Variety (October 1919)

ON WmCDSOr PR(H)UCnQN Miey Made their Start With Less Than $1,000—Actors Opily V Got $25 a Week—Big Hit at Once, and Has Drawn $150,000—Co-operative Organizik- tiott Qeaw Over 25 Per Ceii^ 1 •■JotiB, FerffusoR" at the Fulton last g Uyrt hyaHfAt broke the hou8« records 'te-iiBMl^V in^ grosft ms 11.876. The atfta^ •g-'WBtt ;<wi>fc» •■iter <t|i lcli. n ^Cloeic' « new ooowdr Igr fkank Bmoo.-; "Jobn Vergamaria it ttMatrlcia° fireak If there ever was one. The script-is reported a$ having been turned down by David Belasco, and while there is nothing Interesting Dartlcularly In that, the subsequent success of the show; un- doubtedly has all the elements of a bit of fiction. ^John Ferguson" as a production, pro- by the Theatre Guild of America, at the Qarrick; Mew York. The oC; staging tlae tlt^ including aiA<:ciB«tumefli iras exactly 1984. ''CMniet «nsag«iiient. the iswtek. nw ntt at tk* raai«lok. ; Mgiitany (ntenMI inr ;The closing :4ato..liiiil^tiiM iMm wMk to; WMki. niiti^ F. 'Wanger made , the Theatre OoQd a prop- uftion of a guarantee of |2,500 weekly. ' which was accepted, and he moved the l^e to the Fulton, which he had ob- tained (or a nominal rent during the nunmer. His interest in the show ended Sept. 1, after which the Theatre Guild again took hold of the produc« ;tk>n and is now running It on a per- ;7eentage basis at the Fulton, f^j^ When Wanger brought the piece to 4'%> VliKon tlie gron expense of the com- •dv^rUiliiK tfage luuida and all ' W^lllj^.a- welb. Vte'SM* •be Qoild wis' gi^Oag ii pnoi when re- ^^edfing $2.SM 'ftr tlte cm! *bA pcodoe!^ . alone. In the ii Week^ roil of tbe ^"^^iMeitvy the gross has averaged over |9,0W ^nek\y. The gross on the run thus far ^il^ore than IIS.OOO, of which the The- :t|tre Guild has received sofQcient to ji^w a net profit of over |40,000 in pro- ^ioctlon. ' Its run and popularity In New York have brought the piece the very best tpute issued in years from the Klaw (k Grlanger ofidce. The attraction on leav- ing Mew York will noi. trarel West U taUcago and an of the 1%.! to be pi)i^ ia.UK.titkia; 55 Ooti It (OolBallNM m ^tMciaait ^k^Wifp o^Cloci^'^flie new piece l^nudc :^|iieon, which ' ieonass Into the Futtm ' Pet 13. Is to beithe initiai production ;\,ibsde by Walter P. Wanger since his j^'^ieleasa from service. In the cast will > jbe Tim Murphy, Paul Everton, Lester ylasUn, Paul Porter, Pierce Benton, >^.ltU8se]Ll Byron. Alberta Burton. Vivian ;'y4tlen; Gertrude Ualtland, Jos. Con- ■ ,^^sars. Sars Edwards, lUiia Gteasoa and >^iB«bert SchUUng. Tbe atasliv is-' ViMnt:br David Bnrtan. SIGHTIHa BOOEINO OOKDl Bookiiis <ioiHtHnp«. ihMt apnna »w p«ttl— fegr HSov; 9, ,»_^MHbar'«( cOwwa 'aMPad ap aai noahle iuafa ot attnwtloos. ' vTlUs nisit has so clogged the time y^^ound the Eastern territory it la almost Mnpoasible for an attraction to get an •Pening date without Jumping from 500 to 1.000 milea for It. This eeadlttoa will be cleared np the ^ist part of Noyem- ber.by tfie'moving westward ot the ato. tractions now hovering about the Eart,. This will give the regular run ol attrac- tions'a' duince to get time. Oitver Uoroseo is la.ftbout as bad *. eondltton. as any of tts pfodwpsni At VfM^ he M«, flnt tfitimetiaas >M^ Ther axe two addltloiiU-iNMttiBtfw's^^ "CIvfUan ;€lo|h««," the jRaMli X iBodb- BMn 'tkM* Mtos to Arden," the new' (liiHtrletto Qr^iiiwood ptom^ '^Linger I^onger Lietty." Thi Horosco company,, playing "Please Get. Married," is being forced into the sne-al^^ slaBds to keep gbing. Brown Suing Cecil Cunninaham. Chamberlain Brown has started a suit against Cecil Cunningham to. reoover 8176 due him for having seaiM *The Greenwich ViUafe Follies" ragsgeaient for her. Mlaii Oaphlngbam was served with the. JWmt ttomh . Bdw. W. r; aethis iior flici agttit- - The plans of BdWla llaearegor -pnK> vide fbr tfes pnOwttaa M mmi Mmw» . dM esilr put eC' tttof'sMsoi^' ifKui^' tlall pi r wMf JLt'Tu WMkngBtt' Tbs flistto at aWi^ wttri^ Iffiine^ cd Pajamas,*? a dninia' hgr Qeorge C. Hasiefon and Percy Blllott; lit which O. P. Heggle will be featured. Then will come "Self-Defense," a melodrama by Myron B. Pagan. Upon the completion of this piece he will begin work on "The Sweetheart Shop," a musical comedy by Ann Caldwell, with the mus^c by Hugo Felix. Then will come "The Dream Girl," a musical version of "The Road to Yes- terday," with the score written by Vic- tor Herbert and the book famished by Bida Johnson Toungr. The next In order oC pfodnetton ^USk be "Hw &lrtlwiaM.'* A ooMiBd Bdwud ]hiplB^ wlikJi wm be rniier <rf! "A Bit V Lovvb'* ' comedy by Joha Ctoldsmnrttajr/nNi Sng^ llsh playwright. The final production to be done will be a musical version of "A Pair ot Sixes," with book ai& lyrics famished hr Otto Hanerbaoh and I^nito Hirsch. An of the shows will be produced un- der the personal dlceotlon of Mr. Mac- . TXMBiaXUS AT BEUIOIIT. Tbe Belmont may Lave a short season preUminary to the opening there of the French company in November. The acarcity of theatres In New Yoric make it inadvisable fOr the keeping of the' house dark, when the rental cost, at least, can be picked up for five or six weeks prior to the advent of the ^Vmtdi company there. Iiyle Andrews woVId an attraction was flonkv.li^ that he haJT beea «riai«^ nr ». to taks tlis hooNk CISVEI4HD, IWO-WEEK SIAHD. Cleveland, Oct 1. R Is reported "Jack O' Lantern" And 'Xltm Ohln Chow" are coming to Cleve- land to remain two weeks each. What further liCts the city out of the one-week stand classlflcatloa is that Belle Baker, at Keith's'^ppo- drome, is now in ber i as the hoadllner The inltlai ye^tvie'Ot ititA fkMm fM'; a lone producer li to ha iM^^ noraiBftsr the night of Oct. 11, when "Thtmdss* wfll pass from the stage of the CritMioa to miake room for the George C. Tyler pro- dbcUon, "A Yoiuig Man's Fancy." •Thtmder" will have a run of eiULCtly three weeks in New York when it closes. The piece was heavily "panned" when it opened' and the only thing that saved its life was'that the brokers had bought in advance. The buy was for 808 seats a night, with a 20 per cent return. This buy guaranteed the bouse about 8<00 a night on the lower floor. Imihedlately after the first night a "dump" was made to Joe I<eblang of the balcony, which brings another $300 a night, so that the Aow, althbagh a ftdbmb.was/sattiaf Ift the nsiBhboriMwil of |i,tM » i^gM^i^ds- 9lle ^ bad notiesi At Am Gtoldea oftM It: was stated ywi- tardsar that te ka Vkdlbood the pMM.' woidd iMt so M toar. bat iwrntU ba Mit tathei Argtihag. Ihi^ tOis^aiitl-tti^ isg orOmi^jti^UBm tornegr for Ijso kewmaa and Lotds Ob- hen, the ticket broken^ held that tbe ordinance is not authorised under the State laws or city charter and is uii- constltutlonal on the ground that there is a penal offense stipulated; the only law making body which has the right to stipulate a penal offense being the State Legislature. This is a test case. The defeHdants, Newman and Cohen, were found guilty under tbe ordlaaaoe but were given suspended .'sentSMSS pepithiS'^tlM. peaL • ' Judge Rosalsky, sitting in the Court of Qeaenl SessUMUb reservM dedlsion. 8IABTS Iff WEST Indianapolis. Oct 1. "MidniBbti'^ the nnr play by Sam- ad Jtomwy and. Mr. ud Mk& waiiNi DelsMy -Diian,- staxM m • tear at KaglUi's, Sept. S(i>Si.' TM ptay was given 'its preoMa «t^^ .iriM*€ run at Wilmington, v2M^.: atNMt- SMiiths ago. Changes muS6 iilim^imVibt:m^ cast make its local showiaarr pitaetleally the opening. The play is a mystery- melodrama. ■ The innate nephew-heir ot a wealthy and aged man is murdered under grue- some circumstances in the first act The remainder ot the play deepens tbe mys- tery and then untangles .It In exciting fashion in the last mbiute of the last act PauUne Lord is dellghtfuL PhUlip Leigh, Eklward Emery. William Ingersol, Frank Khigdon, Joseph Sweeney. Curtis Benton, Jesse DUlars, Edmund xaton and Melton Clodah are the cast ACTOBS' HEHOmX BAT mHSi Daniel Frohman, president of the Actors' Fund of America,' announced last week that committees are all formed and ready to go to work putting aeroas the actors' national, memorial campaign which ends Oeo. . Ji^itaae. .Itttwiiil Memorial Day. In these cities there are 91 theatres. D. y. Baboock, Mayor of Plttdnush, heads the comnttfee In that dly, iQM first Mayor to sgree to serve. "Lett Leader^ ajt Oreenwieh Villaasb '^e Lost Leader" will probably suc- ceed "Eaty's Kisses" at the Greenwich Village Theatre. It to an EngUab pleec^' wHb the Amerlb<ai z||hta aoir.haM Iff Frank Conroy. „ •The "Love for Sato" Oot «. JTos. M. Gaitea-Jttles Aronsoa oc rLoT* for fitolaP* with Jade WHUaa Thomsa' Play Called "Kentttck.*. Tbe name of the new Augustus Thomas play that Arthur Hopkins lias 1» rtfiearaal la "Kentuok.'' m " m JSJJSS HEABimK v i .OI«Oriee;iind^ application for ah ihi JnttctiOn. to restrahi Lester Alien,, on<> of hto princlp&l comedians in the "Scan- dals of 1919." from appearing in Qilberl^:. M. Anderson's forthcoming production,' "The Frivolities. of 1919," was argued before Justice McAvoy in the Supreme) Court Tuesday, the court reserving de- cision. Allen, who was with the "Scanr dais" show at |17S weekly salary for.' tbe season,, handed in his tWft' w«^W; notice Sept. 18, and was eni^ged llqi^: Anderaon at double the salary. White's aflorneys, arguing that Al- len's services as a conaedian were; "unique and extraordinary," in legail-.^ , parlance, were answered by Henry J,}-':^i$S'sii:iii Ooldemith, of H. J. & F. E. Ooldsmlthj.vi^£ _ cooaart fto A]li«|,'that tbto should hs^ bsen M .Naimi-iSnr hiding their , client In tho oddipuy bilUngr ^instsad.' of turlng blm.' Allen's "real M'f»nn^'-Xi0'y-^^^ ' anises tlifoayh-;'illiMiB%'''lM find :Us ''baiiaim^.-mA-lik»'.*%)t^ it -'tiiitaUeft !|Nm>' ' ouft ;'«B|iaH^^ Joined 4he ilMp^AndMr An^ lay-off. , / ' '^■'C^y. Decision on ' tbS 'sinwiil within the fbrtatght ' mi K008EB FtRBS A PLAT. "'V^ George Mooser Is back in town, after having Journeyed to the coast en rottls^i to Chltia. While waiting for hto boiktii^ to take him to the Orient Mooser ro«v '■ ceived the manuscript of a now pliii^;} written by Dorothy Donnelly entiUed' "Verboten" ("Forbidden"), which re- quires a ca^t of 16 men and 5 women. He postponed hto sailing until Febriuu;jr.. and hastened back . to. New Yoxk to pQt tbe play on at the earliest thoment, In^V association with Wsttac Hast, JfMM^r to ii»]Miaar flonnieted tgrtth m m UniKlllTIIIQ «0DOS.*« "What's vtks Odds," the 8bahnotf<^-^ Bennett hkOBleal version of "CheCkent,**^;, will'not adorn a rostrum fi>r the nWEfci' few weeks, the producers lMi>viiiig.4ie^|j^^ . to have the piece rewrlttn jMorvij^i^tl^^^^ New York production. .. '0^ii!^M^:i tOgar Allan WOoltc wrote tliq'pfti^if^;^'*' Shannon ft Bennett after a few; j ^ - " In the "sticks," decldied the; flr«e.^|M«S^'5^%W%( ■ would have to ■be-rewrttten.-i«rtieKi(iiSf^^**^'^'^'-'^''^- ducers. are now osi^ttottotf ii^^lli^^ ant|ioij.to.pra9iir»<\^b^:p«n!Mi^^ interestetfi^gsMl 8HUBERT8 IN PORDHAM. The Shuberts are reported In the acquisition of a theatre ^ l»i • ^pSji the Fordham section Of the Bronx. ' : >? v^-Cr^ This neighborhood'is attractl|at/W|ii^-^'SvS'JlL^^ attentlfl)(k^ of most.otiMie tbrnM^ miil^0fi^'fM nates. A building boom to viu^ when the trade resumes its normal finMj4^ tlonlng, Tbe Keith. interests are buli^liiiig ii^ Fordham road and VUentlne afttm^i^i PiakiiM ManioiRS Forbes-Robertson*' William B. Feaklhs will manage Sli* Johnston Forbes-Robertson's lecttii*, ioor when the star arrives la Amertoa- next month. The tour will embrace tbft^ Eastern and Middle-Western t>riiici^'^' cities. Shakespearean subjecto- forndniki^^ the basto of ths; t»»fc«^d>rtt wlth:kF«P^^5:f lecturer. - 7*, ^^j^.^: Forbes-Robertson and hto wite^'-Ctori Oet it toute^ZiUto^ ars Ieav#;:tMi^fni^|g^,^ «Ai Yo« Were" in Reheanal, ■.■y2'|ft.a. ^As You Were," the London Paviillbi? ^v-5^ .^ || auceess, the Atnerlcan rlshta;«l.irt^ok>3v^v^ ara controlled by Q. Bay iQwilA^ ^i^ go Into xehearsal Oct 6. Sam . Bernard. Irene Bprdint: aiiiA^^' > BchUn Gayer will be the principals the American production. . Th^ siiov win open in WadUqgtoa, pi'Cl^:)/!^^ ! .'.:.',v'-'"'«?i*i';!';' John 1m tosiHsiis'' *Hiiiii!wr. .-,■:y.-^fv John L. Golden will prbduoe shoi^''Sr.. play called "Bumbo. Um. |!pnr«>'^