Variety (June 1924)

€E20c THEATRICALS PRICE 20c SltV.: PiiMisked W*cktr at lt« W«aC Mth SU New Tark. N. T, kv Tarietr. Inc. Annaal ralMcrtptieii V- Stacla evplaa tO eantai Katered aa aecoad claaa mattar I>eoembcr tl. IMt. at tke Poit Oaoa at New Torlc. N. Y., under the A«t of Hareh >, lITt. TOL. LXXV. No. 4 NEW YORK CITY, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 1924 46 P^GBS STRIKE KNOWN SDMBa'S RADIO STAHON h WILL PAY FOR RIGHT TALENT ^,000 Yearly Offer for Orchestra, Two Hours a r Week, $400 Per Hour—Studio in Girabel's Store I' Strictly an Exploitation Adjunct ' f ■■ ■ - -. - ■ . Th» Olmbcl Brothers, New York d«|Mitment store operators, are |>utUllngr a new radio station to be OB a par with the most powerful locally or In the country. It -will be strictly an exploitation Mjunct and already has been licensed, althonsh no station code xmrne has been decided upon aa yet. The studio will be in the Glmbel More, but the antenna will be h>- Icated atop the Hotel Pennsylvania, 1^ engineering reasons. The store will pay desirable tal- ^t of headline proportions. An ot- Jfir ot 140,000 a year to an orchestra ii pending, caUingr for two hours' 1>n>adcaarttng: a week or at the rate M 1400 per hour. FOREIGN PLAY CENTER .flTH $150,000 CAPITAL ^eign Counsels in Chicago ft. Subscribe — Raymond r" O'Weil, Producer Chicago, June 10. f Foreipn consuls, located here, have tbscribed (160,000 cash for an tn- rnatlonal theatre to exploit for- plays. 'Antolnia Barthel, French consul will be at the bead of the Enterprise, which plana each week duplicate various loreign produc- ions. Raymond O'Nell Is to be the pro- WKW. sad u reported In New York ♦franglng and selecting a cast. tt is proposed to rent a Lioop Md commence actual pre8entatlo<j la September. Those who have put money Into the venture are representatives ot great Britain, Gremany, Hondura.s, Nicaragua, Bulgaria, Spain, Norway tad Netherlands. IHVITED TO REHEARSAL Chicago, June 10. The Wisconsin In Milwaukee, has .revived the idea that was inaugu- rated In the Loew houses. The cus- Pwners are Invitpi to attend the rc- Btears&la every Saturday morning, the opening da/. I The stage is bare with the usual noifie. ^ The stunt ha.^ proved un interest- lJ"S to the general public as the morning racelpU have shown no 'norgise. UNION MUSiaANS DEIIlANO$5,000AMAN Boston Is Keynote—$75,000 for Leader—^^ondition on Men Remaining in Theatre Demands for new conditions by stage hands and musicians in vari- ous points indicate a trend toward the guaranteeing of a minimum number of weeks for ths season under work or pay contracts. In ad- dition a minimum number of men would bo required throughout the season. Boston may strike the keynote of the conditions sought. The musi- cians ask for a guarantee of (5,000 per man on the season and (7,500 for the leader if the same players re- main in the theatre through the sea- son. The stage hands are asking for IS a performance. Conferences started this week be- tween the executives of the Interna- tional Theatrical Association and back stags labor union olSclaij for new agreements covering next sea- son. The first seals taken up coa- cerns a dentand for |10 weekly ad- ditional for the road. Roiul men are now receiving (75 weekly. Because af the Equity situation the matter jC contracts with the stage hands and musicians has at-' tracted extra notice. The local mu- sicians' union contract extends for another year, but the road men's oontract expires this summer, and (Continued on Page 6) HANDCUFF KING'S' CHANCE Harold Rivers Sent Prison to Auburn Bufralo. June 10. Wlule five deputy sherlfTs were concentratiag their efforts on Har- old Rivera, "Handcuff King." who was being taken to Auburn prison to serve a sentence for grand larceny, another prisoner and member of the Marae party, Herman Miasz^x. con- victed ot burglary and .'ieiitenced to five ypais, slipped out of his sliackles and escaped. Uivera. a former performer, magi- cian and handcuff artist, was con- victed of a confidence ewne involv- ing the sale of a mythical theatrical ageticy to half a doicn diflferent vic- tims. B' ir IIIT FOR PICMS Equitjr - Ordered Theatrical Strike SUaMmg StiU Siaoe Invoked—^Waiting: for De cinoB in Higher Court on Legality of 60-20 Agree- ment Between Equity and Shubert Faction — Emer- son'* Sailing in Midst of Trouble Commented Upon ^New Production at Low- est Ebb $150,006 FOR THE GLOBE The actors strike of 19:4 thus far is the deadest event of its kind known. This is the second week since Elqufty ordered the. players out in eight attractions which promptly closed. Since then there have been so little development the situation may be measured as being less than one half ot one per cent. That ^Continued on Page 10) ii« WITH 7 EQUirrs W NEW "SCANDALS First Independent Company Not 100% Equity Since Strike Speculation hsui been aroused along Broadway as to the standing of Oeorge White's new "Scandals" in light of the Equity strike. White is going ahead with the production and the show is due to ooen at the (Continued on page T) AMATEURS IN PROLOGS MUNICIPAL THEATRKAI^ HELP, LEfirr HOUSES IN INMANAPOUS City Takes Decided Turn with Entrance of Stock*— Walked Out on Road Shows All «'Abie*s" Big Adrance Sale Picture House at Nswburgh Opens Up New Avenue for Home Talent Newburgh, N. T., June 10. The Academy is tryiiij? a nrw angle to the home talent idea, by staging prolog.s to tlie fcitiiie picture the first halt of the wpok. Amateurs are invited to take i>art, having their niunea progiamcU or not, as they wish. As the prologs do not require dia- log, even those who suffer from stage fright can fake a chance on appearing. It i< olatmeil that through appearance In pantomime, stag's nervousness may be overcome. HARVARD'S "JIMYS" ONE-NKHTING « TRUCK Harvard Dramatic Club's Barnstorming Season for New England Boston, June 10. Five members of the Harvard Dramatic Club will go "on the road"' this summer with the "Jitney Play- ers," an organization of professional actors and actresses who, for the second successive season, will barn- storm New England In a flivver' truck. It's a one-night stand tour, with the flivver serving as means of transportation In the evenings and as tne stage in the daytime. An original folding, device, plus a few tents, will serve as dressing rooms, making this possible. "Creatures of Impulse," by W. S Gilbert; "The Countess Cathleen," by W. B. Yeats; "Skeletons," by Constance Wilcox, and an old Elizabethan play used by the stroll- ing players of the early seventeenth century, "Gammer Curton's Needle," are the pieces the Jitneyltes are planning to Impose upon the unsus- pecting of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut. The venture is under the direc- tion of Bushnell Cheney. Tale, '21. A year ago, with the same sort of (Continued on page t) 2ND GENERATION GROUP Sons of Their Fathers Producing Together The second generation is largely rcprosentpd In a new producinR group said not to l»e a closed stock oorpor.ition. The sons of a play- wright ,in(l librettist are pcriiaps tho best known names. In tlie group are Luke Thomas, son of Augiistu.s Thomas, nnd Kid- no.v Kmilli. wliose father is H.iri.v H. .Smith. The boys collaborated in writing "Lo\e ot Mike" some year.s iKO, Younjj Thomas has written several pliiys not firoiliif-orl. but hntt ilevoted most ot his time to short stories. Klmel Jenks. Jr., son of fMrnior Justice* Jenks. is in the new pro- ducing offlce as Is John C')Iton, co- author ot "Rain." Iii4laaa»*Ui. twm U. Indiatiapolls, the despair tt ■howa, suddenir and without ex- planation, has atarted sebic to tke theatre. The reriral startM about a wec4c ago. Managers who had tried every crowd drawing trick without attc- oess looked at the box office retunia a second time, and then quit tryioc to flgure It out The Murat Players. Walter Voa- negut's stock company at the Murat, which had what might be beat te describe as a miserable month, found their turning point week be- fore last in "Icebound." Busiaesa (Continued on page S) OlAliTAUQUA NOT SO BAD IN MILL SEASON More Actors Heeding Long- Grass Touring Touring Or- ganizations Than Ever Actors who heretofore had sneered at prospectlva engagements with chautaqua organizations have this season changed their tune. The chautauquas are getting a better grade of talent than In previous sea- sons. Actors have shied at accepting engagements with the long-gras:< touring organizations, taking the at- titude such an engagement was con- sidered little better than "barH- stormlng" and would badly crimp their professional reputations. This season It's different. AM sorts of well-known legit players have flocked over to the chau - t.'tiiquas, evidently figuring th U c\'on though the compensation ix .imall It's steady Work and .surf> money; better than passing at\ Idl' .summer on the heated pavements i»f liroadway, with plenty of lime op'^n and nolliir:;; to ilo with it. COSTUMES Who will make your text onesT Those who have bought from us BROOICS-MAHIEU IMT Idray T*l. Utt Pcan. M. M. Ciir .^11,000 Costumes for Rentaf__