Variety (November 1908)

10 VARIETY LONDON NOTES VARIETY'S LONDON OFFICE. «ii muro, w. o. (Mall for Americans and European* In JSaropi If addressed care VARIETY, as abore, will ba promptly forwarded.) London, Not. 3. Vesta Victoria is held over at the Hoi- born Empire this week, playing also the Canterbury. Rose Deeley, who opened at the Middle- sex last Week, is booked for the Holborn Empire next Monday. The Palace management closed two acts last Saturday night: Carlisle and Baker and "El Amor en Espana." In two weeks "Visions of Wagner" will disappear at the Coliseum. It has been running for three months there. "She Sells Sea Shells" is Wilkie Bard's latest with a "plant" in the box as usual. Bard has another good one in it. "The* Apache" dance at the Coliseum has received three new people to assist the principals. It is going much better now. Mme. Albini has been booked by Sam Lloyd for the Glasgow Pavilion. When it comes to paying money for acts, Lloyd is there. W. 0. Fields set the houses wild at the Coliseum last week. He was seen to much better advantage there than has been his fortune previously. Badford and Valentine returned to the Tivoli this week. It is their 13th en- gagement at the house. They have just returned from a Provincial trip. The customary anniversary performance of the Middlesex will take place Nov. 12. About fifty acts are listed to appear. Among them are the big stars of the halls. The engagement of Moran and Wiser ("The Boys with tne Hats") at the Palace has been extended indefinitely. Following the Palace stay the act will proceed over the Moss-Stoll Tour. Cornalla and Eddie opened last night at the Empire, and were a hit right off the reel. The act will play the Empire for eight weeks, their original time at the hall having been doubled immediately. "The Happy Hooligan" company brought over here originally by Herbert Lloyd and Walter J. Plimmer has disbanded. Lloyd sold out to Plimmer before the "blow off" arrived. There is no apparent demand for productions of the "Hooligan" character over here. Bert Howell of Paul Schurz's agency, also a comedian according to an unveri- fied report, is organizing a football eleven to play an aggregation of theatrical per- sons in Paris. If Howell is as good a football player as he is a comedian he might as well tie his feet together be- fore the game. Paul Murray is the star footballer of England, with Sydney Hy- man a close second, but George Foster has returned and they do say he is pretty fair on the "kick" thing. Louis J. Morton, who is Joseph Hart's sole representative in Europe, has just leturned from Vienna, where he was sup- erintending the production of the "Futur- ity Winner" which has caused a sensa- tion there. Mr. Hart returns to London Nov. 18th, when Mr. Morton starts upon a tour of Russia, France and possibly Spain, where Mr. Hart has been negoti- ating for the production of the "Futur- ity Winner" and his other attractions during the coming winter and summer. In the lobby of the Metropolitan, a Payne hall, a petition has been posted asking the patrons to sign if they be- lieve that a license should not be granted the Paddington Empire, which is the pro- posed Gibbons house for this section. The notice says the directors of the Metro- politan are not afraid of legitimate com- petition, but look upon this invasion of Gibbons as unfair and unusual. The Pad- dington Empire is located within 600 yards of the Metropolitan. The London County Council has been petitioned for a license. Although there was some comment that "The Palace Girls," the "girl act" recent- ly produced by Feiber & Shea in New York, were not the originals (there being a similarly named act over here at pres- ent), it has been lately learned the Amer- ican number holds the original bunch of English damsels. The act was Tiller's, the young women having been selected from his dancing schools. When the first lot struck Dublin, they quit the city and Tiller, going to New York, where the firm engaged them. Immediately afterwards Tiller organized the present collection, sending them out under the same title. Immediately after his victory over Johnnie Summers last night (Nov. 2), Jimmie Britt was approached by several music hall managers and agents desirous of his services on the stage. A prominent legitimate manager here also proffered an offer. Jimmie gave a dinner with bever- age trimmings at the Cecil following the fight. Several show people attended, among them Frank Bostock and Sam Gumpertz, "Dreamland's" (Coney Island) general manager. The fight occured at "Wonderland" in the heart of the "White Chapel" district. I saw it and you may take it from me that it was no safe place for anybody who looked like a "Yank" after the decision was given. Lola Lee. "East Indian Dancing Girl." Canterbury. "A bunk." "The East Indian Dancing Girl" is a "Salomer" under cover. Lola does about two rounds in all, three minutes to a round. In the second bout she takes on a snake, but it is a dead one. Odette Valery used to live one, so Lola loses the decision on points again. Miss Lee is a graceful girl and a good dancer, but whoever produced this number has managed to prevent Lola from proving the latter. METROPOLITAN, LONDON. London, Nov. 3. Last week at the Metropolitan the mov- ing pictures were of "Niagara Falls and the Thousand Islands." Fine for a home- sick "Yank," and nothing could have been as funny on that bill as the views were distressing, although interesting to the English people. It was a fair show, "Les Cloches de Corneville" (New Acts) consuming more than the limit of one act's time. Mark Mel- ford appeared in a sketch named "My Wife Won't Let Me." It received plenty of laughs, but they do laugh so easily at the Met. There are a few good lines in the piece, which Melford is supposed to have written, but it drags and the com- pany is draggier than the sketch. Dale and O'Malley, who played in America once, did quite nicely. Of course they could have better material and be much more funny, but otherwise they are all right. Jose Collins sings but one song and she did that as though nut feel- ing it, but Jose is a clever girl. In most halls she really works. Reid and Power have a fair sketch in "The Chambermaid." They were the big scream. A girl is responsible for the fun, as she handles all the comedy single- handed very pleasingly. A comedian of the old school is Chas. Bignell and quite interesting, as Mr. Bignell illustrates what England must have liked years ago. A "single girl act" that will get along is Ouida Macdermott. Ouida has a neat little knack of immediately returning to the stage upon exiting after a song, with- out holding up the show. To sit over here and watch some of these women rush off the stage, remain away a while and then return without having changed a hair pin is wearisome, to say the least. Goodness knows how the audiences over here stand for it, although if the truth must be told, they are standing for an awful lot in the music halls. If a manager ever attempts to educate the people on this side to real vaudeville shows, it is going to cost some- body a terrible amount of money. With some good talk and a concertina, one Percy Henri glides through. When- ever one wants to start an argument over here he reads the program. For instance, the Metropolitan's said Ted Cowan and Henry Rogerson were comedians. Like- wise it related that Ethel Beach is a soubrette. But it told the truth about the moving pictures. St. Albans and Moore's "Les Cloches de Corneville." Metropolitan, London. Translated, the title is "Close to Oorne ville" or "The Chimes of Normandie." Had the producers preferred brevity they might have called it "Close" and let it go at that. Then the audience could have supplied whatever they thought the num- ber fitted. It is the reproduction of comic opera in about thirty minutes. Former comic opera people are gathered together and the thing started. William Wolff did it last summer in New York vaudeville, but Willie did it much better, you can bet a hot waffle on that. Over here the scheme is all right for people Who will stand for a fair quality of singing with what goes with it. The voices in this piece were not at all bad, but the miser, Gaspard (St. Alban), who is said to havo played the part 1,000 times, really should PARIS NOTES BY EDWARD G. KENDEEW. Paris, Nov. 8. A bright little theatre known as the Capucinet Nicoises at Nice presenting short plays of the type of its Parisian namesake, has undergone extensive altera- tions and will open for the coming winter season with vaudeville. Those who go nightly to Monte Carlo for a flutter will now have a first-class variety house to pass their afternoons. The Revue announced at the Cluny Theatre is off, and it will play legitimate comedy for the future. The Latin Quarter prefers to go up Montmartre for its fun. Printania, near the Bois de Boulogne, standing on more space than any variety resort here. w*« sold to an-American syn dicate on Oct. 28. Paul Ruez founded and has conducted this al fresco "music hall" for the past four years. When questioned as to the purchasers he stated that a Mr. Akoun, of New York, had bought the place on behalf of an American group, but he did not know whether they would run a vaudeville show here next summer. In any event it must remain a summer re- sort, for Parisians will never go out to that- part of the city in the winter. Paris has its Empire at last, like the large cities in Great Britain. A small hall, seating about 300, at 61 Rue du Chateau d'Eau, formerly called the Com- edie Parisienne, has assumed this name and is giving variety. At Barrasford's Alhambra, Brussels, I am informed the November program is composed of the Minars Quartet, Radford Duo, The Hector-Daunton Troupe, Three Meers, Salerno, Carleris Trio, Powells and Rastus and Banks. Paris has not yet had "The Merry Widow," although Mr. Frank, manager of the Gymnase Theatre, secured the rights for France many months ago. In view of the success of the comedy "Passe Par- tout" at his house, it is possible he will have the "Veuve Joyeuse" mounted at a music hall, possibly the Moulin Rouge. There is another change in the person- nel at the Olympia, where Rouzier Dor- cidres has been appointed general secre- tary of this now famous resort. ————— ——^— ______ » go looking for a regular job now. The house manager when asked how he liked the act, replied: "Pretty, but nix on the return date things." Rose Deeley. Dancing. Middlesex. Rose Deeley does nothing but dance, mostly "straight" work, her first mistake. Miss Deeley's second is that she attempts no eccentric dancing, although seemingly capable of a corker in this style. She has a Scotch dance that would secure her con- siderable more in a better hall than tho Middlesex.