Show World (December 1910)

The Show Peoples Newspaper CHICAGO, DECEMBER 10, 1910. For Jill Kinds oj Show People Annapolis, Md„ Dec. 7.—Mrs. Rella bel Armstrong has instituted suit for .jvorce from Paul Armstrong, play¬ wright and author. She alleges cruelty and charges that the defendant has vio¬ lated the marriage vows on several oc¬ casions. Armstrong is in Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong have been married twelve years. Mrs. Armstrong was Miss Rella Abel of Kansas City. Her father is a banker in that city. Mrs. Armstrong as a young woman showed strong artistic bent. She was sent to —gCudy under Whistler and Mac- le she was in Paris an art she met Paul Armstrong, ..... __„_±s comparatively unknown. The rather bizarre appearance and the equally bizarre manner of the man who believed he had a future before him at¬ tracted the young woman. The pair it to London and were married in that t in 1899. _'hey returned to this country soon after their marriage and Mr. Armstrong ■ *- work in earnest. Success came money also. "Salomy Jane,” on one of Bret Harte’s charac- _, ,._s his first big success. Soon the Armstrongs were installed in an historic old manor house on the shores of Chesa¬ peake Bay within a stone’s throw of the "nited States Naval Academy. There oey have lived ever since. Paul Armstrong at the age of twenty- _ne was a steamboat captain on the Saginaw River in Michigan. His father owned and operated a line of boats run¬ ning between Bay City and Saginaw for But steamboating was not at all liking of the young man. He _i. Chicago and got into newspaper work. He was a reporter and a writer. The Armstrongs have three children, Annabel, Elizabeth and Myra. Chnrch Dignitary of Milwaukee Sends Out Letter to Priests Putting Ban on Performance. (Special to the Show World.) ■’-’— ™- ’ r ‘— 1.—Archbis! e priests in the Milwaukee diocese in ndemnation of the opera “Salome," . ,ilch is to be presented in the Auditor¬ ium on Friday night. He advises all Catholics that he does not consider the production a fitting one to be held. The letter will be read at masses Thursday morning. It is as follows: “The public discussion about the pre¬ sentation of the opera •Salome' on the “**ge is proof enough that the produc- n is not a fitting one for good men 1 women. The subject with its sur- jndings is absolutely repulsive to all Christian feeling. Even if the dance of Salome be not in Itself openly Immodest, a thing I do not know, yet the whole tendency of the opera, if reports are true. Is a glorification of divorce and debauchery. Theme Is Too Sacred. ‘The characters and the story, and especially the death of St. John the Baptist, make too sacred a theme for 5he believer in the Bible to be brought on the stage as is done in 'Salome.' All the pleas put forth in the name of art cannot overrule the demands of sound morality and Christian principle. The general influence of this opera cannot be otherwise than harmful, especially r the young people. Hence you will please request the members of your parish to stay away from this production, and thus to ex¬ press their emphatic protest against the 'public production of this opera in our city. . ’ “Moreover, Catholics ought to keep up the good old Catholic tradition of stay¬ ing away from theaters and public amusements during the holy season of advent. Kindly announce this at mass¬ es next Thursday." WILLIAM CR«NE FINISHES WITH “FATHER AND THE BOYS” (Special to The Show World) Toledo, Dec. 7. — A Toledo audience on Saturday evening saw William Crane’s last performance In one of his greatest successe-. “Father and the Boys.” Mr. Lrane, it is announced, will open the new Blackstone theater, Chicago, New J ear’s Eve, in a new play entitled “Am- I bapador Bedloe, U. S. A.” He left To- I ledo for New York, where he plans to ! rest a little white before beginning re- •J nearsals for the new comedy. RINGLINGS ARE AFTER NEW YORK HIPPODROME Rumor Has It That Circus Magnates Seek Control of Big Amusement Place for Permanent Circus New York, Dec. 7.—A rumor which has been drifting idly up and down Broadway for a week to the effect that a change in the management of the Hippodrome was imminent took on fresh momentum Saturday, when the names of the Ring- ling Brothers were included in the re¬ port. It was said that John Ringling, upon behalf of his firm, had already en¬ tered into negotiations for the lease of the big structure and that the Shuberts were not in the least opposed to with- This much is certain: Mr. Ringling has been in the city during the week and has at all times evinced a signifi¬ cantly keen interest in the Hippodrome’s affairs. He has asked several local the¬ atrical managers their opinion about the prospects of the house and has sought information relative to the patronage and the approximate cost of operating the enterprise. He has not given any definite reason for his sudden interest in the Hippodrome, and Lee Shubert has denied that his firm intended to sever its connection with the institution. Of late the patronage at the Hippo- at the beginning of the season crowds that tested the capacity of the house were the rule at nearly every perform¬ ance. The night prices were raised and, while the matinee attendance still re¬ mained satisfactory, the patronage in the evening decreased. Whether this cir¬ cumstance, together with the fact that the Hippodrome ’’road’’ show has not been yielding the expected returns, has any bearing on the report of a change of management may be only guessed. The expense of operating the Hippo¬ drome and its shows under existing con¬ ditions is estimated at approximately $30,000 a week. While this item is a staggering one, the management is able to meet it and shows a substantial profit when the attendance is up to the stand¬ ard set by its original promoters. The Ringlings are now in control of the Bamum & Bailey and Forepaugh circuses in addition to the show bearing their own name. Many of the greatest features of those shows, of course, are idle from the Fall until the following spring, and it may be that the Ringlings contemplate a permanent circus at the WEBER’S BIG CIRCUIT PRACTI CALLY FORMED Complete Confirmation of Show World’s Announcement Some Weeks Ago Made in the East World, the Brooklyn Citizen of Satur¬ day, December 3, prints the following: “Plans have been fully cgnsummated for the establishment of a circuit of popular price theaters covering the principal cities of the United States and Canada. A corporation called the L. Lawrence Weber Co-operative Booking Circuit, with offices in the Columbia Theater Building, Broadway and Forty- seventh street, Manhattan, has been formed under the laws of the State of New York with a capital stock of $125,- 000. The incorporators are L. Lawrence Weber, J. Herbert Mack, Samuel A. Schribner, of this city, and Rudolph K. Hynicka, of Cincinnati. “It is the purpose of the organization, it is said, to acquire forty theaters and to provide an equal number of com¬ panies to appear in them. There will be only one theater in each of the large cities, except Manhattan. Brooklyn, Chicago and Philadelphia, and in each of these there will be two or three. Definite arrangements have been entered into for three homes in Philadelphia, and contracts have been made for a the¬ ater in Washington, D. C., and in Balti¬ more and Newark. “In any city where a theater is not available, property will be acquired and a house erected. Under the regulations of the new company, any individual or concern owning, or controlling the lease of a desirable theater, may place the house in the circuit, for which an al¬ lotment of stock will be made. It is believed that in view of the present con¬ dition of the theatrical business all over the country there is a surplus of thea¬ ters in practically every city and that for this reason there will be no neces¬ sity for building new houses. In this way, the contributors of theaters to the general scheme become stockhold- necessary forty attractions will be di¬ vided in to five classes, namely, melo¬ drama, society plays, comedy-drapia, farce-comedy and musical comedy. There will be eight of each of these and they will be booked so that no performance of similar character will follow an¬ other in any of the houses, thus pro¬ viding a diversified style or entertatn- "L. Lawrence Weber, the originator of the plan, has Issued a statement In which he says: ‘This is literally a co¬ operative company. It is not planned as an opposition to any existing sys¬ tem in the theatrical business. The main point of it all, aside from pro¬ viding theaters as carefully conducted as the best in the country and shows that possess genuine merit in every par¬ ticular, is the cheap price idea. I do not mean popular prices. We will offer the public meritorious entertainment, given in clean, perfectly appointed the¬ aters at actually cheap prices. The scale has not been fully determined. But it will be cheap. “ ‘People of limited means all over the United States are getting the worst of it, as the saying goes, in the matter of theatrical entertainment. They cannot afford to pay the prices exacted to see really high-class performances, prices >--- J ---llv grown prohibitive. moment that we 1 . _. __ operating this system at the opening of the season next September.’ ” BURLESQUE CHORUS GIRL UNDERGOES AN OPERATION Louisville, ky„ Dec. 7.—Cecil Lenox, a chorus girl with the Trocadero Bur- lesquers, was compelled to give up her work at the Gayety theater during Thanksgiving week and undergo an operation for a serious ailment. Miss Lenox, who Is a great favorite among the members of the company, is an orphan and her pitiable condition be¬ cause of her lonesomeness in Louisville aroused a great deal of public sympathy. After a Naughty Show. "The Queen of the Moulin Rouge,” billed through Texas, is finding much trouble by the way. Word from there says that women’s committees and other reform bodies demand its suppression. The name of the show may have to be changed to continue in the gulf states. LITHOGRAPHER WINS CASE; MAKES IMPORTANT PRECEDENT New York, Dec. 5.—(Special to The Show World.)—What may be considered a decision of importance to theatrical printing houses and managers was handed down by Justice Newburger in the Supreme Court last week in the ease of Arthur Lazzi against the Consoli¬ dated Lithograph Company. Lazzi launched a play, entitled "My Wife Won’t Let Me,” and ordered printing from the Theatrical Foster Company, which is a branch of the Consolidated Lithograph Company. He gave instruc¬ tions that the prmtihg was to be de¬ livered at North Adams, Mass., on April 12, 1908, a week prior to the opening. He alleged that it did not arrive unt.il April lo. His contention was that be¬ cause of the delay his play was insuffi¬ ciently advertised in Nortn Adams and other places and that he was compelled, therefore, to cancel its tour. He brought an action against the Litho¬ graph Company for $6,000, his alleged damages in loss of pronts, and the court dismissed the complaint. Leon Laski, who represents tne lithograph company, says that he thinks me de¬ cision will act as a bar to otner actions CONSUL, PERFORMING MONK, INJURES AUDIENCE MEMBER. (Special to The Show World.) Terre Haute, Ind., Dec. 7.—In a fit of rage last night "consul,” tne monkey showing at tne Lyric tnis week, jumped into tne audience and scratched tne tace and hands of Bert Hedges, day mes¬ senger boy at the Postal Telegraph Com¬ pany. Tne boy, in company with tour or five of his cnums, was sitting in tne front row and it is believed tneir pres¬ ence aroused the anger of tne mtftik. Medical attention was given the lad but it is not known just how serious the scratches are. In the ear*y part of the evening the Hedges boy cut his hand on a piece of gla^s and this wound was increased by the enraged animal’s attack. Consul the Great was headliner at the Lyric theater in Terre Haute, Ind., last week but did not draw the big business he was expected to. It is thought that the appearance of another monkey at the Varieties in that city last season was responsible for the lack of interest in this truly remarkable Simian per- BAD FIRE CLOSES FAMILY THEATER IN LAFAYETTE. Lafayette, Ind., Dec. 6.—Fire of an unknown origin badly damaged the beau¬ tiful interior of the Family vaudeville theater early last Sunday morning, tmd as a result the popular playhouse will be closed for three weeks. The fire started in the balcony on the west side of the building near the first box, and the place where it originated is indicated by a large hole in the floor. By the time the flames were extinguished most of the woodwork on the west side of the house was charred. The wall and ceil¬ ing decorations were blackened, the car¬ pets were scorched and soakrfi, and the chairs were saturated with water. Many of the chairs were destroyed. The the¬ ater will have to be redecorated and overhauled throughout. Manager Mau¬ rice estimates the damages at about $5,000. The loss is fully covered by in¬ surance. Wiley Bros., of Chicago, the contracting firm that remodeled the Fam¬ ily theater twice and also rebuilt the Dryfus theater in this city, arrived this week and have the repairing well under way. The closing of the theater at this particular time is a hard blow to the management, as the Family has been doing immense business the past few weeks, especially last week when the Four Mortons were headlined the re¬ ceipts for the week’s business broke all previous records for this house. Man¬ ager Maurice received a score of tele¬ grams from leading theatrical men throughout the country expressing sym¬ pathy.— H. A. Vance. Well Known Scene Bnllder Dies.