The New York Clipper (November 1919)

November 5. 1919 THE NEW YORK CLIPPER German Opera Venture Dropped Close to $20,000 STARTING SEASON HEAVILY HANDICAPPED, THE ORGANI- ZATION ONLY PAID EXPENSES ONE NIGHT AFTER DIF. FICULTIES WITH SOLDIERS AND LAW BEGAN When the promoters of the Star Opera Company which, during its short and storms- career, gained much pub- licity in the daily press tlioughout the country' and was finally closed last week by court order, make the final auditing of the company's business re- cords tbey will probably find a large deficit on hand and it is very unlikely . that the same promoters will ever again engage in a venture where a season of German Opera is concerned. The losses were placed by several per- sons as in the neighborhood of $20,000, taking m attornies fees and all. Financially, the company, according -to Dr. Oberndorf. one of the directors, was a failure, their expenditures far exceeding their receipts. Their only hope to break even now remains in the sale of their properties and other ac- cessories, which, at a rough estimate, are said to be valued at $25,000. He also pointed out that the company, which was in existence some seven weeks prior to their opening at the Lexington Avenue Theatre on Oct. 20. incured expenditures which amounted to approximately $50,000 and during the seven days in which performances were given, there was but one night npon which they made their expenses. On the opening night, the box-office receipts amounted to $0,700. The next day, the theatre was closed as a result of the Mayor's action in which he for- bad opera in German until the ratifica- tion of peace. On Wednesday, the house was again opened upon an injunction secured by the company's atttorney against civic interferance. But only *5©0 was taken In. For the remaining performances, the receipts were, $1,200 Friday, $500 Saturday matinee and $1,300 for the evening performance. The Theatre was again closed he fol- lowing Monday and opened Tuesday with a performance of opera in English, playing to $136.00. The promoters estimate their expen- ses for each performance at $3,000, which Includes the salaries of the sin- gers, musicians and general overhead expenses. From the above figures, it is obvious that the company waa play- ing a losing game and, at a meeting of the board of directors held at the the- atre last Wednesday night, it was decided to discontinue the venture, even though they had been granted permis- sion by the court to continue giving per- formances in English, Instead of German. When this action was taken by the company it was found that there waa not enough money on hand to pay off the singers and chorus members for the two weeks notice which they were forced to give them. So the directors inaugurated a concert for the benefit of the opera performers which was held at the theatre Sunday night and all the receipts were turned over to the singers. Otto Goritz, who held the post of managing director when the company was formed, bad resigned to give the company free hands to reopen follow- ing the ratification of the peace treaty. He told the directors that he did not want to stand in tbe way of reviving German art In this country, as the at- tacks of the people who opposed te production of German opera seemed to be concentrated on him. GETS LITTLE THEATRE, PMLLY PHrtADELPHiA, Nov. 3.—A deal has Just been closed whereby Barry Mc - Cormaek, the actor, gets control of the little Theatre for a period of five years, and will, during his stay, pro- duce seasonal productions slmiliar to those being produced in like theatres in New York. SHAKESPEARE COLLECTION SOLD PROVIDENCE, R. I., Oct 24.—A. dealer from Philadelphia has. pur- chased the famous library of Mareden J. Perry for an amount reported to ex- ceed $500,000. This is supposed to be the finest collection of books- relating to Shakespeare.ever offered for sale. It comprises more than 5.000 volumes and was purchased by Mr. Perry in 1902. It also containes the only copy of the first collected edition of Shakes- peare's works, publisned in London in 1619 by Thomas Payleg and printed by ■William Jaggard, who also printed the folio edition of 1623. that house's record. The gross re- ceipts toped the five figure margin. TULLY AFTER ENGLISH COIN Because of the success that "The Bird of Paradise" has attained in Eng- land, a second European company is now in the process of formation. Tully's play Is doing a record business In London. SKINNER'S CAST SET The cast of the company that will support Otis Skinner in his new com- edy, "The Rise of Peter Barban," which Maud Skinner and Jules Eckert Good- man have written for him, has been completed by Charles Frobman, Inc. The roster Includes O. B. Clarence, Mary Shaw, Ruth Rose. Thurlow Ber- gen, Robert Ames, William Bonelli, Walter F. Scott, ,J. T. Chailee, Winona Dennison, Clarence Belhilr, George Har- court and Joe Spurin. SHIPMAN WANTED ANOTHER ' WEEK Due to a request from Samuel Ship- man to allow his play. First is Last, to have one more week at the Maxine El- liott Theatre, the New York opening there of The Unknown Woman, an A. H. Woods production, has been shoved over until next Monday. This is the play in which Ma jorie Rambeau is to be started. GOING TO AFRICA Edwin I. Relirin plans to send a Jew- ish repertoire company to South Africa, where they will tour a season, begin- ning at Johannesburg under the direc- tion Of Adolph J. Adler, son of Jacob P. Adler, now in England.* Tbe company will start from the United States about the first of the year. HAVE GOOD WEEK George Gatt's western company of "Revelations of a Wife" played to $5000 last week In Winnipeg. The eastern company of the same name closed its week in Philadelphia at the Walnut Street Opera House, breaking ANDERSON RE-BUILDING SHOW "The Frivolities of 1919." the G. M. Anderson musical production, is back in New York rehearsing at Unity Hall. The show opened In Providence, hut ran so long it had to be cot. Twenty new girls have been added to the cast and $2,000 worth of new costumes nave been purchased. The show wQl open again oat of town next week and, after a short run, will be brought to New York. BELASCO AND "SPEC" CLASH .David Belasco took a personal and nearly a pugilistic interest in the Ape- rations of a ticket speculator in Forty- Fifth Street Saturday night, near the Lyceum Theatre, where "The Gold Diggers" is playing. Since the second night of tbe piece, when it was conceeded a hit, several speculators have been active. Two weeks ago the manager called on the police officer stationed in front of the house to compel them. to keep Inside some building as the law requires, and this was accomplished. One of them then took what he called "floor space" in a fruit stand two doors West of the theatre, and, apparently, all the busi- ness there was to do, for soon the others disappeared. Things then went along fairly well until last Saturday night, when the rain caught everyone who deals in the paste boards with more on their hands than they could get rid of. The fruit stand spec began to get desperate. He encroached on the sidewalk several times and got away with it and then took up a permanent position there. Going into the theatre, one or two of those importuned reported the mat- ter at the box-office, whence it got to Mr. Belasco. Without coat or hat he rushed out into the street excitedly caught the offWr by the arm and they both made their way over tbe sixty or so feet to where the spec was stand- ing. He saw them coming and got in- side, however. But the evidence waa plain and the manager went Into wordy action. He threatened the spec with arrest and also threatened the owner of the fruit stand. The fruit dealer, however, weathered the manager's heat in unpersplring calm. He shr-igged and smiled. While Belasco waved bis arms and raved. Asked why he had nothing to say, he said: It's all right. I be put out, anyway. If Belasco don't do it Monday, Loew will Tuesday—maybe. OBJECTED TO DREW POST MAN Objection to a prominent member of the Actors' Fidelity League belonging to the American Legion because he had served in' neither the army, navy' or marine corps during the war, is re- ported to have prompted Earl Booth, Everett Butterfield and other members of the Lamb's Club to form the Thomas Gill Post, in opposition to the S. Ran- kin Drew Post, of which the actor ob- jected to was purported to be a mem- ber. As a matter of fact, the man was never a member of the Drew Post, for, when it was found that he had not been in the service, his application for mem- bership was withdrawn. BUSHMANN ASKS FOR TRUSTEE Baltimore, Md., Nov. 1.—Francis X. Bnshmann, recently divorced from his wife, here, has filed a bill in tbe Circuit Court asking for ratification of the sale af Bush Manor to Frank J. Caugfay, for $71550 and asking for a trustee to convey tbe property to the owner when the money has been payed into the court Tbe following encumbrances rest upon the estate at present: Forty thousand dollars, of which $10,000 and other payments have been made, in favor of Ida divorced wife, Mrs. Jo- sephine F. BusUman; National Bank of Baltimore. $3,337.95 ;H. Hollon Crowell, $32454; Walter E. Elcbelberger, $1,- 241.11, and the following attachments: Maurice L. Garrett, $214.86; J. William Ebert, $117: Fashion Shop, $187.55: Hotel Belvedere. $371.88; J. G. Valiant Company, $1,840.50: M. Albert Sons, $.500.62; Tacicab Company, $480.90; Stuyvesant Company, $414; Hutzler Bros. Company, $293.39; Joel Gutman & Co., $193.73; Kohn & Pollack, $130; Kaufman's Fireproof Storage Ware- bouses, $144.05; Levi Justice. $76.10; —obn C. P-wer. $1,12856: Isaac H. Moss, $187.75; Alstrom & Co., $158.07; Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, HAS $200,000 SUBSCRIPTION Although the opening of their five weeks' season here ait the Lexington Theatre Is still almost three months away, the Chicago Grand Opera Com- pany has already collected upwards of $200,000 la subscription money for its coming season. This was the state- ment made early this week hy John Brown, local business manager of the organization. He also stated that, at the rate subscriptions were still con- tinuing to come in, $50,000 more would be added to the subscription money long before tbe first opera is presented on the night of next January 26. Last year, tbe amount realized here from subscriptions totaled $160,000, and the significance of the coming sea- son's $40,000 excess, thus far, over last year, lies in the popular interest that the mid-Western operatic organization has aroused here since it first pre- sented grand opera at the Lexington almost three years ago. Unlike the Metropolitan Opera Com- pany, tbe Chicago operatic organisa- tion has not raised the price on tickets this year, the pasteboards still rang- ing from $1 to $6 top, whereas the Metropolitan has announced a $7 top scale for the coming season. Behind the resolution to stick to last year's price scale, lies Hie man- agerial brain of John Brown. It ap- pears that, although the Metropolitan Is charging a $7 top price, except to subscribers, who are - getting their tickets at the old prices, in reality, the price scale practically remains the same last season. For, on the im- portant opera nights, all but about ninety seats in the orchestra have not been subscribed for, which means that the ninety seats mentioned are the only ones affected, as the Increase applies to the lower floor only. But, at the Lexington Theatre, the Chicago organization has at least sev- eral times ninety seats that have not been subscribed for on die important opera nights. The result is, as Brown figured, the tendency of occasional operagoers will be to patronize the Lexington where the best seats are a dollar cheaper than those at the Metropolitan. E. Jerome Hart, erstwhile editorial writer for the Herald and formeredttor of the London Globe, has been appoint- ed local publicity director of the Chi* cago Opera Company. His appointment followed the resignation of Rufus Dewey, who waa first Chicago and then local press representative for the Chicago organization and who is now doing the press work for the forth' coming "Wayfarer" religious pageant to be produced by the Methodist Church. The opening opera at the 'Lexington, It Is announced, will be "La Nave." composed by Italo Montemezzl, com- poser of "L'Amore del Tre Re," and who arrived here last Sunday from Italy on the Duca Degll AbruzxL ORGANIZE TO PRODUCE PLAY "Half a Widow", is the title of a new musical play to be produced by the recently organized Stage and Screen Enterprises, Inc. Frank Dn- pree is responsible for the book and lyrics and Sbep. Camp composed tbe score. The stock of the new corporation, which is being: offered to the public, is dirt-ied into $200,000 worth of pre- ferred shares, bearing eight per cent to be paid in dividends, and tbe ba- lance of $100,000 of he capitalization la in common stock of $10 par value. The officers of the new producing corporation are: Bay Raymond, pre- sident and treasurer; Frederick Simon, vice-president, and Joseph Both, se- cretary. The offices of the corporation, organized under the law*'of Delaware, are in the Columblal Theatre Building.