Variety (June 1921)

» t VAUDEVILLE JPriday, June 3. 1921 g'l 7. LOWE ADMISSION PRICES WILL CAUSE REDUCED SALARIES Independent Circuit Head Predicts Both—^Waiting for Railroads to Cut Rates—Acts Holding Off on Routes—Battle Anticipated in West. A general .slice in tho salaries of vaudeville arts Is predicted before tlie opening of next season by one of the h<?adrt of one of the lar(?<st of the independent circuits. fAccordinfir tp this source, the , tho^tres can pol^ rpeet competition. ia,xcs and ptber"' obligations whJyoh ..accrued during the unusual pros- perous period of war time and after unless they reduce admission prices to app<^ase the public. Salaries of, acts Jumped more than 25 per cent, durl/ig the war on account of the depict ir»n mado by war ,work and the draft. Tlie ., amusement business received a . Btroi}g, stimulus through the high wages, with, the circuits raising , salaries iji proportion to the In- creased revenue. When the railroads were turned back by the government to the pri- vate owners the Loew Circuit de- clar**^ a general 10 per cent, in- crease on all outstanding contracts / to enable the artis^ to meet the ad- ditional transportation cost. Several of the other circuits granted lncrea.ses, which are still „ in force and have become part of the*established salary of the acts. For next season many routes have been offered at the old figures, the booking men taking the stand the railroads must reduce their scales as promised by the Harding admin- , Istratlon. The bookers have been discounting this expectation and an- ticlpating the lowering of admis- sions when offering acts bookings. The acts are slow to accept routes, preferring to wait until the rail- roads actually cut transportation costs and the new order begins to function before signing for the coming season. A battle Is anticipated In the west with the Orpheum and Junior Or- pheum houses in active competition with Loew, Pantages and their af- filiations. KEITH SUMMER GARDEN NOW OPEN IN SYRACUSE Free Cigarets, Root Beer, Music and Star-Light. : , Syracuse, June 1. The fight that Manager W. Day- ton Wepefarth of B. F. Keith's here is making to weather the summer drop In busincs.s Is a revelation In local theatricals. Coiiicidently with the price cut effective this week the Keith management Introdtjced its new surprise to patrons. It's a star-lit summer garden, used at the evening performances only. A large court way enclosed by the Keith theatre, the Glark Music Co. building i.nd the Cahlll building has been transformed Into a sum- mer gardon and promenade. A kiosk has been built in the center. Benches accommodate about 400. while several hundred more can stroll down the promenade. • The evening bill Is split into two parts, with a 10-mlnute intermis- sion. During that period the pa- trons are invited to step Into the' garden. As they pass out the men are pre.s€nted with free cigarets. At the kiosk there's free root beer for everybody. The Clark Music Co. furnishes a concert and music for dancing. I I .». IN BERLIN By C. HOOPER TRA8K. 1 JAY VELIE Pre.seivting a new, sclntilating singing and d a n c4 ^ g interlude, •"Mignonette." Management; Ros- alie Stewart, assistetl by four tal- ented beauties. Personable find Versatile, Jfcy Volie dances grace- fully, sings melodiously; and plays the piano w<?n, A rare combination, that why he's headlining Keith's 81st Street, New York, this week (May 30). Citsy Fitzgerald a Candidate. Los Angeles, June 1. Cissy Fitzgerald, she of the naughty wink of a decade or so ago, is about finished In picture.s. M?ss Fitzgerald is returning to Xew York within a short time and is going into vaudeville agan. 4 ..■'.-. ;>X/ ■:. :-4:- ^0;k-W^-^ «v/...'»)r PENNA. WONT RELAX STAGE CHILDREN LAW Governor Sproul Vetoes Bill Exempting Them. Harrisburg, June 1. An effort to put stage children in the same class as children em- ployed ou^.the farms or in domestic service In private homes has been made futllo by a veto by Governor Sproul of a bill that had that pur- pose in view. The bill amended the child labor law of 1915 which ex- empts farm and domestic service child workers and the amendment extended this exemption to "chil- dren employed on the stage of thea- tres with the approval of tho In- dustrial Board of the Department of Labor and Industry." The Governor in his veto mes- sage said: "I think it unwise to weaken the child labor law at any point. To give exemption therefror- to chil- dren employed on the stage would certainly impair the general effi- cacy of these protective statutes. "Moreover, It would surely be un- wise to impose upon the Industrial Board such powers and duties 'as here proposed. That board now has authority by due rules and regulations to forbid the employ- ment of minors of certain ages In employments other than those enu- merated by the child labor law whenever necessary to safeguard morals or health, but that power as now conferred under the child labor law deals with classes of em- ployment. This bill permits the board to exempt childrej. from the act entirely, in order to engage in one kind of employment. Thi.s would prove unfortunate in prac- tice, subjecting the board to nu- merous appeals to grant such dis- pensation. It is no proper function of the Industrial Board to sit in judgment upon Individual cases as to whether the law should or should not apply to them." ■ VAN HOVEN-SUN FEUD. Declared Off.— Comedy Magician to , Play Springfield Week. DONALD R. KERR T^st Monday tiight returned 'to Itrondway and was the s.ime tre- • nuiidous suice.ss iluit he was last sea.son In the "Little Blue Devil." - ALAN DALK, N. Y. American. I Proclaimed V>y i»r<^ss ami public to be as great mn any eccentric and acjobatlc danctr mvu on I'.roailway. DuriTig his spare time he is pro- iluclng dauc< H for .Movcral l>i(»ad\vay stars. To l.e seen with "Greenwich Village F(tllit.-«" luxi sea.son. ' .Now appearing in •Sun-Kist" at the Globe, New York. ' . £60 FOR MISS LA RUE. M>r*.A,ft....>^^> .•».. •■» Going Abroad to Show at Coliseum, London. C.YHLA} I«i T*ue wIjo .sailed for I'ng- laud Ijist w< < k prcsim».'»bl\' on a pleasure trip, liafl"*?*-* n bookrd V>y • he II. B. Marinelii olD^c for a .show ,:nft at the. Culiseuni, London, po'ffids was tho amount slii 'or the shoeing dafo, fui'th i?)gs and .salary to <lei)rn<T ©ulconie of ihc Irialwec' Vv SHUBERTS PROMISE List of Cities and Houses for Shu bcrt Vaudeville Coming. Our if tii<> stalf m* n tonn«Htrd \\ith til* iMxiliings of the announced Sliub'it vaudeville, says the Shu- bcrts \v>il i.sauc witliin tho next two w^iks a list of the cities, wit"; the theatres' names, they intend to ]>r<'- sent llxir vaU<lovillc in n(xt s»Mson. Frank \'an Iloven will play a week for Gus Siin next fall af .Springfield, Oiiio. The manager will make the occa.sion a celebration, calling It the Sun-Van Hoven week fnr whroh he htun pr«->niilsv"d to offer the "biggest show ever.' Sun saw Van Iloven on the stage in Dayton several weeks ago for the first time. He was introduced to the comedy-magician and they dined together during the week. It is tfue that 10 years ago V'an ITovcn was closed after his first show In no less than four Sun houses. Ever since then he has kidd< <1 the Sun Circuit in his a'^t. Sotne believe this kidding boomcranged into missionary publicity that made the Sun houses well known. In any event. Sun declared that the ftud' between him and Van Hov«n is off. ONE DAILY AT PARK ' _ Grand Hapid"*, Juiii* 1 Th»' Ramona Theatre i T.n i<» management is trying a new ])oli«\v for entertainment. It plays vaude- ville in the afternoon and opera at night, with the people of both ends I'ceeiving full sal.'iry, , Berlin, May 4. April 15 at the Kuenstler Theatre Victor Barnowskl revived Carl Sternhelm's reworking of Diderot's "The MarQuiso of Arclf/' The cast Included Leopoldin Con- stantino and Conrad Veldt; Julius E. Hermann had the direction. A play that needed subtlety, delicacy, finish, received overstresseck melo- dramatic acting, direction of the town hall dramatic association brand, scenery that by its medi- ocrity positively annoyed. The play, however, has an excel- lent plot, pointed dialog, and gives splendid acting opportunities. The plot concerns the revenge of tho Marquise of Pommeraye against the Marquls'of Arcis. By his failure to keep several appointments the Mar- flQlsc realizes that the Marquis has ost Interest In her after an affair of three years' standing. To make sure, she tells him that she Is bored and wishes to discontinue their re- lationship. He acquiesces only too readily. Then the Marquise gets hold of Henrlette Duquenoy (17, of a respectable middle class family, who has sold herself to several men In order to save her mother from star\'atlon), throws her In the Mar- tiuls* wa', and finally gets him to marry her by having the girl play the demure, unapproachable tvpe. On the wedding nl^^ht the Marqijico tells her former lover what he has In reality married. The Marquis, very proud of his family honor, at first starts to kill Henrlette, but then, realizing that she is not to blame, takes her in his arms as the true Marquise of Arcis. Business fair, Georg Kai.ser's play, "From Morning to Midnight." was revived April 18 at tho Lcsslng Theatre. It still remains, if not the best, at least the most popular of this author's plays. The plot concerns a bank cashier, seemingly a machine in^ sensible to all stimuli, who is roused from his inanimate state by the sight of a handsome woman whom he wrongly believes to be a prostitute. Ho steals sixty thou- sand from the bank and rushes to her hotel room, where he learns his mistake too late. Then with the sixty he tries "from morning to midnight" all the things that money can buy—power, woman, wine—and finds them only delusions. At last he comes to a Salvation Army meet- ing, confesses and throws his money to the crowd. They scram- ble for It like mad beasts, and a Salvation Army lass, so that she may claim the reward, brings a po- liceman to arrest him. Before he can be taken, however, he commits suicide. The play Is powerfully written and glints with a dazzling sardonic humor, which pas.sed neatly over the audience's head. It Is weakest during the scenes where woman and power are the butt; the final scene, though, fully retrieves this slight lowering.. The present production Is not phenomenal. Albert Granach's Cashier starts well, but descends ater to the beloved German shout- ng. Victor Barnowskls direction Is too indefinite, and Cesar Klein as scenic designer Ig arty and flaccid. Doing well. ert. The play seems to have aged %j bit, and discernible crcaklngs may; be heard as the machinery revolvet^t Arnold Korff's Devil is 41 hylsTit bit- of eye rolling and Hanna Ralph a« the heroine I9 Juscious ujider th^ famous evening wrap. Well staged. Business adequate. The latest Pola Negri-Ernst Lu« bitch film farce, "The Mountain Caf^ (Ufa Palast am Zoo, April 14) cer- tainly did not deserve the very se- vere critical drubbing It received in the Berlin press. The scenario centers about two figures — Rlschka (Pola " Negri), leader of a mountain dwelling rob- ber band, and Lieutenant A4exli (Paul rieidertiann), the gay, youna heartbreaker.* They meet, ith«j| love, b*it she sacrifices herself, for his sake and leaves him to marry '• the General's-.daughter. As ypii can see, no real'plot, but rnerel^ a rack on which ' to 'hang burlesque on militarism, ort the convent^nal emoting of the film drama.' '<Th» slight modicum of musty old hdkum which is ivesent (as In all .'/>ver two-reel comics) Is easily ..forgjvei for In ma;iy sc,er\es as higj\ a levf of ludic.rosity is touched as Ih^^flT has as yet had the good fttrtuWe reach. for* instance, one tiflgi mention Ihe military expedftic against the robbers, in whicULtl accompanying: brass band outitiL hers the, soldiers two to ona^.^ai which, ^U^ugh an utter, roul celebrated as a victory at the garrl^ son. But the best moment is atur- lesque weddih^ between mschka and one of the robbers;*the-coMtasi between The Alps, bedraggled/fur- coats and battered tophata-is.4K>8i- tively colossah , f 1 . ,1* Lubltsch as dlrectpi* has aoM much that, is brilliant and orlCTnal, but didn't dnce catch just th^-'^g. gestlon of the development of tbs mannerism, the awful advent ol ths rubber stamp. ..^ Pola Negri Is, as usual, charminff and very easy; she, however, playi the part too straight; for" fares seriousness is good, but it must b« heightened and broadened. Paul Heidemann has a pleasant film dct- sonality, which should take well il| America. J Theodore Sparkuhl's photogmp Is clear throughout, and aohjevtf great beauty In colored Prlzma^squ* shots of a firework display at night Ernst Stern, as scenic designer, has enlivened the exteriors, actuallr taken on an Alplae glacier, bf framing them in odd eccentric anfll- larities, and his interiors have s grotesque comicality that sustalni and heightens the mood of th« scenario. On April 10 Max Reinhardt staged August Stramm's "Power" at the Kammerspiele. This is Relnhardt's first try at an expressionistic play, and probably his last. Tho Idea of the dramatist is to extract as many words as pos.sible from the dialog and so it contains chiefiy of such exquisite lines as "I," "Door" "Wet." The plot (sic) in utterl'y demented. The only excuse for such a contraption Is that it gives the director a chance to do somo- !.!l\"*^ J''""^*"*^' ^^ Je.ssner did in The True Sedemun.sa." But Rein- hardt directed It In the old .school realistic unstylized manner with Interminable lifeless pauses. The cast included four of the best play- ers In Germany-AKnes Straub. Helene Thimig, Kugen Kloepfer. Hermann Tliimlg. The Volkshhuene on April 15 staged Sophocles' "Antigone." The ."cenery is mlcfjuate, 'he Antigone of Mary l)!rtrich Is restrained and sympathetic, E. Stahl-Nachhaur rants the Creon and the chorus Is spirited and well tempoed. But why a production of this essentially un- dramatic poem and why do people attend It under the Impres.sion that they are receiving pleasure from th<» ordeal? Reinhardt ha.M revived his old standby, the "Micisummer Night's Dream.' ag.'>in (.\pril 20, and this time at the (Irossis Schau.spi* Uiaus It was a pity from an artistic point of view, aa he really had nothing new to add. The jfcneral production Is rather wearisome, due larsrrly to (he Inordinate amount of hif'-rior dancing in it. Hermann Thiini«'.s r.ottom is amusing, but too a«Tr>- liatic and hurri«'d in tempo; un^ tlon and poise are ••leineiit.s ess<ntial to 1 rounded performance of this ro'** P.ut bu.slne.sH In tremendous -so there you are! On April 15, at the Theater aa Nollendorf Platz, a new operetta, "The Cousin from Whatdoyou- calllt" (Die Vetter aus Dingada), by Eduard Kuennecke, was given a very successful premiere. Tha libretto is very evident, but it suf- fices. A rich heiress longs for he* childhood lover, who has been ab- sent for seven years. Her uncl^ however, wishes her to marry hl» nephew from Dingsda, whom he hai never seen. A mysterious strangtr appears in the garden, and ne an4 the heiress fall In love. Ho telli her he is the long lost lover, but turns out to be the cousin. Then later tho lover appears and marrlet a friend of the heiress. The lyrici are bright and witty, and the rao^ combines a sure popular appeal with an almost operatic effectlva- nes.s. An excellent ensemble in* eluded Lorl Leux, Ilsa Mareenga. Johannes. Mueller. Fernac Molnar'n "The Devil" was revived April 17 at tho Tribuene under the direction of Eugen Rob- Lothar Schmidt's farce, "Only a Dream," was revived April 22 at tba Kleines theater under tho directloB of the Rotters. Wittily written, but probably one of the five oldest ploti in existence. A husband and wift both break tho marriage bond wltft the best friend of the other. Wh«a the husliand tells the wife she h9» lieves him, but when she in retura tells him of her affair he thinkf she Is only joking. Curtain. The cast (Mamelock, Eugen Burg, OlgJ Limburg. .Julius Falkensteln) played brilliantly under Burg's direction. A money-maker at this small the- atre. "Rosa Bernd" (April 24) li.is been finally produced at tho Neues Volk« theatre. Cast (Rose Lichtensteini Manfred Fur.st, Beate Fink) and the direction (Hans Brqihm) were not t o well received, but the play, one of Hauptmann's early works, isstm undirrtmed by the years. A perfect piece of work, both technically anfl psychologically! Coming Productions. Hollaonder management: Ope^ ing of the summer season under thi direction of Carl Heine and Kan itosfn. Deutsches theatre: Monta- gue Glass' "Potash and Peilinutteri Potash. Carl Etlinger; perlmuttef, Paul (Jraetz; Christlany, Kupfer. Nunberg, Hannemann; director, Iwan Sthmldt. Kamniersplc «• Bernard Shaw's '•Afesallinnee,' wita Gupl.MtorlT, Edthofer. Sihwi^^^rj. Paulsen, Lucas, Eberty. U^K'^'J P'elsing; director, Berijai'l liP»c»^ Early part of May. . "Ufa I'ala.st am Zoo." a Him ver^ sion. of Roinain RollandV "I>>"M»n. (Continued on pup;* 0)