Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 25, 1910)
TirK OMATTA srXDAT BEE: DECEMBER 2 1P10. AMI t M)T. AMI FMr.1t. Frince of Producers is Part of the Big Shubert Hippodrome Show Manager Woodward n 1 1 I ;r ! ' V ,r . ' I x , . ' - 1 ,; -' J' , ' " ' ' I r A. j NE car about fifteen years ago. O th ranatffr of a Oomil .r of .ro:Un r',r' arprra,-ied 'T'ou" Hsns. who was then manfr of the ISoyd thratcr In Onuuix. and asked to he (Ivrn "Hi-.- In the house." Haynea I'ntened to wl.at th mirjijfr had to say. and 1ld not Ilk tha prosper! sufficiently wr!l t.i vn turf: the Knyd theater wa empty. hut l:s manarernent tu unwilling to risk nr.v thins; rn the probability of the vis, tin manaiter making; pood, no he -igi t14 ho could rent the theater outright, but at prlre and . under conditions that rer i1 beyond hla rrh. Th visiting- maaaxr " an optlmlstlo aort of chap; he had a company, with scenery a:d baKcacn In Council HP'.ff. but didn't have in.ney enough to get acroea th brldne; lie had a chance to Ret a theater In O.-naha, but how to brln company and theater tosetl-.er was a problem. A little hustling brought him In touch with so-ne people who could and did assist him, the company tin red- cued from Council Hluff.-, and opened ween a stay In the Boyd theater, ar.J VWtnaha But Its first taste of pupular-prlced "stock" company production, under th: direction of Mr. D. Woodward. And the experiment was a success, so murh ao In fact that when the company swuns; beck to Omaha a few weeks Inter It had no trouble In (ett'n Into tha Boyd theater on shares. The people 1 kid the company, they liked Its playa and they liked Its manager methods. So the Wood ward ftock company kept coming bark and bark to Omaha for several nvnths, when a turn of the managerial wheel made It poible to locate t le organisations per manently at tho Crolghton theater, and thtre began the real career of O. V. Wood ward as a producer. Messrs. rxtrn and Burgess were the managing firm of the Ciefhton and they also tool: over the Boyd, which had had a varleRated career tinker the control of Boyd Haines and Turn Mulvihlll. Then the new producer war. taken In and tte firm became the Woodward & Euigeis Amusement Co. William 'A. faston, Jr., held hla Interest In the Panne s for a while, but sold out to Messrs. Woodward and Burgess, who extended their Interests to Include Denver. Ksius City, B'.oux City, St. Joseph, Man kuto, Sioux Falis, Nebraska City and a few other places. Eut, while tha man ck r.al business was being expanded, tha st. nk company was not lost sight of. While at the Crelghton theater In Omaha la prospered and came to be a reo onlzd Institution. Denver waa In , ar?d by , the organisation, but fir destroyed the theater In which tha com pany waa houaod and at Kanaaa City a Imllar disaster overtook the firm. In the fall of ISM the Orpheum vauuevllle people came to Omaha and secured a teaae on the Crelghton theater, putting the Woodward Stook company literally out of houae and borne her. But th Auditorium theater at Kanaaa City waa available and there it tva Installed and grew with th year. A year without a stock company aaw Omaha ready In th summer of U00 for a renewal of th business, but It was not th Woodward Stock that played summer ngagement at tb Boyd. This waa left Vat to Barn Bear and than to Dlok Ferrla, fcut In th and Woodward at Burgess built the Burwood theater, that th Woodward Stock might again have a horn In Omaha. Two vary sueceeeful Mason war played there and than Hie theater paaaed Into other hand. Back to summer seasons at the Boyd, until th opening of th Brandels last spring cleared th way for th In stalling of Eva Lang and her company at th beautiful theater that baa so lung been T cm f Omaha's chief pleasure spot. fcnd here Is O. V. Woodward, working at as hard as h did when he first cum to Omaha, striving Just as earnestly to put before the people wholesome plays appropriately presented. This little sketch of his career merely gives tb outline) of his rise In th theater. As a member of the Woodward A Burgees Amusement company. which has now become th Bur gt & Woodward company, having been rccrganlxed about two years ago, with th direction of the principal theaters In Omaha and Kansas City, and other Important liursts, ho ha bcom a considerable factor in the world of amusement. H is an well known on Broadway as any resi dent manager of New Tork, and hla name Is familiar from one end of th land to tho other. Many actor of national fam have gone out from hla stock company, well equipped because of his training, and n any others not ao well known, look back with contented pleasure to th day when they drew pay checks signed by O. D. Woodward. For hla heart ha always been In the "producing game." and even today he loaves the management of the big theaters he Is Interested In to th di rection of hi partners, while he devotes hla time to the stock company and Its productions. In following his bent he has produced perhaps as many playa under hia own personal direction as sny man In America. He was asked once how many piaye he had actually put on. but aald ho couldn't guess within fifty at least, l uring- the fifteen yeara . since he first came to Omaha he hia presented not less than O0 playa At one time he was directing the progress of two companies, one In Kansas City and one In Omaha, each presenting a different play each veek, a task that would stacker even an .expert stage director, yet O. I). Woodward carried It on for two seasons. Several of the productions were of new plays that hud never been put on the stage before he mounted them. None Of them were light. What has this Involved? In th matter of cost, tit figures run Into a total that ! considerable. If the average cost of the &1 plays Oj D. Woodward has produced In the last fifteen years has been but W) for mounting, which Is very low, for many of them have tun above tl.c. he has Invested I1M.U00 In ssvnery and coetumes aione. Th avrra.e royalty paid will run to about the mm- figure, making a total of IWO.nno for ro allies afd acenlc equipment. Ills corn panlea to jjrodure these playa have cost Mm imte as much more, showing a total of a Intent thrwe-quartera of a million dul iais. If which should be added the expense of advertiMng. house management, theater rent-l.t, etc.. which will bring th total fig. ures well up towards a million and a half dollars, that represents th magnitude of his operations In the matter of furalshing Ipu:r antuemnt at popular prices. To state It In another way. (.OTOjCo people have paid L centa each In order that O. P. Woodward may have beta able to meet the expense of making hi COO productions. This mean that at toast ifcouO person bav attended whil each production was on. or aa.avarag of about 1 AO to each performance. ' V many of th shows Mr. Woodward has produced have cost over I2.W.0 for th week they wer on. this little synopsis will show what ventures he has undertaken In th mer matter of finance. Hr la an Idea of tt work Jr.' Wm4- . . l , - . . .,(V . ,. A . .v. B ,V, " ... ' v, jaS. ' vf i-; i ; a r K 'vcv i ' V' ' .A!1 " ward has been doing, that is, Its raw. extrinsic values are here suggested. What about Its more intimate worth? Who can estimate the good ne has done In these years In the way of serving the public with the best the dramatic table affords at prices that are in reach of all? Mr. Woodward's companies have been uni formly good and well b-ianced; capnble and Intelligent men and women have served under him, enacting their several roles with taste and understanding, so that the plays have always been well pre sented, and not only has entertainment but Instruction been furnished. Ho has placed th very best within th reach of all. To do this he has mad sacrifices that can not be computed; he has assumed great rinks. Investing money and time In a pro duction that might not bring htm returns, In fact, that very often did not bring him returns; h has given hia time and his energy wfthout atlnt, and his credit, too, to th cause of the stag for the people. His ambition seems to have been to put the highest of dramatic achievement Within the reach of the multitudes. That he has been able to persist through all these years Is th best evidence that In some way his efforts hav been appreciated. O. D. Woodward now In all essentials Is no different from the man who had to borrow money and strain his credit to get his wandering players and their Impedi menta across the bridge from Council Bluffs to Omaha fifteen years ago. He is better known In th world of events, stands a little htetler In his calling, has had a few more years of experience and a few more of life; but those who knew him then nee no change In him. He Is th same simple, unaffected man, with the same optimistic look on life and the same little twinkle lurking In his eye. Mellowed a little, maybe, by the experiences that have been his, but just as certain of th good that Is In mankind as he ever was and aa welling Over 600 Plays 4 w, . V O. D WOUi)WAJU. SOME OF THE GIRLS FROM THE FAMOUS JEWEL BALLET. I I I 9 1 to give everybody credit with having some good In his makeup. He will talk for hotus of people who have played in h a com panies; of Jane Kennark, of Lester Lome Ran, of Emma Lunn, of any number of people who have gone out from one or an other of his theaters and made good, but never of himself. He will tell you about his plays, of people who have helped him, of any other thing under th sun but of what he has done himself. And so he goes on, quietly planning, qulwtly execut ing, patiently Instructing' player after player in the best way of doing certain things, showing scene painter and prop erty man how to get certain effects, show ing the electrician how to light up scenes, adjusting muslo cues with the orchestra, attending patiently to a difficult scene or the failure of a young actor to get the right turn of an expression; bringing to gether his forces In orderly array that the dream of the play writer may be given th verisimilitude of actuality. Ills prob lem Is ever present and ever varying. It Is that of. presenting appropriately the best of th drama for the uses of the peo ple. He has worked at it for years, and he will work ,at it for years longer, for his soul Is In the work. In his days of success he has tried other ventures; a bank In Kansas, a newspaper In Kansas City, and similar buRlneas undertakings outside the theater have had his attention, but he turns from them to the making of stock productions of such BcaJe as would be boasted of by one of the big men of the east, who produce one or two or three plays a year and tell of the thousands they expend In doing so. O. D. Woodward pro duces on each week, and knows when he leys down the first set of scenery that It Is only going to run. a week; that at th end of the week the scenery Is going to the discard, and that a new set will hav to be produced. Some day he will get hi proper rating aa a manager and director of th affairs of the stag. in Fifteen Years . J ...-7 1 5 ' I I AMISKMETS. NEW MR. D. t-4 mm OPENS NEXT SUNDAY AFTERNOON . n and EVENING And All Week New Ownera-LOWER PRICES 7-BIO VAUDEVILLE AuTS-7 THE BEST OF AMERICAN AID EUROPEAN ATTRACTIONS EVE1V11MGS: 2-SHOWS-2 First Show Starts 7i45 2d Starts 9i20. Cone sod ga whsa you please EVENING. Be and SliZl. BEST SEATS 10c Ycu Will Ba Su.prised DOH'T HISS IT L . t.. a. r-t- Vl. TODAY s . a WEEK ADVANCED VAUDEVILLE Our IVlerry Christmas Offering Bpoelnl Western Tour of WILLIAM MAUDS ROJK - and - FULTOli In Thalr Original Sane Creations Tfclrd OonseonttT Toi F.UCKSE WILLIE HOYAHi nd HOWARD 'Tjj Forfar and tli Bailsman" Fogs of tl Fafet and Present "Witt's Roses ot K id-re" OUST.-. dlLBEHT I.EU.S ;n:i ELOHEQ rint!r.g th MMltary Burlasu "'fii Yapkanlc :iatictU Ouarf.sinen" r rejecting Orphcnm A.lmat- r Orpheum A ?hotography II of 2iiees. . . IOo, B9o Eat. and M BvaUCs, 10c, 5o, 60cSunda Cornell Glee Club BOYD THEATER Monday, December 26, 0 p. m. Concert by tho 70 menbers of tlifl Cornell University Gko, Uanjo and Mandolin Clubs. esr.:.. Beaton Drug Co. 15th and Fanuun Sis. AMUSEMENTS. 3 JACK DONDY fr THEATER 18th and Douglas Sit. F7 AM )mna list. PRIOEi Reserved I" Ceata and Doxes. Which War tha Talk of ITw Tork. Mr. and Mrs. Jmmie Larry Presenting Mr. Barry's Baral Skit, "At Kessfoo Corners'' Mr and Mrs Erwin Comely In th Orantatlo Bnocess of Two Continents, "SwMthaarts" by Bit W. . OUbert GOFF PHILLIPS "Bornt-Cork Baffoonary Orphum C.nosrt Orchestra 16 TaUnted Art lata IS 100. Mat looasn av,llH01, Evening, ICo, 86c. too, 75o,lr'aa'. CORNELL cicssia CERT4 38c M CCfN TOHiaHT-VMTlIi Vr.'MfDIY. MS.IS. WJNDAT AMD WKDHtSDAT. Jtl.MtV I',. IIAUKIS I n-., nt). IH BIS OWW PI. AY "WHHRE TH2 T.SAIL DIVIDES" cn?Gt!Trn pv wxi.li I2.1CE: 8j ThU.ie-iAY, F.ilJV, ATjm -A liJ:- AIUKDAY J JH vl. ,V..:i : Prstenlf stw TOtK's CHir.yrno fiat "TI-IE CL-IIVIA By EDWARD LOCKE. MT7FI0 By JOS. 0. BR EH.. A Delig-htf-Al Comedy With aa Absortltg Musical Thorn. Two Tsars at Weber' Theatre, Hsw Tork. A FLAT THAT Witt, LAST A irPETTMS. rurcEB aro to 11:0; atctiieos. C3c to Si.oo. ONfc. Wifia-C 3JOAY, JANUARY 1ST Xilatinses Weduosday atd Satur.ley. COKAsT ft BtBElS BOEUCTIOI cr. "THE .m.ric.'s FORTUNE WITH FRED HULO AHD THE ORIGINAL CQYPrUY MMS. SEMBR7CH TXCXST CAXE 0PEH8 DECXBCBXH S9. Drl .fl ,tji rVkRY DAY BOYD AT 2;1S DOUQliAS MISS EVA LANG 1HD SIB EXCELLENT COXF1HT Prossutlrg J. M. ban.' PETER PAN HEW TXAK'B WSEX TIB GREAT ...CINiJERLLV... 100 Peopl. A Beautiful Ballet of 60, Under th Direction of Prof. Chamfers. The Management of the announcing; the appearance in Omaha for six nights and five matinees, beginning January 9 The (to York Hippodrome The greatest and most wonderful amusement combina tion of the age the wonder show of the world. It is to be brought here to the Auditorium with ita full complement ' of 600 people and its gorgeous and massive soenio equip ment, intact and unchanged from the World's Greatest Play House. The Messrs. Shubert, under whose direction the Hippodrome is operated, will give, to Omaha theater-goers and to those of the surrounding country an oppor tunity of witnessing the most wonderful, miraculous, en chanting and marvelous entertainment that has ever been put together and which has made the New York Hippo drome the most famous playhouse in the world. Some of the features will be Marceline, the famous clown; Gerson's Won derful Midget Circus, a band of Sioux Indians Albas, King of the Wire; a ballet of four hundred; twenty most wonder ful scenic achievements. The entertainment will be divided into three parts "Pioneer Days," "The Ballet of Jewels" and "A Trip to Japan." N In order that everyone may have the benefit of seeing thia gigantic entertainment the prices have been made with in reach of all the night scale being from 50c to $1.50 tho matinee scale being from 25c to $1.00. A ticket office for the sale of seats will be opened in the office of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad at 16th and Parnam Sts. within a very few days. Mail orders with check or money enclosed will be received by Manager J. M. Gillan of the Auditorium and will be filled in regular order. ayetV Devoted to Strlotiy Ulrh Orad Xstravaganaa and TaadevlU TWICE DAILY MU. TODAY (Enragement Terminate Bat. Mat.) 0 II I "V G I ! to uTt EHr aVTejh cb Th Big- Omaha Favortte, SAP II017E AI3D "10UE HflKERS" Th Grsitstt Laog-h-Maksr In Tx- , TV"" All-Btar Cast Iu- oiadin BOB iOOTT, Till BErwoirrj rOVM MARMO-I.TB, Xt IB B T BLOI XELL, JAB. DIXOaT, LIB TO ' and MIU1 SBWOLfB A MO A Baaaty Oon rsss Ohra of T TT T FT f 1 T . t Be th Lsnt-h Baot "Tdd la Africa" Xar Badri- Omaha's best thestrlral Christ mas present Is Sain Howe. 11 know you all anl lovre every knot on -our knob; every pitn. iZ.ia v!iur roof.,e and I wish fhrl.tx.'al Ur-1VM A a. x iokiiow, Mrr. syty Theater Evening and Bandar Matin.. lfc nr.. an. --m 9 WMk MatS. lfif'Afl Ta way LADIES' 1f)n A, Aay w..: TICKETS lUC,,,, MattaH. WOIlPsT MATtsTT- TOMQwwow w Tear Kv Sat. Wight, Deo. 31 EDITH SPESCER CSS STOCK CO. Xa the Blp-Xoartng- Comedy, -A BICB TOB A DAT." Vrioo lto, Boo and too. The Bcrgltn Utiles SOOt Ltouglaa 6Ut Auguat M. Uorglum, MaUuii Iiorglam l'uiU of Waer Hwajroa, faria FUno IoatrnctloD LeachetUky Method Bppplemeutad by Ear Training sA Sight a.lrx. in.n.xr .tinniv- kovel. Ce'.'.tn to S1.50. -r Extra Hatlusi Konday Afternoon. SEAT SALE THURSDAY Bast Gcmsdy HUNTER" MAIL OSCZM VOW THEATER NIGHT AT 8:15 MITIHEB BTEIT BAT FAIBT PXAT iUtUeaS&lkSOSL Auditorium takes pleasure la ICRUQ THEATER Prloes 15c, 8 So, S0o Tew at 700, natui loci Boo and SOo Evryhody Oo to th Dry j Bight. Btartlna- KM. BPBCXAX. MATTBEB MOBT9AT ' Original Kirk XV B holla Prod notion. BUrrlnf Story of Baoln; BtoraM and Winning- Ksarta SnOHTB Starting TbmraAap Usnal Matin Saturday TO Big Draxnatlo BenaaUoa BUIICO in ARIZONA By xjxxxAjr kobtucbb tW Audi torium Roller Skating Sundaj (ChrlatiruM Ia) IloUi Bftrnoon and evening, aJso on Monday, Afternoon and evening Admission, 10c. Skat., 20e. i limn YIDDISH Ol'EEA Co" Dee. 83d and 85th, LTBIO Tares--. with " e,j..r;w Klbl Ida BLUM Piiday fc-l-hti - rumk-Tni " - "Th. Biora, .J tlfV By Count L.o T.lstoL ' 86. 36c and BO Boa Ofltc Opaa AiWraoonaT