Variety (October 1909)

VARIETY 11 HOL80RN EMPIRE. London, Sept. 22. A very good bill, running smoothly and quickly, makei a pleasant evening possible at Holborn this week. Hanvaar and Lee in a juggling act open the show quietly, though they make a good act for the position. Conan and Doyle do a rather eccentric Mimultaneous dunce, the eccentric dancing making it different from the rest. The Hon. Miss Eva O'Conner, billed as "the latest debutante from society," needed the billing. She sang a couple of songs that did not startle the audience ^despite that the Hon. Miss must have Pcome from a good family, and is no doubt good to her folks. It is wondered if this society thing is about to become a fad. "The See Saw Girls" in floral swings make up a very pretty number, but the act hardly seems strong enough to secure time. The girls all appear to be good lookers (in a dim light). Chas. Whittle, the fellow with the pretty songs, had a bad cold, singing but one. "The Five X-Rays," a bunch of comedy tumblers, seemed to have this audience made for them. Harry Ford is one of the funny kind, always sure fire in any hall here. Ford has very good style, and two funny songs. Alice Pierce is very affected, at times giving imitations. At other times Alice gathers a few screeches together, slipping them over to represent acting. This week Alice is sending over an imitation of Clarice Vance. It is really painful. Alice suddenly announces she will try to por- tray a night in a mad-house or a scene in a mad-house. It's a soft subject for Alice. A scene that no one could understand will never pull her through. Walter Bird and Co. presented a comedy dramatic episode that brought many laughs (New Acts). <?am Mayo after all the comedy of the show made them laugh with a new song about a fireman. Billy Merson also is a very good comedian with a capital idea. His eccentric dancing would take him through anywhere. The 3 Cunards arc boys, a neat dancing act, and probably would do a lot better if they were not made to close the show. > "ARIZONA" GOES OUT. * "Arizona," which has been the subject of a violent controversy between Hollis Cooley, on one side, and Gus Hill and Sam A. Scribner on the other, will go out again this season. It opened in Trenton Monday and has been booked for a long route. It will be under the management of Mtessrs. Scribner and Hill. Meanwhile a suit has been started by. these two managers to recover a large sum claimed to 'be due them from Cooley, who managed "Arizona" for a year. The play is the property of the Kirke LaShelle Estate. It was leased to Mel- ville B. Raymond to whom Scribner, Hill and several other parties loaned money for its exploitation. When Raymond be- came insolvent they took charge of the enterprise (two companies), as a commit- tee for the creditors. Dore" Davidson, with a company of four people wants an opportunity to present "The Musician's Daughter," a new act Mr. Davidson has prepared. Application for an opening has been made Joe Wood. METROPOLITAN. London, Sept. 21. It rests with the feature acts to pull the show through safely this week at the Met. The rest of the bill is not up to mark. Cecil Curtis, of opera fame, sings one song pleasingly for an opener. Cecil is rather a good looking fellow in a dress suit. Florence Yayman gets away with some comedy that seems to hurt her in her Topsy specialty. Miss Yayman was quite popular. Harry Tate and Co. played "Motoring." Usual scream of course. The act seems rather short, but this must be due to the number of halls the Tate company is playing this week. Hattie Browne, said to be from the West End theatre, puts over a monolog called "Liza's Bill," mostly comedy with a serious finish. Hattie picked some bad talk, for the truth of it all was the audi- ence laughed more at the sober finish than at the comedy. Miss Browne could get away with a Coster girl's part in a show, but her present material will never do. Osborne and Brookes do a few light char- acter sketches including the "souse" hus- band coming in late with his wife waiting up for him. The ''souse" is well done, though old. Callahan and St. George, their first ap- pearance in a regular London hall since the engagement of a year ago at the Coliseum, were a solid hit from start to finish. Jim Callahan was in great form with the comedy, while Jennie St. George never handled the harp and songs better. It seemed to be an Irish audience. Every point was not only laughed at but all were applauded. Harry Anderson is a comedian of the old school. He did very well, singing with much expression. George Brooks for some reason or other does not appear as funny as usual. Jessie Preston had no trouble in reach- ing with her funny business. The Broth- ers Home, a big scream in the boxing scene over here, closed the show. COLDS IN CHANGING WEATHER. Chicago, Sept. 30. The changing weather of the last week or two has been hard on artists who have a disposition to "catch cold." Singers have been particularly embarrassed and the coughs heard in some of the dressing rooms have run the scale, according to the way the vocal organs have been af- fected. Tom Armstrong, of Armstrong and Verne, yodled with difficulty for sev- eral days and tried many of the remedies suggested by fellow artists. Maud Ryan, of Inness and Ryan, did not sing with her customary nightingale sweetness last week nt the Haymarket. Flo Grierson had to lose several days, but»has now recovered. Many others have suffered. There's a Flemington in New Jersey, and there's an opera house in Flemington. Joe Wood is booking one act weekly into the opera house. By and by when Flem- ington becomes a regular* town, it will "split" with the Pastime, East on, Pa. Dr. Cook commenced his lecture tour at the Carnegie Music Hall, New York, last Monday evening to a very large audi* ence. Admission prices were from $1 to $6. PARIS 1NOTES BY EDWARD G. KENDREW. v©3 Paris, Sept. 22. Another accident from burning hap- pened to an artiste in Paris. Mmc. Odette Rossi, of the Theatre Antoine, aged 21, while attending to household duties (she is married and the mother of two chil- dren), began to clean some gloves with benzine. Seeing that the meat for the evening meal was burning she ran to the oven and was at once enveloped in flames. She is now lying in a pitiable state in the hospital. Mr. Georges Feydeau, in whose play, "Occupe-toi d'Amelie," Mme. Rossi is appearing, at once opened a subscrip- tion for the artiste, which has already reached $200. Her husband is playing a minor part in the revue at the Cigale music hall. In Paris, Sept. 20, Mile. Scriwaneck died at the age of 86. Born in Rouen, she ap- peared at the theatre there very young and came to Paris in 1843. She played many parts and was particularly recog- nized in travesty. Retiring many years ago, and unknown to the contemporary playgoer, she left a name in the annals of the French stage which compares with Schneider, Mile. George, Got, Bureau or Dejazet. The Apollo reopens Sept. 25 with "The Merry Widow," played by the same com- pany as last season. There was a rumor that this operetta would be removed to the Moulin Rouge, but we hear so much just now of the poor Red Mill that it must be taken with a grain of salt. For the moment Polaire is drawing there in "Ma Gosse," and receiving the biggest salary paid at this hall. Additional numbers were introduced into the Olympla show on the 20th. The Prin- cess Baratoff returned. She had a dis- pute with her Parisian dressmakers during her English trip and her salary had been seized. The court has allowed the plain- tiffs a quarter of their original claim. Also there are the "Eight Real Geishas"; no mention that they are direct from Japan. They give a pretty act, more original than entertaining. The direc- tors are also taking a leaf out of the Moss-Stoll book by giving a good sketch played by real actors! Le Gallo, of the Palais Royal, is appearing in "L'EcraseV by Froyez (New Acts), certainly a draw. Mile. A. Borellya has likewise returned to the Olympia, and O'Connor, silhou- cttiste, and Mile. Pilar Montero, Spanish dancer, newcomers. In October we shall see the Belleclaires, hand balancing, and Simone de BCryl. A revue by Moreau is in preparation. Business is excellent. At the F'olies Bergere they are doing still better than during the revue last season. The takings since the opening have been on an average of $1,600 each performance, a record figure considering the size of the hall. I again point out that the program is vaudeville all through, with the exception of a ballet of half an hour. keep it open during the winter—with a skating rink, the fourth in Paris.' The Marigny will close Sept. '.M. It is gratifying to learn that the period during which vaudeville has been on the program at this hall has been more suc- cessful than the long revue, in spite of big names and sumptuous mounting. Chas. Aldrich, Willard-Simms and other American turns are even a bigger attrac- tion than Otero, who has certainly im- proved in size but not in voice during her long rest. The latest rumor, undoubtedly true, is that the Bal Bullier will disappear alto- gether, and be replaced by apartment houses. Many sedate magistrates, doctors and lawyers will hear of this with a throb ui regret while the mind goes back to student days when the cares jof this busy world were of secondary importance, and they dimly recall the happy hours spent in this famous ballroom with the sweet- hearts who could never become their wives. The old Carlo Theatre in Naples (Italy) is causing some anxiety to the authorities, as the building is threatening to fall to pieces. The Omnia Society, which has a long lease on the Cirque Rancy, at Geneva, Switzerland, has decided to replace the moving picture program for a vaudeville «how this winter, and will rechristen the hall "Apollo Theatre." CHANCE FOR GOOD ACTS WEST. San Francisco, Sept. 30. Now is the opportunity for some good act, unable to "get in right." All neces- sary is to book and play some of the western time, "out here, on the firing line." They will make the hit of their lives. Good acts are so scarce out this way, and have been for several weeks, that when a really good one does show up it is instanly pounced upon. An improvement has been looked forward (o in the class of acts that have been ap- pearing recently, but they seem to be retro- grading instead. Some good "doubles" and "aingles" have been in evidence, but really meritorious sketches seem awfully scarce. Managers are waking up to realize thai they are not securing the shows received heretofore. Decreased attendance has fol- lowed. The weather has been exceptionally warm, greatly affecting business. Wednes- day, last week, was the hottest day of the year, registering 03 in this city; San Jose. U. r »; Sacramento, 1)8; Fresno, 100, and Los Augeles, 102. Cooler weather is now pre- vailing. The moving picture houses that have been running two and three acts in conjunction with the films, ore for the most part dis- pensing with acts, as it has not proved a profitable venture. Competition is keen between them at present and business Is very evenly divided. "Luna Park" is a little gold mine, and Messrs. lies, Bostock & Co. intend to "I Want to Go to Idaho," is the hoiiji craze of Kngland just now, suiitf by li. C. Elliott over there.