Variety (January 1915)

10 LEGITIMATE ROAD CONDITIONS IMPROVING THROUGHOUT ENTIRE COUNTRY Box Office Reports Coming in From Traveling Attractions In- dicate Return of Better Times—Northwest Particularly Good—Big Cities Improving—South Still Passive. "Conditions arc on the road to im- provement throughout the country. Everywhere throughout the country the box office statements show a marked increase in receipts." Thus spoke one of the largest theatrical managers in the profession Wednesday of this week. When questioned further as to just where the improvement was most noticeable he stated that the big towns were the first to show indications that general business was on the way to a return to normal conditions. Boston and Philadelphia are two towns where the theatres have been getting bigger returns within the past few weeks. The former city especially showed marked improvement. In the one-night stands there has also been indication of improvement. The northwest is the first section of the country to recover from the financial stringency that the early months of the war caused. The middle west is also picking up and the south, while not creating any particular stir with record. breaking receipts for shows, is in a much better condition than it was be- fore the holidays. The same manager in continuing said that a talk which he had with several of the financial giants of the country brought out the fact that the entire country would not, as far as they pre- dicted, resume its natural condition un- til about the middle of 1916. But that the year following would mark one of the greatest in the history of the coun- try in prosperity. "HOPPY* NOW "POPPY." At the Lying-in Hospital Tuesday night Mrs. De Wolf Hopper gave birth to a son, while the comedian father was appearing with the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company in Chicago. Mrs. Hopper was Elda Furry before her marriage. DETROIT'S BROADWAY LEASED. Detroit, Jan. 27. Henry I. Garson, of New York, has taken a five-year lease on the Broad- way, Detroit, and will open it April 1 with pictures. For the past year the Broadway has been operated by Bert C. Whitney. DALY'S MORALITY WAVE. Tuesday evening the Daly theatre management lost two of its original members in the burlesque venture. The retiring couple were Nate Spin- gold and Walter Rosenberg. Each is said to have received the amount of the first investment before departing. Their leave-taking left Jerome Rosen- berg and D. A. Lavine in sole control of the house. Levine is said to have been the financial backer for the "Yosemite" revival, which held Daly's stage for a night or two before it turned into burlesque. This week "Uncle Sam's Belles" is at Daly's, with Jeanette Dupre show billed for next week. REVUE GOING OUT. London, Jan. 28. The revue at the Empire will end its run next week, with vaudeville talcing the Empire stage until the new show goes on there. "SEARCHLIGHTS" NEW. London, Jan. 28. At the Savoy in three weeks will be produced a new piece named "Search- lights." "RED ROSE" REVIVED. John Daly has revived "The Red Rose" and will reopen the show for a road tour Feb. 12 at Allentown, Pa., with Zoe Barnett as the star. DAWN SHOW TO CLOSE. Boston, Jan. 27. "The Debutante," in which Hazel Dawn is starring, is reported as clos- ing, after the engagement at the Co- lonial. Zoe Barnett leaves and will be re- placed by Clara Palmer. WEBER PLAY CLOSES. "The Fallen Idol" will close at the Comedy Saturday. It opened last Saturday. The company received notice Tues- day afternoon. Some of the members of the company will receive two weeks' salary because of contracts. German Sympathizer Sailing. London, Jan. 28. Feme Rogers sailed yesterday on the Adriatic for New York. She had received an offer for the German oper- atic stage, but the American Embassy refused to issue a passport for Berlin. Feme Rogers is the young woman dismissed from the London Drury Lane pantomime through openly ex- pressing her sympathies as with the Germans. LOEW COMING HOME. Marcus Loew is due to return from his trip over the Loew western circuit by this Sunday. Louis j Meyer 111 at Brighton. London, Jan. 28. Louis Meyer, lessee of the Strand, is ill at Rrighton. Francis X. Hope Married. Philadelphia, Jan. 27. Francis X. Hope, of the Cohan & Harris forces, yesterday married Eliz- abeth A. Obrieh, of this city. ENGAGED FOR "PARADISE." Engagements reported for "A Day of Paradise" (the next musical show the Shuberts intend putting out after the new Winter Garden attraction is launched), are Jose Collins, Lillian Herlien, and Walter Jones. Others have been approached and given ten- tative offers. The "Paradise" company will be gathered at once following the Garden opening. "Susi," in which Miss Collins is now playing (Lew Fields' show) is booked , to close about Feb. 6 at Albany, un- less unexpected road business should commence. Several offers are said to have been tendered Tom McNaughton by other producing managers. Mr. McNaugh- ton is featured in "Susi." The show is at the Standard, New York, this week. BROWN "BAWLED OUT." Martin Brown has been out of "Hel- lo Broadway" at the Astor since Thursday night. Mr. Brown's non-ap- pearance is due to a misunderstanding with the one and only George M., ac- cording to Rialto gossip. It seems during the past week Mr. Brown has been negligent, frequently missing scenes and on one occasion had to be paged before he appeared for the court scene in the burlesque of "On Trial." When he did appear he sweetly asked of Mr. Cohan, "Were you looking for me?" in a tone to try the actor-au- thor's patience, and Mir. Brown was "bawled-out," it is said, in a manner that was definitely Cohanesque. There- after the male bare-legged dancer was missing from the cast. ANOTHER ONE FALLS. This week .the staid Evening Sun fell into line as one of the bidders for additional business from the the- atres. Early in the week managers were visited by Dermot Fitz-Gibbon, who stated that they could curry favor with and receive extra space and spe- cial write-ups in the columns of The Evening Sun if they would take extra advertising to the extent of $150. It was also stated Mr. Hoffenstein ("The Playgoer") who has been doing dramatic criticism for that paper had resigned from that post. ACTRESS HELD UP. Santa Fe, N. M., Jan. 29. Marion Dentler, playing the title role in "Pec:," was held up and robbed by twe men while walking from the stage door of the theatre to her hotel, a dis- tance of about one block. The actress lost about $500 worth of jewelry and a like amount in cash. Lester Walters Marries. Without formal notification and with only his bride nearby, Lester B. Walters, long in the Pat Casey Agen- cy, took unto himself a wife, Ottelia Hanrahan, a non-professional. Charles F. Wiegand Dead. Charles F. Wiegand, for several years manager of road attractions for the Shuberts, died in New York Jan. 26. Wiegand was vice-president of the Agents and Managers' Association. ADVOCATES LICENSE RAISE. Chicago, Jan. 28. Mayor Harrison has recommended tc the investigating committee of the City Council having the matter of ticket speculation in hand, that where theatres are known to be in collusion with ticket scalpers the theatrical li- cense for the year be increased from its present cost, $500, to $1,000. Three years ago, when a similar in- timation was made by the city fathers, the theatre managers promised to aid in the abolishment of ticket scalping it the license fee were held down to the $500 figure, which was done. 50-50 AT GRAND. The burlesque policy opening at the Grand opera house, New York, Mon- day, Feb. 1, will have a 50-cent top ad- mission scale at night. The Columbia Amusement Co. attractions have been routed in there for two weeks, the traveling shows playing the Grand on a percentage, splitting 50-50 with Klaw & Erlanger, who manage the opera house. No "first money for the house" is included in the sharing ar- rangement. Billy Watson's 'Orientials," under the title of "The Girls from Dixie" will be the opening piece. The Grand stand while playing burlesque will fill an open week on the Columbia Circuit that has existed around New York. MOROSCO'S NEW FARCE. Los Angeles, Jan. 27. "The Lady We Love," a new com- edy by Frank Mandel, author of "The High Cost of Loving," was given its premiere at the Burbank Sunday. The play is in three acts with the search for money as the theme, the title hav- ing reference to the Goddess of Lib- erty adorning our coinage. The piece is somewhat disconnected in spots and lacks real farce speed. It will stand cutting to the extent of at least a half an hour. Jess Dandy and Lillian Elliott are starred, supported by Edmund Lowe. CORT SHOWS SHORT RUN. Richard Bennett has been placed under contract by the Selwyns to ap- pear in "Nearly Married," scheduled to open at the Cort, Boston, Feb. 15. The Selwyn show goes into the Cort following "What's Going On?" the Cort musical show. "GIRL IN MILLION" FINISH. Chicago, Jan. 27. "One Girl in a Million," from the La Salle theatre here, closed up with a bang in Des Moines last week, when the company refused to proceed fur- ther without some real money. Felix Adler was the first to sit on his trunk, also the first to remove it. He returned to New York and will prob- ably rejoin "The Queen of the Movies." Keeney and Opera House. A report Thursday said Frank A. Keeney had practically closed for pos- session of Hammerstcin's Lexington Avenue Opera House. He has been dickering for it some time. If you don't ndvtrtlM In VARIETY, don't ndvortlso.