Variety (Oct 1936)

60 VARIETY LEGITIMATE Wednesday, October 14> 1936 Plays Out of Town RED, MOT And blue Boston, Oct. 8. Musical comedy In two acta (10 scenes) produced by Vinton Freedley; words and music. Cole Porter; book, Howard Lind- say and Russell Crouse; dances and en- sembles, George Hale; sets, Donald 'Oena- lager; costumes, Constance Ripley; first performance, Oct,' 7, '311, at Colonial thea- tre, Boston. Deputy 'Warden Mulligan .Lew Parker Warden Forrest On- "Nails" O'Reilly;...... Ethel Merman "Policy'* Pinkie...........Jimmy Durante "Vivian Vivian Vance Anne Westcott............Dorothy Vernon Grace Grace- Hartman Lucille ..Lucille Johnson Cecils Ceclle Carey Kay - .....Kay Picture Irene .....Ethelyne Holt Betty ....Betty Allen ••Fingers" . Paul Hartman Bob Hale Bob Hope Sonny Hadley. ..Thurston Crane Peaches. La Fleur...........Pplly Walters "■Rntfh.ee" Dugan...;.........BIll Benner "Sure-Tlblng" . Simpson...,Prentiss Davis "Flap-liars" Metelll. Leo Schlppers "Louie the Louse'' Bernard- Jannsen Mrs. Peabody........ May Abbey Tiny tiny Sinclair Louella ... Jeanette Owens Senator Muslloyltcfa..'. -...Lew Parker Senator Malvtnsky Robert Leonard Senator O'Shaughnessy ..Forrest Orr Senatoc Del Grasso.... .Houston Richards Sergeant-At-Arms Norman Llnd First Expressman.........Geoffrey Errett Second Expressman.,...Karl Kohrs Girl ...•»•...,.,• ..,,.Gloria Clare First .Marine......... Frank. Archer Second- Marine....*, Bruce Covert -Decorator ........Houston Richards Reporters: Geoffrey Errett, Karl. Honrs, Bill Houston, Norman Llnd, Eleanor Wal- lace, Aralta Wallace. Freedley*s new musical Is a riot of low comedy. It is not only- very low but is almost the bottom. And; as far as hokum- plots are concerned, the story is about a nation-wide search for a young woman whose only identification, is an imprint left in childhood when she sat on a red- hot waffle, iron and branded her- self. '. Jimmy Durante believes she will be'found using maple syrup as a skin lotion. In one scene he tricks a girl into sitting on a sizzling elec- tric waffle-iron. She fails to regis- ter any emotion and Durante re- marks to Bob Hope: "We'll have to •be patient with her. My first wife was the same way.' Such is the general run of the comedy. Show premiered in smooth, me- chanical running condition but at least an hour too long. Apparently all material was tossed into the pro- duction opening night in anticipa- tion of drastic revamping. - There is so much which must come out that new material and numbers may have to be added. Cole Porter, who turned out all the lyrics and the complete score is planning to stand "by until the show is ready and then head back to Hollywood, ostensibly to produce a score for. a production for Eleanor Powejl-and Ray Bolger. In view of the" facf that Paramount bankrolled 'Red, Hot and- Blue,' Por- ter's -proposed quick return to the Coast is believed; to be partly in the nature of a report on' the possibili- ties for a film version. Porter's score and lyrics will do Jig they now stand, although he has done better in the past by way of popular clicks. He has given Du- rante only one number, a bawdy sea-chanty which. Jimmy should hang on to for life. It. is a simple thing called 'A Little Skipper From Heaven' and concerns a cabin boy jvh(r k 4uens "out to be- a girl announc- ing that she expects a gift from Heaven. It is nearly tops in poten- tialities as a bar-room ballad^ . Ethel Merman is at her best in "Red, Hot and Blue!' and 'Good Bye, Little Dream, Good Bye,' although •Delightful. Delirious, De-Lovely* in duet with Bob Hope is the outstand- ing,.vocal of the score. Durante. ' Miss Merman and Hope are all set in fat parts which cannot help _hut build steadily. Production carries 20 dancers "and 10 showgirls. Costumes, sets and ensembles are - far. from lavish or startling,- and there is little ■ -flash. ■Dancing is somewhat weak, and specialties are so scarce that, when Kay Picture comes on late in the. show for the first tap novelty,. she stops the show and the Hartmans, in their adagio and acrobatic bur- lesque, have the same experience. 'Red, Hot and Blue!' is not a re- peat on 'Anything Goes.* It Is a wild book and it will go places mainly on its low comedy. It is even screwier than *Of Thee I Sing' in it? satire, ..travesty and burlesque, and incidentally, there were some old men in the audience howling with octogenarian delight at stray bits from the old Columbia wheel. In one scene, for example, a rifle is fired by a rrisoh guard at a flock of geese flying over the hoosegow and, for the next 20 minutes, a dead goose drops from the flies every few minutes. When Pat White did the same bit in 1902 the last thing to. drop from the clouds was a dead cat. But at $5 a seat opening night (tax exempt for a charity) .the cat did not drop. So Sossibly the comedy in 'Red Hot and lue' is not quite as low as it could have been. • Story opens with a vitriolic satire on soft prison life. Durante is on the prison polo team, and a wealthy widow (once a hotel manicure doll) played by Ethel Merman, wants to give a coming-rout party. Coming out of prison sounds logical to her, so she asks to have five. prisoners pardoned and . wants Durante par- ticularly, as she wants to run a lot- tery in behalf of the Association for the Prevention of Cruelty to Ex- Convicts and he is doing a stretch for selling numbers. Widow is in love with her attor- ney (Bob Hope) and when she finds he has a complex to find his child- hood sweetheart she-agrees to help. Childhood sweetheart's name is not known but she once sat on that red- hot waffle iron. Lottery tickets are sold with half the proceeds to be given to the person who finds, the branded girl. Lottery reaches, the billion dollar mark, and Congress at the same time finds the United States Treasury to contain $4.75. - So a Congressional committee muscles in on the lottery. Army is called out to help find the girl with the branded cheeks, although Du- rante favors using the navy. Du- rante tries to brand one by hiding a waffle iron in an easy chair and the - hoke rolls on and On "until sud- denly the plot is forgotten and any- thing goes. Durante has two classics, one when he plays a dual role as attor- ney and- defendant, one of the high spots of his stage career, and the other when an interior decorator of the lavender variety tries to re- decorate his cell with chiffons and silk drapes. Hope's comedy is all double en- tendre and wise cracks, most .-of it clicking and much of the bluest ma- terial funny enough to give no of- fense this side of Hollywood. Show, as it now stands, is a hilari- ous brawl r with almost too many laughs. Comedy should carry it a long Way, although it is hard to imagine it will be ready for New York in 10 days. At this writing it looks too funny to do anything but click. Libbey. FORBIDDEN MELODY Philadelphia, Oct. 13. Musical In two acts . presented by Jack Klrkland and Sam H, Grleman nt Erlanger, Philadelphia, Oct. 12, ■■««, Book and lyrics. Otto Harbach; music, Slgmund Romberg; settings, Sergei Soudelklne; SUstumes, Ten Eyck; dialog. directed by Joaa, Ruben; mu8 cal director, Robert Dolan; staging, Macklln Megley; $3.30 top. Thertc-r ; .Bela Lublov Tpsk. ; Boris Marshalov •Kuzdu..,.. .......Daniel A. Harris Katcha. , „;,......Lilllon Clark Alexis Constantino.... Man:irt KJp_p«sn Doma Joseph Greemvald Gregor Florescu, c.irl B«.sson Cot. G««a .V. .Arthur Vlffton Mm £-, Qe 5» Ruth Weston Nicholas Conslantlne John Griggs RQ7.sa.....:,, v......... J una iVvoc Elena Constant I ne Ruby Mercer MlWi ... .Nitza Vernllle Alexander Florescu..r Charles Bryant Philly's first musical offering of the W36-'3y season came along last night at the Shubort theatre. It isn't as happy as the new year's first dra- matic offerings. 'Forbidden Melody' is the name. It was 1 treated either apathetically or lukewarmly by the .first night audience. . Production has plenty of good-fea- tures but, even added together and multiplied by a dozen, they can't onset the dismal' influence Of- a dreary and confused book which starts nowhere and gets nowhere. Otto Harbach, a veteran librettist, needed some co-operation here, either of the sort he had in 'Roberta,' where there was a clever story to start with, or the kind he received from Kern as a collaborator. Yarn is modern (1930) with locales in Roumania. Political references dot .the first part and again at the end, when the hero is supposed to fly Carol to his throne in Bucharest. Main- plot, however, is a' hackneyed .one .concerning a rich young phi- landerer who is mixed up in an amour with the wife of an army of- ficer. Political enemies frame him in a hotel and make a tell-tale snapshot of him on an upper, bal- cony. Lady in question Shields her face but hot her figure and, as a result, a young actress in a theatrical company in Budapest, encouraged by her press agent-bn*ther, takes oyer the part of the mysterious lady on the balcony. She's a pure young thing and the gay young blade fplls honestly and sincerely in love with her. Naturally, his former firl friend objects: tatter's husband is also embroiled, as are the heroine's father, brother and sister-in-law. It's all very old-fashioned. On the other hand, Romberg has turned out a splendid score for'For- bidden Melody.' 'Just Hello' is a corking light number: 'Lady in the Window* is catchy and provocative: 'No Use Pretending'. and 'Moonlight and Violins' are both" haunting and persuasive. There are several others that stand out, even above the banality of the book, starting rifht at the berfinninff with a neat Gynsy air, and continuing on through the last act with its light and fairly amusing 'When a Girl Forgets to Scream.' Asset No. 2 of the new musical is its cast of principals. Carl Bris- son, making his American stage de- but, impresses more firmly than he did in pix. He's a combination of Chevalier and Jack Buchanan—an easy and ingratiating personality, a nice sense of comedy, an ability to ( dance (too seldoni-employed) and a Current Road Shows (WEEK OCT. 12) 'Abie's IrUk Jlose/ Boulevard, Jackson Heights, N. V. 'BlMsom Time/ Forrest, Phila- delphia. • *Boy Meets Girl/ Plymouth, Boston. " •Boy Meets Girl/ Colonial, Ak- ron, O., 12; Mansfield, O, 13; Lima, O., 14; Michigan, Ann Ar- bor, 15; Michigan, Jackson, 16; Gladmer, Lansing, Mich,' 17. 'Call it a Day/ Chestnut Phila- delphia. 'Children's Hoar/ Shubert, New Haven, 15-17. 'Come Home to Roost/ Copley, Boston. •Dead End/ Studebaker, Chi- cago. 'End of Summer* (Ina Claire), National, Washington. •First Lady* (Jane Cowl), Shu- bert, Boston. •Forbidden Melody/ Erlanger, Philadelphia. •Great Walt*/ Ford's, Balti- more. •Lady Precious Stream/ Cox, Cincinnati. •Lave on the Dole/ Brighton, Brighton Beach, N. Y. 'Sight of Jan. 16/ Selwyn, Chi- cago. •Mulatto/ Newark, N. J. •Mulatto,' Hanna, Cleveland. 'Nanghty Marietta,' Nixon Pittsburgh, ■ s "Pride and Prejudice/ Harris, Chicago. •Old Maid/ Imperial, Montreal •Bed, Hot and Bine/ Colonial, Boston. . 'San Carlo Opera/ Auditorium, Chicago. •Scandals/ Curran, San Fran- cisco. •Stage Door/ Maryland, Balti- more. •Tobacco Road/ Orpheum, Reading, Pa^ 13; Lyric, -Allen- town, Pa, 14; Playhouse, Wil- mington, De^i, 15-17. pleasing, if not notable, voice. Pro- ducers of 'Forbidden Melody' ought to build him up* Couple tons of, 'book' thrown- awffijr in exchange foir more material lor ".Brisson will help considerably. ' • 'X> ' Ruby Mercer, announced as a Met opera singer, displays a fine voice (despite a couple of'{off-key lapses) and an attractive personality. Her role is a pretty trying one-^no mat- ter who the actress. More sympa-' thetic is the. femme heavy, super- latively well played by Ruth Weston from the dramatic stage. >. Another non-musical comedy player who hasn't got much to do but does his little very well is Ar- thur Vinton as the jealous husband. Less happy is Joseph Greenwald, who struggles but can't do much with an alleged comedy role as the hero's friend and bodyguard. Equally unhappy are Manart Kip- pen as the father who wanders mournfully -through the action, and John Griggs as the heroine's brother. Nitza Vernille, looking particu- larly stunning.. has one outstanding dance: June Hayoc makes the most of a good light number: Lillion Clark and Daniel Harris have a neat gypsy duet "Another asset of the piece is'its scenic Investiture. First act hes nine scenes; second has five. Three or four of the numbers are beautiful, especially a street scene in Budapest and the interior of a theatre. -Latf ter has the advantage of fine light- ing. Costuming is striking and in the best of .taste.. They'll take three-quarters of an hour, out of 'Forbidden Melody' but that won't be enough. Book screams for the best play-doctor in the house, either to throw all the comedy over- board and present the whole* in ro- mantic seriousness, or else to brighten it up and give some real tang: to the' lighter moments, now urctty painful. Romberg score and fine production are too good ' to waste, but that's what's /*oins to happen unless something tenuous is used. Waters. ABIE'S IRISH ROSE Comettv In three nets, dlvpctefl n.nd pre- sented by Anne Nichols. Printed flt Jioilev.rd. Jp'-kFOn Heights, N.. Y., week Oct. 12. *1 top.' Isauc Cohen...... BevrpWI Goreey Mm. Inane Cohen IJer ha . Wnlden Rabbi Jncob Samuels...\ .Tne'c Bertln Solnrion Lew.. Alfred K. "White Abrpbam I.'evy (his son) f'rnnt Gordon Ronemnrv Murphy , Dlune Mnnor Patrick Murohy Hilly Fay Fntltor Wb.ilcn .Jfihn Carmnrty Ml»l«l or T'onnr Kvel.vn Mcllln Brld.—UPlda—Mnrlon Morrow. ■ Charlotte Pnr'-cr. Claire Hazel.. Laura Windsor, ■ Ruth Corwin, May Owen. Revival of- Anne Nichols' long-run. moneymaker is /river a good produc- tion. wi + h extort casting a significant asset. General staging in the present frame rVtects adroit .handling jn the part of Miss Nichols, who directed. Bernard Gorcey, Jack Bertin and Alfred H White are present from the "original cast, which helps. Idea of them coming back in the current of- fering adds a certain sentimental (Continued on~page 62) NOAH Play In three- acts (four scenes)' by Andre Obey. Presented by Negro- Theatre Unit, Works Progress Administration. Adapta- tion, Carlten Moas;-music, Jean Stor; direc- tion, George Zorn; costumes. Manual Ess- man: lighting-,' Feder; animal costumes, Ralph Weidhass. At Lafayette, N. V., Oct. 7, '80;' 40c. top. Noah.......................Thomas Moaeley Japhet , Charles Ta ylor Shem..., Joseph Blocmn Ham »„ % .Fritz Weller Mrs. Noah.......; *«-•*•••*•* • • •Su§lff v Sutton Sella,,. •.••»•••<•*•*,tltoa* Polndexter .Pearl Gaines Ada..,.........« a «««f«*«.ChrIstola, William* Village Elder P. Jay Sidney Bear. .Clarence Yates Lion...,.....«......,..«,..»...tLe^ Speaks Monkey. ,... .Evelyn .Norton Elephant.....Clarence Redd and Bruce Ites Tiger- JaonUa J. Baker Cow .GabrJel Brown Wolf Riney Bailey T^unb •'..»« Thotriis' Dixon, Tortoise. .Adolph "Henderson Hare ...IA-wrence Gillespie Skunk ......Lemuel Bullock Raven.: .Hilda French Sells...... .v. ...a............'. .Lulu R. King Norma........ i........... .Miriam Drugger Ada....., ........Elisabeth Dixon Negro Theatre's newest WPA of- fering is a production of Andre Obey's 'Noah,' which appeared on Broadway two seasons ago with Pierre. Fresnay' in the title role. Thin texture of biblical fable depends on deft" interpretation, with the Harlem version stilted and slow. Music frame is overdone throughout, as in most WPA shows, making the play much too long. ' i Only once does this production get going, and that is when the animals begin filing up the gangplank before the deluge, with the music striking a slow blues tempo and a catchy rhythm seeping in. Otherwise the show sticks too much to the original script and disappoints, those expect- ing something different from Harlem. Play Is mounted with a certain flair. Wide folds of blue cellophane are crumped across the stage to cre- ate an oceanic aura, and it works, Gay polka-dotted robes are worn by the leads mostly, and a fairly good set is moved around three times to depict various angles of the famous houseboat during its 40-day siege, Lighting by Feder is good. It is the type of play where severe stylized handling is necessary, as the sparse dialog means nothing by itself. Staging is the most important item. Credit list-is long. Jean Stor torn- posed the music and also conducted the opening night. That blues stanza in Act I was welcome and-could have been reworked to speed things up. Noah's immediate family, which seeks shelter on the boat, works steadily. . Thomas Moseley in the leading role plays it competently. Susie Sutton as. Mrs. Noah adds a certain gusto to the performance. Charles Taylor, Joseph Slocum, Fritz Weller, Rose Poindexter, Pearl Gaines, Christbla Williams and P. Jay Sidney All the other speaking assignments. Action all takes place on the boat just before safflne time, during and after the clou^T lift, ■'-■■Brat. JOHN HENRY Los Angeles, Oct. 9. Saga In prolog, seven scenes and epllrs. by Frank B. Welts. Presented at Mayan theatre, by Works Progress Administration, Directed by Lorln Raker. Heavy ;..Rpy Glenn Big Boy ....Daniel Leo Haynes John Henry..,.'.........Daniel Leo Haynes Granny" Lou Cleo Desmond Pa'soc Jones.... Tnaddeus Jones Rev'un Qasper DInkens....Heory Thomas George Davis .Walter Marshall Judge Hughey Dabney.......William Carr A Slave Trader...........Clinton. Murdock Lent Vestal..................Edgar Murray Daisy, ..*..«-.Josephine Burke Boocaroo.................,.Amos Reese Callie Myrtle Dunham Bad. -Eye. George Com tort Long .Boy.................Charles Ha wlclns Big Mln ...Lottie Kyer Sbeeter*..................Richard—Abrams The Dealer. Larry Harrison Ll'l Bill ."Webb King Kidney Foot..... .William Dunn Jim Treager Weslcott Clarke Try, Try Again - .. . • . Birmingham, Oct. 13. Federal Theatre Project . of the WPA will reopen the Jefferson Oct. 13. How long the unit plans to op^ erate the theatre remains to be seen. Last year the house was used by the same unit. Very limited attend- ance and place finally-went dark for the summer. Taking his theme from the negro working song, Frank B. Wells has penned the life of John Henry, Negro slave,'bitten by the bug of freedom. While the work presents an interest- ing kaleidoscopic picture of pro- and post-Civil War Negro life, the au- thor's construction allows him little else. Wells has built the- play in seven scenes, each a distinct unit. Action is not sustained, but-rises as suddenly as it drops. Effect of the final climax, is lost because it is not built up to and other climaxes tend to level it. Prolog opens with the singing of 'John Henry.' When noon rest comes Big Boy, descendant of John Henry, sits down to tell the story of his illustrious relative. Play prop- er begins, by John Henry discussing his chances of freedom while he sets up a little chapel. That night John tells the brethren they.all have a right to liberty, if they'll fight for it. His preachment is overheard by the plantation overseers, who steps in. to-break up the session. . Pulling out his horsewhip, the overseer threatens to give it to John, but John makes an issue out of it and the overseer sends for his shot- gun. Instead of that, he gets old Judge Hughey Dabney, kindly and venerable plantation owner. Judge dismisses the incident and promises to let John work off his slavery. After doing double labor for seven yearsj John is about to get his free- dom. By this time the judge has gone where all good white ; Van Dyked southern plantation owners £o, and Lem Vestal, scourge of Dixie, is in charge. Not only does Lem refuse to, grant John Henry's liberty, but he has a child by John's wife. ' When John finds Lem whipping her because their child has died, he kills Lem. John then goes through the Civil War, .half-kills two col- ored men for cheating him, lands in jail and is let out on one condition, that he .must beat a steam drill in cracking rocks over a 12-hour stretch. John wins, but the strain kills him. Throughout are fine sketches of Negro life, particularly a scene in a colored bawdy house. Daniel Leo "Haynes plays the title role. He is outstanding ' in a part which doesn't allow him off stage for more than,10 minutes. Charac- terization is naturally drawn with violence, humor and self-gentleness. Remainder of the-ca!st is in for short bits, all of • which- are done compe- tently. ' . Piece is nicely scored by a* Negro choral group borrowed from the music project.' These -75 colored -people also sing during intermission. ENGAGEMENTS Evelyn Varden, 'Prelude to Exile.' G. P. Huntley, Jr., 'Othello.' John Hoysradt, 'Honor Bright.' Russell Collins, Phoebe Brand, William Challee, Mprris Carnovsky, Elia Kazan, Art Smith, Jules Gar- field, Sanford Meisner, Albert Van Dekker, 'Johnny Johnson.' Eleanor Goodrich, Charles Ken- nedy, Don Shelton, Gertrude Cogh- lsn. Juliet. Fremont, Edward Cush- man, Palmer Ward, Bernard Kisner. Iris Whitney,. Ruth Yorke, Dorothea Petgen, Ada Potter.. Laura Bowman, Fredrika Slemons, Mary Morris, Earl Fleischman, Barbara Fulton, Ajnelia Romano, Pnrtin Marrow, William C. Jackson, Hedwig Schoch, Maurice Lavi<ma, tArt.fcballe McGinty, Don- ald Willson. 'Plumes' in the Dust.' Ruth Altman, Robert Vernon, 'Great WMtr.' (road co). Pr.ul Haakon. Gil' LamK' Vera Allen, Lilian Ellis. Bunny Berlgan, Evelyn Thr'wl, Gordon Jenkins, 'Show is On.' . Charles ^ Brown. Terry .Bergman, John McGovem. Hanley Stafford, Sanford Bickert. Carrie Weller. Ade- laide KWn, Martha Sleeper, 'Double Dummy.' Lewis Hector, 'Inner Silence.' Leslie Bi"«ham, 'Hedda Gabler.' Barbara Towne", 'New Faces.' Percy Kilbride, 'House In the Country.' Harold Moffet. Richard Taber, Kathleen Fitz. Clark Twelvetrees, Gloria BlondelL Prank Jaquet, John F. Hamilton. Yale Okun. John Quar- tell. Mayer Berenson, Harry Horner, William B. Morris, Jean Mprlowe, Marion Stephenson. Johnne Barrie,- Mnry Perry, 'Iron Men.' {Complete cast.) No L A. Legit Hollywood, Oct. 13. Legit reopened in Hollywood (9) with the Federal Theatre Project re-, opening the Hollywood Playhouse, with a limited run of 'The Warrior's Husband.' Henry Duffy will decide within the next few days on his next attraction for the El Capitan, now in its fourth week of darkness. Downtown, the legit situation re- mains virtually unchanged, with nothing current except WPA attrac- tions at the Mason, Mayan and Figueroa. Mason has the only change of bill, 'Three Wise Fools, debuting last Tuesday (6). Biltmore remains dark until Oct. 28, when George White's 'Scandals comes in for an 11 day. stay. Mildred O'Keefe Suicides Minneapolis, Oct. 13. Mildred O'Keefe, 32, who has ap- peared as a dancer in several Zieg- feld 'Follies' and 'Rio Rita,' etc., com- mitted suicide by drinking poison in her hotel room here, her home. A nervous breakdown and despondency over her illness believed to be the cause. She was credited with being one of the first dancers to introduce the Black Bottom dance in Paris.. Dur- ing the past year she has been work- ing as a saleswoman in a depart- ment store. _ _