In the News
by Don Taylor
Among the most valuable and humbling clippings of Donna’s vaudeville career are those that complicate the narrative. The recent discovery of Donna Darling’s April 1927 engagement at the Palace Theatre in New Orleans is a case in point. The newspaper advertisements confirm her continued presence on the vaudeville circuit and her reach into the Deep South. The surviving review, however, is the most critical assessment of her act that I have yet encountered.
Performance Details
- Venue: Palace Theatre, New Orleans, Louisiana
- Dates: April 7–10, 1927 (Thursday–Sunday)
- Format: Continuous vaudeville and photoplay, 1 P.M. to 11 P.M.; four vaudeville shows daily at 2:45, 4:45, 7, and 9
- Act: Donna Darling Revue does not appear as the headliner.
Other Acts on the Bill:
- Baldwin & Blair – Comedy skit, “Hay! Hay!” (top-billed)
- Donia & Dunlevy – “The Italian Sheik and the Southern Gentleman”
- Corinne Arbuckle – Billed as “The Broadway Country Girl”
- Billy Lamont Four – Wire acrobatics and dance
- Photoplay: George Walsh in “His Rise to Fame”
A Bad Review
The Times-Picayune review of April 8, 1927, signed by the critic identified only as K.T.K., offers an appraisal of the full Palace bill and of Donna’s revue in particular.
The critic opened by finding much to praise elsewhere in the program. Baldwin and Blair’s “Hey! Hey!” was described as an entertaining comedy skit with a splendid basic idea, though the players were said to need a little more polish and personality. The Billy Lamont Four was called an unusually good act of its type for their wire acrobatics and dance routines, despite some misplaced comedy. Corinne Arbuckle received a measured notice as a singing comedienne with a fair voice and standard personality. Donia and Dunlevy fared somewhat better in tone — their sketch was called trite, and Donlevy was faulted for laughing too much.
Donna’s revue, placed last on the bill, received the most direct criticism: “The Donna Darling Revue, closing, is poor. Cheap burlesque starts it, bad singing carries it along and fair dancing closes it.”
This is one of the harshest reviews I have found about her career.
Analysis and Context
A negative review requires honest engagement rather than deflection. Several factors are worth noting, though none of them are offered to dismiss the critic’s assessment.
Billing and placement. In the April 7 advertisement, the Donna Darling Revue is listed as a co-featured act alongside Baldwin & Blair, who received top billing. By the closing-day advertisement of April 10, the full bill is enumerated, and the revue appears neither first nor last in the printed order. Yet the Times-Picayune review explicitly states the revue was “closing,” meaning it occupied the final slot in the live performance order. In vaudeville practice, the closing position could reflect either the headliner or — more often in houses of this type — a lesser act placed last after the audience’s attention had already peaked. Given the review’s tone, the latter interpretation seems more plausible here.
The Palace Theatre, New Orleans, in context. The Palace was operating as a continuous-run house at popular prices — matinees at 10 and 20 cents, evenings at 10, 20, and 30 cents. This positions it firmly as a lower-priced theatre, distinct from the prestige houses Donna had played on the Western Vaudeville Managers’ Association circuit the previous year.
K.T.K.’s specific objections – cheap burlesque, poor singing, fair dancing suggest her revue had either declined in quality or was not suited to this venue and bill. Hopefully, it was just a bad show that night.
Conclusion
The April 7–10, 1927 engagement at the Palace Theatre in New Orleans adds a confirmed Southern venue to Donna Darling’s documented career. The review introduces a note of candor that not every engagement was a triumph.
Newspaper Sources
- New Orleans States, April 7, 1927, Page 21 (opening advertisement)
- New Orleans States, April 10, 1927, Page 49 (closing day advertisement)
- The Times-Picayune, April 8, 1927, Page 28 (review, signed K.T.K.)
Research credit: Newspapers.com
Disclaimer: This article was researched and written by the author. Claude (Anthropic) was used as a research and drafting aid, and Grammarly was used for editorial review and copy editing.
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