Variety (February 1923)

Thursday, February 22, 1928 LEGITIMATE 19 * genial sort of seasoned philosophy $42,000 on Its sixth week, and has that argues thoughtful and mature extended its engagement at Jolson's observation. It deals also with Irre- sistibly likable people. The pity of It is that the dramatist has not led them through more Interesting ex- periences. f Ruth, LADIES FOR SALE . Buffalo, Feb. 21. Certainly and by far not the least Interesting feature of the premiere of Porter Emerson Browne's "Ladies for Sale" Is the complete reversal of form shown by the local reviewers. The morning paper brigade, ordinarily indiscriminately enthusiastic in their praise, lam- basted the show for a chorus of "noes." The reporters for the afternoon sheets, particularly the "XeWs," usually Inclined toward oar-ping, "yessed" It to the rafters. At the present writing. It looks as though the "noes" have it. "Ladies for Sale" sizes up as an Interesting, well-knit piece of the- atre flapdoodle, passable enough if you discount its rather far-flung plot, disclosing many of the deft sure touches of the experienced playwright, but still miles from the finished, sustained and convincing product of which its author has proved himself capable. Few of the dozen odd plays tried out here this season have been more restrained or cut closer to the bone than this, but one cannot put any too great shakes \u>on that fact. The whole lot uncovered up to now have been, with only one or two exceptions, quite sad. It'is because one expects something more real from the pen which limned "The Bad Man" that one flnds it harder to forgive Mr. Browne's transgres- sions. * It ail started because the author recently took a trip through Cen- tral Europe. While* there ne was overwhelmed by the evil days which have befallen the country's gentle- folk. So he set out to write a play about it all, with emphasis upon the fact that certain Viennese ladies of noble lineage are willing to sell themselves for a mere mess of millions <:n marks). Hence the story * Randolph Kcene, of a group of •" the spiritual. 'The Fool." for an additional four weeks over the eight weeks booked. "The Fool" in 10 performances went to $21,800 last week, coming close to Its $24,- 000 record of the Christmas to New Year's period when It performances were played. "So This Is London," with one extra matinee, got $18,300 at the Hudson, and "Merton of the Movies" put over another corking score of $18,500 in nine times at the Core. "Seventh*Heaven." even with the best draws in town, went to bet- ter than $17,000 at th# Booth. "Rain," the demand leader, kept to eight performances, but went up- ward by reason of holiday prices at the Elliott Monday and grossed $15,600. "Abie's Irish Rose" con- tinues a remarkable draw. It got over $16,000 last week in nine per- formances, starting off with a Lin- coln's Birthday matinee topped at $3.50. Jane Cowl's "Juliet" held to eight times at. Henry Miller's, and pulled excellent trade for a $11000 gross. "The Laughing Lady," Ethel Bar- rymore's third appearance at the Longacre this season, got off to a promising start. The first week was not far under $13,000 and the piece has a strong -matinee call. "Ice- bound" opened to a $10,000 week at the Sam H. Harris with the draw Friday and Saturday jumping to capacity. It may take a few weeks for this one to And itself. The title is doing it no good. Added to this week's quintet of new plays, "The God of Vengeance" joined the Hat, moving up from Greenwich Village to the Apollo. It Is a disgusting drama which atr tracted attention downtown. The opening night On Broadway drew about $1,200 with the second night $1,000 and the mid-week matinee looking strong. Indications are for a pace of about $12,000. To show- men it was a paradox for a play of the kind to be quartered next door ciseo. Is coast. In ptctu on the The James Carroll stock opens Monday In St Johns' N. B. John Gordon will direct. Florence Arlington, who recently closed with the Poll stock, Water- bury, has purchased a half Interest in the Old Colony Paint Co. Ann McDonald and Clay Clement, playing leads with the Keith stock, Union Hill, N. J., retired from the company last week. Malcolm Fawcett is organizing a stock for Louisville. BEDSIDE CHATS By NELLIE REVELL Garry McGarry's stock company opens next week at the Garrtck, Washington, with Jack Norworth In "My Lady Friends." Eileen Wilson is leaving the President Players. Washington, Sat- urday (Feb. 24). Wanda Lyons will succeed her. Henry Duffy is to have a stock company at the Pitt, Pittsburgh, opening early in March. Virginia Springer has been added to the Woodward Players at the Garrlck, St. Louis. Eskel Gilford's stock at Superior, Wis., organized a few weeks ago, is doing well according to advices which reach Chicago. BAY RIDGE STOCK Alan Arthur Bell Mra. Lafayette Rekan. Marie Louts* Walker Helen ("Lafe'a" daughter) Margaiet Hawking Marjnrle (her friend) Maxlna Flood Jennie (a nrald) Alma Bradley Frank !)<■ vrreaux Edward Fariv! *\*>aie" Regan Jack Roneleaigh Frrgcrson (Frank'a valet). Alfred L. Rla-ali Kick Callahan , Kdward Harford Ing|>er-Mr Tr*ft»v Tom Morrison Rudd Whiting (District Attorney) Bernard Craney The newe of Amy Leslie's illness distresses me. It was partly through the efforts of that brilliant dramatic critic of the Chicago * Daily News ' thirt I secured my lirst position as a theatrical press agent, my previous activities In that line having been with a circus. Through Miss Lesiie s confidence in my ability, Mr. J. J. Murdocks attention was called to my work. I am reminded of a party I once gave in New York In her honor, and I have to thank Mark Leuscher for having made that gathering possi- ble. I wanted to entertain Amy; my own apartment was so small that even the Singer Midgets would have had a hard time to get in—aH at once. So like al! the rest.of us who need a friend, I went to Mark. That was before the wizard of exploitation had married the charming Antoinette— mother of Mary Aileen Luescher—and he had a bachelor apartment at Broadway and 72nd street, with a dream of a living room, about the sise of the Grand Central Pa'.ace. Mark handed me the*key, and I started to organize Amy's party. The late Lillian Russell headed the list. Others. as I recall the guests today, included George M. Cohan, Sam H. Harris, Nora Bayes. Lucy Weston, Marie Cahlll, Daniel V. Arthur. Blanche Bates, Alice Lloyd. Ethel Barrymore, Edward V. Darling, Jack Norworth, Con- way Tearle, Louis Werba and James Sullivan, which further recalls that Mr. Luescher paid the caterer's and refreshment bill. And I still J* owe him. Did I say it was my party? Harry Reichenbach one day not long ago concluded he was in the market for something to reau and called up the firm which is to pub'ish my forthcoming volume of hospital reminiscences. "When,* he Inquired, "will Miss Revell's book be out." Harry suspected from the sounds coming over the wire that the person at the other end was doing the hair-tearing and teeth-gnashing trick. At last a voice came. , "If you," it said, "can tell us when the book will be in. we can tell you when It will be out." Last fall when the boys on the copy desk heard that I waa due for another operation they were moved to sympathy and sympathy tt a copy desk Is entitled to a little publicity. However, they brightened up when supplied with the information It was only for the removal of the tonsils. "Still," said one after a moment's consideration, "wouldn't It be just an O. Henry finish for her to lose on a tonsil operation after laughing at a dozen major ones." . Nevertheless even for the sake of fne artistic finish I refused to do the unexpected that time. I like the O. Henry twist much better In stories than In hospitals. ".Club" capitalists, goes to Vienna on a mission to purchase a lady of proper breeding and manners with which to tempt and captivate a certain tough skinned financier who Is opposing the scheme of the group to corner the dye market. If you have any doubts as to the plausi- bility of the fact that there are in Austria females of noble and vir- tuous moyld who would sell their souls for a slice of bread, you have but to listen to Mr. Browne's artful explanations to be firmly convinced. The second and final acts show the arrival of Keene and the Countess at the millionaire's quarters, his consent to join the merger at the price of a night with the lady, a well written "now-I-have-you-in- me-power" scene, virtue triumphant and then the unforgivable driveling finale. , ■ The play moves swiftly thanks to the author's skill in dialog and As a wlole. it Jack! conUnui C ty i0 rnd"has a number I March 12 by "The Comedian." "Rose of extraneous skeins which need to Briar" is listed for two or three Leaving this weik are: "Glory" from the Yanderbilt for the road, with "Humoresque" succeeding; "Will Shakespeare," which leaves the hoards and which will be suc- ceeded by "Why Not?" moving over from the 48th St.; "Sir Characters In Search of an Author," leaving the Princess and succeeded by "Mr. Malatesta." There will also he two special at- tractions, "Morphia" being dated for the Eltingc late In the week and "Dr. JekyI and Mr. Hyde." which will play special matinees at the Belmont.-"Morphia" may be put on at 11 p. m., after "The Masked Woman" performances, though it Is, more likely to be presented on off matinee days. "The Merchant of Venice" has two weeks more to go, being succeeded be knit into the general fabric. The unraveling of the motives at the denouement is feeble and will have to be completely rewritten. The play leaves the imprint of a number of finely written quick-moving situations but almost no impression of a complete sustained dramatic opus. Vincent Serrano plays Keene with distinction. Malcolm Williams makes the millionaire interesting, human and properly lustful. Car- lotta Monterey's Countess Is re- strained and creates "Just the at- mosphere necessary to make it con- vincing. . „ . Browne was on hand all week making changes in the play and succeeded in revising the final act into somewhat more plausible shape. Meantime, "Ladies for Sale Is a play of interesting possibilities. Burton. \ BROADWAY STORY (Continued from page 13) ments figured it an unnecessary loss if the openings had been given later than Monday. The condition forced by guarantees means the producer must take all the lo-a In that case. Ord-inarily the only ad- ditional expense would be salaries. The Producing Managers' A*.rela- tion has a system whereby opening dates are registered and it is sup- posed to be a sort of clearing hou«*e whereby opposed premieres can be obviated. Guarantees make the P. M. A. system virtually useless. "Anything Might Happen." the fifth premiere this week, started Tues- day at the Comedy. Some exceptional business was registered last week. The "Follies" he <i its lead of the musicals with over $36,000. The ' a Mage Fol les' was strong at $23 000. The -Music Pox Revue," playing an extra »matl- nee for the first time this Reason, scored a gross of 131.S00. 'Little Nellie Kelley." In nine times, got over'$26.000 at the Liberty and beat out the holiday week record. The Moscow Art Theatre was slightly more weeks a. the Empire, with the successor possibly "Pasteur." with Henry Miller its star. "R. U. R." has about the same time to go at the Frazee. "Liza," the colored Show, is due to withdraw from Daly's 63d St. March 10, with "Go Co" succeeding. "Dagmar" has three weeks to go at the~Selwyn, then Pauline Frederick follows in "The Guilty One," due March 1!>. Several other attractions are on the verge, of going out or off. "Sun Showers" has shown nothing at the Astor and its continuance is doubt- ful. It got $7,000 last week. The house was taken under a guarantee arrangement of $3,000 weekly. Indi- cations are that no other attraction ready is willing to take the hpuse under similar conditions. The Astor Is considered one of the best loca- tions on Broadway. ••Blossom Time" topped the sub- way'circuit last week, getting $19,- 300 at the Majestic Brooklyn. Medi- ocre business was given "The Man- Who Came Back" at the nearb Montauk. as the attraction has played Brooklyn in stock several times since its original appearance. "Dulcy." which closed at the Bronx opera house, got a little over $4,000. "To the Ladies" was jupt fair at the Broad Street, Newark, getting under $7,000. STOCKS (Continued from page 12) Conn. Miss Xudsen opened her en- gagement •! the Majestic Monday in "Lawful Larceny." Tin- slock at the Van C nl r. Schenectady, N Y., will move to Grand Rapids after En-tor. Charles Burlcell is preparing to move his company from the Grand, Davenport, fa., to another mid-west city about May 1. E'.wyn Harvey former leading under its average, but pulled nearly woman at the Alcazar, San Fran- Stor-k was first, installed at the Biy Ridge a little less than a year ago with a company organized by Corse Puyton inaugurating the policy at the Keency house, which formerly •played vaudeville. Pay ton has since departed and" a com- pany known as the Keenly Players instilled, with .lack Roseleigh, the leading man. the only survivor oJ' the Paytop company. The policy is .said to have proved more lucrative I nan vaudeville, although business of late is underetood not to have been of the best. Last Thursday i Igbt the weather was very cold and, Len 1 having started the day previous, attendance was exceed- ingly light. / On the strength of the perform- ance given by the company in la^t week's bill. "The Sign on the Door," the organization compares favor- ably with any around New York. The personnel in most instances consists of players with stock repu- tation, with Marie Louise Walker, a titian-haired leading woman re- cently joining the organization, lending a Broadway atmosphere to the playing. That helps to lift it a peg above the usual run of stock presentations. Miss Walker suc- ceeded Jeanne Eagels In "The Night Watch." In the leading role in "The Door" she gave a perform- ance which proved its outstanding feature. Jack Roseleigh as the matured business man gave the male lead a wealth of feeling. His work has stood up strongly with this company. Edward Farrell h^as handled second business all season. He Is of the robust type not unlike Roseleigh. Given the "heavy" In last week's bill, he experienced little difficulty in caring for it. Margaret Hawkins has been handling the in- genue roles. She la exceptionally young and apparently a newcomer to stock. Distinctly of the fln*pper type, Miss Hawkins met require- ments as Helen. Arthur Bell did a minor juvenile role. He has been the regular juvenile of the company ail season, having recently returned after being severely Injured In an accident. He has been appearing during the past two weeks unable to use ^ile left arm. Of the pink and white type of Juvenile, he has struck the fancy of the neighbor- hood clientele. Edward Harford. directing, also appeared in a minor role. The work of the player* was a credit to Harford. Alfred L. Regali, the stage manager, played an elderly servant convincingly. A new addition to the company last week wt»s Thomas V. Morrison, appear- ing as Inspector TrcfTey. Morrison is In demand by stock organiza- tions and a capable actor Rernard Craney provided some effective work as the district attorney. In the way of productions this Keeney organization Is ab^ut head- ing thi** rh?t. The three pets would have done credit to a Broadway production of the piece. Harry Peyton built the scenery, with II irry Ren ham doing the painting. The Hay Ridge Is under the man agement of Frank V. King, who la conducting It as a high claes homo in every way. The atmosphere of refinement *vhich pervades It ahmj'd attract business, as the company Is caps' V of doing Its share. Hart. The fellow who once Insisted that truth could often out-talk fiction perhaps had been opening Christmas packages. Anyway last Christmas something happened that for a moment looked like a bit of gruesome humor and turned out after all to be only a coincidence. Several friends were Isitlng me when two bundles arrived and were put on the window-sill. Two newspaper men, famous for their practical jokes, imbued with Christmas spirit asked 1* they might open them for me. I assented and they proceeded to untie yards of red and green rib- bon and fumb'e about with reams of wrapping paper and evergreen. Finally they brought the gifts to my beside. The first one was a holly wreath bearing Harold Orlob's card with "try this on your Victrola" inscribed upon it. Harold's sense of the ridiculous amused me and I laughed heartily—that Is until I glimpsed at the other gift It was a phonograph record of-"I \* ill Be Waiting" and upon It was the card of Frank Campbell, the undertaker. , » The atmosphere was strained for a moment for It seemed the trick of a distorted sense of humor. And then I happened to recall that Hatold had promised me a record'of his "I Will P« Waiting" and knew that the cards had accidentally been switched in the fuss of unwrapping the packages. Frank Campbell, incidentally, is amorig the best of my friends, but some- how or other his profession seems always coming up between us. One day during the recent holidays he approached my door lugging a huge box containing Mis. Campbell's Christmas gift to me. "Well. Nellie." he said jokingly, "I've come to take you home." I thanked him for the invitation but told him he'd need a bigger box than that tp take me In. • Harold Orlob was headliner at the Mount Sinai Hospital, so I de- duced from his letter saying he had been held over there for another week. From the tone of his epistle he seemed fairly well satisfied with dressing-rooms, spot on the bill and routing, but there wore several things he thought Congress ought to pass laws against. He says: "Nellie, I do put up with one hospital inconvenience that even you have been spared. A wop comes to shave me and that's the one timo my life Is in danger. It was perhaps a doctor* that Inspired Victor Herbert's song: 'Keep 'em in bed, treat 'em kind, but tell 'em noth-' hig.' "And another thing, Nellie, that's hard on a western cattle punchw , —they bathe a fellow twice a day and I'm cleaner now than I was when I quit the stock market. "Since my incarceration here I have developed several Ideas for librettos. I am going to sell this Idea to' Ed Wynn: 'How to cat meals while balancing on one ear.' Rube«Goldberg might Invent a pulley with hanging buckets that would automatically carry food from a tray and drop It In the expectant, open face of the patient. This would keej) the crumbs from lodging In the ears." It's stranger how long u takes people to recover from an education. I have noticed the older doctors here never use any but the most simple language in discussing with a patient anything pertaining to his case. If you have mumps, they say 'mumps' and not a 'specific Infectious febrile disorder, characterized by non-suppurative inflammation of the parotid and other salivary glands.' Whereas the Interne has not been born who can resist saying. "An Inflammation and swelling of a small membraneous sac, bursae mucosae, usually occurring on the first joint of the great toe," when all he means Is a bunion. Friends of J. J. Rosenthal, husband of Kathertne Oeteraian, erstwhile musical comedy star, are telling this on him. "If I knew your wife, I'd congratulate her," an acquaintance said to Jake on Tremont street, Boston, the other day. "What for?" asked Jake. "Well, I read where her son, Jack Ostermon, put over his song 'Born* Day You'll Cry Over Some One As I Have Cried Over Ton.' Isn't he her son by her first husband?" ' ,r Tes," said Jake, and with paternal prida, "but I happen to be her first husband." This story came from London flay Smith and hie wife Lee White. Ambrose Rarker, Peggy Wynne and Fred Dupres were having a IMtfe after-theatre party. "Why aren't you drinking with us. Lee?" asked Ruprez. "Why Fred. I'm surprised?" ejaculated husband «'' I never saw her take a drink in your life." "Mebbeso," replied Dupres,. between giggles, "but 1 never s»w h«r tske a bath either?"