Variety (Dec 1934)

VARIETf LEGIT!MATE l^esdaj, December 18, 1934 JOOIiyCofflrt Closing 11 ShoWi^W^ TOP LEGIT PBICE7 'Gay Div6r«e,'. on Prdfit^'Sharinig Basil May Hit N*w High Following the smaclilne given the Dramatiats Guild for forcing 'Waltz In : Eire'" oft thb boardla l^efore the prdmleve. Equity wis socked' with a verdict ■ bf $40,000 against It for closing a flop show cialled 'Klght of Happiness' In 1931; Case was held before a jury ajjd Judge McNamee, called In from iipstate to aid In clearing the■ calendar. Equity Im-. mediately appeaiiia.- court also re-, serving decision^ on . an application to set .aside the verdict. : . Plaj^ was aiithbred by Robert pu Boy, who. appeared in: it, show be- ing presented by him and Stephen Le Maistre, both unknown on Broadway pceyiously. ^ind unheard of since: 'Hiappiness' was i)resehti5d. Because of frequent recesses, the trial lasted five days. Irony of the award lies in the fact that the play was generally regarded as a turkey and the total iiut approjcimated $6,- 000. Plaintiffs sued for 100 G's: Grounds for appeal; are seen 'In refusal, of the court to admit to evidence revifews of the play, which were uniformly adverse. - Argument of X>u Roy was that 4)ecauae he was f6>:ced to' shut the show he lost all chance of making a, proflt and also the pictixre -rights were desti;oyed. No fllm company Is kndwh to have been even interesteid^ in the play'i^ picture .possibilities and no bids are ;knoWn^-to have beeii made. size of the verdict stutined Equity' ofllcers; but upon reconsideration' It was ' feit. the excessive - amount would be lessened, , or that there is the possibility of a reversal ^In the Appellate Court. Observers at the trial''stated that the defense, was giveii.; little chance ;;to refute this allpgatlons of pu Roy. Repeatedly, objections of counsel for EqViity were overrulesd. ; . Indicated that the testimony of Herbert Raw'Unson. one of th4 cast, to the effect that all. the players except Anne Sutherland agreed to w^alt two weeks for their salarieis, probably Influenced the Jury more than: any other Item.' Hbwever,■ Equity managed: .to introduce evi- dence to .the effect that the. show grossed 6nly |2.do6 In the five days prior tO; closing. : That sum may have-sauudedi llke-,spmethlng-to-t^^^ jury and the coiirt, who were, ap- pareQtly, unfamiliar .with show business, but tb the initia ted the ■ ." (ConUnuied on i>age 62). Script Changirig :' ■ Jed Hari-lia has a penchant for rewrlttiig plays " he . pro- duces,' and''.tlieH^^ even cropped up at a recent arbitra- tion. He was bjieVof three ar- . bitrators, case being decided unanimously^ At lunch Harris changed his mind about the award and convinced a. second arbitrator to see it his way. ; However, when, they asked- that the case be reopened, A.r- bitration Society said'Tio> mat- ter having already been dis- posed, oj.'■;" / High mark, figure -for Broadway le^lt picture rights. will probably be establlshea by 'The Gay Di- vorce,' which. Under a proflt-sharr Ing arrangement between Rkdib Pic- tures and Dwlght Deere Wiman, will net the latter approximately |160,r Intimate musical show in picture form is reported', cleaning up. As a film the title liad It.'Divorcee.' ; Her Own Hit Play WhOst Packing m SHORT OF ; , Pittsburgh, Dec. 17.. American :Thea.tre Society, sub-. scrlptlpn .organization, may find the going plenty tough htire as well ae elsewheire in the . future. Plen^ of squawks alreiady being registered; due tp the fact that A'TS has so far delivered only one play of its sched- ulied 'seiies and has nothing at all In sight.; Where the other shotrs are to come from remains some- thInig;of a mystery. ' : 'Gather Te'Rosebuds,' which was to have been thia second In the se- ries, coining in here Dec 27 for a nine-day: stay, has been cancelled. Due to lVi4x Gordon'9 decision to withdraw the plede after 'Indiffer- ent tryput sto;ps In Philadelphia and Washington^ Even If .'Mary of Scotland' and 'Ah, 'Wilderness' do cbnie tlirougb, it'll have to : be without subscrip- tion auspices, since bpth shows were offered here last seasPn by ATS. Only' subscription' piece here so far 'was "Valley Forge,' and there were plenty of customer Bqua,wk8 on this; too, most of them complain- ing that they were assured trled- and-tested rplays and not tryout&:^^-^^ Subscription takings here have fallen oft considerably In last few s^isons. being about . one- third whdt they were at tfaie peakl ANNIVERSARY NUMBER GUT SOON Adyerfismg Copy May Be Sient Now to Any "Variety" Office CHICAGO NEW YORK HOLLYWOOb Woods Theatre Bldg. 154 West 46th St 170iB No. Vin* Street m an Bard tabs fbr Chi Lcigit Studebaker : ' ; Ctilcago, Doc. ;l7, Shaliespeare-Globe Theatre plaiy- brs are readying tp mbye IntO ' thb legit Studebaker on Christmas, bay with their tabs of the Bard dFamas, after a summer seasbh at the Mer-> rie England Village at the World's Fair and a fortnight. at the. Mc- "Vickers, yaudfllni house in the loop. . Will do two 45-minute tabloid showis nightly to comprise a; full evening's entertainment. Will couple a tragedy with a comedy for a diversifibd alate. Silent Partner Baltimore, Dec. ITi . , .Thpygh,Hfl.rry Gireen. owns a 25% pieceVof the jeglt 'Piper Paid,' which; broke in here at the M*iryland last week, he Is not starred Iri it, nor billed as a presenter. Nothing anywhere to give an • ostensible hint that he hais anything to do with the prbp- . erty. ' BARRY PLAYS OFF 'Bright Star* and Maybe 'Harps' : Postponed I ndef Ft. Wayne Starts Fort Wayne, Dec. 17. The Shrine relights its stage for a series of legit dates. Including Walker Whiteside. In 'Master of Ballantrae,' Dec 31; ♦Vanities,' Jan. 13. and 'Roberta,' Aprll'21. 'Ziegfeld Follies' played here last week. •Bright Star,' Philip Barry play which Arthur Hopkins announced for a debut at the Plymouth, New York, last week' was sent to the storehouse Instead. When play opened out of town. It was decided, that It needed a' new third act. Playwright was Indisposed and tbat postponed 'Star* indefinitely.. .' iUnderstood the deal for 'Star's' presentation; also calls for the -pro ductlon- of Bari'y's "Wild Harps Playing,' a fantasy which calls for settings estimated to cost $60,000 It may be off. too. ~ Although the Dramatists Guild lost in the arbitration suit on 'Waltz in Fire', and the producers won all the way around; there has been no precedent established and situation is likely to come up again on future plays; It was the first time the Guild ibst out in such an argument, but it Is pointed out that legally an arbitration decision carries no weight In court That is because whereas a^cburt takes up all angles of a case an'arbltiutlpn committee ik presumed to judge each case speclflcally on Ita o'wn and must not be influenced by any other facts or set of facts Another angle Is. that the arbitration committee In awarding the pro ducers. Harmon A:. XTllman, the case and $S00, stated that the Guild was •arbitrary In closing the show'. QuIld figures that this Is obvidus to the effect that no one denies the Guild can close a show If It sees fit, but must take a. bit more precaution on reasons for so doing. In other words. Guild feels, the theory that the Guild, or the author, can fold a show If hot satisfied with the production still holds. This view, was expressed by the QuUd in eommunlcatiohs to members, although the Guild refused to make any public atatement in the case, pointing out that there was notbing to say except that lt.had lost a case. _ i - — .^-1: Settings for rrbe Saint's Husband,' slated for the Belasco, N. T.. but wblch-waB-c{Uled-bfC--pn the-eve-<>fHi>Femiere,-nia .-Author trouble Uie reason given by the expectant producers, D. A. Doran, Jr. and Nielison and Hanna. At the dress rehearsal, B. Iden Payne, who collaborated with Rosemary Casey in the 'writing, wasn't so pleased, either. He found that cutting had reduced the playing time to one hour and 20 minutes. Payne, former director" for Charles Frohman, and for years drama professor at Carnegie Tech, Pittsburgh, was unable to be present at most rehearsals. Miss Casey was one of Pa:yne's students at Tech, and understood she also objected, to changes suggested by the producers Payne Is due In London to take charge of the . Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-on-Avonu ; With too many people giving orders, light cues Avere missed and all ler of misliapa occu r red at~tTfe~gre'miere of '<Jalllng All Stars', War- ners' Hollywood, New York. : Stage, equipment, too, not up to legit show requirements and for some strange reason the gridiron was dropped some 20 feet during recent changes made to the stage. With but a 60-foot reach little fiat stuff can be fiown. '■ ■ Show's producer, Libw Brown, was plenty steamed, but during a quieter moment he cracked: •Life Begins at 8:40 at the Winter Garden, while Lew Brown dies at 11:16 at Warners Hollywood.' Show underwent cutting, pruning and rero'utlning right after the opening. The Joint Brown-Warner Bros., management also now concedes that the $8.80 opening night tap was too steep and chilled the customers into a •show me* attitude. Reported that Equity kayoed any idea which Frankwyn, producer of 'Reyenge With Music', may have had bn rewriting parts of the musical. Kayo was on the extra retiearsala which would be needed during the two week layoff. Thus, the show la expected to reopen as was on Christmas Eve. ; Laurence Schwab scrammed for Florida last week but not to revive that tabloid he published at Miami Beach lost season. It was called the Tribune and ran all of 12 weeks. Schwab never did say how much the venture in newspaper publishing 'finished in thp red. V Producer went by plane and is expected back within a month. The D'Oyly Carte troupe, which went bn-tour from Nev»^-York after Saturday (IB), expects to. be back on Broadway in two years. When It was suggested the company spilt the season annually between London and New Ybrk, the-Gllbert and Sullivan exponents! said: What about the provinces? We really cannot neglect them'. Brock Pemberton appears tp be the white "haired boy among the ticket brokers right now, although last season, active with the ticket control thing, he was hardly popular. Even distribution of tickets for Pemberton's comedy hit, 'Personal Appearance', Miller, New York, is the reason the. specs smile when the manager comes around. .'. ■ Qllbept Miller planed-to Washington several times last week In Leiand Hay ward's flying, machine; Latter la a play broker, the only one owning a plane. ■ . Sbli) U pperated hir an experleoceA pUot^ i^ifaoueli Hay ward hi Uoeneed, By CECELIA AGER At 2. aim. of the day. of her de- parture for Hollywood and a nice fat writing assignment for Reliance Pictures, Lillian Hellman stood looking perplexedly at her' trunks spilling over with bright new frip- peries, at the boxes, the books, the hats strewn th6 length of her hotel suite—stood there, plagued by the myriad separate decisions that be- deyil .a woman packing, wondering whore to put this, where to put that,- what to leave, what to take, perhaps to, taice .some . brandy .right now? ■ V'-; jSuddeniy Miss Hellmkn solved the .Wdrks. 'To hell wltlv this,' she decided. Til take Qverythln.g.' M^iss/Hellman's packing. )[iad been soniewhat delayed becaysc she chose .to spend her last evening in New York at the Maxine Elliott theatre. The intermission comment there • anent her play, .^The Chll- ; dren's' Hour,' has for her; she con.» lessed,.^an_.,lrtes^stlble._faacinatlon^ There's a , story going about that when Indignant dowager^ stomp out Into, the lobby at the end of the searing second act muttering 'the inrbman whp wrote:tills play ought to; be shot;' a little slip of a girl (Misn' Hellntah isays she weighs 117 pbiiT.ds) steps forth arid, says, 'I wrote this play, lady.* . Miss Hellman denies, ihe story. She says slie only listens, chiarined —she doesn't talk back< A Nasty Woman? Spinethnes they gasp, ?What kind of a wbnian boiild have written this play ?' Miss Hellman never minds.. She explains, '. •When they make cracks about the author, it's be- cause they unconsciously identify the author with what she writes. People who don't go Into a thing very deeply, stupid people, always do that. For me the best thing about the play is the arguments during intermission. The more violent they are the better I like it They prove the play Interests them, disturbs them enough to get bitter about It.' In one of her Interviews In the dallies Miss Hellman was described as the kind of a girl who opens bot- tles with her teeth. This, she says, isn't true. She seldom operis bot« -ties; at all.-because when she-trie*- It, she always breaks the cork. Miss Hellman is also the kind of a girl who is pleased, tremendously gratified with her reviews. . When, after an eleven months' tussle^lth the script, 'The Children's Hour* (Continued on page 68) buLUTH CIVIC REP Will Be First Stock Co. In Town Since 1929 Duluth, Dec. 17. Puluth will have a Civic Reper- tory company next summer and • ■ncw-pla-yhouse-for such pro augtTofia~ as soon ais possible. Little theatre, following Its winter season, wlU sponsor a season of drama from June 25 to Aug; 1, according tb John Wray Young, director. Dlrectora have approved the policy and pro- ceeds from the Beaux Arts ball will form the nucleus of a fund for a new theatre. Plans are under way to open with The Milky Way,' to be. followed' with 'The. Curtain Rises,' 'There's Always Juliet,' 'The Smiling Hour,' and a drama to be selected later to feature a final festival week. Group has a membership of 1,000. Duluth has not had a dramatic stock company since 1926. Whiteside Toiirihg^ ; Walker Whiteside will begin a road tour of 'The Master of Ballari- tree,' an adaptation of the Robert Louis "Stevenson story, at' India- napolis Dec. 27. Itinerary will Include New Or- leans, Portland, Ore., Seattle, Van- couver. St Paul, Minneapolis and Chicago. ; v When iiour concludes In Chicago In the spring, Whiteside plans to produce a new play there. ENGAGEMENTS Ethel Wilson, Frank Rowan, Sel- ena. Royle, William Harrlgan, Alice John, John Hammond Dailey, Pa- trlcfa Quinn. Charles Lawrence^ Ann Der6:and Hoy LeMay,; 'Portrait of' Gilbert' - >.. ,■; . . Ann Mason, Tly Away Home.' Ann Mason Juliana Taberna, Tly Awfgr. llooM/