Variety (October 1914)

Vol. XXXVI. No. 9. NEW YORK CITY, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1914. PRICE 10 CENTS LEXINGTON AVE. OPERA HOUSE GOING INTO POP. VAUDEVILLE Frank A. Keeney and Walter Rosenberg Forming Corporation to Take Over Property from Oscar Hammerstein. If Closed, Possession Passes Immediately. House Seats 2,700. Oscar Hammerstein's Lexington Avenue opera house may shortly shift its policy from the present feature film performance, to pop vaudeville, i f the plans of Frank A. Keeney and Walter Rosenberg are brought to a successful consummation. Messrs. Keeney and Rosenberg were on the verge yesterday of taking over the opera house, forming a corpora- tion to operate it, and taking posses- sion at once, placing a vaudeville show, Looked through Harry A. Shea, in the Hammerstein property by Nov. 9. The opera house seats 2,700. It is located at Lexington avenue and 50th rtrcct. From a vaudeville standpoint, ii would be opposition to the Plaza (Moss & Brill) at Madison avenue and 59th street, and Protcor's 58th Street house. Mr. Shea is at present booking the Keeney and Rosenberg out of town theatres playing vaudeville. Mr. Hammerstein recently stated he wanted $75,000 annual rental for the Lexington avenue edifice, built orig- inally for grand opera. It has done a fair business with a picture show since opening late in August. VERDICT KILLED IT. The jury who disagreed as to the guilt of Mrs. Florence Carman, tried in Nassau County last week for the murder of Mrs. Louise Bailey, came perilously near providing Loney Has- call with a sensational headliner for Hammerstein's. Just previous to the announcement of their verdict arrangements had been settled for Mrs. Carman's appearance at Hammerstein's. When the jury disagreed, Mrs. Carman's family called the proposition off. Placing "Watch Your Step." The Charles B. Dillingham show, "Watch Your Step," when completed, may find a New York home at the Knickerbocker theatre. It depends upon the success of "Papa's Darling" at the Amsterdam. Provided that fails to get over, "The Girl from Utah" may be removed from the Knickerbocker to the Amsterdam, though there is a chance Dillingham's newest show may go direct to the Amsterdam. REMICK RESIGNS. .1. II. Remick. representing his firm v f J. H. Remick 8r Co., the music pub- lishers, resigned Thursday from the American Society of Authors. Com- posers and Publishers. It is the society that recently noti- fied restaurants and cabarets in New York and vicinity they could not play copyrighted music published by mem- 1 ers, without paying royalty to the society. Remick & Co. is also of the Music Publishers' Board of Trade, a separate organization. WEBER CASE SETTLED. The suit against the Columbia Amusement Co., brought by L. Law- rence Weber for an alleged breach of contract by the company at Schenec- tady, N. Y., was settled out of court Wednesday. "COUNTRY GIRL" REVIVED. (Special CabU to Variety.) London, Oct. 29. * revival of "The Country Girl" was staged at Daly's y. sterday (Oct. 28). The piece went ovei successfully. The OFFICIAL NEWS of the WHITE RATS ACTORS' UNION and ASSOCIATED ACTRESSES OF AMERICA, as formerly printed exclusively in appears on page 8 of this issue. fumt TANGUAY WITH UNITED. Eva Tanguay, whose "Miss Tabasco" piece closed last week after a short sea- son, has adjusted her differences with the United Booking Offices and will open at Keith's, Boston, Nov. 9, for a tour of the circuit. It is the first U. B. O. date for Miss Tanguay since she left the big time two seasons ago to promote her own vau- deville road show. Johnny Ford will open a producing office in New York and proposes to launch a number of girl acts now in preparation. "MR. WIT DISAPPOINTS. "Mr. Wu,"" the piece in which Walk- er Whiteside is starring at the Elliott and which was expected to prove a sensational drawing attraction, has proven a disappointment for its pro- ducers. The receipts last week were in the neighborhood of $4,200, the average nightly business running around $600 with Saturday pulling over the total. Henry Savage, Walter Floyd and Mr. Whiteside each have a third in- terest in the attraction. MARINELLI BACK TO U. B. 0. The action for damages against the United Booking Offices and others, instituted a year or more ago in the U. S. court by H. B. Marinelli, was discontinued Wednesday, when Mari- nelli again commenced booking with the agency. It is said that in the settlement un- derstanding with the United, Mari- i-elli is to have the exclusive repre- sentation of the U. B. O. and Orpheum Circuits for international turns. In pursuance of this arrangement, according to report, Marinelli will reach an agreement with W. Passpart, who has been the Orpheum Circuit's ioreign agent for some years. "TIPPERARY" SELLING. The English war song, "Tipperary," is having a strong sale over here at the present time. The New York pub- lisher handling the number is forcing a retail charge of 30 cents a copy for the song, with a probable sale of 1,000,- 000 copies in sight. DROPPING OUT TACOMA. Tacoma, Oct. 28. Within the next two weeks the Mar- cus Loew Circuit will drop the Em- press here from its route sheet as a vaudeville theatre. The house will probably continue with a picture pol- icy. The local Empress hasn't seemed able to get started with a profitable patronage and the Loew people have concluded to close it rather than to force an inevitable loss weekly. The line of Loew travel will be changed by the shift from Vancouver to Portland. The Empress has been leased for dramatic stock. Wayburn Act at Hammerstein's. Toward the middle of November a large-sized production, staged by Ned Wayburn, will open at Hammerstein's r or a run of two weeks. IRENE FRANKLIN HEADING. Through uncertainty whether she would be prepared to open at the Pal- ace Monday, Valcska Stiratt withdrew from that engagement Thursday. Irene Franklin and Hurt Green were substituted to bead the bill.