Variety (Sep 1933)

VAKIETY L EGITI M ATE Tuesdaj, September 19t 1933 Summer Tryout Spots Carrying on As Proving^^ Ground for Broadway Although nearly all the numerous tryout theatres, mostly in the sticks, folded until next summer, some iare holding on and one is . . • - ■ 4 ' A ., new iseasoh. . Is the Boulevard, Jkcksori. Heights, suburban .-New Tork. Eight hew shows were-trie»l onx, there during the past summer and the. new show schedule calls for at least 12 mofe^. House has estabr lisltied a i>roduping policy, since the 'sybwa:y no more- and there are. no shows in sight from roadway for months to come. The Boulevard, tryouts are. under the direction of Morris Green and Praiik McCoy, ^srhose offices are among' thie busiest on Broadway: Reason is that while one hew-"show is'.playing: at the Heights, another pair' aire in ■ reheiarsal and one 6r Legit Turns Cabaret The metamorphosed New Yorker theatre (nee the pallo), becomes the. Casino de .Paree. when reopening in October with its seats ripped out and two cafe floors, restaurant and promenade with dance payilion substituted* Continental Music HalliB, Inc., Is the new lessee of the New Yorker from the Bowery Sayings Bank; holding the mortgage, dettV negoti- ated through p'Garji &. Co. Bachelor's Reasont Late Martin Herman never married. His determination to remain a bachelor while hia mother lived was maintained until the ehd. Upon her death a friend suggested it was time for him to wed and lie pro- pounded this philosophy: •If I marry 4 girl It could iMt only a few years and If marry a woman near toy ^S»> she'll try to run thia office. So It's out.' Herman's RUii^ Exploits I Passing of Showman Recalls Practical Jokes That Made Broadway Chuckle Passing of . Martin Herman, Al Wood's brother and associate, last Friday (15)v brought expressions 6f sorrow froni all persons within show business. Among' clilef mourners are newspapermen, Including the critlcB^ His vast knowledge of show busi; I'ness, tectihically and In a personal way, made him an invaluable news source, indeed there never was one more fertile. 'Marty- waa always available and his principal stipu- lation so far as reporters were con- cerned waa hia rule that he must Jezebel' may be presented at the I ^^il^i^f TiLHJ irUh^j Beck. N; Y., by Q"thrle, McClintic kl»ot<'er^P*»^-. ^^^^^^ without Tallulah Bahkhead. whose h*«\«>^^9"^« h^^^ choice as the lead was regarded'as and he-threw' th^Joya.out^ of-h a an excellent selection, Late last office. >-They ^^^''^^^ ^^HJ^^^^H week physicians at the Doctors way at tjmes and. so they always H*.«vv rainfall atarted l Hoispital stated it would b6 five or pame b^^ Heavy ramra i » I weeks before she could , appear 1 'Marty' never stalled when aaked Thursday (14> last , week washed stage. She Is under treat- his opinion about the Woods dhows, t^b mdre Se-berfi'ca^^^^ oriBlndr dates of .the 'Ro- jment for abdortlnal trouble. I If a show waa not there he would best of the Green & ■ McCoy dia '—^ * " ™»"n ^Jezebel' in Donbt Sans Bankhead in Costame Hay Race JEWISH PAGEANT MOVES ININH)I» OUT OF RAIN Jmahce of a PeopleV the mammoth j The manager plans- to pay off say so after, the prenilere or frankly clv^rles is^The'^Curtain^^^^^ pageant of Jewish history that was the cast and postpphe ^Jfzebeir until state it was> ^^P^f e^^^^e wnv ftrtnh \: -u ^^^A «{oru<. „* *up MIss Bankhead Tecovers, although believed that nothing. CQuld atop a ,^y^y.soon. to 4iave opened that night^^at.^^^ Davis, the' aUthbr. deaires hit , and nothing .could put a bad Small Gross But Profit Polo Grounda (N. T.), with 6,200 Khe ahbW go on aa soon ad showacross , with the pubUc. Another Industrious tryout thea- players participating. Gpmnilttee K ^^^^1^^^. ^^^^j,^ jg j^^^^ replace Nevfertheless he knew , how to get tre hear New itovlk is at Summit, cancelled. the outdoor presentation Kj^^ ^j^^. hIb reaaon la that four the abaQliite limit out of a success N. J„ whtere Elizabeth Miele pre- [and the spectacle will be staged i" [or five other <:ostume plays are on and. generally out^smarted "better sented a dozen neyr shows during the 208th field artillery drill shed, j ^^y to: Broadway, inciudlnfr known Broadway nianag'ers. 'He the'summer. Of promise in that Bronx, largest armory in the city. , .pu^guit of Happi- waa Al Wobda' silent" partner but biihch are "i?he Farewell Perform- Spec Is dated for 43 nights atart- ^^^gg^, l,^^^Q^rQttQ^ i^ii^ • rlttlis npt ao ailent when he went into aAce/ ^Halfway tp" Hell' and 'Alley l ing nejct Saturday. (23). Enprmoua ^^^ygj^ , McCUnUc has given Miss action. Cast.' setting at the ball park waa ^'^r Bankhead the privilege of appearing The number of actors and ac One of the Miele showa; 'Cpmc mantled and, Is being Teassembiea 'Jrezebel' if and when it is pre- trusses who passed in and out. of Easy/ has already come and gone in the armory alongr with elabprate i ^-^^^ j^^^^^^j^^ ahould the ahow hia office in the hey-day of the on Broadway, having closed at the lighting and ampiiflcatipn aysteina. r ^ j^^^^ ^^j^^^^^ Wooda production regime waa Belaaco iSaturday after playing Capacity indoora la a^bou^ katherine Wilson waa reported enormoua. l-he public, didn't know three'weeks. Picture rights not yet agalnat o0,00a at the ball parkv understudy to Miss Bankhead in 'Marty'but the profession knew him eold but ishow will be worked out At prlcea ranging from f & ^\*}' error. It appeara Miss Wilaon read aa the ahrewdeat. of managera. of the red because of .picture and with patrons tickets at^lO.eacn,^« Uhe part at one rehearsal at Mc- Herman's many kindneaaes and aifaitelir righta. Show haa cbn- waa expected the gnroaa J";^® Clintic'a request She ia engaged acts of charity, always under cover, traeted for It) weeks in atpck at outdoor spheduled^ ^ „2r^ Kor another ahpw./ Diiring other re- are known to the few but the many $200 weekly. 'Easy* was a; one- would reach »500,«ou.^ A" !f-w3f«^ h^araala the atage manager has reclpents will- never forget. His setter and cost: little to operate. *lo^«*? * * , ^^ reauiing the lead parV , The gruff exterior was juat a front—It a^lthough it waa paced at less than performance, States that Martin effectively kept him out of argu- '*^i,00O, show la regairded a natural I havlne been moo^^ | Beck la not Intereated in 'Jezebel,'| menta. He liked to laugh and a gram he aent siimner Waa a marvel of initials, but Suniner knew what words were meant,. Herman later explained he got' llie message through by claiming the ' initiali9 were his varloua titlea. Once when Sumner returned from' abroad he .had atocked up with winea and liqueurs for a planned series of parties bn the ship, but when he got aboard, was taken down with acute arthritis. Upon docking, Herman and Dr. Qraus< "man were, at the pier tp take him tp the hPspltal. The' liquor was packed in. a shlp'a cpfflh, the only box. to be fouiidl tlpon being tipped off Grauamah laid a bunch oC flbw- eri on the box. 'People at the pier removed • tl)etr hats, and the liquor waa aoleipnly placed, pn. a. truck; I<aiter?^t^thQ-hospitaU^Herm^itf c ducted :a -funeral service in; Sumher's room. and the. latter ^w^re he'd get even. That Came When Herman returned from his iiext trip abroad. Customs men were .fixed and the undetwear in Herman's bags , was displayed all over tHe pier, lie being ordered back to thei ship for further 'examinatioii. Herman thought that, was going top far and it waa monthd before he apoke to Sumnfer-;-a fram^ In. which Sumner, thought he wsis to meet a charming ybiing girl* v/ho turned out to' be a fat woman from a museum. „ ^. , _ stated that^108,000 Jjad been ex-i ^^^^ ^^^^3^^.,,^^^^ yarn or an inside story told number of try-outs which may nol [Ponded on the producuon^im Qt^^^^ [ producer and Katharine Cornell. I « n^mhre flav. for stock. That miay apply to a r^ach Broadway presetitation. expenses up to .the tlmie rain inter- fered. Proceeds are to .go to relief b' the Jews in Oermany and the movement tb move them to Palea- tinCi Spec had been In rehearsal for weeks In iarmpries and "halls. Nbrwalk, Copn., .Sept? While the Country .Playhouse at ■W.estport closed Saturday. 16) * coun- try theatres elsewheire are starting j g'^j^jjjgg' ^g'i^e^ being in to open again. . the ensemble as a protest against The Greenwich Playhouse, where I jjazi intolerance accompany held forth, until Sept. 1, STAGE RELIEF AID NOW LIMITED TO DONATIONS The Stage Relief Fund haa been All"ticketi are to bia exchainged I tbreed to auapend payments to him, evened up many a sombre day Few men on Broadway had his sense, of hUmor. Hardly ia day that he did not send some friendly or comic telegram^ or perhaps it wpuld be flowers, if not ■a . gift. One year his florist bill was $7,500, Trips Abroad When the depression curtailed win reopen Oct 2, with a season Ut the Lpblang-Postal agency. Ex- needy profesalonala, cash on »»an«i i j^^^^^^^j^^^gg slowed down the of revivals and new ,plays. Charles Lhanges^or the first night in the havmg dropped clpae to zero. Al-i - Woods office to a walk^ Herman Menard Is still the manager. armory will be made in the<braer though /^^^'^"^"^'.^f° making plans for a long Owners of the ftegerit theatre, of dpplicatibn. Unfprtuhate weather 1 been received lately, understopa | arm,«fl thA world. No one Norwalk where a rival unit could break and the return of the Giants that somfe of the^ ™o8t ^if© ^o^J ^„ ,„^„^ S^^on^peTe wtth .Langne^^^ better this week for the Anal J^JJ^^^^"!-f ''^^^'"^iJ^WtSn^U t^^^^ V^^" ^^^ "^ ^^^^^^^ ""^ 1-1 the season, brought about the de-| with the J^fP^^Jf^^on .^nai^iur^^ Lpoking over the trip around the world. No one ever studied so many travel pam Pittsburih, Sept. 18. Premiere of Eugene CNeiU's new one, 'All, "Wilderness,'-at the Nixon next Monday night (25) la to go on the air from WGAE over a coast- to-coast NBC hooK-up, Ether of- ilcial) figure an O'Neill opening a thing of importance and week-end reports had it that Phillips Carlln was being sent In to handle the broadcast. O'Neill himself wili be oh handf for' the premiere and la scheduled l!or a brief mike appearance, while George M... Cohan, the star, will dp a scene from the play. Ini additibn, Pittsburgh drama Cricks are tp p.ut in a few wprda about their opinions, of 'Ah, Wilderness.' No time has been set yet for the broadcEist but It will likely follow the show, probably between XI and midnight. ' clalon to spot the spec inabprs. casli will be obte^^^^ Armory site was suggested by G^^- leg t beneflts^^^ S„„^^-y when so engrossed he refused to see ernor I^ehman. | J^^^^^^^ix^to^ callers ^^^^^^^^^ new shows, 'Murder at the Vani- Nust about to begin when he found ties' and ^Heat Lightning-. Fund U note on hia desk that WaWher has alsd been offered an opportunity ^1 had gone abroad at midnight- to raise money at the polo cham- Woods frequently boarded liners pionship matches, management to with just a tooth brush. When pay the fund 25 cents on each pro- Woods next happened to learn that , gram sold by actresses. Volunteers Marty was about to slip^ away, he , Morrison & Winkler agency was tb sell programs wiU be sought this took a jaunt to the coasti not so bright. Nixon, town's only. ^^.^^^^^^ jjjquity agent's franchise ^eek in professionaL^^^ Finally Herman caught his road-show spot gets under way ^g^gj,^a^y (Monday). It's the first plan for an outdoor garden fete brother napping. He boarued a next Monday (25) with O'Neill's ticket to be issued in almost a has been abandoned, because of the round-the-world cruiser and merely •Ah Wilderness' under. subscription 1 y^^^ slender proceeds of the benefit show left word with the elevator man that auspices, latest opening here in Equity franchise, entitling M. & recently staged for the Actors'Din- he had gone off on a little trip. That years, but after that nothing deft- hooX^ direct with the pro- ner Club. Net .y^as about $1,000.. lasted six months, a period of ad- nite lined up, with spot booking ^y'^je^g. extend that agency's ciub continues to function. In the | venture, most of it in the Far East 'brganiration at. Westpprt this sum- mer, are ready to open again. ittsburgh, Sept. 18. Legit outlopic here this season looked for throughout the season, | activities to the legit field Looks novyr as if 20 weeks, or even less, will have to be'consid- ered, a good season. A couple of road-show pictures may add to the total, but even that's not very en- couraging. Toronto Yiddish Cb. Toronto,. Sept.; 18. Standard theatre, Yiddish legit Lkst year Nlxoh had better. than 1 house, opens Sept 22 for a season SO . weeks aiid. that was considered | of Jewish drama and musical com pobrl Six plays,, of cpursej, prom- i.^ed under .subscription auspices, but even these bookings are prob- lematical.. One of touring shows, 'Biography,' opened here last sea- son, so that piece is out," ENGAGEMENTS Otis Skinner, Queenle Smith, Elizabeth Rlsdon; Joanna Roos. Regina Wallace, Betty Lancaster, -Brandon Evafts;.. Malcolm .Duncan, Kate Ma;yh.ew. John C. King, Frank Wilcox, Geo. Christie, Luster Cham- -==ljerzr=Waitep-SGOttr-Earl-=MltGhell,4-- W. B. Taylor, Mary Gildea, Doan Borup, Eric Kalkhurst, Chas; edy. Repertory troupe is headed by Bertha Gerston, Jacob Silbert, Ethel Dorf and Saul J'osephspn. House seats 1,470 and will be scaled at $1-75-50, Opening bill is Cbhn's 'Strange Birds,* a meller. Standard policy last season was. guest-star weeks and business good. Theatre has been taken over by Samuel Cohn, Isaac Welnrot and M. Schleisihgeri Syracuse 4,000 List il months tlie stage Relief has [ I-ast"^^^^ Herman again " went been in existence. It haa turned over abroad, suddenly as usual, and ran to the Club a total of $11,6'00. Most into Nazi' trouble in Germany, of that money wis paid by actors When away he. wrote letters to his who donated a percentage of their | friends on postcards but there was aUyays a kick even in those brief messages; Herman had.many friends in Wall street and was often aboard the C. Blumenthal has started pre-I Sailing Barych yacht on fishing paring the American , presentation trips in Florida waters. His dowh- salarie.Si Blumey'lB Play on Way of 'Eight Bells,' the London ship melodrama, which he secured for this side during his recent Visit over there. Show is still playing over there. Colin Cllve has been engaged to Play the lead, He la abrPad at pres- ent. Frank Gregory, the English stager who will direct 'Bells' for Blumey, arrived here last week. .. Syracuse, Sept. 18,^ GIvr<rT!rftfcrlory^noW~l^^ .^^^.....^ , t^bn via a membership drive that M^cCarthyrAugusVcT'Dur^^^ netted more than 4,000 at |1 Tom's Cabin' (complete cast) Claire Curry. Jack Bastort, Ar- thur Coiiroy, 'Undesirable Lady.' William Harrlgan, Roberta Beatty, Fleming Ward, Dwlght Frye, 'Inspector Charlie Chan.' Alan Ward, Craig Williams, ■Kultur.' per, will be housed in the Ritz, fpr^ merly the Syracuse, erstwhile home of stock burlesque, vaudefilm, talk- ies .and what have you. Stock company directed by Brace Conning moves in next', month for a tentative opening on Oct. 16. CastChanges Beatrice Swanson "replaces Ro- berta Beatty in 'The Blue Widow,' Miss Beatty joining 'Inspector Charlie Chan.' Mary Heberden replaces Betty Linley as Lily In 'A Party.' Miss Lihley advanced to the part .of Miranda. mOERNESS' PREMIERE AS RAMO NEWS EVENT town pal. was. Malcolm Sumher, at torriey, who was a regular attendant at the weekly bridge - parties held at Pr. Grausnian's home, a. coterie calling therriselyes the LiP.A.'s which was a laugh to those who knew the designation. There was a long series of prac tical jokes staged between Sumner and Herman, mostly motivated by the latter. Oh one occasion when Herman mado an over long stay in Kurope without sending word back, Sumner =^had";inserted-=in='"the=Tpari3 edition of the 'Herald' a notice to the effect that Martin. Herman way in Europe biit address unknown, that he was legatee to an estate and a reward oC $500 would be paid anyone who located him, dead or alive. At the time Herman was at a Paris' hotel. Gendarmes arrived and claimed the reward. The tele- Mrs. Murphy Out (Continued from page .41) The individual reprimands in the future, the State report sug- gests, should be decided on by a committee of three composed of a member of. the NVA board; the medical director-supervisor or his representative and a representative of the patients. Heretofore arbitra- tion or debate has been unknown at the San, with Mrs. Murphy in complete charge and n»aking all rules. Committee also shall write a new set of. rules for the San, It was also recommended by Dr. Park that-the NVA Fund board, which confrpla fhe^San, Tibld regu-' lar monthly meetings in New York, Up to now the board has met in* frequently, with few of the mem- bers knowing what \ya3 going on, while William J, Lee and Henry Chesterfield ran the NVA as they alone saW fit.. Besides' Lee and Chesterfield the NVA board mem- bers are Pat Casey, Sam Scrlbner, Moe Silver' (Warners), Sani Dem- bow (Paramount) and Major Thompson. Reconimendatioh by the State for the removal of Mrs. Murphy from control, tantamount tb her actual going, climaxes a five-year fight on the part pf a large part, of the pa- tient body. Opposed to the. patients were Lee and Chesterfield, who al- ways upheld the San's woman su- perintendent on the grounds the complaining patients could show no cause for removal. On. three oc- =ca3lons^petitlons==asklnff-a==chango= were signed by patients, the l£ist one resulting in the dismissal o' seven patients and a general repri- mand for everybody. The matter was brought to the State's attention when a group oC patients retained a New York at- tPrriey, Irving Schneider, to preHS the case for them.