Variety (September 1913)

VARIETY 11 NEW CHICAGO OPERA HOUSE MAY STAND ON OLD SITE Famous House Now Demolished Likely to Arise Again. Theatre Better Rent Qetter. Applications for Office Space Scarce in Proposed Structure. Chicago, Sept. 3. The Chicago Opera House may be the name of a theatre on the site of the present Chicago Opera House after all. The original intentions of the Con- way builders was an office structure to cover the entire territory, but the failure to grab up office space in the part on Washington st., now building, set the promoters to thinking. It is now almost a certainty there will be a theatre in the new building, with a corner entrance, anj the Chicago Opera House name will be relaincd. ADAPTING "HOTEL EVE." George W. Lederer is to produce in Chicago in about six weeks an .American adaptation of "Hotel Eve," to be called "Madam Moselle." It is a musical version of a French farce. Earl Carroll is doing the lyrics and Ludwig Englandrr the music. SOME "EVANGELINE" PEOPLE. Richard Buhler, Frank Andrews and David Torrence will be members of .\rthur Hopkins' production of "Ev- angeline," with Edna Goodrich starred, "FRISCO SAL" IS "SHADOWED." James Forbes' production of "Shad- owed" announced for the Fulton the latter part of the month is his rewrit- ten "Frisco Sal" produced last year with Constance Collier in the title role. "MLLE. BABY" FOR ANNA HELD. Stanley Murphy has completed the book and Henry Marshall the music of a sort of "review" for the Anna Held road show. It will be called "Mile. Baby." TOUGH WEATHER, INDEED. (Special Cable to Variety.) Paris. Sept. 3. The Alcazar d'Ete closed Aug 31, after one of the worst seasons record- ed, due entirely to the bad weather. A better program than that provided last season did not show better results. If Rostand had recited verse on a step- ladder people would not have sat out in the damp to hear him. If the usual revue had been on tap probably the loss would have been greater than it is. A DELE ROWLAND IN SHOW. Chicago, Sept. 3. Adele Rowland has replaced Ada Meade in "A Trip to Washington" at the La Salle. POWERS* $1.50 HOUSE. Chicago, Sept. 3. W'. "T'." '^iwernor's Lady" opens at F v.\«.-s'. 'iM admission price will not e\t 'f"^! '-i V"> although it was un- der3t«'») \.hvn ♦he Shubert-Klaw & If yoa don't advcEUi0 lo VARIETY, don't •dvertlhe mi »U. Erlanger agreement was consummated that Powers' and the Garrick would remain at $2, all the other houses charging less. Orders from David Be- lasco brought the new price into ef- fect, although it may not stand be- yond the run of "The Governor's Lady." De GOURVILLE LIKES PLAY. "The Family Cupboard" at the Play- house has struck the fancy of Albert <*(. Courville, the London manager now in New York. He is trying to secure the English rights for the piece in V hich Franklin Ardell has scored a big hit. Notwithstanding his success, how- ever, Mr. de Courville, who held a pri- oi contract for Mr. Ardell's services is expecting him to leave New York next week to rehearse for the new Leonca- vallo operette "Are You There?" due t") open at the Prince of Wales', Lon- don, about Oct. IS. Sept. 10 at the Prince of Wales' de Courville is putting on "Girls," the Clyde Fitch piece which New York has seen. It calls for but a small cast ?nd the London manager expects it will be a go. Mr. de Courville and wife (nee Shir- ley Kellogg) sail Saturday on the George Washington. Both Mr. de Courville and A. Char- lot, the London Alhambra manager, complain of the scarcity of material in New York at present. A year ago when the managers also accidentally reached New York together they ex- perienced no difficullty in quickly ob- l; ming people wanted for English re- vues. Mr. Chariot has not decided when he will return home. ATTACHMENT PROTECTION. Chicago, Sept. 3. •Attachment proceedings in the fu- ture may hare no terrors for the man- agers taking out troupes if they fol- low the advice of Harry Munn of the S. L. & F. Lowenthal firm, who has hit upon an idea whereby each man- ager of a troupe is made an agent of a Surety Company before leaving for the road. When the company is at- tached all the manager needs do is to issue a bond and move his troupe. BRONX O. H. STAFF. The staflF for the Cohan & Harris Bronx opera house in the Bronx is Richard Madden, manager, and Harry Cullcn. treasurer, both from the same firm's Grand opera house on the West Side. At the Grand George Kingsbury will assume charge, with Lem Spencer (formerly at the New York theatre) as treasurer, the remainder of the downtown theatre's staflF remaining. The Bronx opened last Saturday with "Fine Feathers." Tt.^ opposition, tin* Cort-Gcrsten theatre up there starts Sept. 6 with Trentini in "The Firefly." "PASS" AND "AD" RULES. Chicago, Sept. 3. The pass question is up once more. All the houses in the Shubert-Klaw & Erlanger pool (Garrick, Princess, American Music Hall, Powers,' Stude- baker, Illinois, Blackstone) have now a rule which cuts oflF all passes except to the press. This will be enforced rigidly. These theatres have also a new rule on advertising. When an attraction now makes one of these houses, the house agrees to spend $250 a week during the run of the show. If the show wants more, it must pay for it. The reason given is that many shows come in and want to spend big sums in newspaper advertising and billpost- ing. It is said if a piece is a success, it does not need advertising to any great extent, and if a failure, no ad- vertising will do it any good. To place 50 lines Sunday and from five to six lines daily in the newspapers of Chicago costs about $223 a week. This leaves $27 for billposting. FORGOT DRESSING ROOMS. Since show business became a rec- ognized institution it has been regaled with more or less authentic tales of one-night stands, but never before has there been an oflficial record of a regu- lar house with no dressing rooms. . When a new "opry house" in Truro, Nova Scotia, was completed it was discovered the builder had entirely overlooked the necessity of providing accommodations for the players. An agent ahead of a big musical show about to play there has written his manager in New York notifying him he has made provision for the actors to dress in the fire house adjoining. In an adjoining town, Sydney, the house manager is employed during the day in a mine at North Sydney and cannot be interviewed until 7 P. M. Four big musical shows in succession are booked through that territory. "PASSING SHOW" STAYS OUT. The report that "The Passing Show of 1912" might end its tour in October contradicts the route sheet in the Shn- bert's office. According to that, the production is to play into November. The new Winter Garden show, to succeed the present attraction there ("Passing Show of 1913") will be organized before the termination of the "Passing Show" troupe, and likely fol- low the "13" piece into the Garden around Nov. IS. "13" is there for a run of 18 weeks. CHANCE FOR "MERRY MARTYR.** Boston, Sept. 3. "The Merry Martyr" went through its premier performance Saturday night at the Colonial, and the' only startling thing is Macklyn Arbuckle "getting away with it" as the star of a musi- cal comedy, singing two lines of one poor song and dancing exactly two measures of a sort of ponderous turkey trot. At that, however, it is the music, and this same Arbuckle who has played German dialect, Shakespeare, comedy, drama, blackface, vaudeville and howl- ing melodrama that will probably make "The Merry Martyr" a paying proposi- tion for Klaw & Erlanger. Hugo Reisenfeld was in the director's box and worked full justice to an ex- cellent score which is well sustained and which has no big song in contrast to the rest of the music. Arbuckle assumes the role of a gov- ernor of a Spanish province and makes up like William Jennings Bryan, pos- sibly because the part he portrays is that of a government oflficial who finds his salary insufllicient. unto the day thereof. The plot concerns his schemes to start fake revolutions in order to draw upon the coflFers of the nation to sup- press them. Instead, he succeeds in starting a real one. Although Arbuckle is the mainstay of the production, aside from its music, the real humor of the evening was rendered by Denman Maley as his pri- vate secretary, a role containing many latent possibilities. Alice Doney's nervousness was quickly dispelled by a cordial reception, and she was in espe- cially good voice. Gertrude Vanderbilt dances well, but her smile was forced a trifle too much. Tessa Kosta buried thoughts of her voice by the superb manner in which she was gowned. John H. Goldsworthy carried the heroics well instead of dragging them as is the usual custom, and the chorus was exceptionally snappy. "The Merry Martyr" will get along nicely, but the K. & R. wheelbarrow will never be needed to take its profits to the bank. TOO HOT IN CHICAGO. Chicago, Sept. 3. The sudden return of hot weather has played havoc with business in gen- oral here, although relief is expected shortly. DIVIDED WEEKS POLICY. Torre Tfanto, Sept. 3. The now nianne<Miiont f)f the Grand <">pora House has changed policy and will hertaftor divifle the wook with rond shows and vandovillc. tho latter l/layin^r tho la!^t four days. l)ooked through the Jopos. I.inick Si. SchacflFcr Agency. SPOKANE nOOKINGS UNSETTLED. Spokane, Sept. 3. While the Hypotheekbank hesi- tates whether to rebuild the Audi- torium, the distribution of bookings for Spokane's theatres remains unsettled. Tho loss on the Auditorium now is es- timated at $35,000, mainly to the body ( f the house. The stage was unharmed. Manager Jesse Gentry still refuses to announce what interests have taken an r'|)tion on the American, but managers <-f other variety theaters believe the Western Vaudeville Managers' Associa- tion will book the house. The next .Atiditoritim booking "Everywoman," \m11 play the American week of Sept. H anrl then the N. W. T. A. shows will 1 M to tho .Spokane, which will abandon it-- ])f)licy of vaudeville and pictures. Instrnctions from John Cort to Man* .luor Charlos York of the Auditorium ptoviflo only for making temporary ar- rankromonts, ponding the decision as to rebuilding the burned theatre.