Variety (December 1912)

VARIETY 11 the structure, and work has stopped for the moment. It turns out in connection with these matters that Mr. Frazee is not alone in the ownership of "Fine Feath- ers/' as most people had supposed. Lawrence Wheat, a member of the cast, holds a twenty-five per cent, interest, for which he paid a handsome bonus, and L. Lawrence Weber is the possessor of a similar share. The Cort Theatre Com- pany, of Chicago, in which Mr. Frazee is a majority stockholder, is his partner in the remaining portion of Fne Feath- ers." Mr. Frazee doubtless will overcome his present complications, which ace quite common among men engaged in building operations, and in no sense a reflection upon their responsibility or business sa- gacity. Fine for Broadhurst. George Broadhurst, who sailed yester- day for England on the White Star steamer Celtic, probably took away with him a thorough saturation of Thanksgiv- ing, or at least he should have done so, in view of what Thanksgiving week had accomplished for him. Mr. Broadhurst's royalties from 'Bought and Paid For" for that week, together with his interest in the profits, and in the 48th Street theatre, not to mention his share of the royalties in another play in which he was a secret collaborator, footed up something more than $7,000. This goes to show that the native play- wright is not always the neglected and downtrodden creature we have seen him painted. To be sure, Mr. Broadhurst was not born in this country, but he came when he was sixteen years old, so that anything he knows about writing plays has been acquired in America. His present voyage is undertaken for the purpose of superintending the London production of "Bought and Paid For," which goes into rehearsal immediately. Why It Stopped. There has been considerable random guessing as to just why "A Winsome Widow," after its long and prosperous run at the Moulin Rouge, should not have been made to pay when taken upon the road. The fact seems to be that the prin- cipal feature of the production, the ice- skating scene—which made a sensation on Broadway—proved to be impracticable when the piece went upon its travels. It was made use of in Chicago, but had to be discarded thereafter, even though the management had provided a duplicate apparatus to be installed in the various theatres considerably ahead of the arrival of the company. Mr. Lederer's Music Play. George W. Lederer has a new play with a musical setting, which is said to be of the same general order as "The Climax," which was so successful here and else- where a few seasons ago. There is no resemblance in the plots of the two works, but they appear to b^ in the same class, and the composer 'of the score of the Lederer piece also composcu the music for "The Climax." He is Joseph C. Breil, and his work m the earlier production aroused wide- spread interest. In the new piece there are three women and one man, and, s Mr. Lederer remarked, if it isn't the worst failure ever known it will be a success from the point of view of profit. With a cast of the dimensions described it must be one thing or the other. Heading off Pox. The Keith interests are said to be bid- ding in a determined fashion for the new picture and vaudeville theatre that is to stand at the northeast corner of Broad- way and 103d street. It is felt at Keith headquarters that William Fox is getting an altogether too strong hold upon that section of the city, with his various houses, including the Riverside, which draws audiences wonderfully equal for their size and quality. When Mr. Fox's new house next door to the Riverside is completed, and he in- stalls his big stock company on its stage at popular prices, he naturally will be in a very desirable position. The Keith people feel that a remarka- bly inviting section of the theatrical pie in New York has been slipping away from them, and that they are wilUng to dig deep in order to reclaim a part of it. Some Random Notes. One of the phenomena of theatricals is to be found in the fact that Detroit this year is quite the best week stand in the whole of America. It used to be one of the worst, and the complete reversal of form probably is due to the enormous au- tomobile manufacturing industry centered at Detroit and employing a tremendous number of well paid skilled mechanics. "A Butterfly on the Wheel," with Lewis Waller and Madge Titheradge at the head of the cast, is doing a tremendous business on the road. Robert Hilliard, with his new detective Burns play, called the "Argyle Case," will be the next attraction at the Criterion theatre. The "Argyle Case" has been a sensational hit on the road, and is regard- ed as quite the best thing Mr. Hilliard has done in his professional career. Mrs. Joseph R. Grismer died Wednes- day morning, after a lingering illness which steadily sapped her vitality. As Phoebe. Davies, Mrs. Grismer for years was one of the best known actresses in the country. She originated the principal role in "Way Down East," and was as- sociated with that immensely successful drama for many seasons. Before that she had been one of the best paying and best liked stars in the Pacific Coast territory. TO DISCOURAGE LITIGATION. Following the decision of Justice Holt in the matter of Abraham Gold- knopf's suit against David Belasco on a claim of infringement, Mr. Belasco made public a letter addressed to him- self by the Society of American Dram- atists and Composers, in which the sug- gestion is made that the attention of the Bar Association be called to the manner in which a certain class of lawyers go into court with trifling cases of this sort. In deciding the suit Justice Holt said: "There is nothing to prove, or to suggest, such a comparison of the two plays, that 'The Woman' was copied from Tainted Philanthropy' or that any part of one was taken from any part of the other. There is nothing to indicate that either the words, the ideas or the plot of the defendant's play was suggested by the complain- ant's play. I see no ground whatever that one infringed the copyright of the other in any particular. There should be a decree for the defendant, dis- missing the bill on the merits, with costs.'* GUS THOMAS BREAKS RULE. Augustus Thomas is about to depart from his former hard and fast rule about reading other authors' manu- scripts. In fact, he has already done so, agreeing to rewrite Eugene Pres- brey's play, "The Other Man," pro- duced earlier in the season by Cohan & Harris at Atlantic City and with- drawn as not suitable in the shape it was then in. AFTER THE ADOLPHUS. Los Angeles, Dec. 4. Hazel Douglass (Mrs. Robert Far- go) left the Adolphus company sud- denly last week. This act is said to be the climax of domestic difficulties. Manager Fargo is at present away on a trip to Hanford, Cal. Mrs. Fargo's home, which may result in a reconcili- ation. It is rumored that a change is to be made at the Adolphus. It is said that Elmer Workman, who formerly had an interest, and E. A. Fischer have become associated and have an eye on the house with a view to securing it, im- proving the acoustics (now a great drawback), and opening with a big musical show. "SPEED LIMIT" GOING FAST. Boston, Dec. 4. A. H. Woods' production of "Ex- ceeding the Speed Limit," with Carter De Haven in the stellar role, opened at the Colonial Monday night to $800. Tuesday the receipts jumped to $1,100, with every prospect of a successful en- gagement. ETHEL WHITESIDE In VaudeYllle With h«r Pick*. LOVING CUP TO STAR. Chicago, Dec. 4. The members of the chorus in "The Siren" presented Julia Sanderson with :. loving cup last Thursday at the Chi- cago Opera House. This is the third season this company has been to- gether. ! Miss Sanderson left Saturday to join the company which is playing "The Sunshine Girl." MUSIC HALL CO. UNCHANGED. There will be no immediate change in the important members of the Weber & Fields stock company at the Music Hall, according to the members of the firm. While it was reported Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth would shortly leave the show, it was stated to a Varibtit representative this week that- they were expected to remain there until New Year's. It is also said Norworth and Bayes have arranged to return to vaudeville, opening at the Orpheum, Brooklyn, Jan. 6. Blanche Ring and Irene Franklin were mentioned as successors to Miss Bayes at the Music Hall, where busi- ness is reported keeping up to a point rendering worry unnecessary. Clifton Crawford has affixed his sig- nature to a contract for engagement at Weber & Fields' Music Hail. Edgar Smith is engaged in writing a part for him and Crawford will commence rehearsals at once. He will not, how- ever, join the organization before the first of the year. BALKED AT SOUVENIR. At the premiere of Trentini in "The Firefly" at the Lyric Monday evening, there was a slight "set-to" between the critic for a daily paper and the manage- ment. The newspaperman complained that he was unable to secure a program without purchasing one for ten cents and felt that this was an imposition. Before he was supplied with one he did • not hesitate to express himself forcibly on the subject. After everything was adjusted the matter was put up to Lee Shubert, who declared that every seat was supfHetf with a regular program and that the charge of ten cents was for a souve- nir one. He added that if the newspaper reviewer's feelings had been so ruffled as to interfere with his writing an un- biased criticism of the attraction, he would be barred from all the Shubert theatres thereafter. The critic's review was very favor- able. MANAGER ARRESTED. New Orleans, Dec. 4. Albert Videla, formerly manager of the Constantino Opera Company, has been arrested by local detectives, charged with forgery alleged to have been committed on the Hibernia Bank of this city. MACHUGH, ILL. Augustin MacHugh, author of "Of- ficer 666," is seriously ill at his home on Central Park West. His physician has diagnosed his case as "auto-intox- ication, with threatened typhoid.'* ENGAGED FOR "GERALDINE." Leona Stephens, who retired recent- ly from "Over the River" (Eddie Foy), has been engaged for "Frivolous Ger- aldine," the Joe Howard vehicle, which opens in Chicago, Dec. 16. F. Ziegfeld is still fixing up the "Fol- lies" show at the Moulin Rouge, and some new comedy bits are being added. Amorita Kelly, of the "Winsome Wid- ow" show, which closed Saturday night, joined the company Monday.