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Newspaper
Cincinnati Commercial Tribune
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
Date
May 10, 1908
Page
21
The Rain soaked two weeks bogging tents and crowds, forcing postponements and heavy costs for Robinsion and Ringling shows. Promoters warn only strong established outfits survive a long spell of bad weather as they push toward next towns and ever higher expenses.
The article outlines daily costs for circuses in various states including license fees tax charges and railroad expenses. It cites the Robinson Ringling and Barnum Bailey troupes paying up to 1000 a day for travel and estimates total daily expenses of 2000 to 3000 when wintering salaries and ancillary staff are included. It questions the viability when rain and cold reduce revenue and empty tents linger.
Despite foul weather and legal pressures the major circus owners remain rich. John Robinson and James A Bailey are described as multimillionaires, with others like Barnum and Bailey, Adam Forepaugh, the Sells brothers, Buffalo Bill, and the Ringlings cited for large fortunes. The Cody Wild West drew crowds despite poor conditions, while snow impeded the Robinson show at Eden Park.
The Robinson show earned sizable sums in summer campaigns, with Uncle John Robinson’s Opera House said to have generated all its money in a single season by a top quality troupe. A California trip long ago reportedly netted about 200000 dollars in two weeks, with profits despite heavy expenses.
In Marshall Texas the season ends with losses over 70000 dollars as the Governor leads a hurried retreat by rail to the Gulf of Morice and thence by steamer to New Orleans. The ten days of disaster wipe out earnings for a promising season, while fever epidemics and crop failures dampen profits for many circuses despite hardy veterans like Governor Robinson marching on.
The Ringling brothers, once harness makers from a Wisconsin town, built a village band, then a small tent operation. They now own a major circus and control the Barnum and Bailey Circus and other properties, turning rain into rapid fortunes through ticket sales.
The Lyric presents Flower of Ranch a new musical comedy opening tonight with usual matinees. The show recently triumphed in New York at the Majestic Theatre despite a misleading title. Kel Barrison stars with Joseph E Howard who wrote the book lyrics and music and played the lead. Newsrooms hailed the production as a quick, extraordinary success.
Della Fox headlines this week at the Columbia with new songs and her famous old mannerisms. The program features the twelve Toozoonin Arabs acrobatics, Charles Prelle’s Bijou circus with trained dogs, Fred Watson and the Morrissey Sisters, Platerete dancing, the Melani Trio, Raymond and Caverly, Hengler Sisters, Ernest Rees, and the Minos in a new act, all delivering a diverse vaudeville bill.
The city zoo opens its regular summer concert season promising large crowds and a varied lineup. Plan includes performances by visiting ensembles and local groups.
The concert season opens with Chevalier Enrico Gargiulo directing a 40‑piece Italian band famed for high musical attainment. The Zoo clubhouse cafe reopens with refitted facilities and a varied menu. Band concerts every afternoon and evening, with attractions like pony and elephant rides and the world car tour ready for a bustling season.
A new living talking and dancing pictures show opens today at the Grand Opera House Cincinnati. Matinees at 1 30 and 3 15. evenings at 7 30 and 9 15. Cameraphone Company presents moving talking singing actors with vaudeville acts. This week features Travesty Neabene Four John Mylie and Orth Mary Miller and McCauley Beauchamp acrobats and more with titles like Merry Widow and Vesta Victoria among subjects.
Chester opened Saturday for the thirteenth season featuring all acts in the free vaudeville pavilion. The entertainment earned praise with the elephant act noted as unusually good, the Wolff Brothers delivering their familiar comedy, and the Musical Millers plus Alice Prienta drawing audiences. Act quality improves yearly and matinee crowds are expected to grow.
Dreamland Burlesquers presenting Dave Marion's Newport at the People's Theater for the week beginning this afternoon. The cast includes Miher, Marion, Harry Fox and the Hanlons with songs, vaudeville novelties, and a satirical take on high society. Promises smart costumes and entertaining sketches to close the season with a lively olio.
The Cincinnati Covington and Newport Benevolent Association holds its annual Lagoon outing today with fair weather expected and a large attendance anticipated.
Charles Frohman argues in The Westminster Gazette that singular features, not sheer volume of numbers, fuel world success for The Merry Widow A Waltz Dream and Gilbert Sullivan works. A standout element, not a strong book, makes a musical a lasting hit.
The Columbia theater hosts Della Fox with Fred Watson and the Morrisey sisters this week. Each party claims the right to sing Little Miss No One From Nowhere, a song that cannot be performed twice in one show. Manager Ziegler faces a solvable clash as fans plan to honor Fox with the famed curl.
The Rogers Brothers claim they could be major figures in the amusement world, stating they asked $5,000 per week to enter vaudeville. This demand signals their high confidence and star potential in live entertainment.
Eleonore Duse is said to have accepted a play from an Italian in jail for murder. The incident raises questions about whether literary genius can be fettered or confined.
Nell Burgess of County Fair fame has worn skirts exclusively on stage since the 1870s. W. H. Crane debuted on stage in 1863. Eva Tanguay was not billed in a Baltimore show recently because another performer appeared with a larger program title than hers.
Actress Bernhardt plans to quit playing male roles due to rheumatism in her knees, signaling a graceful pivot as age and ailment influence her stage choices.
Charles Bigelow has been engaged to provide Held's support. The arrangement confirms his role and commitment to assist with specified duties for the event or project.
Oscar Hammerstein owns 107 patents and does not drink. He says he smokes only twenty five cigars a day and maintains a strict personal regimen.
David Belasco states that beauty is not enough for a leading actress. He insists she must have temperament, implying character and the ability to move and move others. She should be willing to talk and work as she has not done before.
A long deferred ambition for Maude Adams is to spend a summer vacation in Dublin to study at Trinity College, the famed alma mater of Burke and Goldsmith.
Reba Dale recalls George Bernard Shaw attending an Italian instrumental quartet with a stern look. He surprised a friend by noting the players had “twelve years” together, then questioned if they had been performing longer.
Actress Julia Marlowe lies at her country place in the Adirondacks to recover from a nervous breakdown. The end of her tour and a two week rest are reported as part of her stability plan.
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