New York Clipper (Jun 1923)

B THE NEW YORK CLIPPER June 27, 1923 ORPHEUM CUTS TO TWELVE HOUSES START REOPEIWfG IN AUGUST There are but twelve Orpheum Circuit theatres now open, these houses beiiig situated in nine different cities, leaving the remainder of the circuit dark until the first weelc in August when the theatres will begin reopening on August 4th and will keep opening from week to week until September 30th, when the last one will re- smne activities for the season of 1923-I9Z4. Several of the houses are scheduled for changes in policies, from the regular eight- act bills to six acts and pictures, giving two performances a day except Saturdays, Stmdays and holidays, when three shows will be given. The homes changing poli- cies, however, axe in the minority, the major portion of them retaining their ing- ♦im^ standard. The bouses now open are the Palace and State-Lake. Chicago; the Orpheum, Des Moines; the Main Street, Kansas Gty; the Orpheum and Hillstreet, Los Angeles; the Palace; Milwaukee; the Hen- nepin-Orpheum, Minneapolis; the Or- pheum. Oakland; the Palace, St. Paul, and the Orphemn and Golden Gate, in San Francisco. Policy changes are to be made at the Palace-OrjiAeiun, Milwaukee, from the regular big time standard of eigjit acts, to six_ acts and pictures. Two shows a day will be given and three on Saturdays and Stmdays. It will be a full week stand and will play big time acts. This house is scheduled to start the season on Sun- day, August 12th. The house is now open, playing a stnmner policy of six acts and pictures, three shows a day, for full week stands. Tliis same policy to be installed in Mil- waukee goes into effect at the Henncpin- Ori>heum, when that house reopens on Sunday, August 19th. The Orpheum. Des Moines, now playing a summer policy, will also take that policy on August 26th. The same change of poUcy will go into effect on Sunday, August 26tK in the Palace, St. Paul. Other opening dates for the circuit are: August 4th, for Denver; August 13th, for Winnipeg; August 22nd, for Vancouver; August 26th, for the Moore Theatre, Seattle; the-Orpheum (Jr.) Sioux Gty; Davenport, Columbia, (Orpheum Jr.) and. the .Orpheum, St Louis. On September ^iid. the. Rialto (junior Orpheum), Sl Lotiis, Omaha, the Heilig in Portland, will reopen. The Ounie. Sacramento and tile White in Fresno begin on September 9th; the Orpheum. Memphis, on Septem- ber 10th; the Orpheum, New Orleans, on September 7th, and the Orpheum, Kansas Oty. on September 30th. The reopening dates on the Lincoln Hip- podrome, the American and the Engle- wood, these being in Chicago, have not been decided as yet. CORMERSnONE FOR NEW HOUSE 'T%e cornerstone for the new three mil- lion dollar theatre which is to be erected .m I%iladelphia hy- the combined Keith-' Stanly organization, -will be laid on' Thtirsday, June 28. The theatre is to be called the EI Rae Theatre, and will have a seating caps^ty of 3,500. It will play big time vau de v ille and will be in readiness for an openin|g in Jantury. 1924. In conjunct!on with the cornerstone lay- ing, will be die burial, underneath the stone, of current newspapers, with stories of the theatre, and photographs of E. F. Albee. Jutes Mastbamn and Geo. Earle, after whom the theatre is named. SHIFT IN KEITH BOOKINGS A temporary shift in the booking ar- rangement of several Keith theatres went into effect this week, caused by the sail- ing of Eddie Darling and Danny Sim- mons, bookers in the Keith Vaudeville Exchange, on the S. S. Majestic last Sat- urday, Jme 23, for Europe. The Palace, Nerw York, usually booked by Darling, is to be booked by I. R. Samuels during his absence. Samuels will also bo^ the new Moss' Castle theatre, Long Beach, and the Columbia, Far Kockaway. thi-sc houses being booked by Danny Simmons ordinarily. The other houses booked by Simmons, namely, the Fordham, Coliseum, Hamil- ton, Jefferson, Regent and Franklin, are to be booked by Jeff Davis and Estelle Beno, Simmons' assistants. Keith's Bos- ton and Washington theatres, booked by Eddie Darling, are to be booked by Ar- thur Blondell during his absence. The Globe theatre, Atlantic City, will be booked by Phil Bloom, assistant to Dar- rling and Simmons will be absent for sbout five weeks. CRmC COACHING AMATEURS A novel arrangement which is expected to aid amateurs desirous of going on the stage, and result in bringing to the stage only those amateurs who are possessed of worthy talent, has been entered into be- tween John J. Burens, manager of Keith's Theatre, Syracuse, and Chester Baum, dramatic editor of the Hearst publications in Syracuse, including the Telegram and the Herald. Baum is to be given charge of all applicants who desire an opportunity to show their abilities, at Keith's Syracuse Theatre. He will select those he thinks are worthy, and after coaching them, so they will not make their ddnit "cold," will have Burens place them on the bill at Keith's Syracuse. They are to be given a regular spot and billing. Amateurs who make good will be recommended to the office and be signed up if worthy. STOCK FOR ALHAMBRA Loew's Alhaiid>ra Theatre, Brooklyn, will not adopt a vaudeville policy next season as had been announced, but will con- tinue to house the Alhambra Players in stock productions. The house cl<^od for the summer the week before last and will reopen on I.aI>or Day. "The Alhambra Theatre was formerly op- erated by Ward and Glynne and was taken over several months ajj[o when the Loew interests purchased this and the Astoria Theatre from the Ward and Glynne inter- ests. On Sundays the house offers a ten act vaudeville bill with a matinee and evening performance rather than the continuous perfonnance policy in vogue at all other Loew Theatres. KEITH GETS OPTION ON JOLSON AI Jolson is reported to have signed an option with the B. F. Keith circuit to ap- pear in Keith vaudeville for a period of six weeks, beginning the first week in Sep- tember. The salary whidi he is said to be offered, and which he will accept if the option-is taken up, is $30,000 for the six '-weeks, or $5,000 a week. His opoiing date is scheduled to be at the Palace, New York, beginning the brief tour. The other irve houses which he will play, have not hcea set as yet, but in all probabilihr at least three of them will be in New York, the other two weeks, if they are. played out of town at all. undoubtedly to be played in Washington and Boston. "MISS nX IT' FOR ACT "Little Mis.": Fix-It," which was pro- duced several seasons ago as a full length musical play, is now to be done in tabloid form and offered in \-audeviIIe. Frank Fin- n(rty is making the production which will inclndc four principals and eight choristers. LOEW PLANNING TWO-A-DAY POLICY HIGHER PRICES AND BETTER ACTS The Marcus Loew Circuit is now plan- ning a re-arrangement of the programs in its theatres for next season, whereby the majority of houses owned by Loew, will operate under a two-a-day policy instead of the customary three on week.<lays and four Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. With the exception of the New York theatres, some houses in New England, and the Southern theatres, the Loew the- atres in the East and Middle West oper- ate on a full week stand basis at present, .and all of them play three performances a day, of five acts and a feature picture. With the contemplated change going in- to effect, all of the houses now playing a full week stand, will continue to play five acts and motion pictures, giving two performances a day, and perhaps, three on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. In New York, where four shows are given on these days, they will probably be cut to three.^ "The change would also cause a great shift in the calibre and type of acts being booked. In order to make up for the one performance less, it is intended to increase the scale of prices in all houses where two-a-day will be held, and there- fore cater to a higher class of act than has been played under the regular threc- a-day policy. This also means higher salaries for acts playing the Loew time. The "two-a-day" plan is being seriously considered, the one angle preventing its becoming definitely set, said to be the fact that the Loew circuit wished to avoid be- ing placed in the "opposition" class to the Keith and affiliated circuits. KEITH SHOWS FOR CONVICTS Baltimore, June 25.—Through the courtesy of J. L. Schanberger, manager of Keith's Maryland Theatre, a vaude- ville performance was given last week at the Maryland Penitentiary, contributed by the acts appearing at the theatre during the week. Among those who participated in the performance were Gordon Dooley and Martlia Morton, Al Wohlman, Maureen Englin. Lytcll and Fant, Higgins and Blossom, Lloyd Ibach's Syncopators, Horace Bentley and Al Stryker. Helen Ware had also volunteered to go on but the stage was inadequate to permit her act. Prior to the performance the players were entertained at dinner by Col. Qaude B. Swcczey, warden, and Miss Frances Sweezcy, his daughter, and a prominent social welfare worker. BESTRY SUES PHOEBE BROWN . Harry Bestry filed suit last week in the Third .District Municipal Court against Phoebe Brown, for $325.00. The action is to recover money alleged to be due under a contract. Through her attorneys Hirson, Bertini & Pcattie, of No. 233 Broadway, Miss Brown, filed an answer, entering a general denial, incapacity to make contracts on.the grounds of infancy, and also demanding a bill of particulars. "SUNSHOWERS" IN VAUDEVILLE Harry Delf has condensed his produc- tion of "Sunshowers" into a vaudeville re- view, and opened it on the Keith circuit at the Hamilton Theatre on Monday. Delf does his single act or the same bill, and then appears in "Sunshowers," which will be placed further down on the bill. MABEL McCANE SUED FOR LOAN Mabel McCane, vaudeville actress, is made defendant in an action started in the Third District Municipal Court, by Alfred G. Kraft, who is seeking to recover $450.00 alleged to have been loaned to Miss Mc- Cane, on May 27, 1922. Burger & Burger, attorneys of No. 233 Broadway, arc repre- senting Kraft. AfiSdavits and an M-der were attached to the summons and complaint for substitute for service, the affidavits alleging that oa numerous occasions it was found impossible to get service on Miss McCane at her resi- dence, 45 West 43d street. According to the papers filed in connec- tion with the suit, the plaintiff claims that Miss McCane is liable to arrest and im- prisonment in the action, being that she had deceived him in obtaining the loan, by say- ing that she would give as security a brace- let worth $5,000. When his representative called for the bracelet, Kraft, sets forth in the complaint, Miss McCane sent word to him that she did not <want to trust an agent or messenger. Since then, Kraft com- plains, he has been unable to get either the collateral, or the loan returned. TO EXPLOIT FOREIGN ACTS Marion Spitzer, of Mark Luescher's special promotion bureau of the Keith cir- cuit, will sail for Europe on July 2nd, on board the French line S. S. Suffem, with the purpose of interviewing the various foreign acts signed by Harry MundoS to appear in Keith vaudeville next season. Miss Spitzer, who is known to be one of the cleverest writers in the exploitation field, will send back stories of each of the foreign stars who have been contracted. She will remain away until September. This is the first time that a vaudeville circuit has sent a special publicity repre- sentative abroad to secure publicity for foreign artists, and is expected to be the first of a scries of annual trips for this purpose. It was Marion Spitzer who was the authoress of the article published in the Saturday Evening Post recently, under the title of "May All Your Children Be -Acrobats," which secured a tremendous amount of publicity for Keith acrobatic acts. $2.20 TOP FOR MOSS CASTLE B. S. Moss' Castle Theatre in Long Beach, did not open as originally scheduled on June 21, but will have its first opening on Thursday, June 28, instead. The house is to play eight acts of vaudeville, twice a day, during the last half of each week, and a motion picture policy during the first three days of each week. The prices on week-day evenings, will range from fifty cents to a dollar and sixty-five cents. On Sunday nights, the price scale will have a two dollar and twenty cent top. The headliners for the opening bill con- sist of Miss Juliet, The Cansinos, Joe Fcjers' Orchestra. Morton and Glass and Al. Herman. KLEIN GOING TO EUROPE Arthur Klein, general booking manager of the Shubert vaudeville interests, was to have sailed this week for Europe on the Berengaria, but was compelled to cancel his passage due to the fact that activities in rehabilitating, the drcuit dcmailded his attention in New York. Klein anticipates sailing in two weeks and while abroad will arrange to book several novelties for the Circuit which have been submitted to him. . He ^vill also spend part of his time abroad < traveling with J. J. Shubert, who sailed last week. "PERFECT PLAYHOUSE" CLOSING Keith's Palace Theatre, Cleveland, known as "The Perfect Playhouse," will close for the summer on Saturday, June 30. The house will reopen in September. The lOSth Street Theatre and the Hippodrome will remain open, playing Keith vaudeville throughout the summer.