Variety (Jan 1940)

160 Thirlvfoiirlh—VARIETY—Anniversary HERMAN SHUMLIN presents TALLULAH B ANKHEAD in "THE LITTLE FOXES' LILLIAN HELLMAN'S Dramatic Triumph wifh PATRICIA COLUNGE • FRANK CONROY CHARLES DINGLE • EUGENIA RAWLS • CARL BENTON REjD LEE BAKER • DAN DURYEA • JOHN MARRIOTT • ABBIE MITCHELL In February, 1940, after a yearns run at the National Theatre in Neiv York, "The Little Foxes" will start on a twO'Season,nation'mde tourm THE MALE ANIMAL A New Comedy By JAMES THURBER and ELLIOTT NUGENT Opening Corf Theatre, New York, January 9 BROCK PEMBERTON Wishes His Touring Company in Clare Boothe's "KISS THE BOYS GOODBYE" A Happy New Year Also the Same to the Companies of Paul Horgan's "DEATH, MR. PRESIDENT" and Margery Sharp's "THE NUTMEG TREE" Which Antoinette Perry Will Direct for Him in 1940 Musicals Cuiiniiiinl rniiii imi^n | ly Big or uU operetlas, when it w;i,s a bank, ruptcy itcin. Dwight Deere Wimaii occasionally produces straiyht shows, but his most profitable eirorls have Ix-t-u with mu sicals. When the, other »howmeii stayed away from siiiiinicr produc- tion, he came alonj; witli .such tiils as 'On Your Toes' and 'I Married aii Atifjol' (now on t-jur^) and had the summertime to himself. lie is due to repeat during the soa.si.n. An- Other consistent hit mu.sical pro- ducer is Vinton Frocdley, whose 'Leave It to Me' is on tour aloni; with 'Ansel' and 'Scandals,' pu,; a couple of less important tune af- fairs. 'Me' was a victim of the slump durins the latter ))arl of its Broadway run that accompanied the World's Kair and Ihore was much doubt that it would be wi lcomcd on the road. Its Krossos. however, are the hii;hC!ii of the musicals on tour. Abbott Killers Kirld Georye Abbott has entered lhe\ musical field successfully. Last .'ica- son'he:made his dobui wiiii The Boys From Syracuse.' which was a ■ hit on Broadway, but has not been ^ sent out this season. I li.s second try is 'Too Many Girls.' which is a distinctly belter moiuy draw. Ab- bott has specialized on straight lauch shows, but is now cotMiled on to regularly contribiile lo the musical field. He has the backini; of Warn- ers. Frecdley larcly venlures outside the mu.sical field, lie was formerly teamed with Alex A. Aarons and they fashioned some of the most popular musicals. be( ominjj ensconced at the Alvin until Broadway dipped too much and the partnership broke up. Aarons went to Hollywood for an extended stay, but is back and now readyinfi a musical ('Shooting High') teamed with Georuie Hale. Max Gordon has scored .some lop successes wilh musicals, usually of the musical comedy oj- operetta form. Several such presentations have not won the critics' nod, but landed well in the money. includiii;» 'Roberta' and 'The Cat and the Fiddle.' His current ''Very Warm for May' was similarly treated, but he insists it will make the gr.ide. Gordon's mosl ambitious musical was 'The Great Waltz,' which also was not warmly greeted by reviewers either, yet earned back most of the production red during a run at lh'< Center and, like th« others, made excellent money on the road. leonard b. McLaughlin Managlni: and nooklni; Baltimore's Leading Theairei MARYLAND I AUDITORIUM (n.lO ciiimrlty) I (l.i;.1 .iiiwi'Ity) Ilotli llniiM^M l*!iiiil|i|>f(1 ivllh \V. v.. SoiiMil Aviilluhip fur ItiinkliieH <■! nil kliHta AdilrrHH; Lrntiitnl II. Mi-l.nuKlilln Itlaryltind Tliriilrt*. lliiHItnorfl Holiday Qreetings BERT LAHR "DU BARRY WAS A LADY' 46th Street Theatre '' New York City Season^s Greetings ALMIRA SESSIONS . CUARACTE.. COMEDIENNE Lew Brown's "YOKEL BOY" .Majestic, New York