Variety (November 1918)

_- . _— _._ ^_ Published WMkly at 1536 Broadway, _,____, _,^_»«.-, .,^.__, Vol. LII, No. 10 ^rty.X"'AS,7aii°.«u?„;,^r NEW YORK CITY, Single copies, 15 cents. . ^T.rt.wTw-t»»T^«»» ^ tntn Entered as second class matter Dcccmbej 22, 1905, at .rl^l NOVEMBER 1, 1918 ">o P^t Omcc at Ncw York. N. Y., under the Act of y;S ' March 3, 1879. rfS EPIDEMIC FAST BREAKING UP; MANY REOPENINGS NEXT WEEK Winnipeg May Remain Closed Until Christmas. Eastern Section All Over Expects Ban Lifted by Nov. 4. Coast Closed for Two Weeks More. Several Cities Resume Late This Week. • Indianapolis, Oct. 30. As expected, a state reopening order will become effective tomorrow (Thursday) and practically all thea- tres will be in operation by Sunday. Omaha, Oct. 30. Theatres here and in Loncoln are due to reopen Nov. 2. Omaha was one of the first cities to close. Memphis, Oct. 30 The closing order on local thesvtres is expected to be fifted- Nov. 1. The date is official. ' " . Milwaukee, Oct. 30. The opinion is the lid will be lifted at the end of the- week, as the number of cases of influenza continues to de- cline. Toronto, Oct. 30. The local epidemic is under control and the ban is to be lifted at the end of the current week. The city thea- tres will reopen next Monday and the churches Sunday. Nothing definite has been decided about the adjoining towns. Washington, D. C, Oct. 30. Washington theatres will reopen Nov. 4. The District Commissioners announced the date yesterday. It will be one month to the day from the time they were closed by the epidemic. Lo- cal box offices are open. Opening at- tractions not yet announced. Utica, Oct. 30. The Health Department announced yesterday local places of amusement may reopen next Monday. The .deaths -htre - from • pneuro onia^. and: .influ.ep za... total 349. Denver, Oct. 30. On the eve of the anticipated re- opening health authorities stated the tentative promise for Oct. 27 had been revoked. This ultimatum was deliv- ered Saturday night, generally be- lieved to be the last lightless night for Curtis street. Denver may be al- lowed to reopen Nov. 3. The steady influx of visitors to this city is believed to be responsible for the spread. San Francisco, Oct, .30. ... The theatres here may reopen by Nov. 11.^ While the epidemic is- abat- ing, with a 40 per cent, decrease of new cases yesterday, there have been 17,000 cases and 70O deaths to date. San Francisco closed the theatres Oct. ■17. *, • The entire Coast is closed with no probably date mentioned for a gen- eral reopening. Many'vaudevillians laying off are in the shipyards, either in this city or at Seattle or Portland. There is no serious illness among professionals. One death; William Lovell (Lovell and Lovell), Oct. 27. Chicago, Oct. 30. Chicago's notice of reopening; in sec- tions, came Monday, when the officials decreed as follows: cabarets to resume Tuesday, theatres north of Divcrsey avenue to reopen Wednesday, theatres south to 12th street (including the downtown theatre district), Thursday, remainder, Friday. There was a scurrying among book- ers. The only house on the Wednes- day list was the Wilson avenue, and that decided to let the day go by and start with a last half bill Thursday. The Empress, a Pantages house, was compelled to wait till Friday, being in the third zone. Tuesday morning theatre ads appeared again in the newspapers. The Palace, Majestic, Princess, Mc- ,¥ic-k«r's,.: Rialtp,. Hippodrpme^and^ La Salle announced Thursday matiiiec' openings. The state ban was lifted Saturday, when several north shore suburbs of Chicago were licensed to resume op- eration. These towns,, with only pic- (Continued on pag e 18) ^ ^ ELKS'OPEN HOUS". Chicago, Oct. 30. The'Elks of Chicago announced a heart-warmingly generous invitation to the profession here, throwing open the dining and living rooms of their new clubhouse to all members of the pro- fession in need during the epidemic conditions. At avery^meal a long table is spread and those professionals who need it come and eat. They may order, within reason, whatever they wish, signing tabs therefore, which they are ex- pected to pay in the future and more happy days, but which will be "put on, ice" in the event that they are never' taken up. The Elks specifically paid tribute and expressed gratitude to the profession for favors of the past, when actors did splendid work in benefits on behalf of Elks' funds The hospitality is open to both sexes and to members of any branch of en- tertainment. Al Tearney is the prosperous pro- prietor of a saloon next door tp the Palace Theatre, largely patronized by professionals, also of an outlying cab- aret, which owes much to artists. Seek- ing subscriptions for the suffering ac- tors' fund, Lillian Shaw, Mrs. Bennie Bornstein and Jack Fox called on Tearney. He was very cordial until they made known their mission—then he dropped his jaw. ' "I can't give you any money," he said. "But if you are hungry, I'll set up a free meal for you." COHAN STAGING "GOOD LUCK SAM" George M. Cohan will stage the Camp Merritt, N. J., soldier production of "Good Luck Sam," to be presented at the Lexington the latter part of this month. Mr. Cohan assented when persuaded by S. Jay Kaufman and a couple of officers from Camp Merritt. Mr. Kauf- man may join the army at Merritt. The program for the "Sam" show has received so far $31,000 in advertis- ing, the record amount to date for a soldiers' show. TICKET EXTENSION DENIED. San Francisco, Oct. 30. The extension requested for the three months' tourist tickets to the Coast has been refused, excepting where the holder of the ticket is certi- fied to be seriously ill. ■ This irus c'-attscdmarty^artists tolea^ve:. for the East before the expiration of the present ticket, Oct. 31. It will cause a loss to Ackcrman & Harris, who have a Coast vaudeville circuit and brought many of the acts here, of about $15,000. MOROSCO AND K. & E.- Just how Oliver Morosco and Klaw & Erlangcr stand with their business relations as against the Shuberts and Morosco was a principal topic along the Rialto this lyeek. Next week at the Montatik, Brook-, lyn, a K. & E. house, Morosco's "Watch Your Neighbor" (which -reft the Shuberts' Booth in New York) will start an engagement, leaving the Montauk to go to the Standard, New York, another K. & E. one week stand on upper Broadway, and is again due to open at the HoUis, Boston, also, a 'Klaw & Erlanger house. Early in the week "Remnant," with Florence Nash, a solitary production by some independent producer, taking' a flyer and known as a K. & E. booked jjiece, is due to open at. the Mofosco Theatre, New York, looked upon as a Shubert house here through the close affiliation of the Shuberts with Mor- osco. The rumor factory on Broadway got to work on the strength of these book- ings, although at the K; & E, pfficeB it was denied there' was a possibility : of Morosco casting his future lot with that side of the; theatrical, factiotial scrap. Oliver Morosco stated Wednesday; the booking of several of his attrac- tion with the K. & E. side was madie after he had an arrangement with the Shuberts who were unable to give : him the time wanted. Another attraction, formerly Shubert- ■ booked, George Broadhurst's "She ; Walked in Her Sleep," is also routed : over the K. & E. houses, the deal hav- . ing been consummated early this week. JESSIE BONSTELLE, DIRECTOR. Jessie Bonstelle, one of our fore- most stock actresses, who for years conducted her own company, herself playing a wide range of parts, has suc- ceeded John Cromvvell as general stage director at the Playhouse, New York, for WilliaSi A. Brady. Mr. Cromwell has joined the j^rmy. Miss Bonstelle, largely responsible for the authenticity and correct de-"' tail of "Little Women," is at present casting and directing a new Brady production. HOTELS AWAY OFF. The drop in the $2 theatrical busi- ness of late along Broadway may be in part traced to the light number of transients in the city. The larger hotels in the tbcatrical district" li'ave" tod-rttremcndotJij-fatt^^^^^ ing off lately. One l^rge hostelry closed Its third floor Monday, remov- ing the solitary guest on that floor to another portion of t he hotel. Th« wiie bookeri book CHA8. ALTKOPR' 1 i m ' .■',.§ ':■% .•.?a