Variety (Dec 1942)

Wednesday, December 16, 1942 LEGITIMATE 41 Increasing Number of Hops Eases Theatre 'Shortage' on Broadway; Dearth of Musicals Unprecedented Possibility of a house shortage on Broadway has further eased up, the flop percentage having cropped up as forecast. An unprecedented factor is the continued dearth of new musi- cal?, leaving houses mostly devoted to thiit type of show available for sirniiiht plays- Emphasized that there is a reversal of former sea- sons, when scoring musicals are first to arrive in the autumn, with straight-play clicks following. Currently three theatres of large capacity are tenanted by comedies, •Without Love' being at the St. James, "Native Son," Majestic, and 'My Sister Eileen,' which has moved into the Broadway. A fourth musi- cal house may be used similarly, it being planned to switch 'Junior Miss' into the 46lh Street next week, that spot being vacated by 'Beat the Band' Saturday (12). Slowness of musicals to be pro- duced has been a break for the hold- over tune-and-dance shows though the stayers slipped in the pre-Christ- mas slump last week. Three straight-play leaders, 'Without Love," 'The Pirate' and 'Skin of Our Teeth,' all helped by name leads, got better grosses than some run musicals, ex- ceptions being 'By Jupiter,' though It slipped, and 'Star and Garter.' 'Stars On Ice' stood up fairly well but it's not really classified with musical comedy and revue. Time Ripe for Musicals Time is more than ripe for new musicals but none of major propor- tions will arrive until 'Something for the Boys," slated for the Alvin after New Year's. 'New Faces,' an intimate revue, will bow in before that but a flock of others has been in preparation for the past two months. Three musicals were presented during the fall, 'Count Me In' and 'Beat the Band' having already been withdrawn, both'total losses. 'Rosa- linda* (44th Street) is the third, an operetta-type show being the sole survivor, aided by a specialized draw. It is virtually a revival, adapted from grand opera (originally 'Die Fleder- maus'). New Year's eve tickets have been on sale for some weeks. One musi- cal ('Garter') has a top of $8.80, the highest. There are five others charging $6.60, while a quintet of straight shows is priced at $5.50; six of the latter type raised the top more moderately to $4.40, while the bal- ance will not boost the reguar prices. There are no premieres this week. Coming next week: 'Three Sisters,' Barrymore; 'Flare Path.' Miller CJanie' due to move to the Bilt- more), and 'New Faces' (formerly 'New Shoes'), Ritz. Del Bondio, Haring Placed in Charge Of Wiman Enterprises J. H. Del Bondio and Forrest Mur- ing have been appointed managers in charge of p.yigh * . in war work. Latter has gone to Lon- don to handle entertainment for the Red Cross. Duo intends to continue production for the office and is ac- cepting scripts for consideration. Oscar Serlin Associates was formed by that manager to also continue ac- tivities of that office in the event he went into the Army. His service duty was deferred, since he's over 38 years of age. The Stage Door Canteen, legit's great contribution to service- men's entertainment and welfare, will be the topic of discussion by Bert Lytell in an editorial feature for 'Show Business at War' theme of the 37th ^Anniversary Number of Sylvia Sidney-'Pygmalion' Open Holyoke Theatre 22d Holyoke, Mass., Dec. 15. After several false starts, the re- modeled Holyoke theatre is due to open Tuesday (22) with Sylvia Sid- ney in 'Pygmalion.' Al and Belle Dow had announced and advertised opening on 15th with 'My Sister Eileen.' After running ads for nearly a week, they were withdrawn and a cryptic substitute said that extra renovations would take more time. Week will op«n on Tuesday and run until Sunday inclusive, with Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinees. Evening tops will be $1.65 and matinees 83c. House seals about 1,200. Dows expect to fol- low with 'Tobacco Road," with John Barton. Shows' Radio Ad Plans DnringN.Y. Newspaper Strike Falls Through Plans for Broadway shows to ad- vertise on the air over four stations were made Monday (14), but it did not go through. League of New York Theatres proposed a deal for 17 combined spot announcements over a five-day period, it being fig- ured the newspaper strike situation would be cleared up by the end of the week. Word was sent the press agents of the various attrac- tions, asking for telegraphic con- firmation but not one response was received by James F. Reilly, Lea- gue's executive secretary. Idea was to broadcast in the fore- noon, a bit after noon and at 5:30 p.m. The announcements would have totalled 50 minutes between Tuesday and Saturday (15-19) at a cost of $150 per show. Why the plan did not materialize was not clear, as it was not a matter of cost, since daily newspaper insertions cost a minimum of $600 weekly per show. While the legits delayed, picture houses snapped up some of the time arranged for. LOST BY 3 LEGIT FLOPS Closing of three shows on Broad way last Saturday (12) has repre- sented particularly heavy losses. 'Beat The Band" at the 46th Street was budgeted for $80,000 and dropped at least that much. 'Com- parable is the amount of money dropped with 'Count Me In', also a musical, which withdrew from the running recently. Th^re were six or more investors in the latter and more than that number had pieces of 'Band'. The duo of closings over the weekend were exceptionally costly for straight plays. 'Yankee Point', which quit at the Longacre, ended $42,000 on the wrong side of the ledger, that red including heavy op erating losses, which were split among 15 backers. 'The Sun Field', a fast fold at the Biltmore is esti- mated to have cost around $40,000, loss being reported to have been sustained wholly by Howard Lang, Coastite making his Broadway de- but. Understood that.Lang declined the oflTer of a major picture firm to participate in the production. Rochester's World Premiere Rochester, Dec. 15. 'Blue Slipper.' first play by Alfred Noyes.'the English poet, will be given its world premiere here by the Rochester Community Players. No date chosen yet but will be presented early in 1943, with Robert Stevens directing. B way Censorship Threat Declines Following Convictions on Hlfine; Shubert Remark Key to'Son Episode Laugh Story Here's one of the recent laugh stories going the rounds. Advance man Joe Flynn is re- ported carrying a camp stool in making the jumps, and when the trains are crowded, as fre- quently true since the war'» start, he sets it up in the aisle and plants himself. Stool cost $2.39 and he claims to have nearly made a profit to date. Flynn explains that in going from Detroit to Chicago he managed to get a seat but a sweet, old lady couldn't find one. so he offered her the stool for the trip—for which he charged her $2 rental. Yokel, '3 Men' Backer May Wind Up in Court Over Deposit at Equity Dispute over money remaining on deposit with Equity and other unions, to guarantee the pay of peo- ple in the 'Three Men On a Horse' revival which failed, remains un- settled and may be thrown into court. Alex Yokel, the show's pro- ducer, and Milton R. Weinberger, attorney representing Lawrence Gelb, the backer, again attempted to settle their differences, with Paul N. Turner, of Equity's counsel, try- ing to get them to agree. Weinber- ger declared he would sue; $1,600 is involved. Equity gave warning that if forced into court proceedings it will de- duct legal expenses from the show's funds on hand. Yokel claims he is entitled to the money to pay off obligations of the showing, with the backer intent on getting back any part remaining of his investment. Manager contends his contract defi- nitely provides that debts be paid from any balance. 'Three Men' revival ended $11,000 in the red. The Woes Increase Milwaukee, Dec. 15. Legit theatre managers who in off seasons have depended upon local rentals to keep out of the red are finding now that even this field has been affected by the war. Male choruses have been so de- pleted by the departure of members for the armed forces that they have called btt all concerts for the dura- tion. Instrumental groups are in the same .situation, while women's groups, too, have become inattive, W'th their members so largely em- ployed in war industries that they "3ve no time for recreational and ■■"Itural activities. "Show Business At War 5^ THEME OF THE 37th ANNIVERSARY NUMBER of To Be Published Late In December USUAL ADVERTISING RATES PREVAIL Special Exploitation Advantages Reservations and Copy May Be Sent to Any Variety Office NEW YORK 154 W. 46th St. HOLLYWOOD I70B No. Vine SL CHICAGO 54 W. Randolph SL LONDON 8 SL Martin's PL By JACK PULASKI Threat of censorship on Broadway appears to have declined after the flare-up following the convictions on 'Wine, Women and Song.' Why a burlesque show, which is what 'Wine,' really was, should have in- volved legit is the most annoying angle of the situation. The incident that sparked the ex- plosion following the 'Wine' episode is revealed now as being/ connected with the posted, then rescinded,' closing of 'Native Son,' at the Majes- tic. Claimed that Lee Shubert was needled by a reporter into making an inadvertent remark that the no- tice of closing was given to 'avoid trouble' after the Shuberts had lost the license on the Ambassador be- cause of 'Wine,' the tenant there. Had Shubert said that 'Son' was los- ing money, which it was, and that the show management was in ac- cord with shutting down, the outcry that brought about an emergency meeting of showmen, actors and authors might not have happeneti. It was wrong timing by Shubert. Any expectation that 'Son' biz would be exceptional after the hue and cry has proved wrong. Business has improved, takings approximating $7,000 last week, but it is doubtful if either the show or the hou.se profited. It was declared at the meeting that a serious situation was faced. Colored organizations are strong supporters of the 'message' in 'Son,' and the possibility of riots was indicated if the show was taken ofT at the time intended. 'Strip For Action' is announped to close Jan. 3 but there, too, it is a matter of business, not the fact that it was mentioned as a possibility for the censor's knife. Show manage- (Continued on page 44) 'Firefly' Loses Identity In Rewrite; Title In Change to Toll Steam' Revival of "The Firefly,' current in Boston, is slated to be changed to •Full Steam Ahead,' title announced for Philadelphia, where the operetta is due next week. How much re- mains of the original show is uncer- tain, as Otto Harbach has com- plained that that changes in his orig- inal book of 'Firefly' had been re- written without his consent. Re- ported, too, that Rudolph Friml'B original score is out. In Philly the book is credited to Rowland Leigh, Jean Schwartz and Irving Actman. Leigh and Schwartz authored 'CockUiU—Five to Seven,' which flopped in Detroit and Chi- cago some weeks ago. J. J. Shubert is presenting the show, through Pro- ducing Associates, one of the Shu- bert corporations. EQUITY MAY NOT ASK FOR MINIMUM RAISE Equity would like to see its mem- bers get additional pay because of increased living costs but may not insist on raising the $50 weekly minimum. It's conceded within Equity that when the minimum was raised from $40 to $50, it worked out satisfactorily for part of the mem- bership, mostly the younger element. It's virtually admitted, however, that the regular $60 and $75 pcbple could not get more than $50 because of that. It is now felt that if the latter figure is upped, it may similarly affect players who are now getting $75 to $100. Managers hadn't much to say about the boost several years ago after the increase went in, al- though they protested violently be- fore then, but when the rule became operative, they appeared to keep within the planned budgets. There is an Equity committee mulling an alternate plan, rather than tilting .salaries generally. At this lime the principal aim is to get a concession from managers for these shows which play the road, especially war centers, where costs for lodging and meals are excessive.