Variety (January 1916)

8 VAJUITY CABARETS ««i 'Keep Moving," as produced Jan. 15 at the Hotel Onondaga, Syracuse, N. Y., proved itself not a bad little free revue as the first try in that line for the city. It's only that and not know- ing what the hotel is paying for the revue which saves it in two or three ways from severe criticism for meagre costuming, numbers used and people. Lea Herrick presents "Keep Moving* at the Onondaga and F. von Gottfried staged it. There are three principals and five or six chorus girls. Here again the criticism could be harsh, but the matter of the money once more enters. The first preformance was given in the Onondaga's ballroom and it was a society event for the city. The Mayor was there and all of the other dress suits in town, with the women caparisoned to match. About 350 people crowded in to see Syracuse's first free restaurant show. The Syra- cuse Sunday Herald gave the revue a notice that did not read as though written by a press agent, and if the Herald reflects the general opinion the Onondaga's show is going to do busi- ness for the hotel's new rathskeller, where it was designed for and in which i* opened Monday. The Onondaga as a hotel is a pretty live proposition for a 150,000 populated town like Syracuse. It's the best hotel between New York and Buffalo and ranks with any be- tween New York and Chicago. It has 500 rooms, the best of direction and is on the chain of the United Hotels Co. Everything is New York about the Onondaga, and if its free show gets over it should induce other cities of comparative size to take up this end to push restaurant business. These small towns are awful to get into a hotel restaurant unless they are invited. When the natives go to New York, Chicago or Philadelphia they never go anywhere but to theatres and restau- rants. When they are home they stay at home. Just why night life should not be as enjoyable in a home town as in a strange city is a puzzle that only the locals can explain. It may be a money • saving scheme. About the Onondaga's single fault is a delayed restaurant service. This is not judged from the Saturday night affair, when a rush was on, but it has been so for some time and seems to be through organization. The different dining rooms appear to be under separate heads and each probably working for speed against the others, with none at- taining it. An incident of the revue opening could suggest the remedy. The Onondaga has a dandy orchestra of about 12 pieces, but with an unwise leader. The leader was not prompt in playing for public dancing between the three acts of the revue, and at the con- clusion of it the leader seemed to be- lieve "Home, Sweet Home" was the only tune left. Nor would he give en- cores, and, though the unusual sight was in 'evidence of hardly any one wanting to leave the ballroom after the show, the leader worked as though he would make them. At one time all of the dancers remained on the floor insisting upon an encore through ap- plause, and the leader remained com- placently on his chair, not even notic- ing them. Into this breach jumped Freddy Crawford, the head waiter in charge of the ballroom for the night. He had a heart-to-heart talk with that leader for about a minute that did the world of goo and Mr. Crawford re- ceived applause for himself when the orchestra returned to work in the prop- er spirit. A head waiter like Mr. Craw- ford, who can handle an emergency sit- uation like that to the full satisfaction of guests, might settle the restaurant service question, if he were given com- plete authority over all of the dining rooms. The chorus girls selected for Syracuse are fair looking as a whole, with three changes of costume and 14 numbers (two taken from the original Maxim [New York] revue of the same title). Leon Leonard, Johnnie Dale and Alice Ryan are the principals. The choristers are Fanny Hasbrock, Ruth Cabot, Grace Robinson, Miriam Mol- loy, Alice Rodier. All are confidential singers, though it might sound better downstairs, but if Miss Ryan ever wants to let Syracuse know what kind of a song "Lavender" is, she will have to use a megaphone. Miss Rodier is much the better of all the girls. She did a neat number with Mr. Dale, an acrobatic dancer of fair quality, who, in his rather few professional years, must have been a George Cohan imi- tator. Popular dance music for the cabarets as published in the Cabaret Depart- ment of Variett Jan. 7 has caused sev- eral orchestra directors to write Variety, finding fault with the list for different reasons, the main one appear- ing to be it was incomplete and Variety did not know all of the pub- lishers. The out-of-town leaders who wrote in seemed to think Variety was attempting to tell them what to play. The leader at the Hotel Fuller, De- troit, said Variety must be crazy if it thought such a list every two months would be of any value, since popular dance music switched about so swiftly. Variett agrees all of the writers are right, but they have taken the matter too seriously. There was no especial occasion for Varibty to even mention the names of the publishers, as all leaders receive the lists and know who they are. Nor did Varibty consider it worth going to the trouble of finding out who published any of the numbers when the name did not come readily to mind. The list in Variety Jan. 7 was merely printed for information for such orchestra leaders as might care to have it. Further than that, Variety was not concerned. It may be said, however, the list was constructed from the num- bers mostly used by three Broadway cabaret orchestras. Oscar Lifshey of New York, who wrote concerning the popular music article (his letter is pub- lished complete in the Forum of this issue), said Variety should have lis- tened to orchestras playing for New York's "400" (probably meaning "so- ciety"). Mr. Lifshey mentioned Henri Conrad's, Frank McKee's, Frantzen's and Markel's orchestras, adding they "are the only prominent orchestras and these men constitute the only real judges of dance music in New York." Giving so much credit in one sen- tence ought to start something. Mr. Lifshey also forwarded a list of popular music, in addition, he says, to the list Variety printed. It is as fol- lows: ONE-STEPS—"Fox Trot Wedding Day" (Harms); "Circus Day in Dixie" (Remick); "Frou-Frou" (Stern); "Old Fashioned Melody," "Road to Home Sweet Home" (Broadway); "Green River" (Snyder); "Grey Mother" (Wit- mark); "Ladder of Roses" (Harms); "Colored Regiment" (Shirmer). FOX T R O T S—"Kangaroo Hop" (Remick); "Home Town" (Feist); Fox Trot from "Around the Map" (Hawkes); "Tandem Fox Trot" (Ri- cordi); "Bugle Fox Trot" (Stern). WALTZES — McKee Waltzes, "Leontine" (Ricordi); "Perfect Day (Jacobs-Bond); "Illusion," "Classique (Stern); "Passing Salome" (Feist). TANGOES — "Marigny," "Vlad" (Stern); "Admiration" (Ricordi). Hereafter Variety will publish the list of the mostly played dance music in New York once monthly. If Mr. Lifshey prefers, after the list is made up, it will be submitted to two orches- tra leaders who play for the "400" and two who play for the common herd on Broadway, before it is published. Mr. »# »» *sfl^.(&/m9na/£%€J/&?^ seWAWim*H£4tC€4W^!fae7l40€l^ K**0W FELIX ADLER'S ANNOUNCEMENT The above reproduction is of an engraved announcement card mailed by Mr. Adler. Lifshey may name the two "400" lead- ers and Variett will select the Broad- way fellers. Monday, Jan. 17, the day Vabisjty of Jan. 7 arrived in London, a London producing manager cabled his New York representative to send him all the music mentioned in Variety's list. George Silver in Chicago, is going to try and do a "cabaret come back." Years ago Silver's place was one of the best known in Chicago's "loop" circles. In later years when it changed hinds Silver took a saloon on North Dear- born street. Now Silver has taken over the license and business of Boule- vard Cafe, which is in the basement at the northeast corner of Wabash ave- nue and Van Buren street. Silver plans to operate a "high class" restaurant with a service bar only. The pay of Chicago musicians has been boosted. The Chicago Federa- tion of Musicians, Jan. 14, voted to tilt the minimum wage of symphony or- chestra players from $35 a week to $40. At least 18 or 20 "extra men" of the Chicago Symphony orchestra will be directly affected. The "regulars" are now receiving $40 or more. Chicago opera orchestra is not bothered by the raise. Luella Leet, 19 years old and said tc be a cabaret entertainer, entered a Fillmore street (San Francisco) res- taurant one day last week. After eat- ing she mounted a chair, and drama- tically crying "Good-bye, everybody," swallowed poison. She was removed to the General Emergency Hospital, where it was said she would recover. No reason is known for the suicidal attempt. The Aster Gardens at 47th street closed last week. Originally the place was intended for an upstairs picture house, but the failure of the manage- ment that promoted the building- to ob- tain the consent of the building and fire departments prevented it. The place has successively been a dansant, cabaret, roller rink, and now is on the market again for a tenant Robert Marks has been engaged to stage the Revue at Joan Sawyer's. The cast will include twelve girls and three principals. The place will be re- named "The Garden of Girls." Mr. Marks will stage some numbers which he brought back with him from Lon- don and Paris. The Knickerbocker Hotel may be bought, according to report. It is said James B. Regan, who runs the Knick- erbocker, wants to retire from hotel life. At one time he managed Wood- mansten Inn, a road-house in West- chester, and has become a millionaire since running the Broadway hotel. Ice rinks are all over New York, in the open, and with the cold weather of the past 10 days, thousands have been skating. About every tennis court in the city has been flooded over. The upper west side holds hundreds of the little courts that give a fair- sized skating surface.