Variety (January 1950)

64 IJEGITIIHATB W^iieMlay» latiiiary 25^ 19S0 The new theatre ticket code, be adopted by the New York City Pept. of Licenses when Mayor Wil- liam G’Dwyer returns from his Florida vacation, should reduce scalping to a minimum within six months/ That is the prediction of Commissioner ::of ■ Investigations John M. Murtagh, whose probe of ticket abuses led to the adoption of the code by representatives of vari- ous Broadway legit groups. — / tinder the new regulations, Mur- tagh belieyes, scalping wjlll be the exception rather than the. rule; and a greater share of theatre; tickets will be available to the public which pays legal prices. Howeyer, he> notes, “the successful enforce- ment of these rules Will depend hot only on the city goyernment, but even more on the theatrical, in- dustry; If the theatre really wants to suppress scalping, the city gov- ermhent can supply the assistance necessary. , , “The code simply provides book- keeping primarily oh the part of ticket brokers and to a lesser ex- tent oh the part of the theatre. This will enable the Pept. Of Invest tigatiOn, working with the Dept, of Licenses, to make regular checks or ticket distribiitiori;... In , other, woids, it is simply a form of book- -keepihg-which will facilitate v-the. ferretihg out of. illegal' ticket sales. “Manifestly, the number of tick- ets involved , is relatively small, and I feel that if we can first set up proper systems of recording the distribution of tickets, it wiU not be difficult for the Dept, of Inves- tigation to make periodic checks that will bring illegal sales down to a minimum. ;; ; - t j “At present, the Dept, of Li- censes has no detailed require- ments as to records to be kept, but relies primarily on a state law pro- viding vaguely that adequate books and records be kept. Under the new code, this will be corrected, and theatres will also be subject to much the same rules. ‘Extra ExtrasV Out “The bulk of tickets sold il- legally are obtained through ex- changes—that is,^ the exchanging of tickets for different Shows by different agencies. Now, that will (Continued on page 69) Basso Wilts f3,466 oti His Opera: Singing . Bruna Reutemann, operator of the New York Civic Opera Go , was slapped last . week ; with a $3,466 judgment won by basso Allen Say-^ age in N- y. city court. Sum covers Salary Which the sffiger was to re^ ceive under a Jiily, 1948, employ^ ment contract. . : iVhen Miss Reutemann refused to permit Savage to perform in the opera company’s ’48-49 season, in violatioh. of the agreement, he brought suit. Feinson & FeinsOn represented the Singer. it m in Actual work of reconstruction of the JBelasco theatre, -Washington, may be started within, three pr four weeks, as soon as details of the lease are settled and the .deaf is sighed. Residents of the Capital, headed by"' the local citizens’ com- mittee, are airpady preparing a campaign to raise funds for the project. Organization meeting, held last night (TUes. ) at the Wil- lard hotel there, was attended by Actors Equity president Clarence Derwent and producer - director -Oftnrge^SQmnes._ representing the Cleveland. Jahi 24. Stampede for “South Pacific’’ tickets broke all local theatrical records when the Hanna officially announced the opening Pf advarice ticket sale Sunday (22) for the Rodgers-Hammerstein musical hit. |_' Although the tuneshpw’s first road-coinpany doesn’t arrive at Public Music Hall until April 24, playing 16 performances iin.der auspices of the Hanna management, an early sellout is fPreseen by Milr ton Krantz, manager. Music Hall of the civic auditorium Will only accommodate a total of abPiit. 50,.r 000 theatregoers during the twPr week run add manager expects re- quests for pasteboards to go well over the 150,000 mark. ; Extra traffic cops had to be as- signed to hold back the mobs who besieged the Harnia Monday (23). The line started forming Sunday night (22), although the house was dark then, and doors were nearly beaten down by dlssappointed cus- tomers, and messenger boys deliv- ering special delivery mail ordCrs, Date of the first “South Pacific’’ ad announcing the sale was kept secret and came as a sur- prise to most iPcalites who hoped to jump the giin. Theatre refused to accept any advance orders. un-. til the ad appeared In the Gleve- land Plain Dealer Sunday (?2), to give eyerybody a fair deal and eir- cumveht scalpers. Despite all the precautions taken by Krantz; reports filtered in that scalpers had already grabbed a big block of tickets. AssuHlption Was that they flooded the mails with special-delivery registered letters containing money or d e r s for “South Pacific” tickets the moment the ad broke. Death of a Salesman (MOROSCO* N. Y,) Gene Lockhart, who has suc^ ceeded Lee J. Cobb as star of the Broadway production of “Death of a Salesman;” brings a new quality to the title part, without losing the shattering effect of the drama as a. whole, NOW that he has hiad time fb get the feel of the part and to adjust his performance to the others in the company, Lockhart is an impressive Willy Lomanv arid the Arthur Miller tragedy remairis one of the most memorable ex- perieiices in years of playgoirig. Partly because Of his smaller stature, Lockhart seenis a f less imposirig and possibly more pa- thetic figure than Cobb did. His perforriiance lacks the vigor of Cobb’s. He is geritler, quieter, perhrips a trifle tentative. But iri his own way he gives; a genuine impression of helplessness and despair as Willy’s delusion of suc- cess crumbles in his fingers; arid he flrialiy stumbles face to face with the yealizatiori that he is a failure;.' Seemingly, tile most notable ehange in the play since the Open- ing is the growth of Mildred Duri- nock’s performance as Willy’s wife, Lirida, who '-lives froiri day to day” with the growing Certaipty Of her husband’s crackup. Miss Durinock’s perfpnriance Was superb even at the opening, biit instead of losing its fine edge in the interyenihg irionths it appears to have become deeper and even more overwheimr ing, As a matted of fact, the per- formance as a whole has held up remarkably well. Arthur Kerinedy and Cameron Mitchell are still excellent as * the sons, ^ Howard Smith is persuasive as the under- standing next-door neighbor, Alan Hewitt is admirably p0mp0u& as the heartless yOiing boss and Thomas Chalmers plausible as the somewhat sketchy Uncle Ben. pii a repeat visit, even more than originally, “Salesman” re- mains one of the great plays of the American stage. . Hobc. . E](-llL.GOV.(MENINTO (STUDEBAKER, CHI) Road company has been fortu- nate in retairiirig the services of Glenn Anders and Sam Levene, from the Broadway Original, and they pace the show beautifully. When the piece becomes thin; as it does, it’s the antics: of these two that carry it over the rough spots. Anders seems almost, type cast in his near-perfect rendition of the efferiiinate director, while Leyene, as the neophyte iri the theatrical angeling w'ofId with his up-arid- down moods, blusters in high fash- ion. Lynn Bari does a competent job as the. scheming, effusive ac-r tress while Margie Haiti, stripper turned legit; is fine as the wife of the producer. Mary Mace, ^ as the actress’ mother, lacks bite, but has a dry humor which captures Some guf- faws. Thomas Cooley as the young playwright at times conveys the .hopelessness of his part, but his physical portrayal is somewhat overdone. William Roerick as the Wall Street broker, carries his small part extremely well, ari does John Glubley as the enthusiastic Shriner, Brent Sargent, as the Solid Pittsburgh Playhouse and Carnegie Tech Drama School Alumni Assn, in “Lend An Ear” has beeii diluted somewhat for the tour with withdrawal of Shirley Brown from cast at end of Broadway run. Gal, who took over some of the Carol Channing and Yvonne Adair bits when those two went into “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.” felt she’s been away from her husband and business (they operate two film houses) in Connellsville, Pa., long enough and didn*t want to travel. However, A1 Checco, Jenny Uou Law and Florence Lord, all. of whorii went to Tech and also; acted at Pitt Playhouse, are sticking for the road. Charles Gayrior assembled “Lend An Ear” from number of original revues he had previously written for playhouse, and one of its pren ducers. Bill Eythe, who originally starred in the ShUvs too, hails from Tech and community “theati'ei, too. yirtualiy all the backers of Guthrie McClintic’s production Of “The Velvet Glove,” at the Booth, N. Y., are legit names, Included are Grace George,; costar of the play, and her producer-husband, William A. Brady, who died a few days after the /premiere, each with a $1,000 Sharri Other investors include nctress Helen Menken, $6,460; actress . Patricia Collinge, $640; Mrs. Louise Beck, owner of the Martin Beck; theatre, N. Y., $640; Louis Lotito, mariager of the Beck and president of City Playhouses, Inc., $640; producer Richard Myers, $640; lighting techriician Eddie Kook, $1,280; television producer Winstoii 0!Keefe, Tepreseriting a syridicate, $640; McClirttic's actress-wife Katharine Cbr-^ neU, $2,560, arid the producer himself, $11,280. Production was firiartced. at $32,000, but was brought;in for about $25,000. Cost of irioving ;“Madwomari of next week froiri the Ply-: mouth to the Shubert, Bostori, will be paid by the Theatre Guild, which has the Alfred de Hiagre, Jr.,. prOdiictiori pin subscription there. At the time the Boston date iwas booked there was no solid two-w-eek avail- ability at a Shubert house iri the Hub, buik the Guild waiited to have the show at this time for its local subscribers. So it agreed to under.; write the transfer charges on the two-house bpokirig. “Madwoman” grossed nearly $49,000 during its fortnight stand ending Saturday night (21) In Philly/ and has a sizable advance in addition to subscription-this Week in'Boston. American theatre, St. Lpuis, ; which had spotty bopkffi^^ the early part of the season, is splidly set for the next coujple pf months and has prospective attractions thfpugh April. Last week it had Monty \Vpolley in “Man Who Came to Dinner”; current is Taliulah Bankhead iri “Pri- vate XiVes,” followed by James Duriri iri “Harvey,” Judith Evelyn in “Streetcar Named Desire,” Chester Morris in ‘‘Detective Story,” Mae West in“DiainPrid Lil,’’ Thomas Mitchell; in “Death of a Salesman. Katharine Cornell in “That Womrin,”-andr4entatively, Aim Harding ih “Goodbye, My Fancy,” and Anne Jeffreys in “Kiss Me, Kate.” Last week the house got $15,200 with “Light. Up the Sky.” Another attempt is being made by the publisher to curtail the num- ber of production credits on the title page of The Playbill, New York legit theatre program. Producers were notified by letter last week that, henceforth, tihe weekly, fee for merchandise and service mentions wpuld be $25 instead of $10, As before, the proceeds will be donated to the Actors’ Fund, it was added. Letter, signed by Richard M. Huber, presi- dent of Playbill, IriC., explained that the program title page should be reserved for crediting“those who have/created the. production” and mentions of riierchandise arid services should be confined to “the seP- tion devoted to such purpose.” A switch; in routine legit advertising was effected by the manage- ment of “Miss Liberty” (Imperial, N. Y.) in Sunday’s (22) issue of the N. Y. Times. A one-column ad, ruiinirig three-qarters of a page, touted, the show via a display pattemed along the liries of a circus postor. I Idea, developed by show’s pressagent Bill Fields, highlighted special song and dance bits from the musical. Fields, coincidentally enough, is the N. y. publicity rep for Ringling Bros., Barnum & Bailey circus. The same ad was inserted in the N.. Y. Journal-American yesterdav (TueS.). Airierican Natiorial Theatfe & Academy, which will operate the house. > X,: With the general terms of the lease already set, the principal points to be worked out are the airiount of the anriual . I'ental and the cost of moving and storing Treasury Dept, records some other place. Robert Breen, ANTA execu- tive secretary, arid Walter Lieb* man, an attorney, will probably go to Washington next week to work out final terriiB . with various goV- •rnmerit; Officials involved; It’s figured that wheri recondi- tioning of the theatte is cornpleted, at a cost variously estimated at $250,000 to $400,000, the spot will be ready for operation by May or June. Although no bookings are jet, there are reportedly enough available shows to keep the house lighted for more than a year. With the reopening Of the house as a road itand, Washington will have a legit theatre for the first time since August, 1948, when the man- agement of the National switched to a fiini policy rather than accede to Equity demands to abandon its Jim Crow policy. / Besides voting to send Derwent and Bomnes to Washlhgton last Right, the ANTA board of directors voted Monday (23) at Its monthly meeting to make Another contri- butioii, the amount not 'yet deter- minted, to the Equity Xlbrary The- (Continued on page 6$) Chicago, Jan. 24. Fbrmer Illinois Gov. Dwight Green is entering the legit field , , ~ in p a rtnersirip-witlr Walter Armi-! worldly playwright, gives a showy — - . ^ 'performance. Diana Herbert, as the would-be . authoress, shows promise in her second professional Final scene of “The Mari,” Mel Dinelli chiller, which opened Thu i s- ! day night (19) at the Fulton, N. Y., was revised a dozen or more times ! during the play’s road tryout, arid the present version wasn’t inserted uittil a preview two nights before the premiere. As reliearsed and first presented in Buffalo, the ending was lurid and supposedly a surprise, but the audience caught onto the switch At once and rinticipated the developmerits so much that it actually laughed-at the final moments. Present cliiriax keeps the hpuse guessing snd has a shock curtainv Arthur Laurents, whose; new play, “The Bird Cage,” is located back^ ' Stage in a New York nightclub, apparently based the story on his own experiences arid observations as a material writer and bit perfoi'mer in Leon & Eddie’s and other New York niteries about 10 years ago. “Bird Gage,” currently in rehearsal under Harold ClUrman’s direction, is be- ing produced by Walter Fried and Lars Nordenson at a ‘cost of $75,0G(). Nordenson’s father was board chairman from 1928 to 1940 of the Roval Dramatic Theatre & Academy,^'Stockholm. tage. New York producer, and will I try to bring firstrun productions to ' Chicago before Broadway. Green, besides being co-director of . appearance. One set hotel suite Green, i lends an authentic air; pirection the new company, Cavendish Pro-; gpgj^c oaDable. ' Zaht*. : ductioris, will head the business end, frontirig for a group of Chi- cago Industrialists. First production of the firm will he an all-Negro musical comedy written by Armitage and Mike Stratton, which Is due to start re- hearsals in .February with Avon Long, Mildred; Siriith arid Freddie Robinson. Musical, ‘We’re On Our Own,”' will open in/ Detroit or Cleveland and then come into Chi- cagp about the end of March. Also on the schedule is aribther play by /Armitage and Gladys Unger ti- tled “African Vineyard."’’ Chicago hasn’t had a professiori- al production compahy since Lam- bour and Golden, two ypungsters, tried to break in with “All Gaul Is Divided,” which had a short stay at the Civic theatrp in the fall of 1947. Cavendish will eventually set tip headquarters here to cast and raise mpney, arid perhaps op- erate a theatre here. Opening night (19) performance of “The Man’^at the Fulton, N. Y., in , general was capably mauaged. /But, because 6f the chilly Weathen the outer doors of the theatre were, kept closed during the intermission, so smokers .overflowed from the tiriy lobby Into the orchestra. Everi the stage was filled with smoke, arid it took some time for the air to clear after the second act had started. As a result, part of the act was marred by considerable coughing. for L. A. Preem Hollywood, Jari. 24. “Twin Pebbles,” new play by Francis Williams, will be staged at the Coforiet theatre here by S. De Fraridzel-Chmiell April 12. Frank Hilliard will star. Little Foxes (Yiddish) (DOUGLAS PARK, CHICAGO) The Douglas Park, under the aegis of Diria Halpern, is doirig Yiddish * language versions of Broadway hits, with “Little Foxes” being the first of the current sea- son’s offerings; Miss Halperri carries the play with her broad liiteipretation of Regina Giddens, the cold, calcu- lating southern woman whose hate for husband and love for money tears her family apart. Her ava- ricidus brothers, Beil and Oscar Hubbard, as portrayed by Ben ;Dorf and Abraham Zweig; are somewhat miscast; a more plausi- ble selectlori might be reversal of the roles. The part of Birdie, played by Rose Wallersteiri, is more eatthy. Horace Giddins, ' as eriacted by Jose Borcia, the sick husband who revolts agglnst his Wife* is in startling and welcome contrast to the bravura style of the others; Lesser • paiHs done by Helen Beda, Eddie Larider, Isaac ArcO/ Reuben Lipshutz end Matti- Fpx Holtzmari cling closely to the original characterizations. ^ Translation by Dr. A. Margolin is a tight carbon, but the rude in- terposings of English, which are of littld help in following the plot, are perhaps a sop to the younger generation. They might well be dropped. Staging by Isaac Arco and/settings by Dick Lewis are faithful to period around the turn of the century: Audience reception has been more than fayorable, and the the- atre management is following with “Anna Lucasta” arid “The Heir- Zflbc, ess. 9f Tobacco Road (SHUBERT, NEW HAvEN) Maybe the law of perpetual riio- tioii^ arid •“Tpba;cco Road” should get • together-^tliey seem to have something in etonori. Having Worked a Variety/of approaches in presenting this opus on stage and screen, play wright - producer Jack Kirkland has Apw come up with another angle xo keep its longevity potentialities alive. This time, it’s a production featuring a Negro ;cast. As viewed here, at its first per- formance recently, “Road” loses much ^of the impact around which its white rendition success cen- tered, but it still maintains a goodly . share of draniatic values. To the repeat-vieWer, a cdmpaii- son between the two forms of ex- pressiori should be interesting. As originally presented, play pointed up With somewhat shock- ing candor, the low estate to which certain “white trash” had suHk> Iri^ its new/makeup, ”R6ad” simply mirrors the unsavory living condi- tions Of a Negro^fariiily hamstru ng with an indolent, lecherous father. Powell Lindsay, as J ester Lestev, is good in ' his more , deliberate passages, but his quicker tempo sequences bring on a vocal thicks ness Which renders unintelligible mariy of his best liries- Evelyn Ellis^ as Ada; and John Tate, as •Lov Bensey, offer standout sup- port. Balance of cast, okay on/the whole, includes Jimmy Wrigbli Estelle Heirislcy; Baby Joyce, Cherokee Thornton, Helen Dowdy. Dolores Mack, . John Mark and John Bouie. * Bone. \ Aurelio Di Dio, Italian violinist, I giving U, S. debut concert at Gai- . negie Hall, N. Y., Feb. 1. . , . Meri of Song, signed to tour with , Charles Kullman, is a male white Vquartet inrtead of ari eight-man unit, as erratumed.