Variety (October 1907)

VARIETY BIG OPENING BILL FOR THE CHICAGO A UDITORIUM Klaw & Erlanger Have a $7,500 Show for Their First Week in the Western City. 25c. to See it. Variety's Chicago Office, Chicago Opera House Block, Chicago, Oct. 4. There will be a bill presented for the opening week of the Auditorium under the management of Klaw & Erlanger which will cost the firm $7,500 in salaries, and will be by far the biggest variety show Chicago has ever seen. The Auditorium opens on October 13. Admission will be fifty cents to orchestra seats in the evenings, while twenty-five cents will be the prevailing price for matinees. The first program, as learned, and which will probably be played in the order given, is as follows: Zaretski Troupe of Dancers. "That" Quartet. Ida Fuller. Collins and Hart. Clifton Crawford. Cinquevalli. (Intermission). Six Musical Cuttys. Karno's Comedy Company. Vesta Victoria. Six Sampoias. "The Derby Race" (picture). A. L. Erlanger was in the city this week, and will return here about next Thursday. The newspapers interviewed him on the vaudeville subject, and Mr. Erlanger handed several "digs" to the op- position. In one paper he is quoted as saying: "It will be a war to a finish, and whatever happens the public must prove a winner in the end." "It is not my intention to hurt any- body's feelings," the same paper prints in giving Mr. Erlanger'* interview, "but the fact is you Chicagoans have been getting 'one-night stand' vaudeville for several years." Mr. Erlanger also told the newspaper man that the United States Amusement Company had completed negotiations for the erection of a theatre in the "loop"' district for vaudeville. "The deal is to be closed within thirty days," said Mr. Erlanger, and it was positively settled. Pending the building of the house, and after the close of "The Talk of New York" at the Colonial, that theatre may play vaudeville also, but the Carrick (Shubert) the head of the "Syndicate" said was at the disposal of the vaude- ville corporation under the agreement made at the time of the K. & E.-Shubert amalgamation. Upon Mr. Erlanger's advent into town, an aggressive advertising campaign opened. The dailies are carrying advertisements reading "Look out for the steam roller which comes to the big Auditorium Oct. 13, because Chicago deserve? better vnude- ville, and you will get it on that day. Unlucky day for the old regime 1 —lucky day for Chicago, for from that day on you will get real vaudeville." The policy of playing acts at the Audi- torium will be much the same as at the New York. Some numbers will hold over. Perhaps one-half the opening bill will re- main for the second week. No announcements have been made of the shows for the opposition theatres (Majestic, Olympic, Chicago Grand Opera House, Haymarket) belonging to Kohl & Castle for week of Oct. 13. ELLEN TERRY COMING. Ellen Terry, the English actress, is booked for a vaudeville appearance in this country, beginning in New York Christ— mas time. The United Booking Offices is said to have signed the English woman for ten consecutive weeks and in addition holds an option upon her services for a further period of thirty weeks. Miss Terry was approached by an agent when she was on her last American tour with an offer to play vaudeville, but at that time she gave a refusal. William L. Lykens, the agent, conducted the last ne- gotiations which resulted in the bookings. Miss Terry will use a dramatic playlet supported by a company of four people. SAYS NANCE O'NEILL HAS THEATRE. Nance O'Neill, who is playing in vaude- ville just now with McKee Rankin, will return to the legitimate next season. Ac- cording to a story given out by William L. Lykens, the agent who attended to Miss O'Neill's vaudeville bookings, the legitimate actress has taken a lease of the Bijou Theatre, Thirtieth street and Broadway, for all next year and will pre- sent a repertoire of dramatic pieces. The season will open with two new pro- ductions and thereafter Miss O'Neill will confine herself to the standard plays with which she has been identified. Mr. Lykens will be her manager. Having secured the financial backer for the enterprise he will also have an interest in it. JOHN HAVLIN MARRIES. Cincinnati, Oct. 5. John H. Havlin, head of the Hagenheck- Wallace Show and of Stair & Havlin, has returned from a trip to Europe, during which time he called on Carl Hagenbeck, Sr.. at Hamburg. Upon arriving here Mr. Havlin left for Birmingham, where he married Mrs. Char- lotte Baldwin, of that city. Humor says that Mr. Havlin will, in the future, make his home in New York City, giving much of his time to his extensive circus interests. The fact that Mr. Hav- lin contemplated marriage was unknown to his family or intimate friends. NELLIE FLOREDE BREAKS ARM. "The Rocker Girls," M. A. Shea's "girl" number, closed after the Tuesday night performance at the Union Square owing to an accident in which Nellie Florede, leader of the act, broke her arm. Miss Florede in returning to her apart- ment in the Hotel York fell as she en- tered the elevator. Doctors declared that she would be able to work next week with "her arm in a sling. REPORTED AARONS GOES TO SETTLE One of the missions of Alfred E. Aarons' trip abroad, which is scheduled to com- mence some time this month, is reported to be a settlement or an adjustment in some manner with several foreign acts now under contract to Klaw & Erlanger, but which experience since the opening of the season has taught the managers it might be hazardous to import. There are Haid to be between five or ten foreigu acts Klaw & Erlanger are afraid could not be successful on this side, and it is understood the time for a num- ber of them booked for an early date has been set back, which will keep them across the pond until Mr. Aarons can reach the ground. It is said that a settlement with a foreign act can be secured at more ad- vantageous terms before it has taken an ocean trip. When Mr. Aarons was asked this week if the reports were true, he said the matter had not been gone into. DAVID KESSLER IN "VODE." Arrangements are going on, if they have not been completed, for the vaudeville ap- pearance of David Kessler, the "Yiddish" actor. In all cities booked by the United Offices, which is interested in Mr. Kess- ler's vaudeville appearance, there is a Jewish community and the managers are sanguine the Hebrew artist would fill their houses for a week anyway. Vion & Lowe are the agents in the case. BEATRICE LINDLEY CANCELS. Beatrice Lindley, a foreigu pianologist imported by Percy G. Williams for the United Booking Offices, has returned home after a satisfactory adjustment of her twenty-week contract. Miss Lindley was billed to play at Ham- merstein's this week, but the United reached terms of settlement and LeFevre and St. John replaced her on the program. There were still sixteen unused weeks on the English woman's agreement. The terms of the cancellation have not been £/iven out. FOUGERE "PINCHED." Washington, Oct. 4. O, but Eugenie Fougere was .pained and grieved! A cold and soulless detective sergeant of the local police, acting on in- structions, looked over her "artistic" dance at the Gayety Monday evening and after the performance haled the Frenchwoman to the police station, where the lieutenant required cash security of $50 to insure her good behavior. Sergeant Lee was the police critic. He occupied a front seat in the theatre and watched the performance through, display- ing signs of lively enjoyment, particu- larly during Fougere's specialty. But when the curtain fell his better nature came to the surface and he decided that he had been shocked. Hastening around to the stage door, he sternly announced that his duty was his duty. When Fougere was informed that she would have to ac- company the policeman to the station house she had an attack of hvsterics. TWO BIG SHOWS IN PITTSBURG. Pittsburg, Oct. 4. The Klaw & Erlanger vaudeville will play at the Nixon Theatre next week in- stead of the Duquesne, where it has pre- vailed since the opening of the season. The shift is said to have been made through a previous legitimate booking by the Shuberts, but the bill to be offered at the Nixon could not be played to a profit at the Duquesne and especially at the present prices. The Dankmar-Schiller Troupe, DeFaye Sisters, Simon and Gardner, Edith Helena, Arthur Prince, Bianca and Des Roches, Clifton Crawford, Vesta Victoria, Curzon Sisters and the moving picture of "The Derby Race" will coni]>ose a show costing Klaw & Erlanger in salaries about $6,500. At Harry Davis' Grand Opera House, commencing Monday, the bill will be head- lined by May Irwin, who is playing at the Orpheum, Kansas City, this week. Others will be Edward J. Connolly and Company in "Marse Covington," Corinne, Walter C. Kelly, Hice and Prevost, Em- pire City Quartet, Snyder and Buckley, 1'ermane Brothers, Zarbell Brothers and six other acts. Miss Irwin has been loaned to the Grand Opera House for the week by Mar- tin Beck of the Orpheum Circuit. She was billed to a pear at the Orpheum, Den- ver, for the time. The shift of vaudeville to the Nixou has stirred up a great deal of feeling in the city. The "Commercial Gazette- Times" had a very strong article scoring Klaw & Erlanger in reference to it. From reports about town it is prob- lematical whether vaudeville will return to the Duquesne or just how long it will remain at the Nixon. At the reduced prices of admission charged there a vari- ety program of any magnitude could not be given at a profit, even though capacity audiences assembled at each performance. At the Nixon next week the "house scale*' will rule. It runs up to $1.50 for orches- tra seats. Ethel Barrymore is reported to have played to $26,000 at the Nixon last week. It is suspected that this house will be used to "kill off" any of the "Indepen- dents" who have Shubert contracts and will appear at the Duquesne under them. BOSTON HAS NEW FREAK. Boston, Oct. 4. floston has a new freak. He is Sam Johnson and his weird specialty is the drinking of unlimited quantities of water, straight, and without even a creine de menthe on the side. He is at Austin- Stone's Museum this week, doing eight or nine shows a day, and consuming gallons of water at each performance. This sub- ject is close to the heart of Boston be- cause Boston is itself forced to drink water after 11 o'clock P. M. GOLDEN OUT OF BILL. Boston, Oct. 4. On account of illness George Fuller Gol- den was obliged to leave the bill at the Treinont Theatre on Wednesday, poing direct to Saranac Lake. VICTORIA ACCEPTS AMERICAN SONG. It is expected that upon the opening week of the Auditorium, Chicago, when Vesta Victoria, the English singer, will headline the imposing bill gathered for that occasion, she will sing for the first time in public "And he Blames My Dreamy Eyes." written by Alfred L. Lamb and Albert Gumble. The number is published, by J. H. Re- mick & Co. The signing rights have been restricted to Miss Victoria.