Variety (June 1924)

IT?:- ■ T-'-^^^^Tin^w'S'^rr'^': Wednesday, Jutw' 4^ IMM JUeCJXlMATE »»^y •v'^I^WWF^HPIf: VARIETY 11 EQUITY'S ACTORS' STRIKE IS ON; f 1,000 PEOni THROWN OUT OF WORK /Retort, Stage Hands, Muiicians and Theatre Em- ployes Forced Into Idleness When Eight Shows Stop—''Hits" Among Them * When Supreme Court Justice Mc- Oook denied the motion for a tem- porary Injunction sought by the round robin group of the Producing Managers Association to restrain Equity and the Shubert faction (new Managers Protective Association) from entering Into the 80-20 agree- ment last weeic, the actors' strilce of 1924 started Saturday night. Every one of the eight attractions toe players of which were ordered by Equity leaders to hand in notipe? May 17 went darlc. Seven were kmong Broadway's biggest snc- pesses, while one was playing the outlying houses. The attractions forced off the boards are "The Stepping Stones" (Globe). "The Swan" (Cort), "Rain" (Maxlne Elliott's), "The Nervous Wrecli" (Sam H. JIarris). "Seventh Heaven" (Booth). "The Outsider" (Ambassador) and "Hell Bent fer Heaven" (Bronx Opera House). Orlg-. Inally there were 10 shows pro- scribed by Equity. "Beggar on HorselMclc" was removed, however, liee Shubert, who owned 50 per cent of the stock, is reported having taken over , the balance. "The Changelings" closed two weelcs ago. The round robins have appealed the injunctive proceeding to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, where it is marked for con- sideration June 13. Legal opinion as to the original order to restrain was that it might lose because of being premature; the damage to property had not occurred. Counsel examining the agreement state the contention of the P. M. A. la illegal, on the grounds of con- spiracy, monopoly and attempted extortion, will likely be upheld in the higher court. The stay that accompanied the temporary injunction was dissolved by the McCook decision, and Equity proceeded to place the new minimum standard contracts Into use. Should the Appellate Division re- verso the lower court the strike will assume an illegal aspect, and the situation between the two mana- gerial factions and Equity will be thrown intA a worse muddle than now. Possible Damage Suits The liability of the managers who illgned the new agreement and the Bquity association, should the in- Ijtinctlon be granted. Is receiving at- tention. It was intimated early this week that civil actions for damages iwould be instituted because of the Injury to property rights brought •)>out by the shutting down of shows. How far Equity will go at the present time with the strike is ques- tionable. The legality of the con- tract still being in balance, it was understood none of the attractions on tour would l>e disturbed at this time. No orders have been issued Covering tryouts by the round robins, though the number of new shows reaching the boards in such points Is th* lowest on record. .The actors' strike is a strictly per- centage aftair. Players In some at- tractions have been forced to quit, wMIe others are undisturbed. That .a> feeling among many members ex- tst^ something Is faulty in the entire «chen)» is undoubted. Up to Saturday there was a chance to estop the closing by legal process. (Contln-ued on page 46) "CHEESE IT" REVUE Cheese Club Menabers with Show and Plan . The Cheese Club, a bunch of press ■gents who crashed on to Broadway this week as sponsors of "One Helluva Night," admitted by them to be the world's worst play, now plan a musical show next fall. It Is planned to work out a revue of novelties with the Idea that the ma- terial will be tiken over by a reg- ular manager, similar to the Illus- trators, whose mnterial Is the ixiala for "Artists and Mo;1ela." The name of Iho Cheese Club show will be "Cheese It." Wholesale Salary Cats Reports that wholesale sal- ary cuts for artists engaged in Shubert productions are in order permeated Broadway. According to those claiming Inside into the Shubects, by allying themselves with Equity, executed a stragetlcal coup whereby they have the entire field to pick from, witk num- erous players for every Job. TWO AARON HOFFMAN PLAYS UNFINISHED Jones & Green May Call In An- other Author—Late Author's Heirs' Consent Necessary The untimely death of Aaron Hoff- man may change the production plans of A. It. Jones and Morris Green, inasmuch as the author was at work on two new plays for the Arm. One was "Good for Nothltig Jones," In which Eddie Buzzell was to have starred, and a revised edi- tion of "The Politicians," tentatively chosen as the new piece for Gal- lagher and Shean. Hoffman had been working si- multaneously on both and finished neither. The firm may call In another au- thor to complete the plays, but the latter will have to be okayed by the heirs of Hodman before permitted to finish the scripts. BOOMING HOPPER Washington Likes Summer Opera Ides at fIJtO 'Washington, June I. . Everything'is set for the opening of the De Wolf Hopper company June 9 at Poll's. George W. Sam- mis boM the local dailies lined up, eacb devoting much space in tell- ing Washington that such an aggre- gation as Hopper is bringing here is what is needed. The company will have a clear field. "The Mikado" is to be the open- ing bill, followed by "The Prince of Piisen. The organization being brought by Mr. Hopper has been with him for 87 weelcs. Some of the prin- cipals are J. Humblrd Duffy, Arthur Cunningham, Herbert Watrous, Henry Kelly, Ethel Walker and a chorus of 30. A happy thought, so the local scribes say, was the setting of the scale at )1.60 top, as this should hit the government employes' pocket- books Just right, as they are about the only ones left here during the summer. , 1WRACLE" MAY MOVE TO ROilD NEXT SEiiSON Costly Spectacle Receives Of- fer From Cleveland—$100,- 000 Profit for Gest in It "The Miracle" may be presented outside of New Xork next season, although until recentiyt when the last month was announced for the mammoth pantomime at tbe Cen- tury, the advs stated it would not be shown in any other city than New York. The half-million dollar production was designed only for the Century, but construction. experts are figur- ing on a plan whereby it can be moved. It is conceded to be the biggest production ever attempted Inside a theatre. Morris Gest, who is presenting "The Miracle," has received an offer from a group of Cleveland men to put the attraction on there for "five weeks, starting next November. They propose to stage it in the publlo auditorium, which has a capiacity of 14,000 but after the, "Miracle" is set up will accommo- date 7,S00. The Cleveland offer guarantees |32S,O00 for the engagement, the local group taking care of the rental of the auditorium. According to estimates, the offer would mean 9100,000 profit to Gest. If .the "Miracle" is also shown In Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia, the initial production cost may be regained. To date the big show is about $300,000 on the wron«r side, al- though the sensational business of the first months brought a profit over actual operation, the show be- ing about $200,000 ahead, not count- ing production outlay. The Cleveland citizens Interested are the same who financed the Met- ropolitan Opera week there,, when the gross amounted to $150,000. BELLE BENNETT'S NEW PLAT San Francisco, June t. Belle Bennett, former San Fran- .cisco stock actress, now In Holly- wood, is reported contemplatlnir a return to the stage and to have ac- cepted for production a new play written by Mrs. Luella B. Jackson. The piece Is called "Ashes and Embers," and Is said to be a dram- atization of a screen story written by Mrs. Jackson, which was titled "Glowing Embers." EDDIE CANTOR'S PLAT "Restless Jim Mallon" as a work- ing title is by J. C. Nugent, who also wilt appear in It. along with his daughter Ruth. Associated with Mr. Nugent in the production of the play Will be Eddie Cantor. The piece is shortly going into re- hearsal. L. White's Minstrels Next Sesson Lasses White's Minstrels ars go- ing out again next season, with Wil- liam Spaeth again the ma& behind the show. Grant Luce will again handle the advance. Season's First Selections Of Stage's Best Plays Seen Washington, June 3. Harold Phillips, in his daily column, "The Gate-Post," is the first critic out with the "best plays of the season." Mr. Phillips has listed them thusly: It seems to us that— i Outstanding dramatic play was "Outward Bound." nest of all possible entertainments, "Beggar on Horsebaok." Best musical comedy, "Kid Boots." Best fantasy, "Sancho Panza." ', ., ' * • ' Host mystery play, "In the Next Room." ■ . •• IJ6«t rev'val, John B.irrymore's "Hamlet." ,:.'. '' Beat revue. Earl Carroll's "Vanities." , Best ricce of bunk, "The Fool." . Best burlesque, "I'll Say She Is." . ' Best farce, "The Nervous Wreck" Best straight comedy. "Merton of the Movies." !' And the best ^leee of impudence, "Early to Bed." ■■ •' , Hotel Bills Used Up Proqiotioii Banlaroll Showmen sometimes wonder how sour plays get bankrolled and the apparent unlimited supply of "angels." The alleged promoting of a piece of recent vintage, however, ought to get a prize. The author has his wife In thS' lead. They suc- ceeded in getting $8,000 from backers but figured that was not enough, particularly as they planned to put on other shows if the first one flopped. The couple rented a suite at the Hotel McAlpin and enter- tained lavishly. Inviting cer- tain men of means from the East Side. The first week the bill was $750. and 20 cents for laundry.: The second week the hotel's nick was about $7>0 with the laundry 40 cents. With no results they moved to the Commodore the third week. There, too, they seemed to have selected the wrona prospects and woke up to the fact that the original b.r. was shot. However, they are reported having attracted a race track man to finance the show to the tune of $1,900. ROLE PLAYER NEEDED Aspirants for "Mrs. .Issaa Cohsn" Notsbly Absent Anne Nichols, author-producer of "Abie's Iriah Rose," is having con- siderable difficulty in casting the role of Mrs. Isaac Cohen for the De- troit company of the piece now In rehearsal! In assembling the previous com panies Miss Nichols has drawn upon the Jewish theatares for the part but seems to have run up agrainst a snag in this instance. One of the drawbacks is said to be on account of .the timidity of a number of Jewish actresses to court trouble with the Hebrew Actors' Union by filfting over to the Kng' lish-speaklng stage, which gener- ally meatiS expulsion or at least loss of priority. Many of the actresses deemed capable for the role take the attitude that while they may get by in this particular type of role they may never get another opportunity on the Einglish-speaklng stage, and fig' ure it hardly worth while to court union trouble for the single engage- ment. It has been the general custom of the Hebrew Actors' Union, acjord- Ing to reports, to expel membert who embraced the English-speaking stags. Some yeiars ago Bertha Kalich was expelled from the union for having adopted the English-speak- ing stage. She was later reinstated and Is said to be' the only exception to this ruling. LAURETTE TAYLOR'S HOUSE Announces it for New York—Hsrsetf ss Director-Mansgsr Los Angeles, June >. lAurette Taylor comes forth with the announcement that next season she will bs a director-manager through the establishment of a the- atre in New York in which her hus- band, J. Hartley Manners, Ed^t Selwyn and herself will be inter'- ested. The theatre she suggests is to have associated with her as play- ers Catherine Cornell and Philip Merrlvale. "TOU AND I" BT QIBIS Troy. N. T., June S. Box and Candles, the dramatic society of Russell Sage Girl's Col- lege, will piMient "You and I" for the first time here June 18. as part of the commencement week festivi- ties. Mary Ida Hare will direct. All the roles will bs played by young women. Adspting "Comsdlinns" Henry Baron has acquired the American rights to "Ctmedienne," by Arnot and Bousquetto, py>duced In Paris. He will ndatt it for a hearing in the -sarly fall. I v.. V f I I .) ,1 1 Weissr's "Locked Door" Jacob Welser will shortly produce "The Locked Door." It is now being cast. Reginald Mason and Hortense Adier head the comp.any. NEWSPAPERIKN'S SHOW QUITS, $25,000 LOSER "Round the Town" Lasted Nearly 2 Weeks—"World" Columnist Featured and $2,800 Gross at $3.50 "Round tbe Town," a revue pro- duced by S. Jay Kaufman and Henry Mankiewici. both New York news- papermen, stopped suddenly at the Century Roof Saturday after play- ing only a week and four days. The takings last week were $2,S00, which, at $3.50 top. Is probably the lowest gross for any attraction with such an admission scale on record. The loss was about $26,000. Neither Kaufman nor Mankiewics invested In the show, although the latter is reported having dug up $«,. 000 on his own Saturday to pay saui- rles. Kaufman left for EUrOpe last week. The principal backer of "Round the Town" was Hlrain Abrams, who put In $10,000. Ed Bloom, one of the Shu- bert executives, invested $5,000, while Hiram Bloomingdale of department store note and Jack Sadowsky, prom- inent In the cloak and suit trade, each Invested <2,I00 each. It Is said. Heywood Broun, columnist and critic for the "Morning World," was a feature. It was figured his widely read column would have attracted some measure of business, but It failed to do so. Broun's contract called for |400 weekly. Ths critic volunUrtly reduced his stipend to $260. The revue attempted to substitute midnight perfonnances on the roof in lieu of matlness. but had trouble In attracting audiences free for the late trick. Players In current fcttrao- tions were Invited to attend, other- wise the late shows would have been played to empty chairs. One matinee was given Memorial Dsr The gross for the afternoon was $201. but the Shubert beneficial fund was enriched $86 on "taxes" (10 per cent) paid for passes at that performance. The, choristers were paid off in cash Saturday night, but It was de- nied that Lee Shubert had advanced the money. Kaufman Is said to^have had 68 per cent of the stock. His brother, a manufacturer. Is reported having invested some money la the show and was asked to help llquldAte Its obligations. PATRICIA IS BACIC ' Admits Temperament Kept H^ Out of Circds for Few Osys Buffalo, June 3. The John Robinson CIreus has Patricia Salmon back with It, and they (u-e a happy family once more. Patricia admits U was tempera- ment that caused ber to become sep- arated without notice for a few days from the outfit Now Pat says not even the "Follies" can lure her back to the stage. "Pat," as the tot calls her, besides singing whils riding a horse during the performance, appears in the pa- rade, eats in the cookhouse and looks after her two horses herself. In the performance she is doing her "Follies" act (announced). The applause greeting the mention indi- cates Pat's Broadway career has penetrated Into the sticks. PAGAN'S 'ADORABLE SPABTAN' Myron C. Fagan, author of "Two Strangers From Nowhere," hak completed another play, "The Ador- able Spartan." He wUl produce it in August. Jeanne Dors" With Bev. Sitgresvss Mindlln A Goldreyer have ac- quired the rights to "Jeanne Dore" by Tristan Bernard, to be adapted as a starring vehicle for Beverly SItgreaves. The piece will be Uied out early in July. Gillmore's Salary Highlights of Equity's annual meeting at the Astor Monday in- cluded a vote to grant Frank Giilmore a raise In salary, within the discretion of the Council Gillmore's reputed salary to date has been $10,000 a year. It was also moved to designate players wlio walked out last Sat- urday as an honor roll, each such player being entitled to a gold or gilt star. u'iX