Variety (Sep 1935)

74 VARIETY LE|;|T0M4TEp- BUBM^CSQIME Wednesday, September 25, 193S Broadway Reviews LIFE'S TOO SHORT hit on the head by a cop. In that act, too, Mrs. Collins' "acid humor, .When talking to her.. phihinderlnB mate, brings laughter. John B. Lltel again proves him- sell a corking actor. He gives I'^bwler' alibiit" everything that type of fellow could have. It is the play's longest part and the real lead, Doris Dalton comeg to the front as his wife, a part rather difficult, con- " slderi'ng' its later "^Stages. "' Leslie Adams creates a Collins who isn't -iiKa'ai~flrs£,"'bm~wTf6"T)rovGs-to-'tre a regular, despite his straying, 3?riei3tly Morrison makes Babcock Btaiia out. Evelyn Varden as the wise Miss" Fogarty, Lea Penman as Mrs. Collins and Janet Fox as Miss Rosenberg are the others whose performances aid the play's chances." Part of Mrs. Remson, a member of 'Mrs; Belmont's committee,' could be deleted. Plenty of story, maybe too much, and mostly it has to do •with tough times, which isn't so easy to take. Doubtful picture value. Jhee. A Touch of Brinistone C-^/iedy In three, acts presented at the Golden, N. T., Sept. 22, 'M. by • John Golden; written by Lebnore Knuhan .anfl Anlt* Phlllpe; Btaged by Frank Craven; Boland Young starred, Mary Philips • feat- ured; $3,30 top. Janet Paber.'. ..Mary Philips Mark. Faber. BenForster..../... Isabel 'Cobb....... TV^ly Cobb....... Nancy McOltire... Larry 'Evans.. .. .. Leo Kruger Herbert :Bu'ddy F16or Clerk; '. Geoffrey Smythe,,; To'mmy KImbcOl-- Bellows. ,.'........ Feath'erwell ■ Roland Toung .Ryder •Kcane ,...Cora Witherspoori .....Rlchatd Sterling . Hancey Castle Reed Brown, Jr.. ..Bob Burton ......Malcolm. Lalng .Jaiiips Dowil .... William Postance Wheeler Dryden ....William Post. Jr. Basil Hnnbury .Reginald Carrlngton First nlghters accorded this: first regularly presented Sunday night legit performance a-cordial send-off, being more than generous. 'A Touch of Brlmstoiie' Impresses as only mildly dlvbrt^nk: Doubtful If U can «6mpete successfully against-the fall entrants. Play is supposed to have a well- 1 known showman as its central char- acter, a manager who in the past was rather carried away with his own importance. But the authors temporized and the Mark Faber of the_ play is not recognizable, nor *aUes~R(jlanS"'Young7 J^vnd 'ehacls tl'ie part, supply a clue to the Identity of the. man. ■' ■ Fabciv ■ c\'i« ■ -egoist,- -has- -made a fortune In producing shows. Every- one in his retinue, from author to .5ta.<it>..n?i).}i.n.?P.i.'...J-?. SAl.bicctive to,, him and that goes double for Janet, his wife. He orders people around as though all- are underlings anxio.u.<> to bow to tho master. At the open- ing there are signs of Janet's re-. .bellTdh, .during- the' pother of gettiifg him off on a ship to London. He ■aa'trsh't^^vftTi'hei'^tb''go~alorig,-'haviTig- In mind the possibility of au altair with Nancy McClure, the lead In 'Hurricane,' which he Is to present In the British metropolis. Despite the concentration upon himself, Faber wires Janet that he. is quite in love with her, asking that &he take the next boat. On that %'oyage she is humiliated by others interested in the production, but cutting lier socially. In a Lon- don hotel on the eve of the premiere .Faber hears of the shameful treat- ment and raises plenty of rumpus, over Janet's objections. Janet's touch , of brimstone, how- over, comes When Nancy gratutious- ly.tells of an indiscretion with the showman on the ship. Girl is eh-; gaged. to her brother, a reporter on a newspaper over there. She avoids him because "of the incident. Janet d«6idiE!S to leave Faber and - is all. tho more determined'when he con- fesses the aiffair to the brother. He locHs the door and tries his ievery wiif) .to - ch£inge that diecision; ' Ordering the -first night off is one device, but that causes ho end of eixcitement arid protest - • t'inally he permits'the-performance to proceed;, a' token .he thinks may woo Janet back... She. does walk out to meet a New Yor,k scribbler. End finds the egoist still persistent :and order- ing passage on the- same liner which Is to' carry her back. There is too much .controyeSrsy.'exr cjted by an enervating person In the play. H6 isn't amusing enough, even though .Young, gives Faber' a Whimsical touch. Mary Philips, as the wife who takes, it, hasn't th<i lines that should have been sup- plied her. There are some giggles, biit .hot enough to indicate good boxofflce. Some of the other char- acters are boring, having plenty' bi cbhversation about trivialities, /bee. LIFE INSURANCE ANNUITIES STRENGTH' SECURITY - .PERMANENCE .Watch This List Grow , (AtTRneed Alpliabetlcall}-) /aED ALLEN . '"BUGS" BAER • ! DONALD BRIAN QENF. BUCK JOHNNY BURKE convents with the Intention of tak- ing tho cloth for life and those who -actually become nuns. In the olav only two out of the six are slated to take the ultimate vows. .... One....s:ofis ..msan!?..Mt.h„.re.lj.f?lou3 fervor. Another contracts tuber- culosis and is sent to a charitable institution, where she dies. Third, upon confessing she had had an af- >t>iir^^1sf} tbat.pagpipn consumes her so that she could, not be constant to one man, wanders into the hills aher vespers ahd' Is foiind "^frozcn to death. Fourth leaves the con- •veiit for probable marriage, telling the Mother Superior that duties in the kindergarden had arbused her maternal spirit and she can. no longer-remain clolstered.- It doesn't seem like play material. There are several light bits, such as a midnight party of the girls but that scene ends in morbid drama. Play is sincere, but It doesn't be- long among the theatrical fare of the metropolis. Not for pictures, either. :. -Ttee. Bhe-Nase CaL Town Lets Down Hair and Goes for Strippers bllywood, Sept. . Traditionally long-haired. Long Beach, Calif.,, the ' 'western capital of lowti,' went, hog wild fbr 'Life Be- gins at Mlnskys.' Show played jJiSOO-seat Municipal Auditorium last Friday and. Saturday nights for '$7,100 gross. And Nayy -wasn't in. Long Beach for years has been Coast's No. 1' blUe-nose burg. Strippers who received scant atten- tjon In .Hollywood were socko dur- ing .Long Beach engagements 1 Show goes to. Frisco, opening Thursday (26). the cardinal principles of the or- ^er—poverty, chastity and obedi- ence. Story may be based on actual occurrences but is Interesting only tb those acquainted with novice3:Or cohcemed with the formative years of nuns. Bookings Up (Continued from page 73)_ year, having 46 bookings signed. She will, also broadcast twice, first .JAN to; |lv COWL MY DC .... cMARCO JACK DEMP8EY EDDIE DOWLINQ W. C; FIELDS ' WILLIE HOWARD JOHN CHARLES THOMAS BEATRICE LILLIE ' EVERETT WARfiHALL J. HAROLD MURRAY ' OUY ROBERTSON "BABE" RUTH "CHICK" SALE t- VIVlrNNE SEGAL OSCAR SHAW H ASS A RD^ SHORT FRANK T-^UnS NED WAVBURN BrRT WKECtER •EI> WYHN .r ' It >vill cost you no .more to own Insurance which - fits your' c^se perfectly than to-"buy misfit In- lurance. " JOHH J. KEMP 551 Fifth Ave; New'York City '. Vhdnes MCrray Hill 8—7838-7839 ^We Do Mor^ Than Insure You ,.. >. ..W.«. Advise ysu." FEW ARE CHOSEN Drama In three ^cta .presented at the 8th St., N, Y„ Seut, 17,. '35. by Nora iia#lor-, written, by same; staged by Qi-cgory Deane; Ara Qerald featured: 'J2.7S top. - .Vother Mercy,,." Aliina Kru'ger Sister Plus, .-. .Llda Kane 3l8ter 'CeleStlne.-...; Sylvia Leigh Sister Ernestine.., ;,,,Alney Alba Sister Madonna Norma Downey Stater Geraldlne Charlotte Gloer Sister Pauline,',, ',,,,Louise Klrtland Sister E>mlly,,,i Mtfry Hone Sister Ollvera,..' Ara Gerald Sister Ignatius..Gertrude Maltland Sister iKlretta .Mary Drayton. Mrs. Ma'nviUe .Madeline Grev Balph Hughes Coburn Goodwin Marianne Janet Pearsall Jacrlstan Suzanne Cort Louisyille Stocks Lqtiisville, Sept. 24. jGayety, local burlesque house closed for last several months, re- opened Sept. 21 under stock policy With change of bill weekly. House jigaln being operated by Fred Hurley. ' Company Includes, in addition to' line of 10 girls, Bert Blake, Curley Burns, Hank Harris, Aline Walker, Eaula Lewis,. Ruby Lang, 'Winnie Smith and Kitty Axtori. Billy Simpson will handle seven-piece pit orchestra, and. Frank C. Smith, straight man, will produce the shows. programs. Her tour begins Oct. 4 In Worcester, Mass. Rachmaninoff starts his •sea.wn. Octl. }A...ln, Mt. Vernon, N. Y„ the first of 28 ap- pearances over tho country. Jascha. Hcifatz...b.a3 .31, A&ieSj.. twa ,c>£,which took place in Aug. at Lewisbhn Stadium, N. Y. He airs on the Ford program,. Sunday (29). Nelson Eddy has risen greatly on the concert sta^ft; mv.cb of ,wtoJ,ch Is due to his appearance in 'Naughty. Marietta' (MGM)': ' Ho has '45-bobk- Ihgs this year, in addition to his picture work and Firestone^ air programs. At the moment he's fllminfe 'Rose Marie' (MGM). His tour begins Nov. 11 in Frisco. Jose Iturbi has 18 appearances lined up, starting Nov. 1 in Detroit. He also gave a program on Aug. 23 in Holly^yood Bowl which is con- sidered a part of his 35-36 bookings. Richard Crooks starts his tour on Oct. 1 in Columbus, O. He also has numerous Firestone radio appear- ances dove-tailed in "with his schedule. He recently completed a tour of Denmark and the Scan- dankvlan countries, a:nd airs Thurs- day (26) on the Squibb peace -hOur. Outside of radiOi he has 19 bbok- irigs arranged for, plus a Met sea- son, Tibbett is another who com- bines the road, with radio, Met. and: concert field. He's one of the big- gest draws today In this class, and has been filled up ^ith bboUlngs for some tirne. Milstein starts his tour Jan, 7 in Minneapolis, playing 33 spots, $12,000 In Worcester , especially the smaller ones, are taking in larger receipts In their drives'so are expanding on more 'ambitious courses', Worcester, Mass,, is spending $12,000 on talent, twice the amount • of a year ago. This town oversold the capacity of its hall by a $1,000 and was obliged •to return the amount, to wbul(i-bc subscribers, .Jamestown, N. T„ is spending- $4,600 this year. Bradford, $3,000. AShevIlle, Fall River, Greenboro, Pawtucket and others in the same population category are incrieasing their muialcal outlay also. This ■ goes for the lecture tours as well, Any number of -world- travelers, educators, authors, etc., are making the swing circuit to healthy returns Monte Carlo Ballet . Russe open- ing Oct. 9 at the Met. departs after two weeks repertoire for an exten- sive cross-country toiir. American Ballet, embarking on Its first tour, wilj also ti-ek from coast-to-coast. Burly Strippers, Mcs Rappd For indecency ■^aiti'mbre, ^ept! At a hearing in Criminal Court here Saturday (21), Judge Albert Owens convicted three femnie strippers iarid five :ineh on charges bf 'having R'artlclpated "in an ''fri- decent performance' at the Minsky Palace.. The gals. Ginger Britton, Lillian Dixon, llllan Murray, were each fined $1 and costs. Men were more seyerly tapped; Maurice Castelle, Boob McManus, Sam Smith, Frank Shannel and Russell Trent "were each nicked $20 and costs. Cops cracked down after catch- ing a performance one evening early last week. Shorthand notes were made of blackout lines during performance, and were read out in court. Among those summoned as witnesses were Dr. Ben Sandy, ciiairman o.f state picture censor board, aind Marie Presstman, mem- ber of the board. Neither, howr ever, was called ujpon to take the- stand. . .Lee L Hecht, local theatrical at- torney, represented the defendants, and during trial remarked that other burlesque houses In Balto were unmolested. Judge Owens snapped back, 'perha;ps that won't be true in a week or so.' Incident- ally, this case -was first of type to reach criminal court here, 'Usually handled /in magistrate's court, but this 'ohe -\Yent direct to grand jury, which indicted, thus speeding matter to Judge Owens' court. Geo. Katz' meel' A drania of limited appeal, so much so that perhaps none save the Authoress would have -presented .-it. Seemed more appropriate for little theatrea.-than 'Broadway. 1 'Nora LaWlor may .have-brought forth her play of convent life •among the novitiates' because last iseaspn '>rhe First Legion,' with Its Order bf the Jesuits-'background, made-an impression. 'Legion' had an all male cast. .'Few' is a femme affair with one exception, and the presence, of a single male could have been dis- pensed .with. ' Play opens with six girls taking the first vows, .a Quietly, effective ^cen'e in which the novices accept Schumann-Heink West St. Louis, Sept. 24. i Mme. Ernestine Schumann-Heink atrriyed here Sunday (22) half ah l^our ahead of. schedule antlcipatied by reception committee of American Legion, and was met by a conimittee of red caps. She accepted situation gayly and rested up during day at Coronado Hotel. As official soloist of convention, Mme. Schumann-Heink sang 'The Star-Spangled Banner*- at opening of convention Monday <23). She will go to Hollywood next week to make a film. Syracuse, N. T., Sept. 24. Impresario George Katz, of the Civic, now trying a fall season of burlesque, envisions; an upstate 'wheel' of at least three cities. Theatres In addition to the Civic listed are the Majestic, Utica, and Erie, at Schenectady. Deal for the latter is virtually closed, while a second for the Utica house Is under- tvay with Morris Shulman, former Syracusan. Katz contemplates opening pro- ductions here and rotating his troupes every fortnight. I. MILLER Showfolks Shoeshop Leading producers find the prices, i bur new theatrical departnnents, a pleasant Surprise. 1552 BROADWAY Open Illl 9 P. M. GILBERT "THE FOREMOST PRODUCER OF BURLESQUE" 1935-36 SEASON, THE IRVINB PUCE New York City's Oldest and Most Famous Theatre.