Variety (Dec 1937)

Tins and, Needlies/ lnUependeoti^ presehte'd ihtimate revue, \yhich is attracting 'Broadway attention, is an ariomaly. i Although the \cast Is ■ ■composed entirely of labor unton- ists, it >is coinfetetely hon-E^uity. However,; both Eqijity arid the Iri- Mieriiational Ladies Gaririertt ; Wbrk-i ers Union (istter producing , the ;.Kh6w) : are affiliates of; the .Amer- Ican federation : of Labor;. " Appropiri.ately-riiarned , w u $ i cat startied as a wieekenderv -but. i iplaying nightly at the Labor StaRe; formisrly the Princess theatre; ,299- ! seater: oh W. 39th st, near Sixth Vave., i^.; Y/; ; Regardless: of the fact that the shbw has ...'igOnle cbmrnef- .. cial,' Equi^^^ 't;^gulations - <|6i.;. n ! apply/ Admiss^ top. ;.\yi,th- • out tax, siriciB' the'.;presentatioh is not for profit. . y-y, '. .Although there ^ haia .- been, somi?: - talk of the amiateur players, in Tins'; ioining ■ Equity,, there is little, likeli-^ hood of their agreeing to pay dues ■ to t\yo .unions..; Cait ■ was .i-ecruited .ifrom shops" and offices. and .re- hearsed,, for many . njonths . before :;ihe' preenii' S.onie may give up their • jobs temporarily; : although the ca- pacity of the hbuse .arid the .scale perriiit only , limited . salaries. Uritii . nightly showings begari last . Mon- day: (20) few tickets, were sold at the boxoffice.. Most of the seats /Were disposed of to uriioris in blocks of ijdO. vIn:no instance .was there a , .refusal by: a union: tp*^ take ticketi; :VBreak' for' Authors S'. Authors of the satirical rtvue may. figure in other Broadway tuners be- fore the season is overi Charlies Fnedman and Harold J. Rome; who wrote r the!. score, have .been; propO-- sitioned by Max Gordon. After Keeing ■ thie show, the producer went to the boxoffice and proffered a. $20 note to:; show :his;: 'aoprecia-: .tiori* Of what he thought the ieyei Ding was :wbrth. Money was po- litely rejected iftrid th<p manager: then joffered free seats for the cast i at a performancei of The Woriien/ at the. Barrymore, Ni^ Y,' iTiiat W accepted. ' : \', ' Members of the Mercury theatre, another independent group which has been even more successful with 'Julius Gaesar,' belong to Equity and operate under its rules. Mer- cury's 'Cradle Will Rock,' another satiriciai:. revue, sans scenery, was presented Sundays only. It will io :-on for—a regular ^run- under the management of Sam H. Grisman, but Equity has ruled out Sunday shows unliess the double pay rule is observed. 'Cradle goes into the . Windsor, the musiciaris: union agree- ing on four men in the pit. First showing used but a pianist. ; Still another independent pro.iect is 'Golden Boy,' the Group The- atre's production of Clifford Odet's play at the Belasco, where it lis hav- .Ing ai. successful run. Organization plans other productions this season. . / ; {Pittsburgh, Dec. 21. Arthur Richhian, vet playAvright, Kpeiit all of last week in Pittsburgh doctoring script of .Predric March's show, 'Yr. Obedient Husband,' Rich- man \yorked with author, Horace Jackson, adding several new scenes, tightening up the first and third acts. . ■■■. .;•;:.'.■:;:■■;/■; .: . ■.. ' ' ^ / ; ; Local critics were pleasantly ■sur- prised with the play after the un- favorable out-of-town reports and turned in a set of fine notices. Show's, ciirreritly rin Detroit, open ing at the Broadhurst,-N. Y., next Wednesday (29). ■ •. ■■■■■^ ■ ■',■/■■ . DET. OPEEEtTA OFF ■ ':■_ [ ;\ Detroit, Dec, 21. Opehing Of a season of: operetta revivals at the Wilson has been post- poned for about two weeks. ■ . Fitst. production, 'The. Studient Prince,^ was dated for debut Mori- «ay X27) but the opening is off until Jan. 10. . . : ■ ■ Lotus Liu Slated to Open In Frisco 'Lady' Jan. 3 San Francisco, Dec. 21. . Lotus Liu, imported from China to play name role in Morris Gest's production of; 'Lady Precious Stream,' has been,booked for Curran ehgage- merit by Paul Ross, starting Jan. 3. ShoW \viU use English dialog but will retain; all other cvistonis ' of Chinese theatre for 2,000-year-old drama, Novelty wiU be tradition of each actor introducing self to audi- ence. DECISION RESERVED IN ::''y-r Fort Wprth, Dec. 21. Decision has been reserved by the court here in Everett Marshall's di- vorce suit against his wife, Mrs. Carolina D^ Marshall. Sinig.er charges desertion. Before handing down a verdict, the eourt is seeking to de- termine, whether Marshall is a legal resident of .Fort Worth.. He claims; he considers this city his home since he came in 1936 to sing in the first Casa Manana revue at the Frontier Celebration-.. ' '■ Mrs. MarshaH's attorneys claim he is .a tiesident of New York and that the Fort Worth court has no juris- diction, in the case. Singer was served with papers in a debt suit brought: by Mrs. Marshall in New York City. ; Total of $4,100 is de- manded for support of the couple's six-year-old daughter, Helen. Mar- shall said he has" nevier seien • the child. Mrs.' Marshall was also a singer.. Couple were married In 1928; AjBrencies See [ Come-bfi Opposition to Ticket Sales at a P^^mibiiVr-C^ Priic- ; tice .a-.'; R a c k e t -—Prices '•: Sometimes Five Times ■ Boxbffice Rater-rTax- VExempt,, jbut .Gpveniment May Levy Regardliess FOREIGN RECIPIENTS . Theatre partifSj or heneflts, are beiginning to" constitute .a racket. They are strong opposition to, the sale of tickets at 'a premium. "Thiat is the view of Broadway ticket brok- ers, who quote figures to biack up their claim. Most theatre party ac- tiyities' are controlled by a dozen offices conducted by women. At the present period :of .thie sea<7 son agency sales are at low ebb but this is; the time when most party- benefits are arranged. Shows. usually welcome such business as a hypo to the tox office. Formerly such par- ties were ar-'rariged for at reduced rates. More reccrit trend has been for ticket allotment at full rates. ' . Ticket men claim the party thing has gotten out of' bounds. ^ "They de- clare the promoters, of parties haye been selling tickets, in some instances for as much' as .fiye tirpes the box office price under the plea that the proceeds are for charity. For one theatre party held last week tickets (Continued on pajge 50) To prevent i thrca'teried split in the organization's ranks. Actors Equity Aksri. counciI on Monday (20) decided npt to name a successor to Frank Gilmorc as president. Let- ter remains as ribminal head, but has been given a leave :.of absence to de- vote all; hiS' time to the reorganized Associated Actors and :Arti stes pf America. Gillmore's resignation as president had previously been . ac- cepted., •^:-' Burgess Meredith was chosen first vice-president of the association and will preside at meetings in the ab- sence of Gillmore. Actor will fill but the term of . Osgood Perkins, who died last fall. . Council decided riot to ajppoint a successor to Gillmore afterrdisputes arose duririg a speciial council session last Friday (17). It was felt that LEGAL TIFF IN LONDON ON COCHRAN SEHLED Application for a receivership against Charles Cochran, Ltd., on a tax claim, has teen dismissed in London, it was learned in N. Y. this week. Taxes amounting tp ; $3,750, were reported, paid. ■, ; Corporation did not figure in financing Cochran attractions in the past two seasons or so. .V_ . Cochrane may sail for London this Week. One of his first activities there will be to present 'Father Mal- achy's Miracle,' current at the St. James, N. Y. of Be Piibiishe^^ Reservxitibixs and C Variety Offiqe NEW YORK 154 W. 46th St. HOLLYWOOD 1708 Nq. Vine St. CHICAGO 54 W. Randolph St. to LONDON 8 St. Martin's PI. selection of. a president (active honorary) should be .given more" consideration. By next May it ' expected such: a successor .will lie • lined up and voted on at the anriual' election. .>:/ ■/;■/: :■, Meredith was elected to the coim- cil last spring. Although hom^^ by the regular committee, he was okayed by the oppvosition group in ' Equity. Five such candidates : who , werit in were endorsed by the oppo- sition. Latter also had its own ticket in the field but was defeated. With three pother .cburiciloirs previously, elected, the opposition is regarded as - haying eight reprieseritati'ves in that body. That may give it an: edge in council proceedings arid meetings. Monday's session agreed thait Paul Dulzell continue, as executive secre- -„ tary (appointive). He was re-elected - as treasurer last spring. That riieans that: Dullzell will; actually.': be in charge of .the.association's affairs, al--. ; though he had declined to consider . goirig in as. president, honorary or • otherwise. He stated, he waS hot sure of his strerigth after ari ex- hausting illness. Opposition group opposed him...As there werd-27 coun-' cil members (largest niimber in years) present, the administration: could have carried any prograrii it wished.. But after Friday's rumpus a way out was deemed best for the present. : .'^ 'There were, other candidates for the vice-presidency,. Edward Field- ing was the leading one outside of Meredith. Vote was almost a dead-'" lock, 14 for Meredith and 13 for Fielding, lattter withdrawing.. Fieldr ing withdrew Meredith was named unanimously. However that proved the sharp division In the .council. • Robert T, Haines was also in the . : field. ; . ■ . ;.:■■•■: Meredith's name cariie up as lead- ing candidate' over the v^eekend, but :. he declared himself out because the presidency .matter had developed... into a 'political fracas/ Other oppo- sition councilors then; asked him. to. reconsider so that 'wasteful bicker- ing and internal strife' might be quitted down. Actor later said he might consider'. becoming Equity's honorary head it that would conciliate the embattled eleriients. Members who sought re-, consideration ' by Meredith were Philip Loeb, Richard Whoirf, Clyde Fillmorie, George Heller, Edith Van Cleve, Bretaigne Wiridust arid Kath- crine Warren. , Their statement, in part, was as follows: •v''' iJiarmbny/ Spiiirht 'The movement for Mr. Meredith represents a sincere desire to restore organizational harmony so that our mem.bers may .concentrate their en- ergies to the betterment of their pro- fession iristead of wasteful bickering and internal.strife. We believe that the large majority of the coiincil and the memberis of Actors Equity will insist on haying it.' \ There were so many angles which arose in connection with elcctirig a successor td Gillmore that council fourid the taisk too tough. Gillmore , had plarined. to remain as. honorary presiderit, but the. opposition raised • constitutional points and he felt that he should not be ciilledv on, to pre- side at councii or other sessions^ He also brought tip the matter^ of his health and his new duties, saying two such tasks would be too much of strain. -Solution was a leave of ab-- sence, so that EquityV still r has * string on Gillmore: even as th^ nom- inar honorary president. Other problems to be decided on were a decision on having a riominalv or active head and, if the latter, v/hat compe:nsaitlon was to be paid. Figured that a successor would not be entitled to iis rtiuch: salary as GillrtibrCi because of the lattcr's long -. service., . with; E^ too, that it would, take any successor . five or six riionths to grasp th^ duties of president and by that time the ah- iiual election would be at hand.