Variety (February 1914)

VARIETY 11 FRITZI SCHEFF CONSIDERING OFFER FO R CHIC AGO CABARET Special Four Weeks' Engagement at a Prominent Chicago Hotel, With Same Salary as at Present Received in Vaudeville. Now on Orpheum Circuit. Chicago Restauranters Out for Big Attractions, With- out Regard to Price. Minneapolis, Feb. 11. Fritzi Scheff, who played a local Orpheum engagement here last week, l:as taken an offer under consideration to play a special four weeks' engage- ment in one of Chicago's prominent hotels at the same salary she is now receiving in vaudeville. Miss ScheflF is contracted for the Orpheum Circuit and will not have any c'pen time until May 15. In fulfilling the new cabaret de luxe contract Miss Scheff would be required to sing only four songs. Names in cabarets appear to be all the go right now as a leading New York cabaret booker has lines out for the services of Grace Van Studdiford, T'aula Edwardes, Helena Frederik, for Chicago hotel engagements. The Chicago cabaret managements are not worrying about the price as long as they get the stars wanted. SAVAGE'S ''RUTH'' LIKED. Waterbury, Feb. 11. "Along Came Ruth," the American adaption of the French comedy of the same plot, "La Demoiselle dc Ma- gasin," was presented under the direc- tion of Henry W. Savage, for the first time in America, Monday evening, at I'oli's before a large audience. The play was interesting and in spite of its lack of polish and finish, was received with favor. The American adaption of the P'rench comedy is by Holman Day and it shows a New England town with its people deep in a rut. and dream- ing only of their bygone glories of the past forty years. Then along came Ruth, fresh from the big city, viva- cious, modern and full of life. The result was inevitable. Irene Fenwick pleased as Ruth, while Joseph Kilgour plays well in an agreeable role. The cast includes Viv- ir.n Wessels and Frank Thomas, both of whom have roles that fit like gloves. George Marion is rosi>on.sible for the production. SHOWS IN FRISCO. San Francisco, Feb. 11. Mclntyre and Heath arc not doing as well as expected on their stay at the Cort, althoiiLrh the show got a uood sciuloff on its opening. "Milestones" opeiicil to fair business at the Columbia. Tlio press spoke very well of it. Andrew Mack and his dramatic sto^k company, at the Alcazar, arc doin^.: tairlv well. BELASCO DRAMATIZES STORY. San Francisco, Feb. 11. Louise Closscr Hale's short story, 'Her Soul and Her Hody," which ap- peared in a magazine about a year ago. has been dramatized by Fred Belasco of the .\lcazar stock company, San Francisco, under the name of "Missy, the Dancer" and will be presented at the .\lcazar sometime in February with Ivy Crane, a tango dancer, in the lead- ing role. If it goes well, it will later be taken to New York. GARRITY DOING WELL. Chicago, Feb. 11. The Garrick has made a remarkable record this season under the manage- ment of John J. Garrity. The house has had an unusual run of good shows, and the receipts have not fallen below $16,000 on the week since the opening. HARROLD WINS OUT. Justice Geigerich this week denied the motion of Oscar Hammerstein for an injunction to restrain Orville Har- rold from singing elsewhere than under bis management. In the contract sued upon it is re- quired that Hammerstein shall give Harrold written notice of his desire to renew the contract for each period provided therein, at least four weeks before the end of the preceding period. There was no specific allegation that the plaintiff had complied with the terms of the agreement. "YOUNG WISDOM" GOING. "Young Wisdom." the former Cri- terion show in which the Taliaferro sisters, Mabel and Kdith, are starred, and which moved to the Gaiety a fort- night ago, is leaving Broadway a week from to-morrow night and will play several weeks on the road. TAKING CHANCES. It's much rumored in Newark and hereabouts that the new Majestic which has been playing Stair & Havlin shows ijpr the past fortnight, is going to adopt a popular vaudeville policy a week from next Monday. Harry Hyanis has the Majestic under his di- rection. It's up <tn the Newark hill, directly opposite the Odeon, which opened a straight picture policy Mon- day, the former pop. vaudeville failing tn pay. "DINGBATS" PROMISES WELL. Baltimore. Feb. 11. "The Dingbats" oi)eiie(l here at the Colonial Monday eveninL,\ for the first time, and looks like another Leffler &• P>ratton cartoon success. The nian- iiueinent is already fi.^nrinu on a sec (lid coini)any f)f the piece. The l)or)k is by Frank Stamnieis, who aNo staged the piece. Arthur I"'nnn. as Mr. Dingbat, is practically the star and receives excellent "feed- ing" for his coinicilitic: liy .'^adic T~)ufT. ;is Mrs. Dingbat. ELTINGE HAS A HIT. Atlantic City, Feb. 11. "The Crinoline Girl," by Otto Hauer- bach, is a three-act melo-dramatic, mystery farce, in which four songs are introduced by Mr. Eltinge. It is rem- iniscent, in theme, to the old success used years ago by Etienne Girardot— "Charley's Aunt." The play scored a hit when first shown at the Apollo Monday night. The scenes are laid in Switzerland. The stage hybrid is the means of furnishing Eltinge with one of the best vehicles he has ever appeared in for the exploitation of his art of feminine impersonation. He as- sumes four feminine characters, after appearing "straight" in the first act, and at the finale of the last act. The opening performance was rather smooth, except for a natural nervous- ness of the star and his contempo- raries. The book is bright and clean cut (although not absolutely new) ex- cept in the last act. This became in- coherent at the final untangling of the plot, and needs to be speeded up con- siderably. Some of the unnecessary speeches might be pruned, and the "happy ending" consummated more clearly and quickly than happened at the opening. The second act, a corner of a Palm Room in the hotel, is one of the most sumptuous stage settings Mr. Woods has ever presented. It even overshad- ows the famous second act of "The Little Cafe." The principal support of Eltinge was furnished by Herbert Corthell, James C Spootswood, Herbert McKendie, Charles Morrison, Maidel Turner, Helen Luttrell and others. The play was staged by John Emerson. players, with the exception of George Kempton as Michael Grogan, and E. H. Horner as the Sinister Cafe owner. Pop prices were charged. "LITTLE SISTER'' TOO LATE. Atlantic City, Feb. 11. Taking "The Little Lost Sister," by Virginia Brooks, which opened at the Apollo theatre Feb. 5, as a sermon, and that is the only manner in which the play can be taken—seriously, on account of its poor dramatic construc- tion, the four-act vehicle comes rather too late to cause many ripples, in any mind except those seeking for the sen- sational phases of the subject. The play is from an adaptation of the novel by Virginia Brooks, and a short speech—prologue—"on the evils of vice" is made from the orchestra pit, in a dark house, by a member of the company. The first speech or pro- logue, gets over, but the remainder of the speeches given before the follow- ing three acts, are met with ripples of derisive merriment. The play follows the book closely, in fact too closely, and there is a ver- itable crowding of incidents into the four acts, which causes it at times, to become circumlocutionary, weaving in atid out of the plot tangles until it becomes almost impossible to follow the principal thread. Each act bc- c'>nies almost a pageant, in wiiich the c' aracters walk on, deliver thefr specrlies. and walk off again in a secm- iij-'Iy ceaseless stream. The play as it stands will not do for even small towns; neither will the BEAUTIFULLY PANNED. Boston, Feb. 11. "Magic," G. K. Chesterton's fantastic comedy, was produced for the first time in .America this week at the Toy theatre, and received a beautiful panning. Little redeeming virtue was found in the production of which so much was expected, the Chestertonian phil- osophy and epigrams proving of the bristling variety which fitted into the action about as nicely as needles in a plum pudding. One of the characters is a mentally deficient brother of the heroine, and the role has nothing in it that offers any rhyme or reason other than "drama that is different." "Magic" will never go in this coun- try, although with a competent cast it might exist. MISS GEORGE'S PIECE SHOWN. Wilmington, Feb. 11. Grace George gave the first pro- duction of the much heralded new .\merican play, "Jim's Marriage," in the Playhouse in this city Monday night. It was extensively advertised as something new, and it was. The show is out of the ordinary, and while it follows the inevitable, yet the theme holds the rapt attention of the audience. Besides Miss George, the cast in- cluded Howard Estabrook. Clinton Preston, Rex McDougall, Edward Nannery, Forrest Seabury, Beverly Sitgreaves, Josephine Lovett, Maud Hosford, Jean Shelby, Carolyn Ken- yon, Camilla Crume. Monday night's house registered box office receipts of $1,689. GOOD CAST SAVES SHOW. Philadelphia, Feb. 11. Metropolitan premiere of "The Mid- night Girl" at the Lyric Monday night, brought out a good sixed house. The play was well received, largely through the efforts of an excellent company, without which it would not rise very far. Margaret Romaine has the title role. It is not alone her first appearance in comic opera but in America as well. She is a sister of Hazel Dawn, and has beatity, vivacity and an excellent voice which blends well with the baritone of George Ma'cFarlane, who is featured. George Schiller is ca|)tivating as a doctor in a comedy role, Iwa Fallon looks charming, sings excellently and dances amazingly well with Harry Delf. I'anl Kerr is funny as an eccentric tenor; Teddy Webb secures a fair quantity of humor out of a foolish gen- eral, and Denman Maley and Margie I'larson are by no means lost, al- iliongli tliey have small roles. riic music is tuneful and has much "nil" about it. "THELMA" PEOPLE MARRY. Kansas City, Feb. 11. Lcc Orland and Beatrice Earle of Henry Link's "Thelma" were married last week in .Arkansas City. Kan.