Variety (February 1913)

VARI1TY 19 FRESH FROM FRISCO. San Francisco, Feb. 20. There appears to be a connection of reports regarding the reopening of the Rational, which went over to the dark column last week, notwithstanding the fact pictorial stands had been posted announcing that the McCall Musical Comedy company would open there Feb. 10. The present period of dark- ness is to be limited to four weeks, after which the house will re-open with dramatic stock supplied by play- ers brought on here from the east. Izetta Jewell has concluded her engagement as leading woman at the Burbank, Los Angeles, and has re- turned to Washington, to head the Poli stock company. Aileen May, late leading woman at the National, has been engaged to join the Bishop players at Ye Liberty, Oak. land, March 3. Her first appearance across the Bay will be in "Greec Stockings." Raymond Whittaker, late leading man of the National, is reported to have been approached with the proposi- tion of organizing a troupe here for an invasion of the Honolulu theatrical field on a guarantee. In the mean- while Whittaker and his actress wife. Dorothy Raymond, have gone to pay his folks a visit at Vallejo, for the first time in nine years. The rumor that Whittaker is to head his own com- pany in a repertoire tour of the coast, sounds more likely than the Hawaiian trip. The reported connection of Tony Lubelski with the reopening of the American this week with dramatic stock is erroneous. There was such a deal pending between Lubelski and the lessees of the house, but it fell through at the last minute. Rankin is really the nominal head of the new stock venture and is understood to be operating the theatre on percentage. The Rankin company includes Marga- ret Drew as leading woman. Pop prices prevail. EXPECTATIONS ON COAST. Los Angeles, Feb. 20. Max Asher, formerly with "The Two Thieves," and who is temporarily back with his former partner, Jean Hathe- way, expects to shortly organize a mu- sical comedy company for stock on the Pacific Coast. ROLLO IN CONCORD. Concord, N. H., Feb. 20. Rollo Lloyd, who played the light juvenile roles with the stock company at Hathaway's, New Bedford, for 70 odd weeks, will head his own stock troupe. It is to open a permanent engage- ment here March 3. MONEY IN HAGERSTOWN. Hagerstown, Md., Feb. 20. The Chas. Champlain stock company, by doing $2,406 on its engagement at the Academy, chalked up the stock record of the house. The Nancy Boy- er Co. did almost $2,000 the week after. Champlain also tacked up a house record for stock at the Maryland, Cum- berland, when he did around $2,600. STOCK FORCED OUT. Frank Gersten has given the mem- bers of his Prospect theatre stock their notices and will close the stock policy next Saturday night. The company has been running for over a year, but Gersten must switch to a vaudeville policy in order to hold his lease on the theatre. As Gersten's new house away up in the Bronx is not ready for occupancy, he must play so many weeks of vaude- ville to keep possession of the Pros- pect. He has made money with the stock proposition. Albert Benson, who has been the heavy man there for months, has signed with the Broadway stock, Bayonne, as assistant stage director to Fred Loomis. The Prospect stock company will be transferred from the Gersten play- house to the Wadsworth (181st street and Wadsworth avenue), where it starts a stock stay March 3. Cecil Owen, who has been stage di- rector of the Prospect Co., will have charge of the productions. Some new faces will be added to the company. "MILESTONES" IN STOCK. Portland, Me., Feb. 20. "Milestones" is the title of the piece announced for next week by the Jeffer- son Stock Company at the Jefferson theatre. QUIETLY MARRIED. * San Francisco, Feb. 20. Frances Fuller and Andrew Bayley Bennison, both members of Ye Liberty theatre stock company at Oakland, have surprised their friends by an- nouncing they were quietly married at San Rafael. RECORD WITH "WIGGS." Schenectady, N. Y., Feb. 20. The Gotham Producing Co. estab- lished a stock record which will make the others hustle to beat it. It produced "Mrs. Wiggs of the Cab- bage Patch" for 22 consecutive per- formances to the biggest business locally of any stock organization. Blanche Chapman and Miss Milne acquitted themselves with credit in the principal feminine roles. $7,600 IN STOCK. Washington, Feb. 20. The first two weeks of the new stock regime at Poli's Chase's theatre, where stock was started, has brought into the box office, it is said, $7,500 each week, with the admission scale running to one dollar in the boxes. The first week the company played "The Man From Home," last week "Wallingford," and this week "The Gamblers" is shown. In the Poli company are A. H. Van Buren and Maude Gilbert (leads), Robert M. Middlemas, Frank Shannon, H. Dudley Hawley, Mark Kent, Gra- ham Velsey, Cecil Bowser, Thomas Williams, Edward Vernon, Frank Ar- mory, Frederick Wilson, Lottie Lin- thicum, Helen Tracy. The regularly assigned leading woman for the company (Izetta Jewell) joined the company Monday. DIDN'T TRAVEL FAR. The Eugene J. Hall stock company, which left Camden, N. J., to play dates in the south, has given up. 5TH CHANGE OF POLICY. Ottawa, Feb. 20. The Grand has a new policy, mak- ing it the fifth change of the season. Regular stock pieces with full casts are now being offered. BELIEVE IN SHARON. Sharon, Pa., Feb. 20. The Hartman-Wallace Players be- lieve they have opened a permanent stock engagement at the Morgan-Grand here. LOOKING AHEAD. Allentown, Pa., Feb. 20. N. E. Worman, manager of the Lyric here, is negotiating with W. D. Fitz- gerald toward the installation of sum- mer musical stock at that house. Prlscilla Knowles, upon retiring from the lead of the Harlem Opera House stock, re- turns to the management of William Pox, opening Feb. 24 as leading woman of the Star theatre stock. MANAGER AND ACTOR, TOO. North Adams, Mass., Feb. 20. Lewis J. Cody, leading man of the Bijou Players here, and W. C. Young- son, manager of that house, have formed a partnership and leased the Darling theatre, Gloversville, N. Y. They will open the house March 3 with a stock organization called the Lewis J. Cody Players. The initial attraction will be "Alias Jimmie Valentine." William C. O'Brien, formerly man- ager of the Bijou here and lately con- nected with the Emily theatre, Glov- ersville, N. Y., is associated with Cody and Youngson in the enterprise. "The Woman In the Case" was given by the Wright Huntington stock company at South Bend last week for the benefit of the South Bend police pension fund. Roma Reade refutes the report her stock company was to close at the Grand Opera House, Ottawa, Can. She claim* the company will continue there indefinitely. YIDDISH STOCK UPTOWN. The former Lowe's 110th Street the- atre is to change its policy, opening today (Friday) with a Yiddish stock company. "The Confession" has been accepted for a stock tour of the Keith houses in Brooklyn and New York. "Dainty Marie" at Hammerstein's next week is said to be Maybelle Meeker. POLICY OP ECONOMY. The B. F. Keith Harlem stock, in addition to being reorganized, is going in for economy. The ushering staff will be reduced and there will be heads lopped off in other directions in order to cut down the weekly running expense. Paul McAllister will join the Harlem Opera House stock company for a week, commencing Monday, appearing in the leading role of "The Third De- gree." STOCK CO. IN ORIENT. San Francisco, Feb. 20. Arthur C. Fox, who is credited with having engineered the present tour of the Ferris Hartman Musical Comedy Co. in the Orient, is reported to be busily engaged in the organization of a dramatic company that is to sail Feb. 25 from Seattle direct for Yoko- hama. The itinerary is understood to in- clude all the principal cities of the Orient. The company is to have May Roberts (widely known in stock circles on the Coast), Helen Yarborough (formerly of the Alcazar Stock Com- pany), and Roy Neill, for several years stage manager at the Alcazar. The project is said to have the finan- cial backing of Oriental capitalists. STOCK PIECE LOOKS GOOD. Boston, Feb. 20. What has been a stock production for four weeks bears all the earmarks of a big city show, and Broadway man- agers have already put in a bid for the new production which John Craig and company are offering at the Castle Square. The piece is entitled "Believe Me, Xantippe!" a four-act comedy by John Frederick Ballard. SCHILLER GETTING SOME MONEY. Bayonne, N. J., Feb. 20. Ed. Schiller is happy. His stock ven- ture at the new Broadway drew capac- ity last week when "Madame X" was produced. There is no gallery to the Broadway. Schiller has one row of seats at 10c. LEASE WITH A STRING? Boston, Feb. 20. Although Marcus Loew is said to have taken a long lease on the new St. James theatre, M. H. Gulesian, the owner, just as he departed for the south, announced he might place stock there at some later date. This may come, providing the Loew pop shows fail to draw. Wilson Reynolds, long in the employ of the Gotham Co., at 8chenectady, has Joined the local Lytell-Vaughn stock troupe at Al- bany. Will T. Sparth is managing the road tour of Maude Fealy and James Durkln who open- ed in New England this week In "The Right Princess." Joeeph R. Dorney Is business manager. DREW DRAWING IN CHICAGO. Chicago, Feb. 20. John Drew made his annual appear- ance in Chicago Monday night at Pow- ers', and as usual drew a fashionable audience. He is offering "The Per- plexed Husband." Henry W. Savage's "Kverywoman" came to the Chicago < >pera House Sunday night and was greeted by a large house. The only oilier i-peni'i;.' for the week was "In Old K»-nt n»-k> " at McVicker's for a fortnight.