Variety (September 1907)

VARIETY ORPHEUM CIRCUIT-BUYS AN O PPOSITION THEATRE The Princess in San Francisco, Adjoining the Or- pheum, Passes Into the Control of its Neighbor. Upon reliable authority it was learned this week that the new Princess theatre in San Francisco, now playing vaudeville under tl^e management of the Western States Vaudeville Association, had been purchased by the Orpheum Theatre Com- pany, part and parcel. The Princess adjoins the Orpheum, and resembles the latter both in the interior and exterior. It is playing three-shows-a- day, and reports from San Francisco have said the business of the Orpheum has not been affected by the competition. The grade of bill presented at the smaller-priced house does not reach the Orpheum's class, but the belief that the Princess would eventually become a Klaw & Erlanger theatre, if "Advanced Vaude- ville" played a chain of houses to the coast, impelled the purchase by the Or- pheum Co. By the purchase of the Princess it is thought the possibility of Klaw & Er- langer placing a road show in 'Frisco has been considerably lessened. It is not known what the position of the present tenant is under the new con- dition. W. & V.'S CIRCUIT OF SEVEN. Before this season shall have reached its close Wilmer & Vincent expect to have in full bloom at least seven vaudeville theatres, all bearing the firm's name as managers. The list will include their present the- atres at Utica, N. Y.; Allentown and Reading, Pa., besides new theatres now building at Easton and Harrisburg, Pa., and Norfolk, Va. Sidney Wilmer, of the firm, was in Richmond, Va., this week arranging for the house to be erected there. It will occupy a plot 80x160 feet and the building will have stores on the ground floor. CAN SHIFT ACTS. The contracts at present issued by Percy G. Williams read: "The party of the second part (art- iat) agrees to render services to the party ^M ,the first part (Williams) at 'I Wi.'if ?W^ theatres, or such other theatre or music hall as the party of the first part (Williams) may reason- ably designated* This clausf gives !Mr. Williams the right to shift an act'into any theatre he pleases on the dates specified, whether under his management or no, provided the change comes under the heading of "reasonable." JACK LORIMER CAN'T LEAVE. It is doubtful when Jack Lorimer, the Scotch comedian, will again appear over here. Before leaving for home last Spring Mr. Lorimer was engaged for the Klaw & Erlanger time, with the proviso that he should commence on the circuits whenever his foreign engagements would permit. Upon his arrival in England Mr. Lori- mer was made the target of managers who held his contracts. Rosen & Bliss, the proprietors of a circuit having about six or seven houses, attempted to mulct the comedian in the sum of $2,500 and ob- tained $250. This firm is notorious in England for this sort of practice and in the case of Mr. Lorimer it brought other lawsuits from managers until he was obliged to give up the idea of a return American engagement for the present. Oswald Stoll, of the Moss-Stoll Circuit, who is bitterly incensed against the emi- gration of English acts to America, had much to do with changing Mr. Lorimer's plans. Polly Scotch, his wife, also booked over the same time, will -defer her visit until her husband's convenience. BECK DIDN'T DO IT. Martin Beck, general manager of the Orpheum Circuit, who has returned from a flying trip to his Western houses, says that the statement made from the stage of the Sam. S. Shubert theatre in Kan- sas City by Hardeen, "the jail breaker," to the effect that he had caused a pair of tampered handcuffs to be offered Hardeen on the stage, was untrue. While Hardeen was playing at the Shu- bert Mr. Beck was in Kansas City over- looking his own Orpheum there. One evening Hardeen worked on a pair of cuffs fifty minutes before releasing him- self, and thereupon informed the audi- ence the Orpheum's general manager was responsible for his difficulty. Mr. Beck re- marked he did not know Hardeen was in the city at the time. Regarding a new Orpheum theatre in Kansas City, Mr. Beck says it is only a question of the site before building op- erations will commence. Several locations are in view, but extravagant valuations have been placed upon them. In his trip West, Mr. Beck traveled very fast. He left Chicago, made Kansas City, Omaha, Sioux City, Minneapolis, St. Paul and returned to Chicago in a trifle over three days. From Omaha to Sioux City, a run of 118 miles, Mr. Beck engaged a special; train. RQSS0W MIDGETS WON'T RETURN. "The Rossow Midgets" will no longer appear as a vaudeville act over here, or at any rate not the midgets Herman Rossow formerly presented in the variety houses on this side. Mr. Rossow says so himself, and he ought to know. He is in New York now, looking after The Zelias, a novelty acro- batic act of three people, who arrived from France this week. A larpe, electrically lighted, bow-shaped frame is supported on the shoulders of two men. while the third member, a woman, performs on a trapeze attached to the centre. Rossow expects to go to Germany in the near future, but not to stay. He has decided the United States will be his home hereafter and has bought a farm in Shelby, I1L S-C. STICKS TO POLICY. San Francisco, Sept. 27. The Sullivan-Considine Circuit has de- cided not to change its policy of three shows daily just yet. The report that the 'Frisco houses might be made "continu- ous," with big features from the East playing two shows a day only, is now denied by the Sullivan-Considine people, although that this plan, or some similar one allowing of two performances daily for the high priced acts, was contemplated recently is not doubted. It is surmised that an aversion to com- ing into open conflict with the Orpheum Circuit had greatly to <Jo with the final action. A change of policy might be con- sidered by the Orpheum as an advance upon its territory by S.-C. in opposition, and this, it is thought, John W. Considine wishes to avoid. The publication of the proposed plan, however, may yet bring the large Eastern acts to the West, in the smaller houses on the "two-shows" agreement. The Pan- tages Circuit in the Northwest, which op- poses Sullivan-Considine at several im- portant points, has taken the matter under consideration, and this may result in an arrangement of this nature if booking con. nections in the East can be arranged. DOCTOR'S CERTIFICATE SUFFICIENT'. Cadle & Co., London agents, have for- warded to their New York attorneys, Rosenthal, Steckler & Levi, a number of claims for commission against American and foreign acts, which did not fulfill con- tracts calling for their appearance abroad, made through the agents. A clause in the Cadle contract mentioned that in the event of illness, which would prevent an appearance, a doctor's certifi- cate would be required. William Grossman, of House, Grossman & Vorhaus, received two demands from the agents' lawyers addressed to his clients. Each replied he had been ill at the time, and forwarded a doctor's verifi- cation. This nullified the agreement. SHAFER-BRENNAN MARRIAGE. Edward A. Shafer, general manager of Mortimer M. Thiese's attractions, and Lilla Brennan, who was one of the prin- cipals in that manager's "The Maid and the Millionaire" on the Madison Square Roof last summer, were married Wednes- day afternoon. The wedding was a complete surprise. No one, even of Mr. Shafer's business as- sociates knew of the couple's plans until the bridegroom made the announcement after the ceremony. KNOWLES DECLINES ENGLISH OFFER. R. G. Knowles, the monologist, is re- ported to have passed up an offer of solid time for a year in the English syndicate halls at a salary of $2,000 a week, a phenomenal amount on the other side, in order to play his annual Fall engagement in the States. He opens at the New York, October 7. Mr. Knowles will play five months in vaudeville under K. & E., and will then give ten lectures in Carnegie Hall, New York. This will make his longest Ameri- can tour in 17 years. Knowles recently played the Pavilion, Glasgow, Scotland, and was offered a re- turn engagement of three weeks at $1,500. He declined. AAR0NS LEAVES NEXT MONTH. Towards the last of October Alfred E. Aarons will leave for Europe, accompan- ied by two interpreters. The length of his stay has not been fixed. Mr. Aarons goes at the command of A. L. Erlanger with instructions to scour all the foreign countries on the map, and se- cure the biggest acts obtainable for "Ad- vanced Vaudeville" over here. While abroad, Mr. Aarons will, it is said, establish general offices for Klaw & Erlanger's vaudeville in London, with branches at the other large European cap- itals. He will also attempt to have the restric- tions removed which were imposed by the Government on the other side against the exportation of several large acts already booked by K. & E., notably the Russian Cossacks. STEVENSON A oKETCHER. i Charles A. Stevenson, formerly leading man for Mrs. Leslie Carter for a number of seasons, has placed himself under the menagement of the Jesse L. Lasky Com- pany. He will appear in vaudeville with a dramatic piece written by Herbert Standing, who will also play in it, besides two others. The opening appearance is expected to occur on Oct. 7. AGENTS BAND TOGETHER. There is a mutually protective under- standing existing between three agents booking through the United Offices. Un- der it neither accepts an act known to have been in communication with another of the trio, until the artist can produce a clean slate. Other protective measures have been adopted by the clannish commission men, and they feel quite at ease in each other's society. ARTISTS FORMING MINSTREL COM- PANY. Blockson and Burns, the travesty ''strong men," open their season Monday at Keith's Providence. While playing the road tour the team will put together a minstrel organization, headed by themselves. It will go on travel about the middle of the season and will be billed as "Blockson and Burns' Big Minstrels." Fred Frick, of the Lyceum, Red Bank, N. J., will take the active management of the venture. OPPOSITION STIRS UP THINGS. St. Louis, Sept. 27. The local campaign of the big vaudeville war is going on merrily, and attracting a large amount of public attention. The newspapers' now devote three times as much space to vaudeville reviews as they did before the entrance of the Klaw & Erlanger opposition. The K. & E. faction is using every bill- board it can secure for the display of its "paper." Midrtleton & Tate, of the Colum- bia, as before, use no billboards, but they have almost doubled their volume of newspaper advertising. HARRY NORMAN Trans-Atlantic Four. Will.vou com- municate with HOWARD TRUESDELL by first mail, please. Route VARIETY. (Adv.)