The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-18
VAUDEVILLE THEATERs.
sixty-seven of Them Requiring Sew
en- Hundred Acts.
Richard Duffy in Ainslee's

Richard Duffy in Ainslees.
"In the United States there are about
sixty-seven theaters devoted 20 vaude-
vile. There are two In Canada; and two
are in process Of being in London. With
the exception of a few parks, where per-
formances are given only in summer al
most all these theaters are open the year
round.
"Of such theaters twelve are in Great
err New York. seven are in Chicago; in
the Eastern States there are thirty-four;
in the Middle, West and South twenty
four, and on the Pacific Coast there are
two. There Is none between Omaha and
San Francisco.
I'm order to keep these houses supplied
with performers. from $50 to 100 acts are
required. An act may be a sweet girl
singing fearful ballads Of love and part
Ing; IL may be pair of knockabout come
dams; II may be a wel-known legitimate
actor and his company Of three or four;
or II may be a man with trained e.e-
plants. In answer to this demand there
is a supply of 1900 acts. Half of this
number Is made up of people that get
along indifferently or not at all. You INDY
be sure that the latter consider the vau-
deville business to be in a very bad way.
las fact, several millions stand in
vested in vaudeville to-day. OF the man
ayers, at least one Is a millionaire and
he has this advantage over many million
aires In that he passes nearly all his time
on his yacht. His wife has spent a small
fortune In collecting pictures of the Ma
donna and OF the Holy Family by old mas
tiers. AT least ten others have made
enough money to convince them OF the
utter fallacy of the income tax. As a cap
Of cream TO this pudding is the security
Of a fortune made In vaudeville. In the
legitimate manager has to risk large
slice OF his capital frequently twice and
sometimes three times in a season of
about thirty weeks. once a vaudeville
business has been built the enterprise
takes much Of the stability OF a depart
ment store.
Higher salaries are now paid TO indi-
vidual performers in the modern vaude-
Vile than were dreamed OF In the old days
of the variety show, which was the pre-
cursor of refined vaudeville. The most
Insignificant adt in a bill costs at least $40
per week. or you CHANGED on some OF
these you might think II would be worth
forty to keep them out Of the theater.)
The less important acts, those that APP
pear In full force at the supper show, cost
from $50 to $50 per week The stalwart
OF the bill receives salaries running from
$3.50 to $1,000 per week. The last Is a top
notch figure, and II is reached no oftener
than can be helped. DO not forget thar
these salaries are for engagements of from
twenty TO hfty-two weeks, according 10
the value and the luck of performers
Competent acts usually can book thir-
ty weeks of the year. Again, at very
popular theater, an act may draw 500 A
week, while at a smaller theater the same
act will draw only SIS. Performers booked
only for small number of weeks I'm
vaudeville often play In the cheap varie.
- houses. These are called hide-away
dates Then many monologists and sing
ers do turns at clubs after theater hours
at profitable terms. The late j. w. Kelly.
whose salary was at least $500 a week.
rs known to have earned as much as 500
above this figure az club entertainments
He was worth tive shall not see his
peer I'm many a long day.
ITO compare present conditions with
those Of the past A monologist Of the j.
w. Kelly type usually received $50 a week
twenty-five years ago. To-day he can
often draw ten times that figure What
b. more. his salary is safe. because the
vaudeville manager Is a conservative man
Of business, and not OF the ny-by-night
species that has made theater people the
dread OF creditors. Again, the average