The Billboard 1910-02-19: Vol 22 Iss 8 (1910-02-19)

saosin FEBRUARY 19, 1910. The Billboard 45 London Letter (Continued from page 12) bullt for Mr. Walter Gib Frank Matcham, the great about 5,000 peo finished wil neluding ‘the cost have eost £200,000 will consist of boxes width of the floor space Britalu It is being bons, from plans by theatrical architect to ple, and when paid for the The auditorium ant two vast tlers, the seat 1 Bite, stalls, teing no less than 200 feet Every portion of the Interlor floor will be carpeted, and even in the circle, as the upper tier Is to be called where a eixpence only mission velvet tip-up is to be the price of ad ehairs will be provided Luxury and comfort § are to be the objects aimed at In the fiting of the interior, and the keynote of the color seheme, which will ne cernsitate the employment of quantities of earved white marble, willl be white “Everything will be on a vast scale in this} new theatre.’ says Mr. Walter Gibbons. “1 | have not «ec'ded whether to call it the Palla 4ium or the Arena Before we could start ouliding it 1 bad to purchase nearly ai third q@more ground that Hengler’s Circus stood on and now we shall have ai theatre leas than half a minute from Oxford Cireus, or Regent atreet which will hac openings on four thoroughfares “The exit capacity will not be surpassed by any theatre in calculate that we shall be able house into the street fall of the curtain “We shall have a magnificent a stage where spectacle and ballet can, If necessary, be shown In grand display. Scenic grandeur, life, lightness, galety and movement are to be the features of the Furope for we to get within one minute of the orchestra, and to be given every afternoon and evening Al though # constant change of program is to be aur policy. we shell empioy a emall army of euxiliariee—pretty girls who can sing and davce—to form part of the regular entertain ment | “A great space has been given up in the plane to luncheon dinner and tea rooms, no} fewer then five of these having been arranged for On the ground floor there will be one grill and tea room, with tables for the ac ranmedation of a thousand people. Of the main veatitule there will be a hatrdresser’s | ahop for ladies and another for gentlemen: there will aleo be a reading room and a free iftvrary with tape machines oanfolding§ the news that comes to hand."’ + A farce called A Change of Frout, by Mal cokn Wateon, te making a mirtbful addition entertainment at the Empitre. The ecene is set in a railway buffet, which, of aonree, gives plenty of opportunity for g% img coacerning the buns and sandwiches which feo the stock refreshments of all English to the cefreshment buffets The echeme of things is that eome time before the farce begins Joba Beewett married Jane against the wishes of bis father, who designed him for a wealthy cousin. @ience the father cut him off without a cent, apd John became poor but matrimonially Sleeful schoolmaster Jane Bassett comes to che railway buffet and finds in the barinald a lady with an exuberantly false “front’’ of peroxide blond ha'r, an old friend, to whom she eonfidee the story of her fortune. boasting bappinese but confessing some anxiety as to q@hether Jobn at times does not regret the wealthy cousin Then naturally sbe descries ger John on the platform. very friendly with a fair damse) She borrows the barmaid's falee front, apron and spectacles, and thus transformed. prepares to spy upon John John eomes to the buffet for a farcical meal, is not @erely friendly, but affectionate eompanion. ami the disguised Jane fiousiy, tii] at the end of a rages fu the bewildered pair make a burried escape John steals back for some forgotten trifle and finds the barmaid transformed Into a weep wile She telle him what she thinks of him and goes on telling, and he has to hold mouth to keep her quiet truth. The fa'r stranger ts to tell them that only ter vociferating enongh to hear the bie only sister, who has come the stern father has relented It !{s Becessary to edd that the masquerading and tempestucua Jane plared = by Miss Fanny Brongh, to aay that the farce went like the @ind from start to finish The reeset of the tiny company sre good and the little plece re feived an enthualastic reception + Afier three yours continue playing James | Welch has returned to London with When Enighte Were Bold This farce has been an absolutely phenomenal success It ran for alose on to two years in London, and was taken om a mucces*ful tour in the provinces, and hae now etarted again in the metropolis proapect of still another long rus Apparentiy as the time has gone on the lece has degenerated more and more into Ge comedy pure and simple Naturally Welch @imee!f has not improved His playing of the modern knight seems to have lost all sponta gelty. and is as mechanically funny as a pan tomime at the end of «a run These eeem almost a pity, from the point of view ef the actor. even though they may bring in a eartioad of money Welch used to be in the frout rank of our comedians, but his perform ence the other evening «trock me as quite second rate + Mounting « play is vo longer a simple busley In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which H. B. Irving is just about to produce, expert aeeistance has had to be called in to advise en the chemistry that forms se important 4 rt of the play Curtously enough the expert Dr. Flare, son «f Sw John Hare. the great Rnglish arier, who has himself been seen on the bosride before he took to medicine serious ty. Dr Hare ia now supervising the laboratory ecene in the play, ond thia part will be done moat realiatically. + There is no sign of Maeterlinck’s exquisite fal lay, The Hine Bird. showing any eign of diminishing So great has been the demand for seats that the management of the HuayMarket are now haring te give two shows @ day. + An enthusiastic scene occurred at the Saroy Theatre, the other evening, when Miss Amy Bvans, the vew prima donna, was presented with bouquets by fifty of her compatriote from the little Glamorgan village of Tony Pandy, who journeyed right up to London for the purpose theronghly and | fection | Monday, January 3lst the whole of a packed | entertainments | toward hie! turbulent time | with the | long runs | Lewis Waller's play been such a terrific he bas bad to postpone Sir Walter Raleigh, has success at the Lyric that indefinitely the pro duction of S. Melellan’s new play, The Strong People + Ruth Vincent is meeting with enthusiastic rece; tions at the Hippodrome just now on her last appearances before golng into grand op | era Miss Vincent is without a rival as the | prime donna of musical comedy, and her de will be a sad loss Fields and Lewis, the two American comedians, are aleo appear ing with great success at the Hippodrome. Paris Letter (Continued from page 12) cler premiere’s date. It is now fixed for next You, when you read this, will know whether it held good or not. Now, as I write, I confess to direful misgivings, lest a sudden terrible something happens to some one of those necessary for the production. I hope 1 am wrong. I am reliably informed that, to date, $150,000 is the sum taken in at the box office at the Theatre Port-Saint-Martin Which, for Paris, at least, le the record for a new play Per haps New York can beat it, but I never had the story repeated to me if she ever did. I've seen great advance bookings for shows, after | the sald show had been SEEN, and people were TELLING WHAT A CORKING SHOW IT WAS. | But before any one had any idea whether a piece would be a first-class hit or a first-class fizzle, I, personally, never saw the like | I hear the scenery and costumes cost 'a sum; that the scenery cost $40,000, and the costumes about as much more. Some reports place the cost before the show opens at no less than $200,000 quite MOULIN ROUGE Tonight, at the Moulin Rouge, will be the | first public performance of La Revue Amoureuse, lthe new vehicle there. It is in 32 ecenes and | probably 900 costumes, all rather pretty, are used by a big company, principals and chorus. Here {se a resume of eome of the prettier scenes: The Return of the Troops From Italy, where in a fine display of marches and pretty cos peratrice; the Dances of Isadora Duncan, imita Esmee and a chorus representing Miss Wonders ; tions by Duncan’s school of dancing; of the World, snake charmer, is introduced; a burlesque on the Vaudeville’s play. ending j}with some clever dancing; the dances ‘‘North | Pole-Champs-Elysees’’: La Conference de Gran the Seven | fer, a take-off on Mme. Granler’s audience before | “anes 7 carica| this | | Kaiser Wilhelm, and some others, |turee of Rostand side of the pond SKATING MAD | On the level, Parie has lost her bead on the} subject of American amusements. | There are now, in Paris, no less than SEVEN | distinct roller skating rinks—The Hippodrome, | St. Didier, Luna Park, Casino, Rue Amsterdam when she talked on including introducing and other notables on one near Place Pigale in Montmartre, whose | name I don’t recall, and yet another. That's going some. I understand that these are not all we have coming to us, but for the sake ef the gsme, I hope so, for 1 wouldn't like to see it killed off in the bud SUMMER PARKS. The rumor is out, and, like the ghost of Hamlet's father, it will not down, that there will be four summer amusement parks in or near Paris this summer. I think the report is ex| aggerated, but 1 know there will be two of the regulation ind, maybe three, with another half park, half summer roller rink, thrown in. Looks to me like Paris can afford them She's big enough BACK FROM SPAIN Mr. John @alvin Brown, proprietor of White City, England's most successful amusement park. bas just passed through Paris, returning to England, from Barcelona, Spain, where he signed all contracts with a Spanish company, | |composed of French and Spanish bankers, cap| italists and a few politicians, for the con struction of a large number of the kind of American amusement devices that have made} his English park eo attractive, and with which | he succeeded in making the International Exposition at Nancy a financial success last summer. Mr. Brown will erect the longest scenic rail way in Europe, or, rather, he will erect a riding device that shall embrace all the best features of the scenic railway, the figure 8, the | roller coaster and other mechanical or gravity amusement rides He will also erect a water chutes, a fun factory, a haunted house, a/| cake walk, box-ball alleys, rinks, ballrooms, | cinematograph shows, ticklere, ete., ete. The! park in which these attractions are to go is| on the side of the mountain, overlooking the | million-inhabited city of Barcelona, the indus| trial and financial capital of Spain. It is a/| most pieturesque eight and most admirably j} adapted to the building of the fineat and hand. somest park in the world. The place is already a favorite resort with the better element of Barcelona people, as it has | for many years been a recognized summer resort, | with a magnificent hotel, casino and other attractions. Recently a syndicate was formed to take }over and develop the property along the most modern lines, and a Government concession, along the lines of Monte Carlo, was obtained, and to further the objects in making a resort that would appeal to all classes, and at the same time give a place of daily resort and en tertainment to old and young, according to their tastes, the American amusement-park kiea was adopted and the directors of the company visited Paris, London, Manchester and the Exposition at Nancy, examining all the places and the structures built for amusement to be found tn all these places, and finally settled on Mr. Rrown as the most likely to suit them tn erecting a park AMUSEMENT PARAGRAPHS. Sharp and Conrad, Nelson-Follett, Clarke and Mastol, the Loyal Troupe, the Chrysanthemum Trio, the Johnstons, and one or two other EngNeh and American turns are at the EtlolePalace. + in which Rethoreen, a wonderful | Maison de Danse, | | funeral. | de Madame. “The Manchester Babies" at the Ral-Tabarin. are still a big bit The Luna Park Roller Skating Rink, its man ager Guastun Akoun, declares, was vot in the least burt by the floods which beset DParis froin one end to the other. Certainly the crowds of skaters there didn’t seem in the least dimin ished. % Edmond Rostand gave to the flood sufferers his entire royalty on the first performance of Chantecler. The which, as I have remarked before, certainty amounted to something when Saron Rothschild paid $440 for his box and other prices scaled downward from this one. Messrs. Hertz & Coquelin, managers of the Port Saint-Martin Theatre, the scene of the premiere, gave an amount each equal to that given by tostand. ud And let this paragraph voice just the loudest sort of praise for the theatrical profession gen erally on the score of generosity. It was the profession in Paris that came forward with the first suggestion of assistance for the poor devils put out of house and home by the waters. It’s always that way. % Messrs. Cottens and Marinelli ought to be proud of their show now running at the Olympia. Prince and Moricey and the pretty Miss Gerard are two of the attractions which add luster to the bill there The present revue at the Folles-Bergere is one of the warmest seen there in some time. La Veuve Joyeuse (The Merry Widow) bound to make a record at the Apollo. seems There’s a fine bill at the Alhambra, the Barrasford house, near the Place de la Republique. Resident Manager Neighbour is the man behind the gun in this particular instance. Here is the program of the ‘‘talk’’ delivered by Mme. Yvette Guilbert at the Gymnaze last Saturday: Songs, The Keys of Heaven, J’avias Pris mes Pantouflettes, Le Jalous et le Menteux, I Am Seventeen Come Sunday, and The Dumb Wife Cured. She sang these to illustrate her ‘‘talk,’’ which was on the influence of love ditties and the like. Employes of the Hippodrome and St. Didier | the flood sufferers Mme. Rejane was compelled to drop out of the cast of Mme. Margot this week for a few performances. She was replaced by Mme. Arch ambaud, who had never even rehearsed the part. She did brilliantly, however, and those who know Mme. Rejane only slightly did not know any substitution had been made. It is said that Mme. Archambaud had merely watched Mme. } tumes are seen, Lina Ruby personifying the Imjroller skating rinks personally contributed toward Rejane and had not studied the lines from the | manuscript. + Lysistrata will see its next week. 150th performance A couple of mighty smiling faces drifted into the office of The Billboard this week. One |of the faces belonged to Frank H. Beatty, man ager of candy stands with the Hagenbeck-Wal lace Circus. The other was that of Don Wilson, treasurer of privileges. These two showmen, not having anything on their hands for the moment, | ; and getting lonesome in America hanging around | veep a lot of unusually laughable complications. Philadelphia, New York and Chicago, simply hiked out for Italy, France, England and a few other this-side-of-the-water corners. They reported the bulliest kind of times and will sail on the Mauretania the latter part of February. After this week, La (Kreutzer’s Sonata) Sonate a Kreutze will not be given at the Theatre Femina, Champs-Elysee, but it is understood that a revival of it will be made at another Paris theatre. Mme. Cora Laparcerie is the star. | | plications in A Night at Rector’s, TInghie Shubert is now leader with the Parisian Widows. Mrs. Shubert (Ida Bayten) fe also with the show. * recently left The Gay reLearsing a Rew Flo Cushman, who Masqueraders, is in Chicago, vaudeville act. % is stage carpenter with H. BP. Review, and is also playing a + Harry Hastings talks of taking a trip te Aus tralia, his old home, at the end of the preseat season. + Amy Gordon, with the Gay Masquereders, is making a big hit with her original Asiatte dance. % Lou Epstein is in charge of the Merry Whirl, and is boasting of big business all aleng the line. * ten Harris, of the Weber is sick and at home in New * reports big Girls Mike Murphy Dixon’s Big small part. & Rush forees, York City. Jack Leslie New Century business with the (Western Wheel). Emily Miles joined the Bon Tons last week at Newark, N. J. PHILADELPHIA BURLESQUE. With a lot of unusually good comedians aad a particularly attractive chorus, it was the natural result of effect, following cause that the Washington Society Girls should be well received at the Trocadero. Tie program was varied enough to suit all tastes, musical extravaganza, a touch of comic opera series of choice vaudeville turns all lendiag their services. What further avelsted im the stme direction were some picturesque seenie settings and a rich assoriment of costumes that made their pretty wearers still more attractive. Harry Stewart, a laughmaker of taient, led the list of performers. Davis and Hazelton alse appeared. * Plenty of pleasing character wae on hand in the program of The Town Talk Company, at the Bijou Theatre. In its burlesque, as in its specialty turns, it gave the audience plenty to enjoy and applaud. The cast of artists engaged was particularly strong end a large chorus did its picturesque share in the proceedia cleverly. In the course of the chief must extravaganza, the scenes among others, tacluded Garden of Eden, Battery Park, N. Y., and the Hades on a Busy Day. In the roster of performers were Chas. J. Burkhart, Sam Hearn, Geo. W. Scott, Louie Dacre, Rosalio and Katbryn Delmar. + What brings about the many amusing eomwhich was the offeriug of The Vanity Fair Company, at | the Casino, ‘s the ability of a young man te lie, by means of a free use of imagination, | he keeps ont of harm’s way for a time, but is eventually brought up with a reund turn. Meanwhile, however, there has The Ritchio Comedy Combination, well-knowa | for their travesty, A Night in a Londom Muale Hall, are the leading artists in this mirthfal piece, and have equal chances to display their abilities. + Ed. LeWrothe is a comedian who can do excellent work when it comes to furnishing am audience reasons for laughter. He used to be with the farce-comedy, Me, Him snd I. New he has a part that gives bim equal opportunities | in The Ginger Girls Company, which nrevided Miss Jessie Darling, who created the cakewalk on roller skates, after a visit to other European cities, bas returned to Paris. She | plays a short engagement only, at the St. Didier Roller Rink, one of the two Crawford and Wilkins houses here, when she has other dates to take csre of. Her exceedingly clever trick skating, often quite dangerous and always thrilling, is getting a whirlwind of applause at every seance. Her engagement at this rink closes with the coming Saturday. The Gandy Family, those clever children, who | make many far older trick skaters ashamed of themselves for clumsiness, are adding greatly to the popularity of the Hippodrome Roller Rink. The number of spectators who can not skate is very large. * The Kinema-Gabka, at 27 Boulevard des Italliens, was this week honored by the visit of the Japanese Ambassador and his staff. They came to see the motion-picture views of Prince Ito's The Japanese Legation has similarly enjoyed the same exhibition. film show shop change weekly and they always have there a large assortment of ‘‘news’’ | tures, or pictures of the day’s events. Professor Otero, the famous Spanish dancer, to study Paris fashions, which have changed a bit since he was a young man and studied here. He was La Belle’s tutor. Mile. Cassive and Marcel Sigmond and B. Febvre appear in a new sketch at the Olympia the Iast of this week, entitled Feue de la Mere It is highly praised in advance. THE WORLD OF BURLESQUE. (Continued from page 12) Al. Reeves declares that his show has broken all of tts previous records this scason, and expects to close with a big profit om the season. + Vhe Scotch Macks, a newly tmported singing and dancing act, and recently with the Gay Masqueraders, have opened on Interatate time. * Lillian Waverly closed with Phil. Sheridan's Marathon Girls, to join Rice and Barton in Cleveland last week. The views at this | pic| | the uncle of La Belle Otero, | is coming to Paris, the entertainment at the Gayety ‘leatre. Fairday in Pocatella was a burlesque mu whicb there was plenty of fun, song and chances fer the chorus to display its charms. Christmas Eve was another of interest. Geo. Stone, Jes ule LeBeau, Hurry Hills, Jeanette Sherwood und Bertie took part in the bill THE FERSO eons with Mut yo Mpetoudate. FI SS. Finest 6 KANSAS Sy) 1 prbefessicen BACK IN THE RETAIL BUSINESS High-Class MAGICAL APPARATUS Illustrated Catalogue No. 10, and 1910 Bargain Sheet No. 45, free. Mammoth lrofessional Catalogue No. 11, 25 cts. Immense and complete stock. Immediate shipments. Efficient service. A. Seas, 151 West Ontario Street, Ohicago, > P H oO T fe) Ss 100 3%x5%, $2.50 per 100. Post Cards, $2.50 per 100, copied from any photograph. Sample doser either style, 50 cts. Samples and catalo; for stamp. Address REPRO PHOTOGRAPH O0., 259 West 42d Street, New York City. PARK SETTEES--OPERA CHAIRS None better. Right prices. W. A. CHOATE SEATING CO., Albany, N. Y. MERRY-GO-ROUND FOR SALE OR LEASE. Located in park, Shreveport, La. Would trade for Circle ave. Has 46 animals, 4 chartots, $1,000 organ, motor, of! paintings. Address O. M. PIERCE, San Augustine, Tex. WANTED TO BUY—Military Rand Organ, must be cheap. Also to place Merry-go-round and other Concessions in a good park. J, H, VANAMAN, 224 N. 11th St., Camden, N. J.