Variety (Sep 1933)

Tuesday, September 12, 1933 LECI¥IMAT E VARIETY 55 Colored Show On and Of in One Night; 'Chance $16,000 m Chicago Chicago, Sept. 11. Town delivered a n6w record last week when 'Ethiopia,' colored show, opened .and closed in one night (4) at th^ Garrlck. First time in the present century, It is reported, that any legit show failed to last more than a night here. Piece wis put on with a couple of old tires and (( hairpin, and panned brutally all around. : Business is ..falling again. The town's long run leader, 'Dinner at Eight/ is how: down tb $15,000, with seats easily available at all timiBs for any spot; Other shows are just hanging around. 'Skidding' is ad- vertising its last two weeks, at the Studebaker, and is dowh now too close ta the borderline. Cort, with •Her Majesty, the Widow/ is also Just on the line and ready to pop off any dayv Illinois is..'planning a new show, the colored 'Pixie to Harlem.' Has been, on and ofC for some time, but never getting to the opening night. Rehearsals are still on and may hit the boards within the next two weeks. Estimates for Last Week 'Dinner at Eight/ Grand (D-i,207; $2.20) (Idth week). Dipped about $1,000 to $15,000. Long stay for this town, iand. excellent on all counts. Nearing end of stay, . 'Ethiopia/ Garrick (M - 1,600 ; $1.60), Did $300 on its opening night Monday (4); Tried to get started again on Tuesday, but curtain didn't rise. 'Her Majesty, the Widow/ Cort (C-1,276; $2.20) (11th week). Stick- ing -to the $4,000 pace. Like every Other show holding oh, hoping for the new season to givei it added impetud. 'Skidding' Studebaker (C-1,260; $2.20) (8th week). Last two weeks advertised. Show is now down to $8,600, too close for comfojrt. Now talking of doing an all-star revival of 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,' following the click of the. Lamb's Club version this season. Tai<o a Chance/ Erlanger (M- 1,318; $2.75) (10th week). Only mii- iBical showin town now, and a fact that, is helping. Doing balcony traae, IJiQweVer, oh the Olsen and Johnson vaude fan following. To $16-,000. ABANDONING HOPES, SYRACUSE ON OWN Syracuse, N. T., Sept. 11. Weary of waiting for the return of road shows to town; Syracusans are preparing to organize a Civic Repertory theatre with Brace Cbn- liing, tJtica actor-director, as exr ecutive director. Plan Contemplates a reisident dramatic company that would produce- from October to May, and civic sponsorship by .up to 10,000 subscribers. Mrs. Edward Vinal, former pres- ident of the defunct Drama League ^of Syracuse, presides at a first "meeting of sponsors tonight at the T. M. C. A. Dramatic torch here. aJso yriil be carried this fall and winter by Cinema Critics Club, picture fan dub, which experimented with the drama during ' the ispHhg cinema holiday, when labor difficulties closed major hou'ses. Club iJlans to produce three plays with 'Blarney Street' announced as first. FuHirePlays The Maitlands,' by the late Ron- ald Mackenzie, will be done on Broadway by Guthrie McClIntic prior to its London opening, but not before the new year. 'Artists' Representative/ by Jack Byrpe and Earl Simmons, purports to be an expose of the talent sell- ing racket. Calls for a. cast of 75. Company being formed to produce. 'Blood on the Moon/ by Claire and Paul Sift'qn, is another Hitler drama. Not set for production yet. Shows in Rehearsal 'Hep Master's Voice' (Max Gordon) Harris. 'Trip to Pr«t8burg' (Shur berts) Morosco). , 'Double Door' (Haight fc iPot- ter) Bijou. 'School for Husbands'. (The- atre Guild) Guild. 'Let 'Em Eat Cake' (Swi H. Harris) Music Box.: 'Jezebel' (Guthrie McClintic) Beck.. 'Undesirable tady' (Leon Gordon) National. 'Inspector' (Sigoumey Thay- er) Masque, 'Ah, Wildnerness' (Theatre Guild) Guild. 'Pursuit of Happi ' (Row- land Stebbiiis) Avon. . 'Sailor Beware' (Courtney Burr) Selwyn." 'Amourette' (Peters & Spil- ler) 48th Street. . 'Men . iii White' (Harmbn & Ullman; Group Theatre) Broadhurst. ERLANGER'S FORTUNE TRANSFERRED TO WIFE MGM STPDIOS CULVER CITY, CALIF. An aftermath of the series of suits by Marc Klaw against his partner, the late A. L. Erlanger, cropped up last, week when in the New York Supreme CourJj_J^udge Mitchell L; Erlanger, who succeeded his brother as head of the Erlanger enterprises, filed a transcript in suppieinentary proceedings, to th(B effect that he had transferred, his properties to his wife, formerly Janet N. Norden- fleld, June 9, 1932, stating he acted in accordance with a jpre-nuptial agreement. Former judge is 76 and his bride 49. Suit by Klaw is an attempt to collect $23,467, the amount of a judgment awarded him as his share in the sale of picture rights of three plays, disposed of by his late partner. Judgment also couples Saul J. Baron, temporary admiiiie trator of the Erlanger estate. Baron and the surviving Erlanger have been on the outs since the Charlotte Fixel case. Judge Erlanger claims asserts that although his salary Is $30,000 a year as ipresident and treasurer of the Erlanger enterprises, he drew only what cash hei needed, something like $10,000, sLrid the corporation now owes him about $80,000. His wife is also an officer in the Er- langer corporations. Erlanger testified that he had transferred the furniture of their home to his wife, also that although he had 40,000 shares of stock in the Erlanger enterprises the cer- tificates are reposing in his wife's safe deposit box subject to litiga- tion brought by creditors (includ- ing the former Miss Fixel). Hie also gave his wife. $100,000, in* New York city bonds, that being ah ante-nuptial arrangement. As to properties including realty in Law- rence, L. I., he said he transferred -Jt all to his wife a few days after their marriage^ — The judge- said he has a few hun- dred dollars. in pension money which he claimed was not subject to at- tachment. As for a bequest from his sister, Rae Erlanger, who died in December, 1931,' he, said it amounts to '$70,000 or $75,000,' but it was all used vup except about $6,000. which he is holdinjg to pay off some claims against the estate. It was further disclosed! that Isi- dor J.. Kresel,. the. trial attorney in the Fixel case (representing thie eia- tate) had received in full his fee of $26,006. The judge WM displeased with his conduct of the I^xel clalin in the surrogate's court and when Kresel presented a note; payment was refused. At the time tiije judge claimed Kresel forced him to sign the note under duress. He ex- plained that his, wife paid all but $7,000 of the note out of her own money, that sum being supplied by ^him seltv^^- .—. -,.:^v- ;— SMILES FOR Cd^OPERS L. A.'s Solo 'Whispering Gallery' NeU $2,400 tn Week 'SPELL* IN OCTOBEE Baroness Lilli Hatvaijy is. coming to New York from Budapest in Oc- tober to attend rehearsals of ,'The Spell,' her play which is on the Gil- bert Miller production schedule. She'll do some lecturing while here, too. Hollywood, Sept. 11. 'Whispering Gallery,' lone legit attraction in town^ gathered $2,4Q0 on the week at the Hollywood Play-, house. Small cast playing the mystery piece in one set means that the co- operators .will get a good break. Piece followed 'Tale of Two Cities' without any opening ballyhoo or pre-production expense. Co-op venture had been a head- ache to the actors in the various productions.. They have been, get.- ting their share of the profits in pennies and nickels. lusic' BVay Solo Book Show, Spurts 'Cheer Only $4.40 Scale in Sight XHEER' WALLOP INPHILLY, $2S,000 Pittsb'g Summer Group W^uld Go Into Winter Ittsburgh, Sept. 11. . .Success! - of Plittsburgh Summer Playhouse in itig first year has led spohsprs look for a .downtown site operate ieis little theatrie through, the fall and winter. Or-. ganization put on six pliayS and broke even. Summer season, came to a close. Saturday (9) with 'Dangerous Cor- nier.', One offering was an original by a iPittsburgh author, Helen Mason's 'Three to Make Ready.' The others were all Broadway pieces, that never had reached Pitts- burgh. Philadelphia, Sept. 11. Legit bookings are still very scarce hereabouts. Only show In town this. we<ek is 'As Thousandis Cheer,' which had a wallop' of an opening a,t' the Forrest Saturday night. It's in for a fortnight arid should average $25,000 a Week^ On the other . hand, Carroll's 'Murder at the Vanities' died pa- thetically af tier a terrible first night; Management changed its mind a secontL time and took the show out after full week. Biz was going steadily down arid show didn't have a chance here after black-eye of opening. Unlikely that it grossed more than $12,000 in stay , at Gar- rick and $3,000 of that was first night. The Walnut may open next Mon- day with 'Jezebel.*^ Advance is promising. Same bouse gets ''The Pursuit of Happiness' Sept. 26 arid on Oct. 2 the Chestnut joins. thie procession with 'Only With Tou.' Roland Young piece will Inaugu- rate subscription season of six plQiys. Also on Oct. 2 'MUsic in the Air* comes to the Garrick tor a two weeks' engagement. Garrick will get Erlanger end of UBO bookings this year, with the report having It that this will In- clude the Guild shows, though how the subscription can be split be- tween two houses is hajd to figure, ANGEL DROPS $2,800 IN 1-NITE CHI SHOW Chicago, Sept. 11. , 'Ethiopia,' colored musical play at the Garrick, opened and closed In one night last week^j failing to open on the second evening wlien the backers refused to meet- the guar- antee demands of the Musicians' Union. Bond was already' up for two weeks' worth of stagehand work. Money needed for the Musicians bond was $600, which the Sam Giri- gijss family of theatrical costumers, backing, refused to meet. Gingiss had already sunk some $2,800 into the show, which grossed $300 on the opening night Most of It went to pay off the musicians, colored and white, before the show was allowed to starts Henderson Tonring His Ami Arbor Drama Co. ^Detroit, Sept. 11. Robert Henderson is touring his Dramatic Festival Idea in three cities In addition to Detroit and Ann Arbor. Milwaukee will play six weeks at the Pabst theatr^; Cincinnati will play, six weeks arid Boston .five. Henderson will operate under the plan he Originated three years ago in Ann Arbor and which he played last winter in Detroit. Festival opens in Detroit Sept. 18 with 'De- sign For Living', starring Violet Heming and Geoffrey Kerr. Detroit appearance will bie in the Caiss theatre for 16 weeks. Last year Henderson experi- mented the commercial side if or his festival idea a:t the Bpnstelle Civic theatre where it ran. with success for 16 weeks. Removal was prompted=by=the:=^do.wntdwnJoGati6n= of. the Cass theatre and also the carte blanche given Henderson by E. D. Stair, owner of the theatre. Another reason, not advertised, was thfr desire • to get away from the woman's committee at the Civic theatre. Several violent disagree- ments camie up last year when the committee attempted to censor lines in various plays. HIUSIC DEFERS BOSTON TUi'HORSES'DEPARTS Boston, Sept; 11. only opening in legit Monday (11) is 'Brittle Heaven.' produced by Arthui^ Beckhard at Tremont, fol lowing five weeks run of Jane Cowl lu 'Camille.' 'Music in the Air,' booked to open tonight at Colonial, postpones the ierigagement one week, which ii^ gdod Judgment, as 'Hold Tour Horses' la to finish at Shuberl 16, which leaves field clear for 'Music,' as oiily musi- cal in town. Old Howard opens 18 with bur' lesque. That night Hollla reopeng with 'Inspector Charlie Chan,' pro- duced by Slgourriey Thaiyer. Majeistic is given over to films be ginriing Friday, when 'Damaged Lives' coriies in on grind policy. BACKWARD SEASON HAS FUND RELIEF IN SPOT The Stage Relief Fund faces financial crisis arid unless substan- tial cash contributions are received immediately the Fund will be forced to suspend money, paymerits to needy professionals this week. The Furid functioned throughout last season and manag;ed to oper' ate through suriimer against a steadily deciining bank balance. Re^ lief came into'existence as an emer- gericy measure with littlei Idea, that it would coritinue indefinitely. The need, however, Is still pressingly present. Disbursements averaged. $1,400 weekly through the season. That was made possible by revenue re- ceived from legit benefit performr ances on Sunday nights and dona-' tioris. Failure of the season to get started eliminates the possibility of obtaining money from shows In the near future. One new attraetion ('The Sellout')' was to have given the Fund a percentage of the gross, but it quickly flopped. L^st week the cash donation^ amounted to but $23. Disburse- ments and necessary ofllce expenses amounted to $666, or about half the amount normally paid out. There was but $589 on hand last Friday. Contributions of food products continue to be received arid the commissary, and clotlies shop are functioning. Necessity for cash is shown in the istatemerit niF to Sept. . 8: Previous contri.b.......... . ...$65,310 Cbntrib for the week,....... 23 That Broadway^s lagging new sea- son may ha,ve some life to it,, was indicated last week when 'Music iri the Air' jUriiped $3,500 oyer its summer average; takings being slightly over $15,500 at the 44th Street, It was slated to start tour- irig Monday but the manageriient or- dered the engagement extended thi$ week arid the run may be :further prolonged. Air' was the only nausical in town. Weather on Labor Day fav- ored the theatres and the operetta, therefore, got a good start, "Whether it .can cliriib further 'when musical opposition . arrives is conjectural^ Boston booklnir for 'Air' depends on business the: first half , of this week. 'Murder at the Vanities,' -^hich Is partly ; revue, debuts on Broadway tonight and highly rated 'Hold Your Horsies' comes In next week. Some change In ticiket scales on the Incoming musicals. 'Vanities' will be 50c. to $3.30, while ^Horses' will have a tOp of $3,85. That leaveis 'As Thousands Chieer'. alone at $4.4<^ top. That revUe due late ttia month. , Last week's two entmnts wer6 merely added to the crop of flops, that have come in thus far and both 'veve withdrawn Saturday—'CruOI- ble' at the Forrest and 'The Sellout' at the Cort. There will riot be more than lo: shows on , Brbadway next week, counting a trio of premieres, -which in addition to 'Horses,' at the Winter Garden, are 'Kultur,' Mansfield, and 'Double Door,' either at the Morosco or Bijou. Season is much behind last mId-Septemben With three or four withdrawals- likely, there may be but half a dozen attractions on next week's list. However, there are 13 shows now in rehearitol, proving that produc- tion is increasing. And the greater city will have H yiddish attrac- tions, at least for the Jewish holi- days, topping Broadway. Estimates for Last Week *A Party,' Playhouse (3d week) (C-893-$3.30). Second week no Im- provement and continuance waa in doubt; estimated aroynd $3,600,.— 'Blue Widow/ MOrbsco <3d week) (C-893-$2.76). Due to close Sdtur-' day; around $2,600 or less; playfng for poissible picture rights; no diid- cessor announced. 'Come £asy/ Belasco (3d weett> (C-l,000-$2.76). Also playing for possible picture rights; taklners last week dropped under $2,000. .'Crucible,' Forrest. Withdrawn Saturday; played one week. 'Murder a/t tho Vanities,' New Amsterdam (1st week) (R-1,717- $3.30). Presented by Earl Carroll; revue-meller written by RUfuff King and the producer; opens tonight at $5.60 top. 'Heat Lightning/ Sooth (let week) (C-708-$3.30). Presented by Abbott & Dunning; written by I,<eon Abra- hams and ' George Abbott; \dpens Thursday (14). 'Music in the Air,' 44th St. (43d week) (M-l,323-$3.30). Holding over this week and may stick longei:; buslriess Jumped to $1)6,600 last week with .Labor Day el^ove and Boston -date set biack. 'One Sunday Afternoon,' 48th St. (31st week)- (C-969-$3.90). Picture release did not affect pace of show; during sultry week got around $6,000 and indefinite. 'The Sellout,' Cort. Taken oft last Saturday; played five perforriianci^jg. Other Attractions' 'Dangerous Corner,' Waldorf^ vival winding up. 'The Mountain,' ProvIncetowA Playhouse; written by Cairty Ranck; opened Monday. Total Gross disbursements >..*•*«.$65,333 i ........ . 4 64,74.4 $589. ENGAGEMENTS Chas. Coburri, -Madeline Grey, Alan Ward, CJraig Ward, Kathleen Lowry, Lester Alden; 'Kultur' (corii- plete cast). Eda Heinemari, Ellsha ,Cook, Jr.; Richard Sterling, Adelaide Beari, Miarjorib Marquis, 'Ah, Wilderness.' Ross Hertz, Edw. Craven, Murray Alper, Paul Huber, Larry Fletcher, Ruth Connelly, Josephine Evans, 'Fit as a Fiddle.' Henry Richard, Wilbur Cox, 'Jezebel.' Edw. Lay, Myron Dundan, John E.-=i=Ha«zard,-=-Kitty-earlsislei=-01ivc- Jones, W. J. McCarthy, 'Die Fleder- maus.' Fred Sumner, Kitty Congriff, 'Amourette.' Lester Vail, Eric Dresser, 'Hotel Alimony.' Vcrna Burke, le Eyed Piper.' Katherlne Squires, Louise Glovtr, Bertram Thorne, Miiriel Robert, Sandra Gould, Grace Fox, Jack Starr, 'Hail the Conqueror.' There Must Be A Reasoii If Such Proninent People Carry Annuities (Arranged alphabetfcally) I JACK W. C. 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