The Billboard 1924-03-22: Vol 36 Iss 12 (1924-03-22)

The Billbocara ; MARCH 22, 1924 (COMMUNIC —* ATiIONS TO THE A Department. a ee =XT3 Couducted by comnieee NEW YUBA. N.Y.) BILLBGAKD, 1493 BROADWAY, Sunday Opening Bills Defeated By Actors’ Equity Association—One Measure Withdrawn, Other Killed in Committee New York, March 14.—The annual attempt to put a Sunday opening bill thru the New York Legislature has been made; the annual visit of an Equity delegation to Albany has been paid; the annual defeat of the attempt to open Broadway wide on Sunday has been accomplished. The matter of battling bills designed to allow legitimate Broadway playhouses ta open on Sundays has become a matter of routine for KEyuity, They occur with such unvarying reguiarity at ei session of the Legislature. Thi= time there were two measures introduced, one Asser man Frank A. Miller, of Brookn, antl zing ‘ authorities in cities of irst clas New York State to legal iy p r *: the other, a measur iueed M < Weinfeld, of Manhattan, permitting rving seme other Sabbath arry on 1 ss on Sund Both of these bills came for a hearing Tuesd for Assembly Codes Commit sitting at Albany. Similar bills had been fooglit br Equity at previous sessions of the Legislature und = defeated. The delezation selected for the task this time consisted of Frank Gillmore Katherine Emmett, Frank McGlynn and Jefferson de Angi This delegation made such an effective plea for the defeat of the measures that the proposer of the Miller bill voluntarily withdrew it and the Weinfeld bill was killed in the committee. Barring another move to bring similar measures up in the Senate, as wa s at tempted last year, that is the last that wil! be heard of Sunday opening for New York GIBBONS DIDN’T SLEEP! Louis Kline bas written The Billboard askwv thet a correction be made regarding the ‘tory on page 22 of the March 15 issue (under Chicago date line), captioned “‘Frank Gibliums Slept at Just the Wrong Time” Gibbons was not asleep, says KI ne, but was hard at work, first attending rehearsal, and inter getting » his Sunday ad, writing several stories, etc. ‘‘Also,”” says Kline, “Gibbons ~ not the beliringer for ‘Peacocks’. I hap' d to Le that individugl and got a lot of wlicity doing te Continuing, he says: it Herrman and Taylor Holmes did go to ‘otury Club at Elgin ‘your story had it ) and it was arranged thru Gibbons i get the watehbes costing $150 apiece, Gibbous would have got one too if he tn’t thought more of business than he did of 4 g the junketing trip.’’ “THE GARDEN OF WEEDS” York March i4.—*The Garden of d=" will bloom in the spring, and in direct wiiction to the Gilbert id Sullivan oper"ance it has ever ig t do with se of uuther, I Gordor In addi r x nd taxing oduction he is We R sals Oo the beg is Week w » Lee Baker N comb d Lilyan Tasiman engaged 4 art Immediately following og of *“*The Garden of We sched ike p. ip about thr weeks, Gor eave ‘a r London, where he has ar z:6 to stage his other play, *“‘White Cargo” CAST OF “TWO STRANGERS” New York, March 15.—It now looks as if Veitz Leiver bad piled up a lot of work for himesel?. He is to be featured shortly in Myron (. Fagan’s play, “Two Strangers From Nowhere’. after which he will return to his Slakespearean repertoire until called by the Theater Guild to play the leading role in “The Vountain’. The Fagay opus is listed to open ‘om New London, Conn., March 31, preparatery ‘eo coming to Broadway. The cast includes Niehard Gordon, James Bradbury, Norval Keedwell, Theodore Ba>cock, Joseph Guthrie, Olive Marie Tell, Frances McGrath. Helen Uolmes. Unrtis and Pegay Allenby. for this season. it is expected, tuv. tuat measures of a like nature will be introduced at the next session, as it seems to have come a legislatorial babit to bring one or more up each year. DRAMATIC STAGE NOTABLES INVITED TO D. L. A. MEETING be Pasadena, Calif.. March 15.—Some of the foremost factors in the American theater wi be on the program of the national conventicn of the Drama League of America, which convenes here May 26-June 2. Among those who have been invited are: Angustus Thomas, head of t Producing Managers’ Asso John Em: president of the Actors’ Ass ition; Theresa Helburn, of t York T er Guild; Eugene O'Neill, playwright, and ot rs While the fundamentai purpose of the Drama le s to give support to everything worthwhile offered in the line of spoken drama, there will be a departure this year in favor of the silent drama. For the first time one session of the convention is to be devoted to the screen. This is natural since the meeting place is in Southern California, the heart of screenland. fonsideration will be given to problems of the films, and leading cinema workers will be iecard. Tnterest is growing in the conference of little, art and community theaters that has been ilied, under Drama League patronage. Non fessional players of the land are rapidiy becoming a distinct force. In fact, Walter Pritchard Eaton has pronounced them the most vital factor in American drama during the twentieth century thus far. Questions to be considered by the conferences ure: How to organize a little theater and how to finance it, how to interest the public. how to keep down production costs, what sort of plays should be put on, etc. The advisability ot forming a National Association of Little Theaters will be taken up. Among the speakers for this part of the program will be: Prof. B. C, Mabie, manager of the Iowa College Circuit; Samuel J. Hume, director of the Berkeley (Calif.) Greek Theater; Alexander Dean, director of the North Shore (Chicago) Theater Guild; Gilmor Brown, director of the Pasadena Community Players; Irving Pichel, of the Uni versity of California, and others. WHAT NEXT? New York, March 14.—The industrivus pres~ agent for **The Show-Off’’, now playing at the Playhouse, informs a palpitating world that when Lee Tracy turned on the radio set used in the play one night this week Helen Lowell nearly had a conniption fit when a review of the play was heard by her thru the head phones, Mr. Tracy had accidentally tuned in a station W this talk. ? The story was a good one, Lich was stirring up the air with but, unfortunately for it. it lacked verisimilitude, for the set used in “The Show-Off’? is a most palpable prop, and as such is unerringly spotted by the radio fan. BERNARD AND CARR ON COAST New York, March 15.—To prove that Barney Bernard and Alexander Carr have nothing but the friendliest regard for each other, the pair will head a stock company at Frank Egan’s new playhouse on the Coast. During their joint engugement they will be seen in “Partners Again’’ and the ‘Potash and Perlmutter’ series of plays. The rest of company will be recruited on the Coast. MAY CLOSE “iN LOVE” a Ty 2% Maret 4 i) Williaa fart ir dies nat hook toston for in Love With Love” withip the next week of eo, be will elo the piece. Uf Boston it secured, an indefinite engagement will be played there The show has been playing since Inst summer ‘AN KEITr A&A young actor of great promise, ipporting Li onel Barrymore in the David Be rt 0 proluction, ‘‘Laugh, Clown, Laugh!’’ at the Belasco Theater, New York. JACK MARTIN TO STAR AGAIN Made Big Hit Depicting Character of Abraham Lincoln March 15.—Jack Martin, who made a star in Ralph T. Kettering’s Abraham Lincoln play, “The Great Com*, last season, will star in the play again his year. It will open April 1 on chautauqua time and is booked for twenty weeks solid on the Coast. Mr, Martin is widely known in stock circles and has played ten years in char Chicago, pronount ed success as the moner ter roles. His last engagement was in stock with the Garrick Theater, Milwaukee. He was formerly with the Metropolitan Stock Company in Edmonton, of its kind. A curious fact in connection with Mr. Martin’s playing of the Lincoln character is that he is not tall enough to properly depict the great war president physically, therefore the entire supporting cast is made up of people somewhat Can., one of the best organizations under the average height. A doorway on the stage is made lower for the same reason. “MOON FLOWER” TO MOVE New York, March 15.—‘‘Moon Flower”, at present occtipying the Astor Theater, with Elsie Ferguson starred, will have to vacate that house at the end of next wéek, Where it will go is not known yet, but several theaters are being bargained for and the show will probably find a2 home when moving day rolls around, The reception accorded ‘‘Moon Flower’ by the papers was a mixed one, but, notwithstanding this, the show bears some marks of being a popular hit, Business has been big ever since the opening. APPEARS AT OWN THEATER New York, March 14.—Altho Chauncey Olcott 1s financially interested in the Majestic Thenter, Booklyn, the Irish star never had the opportunity of appearing at that house until last week, when he was seen in “The Heart of Paddy Whack’’. Olcott is playing Newark this week, and, after completing the Subway Circuit, will tour the road for the balance of the season. STILL AFTER BARRYMORE sew York, March 14.—It ts said here that veral managers itp London are anxious to oresent John Barrymore in that city. and one them is Ukely to succeed, ‘o show London what he Barrymore wants ean do in the part of the Dane, and the Uritish impreserios are wliling and anxions The twe will probably get ragether he Keith Has Play oa Many Roles in FourYear Career General interest on the part of our readers temanded that we chronicle the history of lan Keith, portraying the rich young profligate in Clown, Laugh’’, starring Lionel Barry the Belasco Theater, New York. Some have rented on Mr. Keith's ren to John Barrymore, others on bis lities as a matinee {dol, while a few have guessed that he was born in England. hile we must agree that he resembles John Barrymore and that he has all the requisites of a matinee idol, plus something finer, we ‘Laugh, more, at comr semblance possibi can not concur in the guess that he is English, for we have learned that he was born in Boston, Mass., of American parentage. Mr. Keith has had every advantage that the world of the theater can give. After being graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts four years ago, he made his first appearance with the old Castle Square Stock Company, Boston, A year later made his first New York appearance in support of William Faversham in “The Silver Fox’. Later in the same season he created the role of the French Ambassador in ‘“‘The Czarina’’, Doris Keane’s famous vehicle, Last spring he was seen as Orlando in the American National Theater's production of ‘“‘As You Like + Altho the latter play was not successful, Mr. Keith was praised for his splendid ebaracterization of Orlando. New York and Castle Keith has played more he in additien to his rements Mr. than 130 lead'ng roles with various stock comes, incl ding comic, tragic, dramatic and espearean delineations. has a magnificent stage presence, outstanding feature of which is poise. tits voice is musical and his diction is un<trvetively cultured. In physique he is tall dad sight, with a fine breadth of shoulders. ble lines of his profile sheuld delight 8 ELITA MILLER LENZ. TO MANAGE “ABIE’S IRISH ROSE” New York, Mar 14.—Announcement is made wy Anne Nichols, author and producer of *‘Abie’s of the appointment of George H. as booking manager for all Miss Nich companies, Fitchett, who has been camgning for the Republic Theater Company for sh Rese’, Fitchett the past eight months, earned this promotion thru conscientious work and thoro knowledge of every detail of the theatrical business. Fitchett comes from an old theatrical family. Tle bas been identified with the theater in varlous capacities for twenty-fiVe years, during which be has been associated with many of the leading producers of the country. He has 8 wide acquaintance with house managers in all parts of the United States and Canada and is one of the most popular men who ever toured the country. FEEDS FRENCH PLAYER New York, March 14.—The Drama League gave M. de Ferandy all the food he could eat at a luncheon tendered in his honor at the Hotel Astor today. The other guests of bonor included Mrs. John W. Alexander, Mrs. Samuel Swift and M. Gaston Liebert. M. de Feraudy is a societaire of the Comedie Francaise, and is playing a two-week season of Freach repertoire at the Fulton Theater bere. REWRITING “DUST HEAP” New York, March 14.—The preliminary tour of “The Dust Heap’ has been brought to an inconspicuous close, and before any more is seen of the piece it will be rewritten. Paul Dickey is busy on this job, and when he has the seams caulked it will be sent on another cruise. According to Carl Reed and James Shesgreen, the entrepreneurs of the production, this will take place in spring. DU MAURIER AFTER “BEGGAR” New York, March 14.—When “Beggar on Hlorseback”’ is seen in London it will probably be with Gerald du Maurier in the leading role \t any rate the London actor-manager has been dickering with Winthrop Ames for the British rights, and, if he succeeds in getting them, t) play will probably be seen In the West End in spring. MARGARET ANGLIN TO TOUR Chicago, March 14,.—Margaret Anglin w take “The Great Lady Dedlock’® from t' Clackstone next week and go with the play & other cities, BENEFIT NETTED $1,000 Chicago, March 14.—About $1,000 was netted at the Cfvie Theater benefit in the Blacksten: Theater yesterday, when Mariarcet a special performance of ‘The Dedlock” for that purpose Anglin ga\e Great Lady A giance at the Hotel Directory in this issue mav save considerable time and inconvenience