Will Marion Cook

Today is the birthday of Will Marion Cook (1869-1944).  He was emphatically not a vaudevillian, although there’s nothing about a serious musical training (he studied with Dvorak among others) that would have prevented that.  He rates a shout-out here for composing several seminal African American musical theatre shows, many starring important artists like Walker and Williams. Among them: Clorindy, or the Origin of the Cakewalk (1898) and In Dahomey (1902), the first all African-American show on Broadway.

What’s the “cakewalk”, you say? Why, this is the cakewalk:

Your ancestors would be astounded to learn you didn’t know! At any rate, as it happens, February is Black History Month. Please check in here starting next Wednesday and throughout the month for daily posts on African Americans in vaudeville!

To find out more about these variety artists and the history of vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.

A Captive Audience

Desperate for a post today (prepare for an onslaught in February and March) I herewith present a little performance circa 1995-96 — me trying out some songs from my play House of Trash on my infant son, clad only in a Big Apple Circus tee shirt and my boxer shorts. The little midge (who now drives and is thinking about colleges),seemed to approve, so the tunes made the cut,  House of Trash is available to purchase at Indie Theatre Now, by the way, here.

Princess Raja Dances with a Chair in her Teeth

This 1904 Biograph film records the “Oriental” dance of one Princess Raja, whose wow finish has her swinging furniture around in her jaws. Good thing no one’s sitting on it!

To find out about  the history of vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.

Murder at the Old Howard

Frank Cullen and Donald McNeilly are the co-authors of the indispensable Vaudeville Old and New  and the previous Porridge Sisters mystery Murder at the Tremont Theatre. Here’s the scoop on their latest:

Vaudephone #12: Bob Greenberg

Photo by Judith Jarosz

And now, here’s a hilarious routine by funny man Bob Greenberg, the next installment in our Vaudephone series. Bob cuts up big time with his killer impressions of classic comics — he’s so old school, it’s thrilling. Taping this one was a treat, and if you listen carefully I think you’ll hear the Vaudephone team wheezing with suppressed laughter in the background.

ALSO: please note the swell theme music, by Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks. Don’t miss Vince and his swingin’ band for dinner and dancing every Monday and Tuesday at the Edison Hotel! (Details are here).

Vaudephone is a co-production of Travalanche/ the American Vaudeville Theatre, and Vaudevisuals.com.

To find out about  the history of vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.

Ernie Kovacs

Today is the birthday of possibly the coolest human being ever, Ernie Kovacs (1919-1962). I’ve already spilled a lot of ink over him, notably in this review of the recent DVD boxed set here and in this little squib here. By way of celebration, let me just add this:

Stars of Vaudeville #429: Mae Barnes

Mae Barnes (born on this day in 1907, according to some sources) was a popular singer and dancer who got her start at age 12 in the chorus of Harlem’s Plantation Club. After five years of working the TOBA circuit (black vaudeville), she was cast in the show Running Wild (1924), which introduced the world to the Charleston. Her performance in a touring production of Shuffle Along prompted Bill Robinson to call her “the greatest living female tap dancer”. She was also often billed as the “Bronze Ann Pennington“. Sadly, injuries from a car accident forced her to cut the dancing portion of her career short in 1938. Thereafter, she was a familiar sight in New York night clubs, often singing funny and risque songs.  She passed away in 1997.

Now here she is, singing the racially-charged “I Ain’t Gonna Be No Topsy”

To find out more about  the history of vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.

Stars of Vaudeville #: 428 Eva Taylor

 

“Eva Taylor” was just one of many professional names used by this versatile performer, who could sing, dance, and cut up in musical comedy. At various times she was also known as Catherine Henderson, Irene Williams, and her given name Irene Gibbons. Born this day in 1891, she started out with Josephine Gassman and her Pickaninnies at age 8 and continued an association with the act until 1915, travelling the Orpheum circuit, Europe and the Far East. As a solo performer she performed in vaudeville and major shows like Vera Violetta (1911) and Shuffle Along (1922). In the 20s and 30s she sang on records, on radio, in black vaudeville, and in night clubs, and this was the height of her fame. She passed away in 1977.

Now, here she is, singing that popular old church hymn (kiddin’!) “Do It Again, Long Time Papa”from 1923.

To find out more about  the history of vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.

Two by Keaton

Tonight at 8:30 at the Landmark Loew’s Jersey Theatre, a double bill of two of Buster Keaton’s most surreal films: Sherlock, Jr. ( a fanciful dream that has projectionist Buster living out his fantasies by jumping into the movie screen — a big influence on Woody Allen’s The Purple Rose of Cairo), and the short subject The Playhouse, in which Buster does a Méliès schtick, by replicating himself numerous times, playing every character in a vaudeville house. The Countess and I are planning to go in connection with my new book. Seen ‘em both many a time, but there’s nothing like seeing them in the proper setting! More details here.

To find out more about Keaton and the history of vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold. Also don’t miss my new book Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube, due out September 2012!

Cirque Off!

Tonight is the last performance of the current edition of Cirque Off, Triskelion Arts regular festival of circus (mostly clown) acts. They promise “amazing” acts in their flyer, and when I caught Friday’s show I was indeed amazed several times over the course of the night:

* Audrey Crabtree and Billy Dee Bedlam did a bit called “No Reservations” directed by John Towsen. It started off as a funny, dialogue driven sketch about a couple on a first date…then launched into unexpected vistas of physical comedy, bawdy, deft and surprising.

* Neon Lights amazed just because Jeff Seal and Chris “Buttons” Manley are just always such funny guys. The highlight of the set was Buttons’ child-like (but subtly arch) observations about a Hello, Kitty calendar. And the dance they exit to is a model for all others (at least all other vaudevillians) to follow!

* Hillary Chaplain introduced a hilarious new bit where she was a drunken bridesmaid after a wedding. The two part piece chases a bravura mime passage (reminiscent of Chaplin’s in One A.M.) with a fuzzy tongued monologue that was as touching as it was funny. I hope to see more of this piece as she develops it!

* Vangeline presented some more of her beautiful, graceful butoh-inspired movement, in collaboration with Jonathan Nosan, who had the most amazing (truly memorable) moment of the  evening — a back bend that he held for what seemed an eternity — most of the time without his palms on the floor for support. He seems superhuman in his strength and flexibility, and the effect of his upside down face looking at us from his horseshoe-shaped body was a surreal showstopper.

* Andy Sapora did not amaze or surprise by cutting several lengths of pipe in front of the audience with a circular saw, sparks flying, but he did disconcert and unsettle — and I bet that suits him just fine.

Like I said, there’s one more show left. Tonight you can catch Carol Lee Sirugo and Honey Goodenough, Audrey Crabtree, Tanya Solomon, Hilary Chaplain, James and JF, Groundgrippers Dance Company, and The Maestrosities (with Jennifer Harder)

CIRQUE OFF 2012
Presented by Cirque This & Triskelion Arts
January 19-21 at 8pm

Triskelion Arts’ Aldous Theater
118 North 11th St, 3rd Floor
Williamsburg, Brooklyn 11211
Directions: L train to Bedford Ave. Walk north on Bedford, left on North 11th St.

Tickets: $15
Reservations strongly recommended: info@triskelionarts.org or 718.599.3577