Variety (March 1910)

10 VARIETY London, Feb. 22* Paul Barnes and Leipsig are among the new comers at the Coliseum this week. After laying off two weeks the Belle- olaire Brothers are playing the Grand, Birmingham. Ed. Belleclaire having re- covered from his strained back. Fred Karno's pantomime "The House that Jack Built" has been transferred from the Broadway, New Cross, to the Marlborough, Hollo way. Daisy Wood, "principal girl" in the panto at the Marlborough was called on to finish a panto season in Bristol (Prin- cess) where she appeared last year. Miss Wood will in all probability go to America again in the fall. La Milo has been receiving much no- toriety lately through being connected in a jewel affair. How the case is coming out is not known as yet, but Milo is now headliner at the London Pavilion. OHana San is offering her new Chinese pantomime to the English managers. The deal between the management of the Paragon and Harry Jacobs, the fight promoter,, it is said, is off, and the Paragon will retain vaudeville for some time to come. Ike Rose is again in London, for the Ruth St. Denis case, coming up again this week. Winifred Emery is at the Lo i Hip- podrome in a sketch called "The Dressing Room." Wish Wing, an English (female) single singer will appear on the Morris circuit next year. It is stated that Bourchier'and Van- Brugh took Brighton by storm when they played the Hippodrome there last week. It is the only vaudeville date the couple have accepted since their run at the Palace. La Pia, the spectacular dancer, appeared at the Palace last week with her wave effect as a feature. The act has wonder- fully improved since last seen. It went very big upon opening. Vesta Til ley finished her engagement at the Palace Saturday. Guyer and Valli appeared last week at the Palace, their first London appearance since returning from South Africa. The act got away well at an early hour. The Orlicks, Russian team, who dance, appeared at the Palace. As dancers of that Russian style they would be hard to beat. The woman looks well and is very graceful. The business at the Palace continues rapacity, due to the drawing powers of Lady Con^fsnce Richardson. At tli<> Coliseum last week Huntley Wright appeared in what was formerly a curtain raiser called "The Little Father of the Wilderness." It is a remarkable production, made more so by Mr. Wright's efforts as an actor instead of comedian. The Coliseum has in it another first rate headline attraction. The company as well is faultless. The piece has to do with a priest whom the King of France summons from Canada. (Action takes place when Canada belonged to France.) The old priest does not know what the King can want of him but he makes the journey. Upon arriving the King states he wants him to decide a wager, the bet having been about the heighth of Niagara Falls. The priest, a power in Canada, is broken hearted. As he is leaving the Governor General of Canada is announced, with his suite. Immediately recognising the priest, he is given his proper position, the court kneeling to him as the curtain falls. The act was a big hit. It is reported that George Gray and Oswald Stoll had some little argument during the meeting of the Moss Empires the other day. The coming attractions at the London Hippodrome include Ada Reeve, Charles Manners and Fanny Moody. Barns and Ascott are an American dancing act that went into the Holborn Empire last week, and were one riot. The boys are going to have a lot of work in this country if applause counts for any- thing. Next to closing, following all kinds of dancing at the first show on Monday night the team "clean up." Lind, the queried fellow, was at the Holborn with his "Dance of the Five Senses" in barefeet. It is Lind's appear- ence that causes talk. An audience gasps when he takes his wig off and it makes him a hit. At the Hippodrome last week Lewis Waller, the actor, gave a monolog en- titled "Fortunes Fool." It could never be imagined that any man with a serious talk of this kind could keep a music hall interested for any length of time, but Mr. Waller succeeded in doing so for fully thirty minutes. The story is built upon an idea not any too new but it's all up to the man that acts it. That's where Waller did shine. It is the fellow who commits suicide on account of a woman and as the man dies the girl's knock is heard at the door. The act is a treat to the vaudeville public here and a few more additions of this kind would not hurt this branch of amusements a bit. Chretienni and Louisette, entertainers from Holland, made their first English ap- pearence at "The Hip" last week. The pair may probably be big on the Continent with their songs and dances, but the act was not enthusiastically received at the Hippodrome. There is a number called "The Waltzing Maid" or "Waltzing Mad" that caused a ripple now and then but this was drawn out so long that the finish was weakened. The pair are clever enough, but without "the goods" for this country. Olga Petronowa is showing at the Hip- podrome with her band of 25 men. A brief history of the leader on the program states she hails from Russia, and it also tells who her teacher was but the name is too long for mention.. Pet is a good looker and with the proper showmanship ought to succeed in finding a lot of work. The band is a good one, but there are many such in England. At the Lyceum this year a panto is on, devoid of all good features and is a pro- duction seemingly built just to make the children laugh. In this it succeeds in a measure. A better selection of artists would have helped. Outside of Dorothy Craske and a woman who plays assistant to "The Widow Twankey," there is a lack of merit. Business however appears very good. The balance sheet of the Empire fooled some people. It seems that the balance struck for this year is $125,000, but in- cluded in that is the balance carried over from last year, $70,000, leaving a net profit of $55,000. Geo. Gray and ("The Parson") and Oswald Stoll are reported to have been the strong debaters at the recent meeting of the Moss' Empires. Mr. Gray is a stockholder, and arose to a point of in- formation which was followed by quite a warm speech, according to report. Rumor previous to the meeting had said that the Moss stockholders would prefer a divi- dend of over five cents. There isn't much occasion to question that the Moss side is dissatisfied with their revenue, calcu- lated by the general stockholder as against that paid by the Coliseum, Oswald Stoll's house. Stoll books the Coliseum and Hippodrome, both in the West End. Somehow the Hippodrome has not been able to make a showing, while the Coli- seum is now one of London's most suc- cessful halls, so there you are, as the Moss people would say. Sir Edward Moss seems in accord with Stoll, but not so those investors in Sir Edward's share cer- tificates. While the administration was upheld, there's no telling about the future. If the Moss-Stoll amalgamation is dis- solved, the Moss Empires would draw out sixteen houses, leaving Stoll with about twenty-three. Among this number are some now merely booked through the Moss-Stoll office. There is also to be fig- ured the De Frece Circuit, still booking with Moss-Stoll up to date. There's nothing, however, to base these stories of the future upon, excepting that all of Great Britain's halls are badly tangled up in the general situation, and there's really no one who can work out the problem that the situation presents. Anything is apt to happen and the Alfred Butt- Martin Beck combination makes it all the more complex. One result of the stockholders' meeting may be the abolish- ion of the "district managers," a yearly expense account of $25,000. Elf CLAUD'S BIGGEST HALL. London, Feb. £2. A flash at the site of the new Palladium, promised an opening in September by the Walter Gibbons Company, shows some very busy men in the work of clearing and lay- ing foundations. From the looks of the space that the new hall will take up it should be a record breaker. The management says that the hall will seat 5,000 people. As it is to have but two balconies, the width may be Imagined. The new hall is situated about one hundred yards from Oxford Circus, with entrance on Argyle Street. Oxford Street along one WALTER GIBBONS. way and Regent Street along another will be about two hundred feet from the en- trance. This is the shopping center of London and as the house will have mati- nees daily, ought to prove a big advantage. The admission prices will range from six- pence (12 cents) upward. There will be dining and tea rooms, also barber shops and hair dressing rooms for the women. A new idea that will be worked out will be the department where all packages may be addressed for the ben- efit of the shoppers. The project is one of the biggest under- takings that the music hall world has ever seen. If it succeeds the credit will belong to Walter Gibbons. Mr. Gibbons now con- trols a circuit of two-a-night halls in Lon- don at which the admission runs from threepence (6 cents) to two shillings (50 cents). One thing in the favor of the new Palla- dium will be that most of the artists will play the place at 'turn" or half salary, while at the other first-class halls in Lon- don the artists receive exclusive salaries. The cost of the Palladium is estimated at $1,125,000. Many people have disputed the state- ment in Vabtjctt last week that Mr. Gib- bons might sell his Holborn Empire to aid in the completion of his new Palladium. One man full of the English situation says this was all wrong; that Gibbons has the wherewithal all in bank to finish the new house, and furthermore he will not dispose of the Holborn hall. The sponsor for Gibbons also said that the Gibbons Circuit was one of the best in England, making money rapidly, had reduced mortgages on properties owned $165,000 during the past season, and that Mr. Gibbons was a very wealthy man out- side his investments in theatricals.