Variety (Jan 1907)

n I WILLIAMS fcNTEItS PHILADELPHIA. . Williams, & npwly organized company he represented, signed the lease of the Ghestxuit Street Opera in Phila- delphia for a term of three and one-half jMsu#» with a renewal privilege of six The rental is supposed to be about veaTly. -? '3e was secured from Nixon & he Philadelphia managers, a of their unexpired term, lied •'Williams' Chestnut tfle new company formed to ^J^^S* * rfcestnut Street .re Company," having the same set ii rectors interested in the other tbe- Ires on the Williams circuit. Possession will be given to Mr. %}.-. liams on February 25, and the theatre opened as a vaudevillpf honse under his management on March 11. Rooney and Bent received the first contract to appear there during the opening week. The acquiring of the Philadelphia house by Williams brings him for the third time into close contact with 8. 7. Keith. The Ktfith PbTlad«lphia house is almost directly opposite* the Williams new the- atre, and nutans a fight to a finish between h and Williams, seeing the question leaguing himself with the Keith Bookffe Office. When jf Williams was asked if he had anojivr city besides Philadelphia in e answered: "I will have an- r house before the, opening of next ; He would not admit that Pitts- the town, but that is the gem ,1 bsBef. Mr. Williams wjfe -fjuebtioned about the ultimate ending of the Atux himself and Keith; In reply be olve Itself into thaifcondi- EMPIRE HAS BOSTON Contracts were sj^nej this w«k by which the Kmprrf •Circuit uonrp (Western Burlesque Wheel) taken o\ the Howard Athenaeum, Boston, for its shows. This is on* 5 of the largest play- houses in the country, having a seating capacity of 2,5" Hie hou«e will** readv Xxr occupancy by its new managers probably in two •e week/*, or as soon as the vaude- ville bookings made through the Keith office have bejba filled. The Empire's lease is understood to be for a term of five years; rental is not known. The house has beeJT under the management of its proprietor 7 , G. L. Lathrop, for a number of years. / ^ I hiR gives the Western two houses in \\f aetown, t^e Columbia and the Howaad, against the Eastern Wheel's Palace and Lyceum theatres. TROUBLE Ut THE •DAlNT&^trnifesS." After effect* in Weber tettush's "Dainty Duchess" burlesque company will probably result from the recent disagreement at Youngstown. 0., between Lalla Selbini and Gladys Carlyle. Mips Selbini is the "fea- ture" of the sb^w, while Miss Carlyle was "principal bofy In the Ohio town, Miss Oarlyle's birthplace, the papers saw her first and most r 4>ften. Miss Selbini threat- ened to lea*ve/the show if some one did not keep better/ control over the newspaper men. This was sssoothed over, but at the cost to ftisa* Carlyle of her pqsition with the trouue, her 'release becoming necessary to apprise the "feature new Miss Selbini ,a vows she will leave * "Dainty Duchess" anyway before the how plays Bostou, which will be in three existing in England. weeks. "The Bathing Beauty" claims to ig vaudeville circuits// hold-a telegram from Weber & Rush say- ing/ "Will release week before Boston." T^he firm says if such a wire is in existence it Is a forgery. Ed P. Rush was in Buffalo this week, wh*r* the company is playing, and may have accomplished an amicable settlement of the controversy, caused it is. claim'*! through the Selbini believing she and"~~heV- husband (Willy Pannser, who travels »n^ the same organisation, having *n acrobatic act of his own, distinct from his wife) have a larger earning capacity in vaude- ville than their present salary returns them. It has been a matter^ of some difficulty to handle Miss Selbini since the "Duchess" onened at the beginning of the' season, bnt Weber & Rush make the positive statement that the pair will either play out their cow- tracts or cease working professionally on this side until they do. he h ean survive and^be supported. n*t think this matter of close opposit make any material difference in r cities." . being asked if he would no into y city, particularly Chicago, Aith a udevills theatre, the manager , *a^oWl Will go into any town where vaudeville is booked by Keith. I call that a <Keith town' whether Keith personally owns the theatre playing vaudeville in it or not. As to Chicago, I havent the slightest in- on of going there. I am on perfectly dly terms with the Western people; fare each attending to our own busi- and T don't look for anything be- MSTERDAM'S GOOD START. Amsterdam, N. T., Jan. 4. vaudeville venture managed by Jos. of the Mohawk Theatre in ^•^ed so ausplcuouary this thinking within THIESE CLAIMS RECORD, $9,697.50. It is declared on good authority that the t "Wine, Woman and Song" show played to $9,697.50 at the Circle last week, registering the highest amount on record for thah length of time* By-atmrteftqiie organization ■ MHMJK ra * Southern j^u^^ the motion of Fre<rV injunction against Jeav ing Bedini from furtleVy Night in English Vaudeville opinion was given. Mr. Karno is an English vaudeville sr and over a year ago sent a compa\ to this country which played "A Night in an English Music Hall" without a pro- test. Last summer Jean Bedini, of Bedini and Arthur, induced several c* Same's play- ers to join him in a production called ''A Night in English Vaudeville* and played over the Keith circuit. The latter act was first shown at Hen- derson's Mnosic Hall, Coney Island, on .August 26. It was pronounced by the newspaper men and others who had seen the original as a deliberate "steal" from Karno's, even to the orchestrations. Bedini denied any theft and cited sev- eral instances where a stage upon a stage had been used in productions and vaudeville. The controversy raged in the papers for a time until Karno, through his attorneys, House, Grossman & Vor- haus, in the World Building, applied to the courts for an injunction against Be- dini. Karno-copyrighted his play over here in September, and the argument before the court rested upon the point if a pan- tomime with dialogue could be copyright- ed. The court held that as "A Night in an English Music Hall" was a dramatic playlet through the story told and the lines it was entitled to protection under the copyright laws. The defence alleged that Karno's play was not an original production; that the idea had long been in use, and that Bedini had not taken the sketch verbatim. •Tudge Lacombe by his decision In favor of Karno stamps "A Night in English Vaudeville" as a "steal," and Bedini is effectually debarred from further playing it. are numbrles-* companies which nave^irsefr fliw" KsiTwlact in various ways, and it is possible- iHfo TTottss..Jjrossman A Vorhaus will be mstructed to "pfofcewfl - against them also in a similar manner. William Grossman, of the law firm, when asked what the general effect of the decision would be, saW: "Judge Lacombe's decision means the end of 'copy' acts in vaudeville, if the originators of the stolen matter desire to stand upon their rights. Tn my opinion when an artist is suffering through another using his material he may go,into court, claim its protection, nnd„ proving his case, will receive it. "There was a great deal of quibbling by^ Bedini, bnt we made a plain sja*" fact to the court, rest* r*>siticji*srflrs" uipneTa? DE>*a Henri DeVri. abrupt termi at the Bijo return to v, venture cost 000, as the; ganisatioa to the o Business Vries played ances on Chr other theatre On receipt of Ii brought the Du| his condolences Percy G dieted disaster a protean off< tion on his turn to vaud AID UNI n Mim inittt of Johi ager, whose him pretty given at January 27. treasurer eeive coi Broadwai MISS LEVY AT $750. Ethel I«vy opens her season in vaude- ville January 14 at the Fifth Avenuo Theatre, h received contracts for tb*» Keith circuit at $750 per week. Miss Levy verbally agreed to play for 1 William* at that figure; but reneged when ^tt came tfl placing her signature to par* ORPHEUM'S 0P> 9ht Despite all efforf* the new Ornheun <*ompietion. Work upon thr tm, Regardless of y. ises it will rnaiv before the \ »