Variety (December 1920)

S4 VARIET Y Friday, December 31, 1920 LEGIT ON THE COAST power of Miss Greenwood more than to the play. Another exceptional •agreement was "Chu Chin Chow," an outstanding feature being In the public readily responding to the $4 top. proving this section wiil sup- port a play of merit, notwithstand- ing Its prices. The business being done by the Curran and the Columbia is reflect- ed In the prosperity of the two houses and further evidenced by the fact that Louis H. Lurle has taken •Ter Homer Curran's interests in the former house for a rental con- sideration of approximately one mil- lion dollars. The Savoy, long looked upon as a dead horse, Is gradually blossoming •nt as a first class attraction house wader the managership of Samuel Grossman. Kolb & Dill repaired to the Savoy after a big financial suc- •Mi at the Curran and showed a tidy profit at the end of the engage- it **Way Down East" did the is thing and found it profitable. So pronounced has been the suc- cess of the Savoy when the attrac- tions merited that numerous shows are now booking direct Into the the- atre, giving San Francisco three road attraction houses. - Meanwhile Frederick Belasco's Alcazar, with an excellent stock, is continually playing to profitable business, noticeable since Ed Price returned and assumed the manage- rial reins of the theatre. The best of New York offerings not sent on the read are prt*i" fl in bk; ?!we fashion under the direction of Henry Shumer. The Majestic In the Mis- sion district continues with mod- erate priced stock, while the Re- public, another neighborhood house, is closed after several futile at- tempts with various policies. Arthur Maitland Is still making a success of the little theatre that bears his name, despite its offerings have appeal for the more fastidious only, dealing with literary rather than popular topics. The other big BUCCSSa of the sea- son to that of the Casino, where Will King and his company are holding forth under the Ackerman A Harris management King's career In San Francisco Is nothing short of remarkable, having built up a following never before equaled here. King's productions are such that Jim Mclntyre of Mclntyre and Heath recently remarked: "It's getting to be pretty tough for a musical show to come Into Frisco .-and \^K' to kuoh.-ffgf»te«tf Klny.wJtJb, that wonderfully trained chorus of his and all of his other big time accoutrements." Forever and anon "turkey" shows have started from this neck and struggled through their short ex- istence, only to return home. Late- ly, though, the old order of things has changed and a number of coast - made productions were successfully launched and are now touring. Among these are Fanchon & Mar- co's "Satires of 3 920," John J. Mac- Arthur's "Royal English Opera Co." MacArthur took ever the defunct Oallo English Opera Co., Imbued It with new blood and Incidentally new money and started It out as the "New Bostonlans.** The opening was at the Columbia, San Francisco, where It ran for six weeks. Other productions to leave San Francisco and Oakland this season and.do more than passing well are. "Just Around the Corner," produced by O. M. Anderson; "Daddies," by FredericK Belasco; Maude Fulton in, "The Humming Bird," produced by Oliver ' Muroscb? Henry B; War* thall In "(Jhosts," "by Balnbridge & Clifford; Wallace Reld in "The Rotters," "The Bootleggers." and "Marrying Mary," with May Tohe, by MacArthur. All these things point one way only—that the West is beginning to take account of itself and preparing to show that "something good can come out of Nazareth." The situation in Oakland Is espe- cially interesting. It wasn't so long ago Oakland was looked upon as w t » * PAULINE FREDERICK 1 . * . . . t ' . I - * I, ■ - - -■!■■■ the theatrical morgue of the West and that agents cursed with feel. ing the booker who routed them on to the "city of homes." No longer can Oakland be called "the city of the unburied dead." No longer do the vaudeville artists dare to cast aspersions on the East Bay city. In the short space of a year It has grown up like the proverbial weed. When Fred Giesea relinquished the managerial reins of the old Macdonough to take over the book- ing agency for Central California, 3&kfend ^tvao afrJJ Ba dfy a^ORe-ntf^. stand. When John J. MacArthur changed the policy of Ye Liberty from stock to road attractions the entire theatrical community gave him the w, k. laugh. "The Country Cousin," with Alexandra Carlisle, opened the season for MacArthur a little over a year ago and played three days to $5,500. "The Man Who Came Back" followed in "Holy Week" and did a similar amount. Then the Wiseacres began to take notice. Week stands were cau- tiously booked. Business continued good. Then David Warfleld booked very decidedly for three days only. In those three days he got about $12,000 and turned away about $3,000. That settled the question definitely. Last summer MacArthur closed his theatre for six weeks to redec- orate. He reopened with Charlotte Greenwood In "Linger Longer Letty" and did close to $26,000. Jane Cowl followed and took over $16.- 000. The New Bostonians, now the Royal English Opera Co., did $12,- 000 and the season was on. Meanwhile George Ebey of the Fulton, Oakland, continues to coin money with his stock company. "Way Down East" only recently played to packed houses for two weeks. "Pietro," the Otis Skinner play, followed with standing room as the usual sign. Another house to share tho pop- ular fancy Is the Columbia. Built as a burlesque house and Inhabited by sundry comedians, Dillon and King took It over four or five years ago and started It on the upward grade. Then came Jimmy Rohan, green to the show business, and acting on the principle that if he liked a show his patrons would or vice versa, made the Columbia into a veritable gold mine and singular- ly turned it Into a family theatre. Only of late the doors of the Loew's State opened In Oakland. Th'« Is the former Macdonough— the Jinx house. But the Jinx is gone. The house was done over at tremendous expense and the only disadvantage seems to be that there are not enough seats. In reference to the one-night ere, reports have shown California's one night stands are doing the best bus- iness in their history. While the one nlghters throughout the coun- try have their ups and downs In business, the California one nlght- ers have been doln^ exceptionally well during the past three years. The following explanation for this i» given by F. A. Giesea, who books practically all of these theatres: First—To the great number of new and modern theatres constructed throughout this section during the past year; secondly—that the managers have adopted a policy of play- ing but one attraction weekly. This rule, which is most lmpor* tant, is strictly adhered to, serving as a protection to the managers by doing away with opposition and divides up the _buslness as well as keeping the public in mind. The remainder of the week Is given over to high class pic- tures and in a number of in- stances where the cities are large enough, to vaudeville. In California there are from three to ten weeks of good one night bookings. This depends upon the size and expense of the at- traction. The real big ones play but three weeks; others lcr.s expensive about six weeks and the smaller popular priced" only ten weeks. There is no slump at this time In business and the prospects are that the season will finish as well as it opened. Popula- tion is increasing rapidly. Crops, havo been abundant with high prices received. So there Is no reason for a letting down of these prosperous conditions. As population still further ln- creaset and the many new thea- tres now being constructed and con templet ed this condition Should even become better. So it Is. The west has fin.illy taken its pla^e In the spotlight Husiness Is great and will undoubt- edly keep that way so lonpr as the attractions sent out here are up to the standard. Further, the we<t is now producing f r the east. So lt goeg. Surely 1 old order change — - 1