The Art of Stage Dancing Part 5

Founded "Ned Wayburn's Training School for the Stage," which first occupied the American Savings Bank Building, 115 West 42nd Street, between Broadway and 6th Avenue, New York City, and then expanded to the entire five-story building at 143 West 44th Street, next to the Hudson Theatre and opposite the Lambs Club. John Emerson, President of the Actor's Equity a.s.sociation, and Zelda Sears, author of "The Lollypop," and many other successes, were then members of his faculty.

For the Shuberts and Lew Fields staged "The Mimic World," at the Casino Theatre, New York. For Lew Fields (of Weber and Fields), at the Broadway Theatre and Herald Square Theatre staged: "The Midnight Sons," "The Jolly Bachelors," "The Hen Pecks," "The Summer Widowers,"

"The Never Homes," "The Wife Hunters," "Tillie's Nightmare," starring Marie Dressler; Lew Fields in "Old Dutch," Victor Herbert's "The Rose of Algeria," etc.

For the Messrs. Shubert at the Casino Theatre, N.Y., the following musical comedies: "The Girl and the Wizard," starring Sam Bernard; "Havana," with James T. Powers (made the American version of this libretto); "The Prince of Bohemia," with Andrew Mack, and "Mlle.

Mischief," starring Lulu Glaser.

Staged and appeared in "The Producer," written by William Lebaron, a headline vaudeville production (fifty people) which opened at Hammerstein's Victoria Theatre, New York City, and played for months in vaudeville, headlining in all princ.i.p.al eastern cities.

Staged "The Military Girl," starring Cecil Lean and Cleo Mayfield, at the Ziegfeld Theatre in Chicago. Engaged by Lee and J.J. Shubert as producer for New York Winter Garden, created a policy for that theatre and a formula for musical productions still used there; staged "The Pa.s.sing Show of 1912," "The Honeymoon Express," with Al Jolson and Gaby Deslys, "Broadway to Paris," "The Pa.s.sing Show of 1913," etc.

For the English manager, Albert de Courville, at the Hippodrome, London, England, at the highest terms ever paid a stage director, he directed George Robey, Ethel Levey, Harry Tate, Billy Merson, s.h.i.+rley Kellogg, and other famous continental stars.

He staged "Hullo Tango" (ran over one year), "Zig-Zag" (ran one and one-half years), "Box of Tricks," "Joybells," etc.

Opened offices in London, producing "The Honeymoon Express," which ran five years in London and the provinces; produced "Dora's Doze," at Palladium Music Hall, and leased Middles.e.x Music Hall, London, to stage his own musical productions with American, French and English stars, in a.s.sociation with Oswald Stoll, but was obliged to stop productions there when war was declared.

Next he staged and presented his own production of a farce, "She's In Again," at Gaiety Theatre, New York City; also put on his own $150,000 production of "Town Topics," with Will Rogers, at the Century Theatre, New York, for which playhouse he created a Continental Music Hall policy.

It was soon after this that he accepted an engagement as producer and general stage director for Florenz Ziegfeld and staged the "Follies of 1916," "Follies of 1917," "Follies of 1918," and "Follies of 1919."

[Ill.u.s.tration: OSCAR SHAW]

In addition to the above, Mr. Wayburn devised and staged for Mr.

Ziegfeld nine successful Midnight Frolics and two Nine O'Clock Revues atop the New Amsterdam Theatre, New York, during this time.

For Mesmore Kendall, devised and staged the opening presentation for the Capitol Theatre, New York City, September, 1919, including an elaborate and very successful revue.

For Dillingham and Ziegfeld, at Century Theatre, New York, he devised and staged the sensationally successful second act finale to "The Century Girl" (1916), where the 50-foot circular revolving stage was employed so ingeniously in the "Uncle Sam" finale.

Staged "Miss 1917" at the Century Theatre, New York, with Irene Castle, Elsie Janis and 40 other stars.

For Lew Fields: "The Poor Little Ritz Girl."

For A.L. Erlanger and B.C. Whitney: "The Ed Wynn Carnival," at the New Amsterdam Theatre, N.Y.

For A.L. Erlanger: "Two Little Girls in Blue" (with the Fairbanks Twins, Oscar Shaw and Evelyn Law), at the George M. Cohan Theatre, N.Y.

Founded Ned Wayburn Studios of Stage Dancing and Ned Wayburn Booking Offices.

Staged F. Ziegfeld's production, starring Will Rogers, also "Follies of 1922," which ran 67 consecutive weeks in New York City and about 40 weeks on tour. No other "Follies" up to this time ever ran over 16 weeks in New York. Produced many vaudeville acts, among them, "Ned Wayburn's Dancing Dozen." Arranged motion-picture presentations for the Famous Players-Lasky Theatres. In a.s.sociation with Ben Ali Haggin produced several tableaux, including "Simonetta," "Dubarry," and "The Green Gong," which were presented in many of the princ.i.p.al cities.

Staged the musical comedy "Lady b.u.t.terfly," at Globe Theatre, New York.

Staged the Anatol Friedland headline girl act for the Keith-Albee and Orpheum vaudeville circuits, and "The Birth of Venus," a series of beautiful tableaux which were shown in many princ.i.p.al motion picture and vaudeville theatres. Staged for Florenz Ziegfeld "Follies of 1923," at New Amsterdam Theatre, New York, which attraction played to the largest week's receipts of any Follies ever produced at New Amsterdam Theatre.

Staged the following headline vaudeville productions:

"NED WAYBURN'S HONEYMOON CRUISE"

--an elaborate junior musical comedy, adapted for vaudeville, with a cast of dancers, princ.i.p.als and ensemble, composed entirely of pupils of the Ned Wayburn Studios. This act, the highest priced in vaudeville, started on tour in January, 1924, and broke all box-office records of the Poli Theatres in New England, as well as those of many other theatres on the Keith-Albee Circuit, including the premiere vaudeville theatre of the world, Keith-Albee Palace Theatre, New York, and the new $7,000,000 Earle Theatre in Philadelphia. It is still breaking records, and is one of the most sought-after acts in vaudeville.

"NED WAYBURN'S DEMI-Ta.s.sE REVUE"

--another headline act, composed entirely of pupils of the Ned Wayburn Studios. Now on the Keith-Albee and Orpheum Circuits.

The opening engagement at Bridgeport broke the attendance record of the Palace Theatre there and the same results followed at New Haven, Hartford and Worcester, when the audiences and newspaper critics alike declared the Revue even better than Ned Wayburn's "Honeymoon Cruise," which had previously held the attendance records in those cities.

"NED WAYBURN'S SYMPHONIC JAZZ REVUE"

Another new production, also composed of pupils of the Ned Wayburn Studios--touring the princ.i.p.al motion picture theatres in the Middle West and also Keith-Albee and Orpheum Circuits.

Staged the dances for Geraldine Farrar in an Operatic Fantasie--"Carmen" (all the dancers in this production being pupils of the Ned Wayburn Studios).

SOCIETY, UNIVERSITY AND PRIVATE ENTERTAINMENTS

For Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt, 2nd, devised and staged her "Mah Jong Fete" at the Hotel Plaza, New York, for the Big Sisters charity, December, 1923, and her "Persian Jazz Fete," December, 1924.

The Princeton Triangle Club's Musical Comedy, "Drake's Drum" last year and "The Scarlet Coat" this year.

The Filene Store's musical comedy, "The Caddie Girl," Colonial Theatre, Boston, in April, 1924, and "Barbara Lee," in April, 1925, presented at the Tremont Theatre, Boston, for one week, with Leah Ainsworth, a Ned Wayburn pupil, in the t.i.tle role.

Penn. State College Thespian Club's Show, "The Magazine Cover Girl"

last year, and "Wooden Shoes" this year.

The Third Annual Masonic Fas.h.i.+on and Home Exposition at Madison Square Garden, New York, May, 1924.

Elaborate entertainments for the w.i.l.l.ys-Overland Company, at the Hotel Biltmore, New York (three years).

Jewelers' 24-Karat Club Annual Entertainment at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York (three successive years).

"Own Your Own Home Exposition," at Trenton, New Jersey.

Shriner's Frolic, at Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C.

Kansas City "Junior League Follies" (December, 1924).

Atlanta "Junior League Follies" (February, 1925).

A Musical Revue for the New York Edison Co., 1925 (so successful it had to be repeated).

The Providence Junior League Show, 1925.

The New Haven "Junior League Nautical Bal Cabaret," 1925.