The New York Clipper (April 1919)

4*^W ■SBft fTHE NEW YORK CLifcMiR :• ■■■«■•■: -|---t< -.- ■■ - ---■■■•-•--■•w.«*wr^---^ ■ - ,t ... A. ,-.o " April 30r»1919 PROHIBITION WON'T HURT BUSINESS, SAY MANAGERS Many Feel It Will Be a Direct Benefit to Patronage, AH Classes Having Money to Spend That Now Goes r - '"■'"*'- '- ^fofiiquca: ..*,....,.- '■-. -----■-. , A varying symposium of opinion was id last, week when a number . of elicited people interested in the business side of the theatre were asked to express their views regarding the effect on business of prohibition, A majority think that it will tend to brine increased prosperity. • Lee Shubert said: "Personally, I am against, liquor and a believer in prohibition and I .'think it's going into effect'in this country will help the theatrical business." ... .-^QeowjaJ*.. Cohan: "I .beat prohibition by two y^irs and, ; sWe il helped me in say business, as it surely has, there is no reason why it shouldn't help the the- atrical business in general." Walter Jordan, of Banter and Jordan: "I am almost positive that prohibition will prove beneficial to the theatre." Oliver D. Bailey: "The proof that pro- hibition will help the theatres is Seattle, - where, I come from. In that city, the theatres began to do a thriving business Just as soon as the town became dry." ' Mark Lenscher, manager of the Hippo- drome: "Prohibition will have a depressing effect on the theatres in New York for a short time after it goes into effect, at any rate; but throughout the rest of the country it will make-very little difference as far as the theatres are concerned." Oliver Morosco: "I think prohibition will usher in a new era of prosperity for the theatres throughout this country, but I feel almost certain that it will have a detrimental effect on other business enter- prises, besides throwing many thousands of people out of employment.* " Lew Fields: "I am sure prohibition is going to prove exceedingly beneficial to V>e. theatrical business. For, where else are people going to spend their money ex- cept in the theatre?" Charles A. Levy, of the Broadway The- atre Ticket Agency: "Prohibition is cer- tainly going to help the theatres consid- erably; it will, bring- a large .number of people to the theatre who now sit around "elsewhere at night and drink liquor." '. David Marks, of the United Theatre Ticket Office: "It certainly should help the theatres, because it will eliminate another hangout for men—I mean the saloons." Louis Cohen, of the Times Building Ticket Office: "Prohibition is going to hurt the theatrical business in New York, be- cause it is going to keep a large number of bat r -'of town jieople from coming' here." Leo Newman, of the''Newman Theatre Ticket Agency: "After traveling around the country extensively during the last fifteen years I know from experience that pro- hibition will be bad for the theatres, espe- cially so in New York." John L. Golden, of Smith and Golden: "In my opinion, prohibition will not make the slightest difference so far. as the the- atre is concerned. A good play will be well patronized and a poor one will fail," as it deserves and generally does." Richard Lambert: "In all probability, prohibition will help the theatres, because it will close the cabarets and bring the people who used to patronize those plays to the exclusion of theatres to the play- houses." . Arch Selwyh: "The effect of prohibition on the theatre will be moat beneficial, be- cause the theatre win supply one of the many substitutes people will crave in place' of alcohol." '•' •■■ John Cort: "Fm sure prohibition is go- ing to help the theatre. In California, pro- hibition increased business for the theatres from twenty-five to forty per cent." Florenz ZiegfeM, Jr.: "To begin with, I don't think prohibition will go into effect on the first day of next July; but, if it should, I'm almost sure it will not affect toe theatrical business." ' "SHANNON AND EDELMAN SPLIT Sam Shannon and:'Lou Edelman' have split, and, as a result,' Shannon may have to defer . the 1 production. of a mngjcalised version of "Checkers," the late Henry Blos- som's play, which he acquired last February from" the" Kirl La Shell estate. ■• After acquiring the play, Shannon inter- ested Edelman, who is in tie pari and "fair branch of the show business and a corporation known. as the Edelman-Shan- non Corporation 'was' organized tcr exploit. the piece. It was capitalized at $15,000; $5,000 being paid in and Edelman and ' Shannon dividing $10,000 worth of stock equally between them. ■ Edelman Bays that ' the corporation was also to do park and fair business. Then Shannon entered into negotiations with Edgar Alien Woolf to adapt the play. Arthur Lamb to write the lyrics, and Ar- thur Buckner, who is in jail at present under a Federal indictment charging him with using the mails to defraud, to write •"the music:"' '• : "-, -'"- -• , *'" Edelman' say ale then suggesttd to'Shan- non that they dispose of "Checkers" if they could realise a profit; preferring to let somebody else stand the risk of pro- ducing the musicalized version, but Shan- non did not.like the idea, sticking to his original plan of doing the play h'hnsslf, de- spite, the fact'that they figured it would . cost them $30,000 to produce the play in a suitable manner. . >•■ Finally, their differences reached the point where, they could no longer agree on any scheme for Siiawrtug the production. So Shannon surrendered his stock in the corporation to Edelman and the latter, act- ing for the corporation, relinquished its interest is "Checkers," Shannon re-acquir- ing the play outright. Now. it is reported, Lee Roberts, com- poser of "Smiles," is to compose the music, which wQl be published by Remick and for which it is also rumored the publisher has already given Shannon a substantial advance. GREENWICH "FOLLIES" IS SET "The Greenwich Tillage Follies of 1919" ia the name of the musical show scheduled to open at the Greenwich Village Theatre the first week in June as a Summer show, it was learned last week ■ The show was written by Philip Barthol- omae, John Murray Anderson and A. Bald- win Sloane. John Murray Anderson will also stage the show, which went into re- hearsal last Monday. This win be the first musical show ever produced in Greenwich Village, and a cor- poration for that purpose wsa organised last week. It is known as the Bohemian Corporation and is capitalized at $45,000. The directors and stockholders,of the new producing corporation are: Philip Bartholo- mae, John Murray Anderson, A. Baldwin Sloane, Maurice Greene, Arthur Pearson, the burlesque producer: Bernard Gallant, manager of the Greenwich Village Theatre, and three of Gallant's associates in the Greenwich Village Players Corporation. The management of the theatre, besides re- ceiving a percentage of the weekly gro ss. said to be 25 per cent, in rental, will also receive a share of the profits. - It is-estimated that the cost of the pro- duction wQl be $25,000, the cast number- ing thirty-two players, of whom twelve win be principals and the rest show girls. Of these latter, six have already been en- gaged, they being either former "Follies" or "Hitchy-Koo" girls. "Shakuntala," the Hindoo play now ap- pearing at the Greenwich, win close there May 17 and begin a tour of the Subway Circuit, opening in Brooklyn May 19. "Hotjohemia," which opened at the Green- wich February 8, running there untn last Saturday night, wffl begin a tour of Little theatres throughout the Middle "West, open- ing in Minneapolis May 5. Bernard Gallant will continue an mana- ger of the house during the run of the musical show. REHEARSE NEW 9 O'CLOCK SHOW A new 9 o'clock show is now being ar- ranged by Flo Ziegfeld for his "Frolic" atop the New Amsterdam Theatre, to be pre- sented May 12, the midnight show remain- ing the same as at present. The cast of the new show will include Will Rogers, Eddie Cantor and Ann Penn- ington, an of whom are at present appear- ing in the "Follies," which opened in Bos- ton last Monday night. Ann Pennington, according to George White, is signed up to appear in White's "Scandal of 1919" show, scheduled to open in Wilmington May 15, three days after die is announced to open in the "Frolic." EX-MINSTREL IS CONNOISEUR Sat? Francisco, April 24.—O. G. Conn, of Elkhart , Ind., many years ago one of the Haverly minstrels, has some paintings on exhibition here at the Palace Hotel. Among them are works of Rembrandt, Romney, Lawrence, Dupre, Inness and other famous artists. The collection ia amid to be worth about $460,000. Mr. Conn, besides being with the Haverly Minstrels, had also traveled with musical road shows and later" became a musical instrument manufacturer. WARFTELD HAS $12,000 WEEK Reading. Pa, April 24.—David War- field closed a $12,000 week of one-night stands here last Saturday, after playing Johnstown, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Al- toona, Allentowu and Reading. On the last Friday in Lent, at the Rajah Theatre, the receipts were $1,792. This is the larg- est record ever made by any dramatic com- pany in Reading. ORCHESTRA SUES PERKINS Edward B. Perkins was sued last week in the Bronx Supreme Court by the Clef Club Orchestra, which obtained a judgment against him for $149483. According to the complaint in the ac- tion, which was for alleged breach of con- tract, Perkins failed to pay the orchestra $944.33 for an engagement in Syracuse and $250 for a show in New York. Following the docketing of the judgment, Judge Tierney issued a writ of attachment on property which it was reported Perkins had at the Selwyn Theatre, but when Deputy Sheriff HaUoran went to the theatre to make a levy, he was informed the theatre held no money or property be- longing to Perkins. As a result, Edwin O. Austin, attorney for the orchestra, has asked the court to permit the writ to remain in effect untn Perkins returns'from Chicago, where he is at present with another orchestra which he is directing. MORRIS-CASEY AGREEMENT ENDS Th e two years' agreement under which William Morris and the Pat Casey Agency operated together in the Putnam Building, has, according to Morris, expired, and the two booking offices are now operating sepa- rately. Early this week, Morris stated that he is taking larger quarters on the same floor of the building in which he now makes his office, as he intends to make his theatrical interests more .extensive. Besides booking vaudeville acts and presenting a new musi- cal" show in. the near future, in which Sophie Tucker will be starred, Morris says he is also going into the motion picture business. KOLB AND DILL CLOSE San Fbanciboo. April 25.—Kott and Dfll wIU dose at the Curran Theatre here ia "As Tou Were" on May S. MOSS SIGNS SIGNOR DE MARTIN Signor Ronualdo De Martin,' formerly of the Boston Symphony O r che str a, has been engaged by B- S. Moss to conduct the New American Symphony Orchestra of forty pieces at tie Broadway Theatre, which will open next Friday night under the direction of Mr. Moss with "The Un- pardonable Sin" as the feature film.- DISAGREE OVER: SONG OWNERSHIP Bert Hanlon and Joe LAurie, of Laurie . and Bronson, are in the midat of a dispute over the ownership of-a song- which has reached such an acute "stage that the courts will probably be called upon to . settle j£e_ difficulty. '••■' '"".'- .'...-. The' Song in question is ' the, patriotic satire number which- Hanlon'has been using in his act and which was also in- troduced recently by Emily Darrell. Han- - Ion ' Maims he 'wrote the' song a number -of years ago and that, while it was sub- mitted to Laurie, it waa never sold or transferred'to him. ' ■";;;■ ; .~'"' **2?**\ ■ Recently; ' Hanlon learned ' that Miss Darrell. waa using the number, and he called on her to discover how she gained possession of it. According to Hanlon, she informed him she had. purchased the right to use' it from Laurie, and bad paid him $200 on. account. Hanlon declared that it was. his sole property "and that she had not the slightest right to it, as Laurie never owned it and therefore could not jjUl it'.V any one. MisaBarrell toot the number out of her act sifd immedi- ately got intb-communication with Laurie who, in turn, took the matter up with his attorneys. Laurie claims that Hanlon sold the song along with some other material to him a number of years ago, and that he had a "right to dispose of it in any manner he saw fit. "DARK HORSES" IS ARTIFICIAL Washington, D. O, April 28.—Except for the cleverness of its dialogue and the artificial brilliancy of its lines, "Dark Horses," Samuel Shipman's latest play, written in collaboration with . Percival Wilde, is not a testimonial to the four-day method of play writing. A notable list of New York theatre folks, including Louis Mann, Fay Bainter, Lionel Atwen, Fannie Hurst and some others, saw last night's performance at "the Belasco, and the general opinion waa that,' while "Dark Horses" may prove successful, it is not a play of the solidity of "Friendly Enemies" or of the other Shipman prod- ucts. Shipman and Wilde, in writing their play, apparently threw' everything to the winds except dialogue, which they concen- trated noon. It is of the sophisticated, Broadway type, which always finds appeal in any theatre, but the play makes no se- rious effort to be either plausible or con- sistent, or to become good dramaturgy. . The story concerns the proposal of sev- eral Columbus University students to di- vide their earnings at the aid of three years after graduation. The supposed fail- ure turns out with a bundle of change and declines to divide, which makes possible s third act that lags badly. • The piece is exceptionally well acted and a great deal of the comedy's sparkle is contributed, by Roland Young, Arthur Ashley, Curtis Cooksey, McKay Morris, Edward Robinson, Phoebe Foster and Catherleen Nesbit. . . KITTY GORDON'S CHILD APPEARS San Fean Cisco, Cal., April' 28.—Vera Beresford, daughter of Kitty Gordon, has made her stage appearance in this city, dancing in "That's It," the revue in which her mother plays. She is sixteen years old. Her mother admitted that, in Los Angeles, the managers were of tile belief that her value as a screen artist would be lessened if it were known the blessing of a family had fallen to her. She said, however, that she didn't think San Fran- cisco would entertain that kind of a prejudice. ' WOODS GETS ANOTHER PIECE London, April 28.—A. H. Woods has secured the American rights to "Bantam V. O" from Albert De Courvillc The lat- ter had intended to present it at the St. Martin's here, but has abandoned the plan for the time being. .Woods will present the play in New York in early fall. CIRCUS FREAK ENLISTS Sah Francisco, April 25.—Frank Re- vere, the fat man of AL G. Barnes circus, enlisted in the army for overseas service this week: He weighs 280 pounds and it five feci fire inches high.