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VARIETY WESTERN BURLESQUE WHEEL DRAWS FOR OPENING DATES First Stands for Regular Tour Distributed by Lot. Season Begins August 24 and 25. Route Practically Unchanged. The traveling managers of the Western Burlesque Wheel drew for their opening stands on the Empire Circuit last Tues- day at 2 o'clock. The regular season begins in forty-three theatres on August 24 or 26, according to whether the houses play Sunday shows. Before the route laid out by the draw- ings becomes official it will have to be passed upon and approved by the Execu- tive Committee, and meanwhile the direct- ors of the Circuit decline to make it pub- lic. Before the Wheel opens the coming season it is probable that some of the managers may shift their openings by ex- changing with each other, and this fact, together with possibility of the Executive Committee ordering changes, may alter the present ^arrangement. As far as could be learned the route followed last season by the Wheel will hold good again. One exception is the in- troduction of Des Moines as a full week stand played on a guarantee. A house in Brooklyn (Williamsburg) makes another change and the readiness of the Electra, Schenectady, makes a third. These addi- tions, however, merely close up time open last season. According to an Empire man there are only two days of idleness on the route. These occur between Des Moines and St. Joseph, the latter a three-day stand. The shows will close in Des Moines Saturday night and open Thursday in St. Joe. Of the intervening days, two have been fixed up with optional stands and this leaves only Tuesday and Wednesday open. Kan- sas City, as before, follows St. Joe. The route as drawn Tuesday, accord- ing to unofficial information, does not be- come operative until individual contracts with the shows have been signed by the Empire Circuit. These contracts are in the nature of booking agreements, setting forth that the Empire Circuit will play the show in the houses it controls, and the agreement does not operate after one year. An exception to this arrangement is said to operate as between the Empire Circuit and those managers who operate Western Burlesque Wheel theatres in ad- dition to their shows. In these cases the contract for booking the shows is said to be included in the house contract and is for a longer term than one year. Although the regular tour does not start until the last week in August, many of the shows will make their openings as early as August 9. "Follies of the Day" will be one of these. "The Dream- lands" will also open in Albany early in August, although its regular,opening date is not in these towns. The preliminary engagement was arranged before the drawings by Tom Miner and the up- State houses, "The Dreamlands" having broken all records for the Albany-Troy week. Immediately after the drawings were completed nearly all the managers sent off telegrams asking individual managers for similar preliminary weeks. Practic- ally all the shows opening in the Western houses will have two preliminary weeks to break their jump from New York. Among the incidents of th* session,.was the drawing by Barney Gerard for the "Follies of the Day" of the position fol- lowing Miner's "Bohemians," of which he was manager last season. After the meeting the managers were all busy figuring out where they were to be during the special weeks—those con- taining holidays. If the present selection holds Billy Watson will have drawn the prize this year, playing Washington dur- ing Inauguration week. The makeup of the route, a work which has been given over to a committee of four by the Executive Committee of the Empire, was completed early last week and only the unavoidable absence of sev- eral managers prevented the holding of the drawing sooner. The committee which arranged the drawings and carried them out was com- posed of James H. Curt in, Tom Miner, James Fennessy and Harry Martell. Mr. Curtin was absent from the city on his vacation, and Will Drew acted as sub- stitute for him. A plan for allotment of time by the Executive Committee was under discus- sion for several days. The scheme was to assign each show to open at the house owned by its manager, and then let the shows proceed in the usual manner from these starting points. It was seen that this plan would give scope for unlimited dissatisfaction and argument. If one man- ager was assigned an opening point from which the following ten weeks were known to be poor business during the warm weather, he might refuse to play and thus open a disagreement. For this reason it was decided tfcat the old method of drawing opening dates from a hat would be most satisfactory, as giv- ing everybody an equal chance of se- curing the advantageous early engage- ments. WILLIAMS AND ADAMS AGAIN. After a separation of five years Joe Adams and Sim Williams will reappear for a week on the stage at the opening of Williams' "Imperials" next season. Mr. Adams will put on the burlesque "Paris Upside Down," and play his for- mer part in blackface in it opposite Will- iams. When they parted five years ago the team was known as Williams and Adams. Sin^e then Mr. Williams has con- tinued in the profession as a manager, while Adams has developed into a res- taurateur. The week's engagement is to illustrate to a couple of new men for the characters just how they should be played. IRWIN'S SHOWS OPEN SAVOY. Atlantio City, July 1. Com stock & Gest took charge of the Savoy Monday evening, and opened with Fred Irwin's "Big Review," which it is intended will remain here for four weeks. Business so far has been good, the show being the first burlesque here in some years, and in fact the first ever offered on the Board Walk. The house has been renovated and a number of changes made. As the show is an experiment here, it is not known how it will be token. To the big audience on Monday it was a hit. The Great La Dora, the dancer, and Gertie De Milt were the. hits of the burlesques, while Walsh, Lynch and Com- pany, in "Iluckin's Run," scored one of the biggest hits ever in this city, and it was a surprise to find them in a bur- lesque company. It is now rumored that after the en- gagement of the Irwin company sev- eral big musical productions will be of- fered here, coming through the Shubert office, and that this will be followed by vaudeville. At any rate, the people here are guessing as to the policy. ABANDONS COLOR SCHEME. There will be no colored people with Phil Sheridan's "City Sports" next sea- son. Mr. Sheridan contemplated having his organization equally divided between whites and blacks, but has given up the scheme, claiming the Southern cities the Eastern Wheel shows play would object seriously to the darkened portion of the show. It was an idea not relished by white artists, as well. $*a,ooo IN FARES. The railroad committee of the Empire Circuit (Western Burlesque Wheel) has just made its report for this year. The most important item is an increase of $50 in the assessment of each company in the Wheel to cover the cost of transportation of all the companies to their opening stands next August. Last season the pro rata cost was $250. Owing to the increase of the number of girls in the chorus (from 14 to 20) $50 is added to the assessment of each show. Regardless of where it opens each show must turn $300 into the treasury. The amount is the same whether the opening stand is in New York or Kansas City. The total is pooled, and out of this fund the various managers pay their first rail- road jumps. The total is $12,000. If the aggregate transportation for the forty shows is less than this each show will get a pro rata rebate. "BURLESQUE" IN 8 MINUTES. Chicago, July 1. There are two concessions at "Forest Park" which offer burlesque. One is known as the "Knickerbocker Buries- quers," using "Dainty Duchess" paper, and the other is contented with the modern caption of "Burlesque and Vaudeville." The former employs seven girls, in- cluding a young damsel who sings two songs, backed up by the other six. The performance runs about eight minutes. There is a "Paris by Night" and "Gay Paree" attraction, with living pictures also. HANDS "MASHER" A JOLT. St. Louis, July 1. Ruth Everett, who is playing here in stock burlesque, discouraged a masher who had long bothered her by knocking him down on the street. The man had made it a practice to wait for the actress for several days. Miss Everett applied the usual "icy mitt" treatment as ap- plied to unwelcome Johnnies, but he per- sisted. Several days ago the same man ac- costed Miss Everett again. She stopped and waited for him to come within reach. Then she planted a swinging right just in the middle of his charming smile and teeth. He lost both, two of the latter. Dr. Lee dressed a deep wound on the actress' hand where the masher's molars had cut. READING LEASE CANCELED. The lease held by the Columbia Amuse- ment Company (Eastern Burlesque Wheel) upon the Bijou Theatre, Read- ing, Pa., was canceled this week by the company paying a bonus to the owner To replace the week formed by Reading and Scranton on the Eastern Wheel, At- lanta and Louisville have been added. Both of the new towns will be week stands. There will be 36 solid weeks on the Eastern Wheel next season. An officer of the Columbia Amusement Company said this week there would be no further addition of time. Any new house ac- quired would replace some theatre not favorably looked upon, which would be dropped. STAIR'S YEAR'S VACATION. Toronto, July 1. Fred W. Stair, the proprietor and man- ager of the Star Theatre (Western Wheel) will take a year's vacation. He has engaged Harry B. Hedges, who has been manager of the Gayety in Detroit the past two years, as manager of his Toronto house. «ixr MAY HOWARD WITH WATSON. William B. Watson has signed for the Washington Society Girls" May Howard, Harry M. Stewart, Smith and Champion, Mullini Sisters, Herbert, "The Frog Man," and the Symphony Quartet. Twenty girls will make up the chorus. Lew Watson will be manager. HAYES ON PERCENTAGE. "The Mardi Gras Beauties," when it goes out next season with Edmund Hayes, will still retain as owners the promoters of the new show, Al Reeves and William S. Campbell. Mr. Hayes has an interest in the company, and plays on a percent- age basis with the owners. FRANK MORRELL. A picture of Frank Morrell, formerly the tenor of "That" Quartette, occupies the center oval on the front page this week. Mr. Morrell has engaged with Cohan & Harris' "Geo. Evans' 'Honey Boy' Min- strels" for next season, replacing Dick Jose. Mr. Morrell was engaged by the firm by cable to London after the dissolution of the act occurred.