Variety (May 1908)

10 VARIETY London, April 18. R. G. Knowles is back at the Palace; Arthur Prince and Sam Elton likewise. Chevalier is at the Coliseum top, Herbert Lloyd and Paul Barnes holding up the American end. Everhart and his intelli- gent hoops are at the Hippodrome; Genaro and Theol are at the Holborn Empire. At the Paragon Harry Lauder is the bright particular star; ever popular Mike Whal- len keeps him company. Little Tich rested a few days at Brighton on return from South Africa, and makes his return to London at the Tivoli, where his Easter reception will warm the hands of the audi- ence. They always make a great fuss over Tich when he returns from abroad. Hymack's return from America lands him at the Hackney Empire.—Jock Mc- Fee, a new Scotch comedian and bagpipe tormentor, opens at the Gamberwell Pal- ace.—Bissett and Scott make their first English appearance at the Empire.—Most of the London stars of great name and fame are back in town for this week, play- ing a lot of halls, as Easter bills must have "names." Donaldson Brothers have cut their old monkey cage act for one showing scenes in a South African jungle, at the hour when tropical sunrise wakes the birds and brutes. This tops the Queens, Poplar, for Easter. —Julian Rose will be the cynosure of all eyes at the Pavilion. It is quite gratify- ing to note the latter-day progress of He- brew comedy; a little tact, diplomacy and discretion have done wonders. As to Federation prospectives, some re- forms in agency matters are sure to be asked for soon. The return engagement commission clause, which pinches you for a total of twenty per cent if you shift to another agent, must go. Then confirmation of contracts must be put on a business basis. August Van Biene of "Broken Melody" fame is going to fight a test case against London managers who held his signature eleven months without confirma- tion, and then overboarded him in favor of another attraction. He had offers from ether managers for the same dates, which he refused and lost. Van Biene is signed with Moss & Stoll till the end of 1910, and while not hard up for dates, he will fight this case on principle. He says the Moss Empire people know how to treat artists right, but some other managers treat them as If they were "so much dirt. »» Talking about American slang, the en- lightened English expect to learn much from George Ade's slang play, "The Col- lege Widow," at Adelphi, Easter Monday. The Paris raid on living pictures is es- pecially interesting—because in Paris where everything gay and giddy is expected to go without question. Women wearing less than Eve's attire appeared at the Folies Bergere, Moulin Rouge, Cigale, Apollo, Casino de Paris and Olympia, while the risque game was also played at several minor but extremely chic places up Montmartre. The papers are now mixing in, and claim that the appearance of a well- made woman without tights is not in the least shocking, but an artistic sight. "Honi suit qui tnal y pense," they add. The Great Lafayette is up in Lauder- land, at the Glasgow Pavilion. At the Croydon Empire, London (Gibbons Tour), Lafayette lately gave a special matinee of two hours and a quarter all by himself. Hackenschmidt is here, and makes his first appearance April 27 at the Metropoli- tan. Griffiths Brothers are utilizing his American experience for comedy material, saying "No biting, no poking your fingers in my eyes, and no oiling your body." Man- ager Gibbons got around the oiling diffi- culty with two oriental wrestlers who ap- peared at the Holborn Empire, by requir- ing them to take hot baths just preceding their appearance.—Willie Edouin, who died April 14, was 67 years old and had a stage career of 60 years or so, having been fairly cradled in theatricals. He appeared at the Palace several years ago, and after touring the provincial music halls had a vaudeville season in the States, since which he had been in steady decline. Away back in 1862 he appeared in "Living Marion- ettes" on the present site of the London Empire. He was an old hand at panto- mime, acrobatics, everything. In touring the Australian gold fields fifty years ago he on one occasion played "Hamlet" at a wayside inn with a billiard table for a stage. He was a quaint, eccentric, man- neristic comedian of a type that is fast dis- appearing. Phyllis and Zena Dare had a rough cab smash the other day, Miss Zena saving her face by instinctively using her muff as a buffer.—Gus Elen is off fishing on the Earl of Carnarvon's preserved waters.—Maurice Geraldo and J. W. Rickaby have been made Water Rats.—Hector Munroe, man- ager Shoreditch Empire, was presented the other day with an illuminated testimonial locket with "H. M." in diamonds, and a cheque for $250.—C. Dundas Slater, last of the Alhambra and earlier of the En> pire, has been appointed Coliseum man- ager by Mr. Stoll, and the former manager, Mr. Maclachlan, has been promoted to the charge of the Stoll dramatic houses, four in number.—Free programs have disap- peared from London, Beerbohm Tree, at His Majesty's, charging sixpence this week. Free cloak room service still retained.— The Terriers gave their annual dinner and ball at the "Horns," Kensington, last night.—The woman who fell from the gal- lery of the Croydon Empire has died at Croydon Hospital. Manager Eustace Jay deposed at the inquest to seeing her fall headlong over the railing after her slip and stumble, and said this was the first acci- dent out of 516,000 people who had vis- ited the gallery since its opening.—Fred W. Millis is presenting a new ventriloquial act at the Oxford.—The "Ginger Girl's" hat is being utilized to great advantage by the new press agent of the Oxford, and pic- torial stuff is in the papers.—The Magic Circle has been having its "Third Annual Grand Seance" at St. George's Hall under Nevil Maskelyne's patronage, doing "Now you see it and now you don't" diversions. PARIS NOTES 3y EDWARD 6. KENDRBW. Paris, April ID. Seldom, if ever, have I seen such a rush of visitors to Paris at Eastertide, as this year. The influx from England was exceptionally heavy. Cook's cheap trip- pers were much in evidence in the music halls, where they hoped and expected to see things at which they would hoist their eyebrows in horror in chaste London. I happened to be at the Gare St. Lazare on Good Friday, and the great terminus had the appearance of some popular demon- station taking place, so great was (he crowd of incomers. There is no gainsay- ing, I will add in parentheses, that with fine weather the most agreeable routes between London and Paris are those of the Ouest, via Newhaven and Dieppe, or Southampton and Havre, with the sea trip on large passenger screw steamers and a railroad journey through picturesque Nor- mandy, the loveliest scenery in France at this season. Of course all places of amusement were well attended. A visit to the Moulin Rouge is a patriotic duty of the average Briton, since this elegant theatre is owned now, like Maxim's, by an English com- pany. Moreover, its unmerited fame of being extremely naughty assures it much foreign patronage. Several resorts had the unusual experience of turning away money on Saturday and Sunday. A few Easter rejoicings of this kind are badly wanted at present several times a month, for there is no doubt theatrical business, both legitimate and variety, has been ex- ceptionally bad for a long while. There is little, if any, improvement, in fact, over last year, when all the principal vaude- ville establishments of the gay city, ex- cepting three, could have been snapped up at any reasonable offer. I am not so certain but that the same state of affairs does exist to-day. This crisis, or may I say the strike of pay- ing playgoers, is not so much on ac- count of the lack of an appreciative public in Paris as the indifference of some man- agers to supply a program sufficiently at- tractive—and now that the nude figure exhibition has been curtailed, for the mo- ment, the best trump card that certain directors could play to dazzle visitors has been forfeited, and they find they have nothing much else to offer. It is not sur- prising, therefore, that full houses are so rare and far between. An appeal to the sporting instincts of mankind does occa- sionally have good effect, and a monster audience can be drawn for some such special event; but for a regular, steady paying public, an amusing, strong "value for your money" vaudeville company is the surest magnet. When wrestling matches are the order of the day (in the autumn as a rule) they are considerably overdone, and the latest craze to raise funds, that of boxing under Queensberry rules, frequently proves a fiasco for the audience. Such events have been given in Paris for many years. At the present moment, however, there is a decided accession In this realm of music hall attraction, fol- lowing on some very creditable bouts given recently at the Salle Wagram. There was big gate money, and those who could get in saw a bit of slugging that satisfied their desires. The Nouveau Cirque, and other places likewise, soon entered the lists with similar well advertised matches that proved a success. We have, as a consequence—in addition to specifically pre- arranged encounters—weekly sparring matches at the Ferris Great Wheel, called "Wonderland" for these events; at the Folies Bergere every Saturday at mid- night, after the usual evening performance of the gorgeous winter revue, and at other resorts. The champion pugulist has therefore become the star—the primo uomo—of la ville lumiere. It is but an ephemeral fancy of the fickle Parisian, and variety in its true form will ultimately return to favor. The latest specially organized "public entertainment" of this kind was a good match ; n eleven rounds between San Mac- Vav, of California, and Ben Taylor, of London, in the early hours on April 16 at the Hippodrome, that huge building which no manager has yet ever filled with a fair proportion of paid tickets. For this one occasion the hall was a paying concern. This Hippodrome has ever been a white elephant since its construction. Bostock started off with a success, but failed to keep it open after a three years trial. The building has since been given over to a gigantic three-hour cinematograph en- terprise, with seats from six cents up- wards. There are this season a number of these exclusively moving picture enter- tainments in large halls usually occupied by variety. The Cirque d'Hiver, the Cirque d( Paris, the Parisiana, the Hippodrome, etc., apparently failing to make both ends meet with ordinary vaudeville, have turned to the popular vague, which is entering into the program of every grade of pub- lic performance. Last summer many of the principal the- atres here, such as the Gymnase, the Vaudeville, the Chatelet, Olympia, and half a dozen high class music halls, kept open all through the dog days with mov- ing pictures—and nothing else to show. We may expect a still greater number this summer. Vaudeville looks as if it were in a bad way when some of the most popular circuses, and a well known cafe concert depend on this entertainment in order to remain open in the spring, which is the full season here. But that real, genuine variety shows will still attract in France is proven by the experience at the Alham- bra, run by Thos. Barassford, of Lon- don. There is an essentially variety pro- gram, as at the Etoile Palace, the Medrano Circus, or at the Apollo. These are the houses where you find a good audience nightly, if anywhere. I understand that Mr. Barrass ford is on the lookout for a site to build another hall in Paris, to be run on the same lines as the Alhambra. He has also recently opened at Marseilles. The Etoile Palace is moreover to be closed this year for enlarging the seating capacity. So it looks as if there were still a big field in this country for good vaude- ville, if properly managed.