San Francisco dramatic review (1899)

April 18, 1908. THE SAN FRANCISCO DRAMATIC REVIEW 5 A New Melodramatic Stock for Los Angeles Los Angeles, April 16. — All speculation as to the future of the Los Angeles Theatre has been put to rest by the announcement that with the closing of the current "road" season next month, certain alterations, including the installation of a gallery, will be made, following which the Earl Burgess Stock Company will open a summer season. The offerings will be of the melodramatic class, to prepare the clientele of the house for the Stair & Havlin attractions, which will hold forth there next season. An abortive attempt to secure the house for a unit in the Sullivan-Considine chain is reported to have been made, but, for some reason or other, it fell through. Mary Shaw was the guest of Mine. Mod'jeska for the week end, at the latter's charming country home, "Bozenta," at Tustin. Miss Shaw's adaptation of The Whirlpool is actively in preparation for presentation, and will be given its premier at the Los Angeles next Monday night. Harry Mestayer, of the Burbank, has gone to Yellowstone Park for a month's vacation. Upon his return he will submit to a very delicate operation on his throat before resuming work with the Burbankers.x AUDITORIUM— The Edgar Temple Opera Company has opened its second week at the Auditorium, and they are repeating The Filibuster. This week introduces to Los Angeles the alternate prima donna of the company, Mile. Marietta Dormoni. There are also two new songs interpolated this week — Moolbarri, by Harry Cashman, and Gazabo, the Buccaneer, sung by Arthur Wyatt. BELASCO— The Girl of the Golden West has entered upon its second week at the Belasco, and if the wishes of the public are considered, it will probably run at least another fortnight. The play is the most successful offering at the Belasco in many months, and Miss Hunt has certainly won laurels. Capacity houses still rule. MASON— The Mason is dark for the first half of the week. James J. Corbett opens Thursday night in The Burglar and the Lady. BURBANK— In South Car'liney, Harry Cottrell's Southern melodrama, is receiving another revival at the hands of Morosco's Burbankers this week. The piece has been reviewed in these columns recently enough to preclude necessity of extended meption. Maude Gilbert as Leila Sniffens holds the lead, Blanche Hall being an absent member this week. Harry Stockbridge as Napoleon White, a tramp, provides humorous situations. GRAND OPERA HOUSE— The Card King of the Coast is the alluring title under which this week's thriller at the Grand is being played. From the moment Harry von Meter, as Truxton Boone, shoots a revolver from the hand of the assistant villain in the first act, there's always something doing. Lillian Hayward and Myrtle Selwyn make a good pair of "heavies." Miss Barker is the usual abused heroine. ORPHEUM— Clayton White and Marie Stuart, presenting the sprightly, laughable sketch, Cherie, are the best feature of the Orpheum bill this week. Brown and Nevarro do some good stunts and couple it with good singing and dancing. The three Sisters Macarte do acceptable singing, dancing and tight-wire work. Fred Sosman, the singing comedian, lends variety with a group of impersonations without makeup. Edwin Stevens, who remains a second week with the new sketch. The One Flag, assisted by Tina Marshall, is still a favorite. Rosaire and Doreto. "the captain and the sailor." and Snyder and Buckley with The Street Musician, bring back the same acts they had here last year. Loney Haskell has a bunch of old jokes and a few new ones. Empire. — There's a good bill at the Empire this week, of which the best number is that furnished by Harry Matthews. Matthews glides up and down narrow planks and stairs, mounted on a wooden globe, to say nothing of his quick manipulation of the globe on a teetering board, is not only pleasing but praiseworthy as well. The Monroes present a comedy sketch. The Beauty Doctor, whose chief claim to commendation is attributable to the good looks of Mrs. Monroe. Mariam Mar is acceptable in coon songs, and so is Jack Lysle, comedian. The stock company, headed by Al Pranks, and augmented as to membership, is presenting Logan's Luck. The Hill Sisters in illustrated songs and the moving pictures complete the bill. FISCHER'S. — The troubles of The Prince of Budweiser furnish the plot for this week's musical comedy at Fischer's. The production is another of Will Carlton's original skits, and even the incidental music is by the author. Evan Baldwin sings a German stein song with a mixed quartette off the stage chorus. Miss Tannehill's Frenchy song, " Yum-Yum-Yum," has plenty of snap and go and makes a hit. "Beer-beer-beer" is the title of George Small's song, and for this number the chorus does a wooden shoe dance during the refrain. Nellie Montgomery and the chorus as geisha girls sing a Japanese song, "Lotus San," most attractively. The usual vaudeville act and motion pictures open the bill. THEATRE ROYAL. — The remodeled Bijou, known now as The Theatre Royal, opened as a burlesque house last Saturday night. The skit presented is called Satan's Bride. Louis Worth is the principal comedian and there is a chorus of sixteen girls who are all good looking, although most of them are new in stage work. Charlie du Vandray and Dawn Phillips closed Sunday night. Du Vandray's song, "Won't You Be My Baby Boy?" is cleverly sung by Gladys North, who makes a hit and who will from now on play soubrette roles. Other good songs are "Tipperary" and "Glow Worm." The costumes are effective and the dances and song numbers are well staged by Florence Leslie. Musical Director Chas. Justi has every reason to feel proud of the ensemble effects he has secured from the material at hand. UNIQUE. — The Village Feast is the title of the burletta put on by the Musical Burlesque Company at the Unique this week. Maude Beatty as Dorothy, the squire's daughter, sings "The Merry Widow Waltz," and Kate Carlson in "Rosalie," a cane song and dancing specialty, with chorus, makes a palpable hit. George Rehn, who takes the part of an English innkeeper, supplied the fun, and Billy Onslow, as the country sheriff, of Irish parentage, offered some parodies. Lew Dunbar, a Dutch professor, helped to fill in the time between laughs. The Maypole dance by the chorus was a feature. Mr. Dooley of Mexico, by the Unique Comedy Company, is another one of Richard Cummings' farce comedies. Lola Radcliffe sings new Illustrated songs. C. M. Emery. That Lackaye Episode in San Jose Last week the following telegram from San Jose created much excitement in theatrical circles : SAN JOSE, April 8. — Wilton Lackaye, the actor, and his company tonight went out on strike in the third act of The Bondman. A fashionable audience roundly hissed the star after the latter had ordered the curtain run down anil requested the people present to seek relief at the box-office. At the beginning of the third act Lackaye, from the stage, announced that the management of the theatre and himself could not agree on terms. A tumultuous scene followed as the curtain was run down. The dispute between Lackaye and the management rose over a difference of $32, the result of an oversight in the matter of passes. In regard to the above, Manager Alfred P. Hamburg, in charge of the Lackaye company has asked Tin; Dramatic Rkview to publish the following: When, at the end of the first act, I endeavored to make a settlement with P. P. Donahoo, rep resenting Mr. Barton, I found that he had not lived up to the terms of the contract, which he had signed. I insisted upon a settlement based upon the contract, which he declined to make, though he would give no reason. I rang up Mr. Barton by long-distance phone, but that gentleman hung up the phone on me, which was hardly courteous. As the manager of the company I stopped the performance in the third act and held the curtain thirty-two minutes, in the hope that Donahoo might wake up. The money consideration was nothing; it was a small matter. I would have taken exactly the same action had there been but 30 cents involved. It was merely a matter of principle. We felt that we were right and refused to be bluffed. I was confronted by an attorney and told in language which would have brought a fine for contempt if given in court, that if we didn't go on with the show something would drop, or words to that effect. Mr. Lackaye appeared before the curtain and announced that he was in the hands of his manager and would abide by his decision. He said some very flattering things about me, not necessary to repeat here. The lawyer from in front of the orchestra — not from the stage, as the dispatch states — declared that the performers were not prepared to go on with the performance. The curtain was immediately rung up and there were all the players, with their costumes and makeups on, and the stage set for the sulphur explosion scene, thus giving the lie to the lawyer's statement. Mr. Lackaye was roundly applauded and the attorney was hissed. The one great truth in the dispatch is that the audience was requested to call at the box office and get their money, which was refunded. Sidelights There is a rumor that after the engagement of The Man on the Box in Los Angeles, slated at the Los Angeles Theatre, a melodramatic stock company will follow, headed by Earl Burgess. Following Francis Wilson at the Van Ness Theatre comes John Drew and his remarkably fine company in the successful comedy called My Wife. Charming Billie Burke has made a pronounced hit as the leading woman of the organization. William Collier is an early Van Ness Theatre booking. He will present his most famous hit, Caught in the Rain. Henry Miller will play an engagement at the Van Ness Theatre this summer. One of the most interesting theatrical offerings of the season is the coming tour of Richard J. Jose, America's greatest contra-tenor. W. J. — "Bill" — Elleford, known far and wide, is sending Jose on tour, and this fact alone is guarantee enough to establish the worth of the attraction. The Jose season will open Monday, April 20. The company will at once head for the southern part of the State, and after touring that section will return north. After a short trip to Nevada, all the important northern towns will be visited. A special company will be put in the Girard Avenue Theatre, Philadelphia, by Arthur C. Aiston, starting on May 5, arrangements to that effect having been made with Miller & Kaufman, managers of that theatre, Bushnell, Foto Charles Bugbee Mr. Bugbee is one of the big fellows in the K. & E. ranks. Vears ago he was a minstrel man, so he learned the ropes early in the game. to continue from four to six weeks. The company, which will be selected from the members of Mr. Aiston's various organizations of this season, will be picked with the greatest care and will be headed by Estha Williams, Jane Corcoran and James M. Brophy. The opening bill for week of May 5 will be The Secret Orchard, which scored a tremendous hit at the Lyric Theatre, Philadelphia, where it was conceded to be one of the strongest plays of the year. Following The Secret Orchard will come At the Old Cross Roads, Tennessee's Pardner and Pretty Peggy. Jane Corcoran, who has been starring the past four years under Arthur C. Aiston's direction, closed her season, which was of thirty weeks' duration, on March 28. Her tour this season has been confined almost entirely to A Doll's House, occasional performances having been given of •Hedda Gabler. The season which has just ended has been -by far the most successful one, artistically and financially, of any she has enjoyed to date, which is certainly a great compliment to Miss Corcoran as a drawing attraction, considering the fact that wiseacres shook their heads when an "Ibsen" tour was planned, and this has been without question the worst theatrical season, generally speaking, in years. Miss Corcoran is now in New York City for a few weeks' rest, after which she will be seen at the head of a company in a large city for a stock engagement of about eight weeks. Previous martial troubles evidently had no terrors for Walter Newton Jones, known far and wide as a tramp impersonator. Neither do the laws of Illinois bother the actor to an appreciable degree, for he was married Tuesday to Blanche Lillian Pixley, only a few weeks after his previous wife divorced him in the Illinois courts. Blanche Lillian Pixley, the bride, is none other than Blanche Deyo, the dancer and vaudeville artist. She also was recently divorced. Jones and she are playing together in vaudeville.