Variety (January 1913)

8 VARIETY MORRIS WILL TURN NEW YORK THEATRE I NTO "W ONDERLAND" Takes Possession Jan. 20. Several Entertainments From Cellar to Roof, All at Ten Cents Each. "Luna" Upstairs. First Combination Show of l^s Kind in Metropolis The Now York theatre is going to have another name Jan. JO, when \\ ill- iam Morris will take possession of the present Moulin Rouge at Broadway and 45th street, naming it "Wonder- land." "Wonderland" will have a eomhina tion entertainment under the Morns direction. It might he termed a bazaar or indoor fair. Amusements will line the building from the cellar to the roof. Up above a "Broadway Luna Park" will be dedicated to the children at ten cents admission, which is to be the universal price list, in ihc eon- cert hall dancing will be allowed at so much per couple, while in the down- stairs theatre a ten-cent picture and vaudeville show is to be presented. Hans have been .made lor the amusement devices atop the theatre. They include carousals, swings and the other catch-penny affairs oi a well laid out summer park. The scheme of Morris, wholly ong inal with him for this side of the water, is a composite of various places of entertainment he has noted while traveling about the world. It is said that other theatres in Bos- ton and Chicago are to be annexed as a "Wonderland Circuit." Morris has sufficient faith in the success oi his new undertaking to blanket the big cities with it in advance. New York has nothing just now ap- proaching a dime museum nor a park. About all that caters to a ten-cent scale is the picture houses. Only tile smaller of these show lor a unne Morris' plan gives admission to eituer upstairs or downstairs tor ten cents, but there will be many ways tor a youth to iee a dollar go askeller i>e- lore reaching the street again. Ziegfeld's "Follies' leaves tne \ev\ Vork theatre to-night tor Boston. Morris has secured the house on a provisional lease, with a minimum term of two years. The rental is re- ported at between $85,000 and $110,000 yearly. London has a "Wonderland" in name. It is a huge place employed t^r the past few years as a hall lor pugil ism. The Crystal Palace. London, perhaps has had the nearest approach to the Morris idea, but not as a per- manent attraction. .lAHDON, CABARET FEATl'KE. Toledo, Jan. 2. l>orothy Jardon appeared as the spe- cial feature at the Hotel Seeor New- Year's Eve Cabaret performance. She would only sing three snng>, and is said to have received $500 for the single evening. THE MODEL SOLD. Philadelphia. Jan. J. The Model, a vaudeville house play- ing split week bills at "pop" prices has been sold by the Model Amusement Co. to Sablosky & McGurk and will bt/ booked by the Prudential. The price is reported to be $100,000. It is located at Fourth and South streets. FARMING ACTS OUT. San Francisco, Jan. 2. The Orphcum Circuit is disposing of its bookings for the New Empress in Sacramento, pending the opening of that establishment, by farming them out to the Western States Vaudeville Association. S-C. SPLITS WEEK. San Francisco, Jan. 2. VV. P. Reese, of the San Francisco Sullivan-Considine office, is booking the S-C* road shows to play a split week in Pueblo and Colorado Springs. Each town gets the show three days, while Saturday is taken out for travel. TABLOID STOCK INSTEAD. It is denied that the new Lenox theatre, at 111th street, is to change its policy to Yiddish stock. Vaudeville and pictures will be con- tinued, augmented by a tabloid stock company. COMMISSION JUDGMENT, $68. The Prudential Vaudeville Agency has recovered a judgment for $68 against (Albert E.) Lowe's Fifth Ave- nue Theatre Co., due for booking fees. The Family Department of the United Booking Offices is now making an ef- fort to collect about $140 due for sim- ilar services. For the past three months or more Joe Shea has been supplying the talent for the theatre leased by that corpora- tion at Fifth avenue and 110th street, receiving the lump sum of $500, later reduced to $450 a week. Beginning next.Monday Sam Meyers will put in the talent, acting merely .is a booking agent. NEW BUILDINGS. Louis A. Steinert, 194 Bowery, has drawn plans for a fireproof moving pic- ture theatre at 177th street and Ams- terdam avenue, New York City. Farber & Nurick, 1028 Gates ave.iue, Brooklyn, have prepared plans for a $10,000 moving picture theatre on Sara- toga avenue, Brooklyn. Contracts are being let for materials to go into the new $100,000 theatre in Elizabeth, N. J., projected by the Fifth Avenue Amusement Co., 41 Canal street, New York. The Gordon Lum- ber & Wrecking Co., of Elizabeth, has the general contract. It is estimated that the cost of im- provements on Payto.i's Lee Avenue Theatre will be $10,000. Greenwall & Pollax, 171 Broadway, have been awarded the general contract and are taking bids on the work. ADA REEVE ON BROADWAY. San Francisco, Jan. 24. Ada Reeve, the English comedienc, is playing her farewell American vaude- ville tour according to a statement made here to a representative of Varietv. When she returns to this country next season it will be at the head of a musical comedy organization and in a repertoire of English pieces, in which she has been successful on the other side, but that have never been seen over here. According to the outline of Miss Reeve's present plans, she will conclude her Orpheum tour a few months hence and immediately after sail for South Africa, where she is to open at the Em- pire, Johannesburg, for nine consecutive weeks. From there the comedienne will go to London, arriving home in August. Her arrival in London will be signal- ized by her appearance there in vaude- ville with a tour of the contingent to follow in a repertoire of musical plays. Miss Reeve expects to return to the United States next November and is to open at a prominent New York City theatre in musical comedy under the direction of a well-known American syndicate of producers. Her Broadway repertoire is to include a revival of "Butterflies," "Our Moll," "My Cousin," "The Morals of Connie" and "Winnie Brooke." FIXING BUFFALO. The Columbia Amusement Co. is said to be arranging for a new stand in Buffalo to replace the Garden theatre, its present house. No information as to location could be secured from the New York offices this week. CHING GOES TO POLl'S. Notwithstanding any "orders" that may have been issued against big time vaudeville managers engaging Ching Ling Foo, after he concludes the run at Hammerstein's, Poli gets the Chi- nese magician for the week of Jan. 13 at New Haven. The Poli people contracted for Ching with Flo Ziegfeld, Jr.. who has the act now under agreement com- mencing with the Poli date, Ching playing his fifth and last week at Ham- merstein's starting next Monday. "The Follies" leave New York Sat- urday, opening in Boston Jan. 6 for two weeks. It is the Ziegfeld attrac- tion, and may have Ching with it as an extra attraction shortly. CENTURY PLAY FOR CHICAGO. "The Daughter of Heaven" will take to the road until Feb. 10, when it opens at the Auditorium, Chicago. The first stand after New York will be Detroit. BARNARD-ANGER PRODUCTION. Sophye Barnard and Lou Anger, and three others, under the direction of the Playlet Producing Co., open at Atlan- tic City, Jan. 20, in a one act operetta by Edgar Allan Woolf, music by Sil- vio Hein, to be called "The Song of the Heart." BURLESQUERS ARRESTED. Montreal, Jan. 2. The members of the stock burlesque company holding forth at the Theatre Royal here will have a hearing to- morrow on a charge of giving an im- moral performance. The whole or- ganization, consisting of 16 chorus girls and four comedians, were ar- rested. The offense is alleged to have taken place during the show of last week. Bail was given and the case was put over for hearing Jan. 3. FRED IRWIN WAITING. Fred Irwin came into the city for the holidays from the wilds of On- tario, where he has been filing claims and touching off blasts on his mining property. Mr. Irwin tells glowing stories about his Canadian property, but is not selling any stock. EMPIRE DECLARES DIVIDENDS. The Casino and Empire theatres, Brooklyn, operated as separate cor- porations by the Empire Circuit Co. (Western Burlesque Wheel) have de- clared a dividend of 10 per cent, for the three months just past. MURPHY BACK WITH L. A B. The Leffler & Bratton firm re-en- gaged this week George P. Murphy, the German comedian. Mr. Murphy will rejoin "The Merry Go Rounders" at Providence, reappearing in the show at Albany. The old book from the days when the company traveled as "Let Georgt Do It" will be again put on, replac- ing the present piece. 0 INVITES MINISTERS TO SHOW. Toronto, Jan. 2. For some time the clergymen of this city have been trying hard to purify the local burlesque atmosphere. The attempted reformation of this branch of the show business has given the out- side press some spicy items. Now F. W. Stair, who owns the Star theatre and has his bit in "The Big Review" show, claims there is not an objectionable line, song or action in the entire show and to prove it has invited the Toronto ministers to see the performance at the Star the week of Jan. 13. WIESBERG RE-ENGAGES. Frank Wiesberg has re-engaged for his "Star and Garter Show" John J. Collins for next season. It will be Mr. Collins' third. Joe M. Fields will be a member of Mr. Wiesberg's com- pany next season also, and Harry Rose will continue as business manager. TR1XIE CLARENDON MARRIES. Bridgeport, Jan. 2. Emma McLaughlin, of "The Run- away Girls," known among the bur- lesquers as Trixie Clarendon and Archie Babcock, Jr., a New York ar- chitect, the son of a New Jersey min- ister, were married here last night Trixie will finish the season with the troupe. The Actors' Fund is now quartered in new rooms in the new Longacre Building (Broadway and 42d street). Francesco Romei, one of the assist- ant conductors of the Metropolitan Opera House, i9 seriously ill with neu- ritis.