Variety (December 1954)

58 LEGITIMATE Wednesday, December 22, 1954 Shows Abroad results, and Miss Lockwood con- tributes the light, flighty touch de- manded by the script. The yarn is probably no more far-fetched than the average who- dunit. but Miss Christie's plots, as a rule, are abovfc average. The mystery, as posed, is who killed the man whose body was found behind the sofa in the heroine’s country house? Here is a new Crazy Gang revue, The murder comes at an incon- and like its recent predecessors, j', rnienl ,lme * will run as long as Jack Hylton can <]ue to r q tur n a distinguished keep the cast working without a diplomatic visitor and in order to rest. There is nothing startling i * vo ^ enibarrsassment. the hostess about the layout, production or ma- P e _ rsau ^ e , s u } If55.. terial, but the fcomics are surefire lid London, Dec. 17. Jack Ilyltnn production of revue in two •eta <17 accncs). Stars Crazy Gang (Bud Flanagan. Nervo A Knox. Naughton A Gold); features Vera Day. Josephine Anne, Sheila O’Neill. Kenneth Sandford. Dolinoffs A Raya Sisters; John Tiller Girls. Directed by Charles Henry; music and lyrics. Ross Parker; choreography. George warden; orchestrations. Ronnie Munroe At Victoria Palace. London. Dec. IS. '54; S3 top. favorites with local audiences and remove the body. But they only have time to park the corpse be- hind a' sliding pahel before the Red Letter Embargo Temporary notice posted on bulletin boards at Shubert theatres in New York two weeks ago, banning eats 'n* drtnks on the premises, was replaced last week by printed signs restating the prohibition in large red letters. However, no steps w’ere reported to en- force the tabu and none ars anticipated. There's still no indication whether the notice is a Shu- bert reprisal against campaign by the safety and sanitation committee of Actors Equity and the League of N. Y. The- atres to improve backstage conditions in Broadway houses. there can be no element of doubt; n,na A snamg panel oeiore uie ir p Starlight Thpfltrp as to its b.o. potential. Unless tops arrive on the strength of an IV- OianiglU 1 neaire ~ -----£ - ' nnnnvmm.s telPtshnne rail. That I j n SOUP j n a u.v. pvvcuviai. wuuo.) . , • ■ mi there is evidence of failing sta- anonymous telephone call. That smina. this one, like the others, j P° ses a second problem, who should be good for a two-year »ea- tipped off the police, son. That's the main story, but the The Gang, comprising as usual authoress has dressed it up with Bud Flanagan. Nervo Knox and fancy trimmings, introduced the Naughton & Gold, dominate the j usual flow of red herrings, as presentation with their boisterous,' well as a number of surprise, if Connor. Kansas City. Dec. 21. Final figures on lust summer’s Starlight Theatre season show an operating loss of $13,300. Report was given by board chairman Paul raucous, and sometimes keyhole not always logical twists. Miss humor. They are uninhibited. Lockwood serves her author re- without trace of subtlety, exploit markably well, and her comedy every obvious gag and never fail to; flair is at its best when she even- get the laughs. It doesn’t matter | tuallv decides to tell the police the if their material is thin and their! whole truth and they won’t believe! sketches are occasionally labored, a word of it. Their mere presence on the stage Felix Aylmer, stalwart of the is enough to satisfy most of tne. London theatre, plays her guar- There is an inventory of nearly $12,000 in operating supplies on hand for the start of 1955 season, according to the report. On that basis the 1954 semester of 10 shows rates as virtually a break-even af- fair. Early in the season there were Christmas Prelude (The following, written by stage manager Carl Benson, was posted on the backstage bulletin board last week at “The Fifth Sea- ton," at the Erlanger, Chicago.) The time has come upon us all When BO grosses start to fall, When SRO is much too rare And should-be yoks receive a stare. And when the curtain slithers down A silence greets us and we frown; You say to me, “You’re down tonight! “You’ve got to read that line just right!" And 1 reply with catty smirk. “You just tend to your own work!" Tempers shorten, ad libs lengthen, As the show you try to strengthen. And suddenly there is no more Of wonderful esprit de corps. Now Christmas time in charts and graphs Means smaller houses, weaker laughs; ' Don’t let this perverse statistic Make your art antagonistic . *. . The same old play that brought us here Played the same old way will keep us here. And soon we’ll all be back in clover As soon as our slack period's over . . . So don’t lose heart —you know the reason ; We’re govig through our own fifth season! cash customers. i dian with delightful aplomb and. nights with temperatures vary* In this new revue they have a a ft t . r starting off by trying to bam- ln 8 from 90 to 103 degrees at cur- broad satirization of “What’s My boozle the cops, successfully turns ^ain t* me - Later in the summer Line?" and a comedy bur esque of' sleuth himself. Margaret Barton four shows were rained out in 17 “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” but their consistently type cast in juve roles, nights, Connor said, best item is their appearance as a looks every bit a 12-year-old A substantial loss was averted quintet of bell-ringing monks who schoolgirl, although she is actually through “Oklahoma," as the season slowly and imperceptibly move i 28 and has a child of her own. { closer, playing 14 nights for a gross into a pop routine. This dumb j T} iere j s a powerful comedy con- of $152,000, far above average, and item is one of the most ingenious tribution from Judith Furse who, making up a deficit of about $90.- things they ve done for a long an amazon j an gardener, domi- 000 to the theatre up to that point. time. A solo vocal spot by Bud , nates by sheer force of personality * P Flanagan, des^ned to familiarize j eV £py scene in which she appears. British cities with American tunes v Carles Morgan as the man who is an intriguing novelty which ge(s murde red, Harold Scott and doesn t quite come off._ „ ; Miles Eason as the other two house Rest of the show follows the fa- g ues ^ s an( j Campbell Singer as the •ia Palace layout. \ era ► detective, make a good supporting Current Road Shows (Dec. 20-Jan. 1) Da^and^Josephine Anne »re ade- «"“• * Buuu »<•«•»■*•»« Aanaat.si, (tryouti (Viveca Lind- quate chirpers, Kenneth Sandford \ . ,. , , f° rs - Eugenie Leontovitch)—Plym- has a number of pleasing vocal 'Vallace Douglas has directed at outh. Boston (20-1) (Reviewed in contributions, and Sheila O’Neill is f brisk pace and Michael Weight Variety, Dec. 8. ’54*. a bright dancer and singer. The j bas designated an opulent drawing College Shows Tunitu Anyone? Wilmington. N Dec. lfi. Triangle Club of Princeton U. produc- tion of musical comedy In two acts (16 scenes). Book, Z. Taylor Vinson, John T. Osander. Ronald N. Friedrich. Peter T. Blue. Garrett M. Heher; music and lyrics. John C. Eaton. Z. Taylor Vinson. Ronald N. Friedrich. Robert C. Hemmeter. John | T. Osander. Rae H. Graham. Peter T. I Blue. Stephen F. Gregory. WilUam G. Glassco. Robert J. Mufcare. Production director. Mike Stewart; choreography. Forreat Bonshire; scenery. Jerome Press; costumes. Frank Brady; musical direction. John C. Eaton, technical direction. John G. Gregory; choral and orchestra coach- ing. Harry Pierpont; orchestrations. Earle Moss. At Playhouse. Wilmington. Dec. 16. M. Theatre Evictions Continued from page 57 John Tiller girls provide a dancing line of perfection. Production has been vigorously directed by Charles Henry and Ross Parker has penned suitable music and lyrics. George Carden supplied the choreography and his expert dancers do justice to the routines. Mi/ro. Spider’s Web • London. Dec. 15. room set. M i/ro. Legit Followup The Teahouse of I he August Moon (HARTMAN, COLUMBUS) Caine Mutiny Court Martial 'Paul Douglas, Wendell Corey. Steve Brodie) — Christmas layoff • 20-25'; Playhouse, Wilmington •27-29>; Lyric. Baltimore (30-1 >. Dark Is Light Enough (tryout) (Katharine Cornell. Tyrone Power) —Hanna, Cleveland (20-25); Taft. Cincinnati (27-1) (Reviewed in Variety. Dec. 1. ’54). Festival (tryout) 'Paul Henried. Betty Field) — Colonial, Boston Howard Lindsay* and Russel < 25-1). Clouse ought to rake in plenty Fifth Season (Chester Morris Peter Saunder. production Of comedy-| u ith their road edition of “The | Joseph Buloff) — Erlanger Chi’ T-**)*—— — »• ,20-11. Glad Tidings — Shubert, Wash. (27-1 *. Grand Prize (tryout* — Parsons, Hartford (23-25»; Locust, Phila. (27-D. House of Flowers (trvout)—Er- langer. Philly. (20-25i (Reviewed in Variety, Dec. 1, ’54'. King and I (Yul Brynner, Pa- ChriM( r e tn sur» n Mar h g r rret Lofkwm'd. stVged I Teahouse of the August Moon, by Wallace Douglas; decor. Michael which broke in its tour here with * 1,eatre ’ London, Dec a four-performance sellout. The ciarUM iiaiuham Brown S company is ahead of the game with Maigaret Lockwood its two stars. Burgess Meredith and Sir Rowland Delahaye .. Fellk Aylmer Pippa HaiUham-Brown.. .Margaret Brown Mildred Peake Judith Furse Scott McKay, who recently played the Sakini and Capt. Fishy roles in the Broadway original while David Oliver Costello Charles Morgan Jeremy**Warrender u'ytelf fiSn jJVa.vne and John Forsythe were on inspector Lord Campbell Singer leave of absence. Also, Barbara tl'/nry lUlUh.ni-Brown '"SwSS t » M » r ; tricU'MoAoB)- Shubert." Chi. Constable Jones Desmond Llewelyn . *ko JSlkkl as the Geisha in the (20-1). New York cast. Models in Season—Shubert. Bos- It looks like three hits in a row As the interpreter, Meredith ton (25*; Majestic, Boston (27-1'. for Agatha. Christie. “The Mouse- Rives an ingenious performance^ Moon Is Blue (Jerome Cowan)— trap" is now in its third year at with strokes now broad, now lisht Cox. Cincy. (20-25»; Orpheum, K.C. the Ambassador. “Witness for the ! and wispy. McKay doesn’t go in (27-1). Prosecution” has entered its sec- tor understatement as does For- Oh Men. Oh Women (Ralph Bel- ond year at the Winter Garden ' sythe in the New York company, | lamy)—Harris, Chi. (20-1). (a second edition has opened on but plays an army of occupation i Oklahoma — Shubert, Detroit Broadway) and a lusty new infant officer in fumbling, bemused and (20-25); Central Highschool, Kala- is bom with “Spider’s Web." It’s very funny fashion. mazoo (27-29); Murat, Indianapolis also an impressive record for im-, Victor Sutherland, instead of be- (30-1). presario Peter 6aunders, who pre- i n R explosive and bombastic, has Pajama Tops (Diana Barrymore) sents the trio. I adopted a seething, ulcer-bubbling —Blackstone. Chi. (20-1). “Web” is by no means the best resistance to the onslaught of Plain and Fancy (trvout)—Shu- of Miss Christie’s crimemellers. cricket-cage Orientalism. Miss bert. Boston (20-1* (Reviewed in but she has fashioned a strong Luna makes a gracefully plastic Variety. Dec. 15. ’54'. starring vehicle for Margaret geisha. I - Put Them All Together—Shu- Lockwood’s return, to the London The production is beautifully bert. New Haven (29-1». stage after a long stay in films done, and the comedy is played j Sailor's Delight (Eva Gabor) (excepting her seasonal entry in with incredible smoothness in its (tryout)—Christmas layoff (20-25); “Peter Pan” last Christmas). The breakin here. Physically, nothing Lyceum. Minneapolis (27-1) (Re- combination of the Christie-Lock-j has been spared. Billy Matthews, viewed in Variety, Nov., ’54*. wood names on the marquee spell ; repeating the original staging of Seven Year Itch (Eddie Bracken) b.o. smash. . Robert Lewis, has utilized the dif- —Christmas layoff 1.20-25>; Nixon, Obviously conscious that she ferences in personality and acting Pitts. (27-D. has a rather thin plot. Miss Chris- styles to build a distinct flavor, asj Silk Stockings (Hildegarde Neff, tie turns much of the emphasis valid and as funny as the New Don Ameche) (tryout) — Shubert. away from the suspense angles York original. This fine touring Philly. (20-1) (Reviewed in Variety, to concentrate on comedy situa- troupe should repeat the latter’s Dec. 1. ’54>, tions. She achieves the desired boxoffice success. Princeton Triangle Club’s 63d production is a zippy musical comedy that satirizes everything from Liberace to commuters, politics and girls’ schools. The re- vue acts are loosely connected by a slight story of the kidnaping of “Him” by a band of desert rogues. Incidentally. “Him" turns out to be Liberace. but the plot doesn’t get in the way of the traditional melange of songs, dancing “cho- rines” and comedy. As usual, the music is reminiscent and the dialog is somewhat less than professional, but the hoofing is vigorous and the whole performance is lively. Among the better scenes is “Dig That Hippopotamus” wherein Dun- can Hoxworth. Edmund W. Jones and Joseph Knox frolic as Tarzan, a boy and Jane, respectively. The lead roles—a quintet of comedy sleuths—are handled capably by John Macrae. Theodore James, Albert Hinckley, Thomas Pettus, and Ronald N. Friedrich, the latter a nimble dancer. Top tunes in the show are “Someday,” “Travel, Travel, Travel” and “Charleston Bop.” Jerome Press’ gettings are color- ful and the scenes have been well coordinated by Mike Stewart. ✓ Klep. Happy Medium Cambridge, Nov. 30. Hast? Pudding production of musical show in two acts (id scenes', with a book by Jerard Kent Hartman; music bv Michael 1-ay and lyrics by Henry Stein- i way Ziegler. Directed by Donn Fischer; 1 choreography. Dolly Niggemeyer; pro- ducer*, Walter Damrosch Littell, Camp- bell Steward, Donn Fischer. Dolly Nigge- mever. At Club House, Cambridge. Mass., Nov. 30. *54. ginning Jan. 3. with latter moving in Jan. 26. Shubert theatres currently va- cant but booked are the Belasco, getting "Flowering Peach”; Broad- way, “Saint of Bleecker Street”; Imperial. “Silk Stockings," and Na- tional, “Tonight in Samarkand.” Grosses have not fallen below the stop-limit for some shows at theatres reportedly being offered for incoming productions. How- ever, that's regarded in the trade as a relative technicality. Explana- tion is that a theatre management can reduce attendance at any mod- erate-gross show by having its box- office employees discourage win* dow patronage. Treasurers are gen- erally glad to cooperate in such a moVe, since they’re inclined to pre- fer gambling that a new show may prove to be a smash. Margaret Webster Continued from page 57 Dean. GRISTMILL PLAYHOUSE ANDOVER, N.J. FOR RENT OR SALE Located in Hi* heart ef Sassex County, amidst 80 lakes. Suitable far tammar or year ’rouod theatre. 800 teat*; heat and air conditioning. Alta equipped with protection ream for movie*. Contact: EDITH PIERSON Bex 1, Andover, N. J. Phone Andover 3801 South Pacific (Iva Withers. Alan Gerrard)—Forrest. Philly (20-1 >. Southwest Corner (tryout) (Eva Le Gallienne* — Shubert, New Haven (23-25'; Wilbur, Boston (27-1). Tea and Sympathy (Deborah Kern—Christmas layoff (20-1). Teahouse of the August Moon Burgess Meredith, Scott McKay)— American. St. Louis (20-1 >. Three For Tonight (Marge and Gower Champion. Harry Bella- fonte' (tryout* — Christmas layoff (20-25); State Fair Aud.. Dallas '27-3D; Municipal Aud., Oklahoma City (1). Time Out for Ginger (Melvyn Douglas)—Curran. S.F. (20-1). Wonderful Town (Carol Chan- ning)—National, Wasfo. (20-1). Not since the resumption of the ' Hasty Pudding shows in their tra- ditional form after the war has the outfit come up with quite so baffling a show as this one. It has all the usual elements: the hairy gams of the chorus line, | the solo specialties, the songs, dances and boisterous goings on, etc. But somewhere along the line in this cheerful improvisation someone overlooked the necessity for a comprehensible book and an occasional joke. The result Is—un- like many previous productions— | of interest mainly to the alumni. Plot has something to do with newspapermen, politicians and me- diums. It offers songs and dances by newsboys, thug bodyguards, I embodied spirits, burlesque strip- pers and whatnot, i Performances are vastly superior to the material. Hugh Fortmiller Is a strenuous spirit medium and there are ac- ceptable performances by Stephen Addis, Tom Whedon, Stephen Bolster and Bob Norris, the latter's dancing being the one Pudding i touch of previous years. Elie.* ; for their own good, to develop as artists, she says. “A few- successful experiments of dramatic productions without scen- ery started a touring vogue, and of course reduced transportation expenses.” But there isn’t sufficient dramatic material strong enough to be effective that way, she claims. Shakespearean drama, Miss Web- ster’s specialty, is losing out most of all In this era of higher road company and theatre operating costs, because of the big casts, the costumes and the elaborate scenery that make it prohibitive, she notes. “However. Shakespeare is as strong as ever In college and community drama programs,” Miss Webster declares. She feels that a possible solution to the present “money problem” af- fecting touring shows would be their commercial sponsorship in the manner that tv and radio pro- grams are now sponsored. An encouraging sign, she asserts, is that college drama departments are apparently becoming a little less theoretical and more practical in their approach. Members of the A.T.P.A.M. who w*r* paid up collaborator* of th# lata, lamented Fancy Moating You Hara Club, which mat in tha Bucket af Blood adjoining tha lata, lamented Chicago Journal of Commerce, ere in- vited to be guest*, when visiting th* t®*p on business or pleasure, ef the St. Leui* Browns Fan* Memorial As- •ociation ef Chicago. Information; Bax 1222, Variety, 412 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago 11, III. r LIVE BETTER FOR LESSI NEW STUDIO ROOMS IN THE HEART OF TIMES SQUARE • 14—WEEKLY—*14 Beautiful Room*. 24-hour Switchboard. ( Restaurant. Cocktail Lounge, Valet. Barber. CALL MR. MOSES AFTER S P.M. —v Cl 5-5)17