Variety (July 1923)

>, 4 .- ■J. Thursday, July M. 1923 LEGITIMATE -^rKf' .rv}'\fi,!p^mtmn:j;!>r^ 'fX' ■•;CV"T' 19 r:^.- :sfj ERLANGER-SHUBERT SPLIT OVER DHTATION OF P. M. A. * ■■'-** Ji «. .V (Continued from page IS) %v clJlo^ Independent or individual ^y' paaa^ors who produce desultorily A/ ftftT* <k vote equal to the moat powerful member, but a« the inde- pendents are in the majority they k can vote measures which conflict \ with his principles of theatre man- agement as In the matter of the cen- tral ticket oflSce. As most of the - members are not theatre managers **' he contends they should keep hands [j^''.off attempting to dlcUte the oper- £;)»'^''*«tlon and financing of theatres. V' It is stated that Erlanger will pro- '^ diice for next season, but It is de- Bied that he will be concealed be- hind affllJfited producers sucU .AA Charles Dilllnghapi. Flo ZleKfeld. George Tyler, etc.. as a counter to dictation on the oart of Equity. EU'langer's resignation cannot be- come effective for six months, ac- cording to the P. M. A. by-lr-ws, and all productions for the coming season will have been gotten under way by tlien. Should there be no reconsideration of the resignation it that time Erlanger is prepared to take his chances in meeting the SlQuity situatijjv which, at the end of the season, the P. M. A. muil meet anyhow. A recent meeting of ticket brokers ^!^ ■nv. Jr; >,' **' ''•resulted in the assurance to Er- :■'' lahger that they would not ch.Trgc ■ Ji' more than 60 cents premium. He *■•' proposes to see that that assurance /' .is no violated. The central ticket '» office as now ou lined will not have ' on jale tickets for the Erlanger group of theatres, which will in- clude the houses of David Belasco. ^ Dillingham and possibly the Froh- c!*'^ man office. Those managers and :^ ^'' Ziegfeld. who is a party to the New - '■ Amsterdam lease, are said to be op- ;^'^pos d to the central oflftce as firmly W^ ms Erlanger. ^Ifer r^tfonal Theatro Enters : "^^ William A. Brady's proposal cut- ^?i^ ilde of the P. M. A. meetings taat ./I a combination of the independent members should be made in order to combat the ^oves of the most pow- : •/^" ©rful interests is reported to have had some Influence in Erlanger's decision to quit the P. M. A. He Is also known to have beeix greatly dissatisfied with the National Theatre movement which was headed by Augustus Thomas, who Is executive director of the P. M. A. When the movement failed in Its presentation of "As You Like It," and the resultant loss of )40,000 was sustained, Erlanger is understood to have forcibly expreused himself. It is said the loss was made up by a pro-rata assessment of members. Monday's meeting, after placing the Erlanger resignation on the table, proceeded to accept the re- port of the new central ticket of- '. flee conamittee. Joseph Bickerton. ■7' "Who has represented Erlanger at tne meetings, and is a member of the committee, although not of the P. M. A., was present at the invitation of the committee and he will con- '' tinue to act with it as the repre- ^ sentatlve of William Harris, Jr. Erlanger has been present but n ' few times since the manaRors' aa- aociation was formed four years ago. Brady Can Act Brady, as head of the committee, has po /er to act. that taking in the ■election of a site and execution of a leape. It was formally announced Monday that the central office would •,v*-,. **® opened by September 1. Despite ' "'the determination of the committee to accomplish the task v^nthin five Weeks alonpT Broadway, doubt v.'a.° expressed that the centinl office could he outfitter'. In that time. The neco.'isary telephone equipment could not be obtained for several months and unless an elaborate phone sys- tem is^ inntalled the central ofllce Will not be able to keep in contact With the sub.Tribing theatre?. A committee meeting Tue.Hd.iy re- sulted in the announcement t,hat Joe I«eblanK was appointed the execu- tive to estaMi.sh and "run the opera- tion." Xo detaMs tir. to the fmnnclnn: of the jtrnject were disrlosed. _l>ehlan<; .'^uhinitted fho mi:: 1 "..irpro- POsal for tlve c.Mitral o(ll« <• tnd \vh«'ii the t)'an \v;«s toa.-.ed .iside rof'pntly, it wa.v under.stnod Leblani^r h.id with- drawn ffoni the miiiaupri;il vfnture. Can License and Bond U was also announrcd tliit the '"xeontive rommittoe in cliar^re of the c^ntril ofllrc is emp >wcred to llcen.vie and bond other aiTcneio:^ (now f-xi-litiR) who may 'tpply for .the^pr,ivilege of selliiicr tirket,s. Tiiey, . . . I • I . •?-.-L-: 5;^ will be required to resell, however, at a stipulated advance over box office prices. That la construed to mean a 60 cent premium limit. The premium to be charged by the cen- tral office has not been determined, but the charge will not be greater than that necessary to carry the overhead of the central agency. Ticket brokers under the new plan will be enabled to secure allotmentK from the central agency and from the group of theatres which will not have tickets on sale there. Tickets will also be on sale at theatre box offices as at present. The central agency is expected to do away en- tirely wUh 'buys" and will also eliminate concession fees paid some theatres <Shubert) by the present agencies. The central agency will probably also cut out the "gravy" to the bo\ offices from brokers. That outlay has been claimed by 8onr»e agencies to be a rea.«4on why excess prices are charged for the big succeik^es. The claim of managers that brokers have been able to make a payment on tickets and still flourish in the face of hich rentals for office and hotel privileges is countered by the state- ment that two leading brokers are in financial difficulties mostly be- cause of high rents. Monday's P. M. A. meeting passed a resolution expressing sorrow at the passing of Percy G. Williams: *'This asFOciation makes record of its sense of loss at his going and 'also of the hicrh esteem in which It held Percy Q. Williams because of his personal charm and human rela- tionships with Its members and for his Integrity and sterling character, which reflected credit upon the pro- fession." The reaction of the Producing Managers' Association committee'? final action in ordering the crea- tion of a central theatre ticket of- fice and the withdrawal of Erlanger from the organisation is that senti- ment against the project has been crystallized among a majority of Independent Interests, If this situ- ation In opposition further develops some managers even now doubt that the agency will actually be opened. If so the announced in- tentions of managers who declared Wednesday they would not be par- ties to the central office will result in only 60 per cent, of Broadway's theatres being represented. Opinion among managers la that the central office Is a strictly Shu- bert proposition and that it Indi- cates a certain breach between Er- langer and the Shuberta. Many theories have arisen, one being that this week's development la a fore- runner of the organizing of an as- sociation of producers only. That would not leave out those produc- ers who a!so contfol theatres, but would be designed to protect pro- ducers whose output is, after all, the one necessary factor to the life of the theatre. Prediction has even been made that a new organization will have E. F, Albee affiliated with Erlanger In the legitimate field. If that oc- curs it would mean certain opposi- tion to Shubert Interests. Albee ha.s been reported considering entering the legitimate field for some time, though met by denials from the vaudeville head. Opposition to Au- gustus Thomas by Erlanger Is the ba.sis of new association reports. In back of the Independent man- agers' belief that the centrol office plan is a Shubert scheme are known tndtB that the Shuberts have prof- ited greatly in fcc5 from the agen- cies. It Is estimated concdsslonp paid by the brokers run to $100,000 annually, and a greater sum Irf*se- cured from box office "gravy." Thit the Shuberts would toss aside that kind of money has made other man- agers 8U.«'plcIou8 of the rea.son Some frankly say they will not place their tickets in an acreney tint miRht pu.sh the .sale for Shubert at- tract ions. Lebfang Another Angle The return of Joe Leblang an<; Iii.s ,inpnn:tn.<>nt as the executive in liar^;c of 'ho propo^trd trtrfrftl-<+f- lice'i."* another ar.jflo causing beli*^; the arronry v.'culd be dominated 1 > Lee Shubert. l,"blani? i.s report.! liaving loj't i-JOOOOO in the Shub«rf vaiiilevillc v.Mii(ir<v q-he ditc of tho oi.eninp: of the propo.scd central oilice has been .^et back until Oct. 1. I-ehlang i.s cred- ited .statincr he w.>uld handle tho oflire f.tily if tfiyen full charge and that ticketa must not b« allotted other afenciea unleas from tha oan- tral ofllca Lebianc la credited with belnflr intereated la three advanoe premium offlcea, but it haa not been stated that theae offlcea wiU not be continued. Manager members of the P: M. A. who have come out into the open against the central office atate they arojustlfled in so acting despite the una'nlmous vote in favor by the P. M. A. because the plan La greatly changed since originally proposed and its primary object of handling all the tickets is already defeated by the Erlanger group refusing to go into the central office. Position of Independents The Selwyna stated they would not place tickets for their three houses In the proposed central of- fice. A. H. Woods declared sim- ilarly and claims to carry four in- dependent theatres ^Ith him. »o Ziegfeld went on record against the plan and that will probably carry Charles Dillingham, who is associ- ated with Erlanger and Ziegfeld in several theatres. The Belasco office is reported opposed, and also the Frohman office, while John Cort, with two houses, went on record as refusing some time ago. The houses which are expected not to have tickets on sale in the central office are New Amsterdam, Liberty, Knickerbocker. Dresden, Gaiety, Fulton, Globe, Belasco, Ly- ceum, Empire, Henry MiUer, Cort, 63d Street, Eltlnge, Selwyn, Times Square, Apollo, Morosco. To be added are houses whose manage- ments are not in the P.M.A., such as the Republic, Garrick. 48th Street and Carroll. There fb doubt also about such houses as the Hudson and Frazee. while It is known others are on the fence ready to swing either way the issue goes. If such a number remain outside the central office tickets for those theatres represented In It will not be handled by the brokers. It will, therefore, be a case of where the hits are so far as the brokers are concerned and the majority haa al- waya been In the Erlanger string. That brokers will be held to a strict observance of the 60-eent law by thoae managementa not going into the oeatral ofllea la fully expected and U la aaaumed the agenclea will not attempt gyppinc for auch at- tractiona Brokers and Shuberta The brokera claim they have been threatened with a central office for yeara. They also aay they have fre- uently been threatened by the Shu- berta to "be cut off" If they did not sell more tickeU for Shubert attrac- tions. When the conoeaston scheme waa introduced by the Shuberta it waa announced there would be no more "buya," but brokers say Imme-' diately after the system was started they were told that buya for Shubert attractiona were neceasary. Feeling against auch methods Is aaid to have resulted In aeveral brokera telling the Shuberta to go ahead and cut them off. That was In answer to a demand the buy for the Winter Gar- den be increased. Lee Shubert Is said to have been In the ticket agency buslneaa before now, and waa named as a partner to W. J. Fallon of the Tyson Co. The participation was supposed not to be successful. About a year ago, Fallon took over the stand ai the Ambassador hotel opened by a Shu- bert relative. The stand was losing heavily at the time. In considera- tion of taking over the concession, Fallon received an agreement guar- anteeing hia agency 76 tickets for each musical show nightly and 50 for dramatic attractiona. The con- tract haa a year to go, and Fallon may place the matter in the courts If not given those allotments. If the central office opens under Leblang'j announced policy of distribution. 3 "8., I. Ain) M'S" ; Three companies of "Sally, trene and Mary" went into rehearsal this week imder Frank Sreithson'a direc- tion. The original company, with Eddie Dowling, opena Aug. 8 in Boa- ton for a run. The others will tour the west and south. "Bal tlabarln," another Shubert production, which was taken off for recasting, will shortly go Into the works again, alao under Smlth^on's direction. ' RHEBA CRAWFORD, "GIRL BDIY SUNDAY" Will Ccarry Broadway to the Provinces Towns and cities outside of New York are going to leam all about Broadway from a woman Evan- gelist. What's mdre, they are likely to hear the truth, in place of the usual distorted and highly-colored stuff, for former Salvation Army Captain Rheb^ Crawford, who is about to go on a Billy Sunday tour of the outlying districts, knows more about the Great White Way than most of the people who have tried to paint it Red. Up to the time Captain Craw- ford turned the steps of the Gaiety theatre into a pulpit and the side- walk Into an open-air cathedral, the Salvation Army hadn't made much headway alogg the Rialto- Crowds had flocked to hear Edna May In a blue bonnet singing "Fol- low On," but they hadn't paid much attention to the real article. Capt Crawford brought her blonde beauty, her passionately eager girlish face'aod her fervent and electrical eloquence to bear on the situation with such success that last October her crowds y^ere so great the police had to arrest her for obstructing traffic. That aHnost provoked a riot. Thou- sands of Indignant citizens, in- cluding some hundreds of veterans In, the American Legion, followed the young woman to the station house and it became necessary to call out the reserves. The next morning Capt. Craw- ford was charged with disorderly conduct and promptly acquitted. Furthermore, her appeals to Mayor Ilylan and Commissioner Enrlght were so moving ahe wa^ given per- mission to hold meetings whenever and wherever she liked. When the Salvation Army called off fur- ther gatherings. Capt Crawford reHlgned from the Salvation Army. 'My work is on Broadway," she .said. "I shall not abandon my battlefield." By this time the 24-year-old girl had become a . national figure. Newspapers printed hundreds of columns abput her. dubbing her Salvation Nell," "The Angel of Times Square," "The Madonna of the lUalto," "The SoulrSaving Heauty" and "The Vamp of the >'.iIvation Army." Mnnager.s made her offers to star in plays and mo- lion pictures, which she firmly de- clined, though they would have hrouKht her a fortune, and gave lit r their theatres for revival m<'et- irtjs. ThcHC Hhe accepted, packlim I hM bi«g«'st hou.ses to the doors. I..a.st winter Capt Crawf«)rd de- i ihd that she had done all sh^ could do on liroadway. "My Job now," she Bald, "in to carry Iboad- way through the country—to make the towns and elties really under- stand this thoroughfare and learn a lesson from it. Broadway isn't, born Broadway. It is recruited in its underworld from the foolish youths and maidens outside. I have something to say to Youth." She talked to Youth, as she had talked to the Great White Way, in Its own langruage. The result was crowds everywhere that packed the churches and thronged the theatrea A Paterson, N. J., church en- gaged her for two weeks and held her over for an additional six. In the two months there was not a vacant seat. The same thing liap- pened at Jamaica. It Is an un- usual thing to confront backsliders with a girl prettier than the pret- tiest girls they know who speaks to them out of an experience familiar to them and In words they understand. Furthermore, people who have heard Capt Crawford declare that her eloquence is the pas!slonate fervor of a Billy Sun- day or a Henry Ward Beecher, and that she talks thrilling com- monsense in the most uncommon way. Hundreds of churches In the South opened their doom to Rheba Crawford. She doubled their con- gregations and their collections. Now she is going back South on a whirlwind tour that will take In every town and hamlet She Is going ^to tell church people the truth about Broadway — that Broadway where, she declares, "you can And the Devil—or God." Most Important of all, frum the viewpoint of Broadway, she is go- ing to talk about the theatre and how It can be made an auxiliary of the chuk-ch, instead of opposition. Capt. Crawford feels that the stage Is one of the greatest forces in the world and that the time has come when the church must recog- nize that fact, and use It for good. She says: "I am preaching no dogma or doctrine. I am repre- senting no sect. I only want to talk^the love of God. My one mis- sion la to make this life a little !)etter for and to restore vision to as many people as I can." Everywhere there is a great scramble on tho part of cliurche.s to get Capt'. Crawford. Clersymen have discovered that she brings now spirit and enthusiasm, and that there Is no surer way of filling tiielr places of worHhIp than by getting Hheba Crawford. Hor tour of the S(»uth, now beincr booked, promises to rival the tours of Killy .Sunday In his hoy-day. BOOKING JAM IN EAST IN LEADING OITICES Duplicate and Triplicate Com- panies for Road—Erlanger^ Factions Are Hits Though this has been the slowest speed summer season for the major producing offices in a generation, a booking Jam in the east Is fore« casted by the two leading offices (Erlanger and Shubert) ^nd Is dated at the beginning of the new season. '^ The generally off business on the road last season was the natural result of the weak crop of produc- tions during 1921-22, when a record number of new plays was tried. The theatrical year Just closed Is credited with having brought forth more hits than In a flock of seasona That has resulted in managers pre- paring duplAate or triplicate colb- panle^ of the plays and the resultant congestion of the bookings. Since June there has been less ac- tivity around the Shubert offices so far as playing attractions are con- cerned than at any time in the past 17 years. Production activity in the Erlanger office declined from the date of the split between Klaw and Erlanger. and that office has rareljr been In the summer show field, the "Follies" revue being an exception. At present there are ontjr Ave Shu- bert attractions operating, the "Passing Show" at the Winter Gar- den. New York; "The Dancing Olrl.^ at the Colonial, Chicago; last sea- son's "Passing Show" In Detroit; "Blossom Time" in Chicago and "Spice Of 1922" on Its war to tha coast In past summer seasons thsM have been at least double the num- ber* of Shubert attractions playing In New York alone. The total num- ber of attractions In their theatrea ^ Broadway and out of town does na( exceed a dozen. In New York there are three successes parked ia Shubert houses, but not produced by them—"Rain" at Mazlne Blllott'a "Seventh Heaven" at the Booth and "Wlldflower" at the Casino. ' Both "Rain" and "Heaven"' art sponsored by producers affiliated with the Erlanger oTlce and would have been spotted In the "syndicate" theatres had any been avallabla when they were brought to Broad- way last season. The Erlanger of- flce now claims to have more new attractions on its books for New York anchorage than it has houses and may have to assign some to the Shubert string. TlKht the latter may again grab two such aucceaaea as "Uain" and "Heaven" Is thereforf quite possible. The Shubert list of available the- atres for the season's opening, how- ever, will not be as large as usual because five have already been rented for special picture showinga Last fall the season got oft to a losing start all over the country, business pot righting until Novem- ber, when a series of smashes en- tered Broadway and toned up the entire list with business thezysafter for several months reaching boom proportions. Expectations are for a better beginning this September because of the reputation of a num- ber of attractions which will count prominently on the road. Activity in the Shubert produc- tion department verifles that Arm will hold to its program of patting on a flight of 20 new atlractions. ail dated to open by the middle of Sep- tember. Some are new shows for Broadway, hut the majority are routed for the road. The touring list does not include the nrodun- tlons being readied for out of town by managers booking through the Shuberts, and the actual number of attractions sent out through that of- flce will more than triple their uwa group. / Bookings for the .smaller stands are claimed fo be greater in volume than for the past three years. An executive Iri charge of one and two- night-stand routing has declared a considerable number of productions turned over io him for booking have been readied away from New York. lift explained that Kqulty regula- tions and t'* "• V irluus hiit-liotpa whi< h havf b'-'-n mounting in and about the metropolis has resulted in chasing managers to other points, where they can proceed without dis- turbance. It is claimed that actors have followed the managers, feeling they can accept engigementa un- hampered by the dictation df an organization,