Variety (December 1922)

nth ANNIVERSARY 132 PAGES ,"<-;iK ,./ yu- ^1* ^ •■r^-5 •A* Publishf>d AVeeklr «t 1S4 Want ISlh St.. New Terk. N. T., bf Variety. Inc. Annual aubBoriptlon $7. Single copies 20 cents. Entered aa aecond ctaas matter December 22. 1995. at the Poit Office at New Torki N. T., under the Act oC Blarch S. ItTft. mf^ VOL. LXIX. No. 6 NEW YORK CITY, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 29.1922 BRICE 20 CENTS WEALTH OF BROADWAY HITS I ntH I nL i n H u li-shubert act" ijack" SOGCESSES Artist Sent For, Following Ad- I vertisement in Variety—Ex- I . planations Made fc J^ljr. Last Season Failures *" Ran From One to Three Weekly ^-Gross Business Also Bettered So Far This Season in New York—In- dications Point to Eren Brighter 23-24—Strength of Dramatics — Shake- speare's Comeback WEEKLY AVERAGE The first third of the season is al- most a complete reversal of the same period last year, when failures came •o fast, not a week, but from one to three productions died in their tracks. Now, dating from early Novem- ber, a wealth of hits reached Broadway. Business picked up with their advent, proving the theory of howmen that successes stimulate terest generally at the box offices. The volume of business in New ork's legit houses this fall toppled the dope that the poor last half of [aat season provided. Grosse» liave «qualled the marks of last season and bettered them, while indica- tions point invitingly towards-a bet- ter season in 1923-24. ,The strength of the dramatic di- vision is an outstanding feature of the Broadway season. Big money drawn by such attractions has been [invigorating to production of a much igher grade than h?is been true in ny seasons. Plays of foreign rlgln are among the elite of the Its, but the success of made-in- erica plays outpoints the im- rtatlons. as always. Dead 300 years Shakespeare has come to life long Broadway. Never before wag the work of the Immortal Bard so alluring tO managers, and never have his playn been given such pro- ductions. Juliets, Shyl >cks a'nH Hamlet.«4 are beginninpr to stalk through the halls of nro.adway. There are three special pryiluctions of Shakespeare on the boards con- »currently aiul three times as many are promised before spring. The stars of the native drama are the I stars of the Shakespearean presen- r tfStns. nnd $3 nnrl ft is being 1 '^iCoiitiinied on page 18) According to report. Defro.. the pWno-accordionIsC will be the first Shubert act to be taken back byi the Keith office. To date none of the acta that have played Shubert vaudeville or Shubert units • has b^n given bookings by the Keith circuit. ^' '; Deirp, following the publication last week of an advertisement In Variety, received a letter from one of the Keith executives requesting the musician to call at the Keith office in reference to bool^ingsr ac- cording to the artist. The Keith people have maintained that none of the acts going over to the Shubert circuit was missed from the Keith bills. New mate- rial has been developed to replace the absentees, with the result the Keith office, despite numerous "re- quests," claim they haven't open time for the majority of the former Keith acts that went over to the Oi>po8itlon circuit. The booking of Delro, according to all concerned, followed his state- ment of facts concerning his ap- pearances |br the Shul>erts in the advertisement after repeated failure on the part of the artist to get a hearing^ in the Keith office. Fol- lowing the publication of the adver- tisement the artist's representative was summoned and the facts were thrashed out. The restoration- of the turn to good standing in the Keith office followed. COUTHODI AGENCIES IN CHICAGO V- ■? r. BARRED BY "SYNDICATE HOUSES" Mrs. Couthoui's Xmas Present From Harris-Powers Muiagement—No Tickets From Colonial, Powers, Blackstone and Illinois—Result pf Local Daily Newspaper Campaign Taken From Viurirt^'s J"- side Stuff on Ticket Manipulations ^ ; The opening gun In the ticket agencies, iL was thought the Inde- t DeCOURVILLE'S COMEDY LACKS ENTERTAINMENT V Everything Else — Brilliant Cast, Staging and Scenery. UnlikelV to Enjoy Favor • I«ondon. Dec. 26. "i^rlcquln." at the Kmpire, Dec. 21, prodi^^ced.by Albert de Courville OS his London come-back, waa re- \ealed as a semi-poetic comedy fantasy from the French, with everything but entertainment in it. The cast is brilliant, the scenery gorgeous and the staging artistic, but the performance is monotonous and the entertainment doleful. The show seems unlikely to enjoy popular patronage. . ' * scalpers' warfare, conducted by the Loop theatre managers, was fired Clhristmas Eve, causing the first actual belief that the Couthoui agencies are going to have trouble if the successive shots do not back- fire.' -, ■.. .. ^-^ ^,.1 -^y The range of the first shot not only struck the Couthoui agencies, but penetrated the ranks of all the independent ticket brokers. Through the Harris-Powers head- quarters, the Couthoui agencies were notified for a Christmas pres- ent that they will no longer be con- sidered as branch offices of the Colonial, Powers, Illinois and Black- stone theatres. Harris-Powers did the issuing of the mandate, which carried with It emphatic instruc- tions the Couthoui agencies will not be called into private consultations for consideration of promising "boys" or any other arrangements that proved the theatres and Couthoui agencies are partners in ticket deals. Mrs. Couthoui was plainly in^ formed she need no longer send her assistants to any of the al>ove four mentioned theatres for tickets. In other words, there will be no tickets for attractions playing the Colonial. Powers. Illinois and Blnckstone at any of the Couthoui stands. It is alleged around the theatres that the Couthoui "diggers' will again be employed, as they were several seasons ago, ^hen the hotels were barred from co-operative work with the Powers houses. These re- ports came from the Couthoui yide of the warfare. After the Couthoui agencies were thuhly informed with the unex- pected stand of the Powers and Krlar.ger house, the Ir.dependent brokers were sent for and duly noti- fied that they were also barred from any trannactions with the theatres known as the "syndicate houses." At first when the stand was an- nounced against the Couthoui pendents would come into their own and have the inside track for the tickets for the mentioned theatres, but the Powers and Erlanger man- agements have made a clean sweep of the whole field, instructing the treasures of the move and arrang- ing to hkve special officers to keep the "diggers" away from in front of the theatres. This latest move results from a constant local newspaper campaign, devised from the inside facts Vari- ety has been carrying on for the past six months about agency ticket handling. It also means the situa- tion will be forHhe betterment of the local conditions, making hits go as "hits' and "flops" as "flops." It will also hold down tho price of tickets, giving the playgoers their first real chance in years. Inside reports are that Flo Zieg- feld had much to do with the turn of affairs. It is known he made a stern stand against tickets for "Sally'*^ being given the Couthoui agency. The failure of "Good Morning, Dearie." and the extensive howling over tickets for the "Music Box Revue," which were given to the Couthoui agencies for extended rates (causing the box office price to be placed at |4.2S), hurried the functioning of the latest move con- sidered the most important in the theatre in years in Chicago. With the powerful Powers and Erlanger houses backing up the in- dependent houses In the fight against the box office scalpers. It is foregone, in the estimation of show- men here, that the Couthoui offices are really up against/It for the first time in their long and successful career for dictating the box office policies which have al most ruined local legit show business. ''CLEAN" MEDKINESBOW MAY CLEA)) UP OTHEKS SI for Medicine at fiW Times- Can Play Return En- , gsTgements V Milwaukee. Wis., Dec. e<- The medicine show business Is starting to develop a reform withia Itself, according to Bobby Carroll, blackface comedian, who Is with the Duncan comedy company, lay- ing off here for a Christmas holiday. Carroll is with a "clean show," and says there is a strong movement within the medicine show business to work certain reforfhs along tho lines of the movies, carnivals, etc. "We charge $1 for our medicine the first night and all through the engagement." says Carroll. "There is no dumping a load of It on the people for a dollar at the blow off. The prl<5B remains the same throughout the engagement. Wo make the business legitimate and can return to any town." 'i a "■^•f* [I.VJ BROOKS-MAHIEU P^OOT HOPKINS IN GARDEN Ptggy Hopkins .foyre is rehe;irK- Ing for the forthcoming Winter Garden show, . nd will be equally r«^atured with Benny Leonanl. 1:57 D'V/AY N. Y. ciry f. ,