Variety (Feb 1941)

50 LEGITIMATE Wednesday, February 26, 1941 Alexander Woollcott, who appeared In 'Baltimore recently in "The Man ••Who Carrie to. Dinner;' replied by ; letter to the Baltimore Sun last week to the woman who -rote an indignant protest to the paper about the Shock- ing'/Kaufrnan-Hart comedy;. -.Author j-.cr.it ic : star" was' sarcasticallyamused at the woman, and several others who, : he: said,.'had written hirn -at .the theatre.- Reply by Woolteott said in paH: ■ : ' •••' : •' '.:' 'Reading .them brings back across tho/years two-memories... One is the occasion when' :a'..palpitant debutante giished?up to that great actress!, Emily SteVehs; and . said,''Oh, Miss. Steveii?!. Do you. thiiik .the'stage can do iariy harin'to '» purej/young • 'No.' replied Miss Steye.ns thoughtfully, .'but 1 shudder; to. think ; what .a pure young :gir). could do 'to: the stage.': .'Also there comes, to'mind a 'moment•: at the. theatre when the\greatest of. them an—the late • Justice 1 lolmes^slapped his/aging thjgh;'-and! -said, 'Thank God I've got vulgar.; tastes.'-' ■; , '- ! , '" ■ •'.■■'.'■•.: : .....' : ' 'Weli, goodbye; 'On Monday s t'-nVoff to-Hersltey in a cloud of : lust;'', .. Understood that. WooIliiOtt, ..who opened a■ .t.\yo-week date- Monday (24)• at National. . Washingtoni/wiil ;stop^at -the While House. He/ is- -known to be on cordial terms with the. Presideiu/and Mr. '. Roosbvelt. and qn/preyioUs.: visits to the capita] was-a feiiesl at' Hlie. executi^ carnpniifn: last fail, Woollcott..-stumped, for the President. .. Westbr.ook Peglcr exhibited what, ho- called a change, of pacelast week when his -col limit, in. tlie.V<or Vcl : i'c.iejy'aii);. N..'■ V.-.; •We'h^-'iq;t'«W.iO;admirtf-- tibii of a f61lo\v;'sl<nrt nieniboiv is - the daily's 'dranvv critic. Pegler.stated that \Vljippje is, a^vanish irig breed- nowadays 'who,can do jList about anything'Anybody; can..ask of; :l)ihV.around ihje-editorial side of a newspaper or press a>ss.6.c:iSiip^i.'';...; ,: '.iPegler''and-''^hipp^e worked oh the Unitcd Prcss together: .'•Latter .-was a . city, editor, in Syracuse and has been a managing editor in South/Bend, Indy;.and Denver.. Recently;; ^ aUendihg.,the theatre, .declaring best .way Vas.to go,albne instead of taking the wife.i Dwelling on the distaff s'ide./he. wrote; in part; .,you have to ease her through the ctowd and. -down to the\seats, and lay back her . coat -for .her;; and then' her program slips ..off.' her lap and you hcive to fish. around in the dark, and all the timeduring;th'e"show, ypu have a sense, of ^responsibility and care,- which is "just what you gin to the. theatre ■■-to: get. away from.' Theiy at jinterrpission, if she doesn't smoke, well,-you do, and if you' go out and leave her/ you are something rhyming with ; 'house'', .'•/" - - ' ■ ; . After beingyfilepV/aw/ay for, ..[years- in. Parambtint's' scriptdejpartmen't, 'There's ..Always Juliet' : turns up.-; in. film fbrrrt ; undet : thi& title of 'One Night in Lisbon;' Play by John Van Druteri was presented1 at the Empire, N. Y;, in 1932 .! after,., itproduced, then heading Par's legit department which was litter abandoned; One-set, four-character coYnedy ..w.h''ichV did '-(fairly well had Edna Beit' and Herbert Marshall as/the leads. London, locale has been written out of the scenario and Portugal substituted, with/ '....'; war. -babkgrbund tb bring the story up to date.'...-• '■'<- .'-'■ ■/"•'"' THE TALLEY METHOD Oomody ilraina In Mire*', ctota .preaented: at Henry Miner's,' .V. Tv, J-Vb.. 2t,, MI, by (ho - J'lnywrlBlua.'Co.i. written by S.. Js\ IU<lirniiro::Ina Claire' ni'nl-.PWMp' Iflerlvnl'o slun-ed; ■ Krnitt D»ium h fe.uvurcq; . aetili'uc by Jft MIHzliier-';£vlW.Wl> •Avis Tnlli\v'' For.the record, Gedrg.e'M..Cohan points out that.the first time lie starred on his own Was in-1904 in 'Little Johnny Jones,' which hewrote and ■'•'pro'-, duced. During the three preceding ^'seasons, the. Four. Cohans starred In The Governor's Son* and 'Jtun'ning 'For Office.'; -.- It had been jprinted that Feb. ,12 .was the 40th anniversary, of. Cohan!s Initial appearance as a star.;. ■ ■ > Grace Moore spent last week at Saranac Lake, where her husband, Valentin Parera, has been under treatment, for some time; his condition being serious. He was formerly a Spanish picture player, but after their marriage became her business manager. Warbling star returned for: her final appearance in 'Love of Three Kings' at the "Metropolitan Monday (24). James Carroll is again in uniform with the rank of major. and' is pres- ently quartered in Washington. He has trained down and tips the beam ^175 pounds. He was associated with his: brother, -lEarl; at the latter's theatre-restaurant ixi' Hollywood until recently:- . 'BELINDA,' IN BLACK, RESCINDING PAY CUTS BALLET RUSSE WILL TOUR SOUTH AMERICA Some shows on Broadway have «alary cut arrangements, with stipu r lations that When. the gross passes certain marks the pay. is restored partially or wholly. 'Johnny Bel- inda,' Longacre, has been bh a cut basis for some time, but it is claimed that full salaries have been paid re- cently. When takings top $7<000 the slice of one-third does not apply. Last week show was credited with topping $9,000, best gross since opening; 'Belinda' went well. Into the red. mostly through extra - advertisinc. but for\ ;,the-; past two months is claimed to have .earned'an operating ' profit weekly.' . ■ . Opens Rib on Boston - Original Ballet Russe, currently winding" up a brief tpur...-of eastern U. S., leaves next week for engaged ments in Mexico City; and Havana befbre embarking on a season-long and. first ' Sou,th American trek, Troupe is due back in Itew Tfork late next August and will open its regu- lar fall engagement here iri mid- October; • ' ■ . Closing 'Saturday (1) night at the Academy of Music, Philadelphiai the company entrVins for Mexico City,' where it plays through March 6-14 at the Palacio Belles ,Artei: Opens, in Havana, March 20 at the Auditorium theatre; .remaining . through March 25; Then- sails for Peru, where it. bpeiis Aprii 3. ■■ : '''.'The\.-other""'s;v.'.Hurok.--'-tf6upe,- the. Ballet Russe d'e Monte Carlo, toured South America .iast; summer.. ' That „\yas - the. firit time . a Russian ballet * had visited .the. southern; 'coritihent since Nijinsky headed a tbui'there in 1917', ••:•/. : /." v'" l'lillip 'J'ltlley. .... i'y Hloti«eii...i.. liniil Kulici'...:, Miiry . : MjinrriMl^Aicl-u,. .; ljr. A.vto'ii' TUvjpy. Clali* Nlefien , ■...'..'..'. ,'Ucnn .Hnh'iH ; .'■„.. .HUam filiri m/in .., .■. ;; . Mm t'lnlis •.....■•:.\..'...ll<ta Kainu :'..i.. ; IOrj\sv.l>'eut.>ich ,'.. ;--.'iI?lillli>- Morlval« .The : Playwrights had a. lot; of trouble with their latest presentation aiid. perhaps" it was fated from the start.: Despite the effort involved, chances, of popularity, are limited, even with Ina. Claire and Philip ■Merivale. ..'•■ ■;' : •''''. ;':■■ '.' . Play was known for a time as 'The Mechanical ' Heart.' which was. cer-, tainly less suitable .than ' the present handle. It was brought 'back. for script, and. some ■ cast changes/ after the first trybut; but jsumehow.it.failed to. jell.; Herman. Shumliri :did the direction, originally and then Elmer fiicp tboJe oyer, with 'tlie result that Tieither is~ J mentioncd on ..the "program; as'staging:- .;■ ..'•;' • •'•'.•' ;• ■' : S. N. Behrmah Is' known for'bril- liance in dialog, though; most of his plays have serious slants. Same goes :fpr. '.The; : TalleyV|iSetht)d. , .'-.!)Vit':' the..- i'm-. pressibri is that file story,, what there is of it, is'muddied. Comedy content is'under-nOrrfia.l for Belinnan. • : . : ... Widower. Dr.'•' Axtbn "TPalle'y. is ••'■a noted . surgeon. \vhose method on ;a difficblt affliction has saved .many, patients. He fails' in love with. Eriid Fuller, a poetess, whom he had sue-, cessfu.lly operated '-upon. He; tries to prepare the way- to introduce her into 'the household/ but .hardly gets to. first base with: his soil, Philip, arid adopted , daughter, .Avis/. • ^ . ; The .lad gave tip studying medicine: and is frittering away his time.with 5 fan .dancer.-Daughter .is a radical, caustic, and petulant: Curiously. Enid understands them better than Axt.ori.' Not.so belie.vableV is.her. affection fbr- the bitter rnaideh.' currently in love with Manfred G.eist, a; GeTrrtan refu-. gee writer with a grown daughter, and. dlsdaihing.Cy Blodgett; a clown-' ish student. ; - • / . Showdown comes, in the thfrd act. Geis.t .professes love for lEriid, which infuriates Avis. Realising he. is re- spbnsible for part of the situation, in the Talley home, he stiicidesi. Avis then leaves. . Enid comes to the de- cisibh that she cannot -marry the doctor because they are mentally not attuned. Ohly satisfaction for Dr; Talley is that Philio returns to medi- cal school and ,thereby continues .the line, of physicians in the family. . Miss Claire and Merivale are splendid players and-try to lend to their respective parts more than is written in them, 'Early In. the play she expresses Joy in meeting a man she could really love after a number of emotional, wanderings. .She also/ says. *We live in a time when [the truest voices are struck down by the ioudost.' Somehow those sentiments do not. iibe with her later ideas. MerivaleV Talley seems the, much 'more normo]...character. Hiram . Sherman' is amusing at times a.* Cy. having the play's lishter lines. Ernst ' Deutsch' evves Geist some authority. +hough It isn't an at- tractive .nort . Claire Nieperi is the dour Avis and less flnoealine, while Dean Hafrens plays Phillo. both be- ing among the younger players who recently landed oh Broadway. . :-'.■:' 'b«e . 'revamped In several;. respects, none of them adding ' greatly to the effectiveness, of the/ original theme and treatment. .. ■/•.;;..';./:■; Production le mediocre, arid, the di- rection, attributed to Guy Douglass, is distinctly dated, much of the buslr hess being, corny and overboard in its loutish' iniplicatlbns. Device of visible loud speakers blaring atmo- spheric musical, theme for curtain raisers and blackout./ climaxes is hokey meller, and goes back, to the days of the/ kerbsene.-cltcurtsi Performance is a hoopla field day for Florence Reed, / Violet. Hemihg and Douglass Montgomery, The lead Is ,a compelling delineation • for fe'mme audiences and. holds a hyp- notic fascination for male players, as was evidenced by- Bob .Morit-: gomery's painstaking and impressive click in the film; ; Douglass Mont- gomery's . Danny portrayal is an Interesting, though loose, character- ization of the murderous' psychotic, its effectiveness being somewhat dis- persed by • swirl of knees and elbows and its rather squirmy playr Ing. /Miss. Homing, not too"happily cast; as the love interest, makes the most of, the part- of 'the: inhibited 'heroine. Here again this ve.rsibn inV vitcs icbmparison with: Miss Russell's- film Olivia and comes off; second best. / v.';-;"-.' ; v .: ; -;/• -, ;:./ ■ •';. Miss Reed as Mrs; Brarnsbn is a surprise, mostly' because she fol- lows no precedent In her portrayal, .{fore is a sterling performance of an elderly hypochoridri'ac. all the way, and the acting/ honors;, of^the per- formance >gb -to her. The high quality/ Of the: acting turned In by these three seasoned troupers, .aided by the compulsion' of the psycho^- killer theme, makes .up for-the other. bbvfoW'shortcomings. <jf the pres- chtatioh. and -. should be sufficient tb flssiire it of at. least moderate success. Frank . McCoy, credited as. pro- ducer., also is., acting as romoany manager. ' :.'. -.. Burton, 3ALLET THEATRE '■ / \ /- Bost6h..'.Feb. '25;.. The Players Theatre group made its debut in the Peabbdy Playhouse! t\ : vj , n .«•/ . here Friday..flight (21) with their ■ l/r8fflatlS[$ Katlty reviie /caHed .'Baa; Baa/. Back Bay;! Advance publicity 'promised a big hotfoot to all Boston institutions arid traditions, > arid - the house was packed. . Judging frqrii reception, .a New Basic Agreement New. minimum ' basic :, agreemerit good percentage of the pew. warm- ^f'W p J^ c *, i(?n f - B^fdway •plays- was'.ratined;cesterday.' (Xues.-' , ars were pals; of^/the pJhyers In a self-cphscious cbllegiate man- ner the revue/ribs', a rich .assortment ■ of people and. places, but / v. good day:)/.by the. Dramatists' Guild cbtinv cil. '; It had previously been- nego- tiated/ with the League of. N.. Y. Theatres. - whose members. ; ex- taste: politica'ns, the /street railway.' p e C ted to sign Harvard, ;^Grbton,/^bhn' Ro6seyelt..J .,p act . which goes into effect Sat- Koussevitsky arid Ann Covio among urday a),. i s ' f or five years, . Only others . . . : . changes /from the 'previous, agree- No.velt.ies include a co-credit; 6n a. men t are that authors of all plays, lyric for. Percy/ Bysshe Shelley, and, American br foreign, mtist'he mem- a special backdrop for a 30-second/ bers of or join the Guild, and the dumb skit! which has two' Indians', period; - during which p odticer walking twice . across .the stage.' shares in the subsidiary rights to Music was written, by tarltori Bates, plays is extended from thjee-to five and Bobby Goldman. . years. . Phy Out of Town NIGHT MUST FALL (ROAD REVIVAL) .. Buffalo. Feb. 20. Drnma by .fenilyn Wllllama; proB>nleiV by. Vrari'c ,5li.-Co,v. F.i'b.:• 211-21'; nt;-. ErlaiKjer. •Bufraln; rtlrftPrt by . Oviy % M)oirtI'nKii; f«i- ;tur«!-' Viprcnop Rcp,i1, .pnifKl.t'M MontROiilcrv Uriel-Vlojpt Ttenilni?: 'othprq- l« ense, Arthur Cioulil-l'hrlPr, PhlKmtii -,Rp'viin«.' -. riprrilno Vert, Ethel •. rlllon,' J. W. Austin.;' $2.75 top. ■ V ..' ■' . _■ . . • ' . This , revival of Emlyn; Williams' melodriimatic British inuseum piece is definitely rigged for, the provincial trade.' Buffalo' date/ of this revival, which Is its, .flrSt U - S. showing fol- lowing . several, weeks of Canadian bookings; poses the questibri asi to .the explanation for its present American refurbishing. Aside from providing ari- actors! holiday for .the trio of .fea- tured players, this stilly of'.* horiii- rldal rrianiac .in/its present form has little hew to recommend it, "except nerhrps as an- cv'hlbit .of /earlier Will'.'imsania; chieflv; -of Interest .'to his 'Corn Is:'--Gr'e'enV-..en : thii<ia'sts.'':-''-Oh; •that, score, tt mitjlrf attract some; at- torifion frorii the cognoscenti, but on l.t«;/'<:howing hPre. there speriis. littlrr likMihood .of a molrn.pblltari .stand, especially In yiev> tif (he fact that the or.in.ipn). o'vtftT with the author him- sclfi. proverl /nnjiblp to weather more than a few weeks of Broadway' hyfJoVhR'.: . Such hintn lond ' attention as ft may receive will . Probably come from . irit'ere?t In. /•oinnarisop'- with the , coilii'ovfrsla'./ Robert: ;'. A font?.- •«wmcry-T?o.«*lln<T: RK««?l.l-'Parn" 'Mav Whltty film, vers'on. -'th wh'ch this '.brrtrli'r'tibrj Irievitahlv invites -mral- Icls. Present dramatization; has been Pullet- Theatre; ■proscfilP'l. by Dnllet Pres- eiitntliins. Titc. ('nii'.luclor', M;ix: OrttiPTmnn. At'AnWtUvX. V., Feb. ll;^4t; SSJltt top. (■$4.-K» op'criinK^. ■• ■■ ' ■ '•'PrlrtclpnV:.- N'wnjx Onllncr.-- Anne W IlKon: Miriam Oniilen. Nina SIi-obudovh, . AKncs de Mlllc Luoln' Oli:is'<*:'.'Aniiiibolle T.ynn, Norn- Knye/ Knren.C'oniii'l. Ahlon lio|ln. Piivld Nlllo. ' Kilware!. Onlon. . Kupohe I,orlfi»f. .TpriinVo ■ llobblns, -Huifh ■ T,n|nfc. Antony. Tudor. Tortn W(nilPll;in, K:ilh:ivlnP Seritnvft. . IOnspniblp: Allol'aiAlonxo. Muriel. Ilcntley, Joan Davidson.- Tnnlii ))i)!(0li(li)vskn. ■ Jlelty nilniore. : M1in! ..(.lombpr. Mnrla: . K:irnlloff. P.iroHiy tyaaK-ht, 'Mnrjurln Moore, Dorothy Moftruile. Olco Snrtrrz, Kozslka .Punbovn. Kintle'n -Viillior, VlrRlnla ..AVIItox. ; Anna, Wlman. llillle Wynn, Hetty YcnKCr. NFcr- hnndo Aloiizo; Hubert Blnml.-.Frotl Dnnlell, Charles I>lo|cHnn, Pwlpht r,ndwln. nny Kiirr rlson, John Krlzn, . niohnrfl Itocrt; Npvvromb 'Bice; f lUmltrl' ltoninriofr. DoimJd - Saddler;, Uobert Wolft. ' If there can be such: a thing a&/an all-Americari'baUcl; this Ballet The- atre would appear, to be it. Many of the group are either,foreignTborn or iforeign^lraincd, but at least the or- ganization has its inspiration lit. the U. S., arid, what!s more important, its-work has the flavor and feeling of this country, Whether or not the American public will support a ballet of; native appeal is. another matter. it may/be that the cash-paying ballet audiences prefer the some-: what synthetic (if potent)-glamor of - the two Russian troupes—the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo arid the Origi- nal Ballet Russe; Undoubtedly, the latter two outfits draw'bigger grosses at present. But if the Ballet Thea- tre can continue its buildup and is shrewdly handled .it should acquire a sizable following of its own, not Only iri New York, but ultimately throughout, the country. Ballet. Theatre is well named; It is more than mere ballet. Its pro- ductions, particularly the newer ones, have an originality and. ;a the- atrical quality distinct from the-pure, tinsel -make-believe appeal of tradir tiorial ballet. It may be a sense of the commercial. Anyway, it's there and it frequently provides a divert- ing;-show. occaSioriaily even an ex- citing ope. / NUiriber. of new ballets are being offered during the current engage- ment which started /at : the/Majestic .to■''■■a- profitabiy-ililed. and.- colorful house. -.- Sbme-.bf '"the->presentations• are. deflniteiy smash entertainment. Among the latter are 'Gala Per- formance,' a low-comedy- piece about how three premiere ballerinas (Rus- sian, French arid Italian).- upstage each other when they appear in the same ballet. Conceived by. Antony Tudor,.,with- . rriu'sic- by Serge Pro- kofiev, arid with / atmospherically helpful decor by Nicolas d'e. Mojas, it provides. a succession of laughs. . Another click" addition: to the rep^- ertoire -is V new, version/of 'Three i VirgiriS and a Devil,' a satirical gem |With choreography', by' Agries de ; Mille, scenario by. Ramon Reed, set- ; ting by Arne Lurtdborg. and costumes by Motley. .'Billy the Kid/; a melo- dramatic story 'ballet about, the nb- tbrious . frontier killer, is a vivid spectacle of steadily ■ rising. interest. It has choreograpiliy by Eugene Lor- ing, music, by Aaron. Copland arid ; scenery and costumes by . Jared French. It .was previously done by the Ballet Caravan. Another new one is 'Capricioso,' an atmosphere ballet; with choreography by Aptori Dolin, / Sunday (23) was a. test of whether visitors to New York will' patronize legit shows/. ; Town was filled with incomers;'■/ to. :: the - metropolis' .for Washington'" /Birthday, with/.goodly percentage evidently remahiirig/untii the Sabbath evening. ' Theatres packed- 'eni, in. Friday and. Saturday, while the Sunday per- formances were iyell peopled by visitors. This indicates that Sun- days will be supported by. summer vacationists, if such performances are given after the; end of. May, which termiriates the present ar- rangement .between the • managers and Equity. " The highest number of p'ei'form-' ances; bri Sunday since the experi- ment started were given. There were nine featjnees; and;., 15 night shows for a.total of 23. Included were. two. legits which went on . in benefit- for the Actors' Fumi. and Stage ^Relief^ neither playing Sundays regularly. Biggest draws in the afternoon were 'It Ilappens on Ice,' Center, and 'Heilzapoppiri,' Winter Garden;. . JOS. COYNE, AMERICAN • Passihg of Joiseph Cbyne.at the age of. 74' in Ehglarid.last week (20) was duly .- r rt<;6'rded--;.b;yCT..'h'er.e t ' but the American, comediari who became an expatriate was little known to the present generation; --.''•'.'/-:.-/' Coyne was an all around light .comedian and dialectician. He start- ed as a ■ Va,ttdevillian and ' then de- veloped into a musical comedy name.' His first appearance' was in an after- piece at the- London theatre, on the. Bowery . in. N.. Y. • He teamed with Hap Ward before the latter joined with Harry Yokes'.; Coyne was also oi the Fbur Diamonds (Evans, Coyne, Buckley and Ward), after appearing in. blackface act (Eyans and Coyne). •. Leaving the variety stage, Coyne appeared in Charles Hoyt farces, going to London in. one of them. Show' which (established him over there, hbwever, '.was 'The Merry Widow,? which; played Daly^s, Lei-' cester Square in 11907-08 ;arid during .'its.: run his dressing, room with an improvised bar was a. mecca for visiting Americans. Prior to that he had returned :to Broadway and scored,' 'The Girl From Kay's,* which starred Sam B e r n a r d , and Hattie Williams. Coyne's bit,- that of skating around the. stage with scrubbing brushes strapped to his/shoes, was -a comedy click. Once thereafter he came back appearing with Alexaridria Carlyle in 'The Mollusk,' at the bid Garrick. Thereafter his trips here Were oil business, seeing shows and contact- ing cronies, generally meeting: thein at the one time cafe at 42nd and Broadway known as the Metropole. His Americari appearances Jn- cluded Rich and Harris shows, The Giri in The Barracks' (also at the. Garrick), 'The Night of The Fourth' and The District: Attorney,' One of. his early London appearances was under the management of Charles Frohman in The Girl From Up There/ with Edna May, at the. Duke, of Yorke's... Last , reported appear- ance, over there was 1 , in 'Apron Strings,' in 1931. '/ tie never married. There was a. life-long friendship between Coy nc arid George/ M. Cbhan arid when the; latter- went .'.'abroad ^ they - in- separable, Cphari./gcncraily . sailing> ibr the express purpose of seeing his pal ofOother time>. •: • ; /' musie., by Cimarbsa arid stunning decor/and costumes'by de .Molas. .. 'Pas de Quatre,' which provided a .still-recalled display of ;tempei'a- merits when .-Queen Victoria had. four iriternatibrially>kriown ballerinas give'-.- a command ballet performance In 1845, arid had apparently been. perforrriedt- since then,-. is revived; with a choreography by Dolin-. Al- most the sole point, of interest ip the piece, is ! its sly satire of Vic- torian manners;.. . . Male dancers of the Ballet Thea- tre, led by Dblin/ and Loring,. are expert and more personable than anyone in . the two . Russian troupes.; And although the femme. Balle :' Theatre members lack the theatrical aura and assured grace of such bal- lerinas as Panilova, Riabouchinsltr and Baronova,- several of them com- bine genuine talent with nifty/.np- pearance. Among the most captivat- ing are Nina Stroganova, Karen Con rad, Nana Gollner,. Annabelle Lj'o- and Alicia Alonso. Hoot.