Variety (September 1913)

VARIETY BOSTON'S MAYOR VETOES KEITH'S RAGTIME DANCES Will Not Allow Keith*s Theatre, Boston, to Invite Audi- ence on Stage After Performance. No Boston Paper Notices It. Keith*s May Give Dancing Contest With Mayor's Sanction. Boston, Sept. 24. The public dancing scheme which ihe Keith interests endeavored to "put across" at tlie bi^ National house has been given a death wallop by Mayor John F. Fitzgerald personally. For some reason no mention was made in the daily press of the itlea, e.xclusively published in Vahikti', and for some other rea^on no ntlicial action was taken by one of tlie "public censors" to whom Mayqr Fitzgerald has been en- trusting much of the morality super- vision in theatres and dance halls. The mayor has absolute control over the licenses of theatres and has the rather disconcerting ha'nit of informing managers occasionally thai if they do not accede to certain regulations they lose the p^iviIege^ of opening their doors. The scheme might have been a good .jne if it had l)een permitted. Boston is dancing crazy, mainly (m the forbidden fruit theory that has kept them from doing the tango in any pulilio hall. The idea was t(j close the show shortly after ten. keep the orcliestra playing and allow the public to go upon the stage and use it as a dance hall for about half an hour. This is termed by Mayor Fitzgerald as too indiscriminate for the safety of the sacred public morals of Boston and Keith was tol bluntly that it would have to stop did. The National has also l)een consider- ing a scheme of having public contest dancing with a grand finale for prizes Saturday night. It is understood that the Mayor of Boston will not forbid this move. Nothing will be done by the management along tliis line in the immediate future, however. It FOUL PLAY SUSPECTED. The body discovered last week at Hastings-on-the-Hudson, N. Y., has been identified as that of Max Garfin- kle, an acrobat who worked with a vriudeville troupe until his disappear- ance. Near the body was found a slugshot made of stones in the end of ;i silk sleeve. The police declare that the man was killed by a blow on the head which crushed his skull. They are looking for a woman, whose strange actions near the place where the body was fcund aroused suspicion. INVITING POLICE ATTENTION. In an endeavor to keep pace with ac- tivities in the legitimate, the Palace management will make a bid for the attention of the police authorities by presenting for the week of Oct. 6, Olga Nethersole in her famous staircase scene from "Sappho." When Miss Nethersole presented the full play at Wallack's a dozen or so years ago she and her leading man, Hamilton Rcvelle, together with the manager of the attraction and the house lessee, were indicted and held for trial charged with offending pub- lic decency. If business at the Palace does not improve shortly, it may be necessary for B. F. Keith himself to make an- other visit to New York. H-C CMYETY DISPOSED OF. Indianapolis, Sept. 24. The Gayety opens with Sullivan- Considine vaudeville next Sunday. This is the house left outside the book- ing sheets in the Empire-Columbia Burlesque Wheel merger of last spring. The S-C company has leased the es- tablishment. M. T. Middleton is the manager under the new regime. SUIT ON TRADEMARK. L. Leichner, the Berlin toilet goods man, has brought suit against the firm of W. Reichart, of Berlin, in the Ger- man courts against the latter's alleged infringement of the Leichner trade- n'ark. Leichner claims Reichart is using his styles, boxes and packages here and abroad. He will also bring a similar action in the United States. STALLED TOO LONG. Chicago, Sept. 24. Fred Barnes had secured contracts for Power's Elephants from the West- ern Vaudeville Managers' Association for the Grand, St. Louis and the Ked- zie, Chicago, with other time laid out to follow. Upon Ethel Robinson, manager of the park and fair department learning that Barnes had put one over, a dis- cussion arose and in the meantime Walter Keefe relieved the ".\ssocia- tion" of the act. The elephants will now play opposition to the W. V. M. A. POP INVADES EXCLUSIVE TOWN. Montclair, N. J., Sept. 24. The new Montclair theatre, the first amusement house to be built here, seating 1.300, opened Sept. 11 with a I)op vaudeville policy. The Montclair is controlled by the Michelfelder Bros., Charles H. Berry- man, manager, and is at Valley road and Bloomfield avenue, the exclusive neighborhood, where many million- aires reside. MANAGER CHANGES FRONT. Spokane, Sept. 24. Mayor Hindley barred the Hal Reid- Harry Thaw pictures at the Orpheum. Manager MuUer appealed to the City Council, which upheld the mayor. Muller annouced he would run the pictures anyway and under the prom- ise of excitement the house was pack- ed Sunday, but Muller announced at the last minute that he had changed his mind. BOYCOTTING PUBLISHERS. The poor, downtrodden music pub- lisher continues to have his troubles. It seems to be one thing after an- other. After passing through a most disastrous summer, vainly struggling to maintain prices, gathering together manuscripts for a strenuous fall cam- paign, and the dozen and one other heart-breaking and nerve-racking dif- ficulties to be confronted with, out of a clear sky comes just one more prob- lem to be met. As is very generally known, there are but two effective ways of "mak- ing," or popularizing, a song. They consist of having them sung in the vaudeville houses and at Cabarets. Of recent years the former was accom- plished by paying the singers weekly a stated sum and the latter by sending "pluggers" around to sing them. The regular Cabaret performers have reached the conclusion that the "plug- gers" are encroaching more and more on their preserves. Heretofore, with a popular song, they found it profit- able to worm themselves in and out and around the tables, and the louder tne applause, the more popular their personal services became- They find, however, that the publishers and song writers themselves are supplying this class of entertainment free of cost to the Cabarets. Originally it merely served to assist the regular paid en- tertainers, but with the increased com- petition in the publishing business, this form of "plugging" has come to such a pass that the salaried performers are being edged out more and more. The owners of Cabarets have discov- ered this and have cut salaries and de- creased their staff of artists. The performers realize that in time the "plugging" will increase to such an extent that the Cabarets will not only demand that the publishers fur- nish them with free talent, but pay them besides. So they have had a meeting and unanimously decided that in future they will, as far as possible, refrain from using the songs of the publishers who are most flagrant of- fenders in this respect. "BRINGING UP FATHER" STAGED. Gus Hill has taken over the stage rigfjts of George McManus' comic se- ries in a New York newspaper. "Bring- ing Up Father." The company is be- ing organized. Hill's record stands a lap and a half ahead of his nearest competitor in the cartoon staging stakes. He recently came back from a tour during which he visited his six com- panies on the road playing "Mutt and TefT." HAVERHILL ACADEMY RESTORED. Haverhill, Mass., Sept. 24. The Academy, destroyed by fire in 1911, is being rebuilt. The work will cost $75,000. Fred Lovett will be booking manager and the house will play vaudeville, opening as near Oct. 15 as possible. Edward Cuddy, a for- mer Lawrence newspaper man, now in Brockton, will be treasurer. The house will be a downstairs playhouse with a capacity of 1,500. ir villi (Inn't «ctYfrt|)«e lJ> VABIETY, don't •dvertlM »t aU. BARO*S COMPANY COMING. In addition to VVilkie Bard, due to make his first American appearance at Hammerstcin's Oct. 20. there will be Bard's company, consisting of about four people, who will assist the famous English entertainer in his "song-productions." Bard has become noted through equipping lyrics with a setting and a tale. Accompanying the Englishman alsu will be George Arthurs, a composer, who has written most of the Bard songs, and many of those made popular by Alice Lloyd (ui this side. Mr. .^.rthurs was the author of "Hello Peo- ple," the song hit of "Havana" at the Casino, New York. Miss Lloyd, who arrived in Ne\^ York to-day on the Mauretania, is said to have new Arthurs songs for her next repertoire. They will be heard when the Englisli girl heads the .Mice Lloyd Road Show. It is to start out the latter part of October, and will be managed by William Morris. .Ml Brii isli acts will surround Miss Lloyd, ac- cording to report, which says the Lan- cashire lassies have already been en gaged, with Albert Chevalier in pros- pect. The first intention of Mr. .\lnrri> to have an English bill around Miss Lloyd has been abandoned. Morris is working out a new idea for her road show. American acts will be included in it. POP FOR HALF WEEK. Elizabeth, N. J.. Sept. 24. Hurtig & Seamon's new theatre here will open Oct. 6 with the Hoffmann- Richardson-Polaire show. The house will play pop vaudeville three days weekly, taking in combinations for the remainder of the time. No booking agent for the vaudeville has been re- ported. The theatre seats 2,300. **IDEAL** IS FINED. Harrisburg, Pa.; Sept. 24. "Ideal," the vaudeville posing act, was fined $50 here by the Mayor under the disorderly practices act. She posed on the banks of the river in a repre- sentation of "September morn" before a crowd of townspeople. "BROKEN MIRROR** HERE. "The Broken Mirror," a foreign act. opens with "Marictte," the Evelyn Xesbit Thaw show under the direction of Comstock & Gest, at the West End. Xew York, Monday. It is the Schwarz Bros.' turn and one that has been widely copied in Eu- rope and America. The Schwarz's have been active in proceeding against pirates and were successful in stopping a nuniber of "copy acts." They put on "The Broken Mirror" three years or more ago. This is their first visit to this side. It was reported some time ago the Orpheum Circuit had ordered and booked a "copy" of the Schwarz act. but that it was taken off shortly after being produced. The H. B. Marinelli agency secured the "Mirror" number for the Thaw show. A contract for 25 weeks with Comstock & Gest is held by the act.