Variety (Aug 1932)

Taesday, August 23, 1932 LEGITIMATE VARIETY 37 B'WAY' DARK Tlynig Colors' Opens Phifly Season. Five Houses IJkeljr, Garrick indie . Philadelphia, Aug 22. ?Jic le^t seasm opens today ^Monday) ■with one piece, nothing set to follow for. thrje weeks, but with more promise ol uctivity titan there has been hereabouts tox a couple oi years.. . ' Toniglit's show Is Tlylng Colors,' new Max Gordon production which l)ow8 into the Forrest foi a fort- night. Phllly will have its flrst real taste of a 'Hollywood opening' for a legit show. Local radio station (WIP) has the hook-up which will call for Introduction of celebs, local and New York, as they come In lobby. Mrs. Ella Waters will be mistress of ceremonies. Next opening, according to pres- ent schedule. Is *Never,' new vehicle for Lienore Ulric, scheduled for Sept. , 12 and produced by Peggy Fears .^Ao as now planned, has her en- ■ tire seasonal output, five shows, all set for first performances at the ■ Garrick. The local situation is still scram- bled. The Forrest and Chestnut ' are the two definite houses for the Bhubert-Erlanger merger. Garrick Is to be booked Independently with Samuel O. Nizon-Nlrdlinger, for- merly general manager for Brlanger ■ interests here, as lessee. The Fears ,*how booking and the Irish Players are the only names so far mentioned, ." but Garrick is supposed to have a full season's line-up. Possljllity ; also that Nirdlinger, • who has Broad Street theatre con- trol, will also open that house. ■ Rumors are around, too, that Shu- bert, formerly Shubert chain house, ■win be lighted. ,. In other words, present indications . ppint .to five legit houses doing busi- ness for at least the start of the ■easoii Instead of the two mentioned two monthSs,agp. KEUNION'S' B.O. FIZZLE DARKENS L A. BELASCO liOS Angeles, Aug. 22. Caught with no production ready, flue to unexpected short stay of Ina Claire in 'Reunion in Vienna,' Belasco & Curran closed the Belasco .here Saturday (20). Firm's musical, 'Cat and the Pid- idle,' has caught on in 'Frisco and probably ■will stay there for another two weeks, after which it will be •tushed here. B. & C.'s other 'Frisco house, the Geary, went dark two weeks ago, With nothing in sight. Werrenrath in Musical Reinold Werrenrath, baritone of the concert field, will make his de- but as a legit actor in the forth- coming Kern-Hammersteln operetta which Peggy Fears is producing. Vocal strength of the show is. also Indicated by the presence in the cast of Albert Slezak, German tenor, . whose father was a Met opera star. Al Sheaii formerly of Gallagher and Shean is also in the cast. GOLDTREE SUES EX-PABD San Francisco, Aug. 22. Sid Gold tree is off for Los An- geles, where he will bring to a close his. suit against: Dick Wilbur, his partner in the recent L. A. presen- tation of Gbldtree's 'EJasy for Zee Zee.' Goldtree asks $600 as his share of Intake on 'Zee Zee's* run. Wilbur is np^w operating a stock company at the Fulton, Oakland, -while a Gold- tree piece, 'Married Virgin,' is play- ing alt the opposition Moulin Rouge, operated by Allen King, 'Hangman's Whip' for N. Y. Hollywood, Aug. 22. Merlin Taylor has a'ecepted •Hangman's Whip,' play by Frank Butler and Norman Rellly Ralne, tor fall production in Kew York. Deal arranged by Briiht & Brant. HEY BRqUW REVUE SET 'Heaven Help Us,' Titla, But Col- umniat Wbn't Act In It 'Heaven Help Us,' an Intimate re- vue, will be Heywood Broun's con- tribution to Broadway's fall list. Broun will be the producer, but he has no Intention of being in the cast, as he was in his first 'Shoot the Works.' The columnist, however, retains the privilege of changing his mind about the urge to act. John Boyle ajid Jay Gorney are readying the show, latter contribut- ing the score and the former the staging. Sketches from about every- one. , • ■ • Shinbert's Gmbract in Heal; WaK^Int Claim Is Now Under Attack The Shuberts have demanded ar bitration on the walkout of Ted Heaiy from the 'Passing Show,' based on the late 'Hey, Nonny, Nonny.' Equity takes the position of being Inactive in the case, be cause the Shuberts Issued a letter form of contract to Healy Instead of using' the standard Equity forms as called for in the basic minimum agreement. Understood! Equity warned the Shuberts several times not to violate that clause of the agreement. Healy walked after his attorney had advised him. the contract was 'uhilatettil,' or one sided. There was no opening oete set forth, and It is pointed out the managers might keep the comic Idle indefinitely. The contract was issued by the Shuberts personally through one of their newly formed companies, the Producing Associates, Inc. That In- dicated the receivership Is not in terested Jn 'Passing Show.' Equity, is not wholly insistent that the standard contracts be used, biit when other forms cu-e employed the contracts must be submitted to Equity l>efore they are signed. The Healy contract stipulated that ex- cept where there are confllctlons with the conditions set forth, the Equity forms were to apply. That feature wraa particularly objection-, able to Equity. N. Y.'MIRROR'ADDS SOBE AND OSTERMAN A. J. Kobler, publisher of the New York 'Mirror,' morning tab, is out to build the dramatic and Broad- way features of his paper, for which objectives he has added Bernard Sobel, Zlegfeld p. a., as dramatic critic and editor with Robert Cole- nian to remain and also do dramatic reviews, but prlaclpally to continue handling the theatre ads. Coleman has a year's contract -with the 'Mirror.' On the Broadway end, Jacx Osier- man's column in 'Variety,' attracted him to Kobler's attention; Oster- man starts this Thursday (25) with a boxed half-column of gagging material on current topics. Paul Yawltz continues substitut- ing anonymously for Walter Win- chell, -vvith the Winchell banner used oh his Broadway column, be- sides doing his own by-lined Sun- day Broadway column In the 'Mir- ror' and the half-col, of 'Little Red Book.' Winchell is expected back in New York in a week and will re- sume his column in the Mirror, Sobel started yeBterday (Monday) on thei 'Mirror,' He will be the senior dramatic critic. . It is a rather vague arrangement to both Coleman and Sobel all around, say both,, with each to re- ceive billboard and other ballyhoo,.. iSobcl was accorded the preliminary advertising to herald his advent, mentioning his past academic asso- (Contlnucd on page 38) mmm mm. Of New YorVs 5S Legit Houses, 35 at Most to Be Occupied at Any One Tiiiie----Iinpeiiding Season an Open Guess, but Ac- tivity of Younger Show- men Called Encouraging A TURKEY TOWN Although a flock of new shows have been placed into rehearsal, showmen, who are watching the legit theatre situation in New York predict that Broadway will average less than 50%'in lijihted houses dur- ing the season. Expectation i* that two dosen theatres will ba o|Mrating by early October and that the total list will not mount much over the 35 mark, thereafter sliding downward, Broadway has 66 legit houses, several being taken out because of stock, burlesque, which policy may hold over Into the new season. Poor business la not the only rea son for the prediction, which Is based on convincing data. With last season as a dempnstratlon New York became a turkey qhow town. The number of attractions of poor qual ity. badly .staged and shoddily pro- duced resulted, in a record group of flops. Chicago, when It was a pro duclng center for small stand troupes. Is only comparable with New York, as it was last season. The Impending season presents an open guess. . Indications are that the attractions In sight have more production ability than was anticl patcd—and from the younger school of showmen, which Is encouraging. If their shd^ws have merit, they should get a better break than ever hefore, because most of Broadway's houses can be had without entangl- ing alliances. It Is claimed there are plenty of good scripts available but very little money to turn them Into shottris. Outside money, not attracted by or from shoe-strlngers, may solve that problem It should be easier to se- cure new and substantial backing because the old game of muscling in on likely try-outs appears to be doomed. Long Run Signs A number of Broadway show shops added color to the 'turkey show town* idea during the summer and even now. Canopies and house boards still hold the billing of shows which quickly flopped and> have been closed for months. Some, of those theatres are now in the hands of receivers or bank affiliates, with none of the latter authprlzing re- moval of the unsightly signs, a mat- ter of a few dollars. By Oct 1 all of the current showd will have passed out or to the road with two exceptions, "Of Thee I Sing* and 'Another Language,' and possibly 'Counselor At Law. In the past an appreciably larger num- ber of hits held oyer, but Broad- way's past season was a lean one. There has been no further change In the theatre set-up sliice Er- langer's (now the St, James), was foreclosed. The Shubert receiver-, ship was on the verge of losing the Imperial and Chanin's 46th Street but foreclosure proceedings dated to be heard early last week were discontinued. Plan of the receivers to operate both houses is reported having been accepted by rthe mortgagees. Latter assumed payment of the fixed charges, and are to be repaid from the operating profit before the re- ceivership participates. The mort- gagees came to the conclusion that so many theatres were available on Broadway that they stood a better chance to secure profitable bookings from the Shubert office than it at- tempting to operate Indejiendently. (Nd Wrangk (hrer Contract Tenns Up As UBO Issues First Rentes MAY CO-STAR Judith Andersen and Helen Menken Mentioned for *Aritonla* Judith Anderson and Helen Men- ken, may be co-starred by Peggy Fears An. 'Establishment of MadamiB Antonia.* Leyla Georgle, who wrote the novel the play Is Based on. and who is co-authoring the adaptation with Gladys Unger, is another can- didate for the; cast Miss Anderson is the only oiie definitely set. If Miss Menken goes into the. play it means either she will drop out of the John Colton play, 'DevH's Plum Tree,' for,which Miss Pears originally signed her, or the latter play will be postponed. EQUITYVOTES PRE-ELECTION LAY-OFF Acting on Information that man agers are holding -back the opening of shows because they , do .not care to. risk sure losses the week before election. Equity's Council has granted layoff privileges ■without pay for that week, same as applies to the weeks prior to Christmas and Holy Week.. The pre-election layoff is for this season only, when.lt Is figured the presidential contest will center interest in nulio broadcasts of the parties. . It is hoped the move will speed up production. . There are stipula- tions attendant to the layoff rule, however. A show rtust have been open at least three weeks in order to be In- active without salary obligation. Should any such attraction lay pfl^ It must guarantee to play at least two .weeks after election. LESLIE DROPS UOWNS' FOR NEW DLACKBIRDS' Lew Lesllia has abandoned his idea for reviving 'Clowns in.Clover* which, as a summer revue; was short-lived in Chicago^ and will In- stead ready a new 'Blackbirds' revue. The success. of his tabloid 'Rhapsody in Black,' which has been getting 111,000 and $12,000 on per- centage and guarantee in the pic- ture houses,.-now being booked by William Morris in the midwest prompted the colored show Idea. In- stead. . ' Leslie figures that money for name talent for a regular musical is at its peak and figures that he can do better economically witii dusky talent. Still, Ethel Waters, when playing top-money weeks, gets $3,000 ifor heirself. In the 'Rhapsody' regular legit version she was In for 10% of the gross, with a $760 guar- anty.. Leslie now is netting around $2,- 000 for himself from the tab 'Bhap- sodle,' The United Booking Office, Sbu^ bert-E^laagcr mergored road book- ing- enterprises, began Issuing coixpi tracts and routes to attractions last week. There was a report that the contracts were not uniform. Managers havei long complained about varying, contractual condi- tions and unequal sharing percent^ ages accompanying bookings by the Shubert and Eb-langer exchanges, especially the Shubert office. What is known as 'One X' contract Is re- garded as the fairest for dramatic shows and there Is a counterpart for musicals, stipulating what num- ber of stage hands and musicians the house pays for and shares ln« Certain clauses Inserted in some contracts have^ angered mahs,£(era not initiated in the ■wiles of booking men or forced to accept proffered terms for one reason or another. It is the idea of showmen that legit business on the road can be greatly strengthened by U.B.O. eliminating opposed bookings out ofi town, both in the week stands and the principal keys other, than New; York. However, If the new circuit re^ sorts to methoda o£ other season^ bookings may be diverted to theao tres not in the U.B,0. set-Up. Tbi^ could create an 'opposition cfr« cult defeating the purpose of the! long planned combination. In e^verf stand there Is a theatre to parallel the U.B,0. house or houses, waiting to receive shows so that there I« this constant threat Hence . Jt -M surprising that there should be fric- tion in sight already through tfa^ ivorklngs of the U.B.O. Books 16 Weeks Understood that at least one out of town theatre has protected it-, self by booking 16 weeks. ■ It is the Garrick, Phila., which is not in the U.P.O. The shows will principally be the attractions of Peggy Fear^ and her husband A. C. Blumenthal* latter's activities being coupled with the late Fib Zetgteld under whose, name a new 'Follies' is to be pre-i sented. The Fears-Blumenthal of- fice which promises a number at productions is Independent Blumen^ thai is handling 'Show Boat' at the! Casino, that attraction being duej to tour in October. No difficulty IS anticipated in securing: U.B.O. booH^ IngB in other 6pots, if desired. . The theory of protecting attract tions on tour by eliminating opposl^ tion was put into practice by the] U.B.O. when it refused to book an- other musical Into Philadelphia; against 'Flying Colors' which opened there yesterday (Monday). 'Ballyhoo of 1932', the In AUantic City wanted an additional week out of town. A Philly house wa« sought biit the ' bookers istated the town could not support two muslcaJs at this..time. No indie house there was. sought because the Shuberts have an ln« terest In 'Ballyhoo' which waaf brought back to Ne^w York. /Ballyhoo' Deferred 'Ballyhoo of 1932,' which was slated for premiere at the 44th Street Wednesday (24) has been set, back and Is due Sept, 6. Introduc-. tion of new material necessitated furthet preparation. Season's flrst revue was brought back from Atlantic City, Show laying off this week, goes to Newark next week. McEvoy Revue Renamed J. P. McEvoy's revue, 'Americana,' has been retltled 'The Forgotten Man.' Proposal is to open it about Sept. 12, proba;bly in_Philadelphia. Jay Gorney Is ■writing the music. Behrmanj East on Leave^ Hopes for Play on B-way^ Hollywoad, Aug. 22. S. N. Behrman Is en route to New York, oh leave of absence from Fox writing departments Du«; back Feb. 1. Writer is taking a play with him, which he will try to have produced on Broadway this fall. 'Erianger' OfF Theatre Understood the name of Erlang- cr's theatre in Phlia. will be changed to the New Amsterdam. None of the theatres built several years previous to the showman's death and carrying his name, have fared well: That takes in Erlang- er;s New York, Chicago, Buffalo and Atlanta, New York hou^e is out of the estate's hands and is called the St,. James, , Majority Interest In the Philly house is owned by Warners. It will probably be supplied -wtth ' shows through the United Booking Office^