Billboard advertising (Dec 1917)

DECEMBER 7, 1917 The Billboard 21 Having Jost taken a swing for a few nights arauad the one-nighters with a pet attraction, Sw feel able to speak with authority on con [tious which have already been made clear to we been Ustening for thelr echo on inte Stain tre ‘The terrble slamp that New York has bees fecllog “tas not, of course, ‘been locallsed— Ut tow badly it bas agected the small stands Rind ‘ot be realized aleos one were to Halt S'Yow ana to bear the totals to which big actions have played, the Ameuats that big Sincs and reputably successful plays Dave Sought in thre the windows. Susial comedy vas fared detter than the drama as a whole, ‘naturally, but even here the receipts have been “epropoetionate in consieration of the greater Sere of malotenance with a mica show. ‘In New York we bear of famous stars playing to business Wat Wookd have appalled. the ‘hota profession a few seasons ince. We Bear Wr thele getting a veek's grows that wo0ld SSosttate an exceptionally good Saturday night's fecclpts a few yeata.agon And on the road Sev aboot the sume.” Stare of the ‘rst. water tre oot dolog an well as burlesque shows Disying to pleayane prices, 40 spots. ‘The Duslnexs ‘ortunate e000 side of pletures and small time vaudeville, Is ete done by minstrel shows or something similar, In most places the theater managers indulge to local alfbis, ‘There 1s nothing as unsatis: feetory a8 an alibi, but the divergence and Aifferences in alibis merely serve to reflect the general depression that extsts. everywhere, Companies are closing daily. Over forty uew slays have been sent out for tryouts, and then closed without even am attempt to win a New York verdlet. Plays have failed in the dig city. fa greater numbers than ever before. The fresh Datel of openings every week demonstrates this. ‘Here we approach the worst part of the normal theatrical season, and there are as many openings to a week as the normal season sces at its Deight. Why? Because of the large number of failures. Is it because the plays themselves delow par? In part, yes. The reason for’ this Is that to keep the theater going there are more plays being produced than ever before. Those that In normal times would be dotog enough business to satisfy both the producer and the eater owner are losing money for botb, with the result-that now attractions are being. rushed in almost haphazardly. And, of course, ‘when there are fewer productions made iu the course of a senson, the average of excellence per prodaction ia Ukely to be higher. Which brings us to ansther culminating reason for the vaprecedented slump on which we ave not touched bitherto, Nothing hurts buslness as much an poor plays. Managers of houses eon the rood will tell you this. A few poor playa following each other im succession in a ‘week stand will affect business in that stand for mopths to come, All of them make the ‘same: advance promises, people Duy scat and feel they bave-been .cbeated, and if that bappens several weeks in succession they become mighty ‘chary about iuvesting: the money they low themselves for amusements, Now that the war tax 1s superimposed. tlie, tnvestment becomes the greater. A maz ferls'fhat he may drop 30 at a picture bouse and spend bis ten or Gfteen cents a seat, and if be doesn't Hike the’ sb@w preseoted he can walk out without avseuse of haviog sacrificed a ‘great deal. He go to a doren picture shows for the price of admission to, a. legitimate playhouse, ‘The eituation on Broadway today is tht vay baw to' be 2 “knotkout to make real money, it bas to be exceptionally gool to break even. “There are rarely more than halt a dozen big auccentes produced i aay single year, but there usually are thirty or forty that pay thelr way while they last.-If;those half dozen are to be found: this year about one-eighth of eur theaters will bo well provided fur. Surely fo a season like this there won't be any forty that will pay thelr way for any tength of time. ‘This ments that many a Broadway house will Ye without @ winning week all neason tong. ‘The actors, too, are golug to fret the generat istrexs of the season, Sbert-lred plays mean very small salaries whea the toral pant ts Tided over the playing period and the reheareal werfod ag well. A man playing two weeks and Tetearsing four, contracting to play for Atty doilare a week gets a hundred dollars for six weeks work, AS a Tule be 1s subjected to ex: truordinary expenses to hotd his Joh—arent’< fees, makeup. materials, clothes, cte.—aud_ ali sith the possibility of working IX Weeks at a valary of xixteen per. Under the manager eau scarcely bone to fiod relict from the strain the tlmes have put upoo bim Yy curtailing smail salaries—bis only bupe is THELEGITIMATE CONDUCTED BY THEODORE A LIEBLER JR. to shave those that run into big totals and there, for the present, de stlll meets with a. splelt of independence. ‘The time is not far distant, If the slump contiaues over the holiays, when the high-salarled actor may hare to stand a cut to get work. But when the really capable actor ts a scarce ‘as he 1s today, and when, an always, few plays and a chance uoless they are performed by pable players, those in a position to demand igh salaries will get them. So in the meantime the manager must necessarily stand the gaff, must dig Into tis pockets and~ gure on the ‘prospect of better times to come. ‘There is nothing else that the manager can save on. His productions cost btm more than ever before. Labor and material have reached But be can congratulate bimself on one point. He is sertiog the Government. The longer he keeps his unprofitable attractions go and every pass no one could drop a ticket or ass 4nto the box without having its holder see whether or not the stamp was properly canceled. It would be an expensive check for the government, for it would mean the printing of milUons of stamps of-numerous denominations, but At should prove a most effective check. ALL STAR BENEFIT Chicago, Nov. 24—Nat C. Goodwin and Ar nold Daly, costars of Why Marry, at Coban’ Grand, have enlisted fellow stars in an Italian Red Cross benefit, to be given at the house where. tn their production is running, Tuesday after‘noon, November 28. Manager Harry J. Ridings ‘backs Goodwin fn the assertion that the benefit will prove “the shortest one on record," both Youse ‘manager and star belog 0 certain that ‘the performance will be concluded before 5 pm. that they are almost willing to promise retarn of admissions If the benedt proves, ae near neverending as do most’ such performances. [eewew eve V SUC U CS STCSTTTCTSTSOVCTCCT TCC wes TCS w a eee eS THE BILLBOARD RECORD OF RUNS IN NEW YORK By the Dramatic and Musical Plays ‘Mumber of consecutive performances up to and including Saturday, Movember 94. PLAY Uitehy-Koo. On, Boy. ‘Washington Sq. Players .. tng the more people he dees manage to ture to ‘the borcffice window, the more money Uncle Sam recelves in war taxes paid on admissions. ‘ad when he 1s unable to drum up a house in ‘any way, when he invites people from the Streets, the butels, the shopa to sit thrt his performance at no profit to himself he at least contributes something to the greatest of causes by swelling the total of the deadhead tax. Speaking of the deaibead tax—bow Jong before an effective method 1s found to cleck this up? Of course, one might say that it is as weil checked as Is the admission tax Itself, for scrupulous managers will not admit any person to @ playhouse without elther a paid tleket or a pass, and the passes dropped into the box may bo counted im the same way as are the mught'a receints, But in Canada, for instance, the tax is collected by means of stamps, and its payment to the government Decomes & pud Ue act. If a stamp is afixed to every ticket = SAMUEL -ELIOT, JR, RESIGNS ‘Samuel A.:Eliot, Jr. resigned Inst week as Airector of the Art Theater in Cincinnatl, due to friction between him and the business ‘management. “Mr. Ellot came to Cincinnati about three months ago, and. under bis direction two Programs have Deen produced.. He and his wife re believed to have returned to the Bast. TIDAL. WAVE MAKES GOOD Chicago, Nov. 25.—Jim Wingfela has Just allotted Priest & Miller's The Tidal Ware, « Hawallan play, in four acts (two depleting scenes in America proper), choice Iilinols, Iowa cousin, with Jack Jackson In advance. inclades Chester Bistop, Helen Aubrey, Douglas, Hope, Florence Maders, Donald Drew’ and the Royai Hawallan Strollers (six), PRODUCERS’ SCHOOL OF STAGE ARTS UNDER THE _FRANK rr foe, Sul Chicago: Vauderiie Acts and Datces staged for RECTION AMD SUPERVISION OF FORSYTH REVUE AMUSEMENT CO. ical Copied in this tostitution are engaged by all the first-class managers in New York and ‘professionals DEL ELLIOTT, Manager, 109 N. Dearborn St, Chicago, lines. NEW PLAYS LOSING ELOISE (Continued from page 20) ‘there would be fewer separations among mar led couples. ‘When this wise husband is confronted by the lopement situation comedy frisks where tragedy usually stalke, and the result 1s most happy. ‘Violet Heming as Eloise ts charming and skilifol. Charles Cherry as the husband was excellent. Frances Byrne as Darrell McKaight and Lucile Watson as Nora Gail did admirably. ‘The charming bungalow interior was very un” usual in decorative treatment and 1s the work of Mr. Phystoc.—M. F..1 Excerpts from the New York dailies: Evening World: “Losing Eloise is a delightfot farce with a perfect cast.” Evening Sun: “Here 1s a farce that ts really" funny. ‘Tribune: “Losing Eloise 1s fall of lauguter.”~ Times: “Losing Eloise torns on an idea 60 new and essentially. so true that Jt might bave Deen used for the effects 1m straight comedy.” American: “It is always ingenious to get new fun from old material,” THE KING ‘THE KING—A comedy in three acts, by G. A. do Caillavet, Robert de Flers and Emanuel Arene. Presented by Cohan & Harris at the ‘Cohan Theater, New York, Tuesday, Nov. 20. Racal, Francis, footman, Angele, maid lie, Grorsetto ‘Delaunay, ‘Com aie, Francia vera New York, Nov. 23.—Leo Ditrichateln has snccessfally Iaanched a new satirical comedy. A satire on monarchs a3 well 28 on the proceedfogs in the diplomatic elrcles of democratic France. ‘The play contains much that 1s risque In dialog and sltaation. Nevertheless it sparkles ‘with:wit of the fresh, spontaneous kind, bringtog many laughs from the audlence. The char~ acterization is clever, and the play entertaining. ‘While others are portraying the tragedy of war ‘Mr. Ditrichstein gives us A Comedy of Kings: a deep seated satire indeed. ‘Many of the lines as spoken by Ditrichstein expressing hls devotion to a few of the fair, sex reminded one of The Great Lover. In The Great Lover, however, he was an operatic star apd bad a certain digolty to maintain in adJusting his temperamental self to the rales of managers apd the Jeaiousies of umlerstaties, but 1a The King he bas no occupation (only that of belng a king), and be is ioteliigent ont umorons enongh to appreciate it in the most abandoned manner. ‘While Mr. Ditrichstein plays The King with fhe came easy grace of the Great Lover; the character ts necessarily less impressive and docs not utilize bis fine abilities as an artist. Ove of the King's little Journeys to Paris forms the ‘oceasion fur the play, whieh Is without story The cast is large and adequate.—M. Excerpts from the New York dailies: ‘Times—There were times when a first night audience caught its breath, but it was o's to rst more explosively in laughter. ‘Trbune—The play ts quite the most vulgar of the Broadway stage of now, and proves how deMgbefat vulgarity can be when it is rich enoogh and honest. Herald—The King had a: bighly divertiog reign. ‘Morning Sun—A comedy of light texture. Mr. Ditrichstein was finished in atyle and distinguished in manner as the hero. (Continued on page 70)