Variety (April 1922)

Friday, April 14, 1922 CABLES SiRANDED IN FAR EAST; WONT TAKE 40 P. C. CUT British Opera Co. Broke in Java—Comedy Troupe Prosperous London, April 1 For some time past the affairs of the Waring: Opera Co. have been agitating the mind of the profcs- aion This company operated In India and the Far East and the news that it was "stranded" In Java came like a bombshell. The Situation was not too cheerful at home. Inquiries In a reliable quar- ter have elicited something of the truth of the matter. The Waring Comedy Co. went out and did exceedingly well, their capl- UI amounting to one lac of rupees tuscribed by important Calcutta bu8lnes.s men. Inspired by this, the same baclcers put up another two lacs, making the capital of the Waring organization roughly £18,- 000 and brought out the Waring Opera Co. Each company was on its own—the coriedy crowd with one lac. the musical people with two. While the comedy company was in China the opera company opened in India and Immediately flopped. It was unwieldy and had neither particular beauty or talent Business got worse and worso. The salary list was over $9,000 weekly, while tlie theatres they visited could, if packed to capacity, hold 2.000.' The registered capital soon went, so did money personally ad- vanced by the directors and so did money advanced by the manager of the comedy show. * Two weeks in arrears of salary,^ the company Insisted on going to Java, where big business was ex- pected. This did not come ofi. and the original directors again offered to run on If the artists would take a 40 per cent, cut, "leaving a good salary for anyone of them." They refused and the directors went broke in their own defence. It was then that the three Actors Association members out of a com- pany of twenty-seven cabled home that they were stranded. The gov- ernment's representatives In the East made arrangements to send them home, all hotel bills, etc.. were paid, and the old directors made them a personal present of '£10 each for pocket money. Con- certs and other matters broug'..t them in about another £10. and so they came home, where their full arrears of salary v.'er'» paid within a month. If It had not been for their In- ■Istenc© on going to Java there would have been no trouble, but their trip around the \.orld would have been somevhat curtailed, they would not have had the proceeds of concerts and Masonic sympathy as pocket money, nor would they have had their salaries to draw here. The corned: company has Just returned, having done wonder- fully pood business, although not as good as that on their previous trip, which was during the days of war prosperity. FRENCH AGENTS' FEES No Commlttion Limit on Salaries Beyond 10,000 Francs a Week Paris, April 12. The legal commissions now chargeable* i)y agents for legitimate, revised by the recent police circu- lar after consultations with the various syndicates and managers' association, arc: For monthly engagements not ex- ceeding 500 francs, 2 per cent; over 500 and less than 800 francs, 3 per cent; over 800 and less than 1,500 francs, 4 per cent; over 1,500 and less than 3.000 francs, 5 per cent; 8,000 to G.OOO francs, 8 per cent; over 6.000 to 10,000 francs, 10 per cent. Over 10,000 francs full free- dom between the parties. For single performances to 500 francs, 5 p-'r cent; over 500 to 1,000 francs, 6 per cent: over 1.000 to 2 000, 10 per cent. No fixed tariff when over 2,000 francs per show. Vaudeville commissions have al- ready been reported and can be briefly repeated as being le:.H than 500 francs per montli, 2 per cent; over 500 to 1.000 francs. 5 per cent, ai>d over 1,000 francs, 10 per cent. AMERICANS IN EUROPE Paris, April 2. Enid Watkins, soprano winner at the American music conservatory of Fontainebleau last year, Is re- maining in Paris to sing at local concerts. Joseph Jenkins, tenor. Is also in the French capital. Among other visitors are Aflolph Ochs, owner of the New York Times. Rachel Crothcrs, authoress, ac- companied by Mary Kirkpatrlck, of New York, have arrived in Paris. Frances Doble, daughter of Arthur Doble, of Montreal, makes a stage debut in London, in the French com- edy, "The Man in Dress Clothe.^." at the Garrick, with Seymour Ilicks. Mrs. George A. Kessler has been called from Europe by Ihc Illness of her mother In California. MUSIC HALL REVIVAL ; Paris, April 12. . The Salle Marivaux, now a pic- ture house, will probably offer ^ vaudeville In the future, fulfilling i|^ the original purpose for which it I was built during the war. II It is also a foregoing conclusion a number of pictures will be shown three evt-nings of the week, the other four being devoted to music hall programs. LONDON By IVAN P. GORE London, April 2. • erally thought to have t.'ihon a so\ oi The duplication of performances has been suggested as a means of further coping with the widespread unemployment. The Idea was that West End managers should produce new plays with two companies, one for matinees, another for evening sliows. Also that I^ondon produc- tions should bo duplicated by sim- ultaneous presentations in tke big provincial cities. The Idea has sonrething in It from the point of view of the actors, but the managers won't bite. years' lease only two years ago. After tne Lauder season at Princes, wliieh contiuonceH East*»r Monday. April 17. C. B. Cochran will present Lucieii Ciuitry, Sacha Cluitry and Yvonne Printemps In a series of I' rench plays. B .EMMA LINDSEY I'RKSK.VTING SULTAN , F. Keith's 81st St.. New York. This Week (April 10) Direction JERRY HITCHCOCK RISKY PLOTS MARK NEW PARIS PLAYS Two of Spring Productions Hinge on Domestic Prob- lem idea The A'audeville Club clo.sed March L'3. A new club will shortly open close to the old one, but will be run on difft-rent lines. The old place, despite its association, had gone down conaideraWy of late. The 'stars" who should have supported it seemed to fight shy. f DEATHS ABROAD Denys Cochin, French .senator, au- thor and member of the Academic des Sciences Morales et I'olitiiiucs, died in l»aris. aged 71. Leon Ceniot, comic, professionally known as Leonce, died at Arras. France, from the effects of wounds received durinf: the war. Luther Munday died March 29 in London. Practically unknown to the present generation, he was a Pill-«r of .'tren^th in the '"Kr.'ut days" of the London ."-tage. I'or year.s lie ^as manaKer for Sir Cliar'.r-s Wynd- J»Jim and for Sir Herbert r„M'rbohn •Iree. and lii« range of frknds aiul ^f'qu iiiiiances ^vas vari- l atid ic- ni.ivkalil«'. iJora Im mr,7. ho was ly turn-- a tiamp. an able seaman, a police •"n-table, a mctropolHan fir»'tnan, a chf.riwter in fc;t. Paul's Cathedral. «nd the chairman of a free-and-ca.'-y London music hall. FILM HOUSES QUIT (Continued from page 1) standing the padded mailing lists carrying upwards of 15,000 names and locations. This month the Hill organization sent the stereotyped Questionnaire to each manager and theatre lis>ted in last year's guide and out of the 10.000 listed upward of 2.100 were returned undelivered. Realizing this meant the elimination of more than 20 per cent, of the total, Hill fol- lowed the query up with a letter addressed to the postmaster of each town where letters were undeliv- ered. One Is Now Morgue The return brought olllcial an- swers from all but a few of the 2.100 odd locations, with the admis- ory comment that practically all the theatres had been converted into various other line? of business, the return answers adding that the lo- cations were now butcher shops, garages, warehouses, grocery stores and every other conceivable type of commercial enterprise, many be- ing demolished with now buildings erected in their stead. One answer carried the information the picture house was now the town morgue. To offset this deterioration noth- ing in the way of new buildings has been recorded of any conseQucnce. Those who have made a study of the turnover express the opinion that wartime prosperity with am- munition plants and mills, factories and industrial concerns of all types, fattening on government contracts, brought in a surplus of small the- atres, but with conditions returning to normalcy, the little fellow with the inferior program was slowly but surely crowded out by the bet- ter grade theatre with better grade programs and now wliere there wore once four or livo theatres tiiere is but one surviving and this providing a program ch.ange twice or thrict weekly. V Another condition that helped crowd out the small exhil)ifor was the ."udden determination of the small time vaudeville thcntio to play pictures only. The si>lit-\ve«k vaudeville hous#s slowly began to suffer and the program of acts cost- ing from $300 to $1,000 weekly be- Kan to .disai>pear and in tlioir place feature pictures \v;^re rnib.slitut'd. With a reasonably l.irge capacity the manager couM (tit bis operat- ing expenses and ;:dmiJ.-ioi. ar.d still outl)id the small .-xliibitor f.T I)atronage un the basis of cttialJly entertainment. Hills finei\- nl-o b-onglit f«»rtli the fact that the majority oi houses of the small t\ pe (hant;«-ti owner- ship three or four limes ycatly, sug- gesting that speculators were on the job during the prosperous times. Paris. April 12. Two of the three new plays have the rex problem angle and are risque in idea. The third is a melo- drama of the Communist regime in Russia. "Angevine," produced Ai)ril 3. has to do with the adventures of a modest girl studeat who in a lark accepts the invitation of a wealthy nobleman to attend his house- warming and play hostess in place of his mistress. She resists tempta- tion atid by clever maneuvering marries the baron's nephew. The title is the nickname given to the baron by his gay friends. , Mme. Cora Laparcerie produced at the Renaissance on April 7 a new work by Charles Mere, *'I..a Femme Masquee" ("The Masked Woman"), to replace "The Danseuse Rouge." The piece by the author of "La I'lamme" (still running at the Am- b' ;u) met with a good reception. Leading roles are played by Cleorges Colin, Mauloy, MYnes. Sylvlac, Clor- maino Sombray and Lai^rcerle. The plot: A millionaire covets the wife of nis doctor, and during a party at which the women are masked he threatens the husband with ruin unless the husband con- sents to her becoming his mistress. The wife indignantly refu.ses and during the discussion it develops that the millionaire Is afflicted with a mortal malady and has only a short time to live. Tho millionaire spends what re- mains of life in debauchery and dies, leaving hi~ fortune to the doctor's wife, thus compromising her. Al- tl ough a priest and the husband ."Aiggest that the money be accepted for charity when it is dear that the wife was Innocent, sho declines, preferring to livo modestly, after pardoning his previous rapacity. There Is a sensational scene where tne rich man is lold of Ids doom and another strong climax when the wife suspects her husband's will- ingness to compromise. Tho Theatre des Arts produced "Xatchalo" April 8. It li a new piece by Andre Salmon and H. Sau- nicr, produced by Henry Burguet. It was received with evidence of a fair success. Messrs. Parry, Baur and Carpen- ter and Kva Francis and Ro.se Raur head the cast and unfold a story of Rusisa under the Communist re- Kime. Xatchalo, educated and a philoirf»phcr, serves as a revolu- tionary spy during the reign of the Czar. Frequenting cabarets to leurn police secrets she meets and fall.^ In love with IX'l.'innoy, a French offi- cer. Later Natdialo becomes head of the Moscow People's Commission and. meeting Delannoy. denounces hi.Mi. althou;:h she i.-» still in love. .Kbe finally assists Helannoy's son :o in ilvc possible his fathers e'A-ripe. The opening program of vaudeville at the Alhambra consists of: l^lla Retford, Renee Kelly In "The Dicky Rird,' Will Fyffe. Dixie and John, .loe Cohan and Anna Dorothy, J. C Class and Mamie CIrant, Syd. How- ard, tho 10 Loonies, the 10 Tazser- woullths. The following week's in- cludes: Hetty King, the New York Havana Rand, Herbert Clifton, (iene (Jerrard, Ja'sH^ Henson, and Tom Waters Co., Doris Lee and Klsie Steadman, Mutt and Jclf, and Dan Whitley. The.se 8i»ecimen programs and the fact that the theatre is re- turning to the "rover ticket" system seems to indicate that we are going to have a real old-fashioned music liall agnln in the West Knd. Tile i»roducing societies are etill busy, aatiough it is getting tiome- wliui late in uie season. One would not think ho iiom the weather. The Interlude I'layers aie prepar»ng to produce 'Air. Siudley Revokes," al the King3 Hall (National Sporting Club), wnilo the Playwrights Thea- tre will shortly present u triple bill at the Kmgsway. Their program consists ot 'Washed Ashore,' by l>o:oihy Massmgham; 'Iho Girl in tho Cii>" and 'ihiriy Mmutes in a Street,' boili by Beatrice Mayor. Kdward I^uriltard has fixed April 19 for the production of 'Love's Awakening'' at the Fmpire. The cast includes Juliette Aulran. Betty Chester. Marjorie Clordon. Amy Augarde, Vera Pearce. Billy Lc»on- ard, Harry Brindle and Fdouard Lestan. The newly decorated and partly rebuilt Drury Lane will rejpen April 20 with "The Decameron Nights." "A Lass o' Laughter." which was produced recently at tlie little pro- vincial town of Leamington, will be presented by Sir Alfred Butt at the Queens April 29. The j>lay is the work of two authoresses. Nan Mar- riott Watson and Kdllh Carter, who. becoming weary of getting their manuscript back from managers and so-called agent.s. persuaded the owner of the country theatre to give them a week. The cast of "The Dippers," with which Cyril Maude starts a provin- cial tour in Liverpool April 10 prior to the West Knd productions, con- sists of Cyril Maude in the leading part. Hermlone CJrlngold, Haw- thorne Wood, Lola Gelardl, Dorothy Debenham, Winifred McCarthj^ and others. The Co-Optlmlsts at the Palace are rehearsing yet another edition. Three items from the existing show only will be retained. The second half will consist of new numbers. Including a dramatic version oC "Poor Cock Robin." by Sewell Col- lins. The performance will conclude with a burlesque on one of Laddie Cliff's biggest successes entitled* "Too Much Coal Black Mammy/* J. T. Crein's company of I'rcncli iMaj ers will appear at the Court loi their annual iiiauneo sea.son, com- mencing Ai»ril :i4. AnUrce J'asral ot tlie Tlieaite Saiah Bernhardt will be leading woman, while the supporting company v. ill l>o recruited in Lon- don. lUe season will last lour weeks land will iioi interfere with the pres- ent aeaaon ot CJulsworlhy ie\ival3. The new Grand Gulgnol series, whleh Jose Levy is rehearsing at the I^ittle, will include a revival of "Heard at the Telephone." which the late Charles Warner produced at Wyndhams over 20 yearn ago. and which he pr^sentced in vaudeville in America about 15 year« past. Waller Hackett, author of tho Cri- terion succe.sa "Air. Applejohn s Ad- venture,' has reiired iruni iiis post as prjducer of A. 10. W. *\iason's pluy • Jtunning \\ ater," which J. K. \ eiirenno wul present at \\yna- hams, with i-Alna, Best aa leading woman.. He is succeeded by Nor- man I'aeje. Bromley Cliailoner is producing a new comedy, 'New Wives lor Uid," by Kric liudson. Tlio producer iia.s long been touring ' Wnen Knights Were Bold," with periodic W est l-Jud revivals. Lddio \'ogt, who opened at the Victoria I'aiaco a lorinight ago, is not iiiAVing lite bc^l of luck Willi 'A Dre-sa Itehearsal." Tho show is Momewiiat above the lieads of pop- ular Lnglisli audiences, much oC tiie language is as bo much Hindustani to them, and the fact of a principal comedian v.ori;ing from the front of tho houye is too great a novelty to be assimilated easily. If it does not "click' and has to come off, JOddie Vogt will bo seen in London revue, to .star in v.hich ho has had several offers. Tho one-time notorious liaunt of ttio Hash d(.-mi-mo.ndaine, the croolc and the moneyed fool wlio thought ho was seeing life, tho Hotel de L'Europe, after a brief existence as tho re.';]»ectable Victory, hotel, will shortly become the headquarters of the National Society for the I're- \eniion of Cruelty to Children, Jam<*s While has taken over the Shaftsbury for the production of hia new musical piece "A Whirl of Hap- plnes.4," and rehearsals will com- mence toward the end of April. Lily St. John win l)e tho leatling lady, and the principle comedian, Billy Merson, will be taken from vaude- ville. Some West Knd theatres are cheapening the prices of their se.ats. The jvingswa.v, where "The Yellow Jacket" lias been successfully re- vived, is also deducting tho tax, which is tho great topic of the day In managerial quarters. At the Queens, pit stalls can now be had for five shillings and nine-pence, and almost everywhere the dejnand for upper circle seats is greater than the supply. Pit stalls especially are a sort of managerial pandering to snobbishness. A certain class of playgoer was too big for the pit, which involved waiting with all classes of the public, yet the liank book would not run to the stalls, so i^e management took away some of the old pit seats, reupholstered them, doubled tho price, called them "pit stalls" and everyone was satis- fied. The .sittings of this ye.ir's com- mittee on the Performing At)imalfl Acts are over and General colvin antl his associates are consbb^ring what report to make to the Houss of Commons. Arr.cric.Tn Playlet in Paris Pari.^, April 2. A shart T»i"ce try <^'onst.aii(t Loan - l«ry, 'Viol.inta." Will f'»rm part of the new program at the little NOu- \eau theatre, in which "Circles," by fU-i^rf:^"' Mi'ldlelor. Will likowise bo seen. lof>. W hen the run of "I'addy the Next Best Thing' eventually Inisbes at the Savoy tho theatre will pass into tho hands of Lyn Harding and J)cnys CJrayson. who will produce 'The Card I'layers." the last work of tlie juto C, H iddon Chaml>ers. 'I'iie play will be produced by Dion Boiieiraull and Oodfrey Tearle will Ije ill!' b-adiiig man, Phiilip Michael F.araday'.s lea.^c of llie Duke of Voi ke'.s expiies af the e.ad of .April, but before then I'in- ero'.s "Tlie Knchanted Cottage." will have cease<l to enchant, although Its I>ro(]'.i^erH are supjiosed to be look- ing for another theatre. This ter- mination of l-'aiad ly's lease is .some- what of a surpr1»<\ for ho was gen- "SALLY'S" RECORD (Continued from 2>age 1) opening in September, 1919, after being dark three weeks during the actors' strike, the admission was in- creased to 13. "Lightnin*" ended its run Aug. 27, 1921, the original company moving to Chicago, where it is still playing. The scale for "Sall.v" has been $3.50 from the premiere, Dec. 21, 1920, the only de, viatlons being for New Year's eve and one other performance. in the number of actual v^eoks played "Irene" exceeds "Sally" by l.» weelcs. It having run 85 weeks at the Vanderbllt, which is the Anier- l< an run record for musical shows. Its pro.^s^'as $1,297,502. the avetage being about one-half of 'Sally." The .same scale was used by both a' tractions. The Vand>rbllt. how- e\er. has a '•eating capacity of 7S0. not much more than half of the New Ani^l^'rdam. Watch for FRANK VAN HOVEN'S BIG ADV. Next Week