Variety (Dec 1940)

Wednesdayr Dccenibier 18* 1940 iJEGITIIIAtR 49 Whfether Equity is veerini^ towards ■ closed shop because o* the vatse in Initiation fee to $100;, which accom- panied the tfoostv.of minimurh pay from $40 tip. $50, is -a rnatter of disr cussion in professional circles. Mat- . ter was pi-ecipitated: by Equity's e^i- ■ tbrial explanation, of the rise and • the elirirtinatiqii of: 1. Q,. U.V ,£i-<im " candid^ites applying for membership. During thi^ actors' strike of 1919 the managers insisted ; that- Equity • aimed lor • > cliosed shop arid !that was their- principal; arip:umeht ;in settling :the ■ diispute.:-;Eqyity. ■ de- ' clared it had no such intention and promised that its membcr.ship- list woiSd . open for ' all tihne alliid- Ihg to;, Us set-up : as. 'Equity - Shop.' Twice Sinc^ ' then the initiation - tee has been raised," .the ,$100 requlre- . jherit having become efPectiye Dec^ 1 and Equ ity now: says: 'The raise in initiation fee was designed, quite franl^ly, to make ad- mission to Equity more difficult, and . so to limit the. number of persons who niiKht be attracted ta. the thea- trie as.a nieans of livelihoodv if not as a careei', becj^u.se pf jt'he vaisei cif the rninimum wage, to $50 a week.' •.■"Addedr " . There, is no other trade pji'. pro- fession :which provides an initial, sal- ary of $50 ,weekly to- apprentices.. And that, unforluhately, .V . what, most actors anil acti'esses accepting tiieir first: engagemerits are; It is ho • wonder that many personable yOung men and women shbu Id be attracted to that- work whether they - feel the . Urge to act or nnt.' ■ The.boost is further explained by i.'the fact that the stage Is .over- crowded, with'not rieh)'ly enough en- gagements fpr thpse who have quali- fied'for, it by years pt Jjtudy and practice- Fiu-ther stated that the in- crease in inltiatipn is to protect those. who are now • members of Equity.; Conceded' that the boost is certain to keep some people out of; Equity, just ais they ^arc kept out of other .unions, many of which hiave higher, initiation fees.; than the:'ac' tprs . asspciation. Principally af- fected are embryo players fromi summer stoc'lis and accompanying . drama schools. ■ New initiation was accompanied by a requirement that the fee and dues for the first six mbnthsi be paid In full by the applicant, the required amount being $109. -Principal rea- son for that rule is to prevent new- comers from joining easily, such as formerly permissable by liaying part cash. and the balance in I.Q.U.'s. Equity sHggests, however, that it Is okay for the applicant to raise the Initiatiori by ;bprrowing from the manager and arranging to repay him. Eor years Equity accepted , such 'lO.U.'s on the ground it did not wish to ':inake it too di/rlcult to Join. Now the partial payment: sys- tem Is declared outmoded; al-so that It resulted • in wasting too much ef- fort, to collect. : , During November 93 applicants were accepted to membership, while 205 members applied for withdrawal oards, freeing them from paying diles until they secure engagements. Reserres Decision On After; ;a four-day trial; Federal , .Judge Vincent Lcibell, in : New , *ork reserved • decision -Wednesday 9^ Nellie; Harris': suit against . , 'Gilbeirt Miller, Norniao Marshall, ' .. Leslie Stokes,- Sewell. Stokes, Ran- , dom House, liiic„;and Hei-ori Pi-oduc-.i; tlorts,' Inc. Actiph seeks an injuncr ,• tion, accpuntlng of profits and dam- ;»ges for the , alleged plagiaVlsm in the play 'Oscar Wilde;", of hei: hiis- , . band's book, 'Oscar Wilde, His iUfe- . and Confessioni' . Leslie arid Sewell Stokes, wrote the- play, 'pscar Wilde,' which Gilbei't :Miller; and .Nor'T^an Marshall pro-; duced, through; -Heron Productipris. Randon House published a bookV " Pscar .Wilde,' based on the play. ■^There i/fiW be no decision before: . the first of the yeai-. as Judge Leibell . has granted both sides„until Dec. 23 to submit brieis, • /^^^^M'jlei,- and , p^^ husband.' *^rank, harris. wrote the book fri 1916: and after his !death it was -willed to i "'s widow. An amended defen.«!e was ;subtnitted to the,- c6ui-t Friday fl3); whjeh *iras adcepted by Judge Lei-• ; bell. The defense charges that Frank Harris' book pirated much of its .ma- iemi froni other books and Was riot original, . ' Fritiik feraVen Play :; Undei^O Re^^ Job ' Sari;Frariclsc6,\Doc, .17V l^iariic Craven's new pSydhic play, 'About .Tornprrow,' wh closed; a lOrday test; run at vthe Cuvran Saturday (U), will undergo re writ-- Ing before heading, east. Expects to. open on Broadway shortly after first of year. Aidvance sale was good .but flood of cancellations caused by fiu epiderhic; \^ras' plenty toiigh . on b.o„ no figures being, released. . . Show itself opened two days late due to illness of leading woman,; Sally Ejlers: Aithpu;ili. cir::'\ving fair notices ft'orii critics, there were an; unusual, number. .61 letters, qustpm:- ers , took .-the, play . very much to, heart, ; flbod'^^pf-, 'mail-,'cau.sm Hobart, 6f ;;ehronicie,';td .print, cPrh- ments branding hirri 'unappreciative!' Consensus here is that play will. be liked but that; the 'cynical' N. y, critics' may-. kill ^its chances. . ; \ ' Four Flop Shows On HoHywood Meant Total loss of Over $110,000 With the isudden collapse of 'Every IWan For Himself,' at the Guild, N. Y.,;last . Wednesday (ll), after three perfor^riahqies, the score of Holly- wood plays, on Broadway is 4 to 0. Iri: the .same house, :-„Qiuet, Pleaise' flopped out in a week and two days. 'Glamour Preferred' stopped at the Booth ; in' the same time, and .'Bey-, erly HilLs* was chased to;the show- ers in a bit over three-weeks. The total loss on the quartet is estimated over°$iiO;000. 'Hiriiself* went out .the hard way, $22,000 in the red. It was pi-oduced iDy Arthiir Hutchinson arid Arthui: Ripley, who became managers on the Coa.st. They teamed .originally 'for 'Oscar, "Wilde,* which.showed in California and Was reported to have fared • well. It turns out, however, that the duo dropped: $45,000, .sup- porting the contention, of Gilbert Miller that the play was for Broad- v/ay only. .'Wilde' fared very well in the metropolis, virtually spanning a season, but it was not sent on tour. : : After - favorable Cpast, reports, 'Hiniself' management could have se- cured a needed bankroll, but figur- ing they had a gOod thing are.said to have declined disposing of any of their holdings. When the show ar- rived from San Francisco there wer^ theatre charges of more than $900 which the Guild, demanded, ttiitch- Irisori paid the theatre bill, but it was iBveral days aifter the blackout. ;' - Evidently the bad press on.'Him- , . (Contiriued On page 9i2) Class f or Geirtiei tJsually, when onstage dreissirig ,rooriis are required for quick changes, flats are lashed together for that purpose. It will be dif-. .ferient for. Gertrude Lawrence in 'Lady in the; Dark,' as she will have, the last word in-portablie dressirig Vboms, a la; HpllyWopd. Model of the rpom was especialiy designed, ; mth : her' approval of color scheme and other details! Star will .be. on the'stage, most • of: the performance: and, numer- ous, changes,are' required. Niew ;&rtie Uwrence PrSd. atlOOG What iriay; prove;'tiiie mbst -costly production ■ of; the season is 'Lady: in ["The; Dark,' >^^hich Sahi. H. Harris is ; piroducing arid ;. starnng. Gertrude ', Lawrence. ■ Fi,guVing a spread which rnay reach $25,000 riiore than ,tlie biidget, show's- expenditures look; i certain to exceed $100,000. Comple- ment of persons to be carried to Boston for the tryput.is 165, inclu- sive of costum'jrs and accessory peo^ pie, but. the playing cpmpany has, around 60. '• ■■ ■ 'f ' ,' 'We have; four reyolving . stages- and one revblying author,'; iexplairied Moss- Hart, who wrote the bpok;' Kurt Weill Cortippsed' the score and Ira Gershvirin the lyriCs. Seven .cars, will be required to take the putflt to Bbstbri, no; 7b-.fobters - being available is the post office .has re- quisitioned all for the holiday rush. Company, leaves next Tuesday (24),• balance of the week being deyoted to setting up the sho.yir and final re-: hearsals;. Opening date there is; Dec. 30 ait the Colonial and it's due at the A.lvin, N.. Y.. week of Jan.: 13. Thei'e is a title simiiairity' with" 'The Lady Whb Came -to >Stay,' which -Guthrie McClintic is opening at the. Elliott Jan. 2, but the label is the same ais the Ixjok frbrn \vhich: the play whs derived. Two. othei" incoming'N. 'ir, shows have; titles which are • partially alike. One is 'The Old Foolishness/ 'which bows' in Friday jf,20).^t the Windsor, the other being.. 'Old Acquaintance,' which premieres Monday (23) at thje Morosco; •Horse F^yer'May Relight On B'way at $1.65 Top 'Hbirse Fever;' \vhich clOsfed at the Mansfield, N; Y., Saiturd'ay (14) after two, weeks plus one night, riiay rer join, Broadway's holiday icard.- .Plan is to spot;it in. b. flizeable hou$e at $1,65 top, but ; ri<) . theatre booking: was secured early this Week. ;Deal: •is Spending, for :the 44th , Street, idea being to-Show there.for two .weeks, as hPUse will get 'Crazy, With: the Heat' about the middle of January. 'Horse' was the. flrst«tb try. Sunday matinees.at $l;l6 top,:; Regular ?cale is $3.30. . •• - If 'Fever.',relights, a salary;cut will be 'eflfective. ; Alex Yokel, whp pro- duced the show, has rcarraiiKeci the operating nut to clip. $1,350 froriJ the Tunninjg cost. NW THEATRE CONCLAVE In SEATTLE FEB. 13-lS ;Sea.ttle, Dec. 17. All theatre workers, ariiateUr and professional, of the Pacific Northwest -^Washington, Oregon; Montana arid Idaho—will hold eighth annual ihea* tre cpnferehce at the University of Washington; Feb. 13-15 inclusive. . There will be variety pf theatrical events Including performances at the new Penthouse theatre. Showboat, Lyric, and Repertojy' Playhouse, In- cluding .marionette production for visitors; arfs Unique Commissions Froiny ^ Kirkland's Tobacco' ! Although ■ it arranged rieither' the 5ta^e production nor the picture sale for "Tobacep Road, •' the Leland Hayr ward agency has collected, a commis- sion froin the •eritirje Broad.way run and gets half th^ agent's fee on the film deal. Show ;h;as-loeeh among thei; best -money-makers in shpw business history. A.s bbth author, and producer. Jack Kirkland handled the legit prodilctlon himself. "The Feld- man-Bliim agency In Hollywood .set: the-, screen deal with 26th Gentury- .Fox.'; The actual -amount Hayward has collected from the ahow so far/isn't known. Biit on the basis of an esti- mated giross of $2,900,000 from the mbre-than-sriven-year Broadway run, Klrklarid'fl royalties would probably be somewhere in the neighborhopd of $20b,00(j (which naturally doesn't Include hij . profits a« .producer). Agent's :.comnil99ion on that would be $20,000. ;■ , Picture tights went for $200,000, ■plus a percentage. Play was- pro- duced iindet the pl4 mlnlmum^^basic agreement iri effect In 4^33," which, gave the author .50% of the film price, Hayward and Feldman, split- ting the coriimlsslon on that, would each get $5,000'. This estimated $26,000. In commis- sions (so, far) for Haywjard may npt equal the agent's percentage on a few other ,iegit-Alm deals where the amount wasn't split. But thie case of Hay'wafd and 'Tobacco Road' Is unique because the agent liad little (Continued on page 52) FORMS Ci-OSM SOON Usudl Advertising Rates Reservations and Copy May Be Sent ^fo Any Variety Office ; uiw YORK HOLLYWOOD CHICAGO LONDON 154 W. 46th St ; 1708 No, Vine St. k W/^^H it 'Is riow. clear that.' Brbadway's musicals, most of which. have ticket scale at $4.40 top, not at-; teriiptihg Sunday' perfdrniarices ; on' the .theo^'y that the class, of people: who patroriize the lower floors :do not come to Tinves SqriSire on ' the; Sabbath.\ Same ariguriiertt appears to. apply to the , top ranking ; straight plays, where.; Monday attendance'. i.s SCpel'ally ; as strong as any Other' .night ■ . ■■■;■, .:■■(: ■'■: High scaled; miisicali have drav^ri. heavily on Siindays when played for the benefit, of the Actors Fund and: Stage Relief, but the tickets;, alwayis have heeh disposed-of through tho.<e . organizations; Nearly all the tickets' for "such benefits are^ sent to .selected lists bf. each fund's'suppoutcii's. Only , a few tickets for the funds' bencflts are sold through agencies. Sunday custojnfers call for cheap ticket.s, at the boxplTice, where; plenty of price . cutting is reporte.d. , •; - : ■/ . ■. ■ , .That a real .test of Sunday possi- bilities will ript' he made until: all shows play on that day 6r night is . also a generally accepted - belief along Broadway..: Fourth Sunday : .(15) for iegits-saw no .change; in the. .situa'.i-n. Seven;shpVXs v/crc qi). one- which, played .the Sabbath the pre- vious" week; having been ^yithdravyn, Busihe.^s was claimed to be satisfac- tory, but in, no: iristance' Ayere .-the; takings exceptional. : As previously, the' Sunday per|6rriiarices were played by in-betweeriers with one or,, twfli exceptions. Suggestion is rnade that a .special reduced price night bo- cstabli.shed for Broadway. Idea is that if the en- tire list would play at reduced scales ■.fresh interest, in theatre-going would be prori:ioted, particularly ahipng per- sons who riiay not patronize legit, because of limited spcndingr moans. Proppnerit of the plan suggests, Mon-. day instead Of Sunday, with the eve- . ning being established as 'suburban night' as a reason for the price con- cession. Must Include Hits Iri discussing , the plan it was emr phasized that the hits as .well as the other,<5 would have to . participate^ otherwise without cpprdination, the public* might be suspicious that something was oiit of; order with the . shows. Idea , will probably be con- sidered :by , the Leiague of New York ' Theatres; which is striving-for more Sunday participation.. . . In. ticket circles' it is figured that the Sunday (29) between Christmas and Ne\v 'Vear's should be a natural becau.se bf the anticipated influx to New^York. There riiay be additional performances played because ojf that, but it Is already known .that the top draws w;ill duck, the date because of the-Mpridj^y advance sales> At least two new shoves will be added to the Sunday list, ,One is *Meet the People/ the Coast revue bowing in at the Mansfield Christmas night, -It win ! have a $3.30* top, sariie as the other . i'mu.'iicals f'Helizapoppih' and, 'It Happens oh Ice') which play Sun- I days,- • "The other Is ; "The Flying ' Gerordos' which debuts Sunday • Dec, 29. Most of the. agencies are open Sun- days at the request of the League, but do; very little business. Slafls have , been curtailed because of- that. Brokers say they have noticed a pe- culiar .castomerreactipn, it being a ; drpp In Mpnday sales.; That day is. usually active , for advance sales in- ; the agencies, but the drop dates fi'oin : the time Sunday T)crformanccs ."jtarted aind.they claim it cannot tie. blamed on the pre-hpliday./decline. Jeiiiiie Toorel's Suit Agaiiwt Sd Hurdk A sviiti by jerinie Michlin, known lis Jennie .Tourel, .soprano, /formerly of the Metropolitan Opera Co., .iigain.st 'Hurok Attractions, Iric.,: and ,S. HUrok -was;,reveal ed in N. Y. su- :. prem'c, :court when , the: plaintiff ap- r plied tp examine Hurok before.trial, Action.,.charges; breach ■ hf' .contract and: seeks, (lamaKes .iJf :$V0;000. -■; PlaintilT claims; she 'siiincd a .inari- agerjal • contract with Hurok frPrri : cnci • ppqra tour pf the U. S.,; Ganada-, Cuba and Mexico. --."She xviis-Aiuiran-, teed ,10 perforriianccs - at S2r)0 each, plus jobf the grp.ss oyer $000. One fif the concerts Was,,a guaranty ,at (•^ithfer darncgie or Tov.'ri Hnll, N. V.