Variety (November 1954)

Wednesday, November 10, 1954 Pfiwt&i LEGITIMATE 65 i • 100G Injury Suit Hinges on Answer ^~A Shubert employee knows f' who’s his boss, if he doesn't know anyone else. That was one eye- brow-raising item turned up last week in the of the injured ‘‘South Pacific" pit musician ver- sus the Shuberts. Testimony to the effect that a Shubert house manager had never heard of anyone named Rodgers and 'Hammerstein, even though “South Pacific" was playing his theatre at the. time and despite the fact that he had once been an employee of the composer-lyricist duo, occurred during a final hear- ing of the case before a State Workmen’s Compensation Bureau referee. The hearings Were to decide the slippery question of exactly who was horn player William Miller’s actual employer., last November when he plunged down a pit in the basement of the Broadway Theatre,. N. Y., during an inter- ■ mission* fracturing his back' and five ribs. . If the, Shuberts estab- lish that they were his employers, they merely face a compensation claim of $32 per week. If Rodgers & Hammerstein as "South Pacific” producers were Miller’s bosses, as he claims, the Shuberts can be hit with a $100,000 personal in- jury suit. Sol Qusikoff, Rodgers & Ham- merstein orchestra personnel con- tractor, testified that .it Was : he who selected Miller for the "South Pacific" pit, thus backing up Mil- ler’s assertion that the producers were his employers. John Shubert . then testified that in his opinion Miller was a Shubert employee. In reply to a question, Shubert admitted that he was embarrassed, as he didn’t know how the money (Continued on page 68) Single Day’s Pressagentry Producer Paul Gregory, who’s used to paying big coin to stars, varied the routine last week by forking over $1,000 to a .pressagent for one day’s work. ” v When pressagent Martin Wagner had a heart attack and was hos- pitalized on the Coast, Gregory phoned vet advance agent John Montague to plane to San Francis- cp and take over, on “Three for TO-, night," the revue costarring Marge .and Gower Champion and Harry Belafonte. As soon as Montague arrived on the job and looked over the show’s touring setup he protested to Greg- ory about the arrangements for certain scheduled dates, arguing that it would be virtually impos- sible to arrange transportation. There Was a flareup and Montague exited, with the producer required by union regulations to pay approx- imately $1,000 in minimum, salary and round-trip plane fare. Gregory’s current productions, in addition to "Three for Tonight,” include two editions of "Caine Mu- tiny Court Martial” and his former ventures have included "Don Juan in Hell” and "John Brown’s Body,” all with multiple star setups. GIEGUD-ASHCROFT TO TOUR EUROPE IN BARD London,. Nov. 9. John Gielgud and Peggy Ash- croft will head a Stratford-on-Avon company in a Shakespearean tour of Europe next summer. Itinerary has not-been set, but the company is likely to appear in France, Italy and Holland. Plays being consid- ered for the tour are "King Lear” and "Much Ado About Nothing.” Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh will star in next season’s productions at the Stratford Me- morial ' Theatre. ‘Hearts’ Tour Dropped Plan to tour "King of Hearts” has been, dropped. Failure of producer Elairie Perry to land a Theatre Guild subscription run cued the move. The Jean Kerr-Eleanor Brooke comedy, currently in its 33rd week at the National Theatre; N. Y., fol- lowing a switch several weeks ago Jrom the Lyceum Theatre, is slated to close Nov. 27. Jacobson Switching To ‘Game* Tour From ‘Fancy’ Clarence Jacobson, company manager of the upcoming Richard Kollmar-James Gardiner product tion, "Plain and Fancy,” will re- main with the musical only until its Broadway opening, then transfer to the touring edition of "Pajama Game.” Maurice Trir.et, currently pressagenting the touring "Time Out for Ginger,” will switch to go ahead of "Pajama Game” on the road. During Jacobson’s absence with the "Plai arid Fancy" tryout tour and the "Pajama Gariie” trek, his independent booking business will bO handled by his assistant, Emma Mascolo, foririer secretary to Au- gustus P.itou at. the United Book- ing Office. Canadian . Players’ lecture plat- form-style production Of "Saint Joan,” a current toUring hit in the Dominion, may come to New York next spring or; at the. latest, next fall. Several. New York manage- ments, including Phoenix Theatre, are dickering for it. The Shaw revival, with a cast of eight doubling and tripling in 20 roles in modern dress, with a few simple props, travels by bus and can operate oh an unusually small budget. It has been, playing mostly One-night stands in small Canadian towns. It has received generally rave reviews. . Ann Casson, daughter of British stars Lewis Casson and Sybil Thorndike, plays the title role and her husband, Douglas Campbell, di- rected and plays two parts.. They and other members of the troupe were recruited by producer Tom Patterson from the Stratford (Ont.) Shakespeare Festival, which he founded last year. After touring through next spring, they will re- turn to Stratford next summer, but go out iri "Joan” again next fall. Patterson Was in New York over the weekend for preliminary dis- cussions about a possible Broadway engagement, road dates in the U. S. and a prospective television booking. He appointed El wood Emerick as regular New York rep- resentative for the show. SHURERTS’ ANTITRUST CASE IN D.C. HEARING Washington, Nov, 9. U. S. Supreme Court today (Tries;) heard briefs in the Gov- ernment’s anti-trust suit against the Shuberts. Hour-long hearing is due to wind up tomorrow, with Al- fred McCormack, attorney for the defendants, presenting his brief. Phillip Elman, repping the Gov- ernment, gave full testimony to- day, while McCormack’s case was only partially heard. Action was brought before the top judicial body directly from the N. Y. Federal District Court where it was thrown out last year on the grounds that legit, like baseball, was not subject to. ahti-trust laws. The Government appealed the decision, based on the Toolson baseball case, and the Supreme Court agreed to hear the pros and cons. Defendants listed in the com- plaint are the late Lee Shubert, his brother Jacob J., Marcus Hei- man, United Booking Office, Select Theatre Corp. and L. A. B. Amuse- ment Corp. Government charges group is a monopoly in violation of the Sherman Act. Defendants are charged with being a monopoly not only in control of booking in New York and on the road but also a monopoly in the ownership of theatres. Elman, in his brief, coritended that the Government was not given an opportunity to present its case when the suit was thrown out in N. Y. He stated "this is a classic case of Sherman Act restraint of trade.” Argument offered by Mc- Cormack so far was in keeping with the trial court’s verdict. Maude Franchot Plans Musical little Women’ I Buffalo, Npv. 9. 1 Former strawhat producer Mgude Franchot has optioned a musical version of "Little Women,” and plans to present it on Broadway next spring. Show is titled "Jo,” and has book and lyrics by Donald Parks and William Dyer, With iriu- sic by the latter. Mrs. Franchot was operator of the Niagara Falls (Ont,) summer. theatre for several seasons. House seat situation for "Pajama. Game” has gotten so hectic that the producers have had to protest to the backers; Letter accompany- ing the; Jast accountant's statement warped "that requests would have to be cut down, as "What com-; mericed as an accommodation has: been construed recently by a few to be an obligation.” Letter, . signed by producers Frederick Brisson, Robert Griffith and Harold Prince, accompanied payrnent of the final portion of musical’s $250,000 investment. Re- turn was made during show’s 21st week on Broadway. According to a Sept. 30 accounting, the balance available for partners totalled $98,249, with $62,500 due back On the original capitalization. Gross for the four weeks covered in the accountant's amounted to $206,793. Operating profit for the period was $49,630, including. $371 souvenir program royalty. With $13,880 still to be recouped as of Aug. 30, the net profit as of Sept; 25 was $35,749. “Pajama” touring edition has been budgeted at about $100,000, compared to $169,468 production cost for the original. As Hedgerow Theatre Opens Winter Season Philadelphia, Nov. 9. Philly had to wait three years to See Arthur Miller’s "The Crucible,” but the delay hasn’t, dimmed its reception. Critical and audience reaction has been amOng the best, evei; for a Hedgerow Theatre pro- duction here, Kermit Bloomgardert’s original Broadway production of "Crucible” was first scheduled to tryout in Philly three seasons ago, but the booking was cancelled in favor of a Wilmington breakin. The show was later supposed to open a tour here following its Broadway run, but that proposal plso fell through. So it was not until last Wednesday night (3) that local audiences got a look at the opus as the opener in Hedgerow’s second winter rep- ertory season in the Academy of Music Foyer. Resume Silo Rules Tiff Perennial slimmer s-cock man- agers-Actors Equity battle is on again. : Thomas G. Ratcliffe Jr., presi- dent of the Stock Managers Assn., has asked members to bypass a strawhat operators-Equity council meeting today (Wed.)'. Equity, in- cidentally.doesn’t recognize SMA, but some of the barn impresarios invited, to the confab belong to the latter group. Conclave will be the first since the windup of the sum- mer season. , Ratcliffe feels that another month is needed before all the data necessary for discussion with the union can be assimilated. This includes answers to questionnaires sent out by him several months ago to approximately 90 silo man- agemerits. Ratcliffe has thus far received only two returns, both in- complete. ! Questionnaires deal primarily with the effect of Equity's barn pact revisions made early last year. Silo manager objections to the changes, which included elimi- nation of a five-day rehearsal pe- riod and upped minimum salaries,- were rejected by the union. No JLiegit Accommodations" For Wheelchair Patrons Allehtown, Pa- Editor, Variety: I hate to buy an orchestra seat to a legit show because I never, use the seat. I like the balcony, and if I were able, to buy my seats up there ;I’d get to see a lot more theatre. I’m in a wheelchair, and I find that no playhouse in New York is equipped with special arrange- ments for patrons who are con- fined to Wheelchairs. So when I wan|t to see a show, I must wait till, the demand Wanes and then buy a choice orchestra seat. .Since I aril unable to ..leave my chair, I park in the rear of a side aisle or behind a box. As I sit there, I pan see the seat I should havb used. It’s empty, beside the seat of hiy companion. , Is there a plan for wheelchairs that I don’t know about? I’ve often thought of buying, standing room, just to see if they’d teach me how to stand, to keep mri; from getting a bargain. Charles Gerras KO’s Immoralist’ London, Nov; 9. For the second time in recent months, the Lord Chamberlain has banned public presentation of a Broadway stage import on the sub- ject of homosexuality. "Tea arid Sympathy” came under the axe last summer and now the Ruth and Au-i gustus Goetz dramatization of Andre Gide’s "The Immoralist,” Recent withdrawal of the Shu- berts from the League of N, Y. Thetres continues to create com- plications iri legit. At least two more difficulties have arisen with- in the last few weeks. A serious poser is the matter of the ticket code for Broadway. The League and Actors Equity, part- nered in the code, have begun at- tempts to negotiate with the ticket brokers for a new agreement to replace the expired One. However, since the Shuberts are no longer members of the League, the code would, not apply to the 16 Shubert theatres in New York, ^ The brokers have cited that fact as an argument against. new code, "claiming that such an agree- ment would now be largely a meanirigless gesture. It’s a moot question Whether the expired code remains in force pending agree- ment on a new version. Mean- while, however, the brokers have stopped paying the 3c-per-ticket fee to the code enforcement fund. Another JShubert-invoIved head- ache was highlighted last week with the appointment of a com- mittee, . as provided under the Equity-League agreeroent. to make theatres "safe and itary,” Frank Maxwell is chairman, of-the Equity portion of the committee, with Herman Bernstein chairman of the League delegation. As with the ticket code situation, the fact that the. Shuberts are boy- cotting the League creates a: dilemma for the sariitary commit- tee. It’s assumed that all the grorip can do is to try to persuade the Shuberts to make the. renovations to their various theatres that have brought complaints from actors in recent, seasons.' Since virtually all the per- (Continued on page 68) has been nixed. Application for the Lord Cham- berlain’s seal on “Immoralist” was made by the Arts Theatre Club, who had intended to stage it at Cambridge prior to its opening at their club premises last Wednes- day (3). The censor rejected the play -unequivocally, and made no suggestion of reconsideration if certain cuts were made; Under British licensing laws, Club theatres which restrict ad- mission to their own members and do not admit the general public are permitted to stage plays banned by the censor. The Lotd Chamber- lain’s approval is only required in cases of public presentation.. According to informed insiders, the H. H. Tennent organization is hoping that "Sympathy” will even- tually be licensed for public show- ing, and is' reportedly dickering with .the Lord Chamberlain’s office on the matter. N.Y. TIMES SETS BIG LEAD IN AMUSE. ADVERTISING How far the N. Y. Times is out- distancing the other New York dailies in amusement advertising was graphically demonstrated by the sheet’s amusement section of last Sunday (7)'. It carried ,13Vfc pages of ads and news-comment on legit, films, dance, concert, opera, records, television and radio. Herald Tribune drama section the same day had seven pages Of show biz ads and news-comment. . Times had four pages devoted to legit, except for one display ad and one column of critical comment on pictures. Herald Trib’s legit cov- erage was limited to Walter F. Kerr’s critical comment column on the. first page, plus : ads. and a legit feature on the second .page. In addition to Kerr’s piece, the first page contained a picture spread and feature on opera, the regular critical comment column on films, John Crosby’s radio-tv column and a feature on the Bel- gian Congo by correspondent Art Buchwald. Times had two pages of; legit ads, compared to about three- quarters of a page for the Trib. Amount of ad space for other show biz categories was in more or less similar ratio for the two sheets. Sunday circulation and agate-line amusement ad rates. for the two papers are: Times, 1,200,- 000 and $2.37, Trib; 550,000 and , $1.82. Royalties Since Booth Refused to Tour ‘Sea’ Composer Arthur Schwartz is the only one receiving full author roy- alties from "By the Beautiful Sea.” Others on royalty deals are taking cuts. Schwartx also went along on reductions . prior to Sept. 18, but has been collecting his full take since that date. Schwartz Was taking royalty Cuts, the assumption Shirley Booth Would tour with the show. How- .everj the star wanted to have two new songs added, to the Robert Fryer-Lawrence Carr production, and declined to go on the road when her request was refused. Schwartz and lyricist Dorothy Fields were busy on a Hollywood film assignment arid were Unable to supply the numbers, it was ex- plained. So instead of touring, "Sea" will fold Dec. 18 at the Imperial, N. Y. A^of Oct. 2, the musical’s unre- couped cost was $230,786. Gross for the previous five weeks totaled $161,443, for an operating profit of $9,263. Total operating profit to. date was $105,397, less $1,049 mov- ing expense from the Majestic to the Imperial last Oct. 4. Capital available on Oct. 2 was $69,214. Musical is currently in its 32d week on Broadway. WILDER ‘MATCHMAKER’ GOES OVER IN LONDON London, Nov. 9. "The Matchmaker,” by Thornton Wilder, with Ruth Gordon, Eileen Herlie and Sam Levene iri the leads, opened at the Haymarket last Thursday (4) urider manager ment of Tennent Productions, Farce, directed by Tyrone Guthrie, Vyas origirially staged in New York under the title of "The Merchant, of Yonkers.” A polished, highly- diverting farce, it was enthusiasti- cally received and warmly re- viewed. It looks set for a profit- able run. "Off the Record,” a hit summer revue at Blackpool, has been brought to town by Jack Hylton for a short’ season at the .Victor! Palace, where it opened last Tues- day (2) as a twice-riightly opera- tion. Production stars trumpeter Eddie Calvert and comedian Nat Jackley, arid although frankly un- sophisticated, should hold up prof- itably.