Variety (December 1907)

VARIETY NEW NORTHWESTERN CHEAP CIRCUIT FORMED / The Trans-Continental Vaudeville Association Enters Vaudeville. May Grow to Large Proportions The Transcontinental Vaudeville Asso- ciation has been incorporated in the State of Washington, with main offices at Seat- tle. It is now ope-ating theatres in that section of the country and has affiliated with the Alpha Circuit, the California chain of smaller vaudeville houses man- aged by Levy & Levy. Bert I>evy, of the firm, is the California representative of the Trans-Continental. A connection will probably be made with the Mozart Circuit in Pennsylvania, Ed. Mozart having been acting as the booking representative in the East for some time. Walter Plimmer, the booking agent for the Western Burlesque Wheel, whose resig- nation as such takes effect to-day, is nego- tiating to act as the Eastern representa- tive of the new Western circuit and will probably assume the office within a week. The incorporators and directors of the Trans-Continental are S. Morton Colin, president; Mose Goldsmith, vice-president; Edwin R. Lang, treasurer; S. II. Fried- lander, secretary; W. A. Lang, manager booking department, and W. W. Ely, gen- eral manager. Mr. Colin was formerly connected with the Sullivan-Considine firm. W. W. Ely has been until recently in general charge of the Sullivan-Considine offices in Seattle and W. A. Lang, who will have the direc- tion of the Western bookings, is a former well-known Chicago agent. Mr. Mozart, when seen by a Variety representative this week, said he had not as yet entered into any direct connection with the new circuit, but intimated this was a future possibility. Mozart has a list of ten theatres. Bert Levy, of the Alpha Circuit, is Mr. Mozart's nephew. Seattle, Dec. G. The Trans-Continental Vaudeville Asso- ciation, the newly made vaudeville cor- poration, bids fair to be a factor in the vaudeville of the Northwest. A list of houses extending into Alaska has been given out as being booked by it, and there is a move under way to form a connecting link with a Canadian circuit. This is the first entry of a circuit into Alaska, where the Trans-Continental will play at Juneau, Douglas, Valdez and Ca- tella, besides Dawson, Yukon, reaching those point,s by way of many of the prin- cipal towns in British Columbia. Among the more important of the houses now held by the new company are the Marquan Grand, Portland; Savery, Ta- coma; Eden Mutee, Odeon, Family and Lyric, Seattle; Dominion, Vancouver; Crand, New Westminster; Empire, Aber- deen ; Bellingham, Bellingham; Novelty, Pendleton; Orphelnv Boise, while cities in Utah and Montana will also be played, as well as others in the States mentioned. It is snid at the offices of the Trans-Con- tinental that a representative has been dis- patched East to close up some negotiations with circuits there, and there has been an agreement reached with the Alpha Circuit of California. The houses listed all have seating ca- pacity of over 1,000 and the prices will be placed at a low popular figure until addi- tions now contemplated are secured. It is claimed for the Trans-Continental it will have a booking department placing acts direct through from the East to the coast. San Francisco, Nov. 6 While there is a deal pending between the new Transcontinental Circuit of Seattle and the Alpha Circuit here, noth- ing definite ha* been arranged as far as can be learned. The Alpha Circuit consists of the Ma- jestic, El Paso, Tex.; Crystal, Albu- querque, New Mexico; Unique and Fish- er's, Los Angeles; Victory, San Francisco, and theatres at Bisbee, Globe and Tucson. Ariz. S. Morton Colm, of the Trans-Conti- nental, claims twenty houses in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Colorado. NO CLOSINGS ANNOUNCED. No future closings of houses on the Klaw tS: Erlanger Circuit have been an- nounced this week. "Advanced Vaude- ville" under the direct management of Klaw tt Erlanger is now presented in the New York, New York; Grand Opera House, Brooklyn; Tremont, Boston; Ed- win Forrest, Philadelphia; Teck, Buffalo, and Auditorium, Chicago. The New York and the Grand Opera House will probably remain vaudeville theatres until February 3rd, next, the date set by the agreement between Klaw & Erlanger and the United when the former must retire from the vaudeville business. The Ivlwin Forrest is rumored to rloso around January 1st, while the 'Auditorium is due to retire around January loth. The Teck will likely remain open dur- ing the present month, but did the Tre- mont close its doors to variety perform- ances in a week or so, as was reported in ••Beantown" a week ago, it would not be unexpected. The new Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., revue is expected to follow vaudeville at the New York, first playing out of town for a few weeks to "whip in." Adeline (Jenee, the London premier liallerino, will be featured in the show, which may be named "Zieg- feld's Grand Revue." The opening .scene is an artist's studio, ami from there successive views show the Alps, Monte Carlo, the "Lusitania," and it then comes back to New York for a finale. MORE ARTISTS FOR "GIRL QUES- TION." Chicago, Dec. 0. besides Norton and Nicholson, who were mentioned in Variety some time aco as having engaged with "The Girl Question"' n>ad company, which openi for the sea- son Christmas Day at Joliet. Manager Mot ton, while in New York last week, se- cured Florence Ackley, Thomas Fortune. May (alder, Cha/I. Fisher and Master Martin, completing the cast. SOLIDLY AGAINST SUNDAY CLOSING. The clergymen of Brooklyn, who have been foremost in the crusade against Sun- day vaudeville performances, have de- manded a hearing on the subject before the Mayor, alleging that they are sup- ported in their movement by the labor unions. The Actors' Union will combat this hearing by seeking to show that the labor unions of the city are in favor of Sunday performances. The ministers succeeded in having a resolution put through the Brooklyn Central Labor Union during the absence of the Actors' Union delegate, but when the matter came up before the New York Federation of Labor, the gov- erning body of the city, the men of cloth were unmistakabiy "turned down." The Actors] Union will have a commit- tee of labor junion men before the Mayor to show that the unions are in favor of Sunday shows. When the matter comes up before the Mayor the union will show that whereas all the Sunday agitation is backed by the Actors' Society, made up of legiti- mates who nowhere in this State play on the seventh day, the vaudeville people, musicians and the stage hands, alone af- fected in the discussion, are generally in favor of Sunday performances. One of the points made by the officers of the Actors' Union in their efforts to defeat any public movement to bring about the closing of theatres on Sunday, is the alleged assurance they have re- ceived from the United Booking Offices, that should such a condition be brought about, there will immediately be a propor- tionate clipping of salaries paid artists. An official of the New Y T ork union local said that he had had this assurance direct from E. F. Albee, and the United Offices had made its intentions in this regard very plain. MARINELLI'S YEARLY STATEMENT. Paris, Nov. 23. Each year the II. B. Marinelli agency sends forth a statement to its branch ollices detailing the expense and total amount, in dollars, of its booking for the previous twelve months. The annual report for 1007 is out, and, reduced to American figures, reads as fol- lows: Transportation $4,100 Telegrams and cables 0,550 Postage 2,350 Telephones 780 Salaries 38,000 Total amount contracted for. ... 1,750,940 This includes the expenses as listed of all the Marinelli ollices, anil the grand total readied of the gross amount of sal- aries placed for the year under contract. OPPENHEIM MANAGING. Kansas City. Dec. 0. S. N. Oppenhcim, of the American Theatre C6., which has the Sam S. Shu- bert in this city under lease from Klaw & Erlanger, is now the manager of the theatre. Walter Sanford, formerh in charge, has hit for a European trip, and is not ex- pected to return for three months. CURTIN PRESIDENT T. M. A. James II. Curtin, manager of the Lon- don Theatre, waa ehosen president of New Yprk Lodge No. 1, Theatrical Me- chanics' Association, at the meeting of. that body Sunday. Mr. Curtin, who has always been an enthusiastic worker for the order, was elected unanimously. lie takes the place of Charles Shay, the last president. Mr. Shay would not run against Mr. Curtin, and the latter's elec- tion was uncontested. Mr. Curtin is one of the most popular members of the New York lodge. He has held several prizes for signal service in helping out benefits, and is generally re- garded as one of the most valuable men in the order. His election was received with universal satisfaction, in spite of the popularity of the retiring chief ex- ecutive. Others of the new officers are: William B. Finnegan, vice president; James E. Fakins, treasurer; B. F. Forman, record- ing secretary; Thomas A. Slieehan, finan- cial secretary (defeating E. H. Convey by a vote of 100 to 53); Douglas Gordon, as- sistant financial secretary; Thomas* Mc- Kenna, marshall; Harry Wager, sergeant- at-arms; Ed. Mulvihill, outside guard, and U. J. O'Mallon, M. Alexander and Jos. Beisenthal, trustees. Dr. S. Nelson Irwin was again chosen to act as phy- sician. Forty new members were elected into the lodge, among the number being Will- iam Torpey, stage manager of the New York Theatre. Reports were read as to the building of a home for aged members of the asso- siation. In answer to the communica- tions sent broadcast by the Grand Lodge, the city of Denver, through its authori- ties, offered to donate a tract of land comprising 100 acres in the suburbs and to build the home upon it at the city's expense. The Los Angeles lodge offered to se- cure 10 acres of ground and contribute $15,000 toward the cost of the building. PITROT FOREIGN REPRESENTATIVE. Richard Pitrot, the agent, will act as foreign representative for Louis Pincus, the sole booking agent for the Western States Vaudeville Association. The ar- rangement was entered into when E. Ed Ackerman, the head of the Western States, was in New York recently. Mr. Pitrot will sail for Europe in the course of a month in search of attractions for the circuit. The Colby Family will open on the WCstern States time at the Empire, San Francisco, on Dec. 23. WALKING ON A WAGER. Chicago, Dec. 6. A story started around this week that J. A. Sternad, Aaron Jones and his part- ner, Mr. Schafer, were to walk on a wager from Milwaukee to this city in emulation of Weston. A time limit of 100 hours was set, and the start made Tuesday morning, if report is true. Each placed $250 as a forfeit, and Mayor Becker of Milwaukee, with all that money in the city, gave a banquet to the cpn« lestant Monday night. Sternad is 1 king agent with the Western Vaudeville Association; Jones & Si'haefcr manage theatre- and parks. Either or all may have arrived in Chi- cago by this time. The gates were left open for them.