Variety (December 1950)

Wednesday, December 6, 1950 4i Guys andf* Loesser-Jo Touring edition of. Dolls/* new Frank Swerling-Abe Burrows musical smash, probably won’t be put on by CO pi’oducers Cy Feuer and Ernest Hi Martin until next summer or fall. With the show off to a standee-liniit business at the 46th Street, N. Y., the p r 0 d u c e r s are readying '‘Where’s ChaMey?” to open a tour Christinas night in Boston, with Ray Bolger resuming his starring role. The Comedian-dancer is due in New York tomorrow (Thurs.) from an extended vacation on the Coast. “Guys and Dolls/’ financed at $200,000, plus a $50,000 overcall, cost about $180,000 to bring to Broadway, excluding about $20,- 000 in bonds. It’s figured that when the show shakes down it will earn a profit of around $11,000 a week. However, its gross and operating profit will vary considerably for the next few weeks, partly as a re- sult of the almost solid theatre party bookings and partly because of the differing price-scale (the top Was originally set at $6 and some tickets were sold at that price, but the tab was later raised to $6.60). So for the next couple of months the capacity Will range from about $40,000 to $44,000. It’s tentatively figured that the break-even figure for the show will shake down to around $26,000. The theatre’s share of the gross is said to be 30% of the first $20,000 and 25% of everything above that fig- ure. Composer Frank Loesser gets 5% of the gross, co-librettists Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows get 1 Vis % each, stager George S. Kauf- man gets 3% and choreographer Michael Kidd gets 1%. None of the cast is on . percentage. Robert Griffith, who was the original stage manager for “Charley,” will probably attend to the direction of the revived pro- duction, with occasional supervi- sion from George Abbott, who adapted the book and staged the show. Abbott cannot devote full time to the task, as he’s occupied with the new Cole Porter show, “Out of This World,’’ on which he recently took over direction during its tryout. Bolger is committed to tour with “Charley” for six months, after which he will go to England to star in the film version, to be pro- duced there by Warners.- Latter Is paying $200,000 for the rights. ‘Madam’ Now Operating At LECITIlltATB “Call Me Madam,” the Irving Berlin ^ Howard Lindsay - Russel Crouse musical at the Imperial; N. Y., is earning an operating profit Of about $11,500 a week and will soon increase that pace to about $12,000 when certain rental items , and other expienises are paid off. Meanwhile, the Leland Hay-^ ward production has recouped about $75,000 of its approximately $275,000 production cost. RCA-Victor, sole backer, sup- plied the initial investment of $200,000, plus $25,000 overcall, and Hayward, as general partner, per- sonally put up the extra $50,000 required in th^ process of the show’s drastic overhauling during j its road tryout. Calling All Backers Leonard Sillman, planning a new “New Faces” for the spring of ’51, was talking to a potential backer. “How much do you want from me?” the prospective angel asked. “Oh, $1,000/’ said Sillman. “How can you do a new show for $1,000?” the backm’ asked. “Oh, easy,” replied Sillman. “I’ll have a 1000% overcall.” Touring ‘Roberts’ Cast mfonity Beef Gilbert MiDer Takes Over French Ballet As Eastern Tour Is Nixed Les Ballets de Paris, which wound up an eight-week engagement Sat- urday (2) in N. Y. (first at the Na- tional, then at the Broadhurst) has cancelled its prospective eastern tour and taken on a new manage- ment, in a surprising turn of events. French dance troupe, un- der management here of the Shu- berts in association with Arthur Lesser and Sol Hurok, was to open a road tour in Boston Monday (4), to he followed by stops in Phila- delpia, St. Loqis, Kansas City and other cities, on the way to the Coast. Eastern tour has suddenly been cancelled, with troupe due to rest in N. Y. a couple of weeks, then open in Los Angeles Christ- mas Day. Most surprising, Gilbert Miller has taken over as producer of the troupe, in association with the Shuberts and Lesser, with Hu- rok dropping out of the picture. Troupe, headed by Roland Petit as director - choreogfapher - chief dancer, made it first U. S. appear- ance last year, when it played three fall months at the mhter Garden in N. Y. for a bolt $401,000 gross, and then toured the U. S. until April. This fall, however, the troupe doesn't seem to have re- peated its b.Q. success in N. Y., de- spite the fact that artistically it ‘ added a stunning new ballet, “La Croqueuse de Diamants,” to last year’s sock “C^men.” Lack of biz in N. Y., plus lack of . advance sales in Boston and Philly/ are reported cause of the decision to cancel the eastern tour, and head d&ectly for L. A., where the troupe has not ap- peai-cd. Because of the disappointing response to the Red Cross appeal for blood donations from the com- panies of Broadway shows, yester-. day’s (5) scheduled donor session on the stage of the Majestic, N. Y. w^as cancelled. Of 179 volunteers, only 60 appeared for the Monday (4) session, with 18 being rejected for various physical reasons. A staff of. 17 doctors, nurses and attendants was on hand, equipped to take care of 125 donors. Turnouts from the various shows and organizations were as follows: “Pardon Our French,’* 17 donations, six rejects out of 55 promised; “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” three donations out of 14 promises; “Call Me Madam,” three out of six promised; “Hilda Crane,” three donations, one reject, out of eight promised; “Peep Show/* none, of 39 prom- ised; “South Pacific,” none of 24 promised; “Member of the Wed- ding,” none, of nine promised; “Peter Pan,” none, of eight promised; “Cocktail Party,” two rejects, of six promised; “Black Chiffon,*! hone, of six promised; “Bell, Book and Candle/* none, of four promised. Organizations were represented as follows: the Equity council, five donors and three rejects; Chorus Equity executive committee, two donors; Interplayers, one donor; producers, one donor; stage man- agers, one donor;, theatre em- ployees, one donor; stagehands, three donors and two rejects; scenic artists, one donor; nitery operators, one donor; pressagents and managers* union, one reject; playwrights, one reject; miscella- neous, one reject. Donors included Solly Pernick, of the stagehands’ union, and Rudy Karnolt, of the‘| scenic artists. Rejectees included Helen Hayes, Katherine Cornell, Jessica Tandy, Louis M. Simon, of Equity, and Milton Weintraub, of the pressagents and managers. Additional donor sessions for legit personnel are scheduled for next Monday-’Tuesday (11-12), also Boston, Dec. 5. Cole Porter’s “Out of This World’’ ran into censorship difficulUes wrheh it opened here at the Shubert Tuesday (29) of last week. Beatrice J., Whelton, second.- string censor, issued a nine-pe^nt “de-sexing” order, or else. OU c- tions were raised by Miss WhclLon regarding scanty costumes worn by Gisella Svetlik, in the role of Venus,, and Janet Collihs, cast as Night, with particular emphasis on Miss Svetlik’s^dove costume, which has been decreed h.g. for Hub au- diences. Lyrics of several songs had to be Substituted by less sug- gestive lines, censor claiming some of the words used “are not heard even in better class gin inilis;” Other modifications ordered were- the elimination of the irreverent use of the word “God,” and that “Niki” cease to bless himself after he shoots “Juno.” Ballet sequence at end of Act 1 also had to be modi-, fied, to leave something to the* imagination. 'Naturally, the musical is playing to capacity. Producers say all changes will be dropped, with orig- inal setup retained, for the Broad- way opening. To ‘Greenwich Follies’ Rights to the title and use on stage, radio, television and films of “Greenwich Village Follies,” were turned over last week to a partnership consisting of producer Morris Green, personal manager Cork O’Keefe and music pub- lisher J.J. Robbinsi “Follies” ran for several years as a Broadway revue in the 1920s. Rights were held by Green, who produced the revues, and the estate of A. L. Jones. Partnership is hoping to have a new edition of the revue ready for Broadway presentation by next spring. At- torney A. L, Berman handled the deal. London’s ‘Pacific’ After Leicester Sq. Proves N.G. Before closing a deal for the London edition of “South Pacific’’ to play the Drury Lane, starting next fall, co-producers Richard Rodger'S & Oscar Hammerstein. 2d, in association with Leland Hay- ward Ac Joshua Logan, considered putting the show into the Leicester Square, currently a film house, which was offered on a four-walls baAis. However, the Leicester Square turned out to have inade- quate backstage facilities for such a large production as “South Pa- cific,” siricO one of its side walls is practically parallel with that side of the proscenium and thus af- fords no space for wings at that side of the stage. Contrary to word from London, Rodgers & Hammer- stein were not interested in buying the Leicester Square. They are not and haven’t been in the market for Ownership or operation of any theatre. Mary Martin, who created the -role of Nellie Forbush, will leave the original Broadway edition of the show when her contract ex- pires next May 31, take a vacation ! next summer and then go to Lon- at the Majestic. Indications are ' don to repeat the part there in the that New York City as a whole fall. No one else is set for the will not reacih its 6,000-pint quota London company and Miss ■ Mar- of blood for the armed services tin’s successor in New York has for December. !l”* Her reportsthat Miss Martin would have an ihtetest in the West End presentation, it will be made TTAiicfAn TT’c PrA • only by Rodgers & Hammerstein, MOUStOn U* S octup j jn association yuth Hayward & Lo- gan. No British managements will be involved^ Laughton, Boyer to Preen* Houston, Dec. 5. Charles Laughton, Cedric Hard- wicke, Agnes Moorehead .and Charles Boyer, billed as the “Drama Quartet,” will give the U. of Houston’s new $250,000 campus theatre its baptism of professional talent in February. The school—which is-multi-mil- lionaire Hugh Roy Cullen’s pet project—has booked the quartet for a $4,200 price tag fof two per- formanees, Feb. 15-16. Seats will be $2 foil: students and public alike in the 1,750-capacity house. The Bill (Indiaqs) Veeck’s Clevdand Legit Bovr Cleveland, Dec. 5. Bill Veeck, former prexy of the Cleveland Indians, haseball club, Aas signed to play the title role In k stock version of “The Man Who Caihe to Dinner” here. Produc- tion, to be the first of the newly- i school Ring Jheatre. will, open • ” - I Christmas night under Ray Boyle’s direction. A professional cast will back ;Veeck, who will be making his (stage debut. San Francisco; Dec. 5. Frank Fay blasted San Francisco drama critics during performance of his revue, “If You Please,” at j the Curran, on its second night (29), following unanimously bad reviews. Referring; to the critics as two-bit dr just plain bums. Fay went on to state that unless a show came from New- York with reviews already written for local scribes to copy, the Frisco critics didn’t know what to say, so they panned his show. (Show closed down Satur- day (2) after six performances.) Fay also said that proof of his statements Were the bad reviews local newsmen gave “Song of Nor- way,” Fay was misinformed, as lo- cal newsmen gave “Song” only raves, with the entire original pro- duction being acclaimed here. Fay broke up the second act three times to comment on the same subject, and at one point en- gaged in an argument with a cus- tomer, with the man subsequently getting up and walking out of the theatre, and Fay stating “You’ll never be missed.” During the harangue, Fay indi- , cated that he intends taking the j show on to New York, where critics know what is good. Fay played on audience sympathy, using the local- boy pitch and telling them at length of the large investment in- volved in bringing the show to the public and the fact that the large cast depended on the show staying open. Audience embarrassment was evident during Fay’s speechmaking. ‘Detective’ Profits Now $132,400; ‘Heart’ Pays Backers of the Howard Lindsay- Russel Crouse production of John Patrick’s “Hasty Heart” recently received a dividend of $9,600, rep- resenting additional profits accumu- lated during the last year. L. & C. also recently shelled out an additional $24,000 to nackers of Sidney Kingsley’s “Detective Story,” bringing the distributed profits on the $^75,000 Venture to $132,400, with additional revenue still due from the screen rights. Backers of “Browning Version,” the Maurice Evans production Of two Terence Rattigan plays (in- cluding also “Harlequinade”) of last .season; have just received an addition^ payment of $5,565 oh the $50,000 investment. That brings the total return thus far tb $16,- 565.,' Latest payment includes $4,881, representing 20% of ‘the film rights, which were sold to Gains- bbrough Productions, an English studio. Balance was $(584 as the show’s share from the “Theatre Guild on the Air” broadcast. Entire company of the touring “Mister Roberts” protested to the Actors Equity council recently at being required to play Ford’s thea- tre, Baltimore, and the WRVA theatre, Richmond, both of which have racial segregation policies. Actors particularly objected to hav- ing to pass through picket lines maintained by the National Assn, for the Advancement of, Colored People. Incident points to possible action by Equity to extend its anti- segregation baii to Baltimore shd possibly other cities, when its basic contract with the League of N. Y. Theatres comes up for re- newal next year, In replying to the “Roberts” troupe, the Equity council express- ed its “compliments” for its “una- nimity and forthright expression of sentiment,” but noted that the union is powerless to deal with the situation under its existing contract with the League. It recalled, that the anti-segregation fight in Wash- ington “was won at the cost of many weeks of unemployment on the part of hundreds of bur mem- bers, because management of the National theatre chose to close rather than comply with the terms of the Equity contract.” It also pointed put that since Ford’s^ Bal- timore, is under the same man- agement, that house would prob- ably also clo$e rather than end segregation. It’s privately remarked by coun- cil members, however, that if and when the basic contract might be changed to ban segregation in Bal- timore, an alternate theatre, the indie Maryland, would probably be available for legit. Latter house has tried to operate as a road show stand in the last couple of years, but "was stymied by Inability to get bookings. Although Equity leaders are re- luctant to predict what action the union may take as far ahead as next summer, it’s figured unlikely that an attempt would be made to extend the anti-segregation rale to more than one additional city. There have been similar actor com- plaints against other towns, not- ably St. Louis, but union heads generally fayor dealing with the situation in one city. at a time^ Regarding the NAACP picket (Continued on page 60) ing the appearance Theatre opened in October with stuident talent. Three more pro shows, .as yet unselected, will be.j presented in the spiing o£ ’5L Picon’$ /Take It Easy- Molly ' Picon' stars in “Take It Easy,” Yiddish musical by Jacob Kalich and Joseph Runishinsky, which premieres Dec. 23 at the Second Ave. theatre, N. Y. S. R. Simeoff did the book, show serving as Miss Picon’s second pro- duction this season. “Take It Easy” succeeds “Mozel Tov Molly” at the Second Ave, Plays Released For Production in Stoch About a half-dozen Broadway flops from this season and last have been released for stock and ama- teur productions. New releases also include one recent Broadway hit and a couple of British plays. Heading the list of new availa- bilities for stock presentation Is “Detective Story,” which Samuel French, play publishing house, may relea.se everywhere except on the Coast. A possible Coast production is believed reason for the excep- tion . Other new French releases for stock presentation include last season’s “The Wisteria‘Trees’* and “The Liv^ Wire.” Also “The Curi- ous Savage,” put on Broadway this season, and two plays of British origin, “On Monday Next” and “The Perfect Woman.” Of the American plays oiily “Detective Stoi'y” rated as a hit. New plays being released for amateur productions by the Drama- tists Play Service also include “The Curious Savage” and “The Live Wire,” Others set are “The Legend of Sarah,” “Burning Bright” and “Southern Exposure.” All three were quick flops this season. Amateur rights to the Christopher Fry plays have also been obtained by DPS, These are “A Phoenix Too Frequent” and “Thor* With Angels.” The first-nanied was part: of a double bill which folded last season after a short ruh. Amateur rights to “Bell, Book and Candle” and “Hilda Crane,” both curtently oh Broadway, have also been obtained by DPS. These plays will be released after comple- tiph of their Broadway and road presentations. Of the plays being released by DPS, all are being pub- lished by the outfit except “Bell, Book and Candle” and “Hilda Crane” (both being issued by Ran- dom House) and “A Phoenix Top Frequent” and “Thor, With An- gels” (both published by Oxford)*