Variety (August 1908)

VARIETY MINSTRELS IMMENSE HIT. Atlantic City, July 30. Cohan & Harris* Minstrels featuring George Evans, opened at Nixon's Apollo Monday evening to an overflowing house and are one immense hit, business keep- ing the same all week. Several dozen New York managers were here for the opening. The first part is an elaborate trans- formation. The "ends" are George Thatcher, Eddie Leonard, Ernest Tenny and John King. Matt Keefe, the yodler, and Frank Morrell, the tenor, carried off the honors of the first part. "Honey Boy" Evans makes his appear- ance at the end of the opening, singing the closing march number and opening the olio without leaving the stage. His act is the same big hit. Eddie Leonard and the Gordon Boys fol- low in their plantation act. Julian El- tinge offers the "Sheath Dress Girl," "Toe Bathing Girl," and closes with the "Salome" dance, the hit of the show. Waterbury Brothers and Tenny have a new opening scene, well worked up with Htereopticon effects and ihe act went big. "The Belle of the Barbers' Ball," a new one-act colored musical comedy, comes next and is a typical Cohan sketch, full of original music and comedy. The cos- tuming is lavish. Rice and Prevost (Johnnie Bell) do their old act in the cir- cus set. James E. Gorman's march number, "After the Battle," closes the perform- ance. It is the biggest and most elabor- ate marching number ever offered. The costuming and scenic effects throughout the entire performance are very elaborate. Nearly 100 turned out in the big par- ade Monday, headed by Gilbert Gregory, who, made up as "Uncle Sam," was a big card along the line of march. "GIRL QUESTION" OPENS. Atlantic City, July 30. "The Girl Question" opened at the Savoy on Monday evening and scored a big success. Junie McCree, Georgie Drew, Mendum and Helen Royton made distinct hits. NOT A "SISTER ACT." Carew and Dupre have a vaudeville sketch in "one" called "The Lady and the Slavey." Mabel Carew was formerly of Carey and Hayes (Gertie), while Maida Dupre has been in vaudeville before in association with various acts. Carew and Hayes may have played "The Lndy and the Slavey" once upon a time, but of this Mabel is mum, though 9he lays an expressive injunction upon her listeners to remember Curew and Dupre are not a "sister act. It is a sketch in 'one,'". says Mabel, and Maida agrees with her partner. Thte act may play the Fifth Avenue to-morrow (Sunday). M. S. Mentham is the lM>oking boy. PAT REILLY WITH JACOBS & J$RM0N. Put Heilly who last season directed the tour on the Western Burlesque Wheel of the Heilly & Woods Show, has entered into an agreement to play on the Eastern Wheel the coming year. He will travel with Jacobs & Jermon's "Greater New York Stars," using the Reilly & Woods title for the organization. MANAGERS OF NEW ORPHEUMS. The managers appointed to take charge of the new Orpheum theatres added to the Orpheum Circuit and located in the North- west, were given out this week at the offices in New York. At the Orpheum, Portland, H. W. Pie- rong, the manager of the Orpheum Road Show for the past two seasons will be in charge; C. N. Sutton, the St. P«»u) man- ager last season, will have the Orpheum at Spokane; Carl Reiter moves from Omaha to the new house at Seattle, and John F. Cordray from Salt Lake City is the Orpheum manager at Butte.' W. F. Byrne, late assistant manager of the Orpheum, Omaha, becomes full fledged through the promotion of Mr. Reiter, and W. R. Winch, who opened the Orpheum at El Paso last season, is advanced to the Orpheum at Salt Lake. The vacancy left by Mr. Sutton in St. Paul has not yet been filled. Following the usual custom of Martin Beck, the general manager, in rewarding merit, each change announced is a promo- tion. At the remainder of the Orpheum hcuc?c the chief of sta£ remains the same as last season. JEFFERS' FOR VAUDEVILLE. Saginaw, Mich., July 30. It is stated upon what seems good authority here that Jeffers' Theatre, for- merly given over to melodrama, will play vaudeville again, beginning shortly after the opening of the season. Charles W. Porter is the manager of both Jeffers' and the Academy. Jeffers* is now dark, but will open August 3 with a short engagement of moving pictures. MARRIES "THE CANDY GIRL." Cleveland, July 30. Lovey Mary Brophy, "The Candy Girl" of Cleveland, and Fred Brandt, assistant manager of Keith's, were married last Sunday. The wedding was a surprise to the friends of the couple, it having been set down for August. They quietly left town on the honeymoon. Mrs. Brandt has been in the Keith box- oflice here. Last Christmas the then Miss Brophy received 165 boxes of candy from the theatre patrons as gifts. She divided the candy among the local hospitals. Since that time Miss Brophy has been known as 'The Candy Girl." BRAY GOES WEST. Yesterday (Friday) Charles E. Bray of the Orpheum Circuit, left for Chicago, where he will consult with Martin Beck, nud continue on to look over the new quartet of Orpheum houses in Spokane, Butte, Seattle and Portland. The oj>ening date for these is Aug. 16. Mr. Bray expects to be present at Seattle and Spokane when the first performances occur. From the Northwest Mr. Bray will go to San Francisco, also visiting other Or- pheum cities before returning, arriving again in New York about the middle of August. The acquisition of the four northwest- ern Orpheums to the Circuit gives a total of seventeen theatres to the chain, calling for twenty-one or twenty-two weeks in all, exclusive of necessary "lay-offs" through travel two or three weeks more. In addition to the booking secured over the Orpheum time, there is generally an- nexed nine weeks in the larger houses in and around Chicago and the Southwest, affording the Western Vaudeville Associa- tion a circuit of first class houses consum- ing thirty-five weeks booked from its offices alone. This, together with other time handed out by the W. V. A. for medium salaried numbers allows of a full year's contract being offered from Chicago. Most of the larger time, however, is placed at the New York offices. BARTON-WISWELL INCORPORATE. Since they acquired the rights of the four (Jus Hill popular-priced shows and several theatres in the vicinity of New York, Charles E. Barton and Louis C. Wiswell have determined to jjo into the general theatrical business on a larger scale. Their latest move is the incon>oration of their holdings into a stock company. This week "Barton & Wiswell, Inc." was in- corporated in New Jersey for $2.~»,000. Tlie directors are Louis O. Wiswell, Charles K. Barton, George A. Viehman and Roland M. Bickerstaff, of the llussell- Morgan Printing Company. "The Yankee Prince" resumes its vaca- tion-interrupted run at the Knickerbocker on August 3. There will be no changes in the cast or company. The show leaves Broadway to open at the Colonial, Chi- cago, on Labor Day. CANCEL STAIR & HAVLIN CONTRACT. Denver, July 30. Claiming that the repeated demands of their patrons for a better line of attrac- tions than the "blood and thunder" melo- dramas, the Denver Theatre Company has cancelled its booking agreement with Stair & Havlin, and the coming season the Cur- tis Theatre here will receive its bookings from Klaw & Erlanger. F. C Scmutier, of Curtis Theatre, who recently returned from New York after completing the new arrangement, said this week: "When we signed a contract for the Curtis with Stair & Havlin, we received their assurance we would receive the best of their offerings. Instead of which the firm gave the Tabor Theatre here very much the better of selections. Frequent complaints brought no improvement, al- though our patrons protested against the quality of the shows, mostly melodramas, and business was falling away. We were convinced that the day of the thriller was past, and told Stair & Havlin unless they could better our attractions we would be compelled to withdraw from the circuit. They frankly admitted their inability to meet this demand, and we accordingly cancelled our contract with them." S.-C. BOOKING IN SOUTHWEST. San Antonio, Tex., July 30. Arrangements were completed recently by. which the vaudeville acts playing the Lyric Theatre here, will be supplied by the Kullivan-Considine booking offices in Chi- cage. The agreement took effect July 19. No information is obtainable here as to whether any other Southwestern houses are included. FITZSIMMONS-WALKER ROW SETTLED. Spokane, Wash., July 30. Robert Fitzsimmons, the pugilist, and K. C. Walker, manager of Pantages' the- atre here, have settled their violent dif- ferences without any more * bloodshed. They had a fistic encounter last week in which "the ruby" put it "all over" the theatrical man until the latter took up a nursing bottle and, using it as a weapon of defense, cut him severely at>out the head. Roth men were arrested and, failing to appear when the case was called in court, the $15 bonds which they had put up to secure their appearance were forfeited. JULES HURTIG, the DOHERTY SISTERS and HARRY SEAMON Reading VARIETY at Carl si .art, Oeriminy. «»n July 'JO. AMICK VAMOOSES. Chicago, July 30. J. Ainick, of the Amick circuit in the South, is now being sought by the police of Little Rock, Ark., Kansas City, and elsewhere. Amick, who was interested in the chain of Lyric houses, decamped with the receipts of the new airdome at Little Rock, leaving a number of acts unpaid. Ife went to Kansas City, bought a large <(iiant ity of diamonds on the installment plan and vanished. Warrants for his ar- rest have been issued. Sam Du Vries is at present l>ooking for the houses for- merly booked by Amick. REHEARSING IN HOTEL. Chicago, July 30. The "Colonial Relies" is rehearsing at the Sherman House under the direction of Jos. K. Howard. The show opens at Pittsburg August H. In the company are The Tc\«is Steer (Quar- tet, Randy and WiKon, he Mollis and Yalora and Kern Mclri»*e.