Variety (December 1954)

Wednesday, December 1, 1954 LEGITIMATE 71 Show Finances DEAR CHARLES (As of Oct. 30. ’54) • • • % •.« « r • » 4 k,» • • I. Investment Production cost . . . . Tryout gross (two weeks) Tryout loss ■*/. Summer tour royalties, Total cost to open in N.Y. Gross, first seven weeks in N.Y. Operating profit, same period Amount still to be recouped Investment Arepaid thus far " — Weekly Operating Expense Theatre’s share of gross ....... . . Cast payroll (approx.) including 15% to Miss Bankhead Company crew Extra stagehands ....... Wardrobe and dressers Stage managers Company manager Pressagents ...... / . Author royalties (sliding scale, average on $29,000 gross) Director .. • -v. ;.... •.".... Designer i • '• Advertising (approximate) .... v ........ Departmental bills (approximate)’ Rentals (approximate) Office expense Auditing ....... . ..... ....... Payroll taxes (approximate) Star and other insurance Extra boxofface staff . ;. .— ...; i:....... Gross needed to break even (approximate) .......... Weekl^pperating profit at $29,800 capacity (approximate) (NoteT’-Tfie Richard Aldrich-Richard Myers production in its 11th ‘week at the Morosco, N.Y.). .$ 75,000 , 60,225 8;770 23,373 2,297 81,201 199,735 34,856 46,445 25,000 ...... 30% 7,600 496 193 225 250 250 275 3.500 ... .Fiat $150 50 850 60 228 300 50 235 275 108 18,000 5.500 is currently Saiidhog T. Edward Hambleton-Norris Houghton S reservation of a Rachel . Productions toward Da Silva-Arnold Perl) ballad in three acts, by Earl. Robinson and Waldo Salt. Features David Brooks* Jack :£ as- sid, Alice Ghostley, Betty Oakes. Directed by Da Silva; choreography, Sophie Mas- low; scenery, Howard. Bay; orchestrations, Hershey Kay; musical conductor, Ben .Steinberg. At Phoenix, N.Y., Nov. 23, *54; 94.60 top. KIDS: , Sandy ■ . David winters. Small Fry Eliot. Petri Girl With a Ball......... Betty Ageloff Ring Deader ..... I. Yurlko Red ........... Muriel Mailings. Air Lock Foreman .... John Garter Night Shift Foreman David. Hooks. Sam on the Stick Leon Bibb Henderson .........., Mor^tecai Bauman Policeman Robert De Cormier Bill- Cayton . Douglas Collins Johnny O’Sullivan ... Jack Cassidy Fred Burger .............. "Paul XJkena Joe Novak ....... Michael Kermoyan Andy Cayton .: Rodester Timmons Tim Cavanaugh David Brooks Katie O’Sullivan ............. Betty Oakes. Sharkey Gordon Dilworth Sheela Cavanaugh'..... •... Alice Ghostley Mary Novak . . Mary Kane Giriny.Cayton Mareda Gaither .. Sandhogs, Sandhogs' Wives; Stephanie Scourby. Mitzl Wilson, Doree Simmons, Peter Maravell, Elliot Freeman. The Phoenix Theatre need not be ashamed of its second try at a musical. It lacks the verve, variety and popularity ingredients of “Golden Apple” and is. unlikely to fire any campaign for* an uptown extended run. Add that the gen- eral sembreness of the subject- matter, a certain monotony in the situation, and slowness in. the un- foldment rob: “Sandhog” of the excitement and dramatic wallop necessary to put folklore across in a big boxoffice way. Still, nobody has fallen on his face. The whole thing is realized with taste and artistry. There are moments and scenes and songs of authentic tenderness and theatrical clever- ness. Derived from a Theodore Dreiser short story, “St. Columbia and the River,” this ballad in three acts, as it is termed, has been Carefully staged by Howard Da Silva and is expertly played tby competent singer-performers. ' The; time is New York City of" the 1880’s. The setting is Hell’s Kitchen, the tone is immigrant* proletarian and tragic. The show is very nearly stolen by a small band of Children with a novel series of , sidewalk frolics involving ropes, hoops, pyramid- building and general horseplay. Thi contribution sheds lustre on the choreography of Sophie Maslow. . Earl Robinson, whose “Ballads for Americans” and other contribu- tions in the . idiom of Walt Whit- man's glorification of the common people will be recalled, has teamed with the former Hollywood screen writer, Waldo Salt, in fashionihg this visit to the hillbillies of the North River in the days of Harri- gan and Hart and Rosie O’Grady. There is a lullaby to sweat and a chant to the “bends.” There is an , amusing discourse by a Tammany- minded saloonkeeper of 1885 vintage anent the number of Republicans .who are Generals and the number of Generals who are Republicans. The second act ends w ,- th the burying alive of some 19 workers trapped below an escape hatch whose door has jammed. This bitter introduction to the night- mare of entombment is hardly relieved by the happy ending of the third act, another tunnel mishap, when the herb, playe"* by Jack Cassidy, after being sucked into the muck is miraculously saved when the river botton “ex- plodes” him to the. surface and a ferryboat picks him up. In addition to Miss Maslow’s young dancers, David Winters, Eliot Feld, Betty Ageloff, Yuriko;’ and Muriel Manings, standout audience attention goes to the four featured players. Cassidy plays with Miss Oakes, Gordon Dilworth with Miss Ghostley. “Sandhog." should prove a valuable showcas- ing to the profession for all of the principals; including Paul Ukena, Douglas Collins, Michael* Ker- moyari and Mordecai Bauman. Howard Bay had a tough assign- ment in designing a single set that could be street, tunnel, park, shanty, saloon and decompression: shaft. The shaft is ingenious enabling the sandhogs to climb down from up high and climb up from the stage. Score of “Sandhog” Is narrative, Interspersed with recititive. It is not stuff to whistle but, at a guess, conductor Ben Steinberg and or- chestratbr Hershey Kay have made it as close to ‘‘commercial” as anything basically folksy and arty can be. . That’s about the verdict bn the whole enterprise. Land. The Importance of Being Earnest (PROVINCETOWN PLAYHOUSE, N.Y.) Billing its production as “the original play from which the movie was made,”, the Provincetown Rep- ertory is reviving “The Importance of Being Earnest” at the Province- town Playhouse. There is a value to this inversion which might have amused Wilde, particularly in ref- erence to the. play which best dem- onstrates his flair for this brand of humor. The performers in this revival speak the Wildean epigrams clearly and with knowledge of the inher- ent wit. Their' confidence .stands them in good stead, as .-most of the company is less than comfortable in 'the period and style required. The irrepressible Oscar is not easily defeated, however, so that the production boasts moments of elegance and good humor. The' ladies; have the ' best of it, Carmel Moss and Jane Altman playing Gwendolyn and Cecily re- spectively with hauteur and pun- gency. Mimi Randolph’s Lady Bracknell is vigorously Outspoken, if not as brittle as the lines indi- cate. As Miss Prism, Anne Tilden unfortunately tends toward carica- ture. The two young men of fashion are ° played by Donald Shurnway and John Francis. Although they attack their parts with elan, their artifice seems adopted rather, than innate. David Weinhouse’s fum- bling Dr. Chasuble has a touch of satire that the production could have used in larger doses. Director John F. Grahame seems to have felt that the Wildeah drol- leries need no embellishment. Off- Broadway competition being keen these days, the prognosis, for “Earnest” would not appear to be rosy, Gcor. Lem Ayers to Produce ‘Saturday Night’ Tuner “Saturday Night,” musical, with book by JuliUs arid (the late) Philip Epstein, and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, has been op- tioned by Lemuel Ayers. Producer acquired the property during a recent Coast visit and is contem- plating a Broadway presentation next spring. Ayers returned from the Coast last Thursday (25). Prod, in Black Sale of the picture rights to “Rainmaker” put the show in the black last week, its fifth on Broad- way. Property was sold to Hal Wallis and Joseph Hazen, indie film producers; for $350,000. Deal involves an - immediate $i00,000 down, payment, with the balance to be paid out at the rate of $62,500 a year for the next four years., , On. the basis of the customary split of 60% to the authors and 40% to the manager and backers, production’s take from the initial; $100,000. payment (less negotiatiof 3V6 % fee) is $38,’600. Production’s share of future installments will be $24,250 yearly. Operating profit for the N. Richard Nash play dur- ing its first, five weeks at. the Cort Theatre, N. Y. t ending last Satur- day (27), was approximately $(11,000, The EtbfelLinder Reiner produc- tion was financed. at $75,000 and cost nearly $40,900 to bring to Broadway. There’s been no return to backers, as yet, but at least two- thirds of the investment is ex- pected to be paid in about three weeks. Burt Lancaster and Katharine Hepburn have been mentioned as possible leads in the film. Latter would undertake Geraldine Page’s starring assignment In the play, while former would appear as the title ’character, originated by Darren McGavin. Sidelight to the picture buy is that “Rainmaker” is believed to be the first property to have origi- nated on tv, been adapted for legit and then picked up for a film. “Dial M for Murder” was written originally as play, but when a production could not be obtained, author Frederick Knott allowed BBC to televise it, after which the film rights were sold and then a London legit production Was ranged. Plan Another Outdoor Theatre in N. Carolina Greensboro, N. C„ Nov. 30. North Carolina will get still an- other outdoor theatre for summer presentation of historical drama. It will be constructed on the Lum- ber River, at Lumberton, by the recently - incorporated Lumbee Theatres, according to the firm’s manager, James N. Lowry. The corporation was organized for the construction of the theatre and for the production of a play to be called* “Oh the Banks of the Lumbee.” The management is connected with the operation of the successful “Unto These Hills,” produced in the western part of the state. Lowry is the; author of the proppsed pageant. The show will deal, with the his- tory of the Lumbee Indians and the story of Virgi ‘ Dare, first white child born in America. Plans also Call f6r Recreation park, lai^e fishing fake and camp. legit Playwright Philip Dunning has a few words of caution to all creative writers Public Domain Is a Naughty Word In the 49th Anniversary Number of PSSSIETY OUT SOON right Allen. Boretz cautions that If you’ro In show jpfs Don’t You Ever Dare Mention It one v of the many byline pieces in the 49th Anniversary Number of PfiftlETY OUT SOON Paris, Nov. 30.. Spurred by the success of dra- matic readings in the U. S,, a simL- lar project is planned by Paris; publicist Denise Tual. Among the names lined up to appear in the lecture-style performances ' are Pierre Fresnay,. Francois Perier, Fernand Gravey, Jeanne Moreau, Edwige Feuillere, Jeart-Louis Bar- rault, Simone Simon, Jean Mer* cure, Madeleine Renaud, Gerard Philipe, -Jean Vilar, Jean Marais and Jean-Pierre Aumont. First performance is set for Feb- ruary at the Bouffes-Parisiens. In itial program will be repeated, on subsequent Tuesdays during Feb- ruary, and a new bill will be of-. fered : the first Tuesday in March. Most houses are dark and actors, are generally at liberty Tuesday evenings. Plays will be “reading versions” of literary classics* and the first will be based on Marcel Proust’s eight-volume novel, “Remembrance of Things Past.” Andre Fraigneau has received permission from Proust’s niece, find literary, execu- tor, Suzy* Mante, to make this first stage adaptation of Proust’s work. “Remembrance” has not been cast, but the program to follow it, Supervielle’s arrangement of Vol- taire’s “Candide,” will have Perier and Mile. Simone in lead roles, with playwright Andre Roussin as commentator. Other planned programs are “Til Eulenspiegel,” with Gerard Phil- ipe; Flaubert’s “Sentimental Edu- cation” and at the end. of the sea- son, in May or June, Alec Guinness and Ralph Richardson are v sought for an English reading of Samuel Becket’s play, “Waiting for Godot.” Scheduled N.Y. Openings (Theatre indicated if set) BROADWAY Mrs. Patterson, National (12-1). Hit the Trail, Hell’ger. (12-2). Bad Seed,. 46th St. (12-8). ^.Black-Eyed Susan* Playh’se (12- Lunatlcs & Lovers* Br’dhurst (12-13). Witness For Prosecution (12-1.6). Portrait of a Lady* Anta Play- house (12-20). Anastasia (12-21). What Even’ Woman Knows, City Center .(12-22). House of Flowers, Alvin (12-23). St. Bleecker St, B’way . (12-27). Flowering Peach, Belasco (12-28). Silk Stockings, Imperial (12-30) Purple Dust, Bijou (1-4); Time of Life; City Cent. (1-5). Festival (1-12). Grand Prize (1-13). Put AH Together (wk., 1-17). Fourposter, City Center (1 J 19). Plain & Fancy (1-20). Running Mate (1-20). Painted Days, (wk., 1-24). Desnerate Hours (1-27). Tonight in Samarcand (1-31). Wisteria Trees. City Center (2-2). OFF-B’WAY w Dr/s Dilemma, Phoenix (1-11). High Named Today, de Lys ( 12 - 10 ). (Nov. 29-Dec. 11) Take a Giant Step—Lenox Hill Playhouse, N.Y, (1-5). London, Nov; 30. Because its public performance was banned by the Lord Chainber- lai , forcing its presentation in a private'' club theatre, “The Im- moraiist”. has kicked up more stir in London than it did last -season, on Broadway. The drama about homosexuality is current t at the Arts Club Theatre here. The press has . been, in general, rather critical of the, play. There have been notable exceptions; but the prevailing opinion is that the drama * disappointing and offers; insufficient grounds for challeng- ing the official censor’s ban. How- ever, Kenneth Tynan, in the Ob- server, gives “The Iinmoralist” un- usually respectful treatment and attacks the Lord Chamberlain’s authority to forbid it. The well- known playwright, N. C. Hunter, is even more critical in a piece i the London New Statesman and Nation. Tynan opens his long and pro- vocative notice .with the. assertion that it doesn’t matter whether the adaptation differs 'from the origi- nal hovel, but the important ques- tion's whether it resembles a good playl “Michel, Gide’s . hero, de- stroys himself and his wife, Marce- line,” he Writers, “by trying to reconcile two kinds of morality, his own and the world’s. “Ruth ahd Augustus Goetz have, made a : fine play out of emphasiz- ing the fact of Michel’s homo-» sexuality,” the critic continues in part.” Their single error is more apparent than real. Instead of letting Marceline die, they send her home pregnant to Normandy, whither Michel fellows her; but (Continued on page 74) Philadelphia, Nov. 30.. Strawhat operator and former Broadway producer, Michael Ellis has gone over to the enemy. He’s become a drama critic. As part of his new five-weekly television comment series, “To- night in Philly,” over WPTZ, local NBC outlet, he reviews the legit openings there. His sched- ule last week, included first- night Critical reactions on “Luna- tics and Lovers,” the new Mask & Wig "Club show, “House of Flow- ers” arid “Silk Stockings,” and he started off this week with a review Monday night (29) of “Black-Eyed Susan/’ It’s expected that Ellis’ wife, legit-tv actress Neva Patterson, will make occasional guest appear- ances on his weeknightly stint, but not on a regular basis. The couple will spend five nights a week in Philly and weekend in New York, with Miss Patterson remaining here, whenever she has commercial tele assignments. She recently withdrew from a. featured role in the original production of “Seven Year Itch,” at the Fulton, N. Y. Ellis, who took over last sum- mer as operator of the Bucks. Coun- ty Playhouse, New Hope, Pa., got the video offer when a Philly sta- tion exec was in the audience and heard him give one of his nightly between-acts spiels for the follow- ing week’s stock bill. The tele series is on for 10 minutes locally, just prior to the Steve Allen pro- gram on NBC-TV. Ellis devotes most of his"comment to show biz. Rochester Arena Slated To Reopen in Midwinter Rochester, N. Y., Nov. 30. The Arena Theatre, which closed its regular Winter season prema-. tureiy Nov. 20, is slated to reopen late in January or early February for its regular 15-week spring-line- up of six productions. Meanwhile, a subscription campaign is being started. Spot folded after disappointing business for its revival of “Hasty Heart” and with slim prospects for its pending production of. “Tha Lady’s Not for Burning.” Although the reopening; bill' isn’t set, it’ll probably be selected from among “Sabrina Fair,” Shaw and Shakes- peare.