Variety (June 1925)

iKL'-\ ■ iSiJk'J rii"'^ ■" ■ -K*mrr2s-KTW^^'-\f''-^ XmyliV>8d»y.| J<ff»«, H, IW» LEGITIMATE • (*'; . n^^-.^ t : ^ijfrsv; msiDE sm ON LECn t,\if"lA '**i:«^^^^j:*J[Continued from page 2T) ' Interest and principal. Arthur Brisbane, editor ot the Hearst paperA, U president of the borrowing corporation. It U announced the bonds are a direct closed Arst mortgage on the <^ following: 18-story ofllee building and land in fee, 20 X^ast &7th street; ^ 20-Btory .offlce building aivd long-term leasehold estate, S East 67th J atreet; 26-story apartmeht hotel and land In <ee, northeast corner 64th 1 street and sixth avenue; the new Zlegfeld Theatre and land in fee, leased '" for a period of five years to Flo Zlegfeld, Jr., northwest corner B4th street and 6tb avenue, and two completed business buildings and land in * 'fee. » Blast 57th street. The flrst four of these prc4>ertle8 are to be erected at once. It Is stated. NEW PLAYS PRODUCED w OUTSIDE OF NEW YORK H:' ^ ">• X. % nt' Although not generally known, John Cort relinquished control of Wallack's, on 42nd street, New fork, shortly after assuming control ■everal months ago. The house Is being operated again by Melster A Co., in which Charles Chanln is Interested. Wallack's was called the Frazek uhtll Cort stepped in and out. The lease held by H. H. Frazee has 10 years to run. Frasos sold the lease to Samuel Brenner, realty operator, who later disposed of It to Melster. Within a year there have been half a dozen owners, but Dixie French remains the executive to*?'***'- ■■ ■ ^/;::i«xsi. ' i'^.;j't;;-.' . : For actors who And themselves without 'suinm«r engagements, there has appeared a new wrinkle. It Is as a dramatic counsellor at summer camps. These places flourish mainly In Mew England, New York and Penn- sylvania itfid number about S80. Most are for young boys, while 4^e others ar« divided &mpng i^irl and adults camps, each having a diU- uattait in charge. Until lately the camp directors have Shown partiality to high school Instructors, but now that attractive dramatic departments are becoming unusually good bait for the pcu-ents of children entrants, they are angling for ptrofefviional players to teach. The camp season is July and August Salaries oftered to instructors for this time are Just about acceptable, but an enjoyable vacation Is hAd. One of the skits in •Kkurick Qaletles" is on President and Mrs. Coolidge, and was written by Morris Rysklild and Arthur Sullivan. The script of ths sketch covers six pages. The contract which they were given by the Theatrs Guild held II pages. . v,. .. Now the boys, who wroto the thing expecting to get publicity and no money, are dr»wtog royalties on it. for tho "GaloUea" has gone on for regular performaneotf. Among the prized possessions of Ctoorge Kennington Is an original play by Bret Harte and Mark Twain, onUUed "Our Sin." flrst produced ta New York in the 'Mb. Kennington bought ths piece from Mrs. Charles T. Parsloe, whoss husband was of the original cast, playing ths role •f the Chinaman. A leadipg woman of Broadway is preplexed. Her problem is, "Whetlier JUNE DAYS Chlcako, Jnoe S3. A inuslc«I eomedjr adapted from "The Charm School," br Alice llllltr. Pr«a«nt«d at the Garrlck. Chicago, by the Bhuberte. Book br Harrr W. Qrlbbla and Cjrrua Wood. Staged br J. C. Huffman. Ruaie Rolls Uladye Walton Mr*. Rollea Winifred Harris Balljr Boyd Berta Donn Oeorse Ooyd Maurice Holland Herman Vap Zandt Lee Kohlmar David Stewart Qeorce Dobbs Austin Bevana Ror Royston Mils Hayes Claire arenyllle MiM Curtis Millie James EUle BenedottI Elisabeth HInea Johnson Jay C Fllppen whole production invested with speed and lustre. It Is reasonable to txpect "June Days" will last out the summer. The house has "Mer- cenary Mary" penciled In for Sep- tember.,.. . -: , .,, • ,■ __— . . Loop. GRAND ST. FOLLIES Third (1025) edition, opening June 1^ 1925. at the Neighborhood Playhouse. Bo«>k and lyrics by Asnes Morgan; music by lAly Hyland. Settings by Rossel Wright; :cos- tumes by Wright and Aline Bernstein. Dances staged by Alt>ert Carroll. ^Ine skits listed. "June Days" Is the fourth title of this Shubert property. Under its former titles of "The Charm School," "The School Maid" and "School Belles" It was a flop. Sach time ordered back to the warehouse Lee tried again. At last they seem to have put the thing over. It Is rea- sonable to believe that "June Days" won't go to the warehouse until all the big cities and a whole lot of the sticks have paid off the debits incurred by those experimental flops. "June Days" has a couple of catchy tunes, but lacks real wow song hits. The theme song, "Why Is Love" is pretty in a mild sort of way, but it's not ths kind they whistle. A comedy so. j used by Ellizabeth Hlnes, Roy Royston, Berta Donn and George Dobbs In the sec- ond act entitled "How Do You Doo- dle Do?" has been done hereabouts in vaudeville. The muslo is the show's principal weakness, although number for number it would prob- ably par anything in the average musical comedy. Also, the third act is rather poor, something of an anti- climax. It is short and snappy and tliat excuses a lot. Incidentally, the show runs a trifle over-long, tUe third act not getting started until 10:48. The east Is excellent and the chorus of !• easily one of the best. Without exception, each of the girls Is a stunner for looks, and at least half of them contribute worthy solo Man Witii a Load of Hitchief Newark, N. J., June 19. Romantic comedy tn three acU by Ashley Dukes, starring Ruth Chattarton. Presenl- ed at the Broad. Newark, N. J.. June 15. Alidy ""»,? 'V^'",S''*°" Her Mild J'l!:'.*''',rnr?l^ A Nobleman •*P^1'' £?°7" His Man Ralph Forbes An Innkeeper • • A. O. Anirevr. His Wife Bertha Ballenger '.s* A leading woman ot isroaaway is prwpiexeo. "wc »,»""™*» •-• "— •«"»■ v. i.u«ui «iuuuiuui« wuiuiy ouiu she shall inwirry a millionaire and retire from the stage, or wave him aside work. They bars boendrilled to the sue ■a»ii^uuMi7 » M* JZ „ twitter of a nerre by Seymour Felix. «n4 go along with her career. . ■ ■ u.. ConsulUng friends about the problem the consensus of opinion has been for her to-marry the guy." Jose Rubefa and Mary Nash, wlio have been married for several yeara, h«vs soparated and Ruben is now doing picture work on the cowt-J^hlle Miss Nart is at her home in New York. A dlvoroe U held unlikely by their friends. ^..,v ;.,,....j..;-: Bleinbr Robs^nBelinont h« been reported returning to the ■*•«• n«t fall but there U nd verification. Recently the Belmoi^t stAble of her late'htiSbands was sold, converting fTOO.OM to the estate. Messmore Kendall financed three plays for the producing froupot last season comprising Robert Milton, Arthur Hornblow, ^J-^^^ Bolton. As Milton has arranged to stage productions for wiUl^ Hartta. Jr., next seasin, the producing group may have dlssolvod or U now bereft of the Milton advice and services. - ,^ Among the plays Kendall (an attorney) backed were -Far cry, •The Youngest" and "Dark Angel." On West 44th street between Sixth avenue and Broadway remodeling •f « 20-foot front store Is proceeding for a theatre, according to report, which cannot seat over 200. Young Margolies, son of the buUder, said to be behind >fte theatre venture. _^*.„_- Is Some Broadway productions rated ringing success turn out to be otherwise. A prominent example is "Beggar On Horseback now in pictures. It was probably the film rights that took the producers off the nut. The show ran some 26 weeks In New York. The flrst eight or nine weeks, saw grosses of $19,000 and as high as $21,000 or more, but at the start of last summer an unprofitable pace was down to $8,iM>ti. which was unprofitable. , .,» , ,. v.. a ••Beggar' cost $BS.0OO to produce. When It left New York. It had gained back all but a few thousand. On the road It started at a record pace in the major stands then tapered off sharply after a few weelM. That was true of Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia. In the Intermediate stands what was made In the bigger cities was lost back. In addition to its production outlay the royalties for "Beggar" were exceptionally high, looks like the authors, George Kaufman and Marc ConneUy, made more out of the show than the management. ■ Last Sunday the New York "araphlc" reduced Us stand price to flve cents.. Jt had started at 10 cents. "The Bulletin" on Sunday a so ""« at flve cents. No particular pushing or deni»nd for either paper Is nptea OB n Sunday in TImef Square. •'• ' i"' •'t . An accounting for the profits of "Polly Preferred" will have to be given under the recent court decision deciding Guy Bolton had the story suggested to him by the Dyanov script It is ""•''t^f .^^'^ f "'"f* of "Polly Preferred" as a play were not over $40,000. Added to this will have to be the moneys derived from the pictures and stock rights. - There has been a belief that the new Masonic Temple In Spokane wouM house the big road shows, but It has since developed that its stage is not big enough to accommodate them. The theatre part of tljie Temple, however, will provide for cerUin stage entertainment next ''Wi^i'th'e "1^'orth American" out and the ."Record and Inquirer" never ■ ' . .._ ' 'ger" was the Waters, idra- matlc crUlc, listed "ttell Bent, Fer Heaven," "Tarnish." "The Studerit Prince," "Beggar On Horseback," "Chariot's Revue." "The Swan. The Dark Anfeel." "Grounds for Divorce." and "She H^d to Know" as the best playA, ll.stett In Oi^der of, their appear.ince, not their merit. He ptefaded his findings with the statement the three revivals. "Cyrano," "The Rivals" and "Candida" were at the top, but the list included only new plays. J6s. Wllli'corhbe, private secretary to W. R. Hearst for several years. .With the "North American" oui ana mo • xvrv;ui« «...- ...h— *> going In for this popular Indoor sport, the "Public Ledger' only pa'per to pick the "best shows" of the season. A. B. Wat w..;,!-' ^,1- ,,-t.ii w.-tv.i^ ■o«~, -Co.- TToavAn" "Tarnish." "The Varying the style of the numbers, Felix has the girls work In couplets, trios, fours, alone and tn all sorts of formations. The audience ap- plauded In the midst of numbers sevsra^ times. Muoh of the word-of- mouth advertising, which the show Is getting and wbiob give* it a flghUng chance to survive through th« hot weather is attributable to the impression the chpriu has made. Miss Hlnes is starred with Roy Royston and Jay C. Fllppen fea- tured. Royston at first (.'.ince is doubtful, but after a few minutes he gets you. The English Juvenile has a Juicy part imd oddly enough he bears a definite resemhlance to thS late Wallace Reid^ who Cid the role for the movies about four years ago. Royston has much the came way of elevating his eyebrows. (Royston Is not. however, a blonde.) He sings nicely, has an easy grace and a ready mimicry In polite hokum dancing, and is a capable handler of dialog. There Is finesse to Roy- ston's work and he wears clothes like an engraver's plate. Miss Hlnes exhibits to advantage, winning more on her Innate class than because of anything she is called upon to do. Unlike most mu- sical comedies, the plot of "June Days" does not rotate exclusively about the heroine and to that extent Miss Hlnes derives less personal glory than she would In a piece con- structed along the usual lines. Jay FHppen seems to have been grafted arbitrarily Into ard on to the show. Excepting Lee Kohlmer's "Mine Gott" German < haracterlxa- tlon, Fllppen provides all the heavy laughs (Royston's stuff ' nlng quieter). Fllppen is a clever cork comic and won call-backs on all of his songs. His material, which smacks of vaudeville, has plainly been Interpolated, probably by him- self. It Is all good, barring a varia- tion of the old how do you spell chrysanthemum gag. (All the tabs In the country use on^ version or an- other of that gag.) The plot concerns the efforts of a handsome young man to run a girl's finishing school. Inherited from an aunt. The trivial skeleton of an idea has been skilfully padded and the This play, reported successful In London, hw little chance ot popu- larity here. It Is a half-satirical, ■romantic comedy ot English life In A woman, the mistress of the prince, files from him with her maid. In pursuit comes a nobleman with his man who rescue the women from an accident and arrive with them at a humble inn called "The Man with a Load of Mischief." The lord's motives are not clear but It develops that he plans to pro- tect the prince's mistress. Cynical and selflsh. he arouses the anger of the lady who Insults him. For ro- venge he persuades his servant, S philosophic radical, to win her for the night and then expose her. The man. for years an admirer of the woman, whose confidence he has al- ready won, consents, and while the noble is in the arms of the com- plaisant maid, he wins the mistress. But he will not take her until she agrees her heart goes along. The next morning the man as- serts that he failed, to the lord's great amusement, changed to dis- may when the mistress accuses him of having passed the night with her. He almost shrieks his Innocence but she insists that that Is the story she will tell the prince unless un- molested. In despair the nobleman appeals with a bag of gold to the maid to prove his alibi but, vexed by his cavalier treatment of her, she only slaps his face. As the man and the mistress run away, he is left to face the prince and pay the bill for all. Albeit not offensive, the play is imblushlngly frank. Its failure to appeal Is through the characters arousing no sympathy until too late and the piece is written so pecu- liarly that its intent does not be- come clear. The many clever lines and the sardonic humor of the situ- ations win no doubt attract a class patronage only. Save for a few very modem touc|ies the drama might well be pre-Ibsen. Soliloquies and music cues run clot und evon rhyined couplets appear. The language often becomes poetic and sententious, and the action Is at times stagnant. But it might be re- written into a hit. The acting is high-grade and with greater familiarity should Improve. The play can stand nothing but the very best Interpretation. McKay Morris in the rich part of the noble- man walks away with the show, al- though even his characterization can be mellowed. Miss Chatterton Is good so far as she goes but she has no more at present than the part superficially. The others do well, although Ralph Forbes, through excessive restraint, becomes stilted. In emotional scenes both he and Miss Chatterton fall to suggest pas- sion. The play is staged and costumed effectively. Miss Chatterton wears one dress that is an cye-fiUer, but her elaborate riding habit Is hope- lessly unbecoming. No credit Is given on the program but the Shuberts are behind this and that Miss Chatterton directed it. Austin. "CHATTEBBOX" MATBE An effort Is being made to re- organize "Chatterbox," the Will Morrlssey revue, which got no fut:- ther than Brooklyn. It was reported Frances White and Charles Pur- cell might step Into the cast. Hal Skelly, who was featured with the show, is seeking new financial back- ing. resigned shortly before Mr. Hearst left New York about 10 days ago. Mr. Willicombe was at once appointed by Mr. Hearst circulation manager of the New York "American," a position that wUl yield him twice the salary he received as Hearst's secretary. The announcement that Kenneth MacGowan, Eugene O'Neill and Robert Edmond Jones have withdrawn from the management at the Provlncetown Playhouse does not mean that the little MacDougal street theatre is no longer connected with thQ Provlncetown group. It means that MacGowan, O'Neill and Jones will devote all their time to the pro- ductions at the Greenwich Village theatre, while James Light, Eleanor Fitzgerald and Cleon Throckmorton will run the Provlncetown. Their productions will be of a purely experimental nature, while the Greenwich Village wing of the Provincetowners, Inc., will do one production. "The Kountaln." by O'Neill in association with Jones and Green. Rostand's "I>ast Night of Don Juan" will also be produced, while anotlier O'Neill work, "The Great God Brown," is listed. Like Its predecessors, this, the third in the series of the Neighbor- hood Playhouse's annual revues. Is up to snuff. It has some corking material, the burlesques outstand- ing, and While running a close sec- ond to the Theatre Guild's "Garrlck Gaieties," with which it will neces- sarily suffer odious comparison, tho "Grand Street Follies" makes for a genuinely entertaining evening of wholesome laughter. It brings forth Agnes Morgan, the librettist, as a possibility for Broad- way revue authoring. Lily Hyland, who conducts the six-piece orches- tra, has supplied satisfactory if not outstanding melodies to Miss Mor- gan's lyrics. For a quasi-profes- sional attempt, it is altogether satis- factory in every department. The revue is given a novel start with "A Committee Meeting," as ths flrst skit is labeled. Edgar Kent as "A. Summer Winters" Is obviously a counterpart of John S. Sumner, the busybee of the Society for the Suppression of Vice. This comrnittee concerns itself with the suppression of sex and accordingly elects to take in the current offerings la entertainment, including Broadway shows, pictures, supper clubs and Harlem colored cabarets. Irons Lewlsohn, Whitford Kane, Helen Arthur and Esther Mitchell accord- ingly decide to make the rounds. "They Knew What They Wanted Under the Elms" follows. It has characters from "Desire," Zlegfeld "Follies," "The Gorilla," "The Show- Off," "Aloma." "Caesar and Cleo- patra." "Old English." "The Harem." "Is Zat So?" "They Knew What They Wanted," "The Dove," and "The Firebrand," running wild Im an hilarious travesty. It was excel« lenUy handled by Otto HullciiUb! Vera Allen, I.K>is Shore, Oeoraw Bratt, Junius Matthews, Lily Lubel^' Paula Trueman, J. Blake Scott, Ana Schmidt, George Hoag, Dorothy Sands, Marc Loebell and Albert' Carroll, the latter in the Joseph Schlidkraut role proving excep tional. This Is one of the sevenl which would be a welcome to som*' of the $4 revues uptown, near civil* Isatlon. (That "civlliaatlon" is ui " appropriately; discovering thg NelghtMjrhood Playhouse is an ad* venture and Is flnally managed widl the aid of a good taxi-driver. The line in the "Garrlck Gaieties" thai the natives look upon the Bast BiM little theatre as a museum gow double. It draws Its trade from up^ town, and despite this and othstf Inconveniences the business Is cOB*' slstently good the year 'round.) Clro's Is given the o.o., with Wll-j Ham Beyer and Sadie Sussman do*4 ing Webb and Hay and Autj Schmidt and Blanche Talmud as a pair of Spanish dancers, the likely Schmidt girl standing out. "Americana" is a toothsome mor« set. The screen falls under the ra< former-quartet's eagle eye Gloria Swanson and her Marqi are lampooned by Lily LubeU Allen Vincent. They did tnlghl well, handling their conception cl«T' erly although the lines were actor proof to a great extent. LUl Olsh and her George Jean compl the cast of "Americana," by Paul Trueman and Philip Mann. Gish'a chatter about a Duetl sonality and Max D. Steuer, her tiring lawyer, "who Just shuns pub licity," tickled the audience's rlsibU< ities. Topsy and Eva had Lois Sh' and Dorothy Sands personating lampooning the Duncan Sis pleasingly. "What Price Morning-Glorles,' clocijing the flrst section, was "wow" and another outstanding which would be welcomed on Main street. It has the Sergeaai the Captain and The Olrl, in tl Hopkins production portrayed aft the Maxwell-Anderson script been purifled by John Golden. IL finds the army offlcers indulging la wild orgies on coca-colas, frnppes and ice cream sodas. The Mornltifll Glory Tea Room has the Y. W. C. jQ gal officiating and the curtesying t4i the polite Marines. Albert Carroll doing a "nance" conception of thi Sergeant, flashed a pair of lavendelf pajamas which he admitted weni "the latest thing for cami>ing." Thq cuss word.1 ran to "carnation," "yoi son of a bachelor's buttons," et% Marc Loebell in the Wolhelm roM was too sweet for words, and Esthel Mitchell held up the feminine ena well. • The second section was ricsume^ by "Mr. and Mrs, Guardsman," wltif Lynne Fnntanne and Alfred Lunf personated. The comedy Was Ab4 rived from the couple (who Are ma4 and wife In private life aiid also^ l)laylng opposite each other in "Thij (luard.iman") sotto-volclng domes'*' tic details in between ardent ex^i pressions of love. Irene Lewlsohi| S9i WbeB Tliliiklaa ef tlMndiac TklMk •t L«ng»cre KnclDeerlng A C^nstnictlm