Variety (December 1914)

V VARIETY THE VAUDEVILLE YEAR The past year in vaudeville brought m a cut in salaries on the big time as the greatest item of importance to all variety playeVs; brought little of mo- ment to the vaudeville public, and is nicely to have depleted the usual profits of the managers to a considerable ex- » tent. The war affected vaudeville along the border and in Canada, and the warm weather at the opening of the season did as much for the houses in the east. When the Indian summer continued with general complaints of business, the big time managers of the east "cut salaries" of acts. The "cut" on all of the big time acts was not accomplished on a percentage basis. A committee of managers passed on turns played by the United Booking offices or Orpheum Circuit, and a decrease in salary graded to fit the individual was made. Of the large number that had the cut inflicted not 3 per cent, of the whole absolute- ly declined. Compromises were made with a few, but the "cut" as a rule stood. The ease with which the big time "got away" with the "cut salary" in- duced others to follow the action, un- til "cutting" became almost universal outside of vaudeville. Legitimate play- ers and burlesque people were' "re- quested" to reduce salaries. Some of the legits cut their office staffs, in numbers and in pay. It is highly probable that if the vaudeville artists of this country had been properly organized, the "salary cut" would have been reached, if put through at all, in another way. In thorough organization the managers would probably have communicated with the players through their organization, and taken steps to convince the actor the cut was necessary for the preserva- tion of the vaudeville big time. Not being organized, however, the artists witnessed what they had been warned against in Variety- time and time again, the absolute power of the vaude- ville manager, without the artists com- pletely organized. The variety players had tried organ- ization in various ways, but somehow never could remain by themselves. The different societies permitted managers and agents to join, immediately re- moving themselves from the strict cat- egory of an artist's organization, and one society even went so far as- to al- low prominent managers on its direct- orate. The natural consequence fol- lowed. When the "salary cut" arrived, how- ever, the acts that had been influen- tial in strengthening the managerial position in their organizations, and the "pet acts" suffered as well as the rest. To the discredit of all the vaudeville actors, the thinkers and the non-think- ers, they neglected the White Rats. That was the proper organization for them to join, rejoin or to become act- ive in. They knew it, but passed it up. Neglect and those little side ob- servations so often heard just cost the vaudeville actors $1,000,000 this sea- son in cut salaries, because they kept the vaudeville actor from the only or- ganization that could have done him any good, the White Rats. "Slipping the agent," "standing in" and "being taken care of" availed nothing when the | cut salary" came around. It was the actor's own fault, and always will be the actor's own fault until the act- ors get together and, stay together. The small tim^might have saved the situation for the big time acts, but the smaU^ffme is being conducted on a strictly commercial basis. The small time and particularly the Loew Circuit could use big time acts, but only want- ed certain of them, those that had a drawing power at the bbx office for the three-a-day shows. The other acts that meant merely entertainment on the stage the Loew people said could be duplicated by them in other turns of less salary but of equal amusement quality, as far as their audiences were concerned. For the big time acts they the year is due to the -conditions, that there is little market, and with the "cut salary" edict, along with the gen- eral scare about "low prices," the scar- city of novelty in material for vaude- ville will likely be more marked. To offset the dearth, "dancing acts" were patronized by the managers, the best known of the professional ball room floor dancers being given frequent en- gagements. In their own cities and where they had attracted a clientele to the dancing cabarets they may have been featured at, these dancfecs did some business at first, and also in the beginning when the mobs wanted to see the new dances danced by those they had heard so much about. The thing was continued too long, however, and these dancers pushed upon the vaudeville public so often they com- menced to keep away, instead of draw- ing, business. The last of them ap- peared during November at the Palace, New York, the first couple counting themselves out forever, it seems, in New York vaudeville while the second couple were taken out of the bill, with one unfulfilled week to their ac- count, the management promising that later, to get rid of them. Be- HOMER B. MASON and MARGUERITE KEELER In a scene from "MARRIED," their new one-act play. Mr. Mason and Miss Kecler have always given vaudeville something worth while. Their work in this new act, however, is considered better than any previous effort. wanted, the Loew people did not offer any extravagant salaries, in some in- stances less than the big time wanted to^ay (before the cut) and in other cases but the same amount as on the other time. The small time said the inducement to play for them was a consecutive long route with inexpen- sive jumps. . And the small time has stuck to that line of action. Some big time turns. developed quite some drawing power for the small time, and these acts also seemed satisfied with their change of playing base. That vaudeville has failed to bring forth any pronounced novelty during twech singing and dancing, which have had the call, the rest of vaudeville has been neglected. This may^or may not tell ia the end. The showman never bothers himself unduly over tomorrow while the box office is open and busy today. But one cause of the unsteadi- ness of the vaudeville business could perhaps be traced to the sameness of the programs, at the prices charged on the big time. If the^managcrs have seen their prof- its shrink, it may be blamed most upon opposition. There has been too much to sec all over the country. With dancing and pictures, everything strict- ly theatrical got caught in between. And even vaudeville was opposition to vaudeville. In some places it was a matter of the admission scale only. S. Z. Poll ran two vaudeville houses of the different grades in some of his towns, with the small time making more money than the large. The small time did this because its prices were lower, and its patrons told Mr. Poli himself, when he asked, that they pre- ferred his small time shows to the large. But they preferred the prices, which simply resolves itself as far as big time is concerned to big seating capacity in towns that can stand it. Where the program must be limited to a capacity, at big time prices, the big time house can not compete with the small timer. The absence of new material in vaudeville, if felt at all, will first be observable at the Palace, New York. This is the greatest vaudeville theatre in America, if not the world. Its con- tinued policy of presenting a "big show" is using up headliners At an alarming rate. The Palace must keep up its gait to keep up the attendance and the prices ($2). It has grown to be a show place of New York, but if there is not an attractive feature at the Palace, business drops there. This means something in a theater that can do $21,000 weekly and average a profit of between $6,000 and $8,000. Vaudeville in the east has had its ups and down so far this season, but seemed to take a steady hold shortly before Thanksgiving and has been go- ing along nicely since. The middle-western time is hard to follow. The managers report poor business while the reports otherwise do not always agree. These middle- western managers booking through the Western Vaudeville Managers' Asso- ciation of Chicago also cut salaries. Other important time in the middle- west besides that booked by the Unit- ed, is on the Loew Circuit. The £oew western houses, formerly Sullivan- Considine's, have done nothing start- ling in a business way. The Loew houses in the east are the mainstay of that circuit, and the western time has not yet been 'definitely fixed for pros- perity, although the Loew people claim to have a clean balance sheet on the whole, if no profit of moment has been turned in. The other western houses, the Or- pheums, big time, and Pantages, small time, are still doing business, with Pantages the easiest of the three oppo- sition chains out that way. The reports on the Pantages shows have been the poorest of all, but in comparison the Pantages houses are reported as the only ones in the west doing better this season than last. With the holidays passed, and the expected change for the better in the theatrical situation anxiously awaited, vaudeville is expected to prosper as of yore, but there still/remains a day of settlement for vaudeville, when all vaudeville will be put on a footing that will bring the best to all concerned. "OLD KENTUCKY." A. W. Dingwall wilt open the 22nd season of Charles T. Dazey's play, "In Old Kentucky," in Terre Haurte, Ind., Christmas Day.