Variety (Dec 1934)

S4 VARIETY t E € ■ T1 M /4 t C Tuesday) Dcceinbcr 11, 1934 Two Brit Troupes Wind Up B'way Got Average $21,000 for 15 Wks. Two ,attrac.tlQh* .from , Britain wind' up on Broadway this Siatur- day (16) with favorable engase- rifcnta. Bojc offlico: record of thie Di'Oyiy. Carte- Opera Company is i ,8ta:ndot(t: exponents of "Qllbert and. SuUlYl^n aVeragieicl ; over f 21,000 weekly during the 16-week date, booking- have'been materially ex- tended over this original • arrange- ment with the Martin Beck theatre; Dublin!a Abbey Players started ndldly i»t :,the GoWen.^^b^^ up liast week, troupe holding bver this week. • Takings were about 60% of the origlnii foiir week date last \..fan,, but;okay."'.".-",V- "When 'The Plough abd the Stars' ^eT»t to f -npftolty laat •tyednflBdaV- ' (6) attractidn'a 8ppni(ora were stirV prised., :it waa the first sell-out house , has. had since .the Irish aier tors, arrived. Heretofore 'Juno, and the Paycobk' was ;th(p fayorltie draw. Jump In business.. Is attributed to tiiO' attention >«lVen Seaii O'Casey- wid his 'Within the Gates,' he Tiay-i ing; author^tf ■ 'StarsV and; 'Juri^^^^^ rPlayboy; ojt ther WesteriV .;Wb has : .beeh dlsplape.d . in ]. pooul.arU7 here by. both, tee' 6;C«wey ;piay8; '.f^^^: Atttsnipt'^to. Vldeh the.. Abbey-retf ertory .met with taUure, Morris S. Schlesinger, who for- merly ran the ' Broad Street and Stitibert, opens the Moritclalr, Mont- cialr, Christmas with legit.- Rowland a. Edwardis will be in charge of the stage. Maxwell Hornell, who used to be house manager of the Broadj will assist Schlesinger 'in manage-, ment aind Fred Gregory, former treasurer of the Broad, will run; the b<HC'' OfHcel..- ■. ■. ■ Kennedy Stages Ulerrily' (kiast Dey for Aithoiigh no ,. cast set sqi fa*, fiomer Curran . plans toi* put 'Mer- rily .We Roll Along* Into,, rehearsail next Monday (17), John Kennedy, ijelng brought here from Ney. 'JTo''*! will stage, .-s;.-:;'. ■■.■.!;; ,,■->■ '; 'M^rrlly^ lis slated to make its Coast debut here in thiB Bejasco In early January, with San Francisco to follow. TRENTON LEGIT TRY FLOPS ONCE MORE Greeted by spme 1,300. guests, th« Lambs, dialebrated. its OO.th ahnU Kanaas yity, uec. iw. york, with a public Gambol Satur- Thls town win get Its flrst road hj^y (8) night. Frahit Crumlt, Shep- show this season on ChrlatmM dayV herd of thia clyb, m.c.'d smartly when the Ziegfeld Follies opens.;.a throughout thia ihpw ,that folio-wed week's engagement at the Shubert. | the .^Inhorl Scalied at 98 to f 26 plus 'Green Pastures' will be here the extra coin from conceseloriB yielded same day tor a one-day stand at the | ^Y,oy^^i5^000 to the club. ' Shrine Tempile.. Pagan Lady,' with l<ehofe Ulric, I la . announced for the : Shubert in I January.'^--' ^reiitoh, Di^." 10; EfTorts to: reestablish Trenton as a; legit town hai-ve : again failed. oV D. Wilkinson, owner and opera- tor of the State theatre, J tried bo.th this season .and last . to "regiftln for the housesome of its old pr<estlge, but both attempts proved a failure, State Anally shutting down Satur- day, alght (8) after fl-vfl -weeks of We^' ■& ■ Leventhail iahows; 'T^T^^'""^ CUt«rate Inducements,; whereby customers : were . ofCered .. orchestra seats for ;;40c;. and 60c.j .failed to attract sUfflcientVcustomerti: to .war- rant cohtlhuance of the' shows; HoUse did, miserable .business throughout thelflv©; Veeks^ despite the tact it .wiui thia .flSjt time in Harold B." franklin is -yllrtually I years that Broadway. stars . were Washed up.-with; I6glt, deci^^^ ^" Wilklhsbn has . promised a "new change In policy"; with an announce- ment- that houte "will relight on Christmas Day /;with - :» - musical comediTi ,- he Is tired of producing showd' for (grloryi- 'v Last Week the/' Frankwyn A hew I compiiiiy,' Play wolild jtraw about $666. and on ^h.^^ ate the prtacipals; drew an un- thfe ' next* night when oite of the U^^j^ only ptomlstng older favorites was on^ the takings I attrtictlbh of their • several present would Jump to $.1,600.1 . tatlorts, when Charles "Winnlnger . . DlflBcult to .judge the draw ot the fractuted 'an: ankle during a per Abbey;, group but of town. , In Tor. j .fonhance of ^Revenge With Music' rphto • the. . business ' this season I the New Amsterdam, New York, doubled that of last year. Then oh I w'lhninger was able to appear on : the Jiextdatei)lay€a attiendia,hce wM crutches- fro Wednesday until i • Holivwood Dec 10 ■w-ell under a year ago. Business .Saturday (8),. at which time it was ^ . ""'l:^*' ' ^ 1 v!^ last week for th© Abbeys Jumped decided to suspend the show for With a bow to the box offlce, pa* , $2i600 tor ah approxlmatiB^oss of twa weeks, 'Music* being dated to Community J-iaynouse nas around $12,000. Next, booldng for Closing Victor Jory ^^l ^Jj^^^ v^^^ the Irish players is thb Majestic, wlU not involve the managers in be produced shprtJy^ter the non- Brooklyn. Newark having been can- salary ilablUty, Equity ruling that day* J^^^^^.^^^ Z^ J^*^^^L ^liBlted-bwauseof thiB^added-week-ou4^he-a<5cld6nt-w iPASADENA SETS JORY IN 3 EX-B'WAY PLAYS Broadway. . . . ,\ :j Rules give managers the prWllege : P'Oyly . Cartes.':WlU opea .out otl of laylng^ off .one -week prior to town in Philadelphia Deo, 24, be-1 Christmas, without casts getting Ing. booked at the Forrest for three 1 paid.; In the case of ,'Music,' the weeks. Colonial. Boston, will fol- tlay-oft is merely an extra, ,we6k low for four weeks or longer, . Week stands' lit the' East -will precede Canadian dates, ; which will .carry th© O. & S. bunch up to akillng. time at Easter; < Biggest three , days dra,wn by thie. P'Oyly Cartes, was -wlthi ■ Tatlence.' Show -Was not t>n: the schedule and Doctors are reported saying Wln^ ninger will be able to work by Christmas. .Theatre la being operated by the Dry Dock Savings bank under a mortgagee in possession arrange- ment. Bank requires a detailed, statement of all accldients. On the produced at the Playhouse Pieces . are 'Success 'Story.'^ 'Con hectlcut Tahk^e' and : one to be so leoted. ' Tankee* will be ; the . first musical ■ show attempted at the Playhouse put8id"e"T)f "tbc"hx)rte"Tevue' affairs. Majestic, B'Myn.^^^B^ After a year ,;df pictures, the Majestic theatre, Brobklyh,;has re w- , , . , X ^ „^ ^ ™ u I verted to legit road shows. This the producUon was sent on trbm form .filled out by Edward J'lohn, .^eek Ruth Draper i« the attrac London after the troupe" landed. It's New Amsterdam manager, the an- ^j^, house getUng the Abbey Play swer to the question, 'Statement of' ■ the injured person,' the answer from tiie actor was, 'The sho-w must go on.* 'Conversation Piece,' Noel Coward operetta- - -with—Yvonne—Prlntemps Imported from London, folded at the rh—Street--Satwdayf-aJEter-^even-l weeks. Engagement ended in the | Mark Luescher wlU be In advance the one G. & S. piece which is hot | popular over there. ONLY TWO MORE ED UP FO SHOWSI ers Christmas week. House is owned and operated by George NIcholai and E. D. Stair of Detroit. Luescher Ahead Cleveland, Dec. 10. .Only two legit shows lined up for thia town's remaining drama house, the Hanha, .which Is' having stock trouble. '' ■,' . ■ Katharine CdrnelFs 'Romeo and Juliet' was brought in tor the cur- rent : week on a .last-minute book- ing, breaking her Jump.back Jto New York, 'Roberta,' slated for Christ- mas week, is thei other sole road show. ' ".' ■ Rumored that Green Rdoih Club, backing stock at Hanna, is having difficulties 'with backers that may .fnrno <t to- mnvfl to another loca red and show will be sent back, pror posed road dates being called off. With 'Continental Varieties* also closing, Frankwyn*B activities are at a standstill, save for a partici- pating Interest In "L'AIglon' at the Broadhurst. of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company when that troupe tours this month/ it being thia first time In 21 years that he has acted in such capacity Luescher publicized the Gilbert and Sullivan troupe through its Broadway engagement. : ! Laink $15Mr 1^^ K. C Starts By Jack Pulaski Celebrities were introduced be- tween ucts and spotlighted. . Nearest to th6 hearts of the clubmen Is Frank L. Hague, Lambs* treasurer, whose generosity tided. the actors' clubhouse over many a financial rough spot. Crumit, In Introducing him, said: "Hague Is the best friend the Lambs -will ever have, even though he's a stage struck sailor,* which; proved an Inside laugh to niembers. At the 'Repeal Dinner' last Decem- ber the "Lambs proved they could put on a real show by eliminating ome-6f~those-ensembles-that-Blowed- dowh previous Gambols. Saturday's pierf orpiance was even better, one of the best running shows In the club's history, it was put together and Only threfe of New York's theatre I spotted by. Crumit, Ralph Rlggs and ticket agencies signed applications ^^tendSg'^o^t vvas Ed Wynn, who for licenseii from the-leglt:Gode Au- I contrlbuted "in four sections, ;hls thorlty last week. More brokers are laugh •'getting turn before a ml r j A *»n Ki.v AiiAaf «f oropHone,- -with Graham'. McNamee expected, to fall In line, but most of gtr^i^titlng, being punctuated wh^n the BO-called Independent group are he exited to change nutty coats and expected to refuse and Vtrlll attempt | hats. Wyniv's spoken opera was to do business regardless. called 'We're Here to. "^ake the Mortgage Off the- Club.' He.ifollowed Arthur- Schwartz,, who'.plonoed his leading compositions, Katharine Carrlngton singing the finale, 'You, the Night, and the Music,' from 'Re- Those agency men Insist it i* Im- possible . .tor them to cohiihue in business }f conforming to the ticket controlTul.es. They 8Malnt^^^ With Music* Lambs do not prcsenV methods of allotting «cket8 I ^.^j^ women in their shows, but Is unfair, although the rulea really f exceptions are at public Gambols, have nothing to do with allocation Rudy VaUee followed Wynn. and of ducats. Real reason for agencies Uiao scored, warbling two numbers, ducking the-control system appears j^i, 'g^x Women* is a' corking lyric, to be tha bar against gratuities, j it stood out. One of the'fun- which they claim is a necessary tea- nlest football sketches. 'Give *Em ture of the business. I Hell,* the ace laugh-getter. It has Rulies prohibit theatres doing a team coming to the Ipcker room business with unlicensed agencies I between halves, the score being 103 a.nd are subject to a fine of $600 tor . to nothing -in favor of. the other. . each -violation. Licensed agencies 1 eleven. Do they, get bawled put by who breach the rules are liable' to | the coach 1 Harry : Shannon and revocation of the permit or license j Bruce Evans were the 16ads. Skit and the forfeit of $600, represented I was written by Evans, by a surety bond. I 'What Became of the Florodora - ^►eadllne^or filing—applicatlonB ^Boys 7* too, was-a bell-ringer. It ha(t for licenses was set back on© Week, I those lads •as a -waiter, doorman^ new Ume limit being Wediiiasday street cleaner, and so on—'the glrla (12). More time was. given the |<>t^ millions and we got the air.' broker, because of the difficulty Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby deliy, «>me wrle|«ed^ ae<^ln^^n^^ ^ time ag* Reported some agencies. wer« re- privately and toned down somewhat, fused bonds by surety concerns^un^ ^ BOhtlmehtal sketch that be- less able to prove they were being jong^a. a. K. man and women who regularly allotted tickets and could q^^q appeared in a western com- show an. appreciable number or pa^y • 'Forty-five Minutes From ducats on hand. Posting negotiable Broadway* are charged with indls- securities or cash Is the alternative, cretlons at the Percy Williams Home. Agencies who signed are: La- One is 78 and the other 60. bktng-Postai, Broadway and Ty-1 lYed Waring and his Pennsyl- son's (original Fifth av enue), j ^ | vahia hs -wo wed, 'em withv arlati onB bf 'Man oh~lthe. Flying Trapeze'—as Lombardl would play it. then a la Notontfe ^Rosebuds' Tries Agam; Booked in Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Dec. 10. 'Gather Ye Rosebuds' will do dou ble duty at the Nixon, opening here Dec. 27 to round out the last half of Christmas week and continuing thtpugh~all " Of" New :Year'-8 week. Max Gordon production closed Sat urday night, (8) in Washington and will undergo considerable revision before reopening In Pittsburgh tor another tryout engagement. Piece KubinofC^ Wayne Kmg. ana ±'aui Whlteman.. 'There's a Quaint Little Country Garden' was ' the 'dame* number, and very good, too. Writ- ten by Dorothy and Jack Norworth. Lambs fared much better than it playing a theatre. Wheels In foyer ■got a strong play. ERLANGER ESTATE TAX CUT BUT COIN HELD UP Is to be offered locally as the second subscription play of ATS series. Nixon, dark last week, aliso shut- tered first half of current session, lighting Thursday (13) for a three- day engagement of Katharine Cor- nell's 'Romeo and Juliet' at $3.30 lipp^^jstltteatitarlffileyer jcharged/jtot^^ Shakespeare here, After that It goes dark again until 'Rosebuds' .comes. In. One bright spot In legit darkness hero this season Is the nice show Ing of George Sharp's production of •The Drunkard' at Fort Pitt hotel Sharp, former stock. Impresario here, has show in twelfth week now and is still going strong, with pro ducer figuring on a No. 2 company in a Miami spot for winter months. Washington, Dec. 10. Estate of Abraham L. Erlanger received a $27,924 cut In inheritance tlon. Frank J?^<SXcr6ft. has reslgued as secretary of the club to handle sales tor the; Cleveland Convention, starting Dec. 26. ■ PIYMpUTH POETER JAILED ~ Leon H allj i^lorM/.P-PJrtie Plymouth, New -York, for about . eight years, wa^. arrested and charged with felonious assault when he- struck a taxi rustler after a night performance of 'Dark Vic- tory/ Charge was reduced to dis- ' orderly conduct and Hall received a suspended • sentence, but wa,s Jailed on a second charge,- that ot ' violating the Sullivan law. Porter used a blackjack. The rustler was also pinched.. 'Saratoga Chips,' comedy by .Damon Runyon and Irylng' Caesar, . Jack cJ.urtls aiidj CaritPn I?oagland will iproduce. . Suit in which a one-time pro- ducer seeks 100 G's damages frdm Equity came up for trial in the New York. Supreme Court yesterday (Monday). Robert Du Roy is the complainant and 'Right. to Happi- ness' the show. It played on.6 -week and two days at the VariderblU, New York, In 1931. ; V > - Former manager . charges that Equity forced . the. show to close, thereby. causing financial loss for the engagement and further dam- age because the picture rights re- verted to the author, show not run- ning Its full three weeks. Play was also called 'Disillusion,* and. Its esti- mated pace was less than $2,600. 'Happiness' opened on April fool's day (1931), a Thursday. Cast, headed by Ann Sutherland, received no money on Saturday; nor during the following week. : Players, except Miss Sutherland,- wal-ired the sialary guarantee security. Saturday of the following week an Equity man ad- vised Du Roy that he. must pay the lead some money, .- otherwise thp show was off, -■>:■'..:;,■, Du Roy sets forth in his complaint 'tHal""h'e"' 'attempted " to get'~s6nfe advance . coin from the box office but the treasurer nixed that idea, saying the show's share was hardly enough to pay its share of stage hand and advertising expenses. Un- able to pay Miss Sutherland any part of her salary, she was forbidden to appear - by Equity. Atttempt to use an understudy was not allowed, and the box-office refunded on tick- ets sold in advance. . Waiver system; has since become obsolete. Actors must; be paid at least -what is required In the legit code. Named as co-preseater of the show was Stephen Le Maistre, said to-be a college professor. ■. taxes last week from Internal Rev- enue Bureau. Following decision of the Board of Tax Appeals, bUreau abated the Erlanger estate's liability $26,214 atad gave credit for $1,709 in surplus :paymenta;T)Ut~because"anothcr-de-- flclenoy Is still pending declined to grant a cash refund. ; 'Touch Wood,' by C. L, Anthony, will be Crosby Gialge's second pro- duction of the season. Opening scheduled for earlyrJanuary.' - ; , Revamp *Sky* 'The Sky's the Limit,* a radio comedy slated to open at the Ful- ton this -week, was put over until next Monday (17). Understood that Billy K. Wells was called In for script revision, especially on those, portions handled by Joseph Smith and Charlie .Dale. Play,; written by Pierce Joluis ...nd Hendrlck Booraem, Is to be pre- sented by Raymond Golden.- -