion at the Carlton here. There's tc
be entertainment, too, the opening
show featuring some one who's
availability was not quite def1nit
yesterday afternoon.
The new tea-dinner-s supper rem
devious will not keep reminding 20,
of imitation, word from the Shore
ham indicates. Notes sent along on
the tariffs there seem reasonable
enough and there will be no cover
charge at the Palladian Room ex-