Variety (July 1919)

' ; ;^;<\; -' '-■l-agfcj* ; - "- """~- --v' ;. ■ '•-^^^^^ gm^mmmm m : ^-i:i JLEGlf IMATE W .■>;r NEW PRODUCING SEASON STARTS BEFORE OLD SEASON HAS PASSED H ■i • i - :. Producers Rushing in with Plays During Midsummer Heat. Productions Were Originally Intended for Fall. Brady Presents Heavy Mystery Meller to Beat Other Police Plays. Broadway's record breaking summer the expense carried in the way of free season has already been salted with/ admission to newspaper folk, though one attraction which was planned for' the first night orchestra seats were $5 each. It is claimed that $1,000 worth of tickets was supplied for the scribes and about $350 for the second week. This was deducted from the ."hard tickets," or admission sold to standees. Last week's impending hot wave was punctured by rain with the week end seeing exceptionally cool weather. At- tractions which were wavering were issued a new lease of life: Musical shows all hit four figures and the bulk of the summer crop now claims a sure all-summer run. "The Royal Vaga- bond," thi strongest of the holdovers, has been drawing heavily at night, as has "Listen Lester." George White's "Scandals" has picked up with surpris- ing strength getting close to $2,000 for the week-end nights and around $1,700 on the other evenings. "La La Lu- cille" is drawing well, especially 6n the orchestra floor and so in "She's a Good Fellow." Lew Fields* "A Lone- ly Romeo" stands with the leaders which follow the "Follies," and hVis figured that the piece will have an ad- ditional draw with the opening of the "Gaieties" across the street next week. The two attractions will make 44th street a sort of "private 42d street" for the Shuberts. All attractions are nat- urally off at matinees with the excep- ion of the "Follies," which runs a $2 top for the afternoons and advertises that. -../: ;'.■--'• Business in the cut rates is fair with less than half of the shows listed; or^ chestra seats are to be had for "39 East" (Broadhurst); "Friendly Ene- mies" (Hudson); "Up in Mabel's Room" (Eltinge); "At 9.45" (Playhouse); "Tumble In." (Selwyn); "Monte Cnsto, Jr." (Winter Garden). Balcony seats listed for "Listen Lester" (Knicker- bocker; "Three Wise Fools" (Crite- rion); "La La Lucille" (Henry Miller); "She's a Good Fellow" (Globe). There are seven buys still running with the "Follies" in the lead as to demand. The other are "The Royal Vagabond" (Cohan & Harris); "Light- nin'" (Gaiety); "She's a Good Fellow" (Globe); "A Lonely Romeo" (Shubert); "Scandals" (Liberty). The buy for the latter show was understood by the agencies to have been for four weeks originally, but when the four weeks were up the house insisted the buy was for eight weeks and forced the agen- cies to continue it. There is a small buy of less than 200 seats a night for "La La Lucielle," but the brokers are not counting it in with the regular buys still running. The Shuberts are now dickering for a buy for eight weeks for the incoming "Gaieties of 1919" due at the 44th Street next week. It is a question now if whether 350 or 400 seats a night will be taken. the fall and from the present outlook "the new season will start before the summer session is clearly defined so that the new and old seasons will' practically merge into one another. This summer was originally figured out as sure to be "open" because of the expected rush of returned troops, the latter making the metropolis a stronger magnet for out of towners than ever. The backward troop move- ment fell to low level, also the War Department changed its discharge ma- chinery so that comparatively few men would arrive in New York long enough to benefit the city. Houses remained open, however, and business, in better measure than other years has con- tinued. W. A. Brady reopened the Playhouse last Saturday with "At 9.45," the Owen Davis play renamed from "The Alibi." 'Next week the Lyric will emerge from darkness with Comstock & Gest's re- ' turned soldier play, "Welcome Home," which will probably be renamed be- fore opening. There was a definite idea in the early opening of the Playhouse, as other murder mystery dramas were being readied by other producers and Brady decided to rush them with a sudden premiere. Advertisements of the opening were qualified by "despite the temperature" lines, but the piece got the finest kind of a weather break with a cool Saturday and similarly cool Monday when it was claimed the biggest second night ever drawn to the Playhouse was secured. The Comstock & Gest piece is for the same reasons as "At 9.45," being hur- ried to Broadway to beat other plays which deal with the returned soldier topic. It is not unlikely the other producers will be drawn into an early rning by the arrival of this pair, A. Woods has "A Voice in the Dark" ready, but declares he will wait until fall before showing it along Broad- way. George Broadhurst has "The Crimson Alibi" ready to open any time. While not settled, these opposition at- tractions may form the advance guard of the new season and instead of late August premieres, a new style of start- ing in July may be forced. With the new season plays already backing into the summer going, the summer list of shows is still not €om- . plete for two are listed to debut next week . They are "Gaieties of 1919" for the 44th St. and "Greenwich Village Nights" for the Village house. Both were postponed, the delays leaving the current week without an opening—for the first time in months. Cast changes caused the 'delay of the "Gaieties" while financial reconstruction lead to the Village show holding off. Ander- son T. Herd, the downtown broker who was interested in "The Better 'Ole" and "The Lady in Red," bought into the Greenwich show to the extent of $10,000 last Friday, according to re- port. The "Follies" by all odds is the strongest draw and most successful of the more than a score attractions on the show list. It got $28,730 for its second week and will attain that fig- ure indefinitely, any variation being accounted for in the standing room sold. The first week's gross of over $30,000 may or may not have included SPECS "GYPING." With this summer season offering more attractions than at any time in Broadway's history for a similar period, accompanying high admission prices' are perhapa eveiumore unusual. The "Follies" leads, strongest in de- mand and highest in rate, at $3.50, a jump of $1 in two seasons. Other at- tractions' are scaled for the most part at $2.50, with Saturday night's top go- ing to $3 jn some cases. That a picture ("Broken Blossoms") to be succeeded at the Cohan soon with ("The Fall of Babylon") should run second to the "Follies" in getting $3 top nightly is one of the curious tricks of Broadway supply and demand. Another show at- tempted to Tnstall a $3 nightly scale this week, that being "A Lonely CHANGING. "GAIETIES." The "Gaieties of 1919"' the new Shu-^ bert musical production was again post-., poned and is'now scheduled to open : at the redecorated 44th Street Theatre . next Monday night. The house, which through the liberal use of gold leaf; has been given a rich interior, was not r ready i for the Tuesday start, it was stated but the _real reason, for the^date^ shift was the changing' in cast. Ed Wynn is now in the cast and is the . featured member. This week two danc-. ing acts were included—the Glorias and Clayton and White. Marjorie Gate-v son was also added to straighten up the, feminine end.' William Kent is : still in the "Gaieties" cast. Mr. Ham- merstein stated that he would with- draw his court action for injunction' this ^et that being a. gg proceedings ('against Kent and place Romeo" at the Shubert. It isn tcertain f h g matter before the Frbaucin« Maria- EDNA CHASE IN CHORUS. Edna Chase, formerly a show girl, has joined the chorus of "A Lonely Romeo," having a bit with a few lines also. Miss Chase drew attention first when she joined the. chorus in the old Weber and Field Music Hall, at which time she was less than 16 years old. She has been off the stage for the past two seasons. the advanced scale will continue. Attendant to the new record top of the "Follies" is the ticket agency.situ- ation. With a city ordinance prohibit- ing brokers from charging more, than 50 cents premium, Flo Ziegfeld raised his scale knowing that any deal with . the brokers would precjude any house premium from that. But knowing too that "gyping" would be sure to creep in regardless of the ordinance Mr. Ziegfeld required the large agencies td furnish a bond for $10,000 each not to sell at more than 50 cents over the box office price. . . u u "Follies" tickets are being sold by some agencies at $8 each and upwards. That doesn't apply only to the five agencies supposed to have supplied the required bond. One of the five, it is reported, "accommodated" an agency which did notfurnish a bond with four tickets last Saturday for $28, which means the ultimate purchaser was nicked for at least $10 a piece plus.war tax. Last year the "Follies" was on the "outs" with the specs, which was a chance to boost the regular scale to, $3. But all the brokers had tickets for the attraction, even after swearing to "lay off." This season all agencies too have 'Tollies" tickets, bond or no bond, and- there is enough "gyping.^ One broker openly declared it was impos- sible to do business on a 50-cent basis. City authorities have made no real at- tempt to restrict ticket sales within the limits of the ordinance. Two clerks of one of the brokers were recently ar- rested alleged to have charged more than the legal premium, but the men were discharged by a magistrate who questioned the constitutionality of the ordinance. The ordinance also pro- . hibits selling of tickets by specs on the street, but one or more have been openly working within 20 feet of the Amsterdam and have succeeded in get- ting fancy prices. ■ , The agencies that are "gyping" at present, of course do not retain the full amount of the extra premium, or atJeast they are not supposed to be- cause of the income tax law which stipulates that half of all premiums above the legal limit be turned back to the collector. With street workers at it aprain, the collector will■ find it impossible to check up on sales and that is partially true with the regular agencies. The present indication is that the city ordinance is not functioning and has not, for there has been "gyp- ing" with other hits which preceded the "Follies." -.'z-tzzm I the matter before fhe -Frbaucing'Mana gers' Association. .,. 'r It is planned to permit smoking at.., the 44th Street, the general idea being .3| to give the house the same atmosphere as the Winter Garden; «•• When Wynn joined the show at Atlantic City last week, his -..'opening night brought a protest from Kent.: and George Hassell. W hen Wynn ap* peared on the stage he addressed the audience with "Well, they needed a comedian and so- they sent for ;me." Later he said "Well, you see' they needed me; there have only been two laughs in the show so far and I pulled both of them." After the show-there was ah indignation .meeting : with ; the result that Wynn said that if he hurt anyone's feelings he was sorry and he would try not to repeat jn the future. The Ward Brothers were brought on for Atlantic City and went into the show for one night. After the perfor- mance Friday evening it was^ discofe ered that/they would not fit into, the present production. They'had can- celed the week in vaudeville to make the try at a production. : -^p Josie Heather, and-her sister, Bobby, ..^ withdrew from;the show .this/week, : ^3||f under agreeable circumstances with the .^*?3|^ management. The Shuberts may place P? Mm the Heather girls with the ;McIntyre.S;iiM| and Heath show, which reopens early. \;yj^p in August.. v ; :tM| SHOWMAN, CHICKEN FARM AGENT. Al Aarons is-reported to have been ,. jM* representative for J. Ogden Armour of s ;.:;;ia Chicago, in Mr. Armour's recently ru- '■'• . ■"-; mored purchase of a 47 per cent^Jn- ^>3i| terest in the extensive chicken busi-';:^^ ness, the second largest in the coun?;_ C}$lm try, of Isaac Schweitzer. ' "„<■ ' "H • It is traced by those who appear to .-5'-^^ be in possession. of the information that the Aaron's connection with the *m Chicago capitalist started with the A r " ; : mour interest in the. dissolution of; Klaw & Erlanger. ^Vhile there has been a denial sent on behalf of .Marc Klaw that Armour was not interested in the Klaw & Erlanger separation, it- seems to be generally accepted by. those close to A. L. Erlanger that he;, has the Armour.backing, and that the. exact figure Klaw is to receive for his share of the syndicate business is $2,- 800,000. CHORUS OF ALLIES. A new show called "Live, Laugh and Love" will be produced and sent South by W. B. Seeskind. The chorus will be made up of one or two girls from, each of the allied countries, as defined dur- ing the war and a Japanese girl will, be included. The show was done in stock but is now being adapted to music, George K. Herd doing the book and Thomas J. Keough the score. It will open in the fall. DISSOLUTION ACTION. ' Mark Byron, Jr., has started suit through House, Grossman & Vorhaus against Giuseppe Creatore, the band- master, asking for a dissolution of the partnership existing between them and for an accounting of the profits. The two entered into business last year to send the Creatore Grand Opera Com- pany on tour. The Byron action just about beat a suit for a similar purpose which Cre- atore was starting through the Nathan Burkan office. ■■■■-'-- ...V- ■'■ it (THIS IS NOT A FACE POWDER) / I