Variety (June 1913)

VARIETY SUMMER ROOF SHOWS COST BIO MONEY TO OPERATE I New Hot Weather Productions Draw Heavily on Bank Ac- counts. Lew Field's ''All Aboard*' and Ziegfeid's 'Tollies*' Call for Weekly Expenditures From $7,200 to $7,500. Big Profits Necessary to Break Even. New York will sec some high priced summer roof garden shows during this heated term. One optned last week, "All Aboard," on the Lew Fields 44th Street theatre Roof. Mr. Fields pro- duced the show and appears in it. The other will be Ziegfeld's "Fol- lies." although it is not strictly a Roof show since it is due to open in the New Amsterdam theatre (downstairs) next Monday. "The Follies," however, has always been looked upon as an open air entertainment for New York in the summer time. The Fields show costs Fields and the Shuberts about 17,200 weekly to oper- ate. It has done business from the start. The second night with the "second-night" tickets to the weeklies and magazines outstanding, the house held nearly 12,200 and Saturday night played to over capacity, exceeding 12,- 300, more money than the management thought could be gotten in the prettiest roof garden New York has ever had. "The Follies" will cost F. Zigefeld, Jr., and his associates about 17,500 a week to operate. Fields gets somewhat the best of it on production. His "All Aboard" did not cost over $15,000 to put on. Zieg- feld's show will cost «t least 135,000, it is said. "Summer shows" with usually but a short season or one season at most ahead of them on the road, are terrors for producing managers as a rule, through the production investment. Formerly shows had the second and third season to turn in a profit after the production had been worked out. "Hanky Panky" is about the only ex- ception of recent seasons. It is still playing. "The Follies" last season got its production cost early enough to show a good profit on the country tour, but wound up at the customary time in the late spring. "The Follies" will go out in the fall, and the Fields show is also due for the road. Hammerstein's Roof playing a week- ly vaudeville show costing over $5,000 is also a contender for open-air busi- ness. The Winter Garden will put on an all hot-weather performance in- doors next month. SPICY* BRILLIANT "FOLLIBS." Atlantic City, June 11. Flo Ziegfeld's "Follies" (series 1913) opened on time Monday night at the Apollo to the usual big audience some making their annual faithful pil- primape from New York for the occa- sion. ' The show started with a rush but drew up with a jolt and never got back to fast runninc:, save in spots. The fact that the first night was practically a dress rehearsal condones tlic lack of speed, but with the well known experts in stage craft on the job, "The Follies" should make a brilliant showing at the New Amster- dam, New York, next Monday. The time of the first performance was three and three-quarter hours. There are two things evident in this year's show: the chorus is dressed in few clothes and in one instance less than that, and if the producers wanted a dancing show they have it with a vengeance. The audience seemed to like the draped or rather undraped chorus of "chickens." A bevy is supposed to be arrested for turkey-trotting in a Turk- ish bath. They were shooed off by a policeman in fear of A. Comstock and the audience applauded for another look but it couldn't be done, but they had other good looks. Jose Collins, Nat Wills, Frank Tin- ney and Elizabeth Brice were the big stars. Leon Errol, Martin Brown, Rose Dolly and Florence Nugent-Jer- ome were the best of the others. Miss Collins seemed to outclass the re- mainder of the cast. She scored hard- est with "Just You and I and the Moon." Miss Brice made herself a favorite with several numbers and worked alone for the most part. Her song "Without You" with a male chor- us was the prettiest number of the eve- ning and it will probably be made a song hit. The melody is fine and &o are the lyrics. Mr. Wills appeared in full dress and without the moustache, though he did give his specialty during the evening. Wills got many laughs and made "That Ragtime Suffragette" number a win- ner. (The same number is used to big advantage by Ethel Levey at the Lon- don Hippodrome.) What may prove Mr. Wills' best bit was eliminated but will probably be in the show when it opens in New York. The situation places him in front of an art shop and when the awning is raised a living pic- ture of the much talked of "Septem- ber Morn" is seen. It is said that Vincent Bryan supplied Mr. Wills with some very bright material relating to the bathing lady. Mr. Tinney was good throughout. He was given an ovation on his first appearance. In his specialty, however, he was handicapped, on near the mid- night hour.* So he wisely didn't re- main long. Messrs. Tinney and Mr. Wills will have a much better chance with their specialties when things are righted. The nearest thing to a spectacle came at the close of the first act and the occasion was the opening of the Panama Canal. During this a warship is seen entering one of the locks, the gates of which close and the ship raised to the proper level. The first scene is a view fmm atop the McAlpin Hotel. It has a corking drop. On the roof are an Indian chief and his band. NEW TWO-AOTS. . A "two-act" proposed for vaudeville is to be composed of Jack Henderson and Alice Dovey, of "The Pink Lady." The couple will work in "one." Jimmy Sullivan (formerly of Sully and Hussey) has teamed up with Al Lee (Ashley and Lee). Harry Delf has been selected by Margaret Haney as her next vaude- ville partner. Austen Stuart, who played the Eng- lishman in the Lasky act, "California," before it started its trip over the Locw time, with Hyla Allen, has formed a new act which he will try out of town for awhile. Carlos Sebastian of Paris, and Ivy Payne, late of "Kismet," have re- hearsed a new singing and dancing act for vaudeville presentation. Johnny Cantwell is to do an act with Rita Walker. His former partner, (jeorge McKay, may go into a produc- tion. ANDERSON*S 21 WEEKS. Through an agreement reached by Fred Nixon-Nirdlinger and Carl An- derson of the Prudential Vaudeville Agency, Mr. Anderson commencing July 15 will book the N-N pop vaude- ville houses in conjunction with those now handled by him, giving a total of 21 weeks (about 32 houses). The Prudential and Nixon-Nirdling- er are in the Marcus Loew-Sullivan- Considine agency, where they will continue, the booking agreement be- ing merely an internal arrangement between the two circuits. The Prudential has the exclusive Loew-S-C booking rights for Pennsyl- vania (excepting Philadelphia) and New Jersey. Nixon-Nirdlinger has the exclusive booking privilege from the same office for Philadelphia and Pitts- burgh. The states covered by the joint agreement are Pennsylvania, Mary- land, West Virginia and District of Columbia. It is said the full purpose of the Prudential-N-N combine is to control the pop vaudeville bookings of Penn- sylvania through having the indepen- dent managers in that state apply for their vaudeville supply at the Loew- S-C agency. LAW PLATINO FOUR DAILY. Walter Law and Co. has acepted six weeks' booking in the Proctor New York houses and will play four shows daily, presenting two different acts each week. Law's specialty, which deals with the confessional as taught in the Roman Catholic faith, came so close to the danger line that it evoked considerable criticism, which probably hindered his big time aspirations. BIG BESTING SMALL TIME. Albany, June 11. A battle royal is being staged here in vaudeville circles between the Grand, owned by Max Spiegel and Gus Hill, and Proctor's. At the present time the Grand (play- ing big time) seems to be having all the best of it despite the fact that Procto»'s (small time) has succeeded in ptilling several acts away from the opposition, SHORT SHOW SUNDAY NIGHT. The Winter Garden had a short show Sunday night. The curtain rang down at 10.25, unexpectedly, leaving some of the visitors to the house disgruntled either through the early hour or the non-appearance of a couple of billed acts. The programed turns that did not appear were Al Jolson and Harry Fox and Jennie Dolly. Following a Cabaret dancing act that seemed to be in trouble with the orchestra over the music, the curtain descended without notice or announce- ment. Several men walked to the box office, demanding their money back. George Leighton, the Garden's custo- dian of the cash, was ensconsed behind the barred window, and ventured the show was good enough as it was with- out any rebate claim allowable. For this one of the malcontents threw half of a lighted cigar at George, who side- stepped as he deftly caught it, flinging the butt back and asking that a whole smoke be shunted at him. Mr. Jolson was said to have been de- layed in reaching the Garden in time to appear. Mr. Fox and Miss Dolly objected to a position on the program after Ina Claire and Charles King, the two couples in their specialties work- ing on somewhat similar lines. Mr. Fox's ol)jcction led to an argument with the management and the Fox-Dol- ly combination retired from the the- ?tre, including the show at the Gar- den ("Honeymoon Express") now in its final week. Next week Mr. Fox and Miss Dolly will play at Shea's, Buffalo, with Ham- merstein's to follow. MARIE LLOYD, BUT NOT BARD. With the return of Martin Beck from Europe last week came the state- ment the Orpheum's Circuit's general manager had engaged while abroad Marie Lloyd and Wilkie Bard for vau- deville in the western country next season. It is quite likely Mr. Beck secured Miss Lloyd. The Orpheum Circuit l>ookers have been laying out a route for her, but Mr. Beck is about as close to bringing Wilkie Bard over here as the many other American managers announcing him in the past have been. It is claimed Bard will play Ham- merstein's in October for two weeks. Salary given as $6,5(X). DARLING*S FAREWELL FEED. Eddie Darling was given a farewell dinner Monday night, to bid him bon voyage on his departure for Europe Tuesday morning. It was held at Rei- senweber's. beginning at 11 p. m. and lasting until 3.30. .\bout a dozen of his friends and business associates footed the bill, which totalled about $300. Among those present were Dazie, Elmer F. Rogers, Alf. Wilton, Harry Weber, Harvey Watkins, L Samuels. Isabel D'Armond, Frank Carter, Harry Scamon, Valerie Bergere, Walter Kingsley, Mr. and Mrs. Max Hart, Joe Pincus, Gertie Vanderbilt, Gladys Alex- andria, Harry Mnndorf, James Mc- Kowen, Wellington Cross, Deiro. Aar- on Kesslcr. Frank Walsh goes with Charles Frohman for next season.