Variety (Sep 1938)

48 VARIETY LEGITIMATE Wednesday September 7, 1938 Strawhat Reviews FRIDAY AT FOUR rovincetown, Aug. 29. Gomedy \n two acta (three 'acem-al. by Ralph' Holmes; preaenled by Nell ■ McFee Skinner. Staged by E: Stanley Pratt. Sct- tlnita, Hay' Tnllmun. At; the Wharf the- atre. Provlncetown. Maes.; Sept. 3. '33.- Daphne "Van Cleeve,.. -.Dnrtithy Sione Potter Van Cleeve..Chnrlo. Collins 1'rlmrosc. ;.Mnr>- l!llen \'nrne Mrs. Oatrnnder. F.lxle MucKle Mr. Wnllirldire .; ;... I.cRmI (iperll Patrick Conklln. Mr. Thompson. Haldy Baldwin..... Dolores 1 Avon., Quakers. .' Barnes..'.. '. ........ Abbott..... , Mr: - Van Cleeve. •.. Mrs. Van Cleeve...... Sergeant Wataon... Officer Edwards.... leaves little to the i ination and may need pruning. Jacques is kept from completing his first job as bank messenger by the theft of a portfolio containing.30.000 francs, by his former partner in crime. Faced with prison, he is saved by Sister Therese, who takes 30,000 francs from the Mission : fund and deposits it in.the bank. As the police are about to- arrest Sister Therese, M. Dargent (Edgar'Kent), the bank president, appears and ex- plains that the. Mission money will be returned as the portfolio en- trusted to Jacques had contained only scraps of paper. Disillusioned. Jacques takes Sister Therese to him- self, and promises' to make his own ' way in the world honestly.. I Selwart plays competently. Bul- 'gakov and Count' Marinski "(Stiano ' Bra.?giotti) have parts which call for sympathy and' understanding and thev handled them well. Armand (William Bendix) and Suzanne (Je.inne Cassele), as the wife-beat- ing but. loving husband- and wife, register nicely. Miss Roos. Dleases as Sister Therese. Matthew Smith'and twist and a" healthy lift'iDoris Ri"h also • play adequately, snappy dialog. A ' longer Emeline Clark Rbche's setting leaves ■■ -j mti e r oom for improvement Mnrce. ..Ralph Morehouse . . .Konnelh Uarllclt ...:. .Joseph Vttale .Vivian Vance Mllldn I'arsona .Colette Humphrey Waller ninrler ......Hobert Flnkel Muriel WrlRlIt ,-llrucc Cook ward Lcderberg Mawbry (Mary Young) an MJP. of American extraction, tells him-.that he proposed to her at the same party. Amid all the excitement of iron- ing out the affairs of the Empires 'crisis,' Brlxall (William Lawson). the victim of this dual Yankee skull- | du eryi takes these scandalous per- plexities in his stride; He promptly offers to marry" Marial, the actress, and just as casually jilts the . P. Stirred up in this mixture, which- doesn't jell, is a wealthy young Frenchman, who turns out to be an. illegitimate son of Brixell; an Amer- ican film producer, some chatter about birth control, which the lady M.P. champions, and frequent ses- sions of pseudo-British hot potato gab. , Mary Patton gets top honors for her characterization of the: conniving actress. Drawing room and office sets by Edward Griffin'are good. Fox. Cleverly written and generously interspersed with songs and- dances, 'Friday at Four' gives Dorothy Stone and '. Charles Collins a chance to really go to town. However, this fast- moving comedy is much 'too short in its' present form,. The mistaken identity plot is given a new through _ _ buildup should help it on the road to Broadway. Miss .Slone (Mrs. Collins) gave a convincing performance as Daphne Van' Cleave, petite country maid, who finds- time hanging heavily on her hands in the big city. To relieve the monotony, she imagines herself >as the socialite Mrs. Van Cleeve and pens. tea> invitations to. members of the' Blue Book, a screen .star, po- litical bigwigs and an aunt, of the real Mrs.. Van Cleeve, though never; intending to.mail them. Potter Van : Cleeve. (Charles Collins), 'is her hus- band and upon his return .from busi- ness, she shamefacedly confesses how she. had occupied Her time. How- ever, he suggests that an invitation be penned to a big-time gangster to round out the. set; Later in the evening,- the maid (Mary Ellen.. Vorse) finds the ..un- stamped invitations and thinking her mistress had forgotten to tell her to mail them, sends them on their way. V/ith seldom, a halt in continuity, theme runs merrily throughout the entire show. It's dialog is. witty and catches, many laughs. Plot is plausible enough and clever- ly, interwoven are several songs, 'Ten o'Clock Town,'.' 'Beware' and 'Man-, dalay,' and dance, routines by M'iss Stone and Collins.-' A tap dance routine similar to those they did in 'Dancing Pirate' (UA) is also in- cluded. Vivian Vance and Joseph Vitale carry 'Beware' and 'Manda- lay' effectively. The denouement occurs with ar- rival of the real r. and Mrs. Van Cleeve. Their snobbishness, how- ever, turns their, wealthy aunt against them again, and the theme ends on a happy note with the latter practically adopting the abashed im- personators. Ray Tallman's sets ably carry out the spirit of the. theme. E. Stanley Pratt's direction and performers are excellent Marce. BROKEN THREADS Marbledale, Conn., Sept 3. Drama In ttiree acta (Beven scejien) by Curia . Greenfield; presented by Cledce Roberts. Staged, by author and Robert*. Setting. Jiinn Root. At Theatre-In-the- Pale. Aug. 31-Sept. 5, '38.* 'Pop* . .Norman Porter Ml!;*' ,'.Y ..Cledce Rolwrte Butch ..... .Richard Irving Thick ... .Jane Bradford Yannfe . ,.. .Juan Root Hunker' ...Conway Washburn Doctor J^hn HaJnea Cnry N el Hon -Tj'ArKIn "Inspector. ,, .Stanley G or hum Officer ;.Wayhe Palmer Mady .Stalrtey linker fDelho Vlckrey. Reporters , ,. i Ken,von Greene [Stanley Edge COGNAC Newport R. I., Sept. 3. Drama In three acta-adapted by Olpa I.ee • nd Fran* Hoellorine from the Hungarian of. Frantlsek' ganger; presented by Tue Actor-Managers, Inc'. Staged by Agnes Morgan.. Setting, Emeline Clark Koche. At the New rt Casino theatre, Newport, K. 1. Papa Duval. , T.co Tluigakov Count Marinski Sllnno lSiuKKlmtl Armand William nendlx Corbler Alan Hewitt Suzanne - ■■ Jeanne OtHHCllo Jacques l>uvul Tonlo Selwart liorlel Matthew S-nlllh Captain of lha Mi '.Hnyripn ltnrke Sinter Therese.. " " Colette. .Joanna Hoon ...Diirla ltlill Kin.. 'ulenllne -Vernon Alphonse I.nulse.... Kernodlne Jeanne..., Marie Guslave.^ Lllll Nanon , hhodelle Andre , Pipl Gendarme Madame Darken!.. Bf. Darcent Tail Driver........ Gendarme.'......... Theodore StcKer Leopold ]lohni;r;r .Evelyn Aronaon ...;. Marlon I.utz ...Rlt.i Hallli-nn Melvln VmIb .Allre Itoaenthal Heller Prank Culler .. .Jumea Honnen; .Juii Addjss ... 2llz:ilieih -Leon ... . . .Ednnr Kent ..Theodore S.e/ter Lpoitold HoflnKer Tryout of , 'Broken - Threads' is probably one answer to whether or hot an airing In the summer sticks has any actual value in determining a play's worth/ Had this same premiere been staged in some good tryout key- city under adequate working conditions, the real merit, or lack of it, would undoubtedly be pointed' out definitely to the audi- ence and producers.. As it was put on here, it's -pretty much of a wild guess to gauge its chances due to mauling of script necessitated by cramped facilities:. Despite these handicaps, continuity is maintained on a level .high enough to give promise of better things under more favorable conditions. Locale is the 'squattei-s' dump under Brooklyn Bridge., Mike (Cledge Roberts)' lias j t been freed from Sing Sing after- serving 20 years on miscarriage of justice in. murder charge. His alibi, which he had not used at the trial, was that he was spending the night with Mady, his sweetheart, when the crime was committed. Unknown to Mike, a girl is born to Mady, ana 20 years, later, at play's opening, ike and the girl, who is masquerading as a boy called Chick, are thrown together when both are befriended by Pop (Nor- man Porter), one of the older in- mates of the dump. Mike falls for the girl and asks her to marry him, hot knowing she's his Own daughter. Pop discovers the relationship and locates Mady, how a wheelchair invalid. Reunion of. the three causes' Mady to see the hopelessness of trying to pick up the broken threads of 20 years previous and she kills herself. Daughter be- comes bitter but curtain finds her and the father reconciled. Richard Behnen was originally set for the role of Pop in this produc- tion. Porter is .well-cast in.the part. Balance of troupe is in-and-out and would require several replacements for a fair test of the play: Staging is generally fair and several scenes carry punch. Writing, on the whole, is okay, with dialog better than adequate. Bone. WUTHERING HEIGHTS Litchfield, Conn., Sept. 3, Drama In three'acts (five scenes) by Ran- dolph Carter.. from ,the novel of the same name by Emily llronte; presented by Charles O, Carey's Litchfield' Theatre. At The Playhouse, Litchfield, Conn.. Aug. 31- Sept. 11. Staged by Ham Iph Carter. Set- tings,. John Mylrae. Catherine .Erhstmw.. HeatAcltffe..: .Edirar Linton.'....... Isnbel Linton........ Elle Dean... Joseph.' ..Charlotte Acheson ... .P. C. Purculowe ... .Randolph I'orter .....Ton! Volz .,.:. ..Mary. Fischer .......Patrick Fox Revised, dramatization by Ran- dolph Carter of the novel of the same/name by Emily Bronte,. 'Wuth- ering Heights," as evidenced by its tryout, is not yet ready for Broad- way. Charles O. Carey plans to pro- duce it-on the Main Stem this fall with the same cast. Play deals'-with the types found n a rugged, moorland county dur- ing the early 19th-century in North- ern England. Revolves about Heath- cliffe, an illiterate, cold-hearted man, who was brought as a child to Wuth- erihg Heights ' and . reared by the Ernshaw family. Catherine, a daugh- ter, returns his love. However, she marries Edgar Linton, a gentleman's son, following a hectic argument Seeking revenge on Linton, Heath-, cliffe marries his sister (Isabel) and mistreats her until- she wants to run away^-yet dares not because of her love for' him. Play ends with the death'of Catherine , in the arms of Heathcliffe, after he has given a strong avowal of his love, for her. Commendable performances are turned in by F. C .Furculowe, Pat- rick Fox and Mary Fischer. Ecfc. CHASE A COMET Moun in Lakes, . j., Sept 3. Drama In three acta by Donald B. Robin- son; presented by llandbox Players. Staged by Sydney Wade Bell. Costumes arid set-, tings, Whiting Thornton. At the Little theatre, Mountain Lakes, N. J., Sept.' 4 and 3. Ted Hosklns F. Moore Evana Mary McCalllster........'leanor Mitchell Philip Porter. Robert Toms Richard 'Marley ,...' aiv Moltenberg ■ Constance' Barries...-. .Jane Hnrvc'n Boyd Aldrlch....... ..Arthur Boughton Commissioner Fitzgerald Porter Cole. Frank Marsh.. George'Baehr Joyce {Cnthnway Lillian Rlfkln Vincent Thorndyke...... WliillnK Thornton Mis. O'Sulllvnn .; Lucille. Brophy Toby. Jack Delchnmps John .Teffers, James Pearl Dot O'Sulllvun............Wllmo, Thornton Ituss Palmer : Jack Bamford Tony Ferretll.. Hcrlwrt Montky Detective...............Ceorge C. Williams Able' Goldstein Bus Auser Jackie Miller ....Ken Atkins Inside Stuff-Legit Dr Robert Katscher, Viennese emigre, now in New York, whose best known international hit is 'When Day Is Done,' and; Cole Porter, whose No. 1 song is 'Night and Day.' are cq-composers of the forthcoming Shubert . musical, 'You Never. Know,' which bows into the Winter Garden, New York, Sept. 20; However, because Porter, so the Shuberts aVer, also has a production interest, the billing is 'Cole Porter's 'You Never Know'.' The Viennese tunesmlth is making no issue over this but insist? that he also get program credit lor the fact he authored the first must 1 adaptation from the original, 'By Candlelight,' which was a straight play written by Siegfried Geyer, He also composed the score. Porter wrote Aye new songs and Katscher's original score has been retained for about the same number of tunes. George Abbott has been anonymously fixing up some of the Scenes and tightening up the show. Rowland Leigh, who adapted the German libretto, staged. Reports were around, and subsequently denied by the Shuberts, that Leigh had bowed out as stager due to tiffing between Libby Holman and Lupe Velez, who are co-starred with Clifton Webb. The Winter Garden is being reduced 300 seats, removing the side loca- tions of the very wide theatre, in order to cr te a -more intime air for the book musical. The W. G. was basically a revue theatre. ilm rights to Top Much 'jphnson,' which the ercury theatre will do on Broadway this season, are held by Paramount. Picture company- bought the play from the Charles Frohman estate some years ago, with a number of other properties; Frohman produced the play with' William Gillette in 1892 after the actor adapted it from the French play, 'Plantations Thomassim;' Mercury leased the legit rights from Samuel French for. try- out this summer at the Stony Creek (Conn.) strawhat and. Paramount thereupon notified both parties of its Interest in the play. Contrary to previous, report, the same, cast that did the, show at the tryout will appear in it on Broadway. Production and administrative setup of the ..Mercury theatre will be virtually the same this season as last, With Orson. Welles arid John House- man again in charge. However, Houseman will have a general assistant, Harold, Kennedy, who will be specially assigned to the group's recordings of classics for use in classrooms, etc.' Kennedy did the Mercury's lecture promotion in schools' last season for the-road tour of 'Caesar' and did some- what similar, promotion during the summer for the .Berkshire -playhouse, Stockbrldge, Mass. irst presentation in New York- of Jai Alai (pronounced hi-li) at Hippodrome tprhorrow (Thursday) promises to attract a class .and' sport- ing crowd. Game which was made popular in Havana and Miami, has -several showmen interested in the metropolitan season, including Lee Shu- bert and Harry Kaufman. Mike' Jacobs, is- also in, with Richard Berenson, 'who's managing director. S. Jay Kaufman, who." has. been away from Broadway for some time, is representing his brother and handling special publicity for the venture. Norman St. Denis heads the press department Production of The Best ressed Woman in the World' awaits script re- visions by Jack Muhro, ' oman' will be done this season by Forrest C. Haring,' however, possibly in association with Dwight Deere Wiman, for whom Hari is general manager. Comedy, ich was. tested this summer at Stockbridge, is being, eyed by several picture .companies, but will probably not be sold until produced on Broadway. -Haring. would not share in the sale price unless the play ran at least three weeks. Early in. the baseball season Horace Stpneham, president of the NY. Giants, bet Crantland Rice $100 that the Pittsburgh Pirates would -hot fiiiish in the .first division. George- M. Cohan took half the wager. Joe Bannon, who' was present also took the century-note bet the same way and Sam H. Harris was declared in for half. Early this, week Pittsburgh led the league by four games, with the end of the season not far off. rave New World,* Louis .Walinsky's dramatization of a novel by Aldous Huxley, was world-preemed in Paris last week by the Edward Sterling Players, a London group. It's in English. Production had been skedded earlier, but Was-delayed by the click of the same author's 'Oscar Wilde.' Norman Marshall plans to bring 'Wilde' to Broadway this season. .Both plays are handled here by Pinker Sc Morrison. When Hallie Flanagan was in Chicago recently, she addressed local Federal Theatre department heads. National director particularly ad- monished publicity and promotion departments to retain utmost dignity in all exploitation. Last week, promotion department had an organ grinder and monkey on the streets to ballyhoo 'Little Black Sambo.' Play concerns a newspaper's cru- sade against vice. There's the fa- miliar lackadaisical reporter,, the sob sisters, a managing editor who would clean up the city, and an unscru- pulous publisher. There is enough. meat here for an . evening's repast but the : author has only a crude technique at his disposal. Hyman ottenberg as' the reform- ing editor does well, as does F. Moore Evans, the reporter. Jack Bamford and Lucille. Brophy are' also capable. Dalzelt. Preemed . before Newport's smart set. 'Cognac' proved itself worthy of further stage- exploitation, but will need a double whitewash if it ever expects to get by the Hays office for pictures. Plot is rife with innuendos and puis an emphasis on sex. It's colorful, thoush at times dull, which should be eli inated with rewrit- ing. Plot deals with the efforts of Jac- ques Duval (Tonio Selwart), jobless son of Papa Duval (Leo Bulgakov), to find himself. Unable to get a iob. he turns to petty thievery and then' to a safe robbery in the home of a bank president. His plans go astray, however, when the house which he robs catches fire and he rescues the bank president's infant daughter. Hailed as a hero. Duval gains a new outlook on life, which is further strengthened by a prevaricating Mis-- slbh lassie,. Sister Therese (Joanna Rons), and a job as bank messenger. Sister Therese's soap-box confession Of a previous life of wrongdoing AMERICAN INVASION { Centerville, ass^ Sept. . - Comedy In. throe nola- (wllh prologue), by I Joiinnetie Druco; preaonfed find dlrwled Hy I Mury Younj;. SeulngH, Kdvvitrd <irllTln. At j Mary Vonhif theatre, Centcrvllle, Muatr.. week <>t A'.uif. -HO. ' Chrlnluphi'r IU'IkuII- .'.: I lilnhop of Kent........ Lord Hityehfllie:id...... Oiike of Wesiorfthire... ..Wimble...'. Murli.l M; r lill.<s... I T.;idy Mnuhry, M.l»..-., I llonrl do lii Qulnlelk*.. j lifujmnin ChlnoHree.... Drirr* I) Hupo. J AIL FOR SALE Suffieid. Conn., Sept. 1. Pluy In three-nets by Samuel J.• Park: presviiieil by the Uand Bon IMnyei-.i. Stnt'eO l»y Mary Ann Dcnllcr. SeUlngs. I.lnyil Simnirlpr. At the Hnhd iiox theatre. SurcielJ. Conn., Aug. .11, ' Legit player of Austrian extraction has nixed an offer from Jed Harris to play the lead in his forthcoming-production of an anti-Nazi play. Al- though she is a U. S. citizen, she has a number of relatives in Austria and fears reprisals against them if she took the part. .. .William T;u\VHnn ...J'. Colvllle )>iinn . ..Ilcrhcrt Standing William Hum .> .. Odwnrtl Loaltrr Mary- Paltnn ........Davlil Mir ..Mary Ynui'n: ......Tlln Uenuldd ..; .lohn T.'iylnr Iieihei'l Clark Quite suitable' for littery summer .!,„ Jin> , . ; Mutt Slali* ; I'link Mu M;M .' Ram Tucker .' X'TOKBS C'nr.soh -, llltu Juil^e Carter Docfoi Mobile Kill .Icskui) .I.ohn HiiU.'on I*reilei-irk t;rahnm .Mi'-.H. JohnHon... . Siilke , . Itnhert Jackanh ..... .Don- Thnmitaon t'alvln Hewe'y- .Ouriia Wheeler Douglas' Keui-na Lucille l.aVerrie Marina SUeen Hal»rt ^su-wiiri .... .Samuel J, Park MnrcUH MeuHCh fJnnlon PelerM Itiith Theaford ' nal-J M. Itralnmd .l'nul nartlclt Don Thbmiwin .Frederick llof unn ' Ivan -eon ....Milan' ffnlhewity ; .l.layd S|>'ani;lcr Samuel J: Park would seem to be a' better actor than author. He por audiences;'Invasion' would_be given i trays a prison turnkey in 'Jail for " " ' Sale,'and makes the old gent amus- ing in a wry, befuddled way. How- ever,- the script is a muddled, com-, blnation of far-fetched comedy and melodrama. tumorous moments verge oh the absurd, hence the ..audience has a hard time settling down to the seri- ous passages and accepting them at face value. Story throughout- is I - the swerve by winter-time Show shoppers. Most of the gab and action has to. dp with a girl faking preg- nancv. Victi is an ultra-dignifled English politician, of anonymous rank. . Not only doe's the, American actress pretend that the upper .crust fellow Seduced her at a drunken house party, but to confuse matters, Lady probable and hokey, anyway, but there's a possibility that if the in- gredients had been bet r mixed, something more entertaining might have resulted. Lucille LaVerne is. entrusted with the one really colorful role, that of Ma Shellrock, who. has taken over her late husband's job of sheriff in a small western burg. Ma is out to get the bandit responsible for Shell- rock's death, and how she does it is the main idea of the play, though the action wanders pretty far afield at times: At the first rformance. Miss La- Verne 'didn't seem Very sure of her lines, and the characterization fell flat. Cast as a whole fails to do much, poor makeup in several in- stances cramping Its style. Jail interior set by Lloyd Spangler is creditable. Paui. S. L City And Oat Salt Lake City, Sept. 6. Heated controversies between pro- tagonists of a plan to/erect a $550000 civic auditorium and opposing/forces, representing the Apartment House Assh'. of Utah, resulted in the idea being shelved temporarily by the city coi issiOn.' Gus P. Backman. secretary of the Salt Lake chamber of commerce, who parentcd the proposition, with- drew his request after several tax- ■payeV groups vetoed the. proposal.. PWA funds were to have been used in financing, the.-construction, aided by-local grants, Bleecker Hall, Albany, Makes Legit Comeback Albany, Sept. 6. Harmanus leecker Hall, once the city's leading legit theatre and scene of many tryouts under the late F. Ray Comstock, Shubert associate, when Albany was a leading road town, is once more a legit stand. The house last played legit and stock regularly about 15 years, ago, under the F. F. Proctor management The Capitol, how dark, has been the city's legit house in recent seasons. An- nouncement of the formation of a Hall stock company, with weekly guest starSi and of the scheduled booking of touring Broadway; shows ■ along with radio and screen names, was made by Lou R. Golding, divi- sional manager of Fabiah theatres; Understood that O. E. Wee will be i terestcd' in the operating end. al- though he hasn't been mentioned for that job. The stock scale will be 35c to $1.10 at night and 35c to 55c for matinees. Madge Evans, in 'Stage Door,' Will 91.eh. Dough's Montgomery, Erin O'Brien-Moore and Hilda Spong will play the leads in - ' ig'ht Must Fall' the second week. ert Lytell will appear the third in 'The First Le- gion.' Violet Heming may also guest; It's said that some members of the. strawhaltors in nearby Schenectady and Stockbridge, Mass., may be re- cruited for the regular company.