Variety (July 1923)

f Thursday^ Ju^y 1^, 192Z VARIETY jjBUH FOR COMEDIES *:! (Continued from pag« t) MAX Both, sounded •ven better than ^^ould have, but t^ ^^fj Inferior, only -Sould have, but tli« company was iSr Inferior, only the comedian, SSul Heydemann, being of flrat ■■■ 'TniL It does not look as If thla . KretU could continue very long S§o larg<^ a house. 9r: «8u«sse Suil* ("Sweet Susn ^tMjis new operetta, book by August ' Stethart and Richard Bars, music Zm Siegfried Grzyb, has been dpln^ V Jlite nicely at the Schillerth<jater, iut It must be said that this theatre *>a been under an Inferior manage- ««nt and gets a public little above file small-town standard, therefore - sssentlally naive and amused by the most ancient of gags. The Berlin trltics, at least the ones who at- tended, thought it was lovely because • M did not contain any jazz music. H But really, the score is trivial and 'i' tnltative. Not a single humable ^ melody the whole evening. ; .v^'he plot is laid In the year 1814 In (■ i «uburb of Vienna and, of course, ' with the old-fashioned colonial style eostumes. The first time these cos- 's lumes appear charming, but when ' tne considers that In Berlin at the jsresent moment there are at least '»v« operettas laid In this period, ' Diat ceases after a time to appear 7 'original. The leading character Is Ihe fam- l', •us Count Metternich, after the p downfall of Napoleon the leading igure in Europe. But a ridiculous "; Ijirlesque of him In this operetta; ^t A single trait of a great man. • In the present instance he is '.chiefly Interested In surprising his .■Wife, who has been having an affair ^4riih Prince Alfons of Spain, soon fo, become king of th,e latter ooun- • try. For revenge on Alfons he takes a poor girl from the streets, named • Dorothea, and has her presented to f tfbe prince as a great heiress, only •', jit the last moment to disclose her •' ilrth, to the prince's great annoy- ' »nce. ■■ The other Important figures in the •lay are Susanne, a mannequin, who y4B loved by (jonkel, the court tailor, ; And by FroescheJ, a young revolu- ; Hqnary poet. In the end she mar- bles the poet. These two stories are •Nrorked in together by having Dor- . "dthea the sister of Susanne. The •eomedy is nothing extraordinary but lar superior to the so-called drama. The production Is interesting, as A shows how hard It Is to get to- ^fether a cast for a mtisical comedy . Hfi Berlin this summer. Never In the ♦■flistory of Berlin have there been so •?*iany operettas playing-at one time. -.1*0 fill this on« they bad to take ^^ngitimate people wlio had never ^l^ved these sorts of roles before, j, Curolla Toelle is Susanne, and'al- fliough her acting Is charming , fnough, her dArtcing and sihging are '•.1o unprofessional as to practically '''nullify this. Margarete Schl^el, Another legitimate actress, pkiys Dorothea. She has given some de- . dent performances In legitimate fables, but In this part Is simnly in- Intolerable. The only really good per- f-|ormance of the evening la Curt 1^ vespermann in the part of Proeschel, II .in excellent bit of comedy acting, ^jllnglng. and dancing. ^Die Dame mit dem Monokel" (The Lady with the Monocle'*) For the summer the Theater am Kurfiirstendamm Is presenting a -mrce with aongs. with the book by t.rthur Liokesch and with music y Harry Hauptmann. The title Is Really the best thing about the even- ing. The leading lady wears a mon- ocle and It Is never explained just S' hy. The atory centers around the jmonocled lady. During the course 6f the evening ahe kisses a count, a Oaron, a butler, a college student, a ffilllionaire, and marries the latter. The evening is made tolerable only VyjJip excellent company, which in- .-.Aludes Edith Karin In the title role, ind In the other parts Alfred L#eut- Aer, Alfred Braun, Relnhold Kocatlin 4nd Karlhelnz Wolf. It seems to be Successful. ''LM^^esstreik'* ("Love Quarrela'') Here Is an operetta In which the ^ok, by Richard Wilde, has at Ica-st teme originality. Up to now the Profiteer type, the favorite on the German stage, has been handled un- jympathetically, as a villain. In the present case the factory owner, ^dolf Koehnemann, Is shown to be a human being who really loves i»ls family and who has above all a good heart. The story is of a misunder- standing between Constanze, Koeh- nemanns daughter, and her lover, a young sculptor. This is brought . about by somebody who wi.shes Con- stanze to marry a count who la out bf money. , Everything Is made right by the tppearance of one of the count's creditors. Another angle is that of the second daughter, Charlotte, who finally marries a young violinist. As the curtain falls three happy pairs are united, th© millionaire with his language teacher making the third. The music, by Vooroes Miska, is well above the average, and terhni- _cally well handled throughout. Espe- "Clally to be nj( ntioncd in a tcmpcra- Jnrjnt.'il czardas and an original song about the U(tsporus, and the u.sual popular melodies are not lacking. Tho performance was mediocre, contuirung almost entirely little- known performers, but the following ■amea nhouiJ bo mentiontd for enni- retrnt work: fJrcte Sodtilz, Gcrtrud Llof-ko anil Carl Waliauer. "Die Fruehlingsfee" ("The Spring -J Fairy") ITor the first time In ycarii ll Deutachea theatre. Relnhardt'a for- mer atronghold. has taken over oper- •tta for the summer, and the present brand la nothing jnore than what they ar» In the habit of calling In Germany a "Volksstueck," or peo- ple'a play, a form of entertainment not any too high In Intellectual level. We have here the conventional acene on tho Rhine, with the Lorelei Rock aeen high above. The schoolboys go by, alnging their aongs, twilight cornea and a real ship Is aeen to move along In the distance. All of which is just another way of paying that It is sure-fire for Germany, but nothing at all for America. The cast is quite the best of any of tho operettas now being given here, and Erika von Tellmann, in the leading soubret role, is vivacious and attractive. Hans Brausewctter is her partner and Is as charming as ever. The role of an old man was perfectly played and sung by Robert Phllipp from the State Operahouse. "The Faun" Edward Knobloch's comedy, suc- cessful some 1# yoars ago In Ameri- ca, has been most successfully pro- duced at the .v:ammerapicle. The story of the faun who comes Into society and brings a breath of blunt reality into the conventional atmos- phere of an English country home, does not,^eem to have lost any of Its point, and the production at the Kammerspiele is topnotch. First to be mentioned is the excel- lent performance In the title role of Paul Henckels, who la Just begin- ning to be recognized as one of the best actors on the Berlin stage. He has humor, power and at the same time an extraordinary' subtle deli- cacy sets his work off as individual from that of any othor actor now appearing in Berlin. The rest really gave, for the first time to our knowledge In Germany, a feeling of ensemble in a modern English comedy; particularly the fine work Of Nunberg and excellent performances were given by Koehne, Schweighart and Duval. It appears to be a good success and should easily last through the summer. "Die Damen vom Olymp" ("The Ladies from Olympus) Director Nelson of the Nelson theatre on Kurfuerstendamm, has at length decided to spend a little more money on his revues. Besides en- gaging Sehanzer and Wellig to write the book for his music, he engaged Ludwig Kainer to design th© cos- tumes and scenery. . Sehanzer and Wellig did nothing out of the ordinary, as tho |ibretto is merely the conventional imitation of Offenbach's "Fair Helen." The story is a little modernized. It Is true, but the jokes all have an ancient flavor. We have the old scene rgaln where Paris gives the prize to the three goddoeses. He disappears In one room after another to aee their figures and, of coxurset chooses Venua (a double role with the part of Helena). An amusing figure Is that of Midas, the modern million- aire, who turns everything Into gold, and every now and again he has something really funny to aay, an occurrence which we do not be- lieve can be justly ascribed to the authors. But though Nelson's music la far from being the best that he haa written, yet, neverthe- less, a few of the melodies will aurely be among the most popular of the aummer. From the cast Hans Unterklch- ner, know In New York through his performances at the Irving Place theatre, rlsca well out through his pleasing personality and genial ease. But Alice Hechy, aa Helena and Venus, was quite disappointing, even when she did not have to wear clothes. Curt Voss proved himself to be an excellent eccentric dancer. The most distinctivo was Kainer's scenery and costumes, particularly the latter. Kainer is the only de- signer^ In Germany who could suit himself to designing for American reviews, although comewhat under the Infiuence of Bakut and the Rus- sian ballet, yet he has an original note and a feeling for line and color which la very exceptional. When one sees what he has done with the limited means at his disposal In the preeent Instance, one can easily realize what he might accomplish with the resources of a Broadway producer behind him. The operetta Is running very suc- cessfully and will unquestionably fini.«?h out the summer at the Nelson theatre. JUDGMENTS (The flrat name U that of t^e iudgment debtor; creditor and amount follow.) Myrta Bonillat; Fox Film Corp.; costs, 114.95. Freeport Theatre Corp.; Address- ograph Co.; $425.52. SaTie; Safety Fire Extinguisher Co.; |5f.6.12. Will M. Hough; H. B. Wilcox; $140.20. Interborcugh Film Service Corp., ct al.; M.chanlrs' I-Jank; $7:<2.16. AI and Belle Dow; A. M. liyi:h; "b. f! Keith's N. Y, Theatres Co.; II. M. GohlfoKle, ct al. ronuiilssnii- eis; co.-^tM, $h5. . , Same; same; same. Same; sanif; $55. Criterion Theatre Corp.; N Y. Tel. Co.; $iOl.r7. Satisfied Judonnerts Amalgamated Producing Co., Inc.; N. l>vy et al ; ^^56.70, June 21. 9 1023. CABARET '■ '■'. ".-».' (Continued from page IS) the Fuller-Magce matter through which William J. Fallon, tho crimi- nal attorney, s-jud another have been indicted on charges joined with at- tempted bribery. It is said a check that has eomc bearing on the evl- flencfi against Fallon was found In the safe of the Knickerbocker grrill, New York. That waa after the Knickerbocker has been closed through Federal injunction which ousted Panl as it.q proprietor. Pani's other place is the Woodmansten Inn, near the Pelham road. Another unpublished aspect of the search for evidence against Mc- Gee was a search warrant, one of the eight Issued, that led secret service men Into a home at Free- port, Long Lsland. looking for In- criminating documentary evidence. The Freeport search was In the home of a daughter of quite a well- known woman of that town, who, although not directly ih theatricals, knows a great many In the colony. Meantime Mrs. McGee (Louise Groody) had gone abroad, where ^e remains, with the newspapers alleging McGee had given her over a million dollars before she left. The prosecution against Fuller and McGee are said to have facts establishing that Fuller lost $385,000 in gambling with one Broadwaylte. As far as known, MoGee did not gamble. Evan Burrowea Fontaine opened July 14 for a special engagement at the El Kadia Gardens, Hot«l Jerome, Atlantic City. The Coney Island Ritz, a new Slimmer cabaret, located at Heh- dersoa Walk and the Bowery, Coney Island, opened July 14. The policy will be to make the resort high class in every detail so that it will attract better class patronage. A. Somma, the proprietor, has arranged with William B. Sheridan, the agent, to supply the show. Its principals arc Domlnick Green, Mildred Sylvester, Daisy Lewis, Eva Hale, Ora Burch and Roscoe Alls* Orchestra of 6yn- copators with Jack Baxnett. wara formerly ahow giT]9. Mlaa Bradley on July 14 took 12 man- nlklns, all former chorus girla or cabaret performera, to the Empire race track, where one of the news film weeklies took pictures of their display of fashions. Next week these and other girls are to exhibit the new atyles In the fashion ex- hibits at Grand Central Palace and the (19th Regiment Armory and the big pageant at the Lexington opera house. During the remainder of the aummer Misa Bradley is to send from 12 to 20 models on a tour, giving week-end fashion ex- hibits at Long Beach, New London, Lake Hopatcong, Gedney Farms, tho Westchester Country Club and other summer resorts. HEWS OF THE DAILIES Suit for divorce haa been filed by Mra. Miriam Nesbit McDermott against Marc McDcrroott. Mrs. Mc- Dermott says ahe forsook the atai^e at the request of her husband. Bhe had withdrawn a separation suit atarted in Weatcheater county in 1922 and Inter transferred to the Supreme Court. AUmony of flO.OOO a year waa aaked. A ault for alien* ation of affections, filed by Mrs. Mc-t Dermott against Stella Helen Gil- moie. vaudeville, is pending. Tho divoroe papers are sealed. The Hillwood Inn, Trenton, N. J., has engaged Charles Band, Ceclle Roose and Josie Cirina, a violin* piano-cello combination, to supply music. Thara liM alviraya hfcti a. ahbrt- age of high-class cabarets in Brook- lyn and this year la no exception. Outside of a few places near Brigh- ton anfl further out on Long Island, th«r» Is only one cabaret of the bet- ter type across the bridge, the Marine Roof at *the Hotel Bossert In the Columbia Heights section near the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge. Jack Albin and his White- man Orchestra are filling their flrat engagement there and meeting with considerable success. Teddy Waldman, the harmonica specialist, opened at the Nightingale, New York, last week. In co-opera- tion with the Hohner Company, har- monica manufacturers, Waldman has a novelty method In the dis- tribution of miniature harmonicas to the patrons. They cost 17 cents wholesale but the manufacturers figure It a good publicity stunt. Ravenhalla, Coney Island, has suc- cumbed to the dance craze. Tho big lav?n in front of the -Halls has been converted in^o a spacious out- door dance pjivilion. Dell Lampe and orchestra have been signed for a lO-week engage- ment In the Trianon Ball Room In Chicago, opening Sept. 2. Lampe was formerly director for tho No. 2 Vincent Lopez orchestra. The Lampe orchestra is under the per- sonal direction of J. Bodewalt Lampe, head of Remick's arrang- ing department. Lnmp#, Sr, was the technical director for Vincent Lopez, arranging and directing all of the Lopez acts to date. , Wayburn'a Rhelburne Revue, Co- ney Island, opened with a new edi- tion last week. The show has been running since the first of June. The recent shooting of the Baker girl by prohibition agents attached to the Malo'ne, N. Y., office haa fanned the flames long smoldering in the northern country. The holding up of Innocent people in automobiles on the suspicion that they are transporting booze haa been the cause of countlcsa protesta the past two years. Not only have the inhabitants of the section com- plained but tourists as well. The former, although bitterly opposed to the practice, have become accus- tomed to it, while the latter have not. It grew 80 bad last summer that travelers In automobiles were ad- vised to^ keep off the roads around the border after dark. Many cars have been fired on at night, par- ticularly where the driver has failed, * either through misunder- standing, fear or independence, to stop when ordered. Some drivers had not heard the command to stop, others kept going because they wore afraid the agents were hold-up men and still others have not heeded the warning because they Insisted the "dry" ofilcers had no right to halt thenj.::v. * ■':■■:.. ■!:::.^t. . The agents are not In uniform and automobiliets are unable to Identify them except by their badge or credential card. These can,, not be seen unlcns the car la (popped. Many ara afraid to trust eveo to these means of identification, be- cause they read ao much about phony badges, fraudulent credential cards and fake prohibition ofllcera. As a result of the shooting of the Baker girl, the Malone Ch.amber of Commcrco has demanded the agents wear uniforms so that travelers on the roads can Identify them. The "dry" officers contend that this Buggcstion Is Impracticable If they are to make any headway In enforcing the law. The uniforms would be a dead giveaway to rum runners, they say. The Chamber of Commerce, American Legion, Town Council and other bodies of Malone are up in arms over the accident which befell the Baker girl, an in- nocent party who was riding in a car with her father. Secret service men, AsHlstant United States Attorney Gorman, and William Brcnnan, assistant di- visional Chief of prohibition en- forcement In New York State, have all conducted'investigations. What will, be the result Is unknown. A mere order to the "dry" officers to be more careful In tho use of fire- arms will not entlsfy the people of the north this time, A more dras- tic stop muRt be taken if they ara to be appeased. Chief Robert D. An- gcll, one of the thrco agents who are held In heavy bail on a charge of shooting Miss Baker, has been In charge of the Malone office since last summer. He was appointed to the post under the administration of Ralph A. Day, prohibition direc- tor for the State of New York. An- gell had formerly worked in the Syracuse office. He has a good rec- ord and enjoys tho confidence of his superiors, it Is aaid. Because he waa unable to find work, William Duane, aged 29, actor, attempted suicide Wednesday by swallowing iodine at his home. 155 Eaat 61st street. Patrolman Blumberg saved hia life by prompt- ly administering an antidote. Neigh- bora heard Duane'a groans in time and notified the police. \v The library of the late Henry Edward Krehblel, of th^ "Tribune,** dean of New York'a mualcal critics, and containing 1.846 volumea and many pamphlets, haa been donated to the New York public Jibrary. Helen M. .^ndrua. age 18^ an or- phan and a regular heiress, hM started lor HrtiivWfu^/^ to aeek aorc-cii fame. MisaAhdrUa la to 1>« allowed a portion of her inheritance at once to aid her prospective ca- reer. . , Bessie Claytpn haa aued Julian Mitchell for a divorce for the aec- ond time. Mrs. Mitchell asks that ahe receive alinaony and counael fees. In an aflldavit attached to the petition^ filed at Trenton, N. J., Misa Clayton deelarea the action la atarted without '©oUusion and the suit is flledin good faith. Her at- torney ia J. FnerbW OoWenhorn of Jersey City. Misa Clayion'a peti- tion, filed In the Cou/'t of Chancery, recites that Mitchell deserted her in 1910. 18 years after theli;' marriage. Her first suit waa filed in 1911, but the plea waa denied. The following y^ar Mitchell became very ill, and Mlas Clayton returned from- London to be with him. Upon her arrival he had Improved, and ahe returned to England without reconciliation. Mitchell and Misa Clayton each oc- cupy a house on tho handsome Mlt- «d!I estate • in NofVobd avenue, ng Branch, ft. 3.' The rcaidencea » about atllook-apart. Theit daughter, Prlaonia, aged 21, lives with her. The daughter ia not estrcinged troiQ. |Al»a. Clayton, but, accqrding, to jJcIghUors,. prefera. to live wUh her lalher b.Qcause of her motlftr'a fr«<iuent abaence on road tours. Harold 8tern is at the Hotel Belleclaire Roof, New York, doubling from the Brighton Beach Park, where he conducts his or- chestra In the afternoon. An as- slHt.int deputizes evenings when Stern appears perKonally' at the Belleclaire. The Bri^'hton band I« a 3Ij-p<rson combination; the hotel nrchefftr.a hn«y~^tf>- m^n.— Mh» Dol . - t r t is condiictirig another St«;rn-r</n- trolled orehestra at the Pickwick OardcriH, Gr«H'nwJ« h C<»nn. Lillian Bradley, thr;,(rlcal and fafliion model ar* Tit, Is bookinK fn.shlon f-hows for the pummrr sca- .«»on thrriiphout vnnouv roHorts in the mat. Hhf: has cvtr 1.000 modein < under Yi*^r dir<.cticri, mo.st of whorri Martin Beck's annoyncement he intends to build a the.'.tre in Kew York (previously reported In Variety) attracted; aome attention last wee^c when the location' was given'out as 302-U West 45th street That is outside the theatricai aonei being west o^ Eighth a.venue. Beck gave it an angle, for publicity in etatlng the , location had been selected with the trafific altuatJoh In mind, Arthur Hopkins la reported as being interested in the produc- tion end In the new Beck theatre. It win be exclusively a drama house. W. R. Hearst has purchased the Rochester (N. Y.) Post-Exprows. with a circulation of 20.000. He will merge It with the Rochester Evening Journal, the present Hearst organ there, established ten months ago. The Post-Express goes out of busineea. The old trick of looting an aban- doned bootleg automobile before tho authorities arrive to seize it was pulled Sunday afternoon on the Lu- zerno road, up state. New York. A big touring car loaded with 3G0 bot- IW» of Canadian ale went through a fonco on the highway. The driver dlBappeared, as usual.- Pass- ing tourifitH helped themf^elves un- til someone telephoned tli^ nherlff'H office the machine waa b< r - j( oi«jd Wlif'n the cops arrived lh«y found 92 bottleH of ale. Stripping nn abandf>ried rum car of ItH cargo is a common practice In ejilcM, vlllatres aiuj towns. A eiowd alw;iy« ronj^regat<'s Mjout the autoniofiiie and the raltling b<ginB T)ic iMjlice h.ive been a<euHe<.l ol hr>)ping th«rn«tlv<K more than once. The plan to bring the St. Loula Municipal Opera Co. to New York for a aeries o^ open-air pcrform- ancch of liKht Optra' fills Aummer may fall through, because Lewisohn Stadium, which haa been under consideration, will not be available until the beginning of September. While thousands of p*T«ons were bathing at Coney Island Friday somebody cried "«harks." Instantly there was a rush for «hore like the Jam at Canal street of Kapt Sidera going to Coney Island every Sun- day, Lifeguards struggled In the •urf to save fainting women. An intrepid chap In a rowboat aallled out and discovered a school of por- poises, or "aea comedians," rollick- ing in the combers, Robert HllHard, actor, and hla wife have separated because of In- ability to agreo. It Is claimed that thero la no divorce contemplated, but that the voluntary separation ia merely Intended to remedy the marital troubles, after whieh they will live together again. Hllllard is 56 and his wife 32. He married in 191D, hie third matrimonial ven- ture. She Inherited a fortune of $14,000,000 from her fa'her, the brewer, Jamc.«i Everard. niadyfl Westby, aj:ed If, artists' model, who.se parent.■* live In Ix)n- <|or, ,.I .; vilui itaya-idic liaa-i'ro»i>f>cta_ (;f u (( i.tr.'irt in tho movles, If Undo Sam hiidn't i>rev»nted, wan dti^oited on th'- f^Touiid th;'.t «lie mi^iht become a i>\i\>Wc rharge. Mi.«s W< .Mtby had l)r« n livinj? at the niuilio of Cleorge ^'iift*', AMi.st, .^'J We-t 57th atrect. New York city. (!?trtts, -denying tliMf wa.s .'ifiything improper in his relatirns with th»? giri, fel^rne^l a $1,000 hon<l for her pending apjjoal. (Continued oii p<'vge 43) n,. >'<