The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1908-08-20

PooS0 'io ohis tuedtieS III tHe HOTtn-
west whose bookings are not control
led by the combination are the theatres
in the few largest cities which are
booked by Klaw and Erlanger, and
the vaudeville and stock houses.
The combination is expected to re-
volutionize the theatrical business in
the territory covered, changing from
haphazard to business like methods
such as now exist under the Klaw &
Erlanger regime in the large houses.
Instead of booking with individual
house managers as in the past, the
show manager will be enabled to book
for an entire Season through the COM
bination. In turn the combination
will protect him against broken con-
tracts and unfair treatment by the
local managers and will protect the
local manager against "fy-bynight"
troupes.
At today's meeting of the three men
whose interests are pooled, which was
held at the Hotel Nicollet, c. P. Walk
er of Winnepeg, stated that by next
May, the opening of the booking sea-
son for next year, the combination will
probably have its main booking office
opened in Minneapolis, which means
that this city, which has no booking
office Of Importance and sends out
only a couple of road shows, will take
rank with the theatrical centers of
the country as headquarters for the
smaller companies. The combination
will be able to book one night stand
companies for the entire season, which
means that they will be organized and
sent out from Minneapolis instead of
the east. 1t is the plan of the combin-
alton to put out, probably within a
year or two, large number of COM
panies owned and controlled by it, to
play its houses, and these would also
be Minneapolis companies.
The largest number of one night
stand companies brought into the con-
solidation are those controlled by C.
p. Walker of Winnipeg. Mr.. Walker
books more than 200 one night stands,
having absolute control of the territory
comprised in northern Minnesota and
North Dakota and all Canada west of
Port Arthur. He is the owner of the
magnificent new Walker theatre in
Winnipeg, regarded as the finest
theatre in America with the sole ex
ception of the New Amsterdam in New
York. He also owns the theatres in
Grand Forks, Crookston, Fargo and
Brainerd, and these, with the Winni
peg house, are booked by Klaw &
Erlanger and will play few If any OF
the new combination attractions.
Maurice w. Jencks of Sioux Falls
operating the New Theatre in Sioux
Falls, the Gale theatre In Mitchell, S
d., and the New theatre in Yarkton
S. d., controls the bookings Of every
thing in southern e III h Dakota, west.
ern Iowa and northwestern Nebraska,
with several houses in southern Mime.
sofa, where he is rapidly acquiring
more. In all he controls the bookings
of sixty one night stands.
H. l.. Walker, who incidentally is no
relative to c. p. Walker, operates the
Grand opera house in Brookings, S. d.,
and the Grand opera house in Water
town, S. d., and controls the bookings
of one hundred one night stands in
central Minnesota, southern South Da.
kota, central and northern South Da-
kota, including the Black Hills, west
ern Nebraska and Wyoming. The ac-
QUESTION of booking rights to these
houses has been going on four or five
years, so that today the three men
have the final word as to whether a
company plays in the northwest and
under what terms it plays, with the
same power over the house managers.