New York Clipper (Jul 1923)

4 THE NEW YORK CLIPPER July 11, 1923 BIG PRODUCTIONS FOR THE ROAD ARE NO W A THING O F THE PAST High Cf»t of Treveling and General Business Condition Force Managora to Decide on Short Casts for Dramatic Shovrs While Musical Plroductions WiU Be Curtailed to a Minimum Short cast productions will be the rule for touring attractions during the coming seascn. Prodacing managers feel that econ- omy must be the essential principal for the new season, as many of them are ex- tending themselves to the point where they are sending more shows on the road than they have done in the past seven years. Therefore they feel that operating expenses should be cut to the core. To do this for dramatic shows which call for cast of six- teen to eighteen people they are endeavor- ing to re^ce them to twelve or thirteen so that they will not be compelled to buy twenty-five railroad tickets to carry the show. At the operating basis of twelve people with the crew and company man- ager added it is cheaper for the company to purchase the tickets necessary for the members of the troupe and pay for the baggage car in additioa than it would be to buy twenty-five tickets outright and get a baggage car free. This saving on the railroad would be quite an item oi savings for these shows besides $300 or more a week in salary. The producers feel that with this saving in opeiatioas through cutting the salaries to the "bone" by operat- ing short cast shows and the savings that would be effected especially in the one- night stand territory a great many dramatic attractions which under ordinary circum- stances could not get by would be able to go along and show a fur margin of profit each week. At the present time of all of the shows which have been booked through the Er- langer and Shubert offices to take to the road during late August and early in Sep- tember those in the dramatic field will aver- age about twelve actors, with a great many of them carrying only eight in the acting crew. These shows will have their per- formers in some instances playing three or four minor parts which were previously idayed by indrriduals. Musical attractions on the other hand are having their scenic production greatly re- iscd. Shows which have been presented ill from ten to twelve' scenes and which had an airuttdance of electrical equipment are being cut down so that they will fit into one car instod of being two car shows, or even three car shows as they were when originally produced. The casts for these shows vrill also be cut in proportion so that FRISCO TO HAVE GRAND OPERA CO. San RiANCisco, July 9.—Anangements were concluded last week to give this city city its own opera company, when forty buaness men juedged the sum of $40,000, and ftirther agreed to assume financial re- sponsibilities, at a dinner given by Robert T. Basdey, at the Pacific Union Club. The fund underwritten by these business men insures the company against any pos- sible loss and pays for the first eight per- formances at least. That this sum win see the opera project throagfa is evidenced by the San Franosco Opera Association's announcement that they have been assured during the past three months of steady attendance and sup- port wfaidi will total more than forty thousand dollars. The association is composed of over 300 persons. Gaetano Merola. is to be director and the principals will include: Gigi and Martinelli, tenors; De Lucca, baritone; Didur, basso and Qnenna Mario, soprano, all of the Metropolitan Opera Co. Doria Femaua. of the Chicago Opera Company will also be in the cast of principals. The San Fran- cisco Symphony Orchestra, will be the house orchestra, and Selby Oppenheiraer, win be business manager. The perfor- mances are to take place in the Civic Au- ditoritmi from September 26 to October 2. they will not exceed the required amount of people necessary to get a free baggage car. Most of the better class of musical shows which will play to a $2J0 and $3.00 top on the one night and three night stands will have a personnel of from eight to ten prin- cipals; twelve to sixteen chorus girls; a crew of three men and a manager. In most instances there will not be more than thirty or thirty-five people carried with these productions where in the past none carried less than forty people and most of them fifty people. The savings effected in operation of this style of show it is said will be in the neighborhood of $1,500 a week and the performance it is said yrill be just as good and just as entertaining as it would have been with a larger cast and production. Then again the producers say that haul- ing of scenery and baggage in the prov- inces is getting to be a most expensive item. Nowadays the transfer men think nothing of asking $25 for a forty foot truck or $15 for a twenty foot truck and $1 round trip for trunks. This expense the nunagers say they will cut in more than half, as their shows will be equipped so that they can be hauled in a twenty foot truck load and the baggage which ordi- narily is carried by individuals into the theatre will be grouped so that the transfer man will not get more than eight or ten trunks lo handle from a show where in the past he has been carrying three times that number. On the one-night stands this it will be a most important one as the managers figure with the economic wave ou they will be able to save from $7S to $200 a week on this item alone. Newspaper advertising will also be cur- tailed considerably in the "sticks" with the agents and their second men being relied upon to work in the towns to get business which they have in the past depended en- tirely upon the newspapers to get for them. According to a statement of one manager who is sending a large number of attrac- tions on tour this season an average of $500 to $750 a week will be saved on the operation of dramatic attractions and the savings effected in the musical comedy field will average from $1,000 to $1,750 a week, which will give the producers a better chance of showing a profit at the end of the season than they have had in the past six years. GERRARD EXPLAINS MARRIAGE "Al" Gerrard, of the act of Gerrard and Millership states that he wishes to correct a rumor which has been circulated to the effect that he and Miss Millership had married. The fact, according to Gerrard, is that'i he was married on Jime 11, in Buffalo, to Miss Helen Borden, who played with him in the George M. Cohan show "Mary." The marriage was performed by Judge Standart at the Supreme Court, Buffalo, before the matinee performance on Mon- day, June 11. Ejddie Moran, pianist in the Gerrard and Millership act was best man. The Gerrard and Millership act is booked for a tour of the Orphcum circuit, playing this week at St. Paul. EARLY PLAY OPENINGS Among the earliest plays scheduled to open next season are "Tweedies," a comedy by Booth Tarkington and Harry Leon Wilson, which conies to the Frazee Theatre on Monday, August 13, and a dramatiza- tion of the novel by Robert Keable en- titled "Simon Called Peter." which Wil- liam A. Brady announces for early in the season, with Kenneth MacKenna in the leading role. Jnles Eckert Goodman made the dramatic version of the book. BOHEMIANS TO DO PLAYS The Bohemians, Inc., who have hereto- fore confined their production activities to the annual production of "Greenwich Village Follies," are planning to expand their production activities this season, ac- cording to an announcement made last week by A. L. Jones and Morris Green, man- aging directors of the corporation. The fifth annual edition of the "Green- wich Village Follies" will again be devised and staged by John .Murray Anderson and will shortly be placed in rehearsal. It will be given a week's engagement out of town, prior to coming to the Shubert Theatre for a run sometime next month. The large cast is now being.assembled and will in- clude a number of foreign artists who have never tiefore been seen in this country. A feature of the show will, of course, be the artists' models chorus. Anderson has been scouring the art marts of Greenwich Village for months and is said to have coralled two score or more ravishing beauties that will outshine any of the pre- vious "Village Follies" choruses. By way of departure from their accus- tomed routine the Bohemians will pro- duce several non-musical plays. "The first of these will be a new piece by Edward Laska, entitled "We've Got to Have Money." Following in rapid succession will come two new comedies, as yet with- out title, and another comedy with music This increased production activity upon the part of Messrs. Jones and Green have convinced them that they should have their own theatre in which to make their produc- tions. Consequently they have set plans in motion whereby tiiey will take over a Broadway playhouse on a long term lease or else will build one of their own. The fourth edition of "Greenwich Village Follies," which has only been re- vealed in New York, Boston and Philadel- phia, will take the road late in August, opening in Toronto. OPEN AIR THEATRE STARTS An open air moving picture theatre for the benefit of the children in the Chel- sea district of New York was opened on Monday mght by the Hudson Guild. A short address of welcome was made by the Manhattan Borough President, Julius Miller, and among the guests of honor were Senator Royal • S. Copeland and Murray Hulbert, who is president of the guild, and other city olEcials. Each Slimmer the Hudson Guild pre- sents these open air movies in Chelsea Park for the benefit of the heat-stricken children in the district, and their parents. The park extends from Twenty-Seventh to Twenty-Eighth streets and from Ninth to Tenth avenues. It is not unusual for from 5,1X10 to 10,000 children and adults to witness the pictures each night. The opening attraction was "The Bond Boy," Starring Richard Barthelmess. COHAN SHOWS CLOSED BY CABLE The two Cohan productions, "Little Nel- lie Kelly" and "So This Is London," were closed last week by cabled instructions from George M. Cohan, who went .abroad to supervise the London production of the former piece. Cohan's decision is said to have been influenced by the receipts of the week previous. The figures showed Cohan that both pieces had taken a toboggan and he decided that they had gotten all the play they were going to get, when as a matter of fact it was the weather that was responsible. _The last week of their run brought an influx of eleventh hour cus- tomers who boosted the takings sky high. Had Cohan been on the ground he would have undoubtedly changed his decision af- ter glimpsing the farewell week state- ments. FIVE B'WAY HOUSES FOR FOX William Fox will use five Broadway Theatres this coming season for the ex- ploitation of motion pictures, according to John J. Zanft. who is in charge of the renting of theatres for the Fox enterprises. Already the Fox people have announced that they will take over the Times Square and Central Theatres. Zanft declares the other three houses all of which are now controlled by the Shuberts will be taker, over and operating by the end of October. SEVEN SHOWS HOLD ON Chicago, July 7.—The continued hot spell is affecting box office receipts this week at all the loop theatres. Week to week notice has been put up at several of the houses. "The Dancing Girl at the Colonial is undergoing several changes in the cast Gilda Leary leaves next Satur- day night, so does Will Greene. Miss Lcary's place will be filled by a girl now in the chonis, who recently came from .Aus- tralia and joined "The Dancing Girl" company as understudy to Miss Leary, although she has played leads in other productions in Australia; her name is Suzanne Bennett. Seven pro- ductions now playing here will re- main next week with no new offerings promised. They are: "Chains" which is holding its own at the Playhouse; "Up the Ladder" at the Central; "The Passing Show" with Eugene and Willie Howard at the Apollo; "Blossom Time" at the Great Northern; "The Dancing Girl" at the Colonial; "Dangerous People" with Wil- liam Courtenay at the Cort Courtenay's production has such a small cast it can withstand Kttle patronage and still "get by." Eugene O'Brien in "Steve" at the Princess was scheduled to leave there to- night but business has held up and it will remain several weeks longer according to present plans. The outdoor gardens are doing the business during the torrid weather and are offering splendid enter- tainment Fred Mann's Rainbo Garden where Ed Beck's "Rainbo Blossoms" is setting a pace in this city, is doing wonder- ful business. Ed Beck's production, con- sidered the best dancing revue given at any outdoor garden, is pulling the crowds. NO TAGS FOR "FOLLIES GIRLS" .. Ziegfeld, Jr.'s ladies of the ensemble and chorus" made very strenu- ous objections last week when they learned that an announcement had been made from the producer's office to the press that in the future the girls would wear a band with a number on it on their arms which would serve as a means of identifying the individual through consulting the program. Upon reading this announcement in the daily press the girls called upon Mr. Zieg- feld and informed him that under no cir- cumstances whatever would they conde- scend to wearing any band with numerals upon their arms. Some said that it would liken them to girls who years ago appeared in the shows that were staged at Coney Island beer gardens while others said the idea was similar to one used in popularity contests in burlesque shows. All in all the girls argued that the idea was not dignified and not in keeping with the high standards set by the "Follies." In the meantime friends of Ziegfeld in and outside of the theatrical profession also called his atten- tion to the proposition and told him that he should under no circumstances permit It to go through as it would cheapen his attraction. Followinff the complaint of the "Follies'" girls and the advice given by his friends Mr. Ziegfeld instructed his press man to send out an announcement saying that the idea had been abandoned and that the public would have to worry along as best they could in endeavoring to identify the girls. POUCE COMM. ENRIGHT FOR FILMS' Police Commissioner Richard Enright will shortly blossom forth as a motion pic- ture producer and star. Malcomb Strauss, portrait painter and promoter of motion picture features, prior to the Police Con- vention held ill New York City, managed to interest the Police Commissioner in the project of makinff a motion picture based on an inside police story with Commis- sioner Enright playing the central char- acter. The proposition appealed to the Lommissioner and he agreed to obtain finances to put over the venture. At the time of the International Con- vention of Police Chiefs much footage was taken of the various police officials in con- versation with the New York Police Com- missioner which will be used in the pic- ture. The story itself is being fihncd at the Vitagraph studios in Brooklyn under the personal direction of J. Stuart Blackton.