Variety (September 1913)

VARIETY FREE DANCING AS ATTRACTION IN KEITH^ S THEA TRE, BOSTON Big Vaudeville Manager Qoes Limit to Get Patronage. Stage Given Over to Waltzing Parties After Regular Performance. Small Time Opposition Houses Make Keith Management go to Burlesque for Ideas. Boston, Sept. 17. The opening of the big National, a B. F. Keith low priced vaudeville house, erected to buck Loew's success- ful local invasion, occurred this week with Charles Winston as press agent and George Haley as manager. The same policy of fairly well balanced bills will be followed all through the season, but after having the matter under advisement for two weeks with the Keith heads, an innovation in theatrical custom has been adopted. The last reel closes at about 10.15 p m., and the orchestra is held for an additional 45 minutes. While the exit march is played the big stage is cleared, the curtain ascends and the public is welcome to go upon the stage and indulge in public dancing for three- quarters of an'hour. Manager Haley feels that this will establish a sort of intimacy between the patrons and the house and will ap- peal to that great class which does not want to go to a dance hall and which wants less than an hour of dancing to be satisfied. It was likely suggested from the burlesque theatres. Monday the announcement was made from the stage, although the press was given no mention and the papers apparently did not "cover" the house on its opening night. Owing to the bitter opposition here against the "trot" and the "tango" an officious gentleman will occupy the stage and check those who are apt to dance in a manner considered undesirable. ^ BICKKL AND WATSON REJOINED. George Bickel and Harry Watson have rejoined, after having been apart for some time hack. They are arrang- ing an act for vaudeville. A report later last week said that Bickel and Joe Fields might frame a vaudeville two-act. A later report this week said Fields will go in the Winter Garden pruduc- t»on Sept. 29. Cyril Chadwick, a vau- devillian, also goes in there the same day. FIRST TIME IN CHICAGO. Chicago, Sept. 17. Helen Trix, who has been on the Orpheum Circuit, will play the Palace, Chicago, Oct. 6. This is Miss Trix's first local appearance. She is an American girl who gained her reputa- tion in England. TANGUAY*S $15,000 WBEK. Chicago, 111., Sept. 17. The Eva Tanpuay vaudeville road show had a whirlwind week ending at Winona Saturday; $15,000 gross on the one-nighters is the Tanguay record, and this would have been increased, it is claimed, to nearly 125,000, if the Tan- guay show could have given a daily matinee. No single performance brought less than $1,900 into the box office, according to the managers around. In nearly every town the box office was sold out before the show opened. The route led, starting Monday, from Grand Rapids to South Bend, Joliet, Aurora, La Crosse and Winona. This week Miss Tanguay is at the Shubert, St. Paul; next week, Metro- politan, Minneapolis. THB USUAL WAY. Gasch Sisters were "let out" of the Colonial bill this week and their date there put back two weeks, owing to the length of the bill. They will not be compensated for the enforced lay- off. DONLIN AS A SINGLE. Mike Donlin will return to vaude- ville as a single. He has obtained his release from Werba & Luescher and retired from "Over the River." NO ENGAGEMENT. The reported engagement of Mabel Ford and Charles Manny isn't true. Miss Ford enters a denial, and from Glasgow Mr. Manny cables Variety- to deny it for him also. SEBREE AT SARATOGA. Chicago, Sept. 17. Roy Sebree is back at the Hotel Sar- atoga, and will place the former popu- lar stopping place for Thespians back into its old category. Mr. Sebree had charge of the hostelry when it became famous and liked among players. An immediate step toward the result is the reinstallation of the Cabaret, a restaurant feature that the Saratoga was about the originator of in the hotel line. ACTORS CAUGHT IN BUNK. Several actors have been caught in the Halley Land Improvement Co. re- cently forced into bankruptcy. The investment was a land scheme in West- chester county. Most of the actors are vaudevillians. Their claims represent over $25,000.- SOME LEVITATION. New Orleans, Sept. 17. After refusing to play Canton, Miss., because they did not like the first three letters in the name of the town, Wall and Ray, vaudevillians, were arrested in Tallulah, La., charged with lifting a piano from Craighead, Ark., which is nothing if not long distance levitation. Wall and Ray claimed, according to advance billing, they carried their owft orchestra. Twaso't true. ALI FOUND A WAY. Chicago, Sept. 17. Abner Ali has found a way to beat the $5 a week hold-up press service in a weekly issue which has been goinj^ on for some little time around Chi- cago. After buffaloing certain man- agers and agents wlio have shades in their past, the originator of this $5 weekly "protection money" ran into Ali. In the Saratoga bar Saturday night the weekly $5 promoter was called over by Ali, who said, "Want a little news. Get out your pad, and tell your readers this: I think you're the worst so and so and so, and take this for good measure." It was all over soon. Ali did about six weeks' damage to the $5 face. Another complainant to the hold-up method entered after and proceeded along the same lines, but he put the beating off until repairs could be made. HEBREW MINSTRELS. Al White of Philadelphia ha» pro- jected a turrv into vaudeville called "The Five Hebrew Minstrels." When the curtain goes up five men are seen reading papers, their faces covered by the sheets. On the men's hands is cork. When the papers are lowered, white faces with crepe hair are disclosed.V The act is "breaking in" around New York. MCCORMICK'S "WAR." Langdon McCormick, now in Lon- don, will produce two new acts at the Palace there. One is entitled "War." NIXON'S TWO-DAILY. Atlantic City, Sept. 17. The Nixon theatre hero, playing vaudeville in opposition to the Savoy, commenced giving two shows daily this week. BILLING OLGA NETHEHSOLK. In the lobby of the Palace a pic- torial three-sheet announces the "com- ing" to that house of Olga Nethersolc. O'MALLEY JENNINGS SIGNS. P. O'Malley Jennings has sif^ned a three years' contract with Oliver Morosco. OBJECT TO 4-A-DAY. The scarcity of desirable acts for the small time vaudeville houses has cre- ated a demand causing many of the turns in that division to object to the pop theatres where four shows a day must be played, preferring the time where "three-a-day" is the rule. The condition is said to be impeding the bookers of the foui-:i-day theatres in their efforts to secure good looking shows. The 14th Street Theatre (Wesley Ro- senquesl). now playing four perform- ances daily, will c(jinini!ice a three-a- day regiine. bt-i^iimiim Monday. Harry Shea books the liouse. OFFERING LILY LENA. The Englisli siii^'cr, Lily Lena, w\u) has not been over hare for a couple '•f years, is now offered the vaudeville managers by Jenie Jacobs. If rou don't sdveitiM) io VJitllSTY, dou't ttdvfrtlM St all. n.AVKRS INVOLVED IN MURDKH. Hamilton, Can., Sept. 17. Acting on instructions from Chief oi Police Ross of Ottawa, local detec- ti\es have taken into custody Sam Cook and John H. Stevens, colored va- riety performers. The men are held as material witnesses in connection with the murder of Abe Rubenstein, a sheet writer at the race track. His body was found in a trunk in the base- ment of an apartment house in Otta- wa late last week. He had been dead several days. The police seek to show that Cook and Stevens were seen carrying a trunk along Somerset street, Ottawa, Sat- urday night. Their connection with the case hangs on this point. They deny all knowledge of the murder and declared to a Variety- representative that there was a mix-up in their bag- gage Saturday night. Their trunks were sent to the wrong railroad depot. The mistake was discovered in time to make the train and the local transfer company took their baggage to the right station. They deny they carried a trunk on the street at any time. Both men were at the Connaught race track Saturday afternoon in com- pany with Bessie Simms and Lottie Birming, both colored, who are also un- der arrest. After leaving the track they had supper in Ottawa and went direct- ly to the theatre. Hamilton detectives arrested Cook and Stevens in their dressing rooms at the Temple theatre here. They were turned over to Ottawa detectives and taken to that city. JED PROUTY ENGAGED. Jed Prouty has been engaued for a part in Klaw & Erlanger's production of "Robinson Crusoe," starring Bert Williams. The piece will open about Oct. 15. GOING ri» AG;\I.\ST IT. Leffler & Bratton have secured the rights to a dramatic vaudeville sketch by Francis Perry Elliott, four people, regarded with such favor they will produce it in the two-a-day. Tt is the dramatization by the author, of his own story in "The Smart Set." Tn the efforts to secure for the skttch something approaching a con- secutive route the firm will probably meet the same fate that befalls the outsider who invests his money in what he regards as a good piece of big tiin.- vaudeville property and gets as far with it as Union Hill, N. J., for a "try- out," as the opening on the "Lay-off and Starve Circuit." LOEW BOOKINGS. "" The Loew Circtiit has riiiTaprd Pauline, the hypnotist, to opm fr>r it Sept. 22, Marie Fenton. also on that date, and Snyder and Buckley. Srpt 20 "Don," the "talkin-_r dog." with Loncv Haskell, lecturer, will rommmrr on the Proctor small time iirxt wcric IM\T.\GES RFroVKRS. San Francisro. Ser)t 17. Alex. Pantagc:. who stibiniMrd to two operations, is notirraMv improved and able to pet outdoor^