Variety (February 1909)

rA«kiTY 17 WOOD GRABS A BUNCH. Joe Wood, the lively agent for twenty or more combination picture end vaude- ville houses, received a crowd of new onea in hie booking offices this week, when M. R. Sheedy added to hie already large New England Circuit the Julius Oahn theatres in New Bedford (New Bedford Theatre), Lewiston (Lewiston Theatre), Fitchburg (Oummings* Opera House), and Newport (Newport Opera House). The quartet will play the combination policy, under Mr. Sheedy's direction, booked by the Wood agency. No better estimate of the rapid growth of the "vaudeville and picture" industry may be gathered than from statistics in Mr. Wood's rapid rise as a booking agent in this branch, and the time he offers at present. The increase in grade of this stylo of vaudeville show is more quickly seen in the quality of the acts now booked upon it. Wood is using from 20 to 25 acts weekly at a salary ranging from $100 to $125, an extraordinarily large sum for the class of house represented. It is not so long since a $150 act on the Sullivan-Gonsidine Circuit was accounted of good size. Now that circuit and its opposition does not shy at anything, and from $500 to $750 weekly for a feature is a common happening. On the time taking its bills from the Wood office there is no dependence placed on "names." "The show's the thing," and while an act may be in receipt of $125 from a manager booking through Wood, there is no proof positive that the same turn may not have a salary figure of two or three times that amount upon a larger circuit. In view of this, the "combina- tion" managers do not object if an act plays over the circuit under an alias. MISS CARUS CLAIMS SONG. The Scotch song Emma Carus has been singing is claimed by her as exclusive property. This week Miss Carus held a warm interview with Carl McCullough (over the telephone), notifying him he must discontinue its use. Mr. McCullough b singing it at the Fulton, Brooklyn, this week. • He says the publishers of the number gave him permission to sing it, and fur- nished the orchestration. Under the cir- cumstances Mr. McCoullough says he shall continue. PENNSYLVANIA HOUSES CHANGING. Three Pennsylvania theatres formerly playing legitimate attractions have changed the policy, and placed orders with Ed Gallager, the New York agent, to supply the houses with vaudeville acts required in connection with moving pic- tures. All will be operated under a 10-15 cent scale of admission. The State Street, Trenton, opens March 1, with the new entertainment; The Cam- bria, Johnstown, and Mishler's, Altoona, on March 8. CAHN TURNING 20 OVER. Between now and April 1, the Julius Cahn Circuit of legitimate theatres will turn over about twenty houses in New England for the combination vaudeville and moving picture policy, to be operated through the summer. A few of the Cahn theatres have been turned over already, and booking of the vaudeville acts placed with Joe Wood. IN NEW YORK. Were the second act as lively as the first in "In New York" at the Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, the piece would have been a big go on Saturday night last when it was seen. The second act may be lively enough for the owner or producer, but the action comes from dancing, all jumbled together at the finale of it, when the only comedy of moment, outside the monolog of Cliff Gordon, occurs. The fun has been given too much atten- tion in the first section, leaving the show very much overbalanced, both in comedy and numbers. The "In New York Co., Inc.," presents "In New York" supposed to be a produc- tion under the management of Frank Howe, who also manages the Walnut Street Theatre. Ben Teal staged the show; Franklin Winter wrote it, George Totten Smith strung the lyrics for the music in it by George L. Spaulding. The piece is hung upon the stories of the "Actors' Boarding House," the first scene representing the "parlor and dining room" of Mrs. Bacon's boarding repository in East 14th Street, New York. The second is a hotel Mrs. Bacon has succeeded to, carrying her boarders with her in different capacities. The cast is a large and able one, in- cluding the Four Mortons, Cliff Gordon, Major Doyle, Belle Gold, Nellie Beaumont, Adele Oswald, Gretta Grew, Frank J. Sheen, Doyle, McDevitt and Kelly and a few others. The star of the contingent is Clara Mor- ton, who is the child of Major Doyle, the Lilliputian, and Julia Frary, all known as "The Tiny Family," although Miss Frary has Amazonian proportions along- side her diminutive stage husband. There never has been a "kid" on the stage who looked just like Miss Morton as she appears in the first act, a little plump youngster with chubby legs, made more so by the white stockings worn. In the second act. Miss Morton "dresses up," and the chubbiness of her understandings is dispelled by black silk hosiery. She leads several songs, and has an "audience" num- ber in "Show Me With Your Eyes," but at the Walnut Street, Clara had to sing to a couple of "plants" in a box upon whom only the spot light was allowed to shine. The fault of the second act in its lack of comedy seems to be that Sam Morton is not giving sufficient chance. The Mor- tons make the first scene, and one can al- most pick the comedy which has been in- serted. Mr. Morton improvises. He and Major Doyle secure the biggest laughs in their own way, which probably isn't the way of the ''book." In the finale of the first act, a long drawn out "operatic" en- semble with a quartet, Morton makes a hit by repeatedly walking back and forth with a "can" for beer. As the singing continues Mr. Morton walks in with a beer keg on his shoulder, going upstairs with it. Were Mr. Morton to drop that keg, creating a hubbub back of the drop and breaking up the singing, it would afford a laughing finale, much better than it was on Saturday evening, when the overdose of vocalizing went to a slow death. The "straight" of Paul Morton as a "Johnny" did a great deal for the show, both through his nimble dancing and sing- ing besides looking and dressing well. Paul imitated David Warfleld in his fa- mous speech while singing and dancing and also gave a snatch of Eddie Foy. Most of the comedy in the show is based upon portions of the vaudeville act of the Four Mortons, they sliding into it, at dif- ferent points during the first scene. The burlesque band is brought into the show at the closing of the second act. It is too late an hour then, although the laughs the travesty band, led by Mr. Gor- don, received were mostly forced through the impromptu comedy or remarks inter- jected into it. Just before Gordon had made an immense hit with his old "polit- ical" talk, having followed the topical song "I'd Like To See It," sung by him- self, and written by Gordon and Gus Selt- zer, one of a few interpolated selections. Gordon plays a German musican with an illogical role of a bankrupt in the com- mencement and millionaire afterward His first song, "Town of Easy Go," delivered ballad-like, didn't go any too well, al- though Gordon's "Dutchman" and specialty made one of the show's hits. Another hit was registered by Joseph McDevitt and Andrew Kelly (McDevitt and Kelly) following the great amount of dancing which had preceded them—the choristers behind Paul Morton always dancing, and Mr. Morton was seemingly dancing all the time. The taller of the McDevitt-Kelly team is one of the pret- tiest and most graceful dancers seen about. The Reid Sisters also had their acrobatic dance right about the same time, and did well. One of the acts should have gone much further up. Kate Morton plays the landlady, acting and looking the part. Mr. Sheen is the comedian of a burlesque company, but doesn't appear to have an overabundance of confidence in himself. Miss Oswald Is the soprano, singing often, and looking stouter than when in vaudeville. If Miss Oswald isn't careful, she will soon be a replica of Emma Carus on the stage. Nellie Beaumont dresses and looks good, playing a "leading lady." Belle Gold as the maid in the first and a bell boy in the second act gave enough action. Miss Gold sang an unprogramed "Yiddish" song, which, excepting the lyrics, was "Under the Matzos Tree." The music averages up as fairly pleas- ing; the chorus of twenty-five or thirty girls and ten or twelve boys are drilled well enough with no novelty and too much of a sameness in their work, while the settings in the first act include a chande- lier with a globe missing which might be the envy of Belasco. The second act is nicely set, and may have been an item in the $30,000 the bills say the production cost. There is an orchestra of 22 pieces. If the management will give the come- dians freedom, they will probably evolve the second act into the fast running sec- tion the first is. Too much attention may have been given the first the opening week, neglecting the latter part until the first job of revision was through. In Clara Morton's piano dance, Miss Morton is dancing with her back to the piano while playing it. There's lots of life, fun and music to "In New York" with some good looking chorus girls, and some "show girls" who must have been selected in the dark, or after the supply had been cornered. The piece is at the Walnut for a run of twelve weeks. It should go the distance easily, for it will draw all the youth of Philadel- phia. Sime HIGH ROLLERS. There are two principal counts against "The High Rollers." One is the presence of a preponderance of men principals and a shortage of singing and dancing women and the other the use of two complicated farcical plots for the first part and bur- lesque. The more one sees of these worked-over Hoyt things in burlesque, the more one is inclined to regard detached comedy "bits" with favor. It seems to be the rule that laughing value is reduced, in proportion to the prominence given to con- secutive story. John W. Jess has been identified so long with this style of burlesque that his w*m+ on a cast is virtually a notice that the show will be weighted with narrative. In the first part he plays the elderly Lotha- rio in his usual vein and for the burlesque is an art student in Paris, masquerading as a Spanish heiress to whom all the men of the studios make violent loveV Vr? He has a certain unctuous humor, but for burlesque audiences, accustomed to dialect comedy, knockabout and grotesque characters, it's hard to be really funny in a frock coat and silk hat. Charles Barrett is the "straight" (there is not a dialect comedian in the organise- tion) and handles the part satisfactorily except that he has a machine-made way of reading his speeches. Jack Davis ap- peared intermittently as a tough servant and Ben Walker was a "hick" minstrel man, a welcome variation from the ever- lasting down-at-the-heels "legit," necessary perhaps by the fact that Hickman played an invalid which ap- proached pretty closely to that time-worn role. However, there waa not enough of Hickman to tire. Blanche Martin, May Van Leer and Miss Mills are the only women who do not from time to time appear in the chorus ranks. Of these Miss Martin alone contributes to the singing strength of the show. She has an entrance song and a number or two during the pieces. The rest of the numbers (not listed on the program) are handled by the comedians or by girls temporarily advanced from the chorus. Individually several of the latter did nicely enough in a light way, but the ensemble singing was not over the aver- age. Numbers were plentiful despite the heavy plot, and were prettily costumed and well staged, although there were no striking novelties in the chorus evolutions. For the opening there is a medley oc- cupying probably ten minutes or more in which five or six of the choristers have a short solo. Brighter, livelier selections could have been employed and the girls could put more life in their movements. For the Olympic, Brooklyn, last week the show was clean as to dialogue, with only an occasional touch of spice beside one number in which the girls exposed their curves pretty generously. This was at the opening of the burlesque. There are five acts in the olio where again the men had it all their own way. The only woman in this part as against fourteen men (including the seven in the Montrose Troupe, added attraction) wee Maude Ellis, and even she.was masquera- ding as a male clown. Jack Davis opened in a rather entertaining specialty. His one song was a catchy "coon" number and a dance on roller skates gave him a good finish. Rose and Ellis have a barrel jump- ing turn with a sensational leap or two