Variety (May 1936)

64 CaMe AddrvM^ VAKICnr, f4>NU0if &viet lipihtes Its Miisk Hall Too Lowbrow: Here'slfidilirow Sked IfarcK' Ha tSA Phys Abroad %r.'s Tnie4)ioA 3iexlct> City. May S. Wbether or not a legit boiise jj tnaha^er is entitled to coaipensa- ^ ITALIAN AL FRESCO TKAGEDY PLANS SET Moscow-. April iS. Tnff Ft>pjrth Anoual Tfeeatre Ffc-*iiival '.viil be launciied Ijcjre Sept. i a schedule ol 12 perforin- anccs for tte visitorg. c-isilt Sotiet j plays and four Ruseian classics. | This 5 car s trippers will find the »tibn tor orertinae is to be d^ided Theatre of People's Art Trl-j by the federal board of conciliation umphaini Ploiahchad, Drhere the | aqd arbitration, urbieb is-.handling Mask Hal! once flonrished. Here | a suit for $3,000^ filed against Anit4 arnalcur performers recruited from | and Isabel Blanch, whoise <ronipany coHecUve farms, factories, taulroart | is current at the Teatro ideaV by sv. itches, etc^ will put on their acts | Jose Junco, tlieir ex-Impresario. for the opening; night of the festival, | Juncp claims that he ptit in fiw Government is eiving this show--j hours overthne daily for several ►house .lots of publicity, hence the | months^ but that tbe Blanch sistetTS honor position on the festival pro-i nixed his request, .for compensation, gram. The Musit Hall, was recently " liquidated; too loivbrOwl On successive n^hts following the amateurs, the visitors will' see. Pogodin'a 'Aristocrats' at the Yakhlansroy theatre; Griboyedov's •Woe to Wif at the Meyerhold; Chaikovsky-s "Engene Onegin' at fhie Bolshoi Opera House; performance by the Georgian State thieatx'e and the Children's thealtre; Seivinsky's Tmka. the White Bear' at the Theatre of the Revolution and Leo 'Tolstoi's 'Resurrection' iat the First Art theatre. Sept 7 the party goes, to' l<enin- grad to see L Dzerzhinsky's 'And Qu:et .Plows the Don' at the "Lenin- grrad Iiittle Opera. Dzerzhinsky in the Krem1itt''s fair haired boy these days. Although ot meager talent. he'« getting the plaudits that were given D. p.. Shostakovich befoi-e Stalin heard 'Lad)' Macbeth' ,.ahu ruled it wasn't music because he couldn't whistle it. A, Komeichuk'S' IJestructlon of the Squadron' by the Prank State theatre of the Ukraine from Kiev and a ballet The Fountains of Bekhchissarai' at. the State Acad- emic theatre of Opera and Ballet/ complete the program. Tourists arie also promised a backstaige view of various theatres;, conferences with directors and handshakes with Russian actors and -actresses. "They, will be. shown mu)>>eum6, factpries. the marrTagc and divorce bureau and other fea- tures of Soviet life.. Mexico City. May 5, A. B. ifareus' 'La Vie Paree* unit, imported from Los Angeles, Is a wfaamo at the new Teatro Lirlco.. PIa3'fng to <iapacity biz two shows dail}- and .three Sunday, at the high- | est U*p, 11.40, that a revue unit, has t conimanded heire in years. 1 Urico, recently renovated. was| where ijinpe Valez got . her start as | a chorine. | PLAISIRS D£ PARIS CPIeasuires of Paris') ^rls, April 23. Re\-«e i!» (vft acts scd jtr> ftoebes. VfO- dace4 Ikj- Heari Varu, Bj- Varna. I>a U^bevre ana llarc-Cab.. ia colIaboratfOn wslb P1«B* D*£. Etars Jean Warner antf OTDett. MAGYAR IN BAD unEEmniEiiiBK (.CM nuowNE Melbourne, April 7. Biz is holding up well here for Three Men on a Horse* under Wil- liamsonr'Tait management. Show is sliated to riln here until the end of next month, with a S.vdney dat^ then set. A long time since a straight comedy has done so well in this city. Williamson-Tait also did well witt^ 'Jill Darling' and will bring in •Anything Goes' this week, for a run trj'. •White Horse Inn' has just re- turned after a great run In New Zealand. Gilbert-Sullivan unit is also reported doing well in New Zealand. Rome. April 24. Prepairatlons for the great out-of- door performances of Syracuse in Sicily have entered their last stage. The two classic plays which will be given in ' tb.e Greek Theatre Pf 'Syraclise this year are Eurlpides's 'Oedipus' and Sophpcles's ^lip- polytus.' Duilio Cambeliotfi has designed the giant stage sets, the exterior of the royal. palaf:e of Trezene. for 'Oedipus' and_ the sa,cred grove of Colono for the Sophocles tragedy^ Chorus, which has always figiired prominently in. the clstssic per^ form^nces at Syracu^, has been Imported from Vienna. It. is made up of members of the Heiieran school of dancing, whose directress and first dahcer is Rosalia Chladek. Miss Chladek gave several' per- formances at a theatre .in Rome on her way to the rehearsals in Sicily. During the entire performance pt the two tragedies, the chorus never leaveis t)ie stage, commenting on the scenes enacted^nd giving plaslic expression to the moods of the drama;^ Annibale Xinchi will be dramatic direxrtor.- as well-as principal actor, in both tragedies. Gualtiero Tumati will be Teseo in "Hippolrtus*; Amedco Nazzari wDl pla: the same part in 'Oedipus.* Other members of, the cast are: Glovanna Scotto as Fedra; Wanda Bernini as. Antig<Hie; Rita Pirani-M^ggi as the Kutrice: Achille Maieroni as Creonte; Gio- vanni Glachetti as PliniCe; Oscar Aiidreani as the Nuncio. Bmma Baron will play both Ismene and Aphrodite. PARIS RACKETEERING >te Clubs Being Victimized—New Police Brigade Paris. April A special poHce brigade to com- bat racketef ring and olean up the bright spotM In Paris night life has boon created by Police Chief Roger Langeron. Tills is the latest result of the publicity given the murder of Louis Lvplep (Aijril C>, ope^jator of Chez Cuerny's nltery, the subse- quent closing of Chez Jean Tran- chant and tlie menaces ami threats other, cabaret owners and manaigcrs have received from 'racketeers.' , Budapest, April 24. Provincial companies, aetru^lihg | aigainst the slump, the overwhelmr". f Ing competition, of pictures and . the ^ almost total lack of government subsidy which, in' the old days, was i 10 times a^ mucK as it is today, are up. against a new difiiculty whicfr i threatens to extinguish them alto- getben Managers bf Budapest Theatres inake contracts for new plays only on condition that they are hot pror diiced by provincial cotxipanies dur- ing the j'ear of their presentation In the capitaL They do this because they weint the paitrbnage of. provin- cials Tisiting Budapest and because' they form their own touring coin^ panics in the siiminer. . Result is a total lack 6& new play& with which , provincial companies can tempt local audiencesw In a small cotintr^':. where no place is at a greaiter distance, from the capital than six or eight hotirs Tiy rail, and where the well-to-do theatregoing public gets there: at least once a year, provincial managers halve to Iceep up-to-date and present novel- ties so as to secure any patronage at alL This possibility being denied them, many companies are lltetally on the verge of starvation and back to the struggle of early barnstorm- ing days. Bela "TihanyJ, new president of the Actors' Association, is now try- ing to make the Minister of Educa- tion see the point and stipulate that hew plays should be. available for provincial presentation 50 days after the;ir Budapest premieres. COCHRAN'S STRAUSS OPEREnA IN OCT. FRATELLIN! COPY ACT IN NEW BERLIN HOUSE Berlin, April 26. "With Grbck billed iike a circus all over tO%vn by the Scala. and the Wintergarten boosting Sascha Price, Scandinavian clown, Berlin's latest theatre, EJuropahaus-Palm Court, goes sti-aight vaude May l -sVith the Three Fratellinis-headlined-.- - It's not the original act. from the Gir lie .d'Hiver, ParLs, but Kratel- llni's nephews, a copy act many times in dispute, with the uncles. Kuropahaus-Palm Court, a res- taurant-theatre seating oyer 2,000 opened on Christmas with a Vien- nese rcyuc bolstered by vaude acts, i^'ifst straight vaude bill will in- clude, besides the Fratellinis, "The Four Winclairs, acrobatic dancers and tumblers; Hans Beet-/ ce Part- ner, perch and footladder; Claude. Xicol & Rolan, adagio; Eight Brpx. accordionists; Luxor,, i itator and mimic: Klein-Wicky, juvenile musi- cal act; Topsy &. Turvy. noofers; Brick Boyp, comedy aciowats^ and the tluropa ballet. London, May 5. C, B, Cochran has concluded a deal with the Doremii' Verlag, rep- I resenting Oscar Strauss and Heinz I Saltenberg, composer and author of 'Liebelie,' to produce a new adap- Cation of the musical in London in October, Will star Paula Wesse- ley, German giii, in the piece. Fonner adaptation was by Ed- ward Knoblock and was abandoned after active rehearsals some months ago. Understood now that Cochran in- tends the show for His Majesty's, which was intended to be the the- atre for the -Elisabeth Bergner- '.show. Miss.Bergner is not now ex- pected to be well enough to do any shows before the first of the year. A new revile at the Casino used.} to mean the same to Paris as a new •Follirt' show in Xew York. But It does not any longer, if this revue is taken as a criterion. Former revues featured oatstanding acts of inter-' national f^me, such as Florence ahd Alvarez, Maurice Chevalier, Mistih- guett. and Cecil SoriEJ. But this one. blUs foreign acts under the line of 'Great American Acts,' and there isn't a male or female in the entire show worthy of the billing of a star. To start with, these billed as top- ^ liners, O'Dett was never oja a stage before, out of a cabaret, and, al- though some bC bis gags went 'well in his old haunts, (hey are hardly fitting even on a Parisian stage, Ahd . only, he appears in men's cloth- ing, during one short scene. His . fenune iinpersonsations are exag- gerated and the ridiculous cfistumes fail t^ bring' the hiiighs Intended. In his. favor, however, are is untir- ing efforts to please, for he does put all that he has into his T«'ork. Miss Wamer, who stoirted with the lion's share of the show, but has had a lot of her scenes revamped since opening, does little that every- one In Paris had not already seen when she was in the Alcazar or in one. of the numerous night clubs in which she has appeared- Her new attempts in this show are {singing and tap dancing. She sings two songs in French, with an accent that is not too noticeable, but with, a voice that is hot too strong4 She t^es.'the spot alone to do a tap number 'a la Elinor Powell.', and get^ a fair hand for tluit^ and her fan dance Is executed in the most 'beatitiful setting of the ' show, backed by the whole chorus, Pierre D4c, old favorite, with Paris music hall audiences, is smothered in such a way that the peculiar artistry he portrays and, which goes well wjth French audi- ences, is practically- lost. Acts in the shbw, in the order of- their appearance, are Iris .Kirk^ white, English toe dancer billed as American; Giaby Marces, French trapeze artist; The Two . Fokkers. billed as American, but actually Hungarian: Saint-Clalr and Day,! French and Amiprican dance team billed as Americans; Three Samuels Brothers, American taij> dance trio, and the 32, Helena stars, set by He- lena Greailey, British. Of these the hbnOrs go to Salnt- Clair and Day, who do. three num- bers and deserve all of the big hand they geL ' Miss Saint-Clair is the grace of the act. but Is well sup- ported by Day. The Three Samuels Brothers. - do, a weU-executed dance turn and get over for fairly, but don't gamer what they deserve, for the rea.«5on that French audiences don't take to tap dancing like Americans. . Iris Kirkwhite garners just re- turns for the three appearances she makes, and does her part to carry the show, The Fokkers have beeii seen several times in Paris and have nothing extraordlnaiT to offer in their comic dance act. Miss Marces does the usual antics on a suspends ed trapez«»*—not too darinp, but gets a good hand because Frenchmen like that kind of thing. But were it not for these the He- lena—Girls, hard working and well trained, plus some scenic effects, this- revue would'be n •ni'aT flon. It will not draw the tourists to Paris, a.s former revites have been capa'ble of doing, and the locals won't care. Hugo. JSndc-r mA^y find »ufflcient in it ♦« amuKe him. , ° Ak a plot, it Ik childishlv crude and outmoded, biit the tale' is well told. 0reat care has been exercised to prevent guessing the identity nf ^ the arch yWiiilh- ^ * Th0re.is: a .(remehdously big. cast and an ihgenipusly planned produc tion with 17 scene.s, Which are changed so rapidly that one doesn't have enough time to let the mind dwell on thfe crudities and impiausl, bllities of the melodrama, Jolo. WHITE OAKS London, April 15, Drama br Maa> de la Rocbe. from her novel. proUucpd .by Nancy. Price at thii IvitUe ttaealre, April .H. 'SC. ■ FincU Piers, ........ Aunt A'JEUEta ., Cr.cle Ernest . Cede Nii'iolas. Wa&efield ...... Fhe«xan.t ....... Adeline .. Meg '. Mr. Robert Newlo^ Stephen Ifegganl . Ellts lr\ing ......Jaiie SatU» .....Frank Birch .^.AuJ.rey Deitfir ...Tony Kickham . ..Jill Furse -NancT: Pries . ':)zal)jetli Maude .., .'.JO>u>.Gat«lde Adapted., by the authoress a Canr adian novelist,^ from one. of her series 6f stories, of. whieb 'Jalna' hais been filmed , in the f. S. More melodrainatic plot in the fiSmizatlQQ than in the dramatization, as might - be expected from a writer of novels, who essays her first play. One or. two (Character drawings are Interesting for .a limited space, but. not sufficiently to sustain t^e proceedings for an entire evening. A^enture may cairj' on at this small theatre for a. time without diamaglng any bankroll, but as a commercial .'proposition it has UttV to commend it. ' ' Seems that small operators here j an' trj'in.e; lO elbow in on the 1 nltcrles by the lucrative shaktilown mf-tli«ds L.'-C'd in America for 'in-o- Kolioii." MUNICH FESTIVAL Berlin, April 2G. Kf'lchB Iifatiical Festival oi lii.30. taking place at Munich Mfiy 10-17 include.'* performances of Wagner's 'Ilienzi,' Bcthgc's 'Mfiroh of Veteran.^,' Mozart'.s 'Dnn Gio- vanni,' Moellor's 'Rothschild's Vic- tory at Waterloo,* Corneliu.s" 'L?ar- l>er of Bagdad,' Johst's 'Thornas Paine,' .lohann Strauss' 'f!yp.«y Earon,'^ and Wagner's 'Mcister- sin.qer/' Even Moliere Play Is Mutilated in Reich Berlin, April 26. Ilotcnt. performance of 'Tartiiffc' at (he "Theatre de.s Volkes was an ;'ad.'tptalion' from Mo'iere's corhed> by rtudolf Bluenimer. Contrary to the original played hero years ago in an cxoollent translation by Lud- wig FuMia. this licw 'ionieu.\' v\as played in faroe .style and promptly turned out a flop. Uea.son for not usinj? l-'ulSa's translation Is that i^uiemberg racial law again. Jewish Culture League Keeping Plenty Busy Berli Apiil 25. .Jewish Culture I.eague had a busy week hei'O, with a number of projects. Jofc^ph Sclimidt gave two con- certs at the Philharmonic Hajl. with Leo Taubmann at the piano. u- sanne Landsberg did a recital at the Bech.*)tein Saal. including Ueder by Brahms. Dvorak aiid Mahler. Lill. Schlesingcr gave a piano re- cital at the Logenliaus. with "Wer- ner Lywen accompanying on the vi- rtlin. Beatrice FreudonihnI appeared in a lieder evening at the Sclui- rnann Saal. Ralph Benatzk.v's op :'t*ita, 'My hiistcr aod Me,' was given in Ham- burg. MESEARUHAZ CMiracle Stores') Budapest, April 20. Musical comeCr in thriee acts, at the Fovarosi .Opentta Tbeatre. Dodapest. Bock by Laszlo ^dlagji. miuic u Michael Eis«- ntann. Cast. Rosie Earsony. Ella. Gom- l>aszosI- Istvan Bekaasy, JuU^ia Ea1>09, Lajos Gardonyi. THE FROG London. jXpril 14, Myster.v nlay b.v Ian Hny. .Klflnteil froTi novel hy Edg-nr W.Tllace. presented bv Vir'h Shei^'inrfl nt Prince'.": thentrf. .\pril 11, "IIC. Produced by Herbert Br>-an. A Trami). Richard Gordon DetPctivPrSercreant Elli Pfellft Rpnnett... ..... Phllo .Tfihnoon R"^- RonhFtt. •.... .Tchn Ren Pet I.- P. .C. Balder TiOlT Rn'"Mnp .Toshii.i Brcid Hntjen. V7.'!\ Jlat land. ..Albert Wnnl .... ..Tnck Hawk)n.<; . J. .f^nrdfvM Pnrker ,. . -Chri.stine Rnrrv >rnk P;ilinrpll . .i-.-HuKh Purilen .... Herbert I.omi^ Cvril Snil'.li T-tnet Me.'^ipw P.'>rcv P.Trsr'ns . ..Hnrolrt "Pr.Tnklih , .HPnv>- Thom'.v-''*i Vigszinhaz management has taken a lease On the Fovarosi Operetta stage, dark since Christmas,: for the expensive and really first-rate pro- duction of this new musical. It errs on the side of being rather too much of a good things ih'erj-thllig; that has been successfully' tried out in current screen operjettais, too many popular favorites in the (iast who arie required to overdo their stunts, too many gags,, and too much banking on Rosie i?afsbny's personialify. B^sult is a fatiguing effect instead of an evening of brlN liant, entertainment, which 'Miracle Stores' might havie been. Owner and general mianager of tfie great Miracle Stores concern, witlv branches in everj' city in Europe, is a lovely young girl (Rpsie Bar- sony). When she hears of irregu- larities in the Budapest branch, she goes off to find out about them for herself, masquerading as a poor salesgirl. Love affair with the crack salesman ensues, with—needless to say—-a happy ending after the necessary complications. After stage and screen success in London. Berlin and Vienna. Rosie Barsony returns to her native stage much improved, but her real flelo remains dancing, and in this conir prehensive and many-sided part she attempts rather too much ot other "things^ " Ella GbhWASzbgir a^' genuine comedienne, is first rate in tht part of a salesgirl who is mis* taken for the disguised head of the Production is brilliantiy turned: out. Music is attractive. A marked, local success that will proliably^S^ further. JflGol»i. Mitidennek Ara Van ('Everything Has a Price') Budapest April 20. Throe act roTi?;Iy by Mlkl )s Caspar, f I he Rclvnro.sl Theatre, Buda7>e.-'>. Ca.M: Sl.irta Slewy. Anr.:-' j'o!'^^ George Nagy, -\ntBl Pager, L.tJos Boraj. .«ipike Brnd};......: ..Alfred .-Vtisina 1 This theatre is on the fringip of the West F,nd. and has a large seat- ing -capacity. Piece would .seem to be almost certain to appe;il to tlio nopular priced plavoer. but ibore is even a likelihood the bia.co West 'Wilderness' in London London. May 5. Rugono CXeill's '.Vh. Wildcrncs-s' wa.«j presented in Europe for the first time, at tlie \Vestminster thea- tre here, openini;- Mti.v 4. Cast is Irish, the JDubliu Gate company. Ufa in Brussels Berlin. .\prLl I'fi.. Andre Frank, booking mahaper of the Apollo Dues.seldorf, largest I'fa kino-vaude. opens a now hou.^e in Brussels, Belgium. May 2. the 6de- I'sk. First bill ha.>? the PieroKys, the Briands, Filo Ik. Tabeu Except for a happy endfng and several comedy scenes, this pia;' about the • difificultics and t^n^P'^' tion.s of married professional with more accuracy might le '-'J*"^-, a. problem drama. X drama viu s=e<jn o> a v.-arm-hearted wiimiin wiUi ' shrewd gift for ob-'^ervation an« ■ sen.'!© of humor. sllEjhtl.v drawn out, but well done and interesting. \>ra. loving wife ot a gifted. .shiftless inventor, doc-^ oU'i>icanv(» ^ in a government otlice to "V^ livin.c: for herself and li"-'''^'V, ' J on is jobless. She fvnd.s slio can t 6^',, without indulgin.!? In a i"!'"^, ""I,,, tion with hevchicf. Thru -f"""^ ti,e however, blackmails her '^^7"' .en- threat of losing her jol), to t le lirink of spending a n'mht vun —from v.-hich she is onl.v sn*!",!,);! the sudden discovery oi" Ins ''i.""^,,,. iregularities at the ofT".*."job jequent arrest. Plic '^'■'^'I'l ■ (Continued on i-age iU>