Vol. XXIII. No. 9. AUGUST 5, 1911. PRICE TEN CENTS FORBES ROBERTSON TOUR. COULDN'T GET "PASSION PLAY." GENERAL AMALGAMATION OF (Special Cable to Variety;) (Special Cable to Variety,.) London, Aug. 1. London, Aug. 2. ENGLISH HALLS POSSIBLE Forbes Robertson, resting in the Lee Shubert's specific mission to country, is arranging an American Europe ended in failure. Although he tour, commencing in October, which concluded a number of minor con- Signs Point to Oswald Stoll as the Leader. Stoll- will carry him for a trip of 3,000 tracts, the principal object of his jour- Gibbons Now Together. Butt Faction Taking miles over the south and west. ney was to bring over intact the Ober- ammergau players to produce at the in Macnaghten Tour One of the Moves. New York Hippodrome the world-fa- CRESSY FELL FLAT. mous "Passion Play." Variety;.) (Special Cable to Variety*) ested in the tour he founded to stand (Special Cable to But all arguments, financial or per- London, July 31. by until the reins may be handed over London, Aug. 1. suasive, could not Induce the bucolic The Stoll and Gibbons Tours merged to another and younger man. Will M. Cressy and Blanche Dayne performers to reproduce in America to-day, by signing the necessary docu- There are many pros and cons, in- have left for an auto tour of the con- the presentments that have attracted ments. Oswald Stoll will be the chair- cluding Stoll as the unanimous choice tinent. No further English engage- to their little town people from all man of the combined circuits to be of an amalgamation which might bring ments were secured, following the run parts of the world. They insist that booked from the present Stoll offices. forward other pretenders to leader- of the couple for four weeks at the it would be sacreligious to perform Walter Gibbons remains a director. ship; also the "opposition" houses and Palace. They closed there Saturday. anywhere but in their own sacred There's no getting away from the conditions that would have to be dealt Contracted for four weeks by Alfred open-air auditorium. (act that the reorganization of music with, but primarily, the matter of a Butt, Cressy and Dayne presented a hall affairs in England, previously re- booking consolidation for convenience new sketch weekly, and fell flat in ALHAMBRA REORGANIZING. ported in Variety, is taking shape. and protection would naturally receive each. The managers liked the Cressy (Special Cable to Varibtt*) Certainly there never has been a time prior consideration in the event of a pieces, but the audiences did not. One when the objective was nearer achieve- strong two-handed line up, meaning a manager offered the couple a small sal- London, Aug. 2. reorganization ment, than at present. warm and expensive battle otherwise. ary to remain, and promised more A of the Alhambra direction is The arrangement reached last week money if Cressy could work himself taking place. A new house between the Variety Theatres Control- (Special Cable to Variety.) into a box office attraction. manager will be appointed. ling Co. (embracing the Butt, De London, Aug. 2. Cressy and Dayne were somewhat of Frece and Barassford interests), and Since the report of Walter Gibbons an experiment on this side, with their The Alhambra is an Independent the Macnaghten Circuit (comprising joining with Oswald Stoll came out, American bucolic pieces. "Bill Biffin's hall, and has been booked by Alfred Moul. nineteen music halls and theatres) is there has arisen another phase to the Baby" took well in the provinces, but tewed as a move which will have a amalgamation, which may mean trou- in London, the Palace crowds never bearing upon the ultimate result, the ble in the near future, probably in the knew what was going on. The couple TWO HITS AT HIP. amalgamation of all the music hall courts. had been highly recommended to Mr. (Special cable to Variety,.) circuits the Varieties Theatres Butt, as the contract for over here as a "Combine," When Con- four weeks Ixmdon, Aug. 2. with Oswald Stoll at the head. trolling Co. organized, the Gibbons indicated. "A Night With the Sultan," a Per- The line-up now is the Stoll Tour, Tour entered into some sort of a sian pantomime, produced Monday at the Gibbons halls, on the one side, written contract with the new Butt- and OPTION ON PRODUCTION. the Hippodrome, is a huge success. It the Moss* Empires, Variety Theatres De Frece formation. At the time, this is daring and realistic, with comedy (Special Cable to Variety*) Controlling Co. and Macnaghten chain was reported as a booking agreement. relief. Armene Ohanlan, a dancer of on the other. Though never active in placing turns London, Aug. 2. extraordinary abandon, scored heav- There have been various attempts for the Gibbons houses, the Varieties An option on the production to be ily. In Martin the past few years to bring about a Co. believes it holds a lever in the made by Harvey this season At the same hall, Marck's Lions pro- has "Combine." All that remains to be present situation. been secured by the Shuberts. It vided a melodrama by animal actors •"one now is for Mr. Stoll to join up will be produced in New York next that portrayed a. terrible dream. As with spring, after the regular the others. This contingency is RUSSIANS CALLED HOMK. London sea- an "animal act," Mr. Marck has a not son. as remote as may at first seem to (Special Cable to Variktv.) thriller. those wholly familiar with the English London, Aug. 2. Business at the Hippodrome, in con- ariety situation. The Russian dancing population of sequence of the two successes, is very In IDA CHIPSI IN LONDON. well informed quarters, it is be- London, at its full height just now big. lieved that the New Year will see Mr. will have to be reinforced right away. (Special (able to Vauiktv, i •toll rejoining the Moss-Empires, and Many of the Russian dancers here Ijondon, Aug. 2. SKLIilM U:\MN(; HAND. •n control of a "Combine" the like of have received orders to return to With an English partner assisting which has never been known in the Moscow and St. Petersburg. A hui- in her dances. Ida Cripsi, an Anicri'aii. (Special cable to Vauiktv,.) annals of vaudeville. ried search has been started to se- opened at the Pavilion, Monday, to a Ixmdon. Aug 2. It is no secret that Sir Edward Moss, cure substitutes. bit. At tlie Palladium. Monday, Lalla *uite apart from his recent illness, is Pavlowa, the leader of them, will Miss Cripsi bandied some risque Selbini appeared with the l.ito Creat not wildly desirous of remaining in reappear at the Palace in September. lyrics, but scored a success upon an Lafayette's travestv band. Tb<» act arneea, but he is sufficiently inter- but without Mordkin. "Apache" dance burlesque. did very nig ! VARIETY of $4 Into a special fund for the ex- was unable to collect the money him. penses of the World's League, and the self, Mr. Hunt sent "WORLDS LEAGUE OF ARTISTS" the claim te general office expenses will be pooled. Varibtt^ Each home society is to draw up a In a letter written to Mountford's AND "COPY ACTS" PASSED UPON model contract for its own territory. paper about six months before, Mr. Artists will be advised to see that all Hunt threatened to inform Variktt, of The Paris International Conference of Artists' Societies the conditions proposed by a home the treatment he had reoeived, unless May Bring Tangible Results. Mountford society are included in their contract payment was made of the undisputed when going to any given country. account. Mr. Mountford's paper did Nearly Loses a Meal. Thus artists going to Spain should be not settle, but wrote Mr. Hunt, tht careful to have the special clauses first acknowledgment he had received Paris, 22. attention bearing of their Eng- July and recommended by the I. A. L. inserted of the debt. That was almost as odd societies lish colleagues through- The Conference of artists' and German in the contract, and not blindly accept as was the speed with which Mr. terminated Friday evening, many of out the whole conference. that proposed by an agent in the for- Mountford settled the long overdut following organizations alottea the delegates leaving the The four were eign country where they may be liv- claim, when he found Variety had others a territory as follows: morning, while remained few ing, or that presented by the Spanish been empowered to sue for it, on be- F. Britain Ire- days to visit the city. V. A. —Great and manager. It is the I. A. L. contract, half of Mr. Hunt, who is a reputable It was only by sitting until late each land. with special clauses for Spain, that Paris newspaper man. evening that the business under dis- I. A. L.—Germany, Italy, Spain, is necessary for his protection. The cussion was terminated in time to per- Austria and the German cantons of same applies to France. For instance, ' O'NEIL IN VERSIONS. mit this. As a matter of fact the Eng- Switzerland. an American should have the special Within the next few weeks vaude- lish, French and German delegates sat U. S. A. L.—France, Belgium, clauses proposed by the U. S. A. L. in- ville managers will be offered James until midnight June 20, and the secre- North Africa and the French cantons serted in his contract, frequently O'Neil, the tragedian in condensed tary of the Conference, C.