Variety (March 1909)

VARIETY 11 LONDON NOTES VARIETY'S LONDON OFFICE. 411 ITEAVD. W. 0. (Mall tor American! and Bhiroptsaa. *n Eorop* If aridrtMMtf care VARIBTY, m above, will be promptly forwarded.) London, Feb* 24. John and Dick Mack, with two other* calling themselves John and Dick Mack, are sueing the management of Marie Dressier** new play for breach of con- tract. The act is called "This Quartet." Hal Godfrey has received an offer through Shereck & Braff for a long en- gagement at the Wintergarten, Berlin. The Crown, Peckham, lately turned into a music hall with bookings handled by the Gibbons office, is reported doing poor business. Gibbons has another house near this, bought after he had agreed to book the Crown. The new house is get- ting the better shows and the Crown suf- fers through this. The play "An Englishman's Home," a tremendous success in one of the London theatres, has caused a thrill of patriotism throughout the country, and it is stronger than ever in the music halls now. Vesta Tilley is singing a song about fighting for England that is full of American expres- sions. A new production of Frank Parker's opened at the London Hippodrome Mon- day, and will be called "Over the Cliff." An automobile carrying two persons will be driven dffer a cliff. Jack Smiles is a young fellow who can sing and dance well. Smiles is going to be among the big single acts before long. Young Otto* of America is showing a week at the Canterbury, boxing with local lightweights. Liane D'Eve, at the Tivoli, was popular with the audience Tuesday evening, but very few were present. She tops the bill. D'Eve will remain three more weeks there. Decima Moore, of musical comedy fame on this side, broke into vaudeville at the Tivoli this week, doing quite fairly. She gives two songs and a recitation. Miss Moore seems to be too much on the draw- ing room order to suit at the Tivoli. "Onaip" is in London looking for an opening. The act will be handled by the William Morris London office. Paul Murray left Feb. 17 for the north to look over acts. Ernest Edelstein is handling Master George Wood, said to be a "kid" wonder. Wood is booked for two years solid. The skating rinks in London are draw- ing away from the halls. At the Olympia Roller Rink Saturday 6,000 people are re- ported to have attended. To-day (Feb. 24) the Urban Co. gave a trial exhibition of the film of the Britt- Summers fight at their offices in Wewxdor Street. The film was not complete, as some of the rounds weren't finished, but a good share were shown. Britt and Sum- mers were both there, Britt kidding a whole lot cheering himself on. Jimmie told the pressmen present that he was not satis- fied with the decision after seeing the pic- tures. He also said he was sore because they didn't have the speech in that he made after the fight. There was a big bunch of Yank vaude- ville people around the ring Monday night when Jimmie Britt and Johnnie Summers came together at the National Sporting Club. Most had backed Britt pretty heavily, so when the decision was given against Jimmie after going twenty rounds they all said they were satisfied, but to one who didn't bet it looked as though Jimmie got the short end of it, and the go should have been declared a draw. Friend and Downing opened at the Ox- ford on Monday night, making very good on their first appearance in London. The act was a laugh from start to finish and ought to have little trouble in any of the London halls that they may play. Friend and Downing will probably cancel or the managers cancel the Oxford dates they hold, calling for three more weeks. It seems that the boys signed for an exclusive engagement at the Oxford and the manage- ment decided that they should play another hall with the Oxford, without increase in salary. The team will not consent to this. The management can exercise its right to cancel under a clause. Big headlines in the dailies to-day an- nouncing the retirement of Mrs. 6rown Potter from the stage. It has been rumored around that Bill Collins, booking manager for the Syndicate Halls, will shortly go over to the Gibbons- Barrasford combine. Mooney and Holbein are bock in Lon- don. The opinion seems to prevail in London that the ultimate result of the Gibbons- Barrnsford combine will be that George Dance, who is interested in both of those circuits, will eventually assume the direc- tion of them and that Thomas Barras- ford may retire. Dance has always had the ambition to be the big showman of the halls and. as previously reported, this, no doubt, stood in the way of a general book- ing consolidation with Stoll, Payne and DcFrece. If Barrasford should leave the vaudeville field and Gibbons run both tours, it would give Gibbons (always in- cluding Dance) a circuit running from London through the provinces. To oppose Gibbons, Payne is obliged to join Stoll. While this Payne-Stoll amalgamation is not definite vet, it is safelv looked for. The Payne houses and what are known as the "Syndicate Halls" are the same. PARIS NOTES BY EDWARD 0. KERDSEW. tSti Paris, Feb. 23. Alexia, in a dance "written by Harry Fragson," is at the Olympia. A Rajah confides all his keys to Baia, excepting one (like Bluebeard), which leads to the chamber in which the evil spirits are im- prisoned in a vase. Whoever touches this vase must die. The Princes (Alexia), with woman's proverbial curiosity, enters, breaks the vase and is henceforth in the power of the spirits. She then endeavors to charm the evil ones by her dancing, but in vain, and expires in view of the audience. The prolog is explained by moving pictures. It is a one-character skit running fifteen minutes. The "claque" in the Paris theatres has always been condemned by the foreign playgoer. Of recent years the native pub- lic has manifested its disapproval, so that the suit which occupied the attention of the Paris courts Feb. 18 was followed with interest. Mme. Alamone had ob- tained the concession for the "claque" at the Olympia from the Isola Brothers and P. Ruez, respective managers of this music hall, from 1001 to 1008. But the plaintiff claimed this condition had been cancelled eleven months before it ex- pired, although she had paid the directors a sum of $2,605 in advance for the last three years of the contract, and conse- quently still had $820 to her credit when the hall changed hands last year. She sued for this sum, together with $1,168 for breach of contract from Ruez and Isola Brothers, the profits she alleged were lost. "These profits," pleaded Mme. Alamone's attorney, "are not to be laughed at, for besides the thirty places which were granted to her free, on which she charged the young men who ap- plauded only 20 cents for a good seat, she also counted on numerous gifts, which artists would send her for special atten- tion." In support of this a letter was produced in testimony, reading: "Friday, 2nd September, 1004. "Madame: I enclose 100 frs. ($10.30) for the month of September. Counting on your kindness, "Yours, etc., "(Signed) CLEO DE MERODE." "In this manner," continued the attor- ney, "Mme. Alamone could reckon on a clear profit (after paying for the conces- sion) of $965 to $1,158 a year." The case was adjourned for a fortnight, when the representative of Messrs. Isola will present their defense. Mme. Caroline Otero has again been in the courts also, on this occasion, for not having fulfilled an engagement. Is it the thin edge of the new Franco-German entente cordiale? In 1006 she signed an engagement for six performances in north- ern Europe at $212 each, with Kerr Rot- ter, manager of the Central Theatre, Dresden. On account of the troubles in Russia, where she should have appeared, she declined to go. The German director sued her and then assigned his claim to a local bank for the sum of $1,098, the pen- alty due. As Mme. Otero did not even defend the case she was condemned by default. To make the decision executory in France an exequatur is necessary, and it was in order to obtain this that the legal representative of the German bank, which is also a large building company, pleaded the case again in Paris on Feb. 16. It was argued by Otero's attorney that the artiste being domiciled in Franca and the engagement made here, the Saxon courts had no jurisdiction, and the verdict rendered in Dresden was therefore illegal. The Court decided against Otero. I hear that M. Habrekorn is about to relinquish the direction of that large and popular music haty in the Boulevard Vol- taire, Ba-Ta-Claa, and that it will be taken over by a provincial imperaario la May next. M. Habrekorn is floating a company, with a capital of $200,000 and will take over two other establishmente in Paris next winter. "The Merry Widow" will probably be mounted at the Apollo on or about April 10 by A. Franck. Franck would not make any statement. In the meanwhile we are having parodies on the name. The opening revue at the Diable-au-Corps will be entitled "La Reveuve Joyeuse," and at Parisiana a new sketch will be played on March 3 to be called "La Veuve Soyeuae* ("The Silky Widow"). A spectacular piece, "Vas-y, mon Prince," will fill too bills at the *Cigale in March, for which Miles. Mealy and Jane Alba have been engaged. Another "passion" crime was recorded in Paris last week. A young man namod Croquet shot dead Mile. Lucienne Muguet, a music hall singer, because she had threatened to leave him. He is under arrest. EUSTOH PALACE. London, Feb. 20. A fair show is on at the Euston this week. It is a comfortable house. Olive Lenton opened the bill singing and danc- ing. Olive made her hit wearing tights. The 4 Panamas contain one boy who dues something. Will E. Stopit is a tumbler who should work faster or an- swer "Yes" to his name. Tom Parker dances a little and talks a lot. Maurice Hoffman and Ethel King appeared in a "dramatic episode," "The Martydom of Michael." Mike was a martyr. He was doing his sixth year in prison when the curtain went up. It was a regular sketch with a villain, hero and heroine, and bad acting by the women. Conie Gilbert is there with the red fire, singing abouUhow an Englishman would die. As Connie is a good looker, she can get any number to take a chance for her. The Majors are a bunch of good singers with good co- median uniforms. Cohan's "Grand Old Flag" anglicized closes the act big. Kit Keen is working in blackface, sing- ing a "coon" number and billed as a col- ored comedian. His imitation of a Lon- don "Johnnie" and his voice are both ofT- color; otherwise Kit is all right. Mysticus would get by better if he didn't stick around so long, and Apollo, the strong man, gave an exhibition of wrestling. The frame-up is very realistic.