Karno‘s Company, NYC next previous
Chaplin at Karno´s, NYC Clippings 14/51
Charles J. („Dash“) Freeman, Variety, New York, October 8, 1910.
Charles J. Freeman („Dash“)
(...) Photo, Variety, Dec. 10, 1910
& Colonial, exterior by day, marquee Radio Corporation of America, National Broadcasting Company, New York
(...) Radio Age, July 1953
„Chaplin will do all right for America“
Editorial content. „New Acts
Fred Karno Co. (14).
The Wow Wows (Comedy).
29 Mins.; Full Stage; One; Full
Stage (Special Set and Drops).
Colonial.
A Karno Company that talks seemed to hit the
Colonial audience as a bit queer. Having seen the Music Hall,
Slums and Dandy Thieves, it is but natural that
American audiences should expect only pantomime from
a Karno group.
Anyone familiar with London music halls at all will not
be surprised, for most of the Karno productions over there depend
to some extent upon dialog. The Wow Wows is the real
English type of Karno act, with the red nose comic in the fore,
and the proceedings built around him.
Laid in three scenes the act consists merely of a burlesque
on a secret society initiation. To ,get even‘ on the .tightwad‘
of a summer camp, the rest of the bunch frame up a phony secret society into which they initiate M. Neverloosen.
Charles Chaplin is the ,mark‘, and chief comedian.
Chaplin is typically English, the sort of comedian that
the American audiences seem to like, although unaccustomed
to. His manner is quiet and easy and he goes about
his work in a devil-may-care manner, in direct contrast to the
twenty-minutes-from-a-cementary make-up he employs.
The make-up and manner in themselves are funny.
That is what will have to carry The Wow Wows over, if it goes
that way. Chaplin will do all right for America, but it is too
bad that he didn‘t first appear in New York with something with
more in it than this piece.
The company amounts to little, because there is little
for them to do. Dialog at the opening doesn‘t amount
to anything and at intervals during the piece there are talky
places which drags the time when Champlin“ (Chaplin)
„does not occupy the center of the stage.
In the last scene – initiating chamber – there are one
or two funny bits of business. Three women in the act are not
needed. One has a scene with the comedian; the others
simply walk on and off a couple of times.
The genuine fun in The Wow Wows is not quite enough
to stand off the half hour of running time. The act can be
fixed up by interjecting more speed, and cutting the unnecessary
talk. The Colonial audience laughed at the show Monday
night, but not enough. An act of this sort, erected solely for comedy should register a bigger percentage of laughs.“
Colonial, Broadway & 62nd Street, New York.
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Karno‘s Company, NYC next previous
