Variety (Jan 1949)

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w^lneeday, January 26, 1949 P^RtETT UBGITIMATB 57 Chi Cops Not Likely to Interfere As B way 'Prostitute Plays Univ. Theatre Chicago, Jan. 25. Protesting the CW legit bensor- chit) setup. American Civil Liber- union. Chicago division, Americans for Democratic Action. American Veterans' Committee, ffnal Assn. for the Advance- ment of Colored People and the Student Republican Club, all of «,P Univ. of Chicago, will sponsor T«n-Paul Sartre's "The Reseect- ?ul Prostitute," Feb. 8, at Ma*ndel Hall, Univ. of Chicago. "Prostitute" was originally sked- oil for a Chi run at the Stude- baker theatre, Dec. 27, but ban by Police Commissioner Jolin Pren- derfsast was upheld by Mayor Keroelly and play was not pre- sented. Censor board had charged nroduction was indecent and not freneficial to the Negro race and threatened that the theatre's li- cense could be revoked for one year on grounds of violating a Jduriicipal code against indecent or immoral plays. Leon Despres, counsel for Chi American Civil Liberties Union stated Monday (24) that "Prosti- tute" would be presented at Chi- cago U. by the , original New York Cast, whose expenses would be paid out of private contributions, by individuals protesting the ban as a blow to civil liberties. Meg Mundy, Karl Weber, John Mar- riott and Wendell Holmes of the brtginal cast, are contributing their performances with Equity's okay, according to Despres. Pres- entation in Mandel Hall will be exclusively for student body, fac- ulty and their guests, and not a- 1>tiblic showing, Mr. Despres said. Protest vs. Setup . Dr. Homer A. Jack, vice-chair- man of AGLU. Chi division, and pa.stor of a Unitarian church here, we hope to throw light on Chicago's inadequate legitimate stage censorship setup.'* After the presentation; Feb.; 8, at 8 p.m., a Civil Uberties meet- (Continued on page 61) 'Manhattan' Slot Machine Routine Brings Belated ),000 Damage Suit Anderson-Weill Musical 'Cry* Making Fast Headway Maxwell Anderson and Kurt Weill are making rapid progress on their musical dramatization of Alan Paton's "Cry the Beloved Country,'' and expect to have the first draft ready for Playwrights' Co. production conferences about mid-February. Show is scheduled for presentation next fall. Not even a tentative budget can be estimated until the. first draft Reverse English When "High Button Shoes" opened recently at the Hippo- drome in London, producer Jack Hyltori sent. an exultant cable to ■ Joseph Xipness, -co-. producer of the Broadway original. Message read, "Show 'tremendous hit. Posting no- tices." Greatly excited, Kipness immediately called the Brit- ish showman by transatlantic phone r demanding why he was closing the musical if it was such a hit. When he under- stood that the remark "posting notices" had merely been Hyl- ton's way of saying he was mailing copies of the reviews. Kipness muttered, "Why don't you talk English?" HopesforNatlLegitBiflHighlfltCan Get Under Truman Honeymoon Wire Schwartz Plans Tour For 'U.S.A/ in Spring With "Inside U. S. A." again operating at a profit at the Ma- jestic, N. Y., it is. now slated to continue until late February; when it will go on the road. Revue had a couple of losing weeks while Beatrice Ijllie was ill, but has topped the $30,000 weekly gross i succeed marlo since her: return. Comedienne and her co-star. Jack Haley, are under contract to this and next season, as ar^ Valerie Bettis and Eric Victor, 2JSliuAi nonl tn fnef Him i dance leads. Herb Shriner has TTCeii UCdl lU l^UM IllHI, already left the show to concentrate 1^1 >_ D_„ f _„ DIa.:'- D..^ his radio series, and Thelma Actor S ray tor r lay S Run Carpenter wm exit when it goes Michael Garrison, who was rc- \ Tour will probably , i , . , ,>,,,_.,, lay oft next summer and resume in placed during rehearsals of Death tijg faij •f Establishment of a national thea-■ tre, as proposed under a measure introduced Monday (24) in Con*; gress by Rep. Jacob K. Javits (R, N.. Y.), would be aimed not only to spread local and regional drama but to increase the number of road stands and ■ expand road playing, time. According to Javits and Sen.'' Irving M. Ives (R, N. Y.); who is sponsoring the measure in the . Senate, it has a good chance of . passage; particularly if its backers in having it considered of the script is completed, but the R|nnmffarilpn Tlimdnwil Of tour adaptor and composer have indi-! "•OOIllgdrUeil lUIIIUUWIl Ul cated that the production will | probably be a relatively light one ] for a musical, with a. minimum of { scenery.. However.'. that.: was' also the advance word on "Anne of the Thousand Days." which subse- quently involved a large production with a turntable and. numerous settings, which were finally junked for a simple, basic setw $150< Suit tor $150,000 damages was filed in N.Y. Federal court last week by Devery Freeman, Coast writer, against, comedian Sid Caesar, pro- of a Salesman,": will receive full payment for the run of. the show, or at least until June It the ex« piration date if or Equity contracts. Actor had a run-ofrthe-play deal and his agent, Gloria Safier, re- fused to agree to a settlement. When Garrison was signed, he wanted a two-week deal, but pro- ducer Kermit Bloomgarden in- sisted on the run - of - the - play clause. During the month that in- tervened between signing'the pact and the start of rehearsals, the actor made no attempt to get other parts. That, plus the fact that he had not wanted the run-of-the-play clause, was the reason he wouldn't make a settlement.' . Reason Garrison was replaced was his physical Arthur Schwartz production has quickly, during the "Truman honeymoon." Although show business reaction^ to the bill has generally been, favorable,' it has already been criticized in: some quarters; For in-- stance, Lee Shubert minimized the prospects of subsidized drama, ex- plaining, "Nothing works in the theatre unless it's commercial. P l a y s produced for art-for-art's sake have never been a success. Too many people have things to repaid its entire $235,000 invest-1 a^out them." Spokesmen for ment and has a small cash reserve It brealcs even at around $30,000. Last week's gross was almost $33,000. Theatre Booking Shuffle on B'way closing Get Your Gun'' at the Impeml. that house is slated to get "Along resemblance to | Fifth Avenue,", which moves over .4 W Cost 42a 'Bough' 97G "The Shop at Sly Corner," which closed Saturday night (22) at the Booth,' N, Y., after seven perform- ances, involved a loss of about $42,000. Gant Gaither production- was financed at $35,000 and the backers were also tapped for a 20% overcall. It was the second U. S.; production for the Edward Percy script, the previous one having been done in the fall of 1941 by Reginald Denham, reportedly with a silent assist from the late Harry Kaufman. "The Victors," which also folded 1 ast Saturday night, cost the New Stages treasury about $7,500; the approximate production figure. It about broke even for its four-week I run at the New Stages theatre in I Greenwich Village. N. Y. Organ- ization's next offering, "Blood Wed- ding," is rehearsing for a sched-; uled premiere- Feb. 6. Costliest closing of the week was "Leaf and Bough," which shuttered for a loss of around $97,000 alter playing only three performances. Charles P. Heidt presentation, pro- _ duced by Rouben Mamoulian, was j ;*vana"bie"by\'he^Carr^^ Hudson'at a d'ate lo"be~se"lected.'' the .Metropolitan^^ Opera Assn. re^ fused t6 express an opinion until they had seen a copy of the bill. In most show business circleSj however-, the reaction, appears to be: ^ stroiigly favorable .to the propoMtli Ehthiisiasm i has • been voiced -by Clarence Der\Veht. - president of Actors Equity;: Lawrence Tibbett, president of the American Guild of Musical Artists, and O, La'Wton Campbell, Vinton Freedley and other heads of the American Na- Next few weeks will bring a the- i Theatre and Academy The atre booking shuffle on Broadway, j \-""- organiza^^^^^^ won d presum- With the closing Feb. 19 of "Annie ! fn^'e'haVXetropostd'setir'^ Lee J. Cobb, who came from Hoi-1 from the Broadhurst. Latter house lywood to play the male lead in ; will receive "Lend an Ear," which i k» K«tj m»,„ V/...1, w the Arthur Miller drama. It was ' will vacate the National. "The Big , P°^'r. L^f illl " iT. ^^'^^ Point To Symposium With the Javits-Ives measure formally on the Congressional slate, tlie forthcoming theatre sym- felt the similarity might cause au- dience confusion. various legit organizations now ap- Any 'SHOES' IN WORKS FOR AUSSIE RUN NEXT JUNE ; Knife," Clifford Odets play cur-1 ; •.niWi rently in rehearsal, opens Feb. 23 at' P*^"^* P*""^' the National. With "Goodbye, My I (Continued on page 61) Fancy" shifting Feb. 7 to the Ful-' I ton, "Death of a Salesman" goes in- I to the Morosco Feb. 10. I The Boston Repertory production of "'Ricliard III," starring Richard Whorf; preems Feb. 8 at the Booth. John Golden's revival of "They Sydney, Jan. 19. A deal is reaching consumma „ . ,. . . ,„,„, i.,i„„„:. Knew What They Wanted, starring tion between the William Morns , ,,.„„; ,., ' u v»,f agency Of N. Y: and Harry Mus- ! Paul Muni, is due the week of Feb. ; 14 at the Music Box. Phyllis Hold- grove for the Aussie production ; en's presentation of "Anybody i with imported cast of ''High But^; Home" is pencilled for Feb. 25 at y ton Shoes" at Princess, Melbourne, : the Golden; Sidney Kingsley's , next .Tune. Princess will be made "Detective Story" is set for the I ■ j "Diamond Lil" arrives Feb. 5 at.' Plea to Cancel Lease On Shubert, N. Haven, Denied By Federal Court Judge New Haven, Jan. 25. The application of the Taft Realty Corp., owners of property including the Shubert theatre here, to show cause why a lease between the Taft Corp. and the Yorkshaven .Enterprises, Inc., oper-; ators of the theatre, should not be declared null and void was dis- : rerJosTph M Hymarand the ^^^r** *'f,'T' I**"? ^as ! te^rrf dW Is finally 'set. Make Mine Manhattan Co. Plain-/u/o overcau, plus extra losses | Musgrove has been out of show the Coronet. "My Name Is Aqui-, . , ThnrsHav (?n> hv Tnriff* tiff cla mrto have written the slot J^^^^^ for a long time.- He headed : Ion" (formerly "Figure of a Girl") I ™f J^'^^ ^[2°)^ J"^f* machine comedy routine, which he '^^^ closmg. , the First National (now Warners) is due Feb. 9 at the Lyceum. Ap- ^^"''^^ ^- "»nc*^s ^ne u. ais ~"—.- - -—~~~ distrib unit here, and was con-I parently "Kiss Me, Kate" is to re- rm 'CTRFPTrAR' rili TA ! nected with vaude for some time, [main at the Century at least f i>ni uiIiIjEIvAIi. LU. 1" j Bid for "Shoes" had been made I the , present; although there has ! . !_...t.. 1....- ^jjjj ggjj Blue been speculation that it might be alleges Caesar used, in the show witliout permission. Number was listed in the "Make Mine Manhattan" . program as written by Caesar, Max Liebman and Allan Roberts, as long as the comic remained in the revue while it. was at the Broadhurst, N.Y. Caesar withdrew from the show TAKE EXTENSIVE TOUR named as the principal comic; Bid ! moved to the Times Square area. Chicago, Jan. 25. ■ "Streetcar Named Desire" is in its final weeks at the Harris here, with closing date around end of fell through however. l^L'^*''''"*''u'' ^" ' February..-Producer Irene Selznick television show, with Bert Lahr fegi^ chi company should tour, Ate„^^'■K*^/^*■ i**^*''^ I rather than throw another "Street- vite defendants haven t. ^.g^- group into the circuit. Com- w1n^«„","'S*'*^'"**'-*''^?-*'^^^^'pany. with Uta Hagen, Anthony ^L^iZ "l*""" "fjQuinn and Mary Welch in the auu orsmp. I leads, has had rave reviews and Plaintiff does not claim copy-1 would probably be better draw right of the disputed sketch, but | than a third company, asserts it is his common-law j "Streetcar" is still making a property. He alleges that the j profit and could run well into ' spring-.- - since producJliffi:_..needs around $15,000 to break even. Take has consistently hit arbund f 18;500, with 18th We^ cdmiiig up. Com- h<i!t.» ''"i 1"' "'"^^ jf^viu.v pany hais 29 Theatre Guild commitr "ti!!? S!?""*^. time, called, ments in midwest and plans other one, two or three-week engage- mentSi With as few ohe^nighters as pbssilile. Gertrude Brpmberg. flacking for "Streetcar" at Harris, will go ahead of the company. Bookings westward and for the idea, - plan,^ outline and script" are all hi$ and that during March.. 1947, he submitted it to Columbia Pictures, which was to have had Caesar use it in a picture The Guilt of Janet Ames." The nun was later dropped, but Caesar used the sketch in "Manhattan," according to Freeman. An unexplained angle of the situation is why Freeman failed to wke any action on the matter dur- '"8 the year's run of "Manhattan" on Broadway, but waited until H^sar left the show before bring- ing suit. Production contracts for the revue list Caesar, Liebman and woberts as authors of the piece, .freeman's attorney is David Gourfain Preps Negro Musical for Coast Hollywoodi Jan. 25. All-Negro intimate musical, "Carbon Copies of 1949," will be produced here late in the spring by Harry Gourfain, who formerly produced stage attractions at the Paramount, Strand, Roxy and Cap- itol theatres in New York. ! Gourfain, now a Hollywood I music publisher, also is planning i a weekly teleshow with the same 1 title, talent to be drawn from the cast of the stage production. I Charles Hathaway will do the score. trict court. His ruling was that the Federal court is without juris- diction in the matter. Taft Realty also sought $500,000 damages' based on \a claim of un- favorable terms at the time of signing the lease. v c A ...ill «^ „^ Situation is,an outcropping of a S. A. will presently go on ^^^^ ^^^^^^ reorganization effected under 77B in,1937. It is the claim of the present Taft setup that di- A ™ <'iij„«„„ii» Aii„„ " -'<T,.,„ ! rectors in office in 1941 and 1942, .?T^i c:„,l'il^„n.Jj" ! When the lease and Us subsequent Blind Mice, The Sounding Brass, , ,i!c„„»!.%„, j_„,„_ "The Emerald Stairca.se" and "Miss ^"aS^errnot empo^^^^^^ Liberty." Houses with, no definite i !" .!f bookings at the moment are the Cort and Ziegfeld. South Pacific" is probably headed for the Ma.iestic, from which "In-1 side U. tour. Shows on the way but not set for i theatres are "At War with the | ijaJiy,,wt;re iiui-viiipuwi^ieu w eiiicr I into such agreements without court approval. 1 Yorkhaven maintains that the . lease was signed according to cor-* rect procedure and there is no basis in law for the action filed by vff}|?*>an- Caesar is represented by fcI>ift?P.^''"T'i^' Howard Rein- J'^e Sky \^ J^^^}^^^'^Z\ll^" wuiiam" Wymetal, who will be the ' Harry Ruby has arrived from the | troupe, which the Marquis pur. fceimer .s Hyman'S lawyer. ! P'^^y-^S^f iTs'a'Mfngton i managing -^i™"*- third CALVERT SWITCHES TO DOUBLE BILL m COAiTi —Taft . Realty has _lndic_ated_ that.. Hollywood, Jan. 25. the petition will now be carried "The Wizard of Awes" and mto the state court. "Trial of the Dead" will be the two . — productions starring John Calvert IlA 1 II0V9C Rallol' Hllrae in a two-night live double-bill pro-. I'UCVda IMIICI limKb fre.Vb^. {Sfn^"^''"-""^" ; Capitalization to 295G "Wizard" features Calvert's, xhe Grand Ballet de Monte regular magic act. Trial brings carlo, a N. Y. corporation, was re- ♦Norway' Set to Tee Off Pitt Al Fresco Opera Pittsburgh. Jan. 25. , . .... _ , —-—, - ... -.— ^- ...—- . "Song of Norway" will tee off back to life such characters as Dr. ■ capitalized last week (20), increa.s- summer on the Coast are being I the fourth season of summer opera Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Were-Wolt, jng its capitalization from $60,000 - - - here June 6. Nine shows have been Dracula Queen of the Cat People to $295,000. Reason for the huge scheduled, same as last year, and and an 18-foot monster who s been hike was the financial demands reason for early getaway i.s because ! ?fad. lo Inese 2.000 years. Calvert made by the dance troupe abroad, to vacate Pitt Sta- blandly says it s the monster s its expenses outrunning its grosses. set in New York. Kanin's 'Sky Falling' company has .mv„v~ ,i„h„f dium by first week in August so , scage ueoui. ^ilto YeSTy'^^tthTreTenf-'smTel university can get the bowl ready I of the World." has a new play "The Sky Is Falling," which the I for another football season. M Meeting with the; press last week. Ruby's 100% 'Chair' Corporation has only two part- ners; Marquij George de Guevas and wife Margaret (daughter of John D. Rockefeller, Jr.). Dance ! locale ' with a femme lead said to; straight season be aVofs between Patter- he was also planning to repeat "B«n' . '..!„ oJ,S AW Roosevelt Long-' three .shows which have already ^^^XL^'^^^'LMi .^l rrth'!"Vth'charr?orhas'^be"ln been «Jone ';Naughty Marietta, Ha/ha"been read by some of lee, ' ;;The Pink Lady" and "Good the Playwrights' members. ■ •■^^^^<C:■ :■■■[ 'HeWz* 25G in 4, Denver Helliapoppin," brought in by 3 iiin . t*^**' grossed $25,000 at the Monrt"!?** Sunday and formSes."'''*^' Top was $3.60. director for the third Coast with a legit musical, "Pull i chased a couple of years ago, announced that Up a Chair," which is 100% of his opened in .M°xandria last Thurs- own writing—book, lyrics and: day (20) to SRO biz, following a mu.sic. three-week stay in Cairo. Troupe Song.smith, who ju.st completed! will dance in Alexandria through and "Vagabond working on the (Bert.) Kalmar & ; Monday (31), then return to its Euby biopic at Metro—it has yet! home quarters at Monte Carlo. It to go into production—plans set- opens a home stay of six weeks ting a production deal while cast.: March 15.