Variety (October 1913)

VoLXXXII. No. 5. NEW YORK CITY, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1913. PRICE 10 CENTS T VAUDEVILLE ROAD SHOWS GET OV ER $15 ,000 ON WEEK Held Troupe Gathers in $16*400 in the South. Hoffmann Show, $15,000. Lillian Russell's Aggregation Opens at Albany. Alice Lloyd Company Starts Oct. 20 in Brooklyn Comstock & Gest, who manage the Hoffmann - Polaire - Lady Richardson road show, expressed themselves as v/ell satisfied with last week's gross. Gtuige Muoser, representing John Cort, said the same regarding the opening week in 'the south of the Anna Held tour. The Hoffmann show gathered in a little over $15,000 on the six days, playing three o'nc-nighters where no matinees were given. The Held troupe played to $16,400 on the week, with matinees. The shows are getting about 80 per cent, of the gross, though that percentage of division is not regularly maintained. The Hoffmann company costs Comstock & Gest around $10,000 veekly to operate. The Held show expense is between $8,500 and $9,000. Andrew Mack left the Anna Held company this week. In his place were placed Ward and Curran from the Lil- lian Russell show, Kramer and Bell- clair going with the Russell company. Mack did not like his position on the program and amicably agreed with Mr. Gort to leave. The success of the road shows so far have started lively speculation for Oilier companies. Jake Wells, the southern manager, when getting his statements on the business being drawn by Held, is said to have pro- p*^sed immediaitely more road troupes for his houses in the south. It was tlirough Wells that some of the towns crintainini? houses booked by the United Offices were cjosed to the Held slow. The company will not play At- lanta. It j^cts into NashviK at the Auditorium, although an effort to ' ^"p :f out of that city was also made. The Lillian Kussell show opening at Albany Monday played Schenectady Tuesday: Ithaca. X. Y.. Wednesday; Wilkes-barre, Oct. 2; Harrisbur§, Oct. 3; Altoona, Pa., Oct. 4. It is routed for one-nighters until Oct. 20, when St. Louis will be its first week stand. The Russell show from report is bet- ter framed for week stands than for one-nighters. No heavy advance sale v.as reported through this week of one- nighters, although Ithaca Wednesday was expected to be a real test of the company's drawing powers for an average one-night stop. Good business was reported at Schenectady Tuesday night. The Alice Lloyd vaudeville road show, under the direction of William Morris, is expected to commence its travels Oct. 20 at the De Kalb, Brook- lyn. That date may be set over until the 27th. For the Lloyd show Mr. Morris has engaged Frank Fogarty, The Act Beautiful, Fay, 2 Coleys and Fay and The Woods (English Trio) besides some turns from New York cabarets, including the two Chinese "Tommy" dancers at Shanley's. "Dance Mad," the Cabaret act now at the New York theatre, will also be carried, clos- ing the performance. Morris will have both foreign and American acts in the show. The Evelyn Ncsbit Thaw troupe, another Comstock & Gest road show, opened its season Monday night at the West End, New York, playing to around $900, as good as the West End has drawn at any time, but still not capacity. The house and the fact that Miss Nesbit has just finished a run of eight weeks at Hammerstein's were be- lieved to have affected the attendance in the early part of the week. Next week the Thaw show plays the Majes- ♦'>. Brooklyn, then takes to one-night- ors < New England on its way to Canada, v;here it will spend a week each at Tor. nto and Montreal, with CContinucv^ -^ nage 6.) MILWAUKEE'S NEW ONE. Milwaukee, Oct. L The Plankinton Hotel property has been leased to C. W. Somers, the Cleveland baseball magnate, for 99 years. He will immediately wreck the present structure and build a new hotel with theatre included. Klaw & Erlanger have a 25-year non- assignable lease of the playhouse. DRESSLER.RITCHIE SHOW. There is a report that Marie Dress- ier and Adele Ritchie are talking over a vaudeville road show with themselves as stars of the troupe. WHITNEY HAS NEW STAR. Fred C. Whitney has placed Doro- thy Donnelly under contract for a starring tour, to commence after the holidays, or sooner, if the piece now being written for her is completed be- fore that time. W. A F.-KINEMAOOLOR. The final signatures necessary for the Weber & Fields-Kinemacolor Pro- ducing Co. were attached Sept. 26. Within 60 days from that date, accord- ing to the agreement, the first film picture of the German comedians must be produced. It will be entitled "Web- er & Fields' Trip Around the World." S. A. Barnard, president of the Kine- macolor Co., is president of the new corporation, capitalized at $500,000. Lew Fields is vice-president; L. Law- rence Weber, secretary and treasurer. 8.-0. IN SIOUX CITY. Chicago, Oct. 1. Harry Holmes, manager of the Beig- ger theatre, Sioux City, la., was in town this week looking up plans for the new Beigger theatre which is soon to be erected in Sicux City by John Beigger. It will cost in the neighborhood of $125,000 and will play Sullivan-Consi- d'ne vaudeville. MOROSOO SHOWS ONLY. Oliver Morosco has entered into an arrangement with John Cort whereby the Cort theatre, New York, will be given over exclusively to the Morosco productions. LOEW*S $00,000 SHOW. "The Pleasure Seekers" goes into the Winter Garden, New York, Elec- tion night or the day before. This production is the first at *hat house in which the Shuberts have not figured either as producers or parties in interest. They have no part of the newcomer, excepting as house man- agers. The gross will be divided on a sliding percentage scale. Marcus Loew is behind the enter- prise, which is said will cost between $50,000 and $60,000. Lew Fields has an interest in the venture. "LARRY" WEBER PRODUCES. L. Lawrence Weber, associated with Joe Weber, will figure as producer of his first play, although he has been financially interested in several legiti- mate enterprises. The new piece is a dramatic version by James Ritter and Ben Teal of Cyn- thia Stockney's novel, "Poppy." It will be seen around the holidays. MINISTER IN SKETCH. "The Rector" is the title of a sketch which will detail an event in the life of the Rev. Dr. Alexander Irvine, as the main incident. Besides that, the Rev. Dr. will play in the piece with three actors for assistants. James Clancy captured the minister and the sketch, the former having been excommunicated from the Episcopalian clergy for "social heresy," which is a near-relative of Socialism. Since then the Doctor has been giving lectures in pulpits. His expulsion occurred in New Haven. He has preached in New York. CAIiL "COUNTRY STORE" GAMBLE. Cincinnati, Oct. 1. Harry Hart, manager of the Lyceum theatre, playing Sun vaudeville, was ar- rested this week for conducting a game of chance, the game consisting of the much worked "country store" racket. Persons entering the theatre arc given coupons. Drawings arc made aftt-r the show and ten prizes given away. Jim Fcnnessy ran the store for several years at the People's without getting pinched. Hart says he will make a test case of it. If 700 don't •dvertlnc In VARIETY, 49P'( advertise at all.