Harrisburg telegraph. (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, March 12, 1918, Page 11, Image 12

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    lAMusecoeiM
PATRIOTIC BILL
OF VAUDEVILLE
Majestic Acts Score Big Suc
cess; Storm of Applause
For Last Offering
Closing with patriotic views of the
past and present wars in which the
United States took part and with
the band playing a medley of Amer
ican songs the bill at the Majestic
for the first half of the week is a
big success. The feature given at the
end of the last offering made a tre
mendous hit with the audience last
night, bringing a storm of applause
whicH lasted for minutes. There
were quite a few in the audience who
were not interested apparently in the
big patriotic close, as they started
to leave before it was over; but some
of them glancing back, saw among
the pictures shown such men as
Lincoln, Sheridan, McKinley and
General Pershing, causing them to
stop in the aisles and applaud.
The Francetti Sisters start with
acrobatic feats given on an elevated
platform about two feet square.
Their opening dance is unusual.
Durand and Gordon, comedy pair,
in songs and patter, start the fun
of the evening. They were recalled
for three bows last night.
"Remnants," a short sketch, is
given in dialog between a "farm
er" salesman and the purchaser for
a large department store. The action
at times is a trifle dull but as a whole
the skit is enjoyable.
William Sisto, "Italian statesman,"
announces himself with "before I
speak I want to say something." His
monolog is filled with some excel
lent jokes and make him a favor
ite.
"America First," the patriotic fea
ture offering, is given in three scenes,
opening with band selections, follow
ed by songs and dances. The com
pany is one of the best appearing at
the Majestic this season.
MAX ROBERTSON.
ORPHEUM
To-night, at 8:15 William Courtenay
and Thomas A. Wise in "Genera'l
Post."
To-morrow, matinee and night—Re
turn engagement of the season's
dramatic hit. "The Thirteenth
• Chair."
Friday and Saturday, with daily mati
nees. March 15 and 16 One Girl's
Experience."
All next week, with matineess Wed
nesday and Saturday Elliott,
Comstock and Gest present the
most wonderful play in America,
"Experience."
MAJESTIC
High Grade of Vaudeville.
COLONIAL
To-day, for the last time The pa- !
triotic photodrama, "Over There," t
with an all-star cast, including |
Charles Richman and Anna Q. Nils
son.
To-morrow and Thursday Harold
Lockwood in "Broadway Bill."
Friday and Saturday—Madge Kennedy
in "Our Little Wife."
REGENT
To-day Billie Burke in "Eve's
Daughter."
To-morrow and Thursday Enid
Bennett in "The Keys of the Right
eous."
Friday and Saturday Jack Pickford
in "Huck and Tom." by Mark Twain.
VICTORIA
To-day Mme. Petrova in "The
Light Within;" also a Fox Sunshine
comedy.
To-morrow and Thursday—J. Warren \
Kerrigan in "A Man's Man."
Friday Gladv's Brockwell in "The
Moral Law."
Billie Burke's appearance at the
Regent Theater in the much-heralded
"Eve's Daugh-
Blllle Burke Iti ter." proved quite
"Eve'* Daughter" as entertaining as
was expected. As
Irene Simpson Bates, chafing at the .
restraints imposed upon her by her ,
wealthy father, she breaks all bonds [
at his death. Having expected at least |
a quarter of a million|she is rather dis- I
appointed to learn that a mere fifteen I
thousand is to fall to her lot, but de- I
termines to make the very best of her
heritage In a royal good time.
There are many humorous touches
as is inevitable in a play in which
this clever little comedienne appears,
such as the second marriage of the
mother, who almost literally buys
herself a husband thirty years her
junior. It will be remembered that
Grace George, one of the most promi- ■
nent of our actresses, appeared in the |
stage version of "Eve's Daughter" re
centlv in a Broadway theater. Miss i
Burke has injected many of her well
known "Burkeisms" and not a few,
new ones which add decidedly to the i
effectiveness of her work.
ADD AMUSEMENTS
One of the best bits of acting seen
in a long time is done by Director
Trimble's
Mme. Petrovn In dog. "Shep," In
••The I.ight Within" Mme. Petrova's
second picture,
"The Light Within," to be seen for
the last times at the Victoria Thea
ter to-day.
In the story little Donald, the dor's
playmate and master, dies. After the
WH. COURTENAY AND THOS. A. WISE, CO-STARS
IN "GENERAL POST,"
IMF®
wK^k.
utneial Post, a new comedy u£ love and laughter, by J. E. Harold
Terry, comes direct from a successful engagement in New York to the Or
pheum to-night, under the management of Charles Dillingham. It pre
sents William Courtenay and Thomas A. Wise in two of the most genial
rQles these distinguished stars have essayed. It Is a play that has been
in London tor over a, year.
TUESDAY EVENING,
THE REAL STORY OF "EXPERIENCE"
: i
11 if ~
J *
§ Hi hi^
I "Experience," which returns to the
j Orpheum Theater for the' entire week
jof March 18, has had the most re-
I markable history of any play on the
! American stage to-day. It made its
first appearance in Broadway three
I years ago. and faced the critics, who
at that time said it was surely de
stined for the storehouse. It played
to sl2 at its second performance; since
that time it has been hailed with de
light and acclaim in practically every
city of this country. It is said to
have been publicly endorsed by the'
Governors of seventeen states, the
mayors of countless cities, and by
more than 2,800 clergymen. Incident
ally it has also brought in a profit
of more than $500,000 for its pro
ducers.
The facts about "Experience" are
interesting. Originally produced as a
one-act play, at a Lambs' Gambol,
George V. Hobart, the author, was
urged to expand it into a three-act
drama of the experiences of Youth at
the crossroads of life. The original
performance at the gambol has enlist
ed the services of William Elliott, as
Youth; Frederick Perry, as Experi
ence; Effingham Pinto, as Passion;
William Deming, as Intoxication; and
many well-known Lambs in feminine
roles. Mr. Elliott was so impressed
with the possibilities of his role of
Youth that he paid Mr. Hobart sso® Vn
advance to purchase the rights to the
completed play.
Hobart at once began work and
turned out the completed manuscript
in a very short time. Mr. Elliott took
the manuscript to F. Ray Comstock
and Morris Gest and the three formed
a partnership to uproduce the plav. It
was finally given in Atlantic City "late
in September, 1914; one whole act was
disappointing to Mr. Hobart. who un
dertook to rewrite the seoopd act. The
following week, in Cleveland, Mr.
Hobart wrote the famous "House of
Last Resort" scene in one day. It was
produced the following night, Thurs
day, and scored instantaneously. This
is the scene in which Frailty * meets
Youth in a resort of the underworld.
It had been booked originally at the
Lyric Theater, but when the news
came from the road .that Hobart had
been compelled to rewrite an entire
act. there was a sudden shift in book
ings, and the Shuberts sent it to the
Booth, a new theater in a side street.
The receipts the opening night were
$531. The audience was composed al
most entirely of critics and members
of the Lambs' Club, who were there to
see their friends act. The general
public was not in evidence at all. The
next day was a Wednesday and a
matinee had been anounced. At noon
not a ticket had been sold from the
rack.
That night the receipts were $115.75
and everyone connected with "Experi
ence" was depressed. Everyone, per
haps, except an unknown young wo
man, who leaped Into fame over night
by her impersonation of Intoxication
and Frailty. The notices, while not
severe, had been generally unfavor
able.
The members of the firm, Messrs.
Elliott. Comstock and Gest. held a
consultation at the end of the first
week, when the gross receipts were
found to be less than $2,300. They de
cided to back their judgment with ad
vertising. They felt that they "had
the goods" in the shape of a play
which would please the public if the
public could only be made to realize
it. So to overcome the handicap of
funeral, Donald's mother (Mme. Pe
trova) goes into the silent nursery
and sinks into a chair choking with
silent sobs. Old "Shep." knowing that
something is wrong, walks slowly In
to the room, looks at her, goes snif
fing around over the scattered toys,
jumps up on to the little cot where
his master slept, examines it care
fully to see that Donald isn't playing
hide-and-seek Under the covers—then
jumps down, comes over to the weep
ing mother, puts his long nose up
( *
the bad notices, and the fact that the
play was being produced in an un
known, out-of-the-way theater, they
decided to spend $25,000, if necessary,
i advertising the play. That money
was the wisest Investment they ever
1 made. In one day they spent SIO,OOO
in the newspapers of New York, using
half-page and page advertisements.
They plastered every billboard in the
neighborhood of New York. They be
gan a systematic campaign to have
clergymen come to see the play, and
every clergyman who saw it endorsed
it, while many preached sermons
about "Experience," as a lesson for
young men.
In two weeks and a half, the tide
turned. Meanwhile business had been
bad, and the management of the Booth
had served notice on the management
of the play to vacate.
"Experience" was not to leave New
York, however. Its three managers
secured the Casino Theater, a nlay
i house which for more than thirty
i years had been devoted solely to musi
; cal comedy. But it was in Broadway
where the crowds are, and the adver
tising. the electric signs in front of
(the theater, and great colossal signs
>all drew the crowds. It opened there
' January 0, 1915, and the receipts the
first week were over SIO,OOO. The third
; week, including Washington's Birth
i day, when three performances were
| given, the receipts jumped up to $16,-
1 675. All sorts of advertising stunts
| proved successful in arousing public
: interest. The whole company was
! taken by Morris Gest one day to meet
j "Billy" Sufiday in Paterson, apd
i "Billy" made the statement then that
I"I haven't been to a theater in
! twenty-eight years, but if I were
going to see any play, I would go to
see 'Experience.' "
It ran all told, nine months in New
York and was given for nearly 300
performances.
The following season it went to
Boston to stay eight weeks, and re
-1 mained five months, playing at three
i different theaters. This same com-
I pany then went to Chicago, opening
there December 24, 1915, and closing
there June 17. 1916. The same com
pany played Philadelphia last year for
five months, and broke the records
for long runs in that city. Two other
companies have played practically
every city of the country.
"Experience" has broken may rec
ords on tour. It played three and a
half weeks in Providence, a city which
George M. Cohan says is the worst
show town in America. Tt played four
weeks in Baltimore to gross receipts
l of $66,000. It played four weeks in
Milwaukee, a notoriously bad show
town, and drew $47,000 in that time.
It went to Trenton. N. J., —actually a
one-night stand —and played there for
two solid weeks. It did the same thing
in Wilmington.
"Experience" has made a fortune,
not onlv for its producers, but for
George V. Hobart. His royalty of 10
per cent, of the gross receipts, has
brought him in as high as $4,700 in
one week, when three companies were
plaving. He has purchased a hand
some home at Pelham, which cost him
$125,000, and he is rapidly becoming
one of our richest playwrights.
And all from a play which drew sl2
at its second performance, and which
was an actual failure at the start. The
remarkablee career of this play has
been pointed out as an example of
what can be done by clever advertis
ing and showmanship.
on her lap and—when you see the pic-
Iture look for the tear that drops from
[the old fellow's eye—but watch your
! own at the same time, for it is a
, mighty touching incident. "A Man's
Man," featuring J. Warren Kerrigan,
will be shown to-morrow and Thurs
day.
| "I wonder that so many girls make
the fatal mistake of going to New
York," said a young wo
"One Girl'H man to her escort as
Experience" the curtain fell on the
second act of "One
GirJ's Experience." "Perhaps I can
, answer that," observed her compan
| ion, "youth always has hope and hope
i brings with it a buoyant spirit of de
termination and fearlessness, intoxi
cating the senses to the reality of
danger in the thought that danger ex
i ists only for 'the other girl.' "
Lucy, the pretty working girl, hero
ine of Eugene Ivirby's dramatization
of "One Girl's Experience," which
comes to the Orpheum, Friday and
Saturday, with daily matinees, had
never dreamed in these days of per
fected police protection to public
safety that there was such a thing as
danger in the smiling flattery of her
male admirers. The awakening to
realities of life and its responsibili
ties and consequences to the misguid
ed or ill advised one is portrayed in
a sweetly told love drama of four
acts in "One Girl's Experience."
"General Post," a new comedy of
love and laughter by J. E. Harold
Terry, comes to the
•'General Pout" Orpheutn to-night
at the Orpheum direct from a suc
cessful season at
the Gaiety Theater, New York, under
the management of Charles Dilling
ham. It presents William Courtenay
and Thomas A. Wise in two of the
most congenial roles these distingush
ed stars have essayed. "General
Post" is a delightful comedy of social
conditions in Kngland during the war,
and in all probability, after the war,
with a lesson for America, too. It is
a play that has been running for over
a year at the Theater Royal. London.
The first act, which Is In 1911, shows
th family of a conservative English
baronet (Thomas A. Wise) In Its ante
bellum days. The daughter (Cathleen
Nesbitt) is a radical in things social
and intellectual, is falling in love
with a young fellow whoru she meets
at a social settlement. To the dismay
and indignation of her mother, Lady
Broughton, he Is Smith, the tailor
(William Courtenay), and the situa
tion is only saved when he explains
that it is his duty to pray "Lord,
keep us in our proper stations and
HAKREBUItG TELEGRAPH!
WETS LOSE HOPE
AS DELAWARE
BODY CONVENES
Governor Townsend Clinches
Sentiment by Plea For
Ratification
Dover, Del., March 12.—Delaware's
General Assembly, which opened in
special session yesterday, will rati
fy the prohibition amendment. No
one in Dover is willing to hazard a
guess that the amendment will not
be Even the wets have
given up hope. National leaders of
the Anti-Saloon League, who came
here ready for a hard fight, found
things so favorable that they went
on to more uncertain states.
Governor Townsend's message, de
livered personally yesterday to the
Joint session of the House and Sen
ate, clinched the attitude of the leg
islators. In a personal heart-to
heart talk from the rostrum In the
House he told them it is time the
wet and dry issue is cleared from
Delaware state affairs. He warned
the wavering that a nation, a state,
a community and a home are watch
ing the action of eaclj of them.
He presented the amendment in a
message which pledged Delaware
anew to the nation in whose affairs
it has taken an historic part. He
asked for wider legislative enact
ment to make Delaware's state ac
tivities as effective as the individual
loyalty of her citizens.
Cnlln For Kntlflcatlon
He proposed the ratification of the
prohibition amendment as a war
measure. He pointed out that they,
as all other legislators for the last
decade, have had to face the wfet and
dry issue, at election. At times it
has clouded other state matters. It
is time to dispose of it, he told them,
to clear the way for other state
questions.
Now in the stress of the times, he
said: "It can well be considered a
war measure."
bless the Squire and hts relatives."
Comes war in the second act and
metamorphosis. As Betty says, "The
Kaiser cried 'General Post' and we ail
changed places!" Smith, the tailor,
has become a colonel: Sir Dennys
Broughton, whom he formerly fitted,
is now a Tommy, and Sir Dennys' son
Alec enlists as a suba'ltern in Smith's
regiment. Many amusing situations
follow. William Courtenay and
Thomas A. Wise are both comedians
with many great successes to their
credit, and they have in their sup
port Miss Cathleen Nesbitt, Miss Cyn
thia Brooke, Cecil Fletcher, James
Kearney and Wigney Percyval.
Theatergoers who havp jvaited for
the coming of "The Thirteenth Chair,"
will be rewarded to
"The morrow, matinee and
Thirteenth night, when Bayard
Chair" Veiller's sensational
melodrama will be pre
sented at the Orpheum here by Wil
liam Harris, Jr.. in the same elaborate
setting in which it was shown at the
Forty-eighth Street Theater, New
York, and the Garrick Theater, Chi
cago. It is said to attempt a descrip
tion of "The Thirteenth Chair" in a
few brief sentences would be well
nigh impossible. Suffice it is to say
that from the moment the curtain de
scended on the last act of the play on
its opening night, it was one of the
most-talked of plays seen in New
York in an entire theatrical season.
Its engagement of more than a year
in New York and three months in
Chicago bear eloquent testimony to
the interest taken in the play by
those who love the drama. "The Thir
teenth Chair" will be presented here
by the company led by Blanche Hall
and Joseph Garry.
A lot of interest has already been
evinced in the return of "Experi
ence" to Harrisburg,
"Experience" where it is booked
for the Orpheum
Theater for the entire week of March
18, with the regular Wednesday and
Saturday matinees. The play, by
George V. Hobart, has been proclaim
ed all over the country as "the most
wonderful play in America." It has
a record of nine months in New York,
and two return engagements since,
seven months in Chicago, five months
in Boston and five months in Phila
delphia.
"Experience" is written after the
style of the old-fashioned morality
plays of 400 years ago, and tells the
story of Youth and his adventures on
the Primrose Path, whither he has
followed Pleasure.
In the cast to be seen here are:
William Ingersoll. Raymond Y%n
Sickle, Frazer Coulter, Marie Home,
Marion Holcombe, Dorothy Newell,
Ebba An'Jrus, Jean Downs, Ada Win
gard, Mary Josephyne Comerford,
May McManus, Claudia Wheeler,
Blanche Crossman, Doris Hardy,
George T. Meetch, John Todd, Billy
Betts, Harry J. Lane and many others.
To-day is the last opportunity pa
trons of the Colonial Theater will
have to see the pa
"Ovfr There" at triotic photodrama,
the Colonial "Over There,"
which has been fa
vorably commented upon by those who
witnessed its first showing in the city
yesterday. The picture is full of stir
ring incidents and effective scenes,
which were warmly applauded by the
audience. It depicts largely the life
the boys lead in the far-away land,
who are sacrificing their lives, per
haps, that this country might not be
brought to disgrace. An all-star cast
of screen favorites, including Charles
Richman and Anna Q. Nilsson, have
been chosen to portray the different
characters.
The attraction for to-morrow and
Thursday will be Harold Lockwood in
the Metro play, "Broadway Bill," It
is a story of the logging camps with
the popular star in a role that fits
him to perfection.
The Majestic's allied bill brought
large crowds to the theater yester
day. This is vaude-
The MajeMlr'* ville's latest nov- i
Allied Bill elty and is a fine
idea. America is
represented by the headliner,
"America First," a spectacular in-1
strumental offering, presented by ten
people. The act furnishes good enter
tainment, and the opening scene is at
West Point. From there the scene
shifts aboard a ship, where some stir- 1
AMUSEMENTS I
REGENT—Today
Billie Burke in "Eve's Daughter"
A Ripplinjr, Peppery Picture, Domtnuted by the Piquant Personality
of Dewi tellingly Pretty Billie Hurke—the Picture You Must Not Miss!
TOMORROW AND THURSDAY
Enid Bennett in "Keys of the Righteous"
You've wondered where Enid Dennett was? Well, here she is hack
again, in an exciting drama of tense situations and primeval passions
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
Second Series Tom Sawyer, Featuring
JACK PICKFORD in "HUCK AND TOM"
ADMISSION—IOc AND 15c, AND WAR TAX
■mi
BLANCHE HALL AS ROSALIE LA GRANGE,
IN'THE 13TH CHAIR/ ORPHEUM TOMORROW
MOC*- j*JSk
m ™
- - v . .
The extraordinary manifestation of a.n unusual power upon which in a
grreat measure the reputation of Paladine, Slade and a number of other
famous spiritualistic trance mediums were founded, are all of them re
produced in "The Thirteenth Chair," Bayard Velller's melodrama of mys
tery which Williahi Harris, Jr., will send to the Orpheum to-morrow, mati
nee and niftht. Rosalie LaGtange, the old medium, who is the principal
character of the story, produces "spirit rappingrs," lifts a table from the
floor simply by passing: her hands over it. and and furnishes a number of
other samples of her ability to startle and disconcert. During the course
of the play she also explains the perfectly natural methods by which each
or these (with one e:#eption) tricks is performed; but the table-lifting:
she does not explain, and in more than a year there has not been an au
dience at "The Thirteenth Chair" that was not completely mystified by it.
Thomas- FF//ICQ /bsosonYf 5704
ENID DENNETTiuThelteyyoffePi^eou^
-71(ftcvamounlQ)ictwv
Scene from "The Keys of the Righteous," featuring- Enid Bennett, which
comes to the Regent Theater to-morrow and Thursday.
ring band numbers are rendered. The
big finish shows a scene in the
trenches, and here again is heard
some splendid music, which consists
mostly of well-known patriotic airs.
Prance is represented by the Fran
cetti Sisters, two pretty girls, who
offer a very good acrobatic novelty..
William Sisto, clever comedian, whose
efforts are appreciated, represents
Sunny Italy. England is represented
by Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Wilde, talent
ed couple, who offer an entertaining
act. Mr. Wilde is an excellent shadow
graph artist. I>ast but not least, is
Sen Mei, the beautiful Japanese
singer, who represents Japan. This
charming young woman has a choice
selection of songs which she puts over
in finished style.
I AMUSEMENTS
COLONIAL
A PATRIOTIC MASTERPIECE
OVER THERE
With CHARI.ES RICHMAN nnd
ANNA < Mil s<> \
WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY
HAROLD LOCKWOOD In
"BROADWAY BILL"
VICTORIA
LAST TIMES TO-DAY
MADAME PETROVA In
"THE LIGHT WITHIN"
Alao a Whirling Fox Sunahlne
• Comedy.
TO-MORROW and THURSDAY
Parnlta Play < Plek of the IMeture*)
J. Warren KerrlKUn in "A MAN'S
Fill DAY Gladya Brockwell In
"THE MORAL LAW."
Saturday—Will. S. Hart In LATEST
FEATURE.
ADMISSION t
10c and ISo and War Tax.
$175-PIG GOES TO MARKET
South Danville, Pa., March 12.
John A. Moore, a Rush township,
Northumberland county farmer, to
day sold a Poland-China hog to Li.
D. Cherry, a Weigh Scles butcher,
for ?175. It weighed 754 pounds and
was two years old.
AMUSEMENTS
1 \
Majestic Theater
Vaudeville's Newest Novelty
A 5-Act Bill, Each Act Represent
ing an Allied Nation,
Headeil by
'' AMERICA FIRST ''
A PATRIOTIC SPECTACLE
The Newest and Biggest Success
In Vaudeville
Surrounded by Four of the Big
gest Laugh Treats of the Season
DON'T IiET THIS GET BY YOU!.
_ "
Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!
If You Want Good Seats
Ta Matinees Wednesday and Saturday Ifj -jpft
WP SEATS NOW ON SALE
Intoxication Passion
FIRST TIME AT THESE ECONOMIC PRICES:
Evenings '.soc to $1.50 Bargain Matinees Wednesday and Saturday, best seats SI.OO
MARCH 12, 1018.
MISSION SOCIKTY TO MKICT 1
New Cumberland, Pa., March 12. —
On Thursday evening, March 14, the
Moman's Missionary Society of St.
Paul's Lutheran Church will meet
at the home of Mrs. Myers in Eutaw
street.
AMUSEMENTS
lOrpheum Tonight - curtains-10l
SEATS, 25c to $2.00 I
WM". CHARLES DILLINGHAM Pre.enti J
! "GENERAL POST" I
"One of the most enjoyable comedies that has come out of Eng- K
land in a long time."—N. Y. WORLD. J
"A comedy of the social sliakeup war has wrought in England."— ■
N. Y. TIMRS. %
"A better or more nnlshed performance could scarcely have been ■
desired."—PHl LA. PRESS. £
i COMING BACK== j
—TOMORROW j
MATINEE AND NIGHT C
The Detective Play of the Generation I
By r | l T-¥ IH 1 "Inspected C
BAYARD 1 OJLJ and 1
VEILLER, 1
-g rk .i Approved I
Author by J
of Harrisburg I
2T CHAIR ":;j
SAME EXCELLENT CAST f
PRICES LOWER THAN EVER I
Night, 25c to $1.50 —Mat. Best Seats SI.OO \
| THURSDAY—MATINEE AND NIGHT—MARCH 14 \
j The Gay Morning Glories |
{ SEATS NOW LADIES AT MAT. 10c. }
( FRIDAY, MAR. 15-16 SATURDAY 1
( MATINEES DAILY, ALL SEATS 25c 1
S C. S. PRIMROSE Presents ' 1 ti, J
| The Vital Question of Today 1
f A Moral 1 I [SI M* An Ab sorb- /
■ Lesson ing Story
1 of Intense that Teaches %
I Interest ff f f, \ a Lesson %
EXPERIENCE
( NOT A MOTION PICTURE j
I A PLAY YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO MISS C
j Night Prices, 15c to 75c j
11
Quinine Thnt DOCK ,\ut tlenil
Because of its tonic and laxative ef
fort, LAXATIVK RROMO QUININE
(Tablets) can be tuken by anyone
without causing nervousness or ring
ing In the head. There is onlv one
"Hromo Quinine." E. W. GROVE'S
signature is on box. 30c.
AMUSEMENTS