Variety (April 1910)

TEN CENT© VOL. XVIII., NO. 7. APRIL 23, 1910. PRICE TEN CENTS. THE VAUDEVILLE SITUATION AWAITS ERLANGER'S RETURN The Tables Turned; Now Stoll Threatens, and Beck Laughs. A Wholesale Combination, Perhaps. John Cort sprang into international theatrical fame within the week. Before A. L. Erlanger had long been in London the cables burned with the news that Os- wald Stoll planned to buy the Cort Cir- cuit of theatres in the northwest to paral- lel the Orpheum theatres up that way. Twenty-five million dollars was the modest sum Mr. Stoll gave out as the capitalization of the corporation he says will be organized to buy the Cort Circuit, build a few theatres and open up an Eng lish-controlled vaudeville chain in America. The Herald carried the first cabled story, which had an Erlanger flavor to it, although the Herald correspondent in Lon- don took pains to say that while Mr. Er- langer was present at the interview, he said nothing (although it wasn't reported whether Erlanger wrote the cable). The story was greeted with laughs by the American vaudeville managers, who, with- out stopping to think that the same effect* had been brought about in London when Martin Beck was announced as a future English manager, or what the condition of the Cort houses as regards "time" and "attractions" might be, set the tale down as a "scare." The more thoughtful theatrical people, however, did not pass it over so lightly, saying that although there might be little in the story just now, the Cort Circuit may figure largely next season in the the- atrical game somehow. Tt is pointedly stated as an omen that the Shnbcrts quite recently laid a certi- fied check for $1,000,000 before John Cort, while A. L. Erlanger was still in New York, as their price for Mr. Cort's circuit. Cort told this to Erlanger before he left, it is said, and also asked Mr. Erlanger to furnish some light on what kind and how many attractions booked by K. & E. would reach the northwest next season. The past season Cort has not been nvrr- inn with plays nor profits. That this situation and the pending of- fer of the Shuberts may bring about a deal whereby to avoid the Shuberts tak- ing over the Cort time, the K. & E. side will either have to buy or operate it is the opinion of the men who have delved deeply into the subject. They say that the base of supplies in the legitimate for the west (Stair & Havlin) is no longer to be depended upon, and that unless Cort sells, about the only thing left for him to do with his theatres is to play vaude- ville, either the cheap kind or the first class. That Mr. Cort has entered into a contract with Pat Casey for the latter to furnish his theatres with the cheapei brand of the variety shows over the sum- mer is pretty well known. It is not known, though, whether this agreement gives Casey the power to extend the sea- son under any conditions. There are considerably over 100 Cort theatres west of Chicago, between twenty and twenty-five located and built in point of capacity for vaudeville of any class. Many of the others come under the typi- cal "one-night stand" classification. The entry in print of Cort into the vaudeville mess brings no joy to Sullivan- Considine, nor Pantages, who oppose each other on the smaller vaudeville time along the line of the Orpheum houses. One up- shot of the latest development, it is re- ported, may be the welding of the west- ern time into a booking combination, in- cluding the Orpheum. Sullivan Considine and perhaps Pantages. with Cort "let in" to keep him out of the variety traffic in the west. This is to occur upon the promise of Martin Beck to give up his European inclinations, leaving Mr. Hutt ami his English aides alone to light th«* Mns> Stoll Tour. This will be, if it goes through, a smt of pooling arrangement, with the Orpheum at the head willmnt that circuit becoming' in\o!\r<| more t!i:in In take the leadership. If Pantages doc mil join his only hop ■ (Continued on page 17.) MAKING UP "BLACK LIST" "AD. W The theatrical papers have made so many wild statements regarding the "black list" against vaudeville acts that this week the managers of the United Booking Officers, with Martin Beck, of the Orpheum Circuit, were in consulta- tion over advertising to dispel all doubt as to any likelihood of the 'black list" being lifted at present. ' Percy G. Williams, E. F. Albee and Mr. Beck each drafted an advertisement. The three copies will be placed into a compos- ite notification. Before publication it will probably be submitted to Maurice Good- man, the attornev for the United, who will pass upon the phraseology to prevent a future connection with the wording and the law, the subject being a delicate one. Though the managers have been delib- erating upon this course, it was talked of during the week that two big Morris acts, which are on the "opposition sheet," have been booked with a United manager for next season, or negotiated with to the point when the contracts are in readiness to execute. One of the acts is a drawing card of some note on the Morris time. His salarv with the United is stated as $1..")00. Confirmation of this was not asked for. A denial would be expected were it so, and the report is printed for what it may be worth. The $1..")00 act might come under Mar- tin Beck's own division of "star features which draw." TROUBLE BREWING? (Special Cable to Variety.) London, April 20. There seems to be trouble brewing be tween Walter Gibbons, Alfred Butt and Walter l)e Frece. The three men are in tfie Beck Butt combination. It is said Mr. Gihbons. who placed his editions Circuit with the combine, wants to withdraw from an agreement, which Messrs. Butt and JV Frece claim has been signed and sealed, and is irrevocable. Oswald Stoll has given out f'»r publica- tion a statement thai he will enter Ani'iira by the way of the John Cort theatres, and duplicate his London Coli- seum in New York. BIG ACTS IN ALHAMBRA. (Special Cable to Vabtjtty.) Paris, April 2, 1010. Lady Constance Richardson has been en- gaged through the Marinelli agency to open at the Alhambra, May 16. "The Divine Myrma" will appear in the same house for the month of June, also en- gaged by Marinelli. The Alhambra will remain open this season until July 1. Last Saturday, Severin in "Conscience," opened t]iere successfully. The Alhambra is the Paris hall of the Beek-Butt-De Frece combination. According to rumor, H. B. Marinelli may jet have the entire bookings for the Alhambra. The import of the above cable is that there is a leaning by the American-English managerial combine mentioned toward the Marinelli international agency, which, of late, has been doing business with the United Booking Offices under strained re- lations. It might indicate that Marinelli would be in favor of making a booking agreement with the Orpheum Circuit, in any break between that western time and the United, especially if the Orpheum en- tered New York City, upon which hap- pening little doubt is expressed, as a fu- t ure event. Although IL B. Marinelli is personally interested in the management of the Olympia. Paris, his office placing all the lurns for the program, the Olympia de- pends mostly upon revues, and would not look upon the Alhambra, even under the new policy of "big shows," as "oppo- sition." PAVLOWA SENSATIONAL HIT. (Special Cable to Vahiety.) London. April '20. I'axlowa. the llu^ian premier, who opened at the Palace, Monday, for her first English appearand . .-cored a sensa- tional hit at once. BOSTON'S ICE PALACE. Boston, April 20. The I to* ton Arena. Huston's first indoor ice rink, was opened April 10 on St. Bo- tolph Street.. I 'he arena is 3(i7 by LV> feet. It i- e i>ii;>p«-(i in ini'Tiufact ure 110 t litis of Id- ;.l ! ' v.