Variety (Dec 1942)

42 LEGITIMATE Wednesday, December 16. 1942 Plays on Broadway THE WILLOW AND 1 Mcruilinii'.i 111 tlliv" 13 |i:i'.:i-nli''l '<■ l-i; ■WInilaoi. N. V . l). '. 1". 1>V Hl^ ^iv.'ll & Cuilli* in :iHMiu-i.iIli»ll ^\illi UllvlU .Mi*ril^-K: wililen b) Julin IMtrlik: blHi:ed by DuiialU llhK'kwrll: iH'ilinK. Lcimiel Avers; W-IO ioi>. IljdHie Sutro BnrlMini O'N'ell ■Ilnm Aliiiinil.i H:iliil"ll>li Mlii:l Sutl" M:illli:i Sinll IlHiU'V II. U'K !•'» « llli;iiii!l Tliv.ihiio Sulio KilwiiKl r.iivli-v Millie Suiio Coia Wiiherpp'"Mi Dr. Oliver Hotwrt HBirUon Klrklaml Tojil l Orfnory I'«-k Duk* TuOil A''^' Knk-lnnilcr ;>lib«l IViiillnr .Myers Dr Trubec Krnni-lB Complon Serious drama entering the list during these arduous times must be exceptional to capture popularity, but first-night impression was that 'The Willow and V approached the goal yet failed to score. Perhaps the main thing that's the matter with the play is its morbidity. InterestinK and imaginative, psycho- logically but essentially a trouole story, it is. therefore, cerliimly not escapist. Still it seems to have the makings. The new, young producers had the right idea, except that the timing of presentation was wrong, Mara Sutro at 25 tells her maidsn aunt that one day love will walk in through the door. That happens when young Dr. Robin Todd comes to take over the practice oi the aged physician who has attended the fam- ily. It is love at first sight but no sooner does Mara's sister Bessie see Todd than she is desirous of him, too. Time of the play is from 1900 to nearly the present. Within a year Mara is to exchange V0W8 with Robin under the willow tree planted in the family garden the day she was born. Bessie is dis- traught, intent on suicide. The sis- ters struggle for the gun which goes off. The shock snaps Mara's mind. Neurosis is the play's main theme. Father is inclined to be a dipso- maniac and later is a roUingchair case. Shortly after the tragedy Bes- sie and Robin are married. He dies leaving a son, grown to maturity in the second act. Mara, now an old woman, is a wraith, coming Into the living room and peering out the win- dow at the willow tree. Suddenly the mists In her mind disappear throiu^ the shock of heavy thunder and thereafter she attempts to piece 'out the* actual happenings that led to her derangement. She finally does recall. Bessie at this time Is an aging, unhappy woman, too. Near the close Mara learns of Robin's passing from his son. Her eyes shine with the realization that Robin was really 'the man I love.' The youth, an artist, sketches the glory of the woman's face, the model he has been seeking for a mural, as the curtain drops. There are very good performances by Martha Scott, who enacts the tragic Mara, and Barbara O'Neil, the envious Bessie. Miss Scott is comely as a,young woman and later Is cleverly made up as the graying one whose life has been wasted. Miss Scott, of course, will be re- called from her smash stage hit in 'Our Town,' then had considerable success in Hollywood. Miss O'Neil Is also back from the Coast. Her Bes- sie Is not a sympathetic part but she makes it stand up. The acting honors are about even between them. Gregory Peck, who attracted at- tention earlier this season in The Morning Star.' which failed, again proves to be a fine actor, playing Robin in the first act and the son. Kirkland Todd, thereafter. Edward Fawley, as the dissolute father; Cora Witherspoon, as a spinster aunt, and Francis Compton, as a compassionate physician, are best among the others. Ibec.' and while the performance picks up in the second and third innings, the pall of the start is never overcome. On the romance end the play isn l so much either. Right fielder Tiny Tyler weds Judith, a college-bred girl, but soon aftci waids the guy who is Ihe home run king of the league, suddenly loses his batting eye. Thus there is recfilled a similar instance of j'.ist such a real-life occurrence during the past season, when a prominent outfielder was having trouble at Ihe domestic, as well as baseball plate. Story of 'Field' has Judith walk- ing out on him just when the con- tending teams are to battle in the deciding game for the pennant. There are men on the bases, with two out in the last half of the ninth and Tyler's at bat. A hit would tie the score and a homei- would win the <:hampionship. Tyler strikes out. Details of that inning come to the audience supposedly by radio, it be- ing a recording by Bill Stern, sports announcer for NBC. Last act is spotted in Florida, where the team is training the following spring. Tyler is playing around with another jane when Judith arrives at the hotel and decides she cares for the guy. Why she walked in the first place is slurred over. Of course the wife wins out. There are 20 in the cast, with Claudia Morgan playing Judith. She's handicapped by the story. Joel Ashley is Tyler, giving a good account of himself in the first lead assignment, after spending some time on the Coast. Florence Sundstrom is the dame who goes for ball'play- ers and loses the slugger, part be- ing unsympathetic. Tom TuUy stands out as the team's caustic manager; Katherine Meskill is okay as the eabby wife of a player who 'had nie a bad day'; Jay Brassfleld is rather amusing as a gabby pitcher with a cracker dialect; Frank Otto is oka? as a reoorter; Betty Kean, as another ball t%ii>vpr's wifp. alrieht. /bee. fWithdraum Saturday after five performances; printed for the rec- ord.) WINTER SOLDIERS Drnniii In two arln (U aceneit) bv Onn .Tamop; nre.«enleil by Krwln Plwutor nt the Riuillo Theatre of the New School of Brtclnl Renenrrh. N. T.. openlnir Nov. 3*>. 42: BtaC'l bv Shep;)r<l Traube: Mttlnff. II. ,\. Conilrll: $1.10 top. Cflel: now* Mfitlhew. Txithnr Hew.nlt. Tler- liort BTchnr. nonnld Alexander. J(*n All- mnn. H.nnns Kiilmnr. Theo Ooelz. Alfreil T,. LIniler. Vnunhn neorite. Michael Ca-lci-. Pmil .loneo. Sierllnir Mace. Pnul Miirx. %hix I.<'Bvllt. Rolf Bnver. Pnul Wngner. Dolly Hnn/>. Aleianiler Day. Theo ttoetr.. MIrlnin r.oMIn- Dunlel Rchatt. Oein Konln. HorlK ■ .. 17,. > T „-«ni!. .Tnrk Lloyd. Fred- erick Tiippen. Joe Bernard. Guy Sorel. Ilor'.s • 1 Pnra KtrenKOll. A. Horton Hen- '•••inrlcs A. TUatln. Pnula B.iap:- rmlih. R. Ben Arl. Oeorne Andre. Olllwri I.clKh. Mnxon Adanii. John Stephona. Grin .TnnnlnaK. David Aleinnder. N'Ick Perry. Rcl'crl f1, T.ince. Warning on Standees Although there has been no general police order, managers of hit shows on Broadway have been advised to keep within th« limit of standees allowed by the regulations. It is believed th« warning is the result of the Bos- ton night club fire. Theatres were also warned against using extra chairs, some- times in evidence when all reg- ulnr seats are sold. Pointed out that such chairs might clog exits. Suit Vs. Rose Franken On XIandia' Commish Up in N. Y. Next Week Suit of the estate of Adrienne Morrison, play broker who died in November, 1940. against Rose Fran- ken for a 10% commission of the 'Claudia' earnings, is expected to come to trial next week in N. Y. supreme court. Suit was filed in New York su- preme court during the sumincf of 1941 by Schwartz & Frolich. attor- neys for the estate. Plaintiff cloims that Miss Morrison was instrumen- tal in bringing the play to the at- tention of John Golden, its pro- ducer. Sidney Fleishcr. representing Miss Franken, claims the script wos written after the play broker's death, therefor she was no; instru- mental in having it produce;'. Com- mission sought on 'ClauHIn' al.-o in- cludes the play's sale to films. David 0. Selznick bought pix eights for $137,000. hade Sfutf-Legh Chances of plays produced In Greenwich Village, N. Y., once a Broad- way source, to b« moved uptown have been further diminished because of reputed recent union rulings which would make regular presentations 'prohibitive' in cost, EQuity actors are permitted to appear downtown for less than the established minimum, or without pay at all. Nor have stagehands demanded regular crews for the Utile showshops, although placing a man here or there. Recently, however, it is reported that the stagehands' union decided that in the event of Village tryoiRs moving uptown, managers would have to pay the crews then employed from the date of the original opening. The retroactive idea of pay for work not done Is Interpreted to be a move to hold down the number of little theatre productions in N. Y. It might not prevent managers from taking over one-setters but the others are doubtlessly out. New rule practically eliminates the chances of 'Winter Soldiers' from moving uptown, although last week that drama was again mentioned as having attracted managerial interest. Play calls for a large cast and numerous scenes, latter factor Indicating a heavy stage crew. If the deck- hands were given retroactive pay that item would be comparable to the cost of new settings, which would al.so be required to conform to union regulations. "Soldiers" is current at the Studio thteatre of the New School of Social Research. THE SUN FIELD 0''ii' Uii : « prexrnteil at the Blltmore. .V. T., it. Ml', by Hownr.l Lnnit; wrillen by .million Lnzarun fmm ibi< novel of same nnme by Heywood Broun; •tnged by Edwnrd Clarke Llllev: aettln«a. Krneit Olover: 13.30 top. Lefty Hendricks Jny Brnaaneld Bill Doric Robert I.ynn C.nrI Randolph Karl .Maiden Jack Knnelly Krnnk iltio ■Whacky Caaeett Pri-il Sherman Mra. Doyle Detly K<!an Jim Rocco Letvia Charlea Wt^. Rocco Katherine Meaklll OeorKe Wallace Donald Randolph TTarren Toat Tom Tully •Tiny' Tyler Joel Aahley K.nryl Dumoni Florence Runditrom Judith Wlntbrop Claudia Momn Bell Captain ReitiB Joyce Hugh Coler Rldinrd Gordon UMdred Denxon Fay Bnkrr BcsBle Oeomln Burke Wollreaa Dorothy Euion Snmuel Dlckerman Herliert UulTy Rookie Richard MldKley Radio Voice Bill Stern Plays about baseball seem to be hexed. Enough writers have stepped to the plate but struck out, "The Sun Field' being the latest instance And so Howard Lang has, in dia- mond parlance, 'booted one' In his managerial Broadway debut. Coast- Ite entered production with 'Good Night Ladies which he co-produced with Al Rosen. That play has been cleaning up for months in Chicago. 'Ladies' has laughs, and that's what Tield' has too little of. with the re- sult that although It has a big league production it appears to be left on first base. First act Is somnolent. A combination of one of Broad- way's enterprising young directors and a promising new playwright has apparently gained considerable in- terest during the past couple of weeks. The result has been capac- ity, or near-capacity, audiences at the New School of Social Research down in Greenwich Village for 'Wip- ter Soldiers.' which Dan James wrote and Shepard Tratibe staged for the Studio Theatre. Several of the uptown producers have expressed varying interest in 'Soldiers.' a drama of the under- ground movement against the Nazis in the conquered countries of Europe. While 'Soldiers' has a better-than- average production for a play of this kind, plus the benefit of some ex- cellent and imaginative staging ef- fects by Traube—who wjU be re- called for his excellent directorial Job on 'Angel-Street'—there seems little chance that the new drama can r acupy .> propoct'on?!. I"''xofTice value on Broadway at the ' .u . Main Stem scale. At $1.10-top aowntowii It's fine drama that fully achieves its experimental purposes with a cast of lesser professionals, a number of whom were of the European stage, pre-Hitler. The author has considerably more than a flair for playwrighting. being a recent winner of the Sidney Howard Memorial Award of $1,500, given an- nually by the Playwrights Company to budding writers. The money re- ceived by James is reported to have been expended on this production, and its presentation, for art's sake, is thus fully warranted. But the dis- parity between art and boxofTice values has long since been noted. Kahn. Although 'Her First Murder,' which brings ZaSu Pitts back to the legit stage, was recently reported favorably received in St. Louis, where the whole of the rewritten script went on, cast has been under pressure because of one thing or another. Playing one nlghters has been accom- panied by transportation delays and vexing living accommodations. Two new players were summoned as replacements from N. Y., while there were several changes from one part to another, with the result that rehearsals have been the rule daily. Under the Equity rules new plays can be rehearsed, right along in try- outs so long as the players are not kept on the job more than eight hours daily. That means that as night performances usually ring down around 11 o'clock, company can be called for rehearsal at three in the afternoon. BIZ CUES TACE IT' ON KAYE REPLACEMENT Eddie Diamond appears to have been fortunate. He was stage nvanager of 'Wine, Women and Song.' the burlesque show that was forced off be- cause of obscenity at the Ambassador, N. Y. Herman Shapiro, who was convicted along with I. H. Herk and Samuel Funt, replaced Diamond shoi'lly before I'ompliiiiit was filed against 'Wine.' Understood that Shapiro, who Is an attorney and an actor, stepped in at the request of Max Liebman. said to have had an Interest In 'Wine,' though he was not made a defendant. Diamond was formerly stage man- ager for Maurice Evans. He withdrew from 'Wine' to take a similar assignment with Katharine Cornell's revival of 'The Three Sisters,' due into the Barrymore next week. If business holds up. a replace- ment star for Danny Ksye will con- tinue 'Let's Face It' on Broadway but the comedian must report to Sam Goldwyn regardless for his first filmuslcal by March 1. Shooting starts April 1. Sylvia Fine (Mrs. Kaye) and Max Liebman leave in early January for Hollywood to sit in on the story scripting with Don Hartman. Yarn is a war adaptation of The Ner\N>us Wreck,' which Goldwyn filmed once before, with Eddie Cantor, as 'Whoopee.' , Back in 'Jupiter' Constance Moore, legit-film ac- tress-singer, missed three perform- ances of 'By Jupiter,' at the Shu- bert, N. Y., over the weekend, due to a cold. She was replaced by her understudy, Kay Kimber. Ralph Dumke returned to the part of Hercules this week after a month's rest. He also does a six- mornings-a-week comedy-record ra- dio series. 'Studio X,' on WEAF, 'New York. PAT UDDY HEADS TREASURERS TICKET Pat Llddy ran ahead of the ticket for new board members of the Treasurers Club at the annual meet- ing In New York Saturday (12). Other winning directors; Walter O'Connor, Murray Lang, Julius Specter, Harold Stehle and Rich- ard Hopkins. Officers named were elected unanimously as nominated, with Al- len Schnebbe again the president. Aotoinat's Radio Show Into Legit Musical Alicp and Isaac Cements, who conduce an advertising agency in Philadelphia, and have as one of their principal accounts the Horn & Hardardt Children's Hour Sunday morning (WEAF), are launching a juvenile musical comedy of the •Best Foot Forward' type. Title of the production Is 'Automatically Yours.' Chester Hale will direct and stage, with songs Blanche Merrill and Leo Edwards, and book by Weldon Mel- lick, who authored the Bobby Breen pictures. During the 12 years the Clem- entses have produced the H. Sc H. radio feature. Mrs. Clements has auditioned more than 100,000 chil dren. Among those who made their debut under her tutelage are Ezra Stone ('Henry Aldrlch'); Pinkie Mitchell of This Is the Army' Con nee Russell, of the Copacabana Re- vue, Carol Bruce and the Moylan sisters. 'Automatically Yours' will feature Kay Hughes, Marilyn Gustin, Rhoda Gibson, Jean Roy and Micheline Barrett. Age range of the cast is from 16 to 20, including a chorus of Chester Hale girls. Entire produc tion Is being financed by the Clem- entses. Continued effect of gas rationing on theatre biz in Pittsburgh was clearly demonstrated last week when Boris Karloff company of 'Arsenic and Old Lace' played to only $705 opening night, lowest gross for a single performance the Karloff troupe has played to In Its nearly two years on the boards. Biz picked up a little later in the week but didn't come close to matching expectations. Curious coincidence was that return engage- ment of 'Arsenic''in Pittsburgh was just a year to the day that touring cast, headed by Eric Von Stroheim, opened In Smoky City. That was Just the day after Pe^rl Harbor, and although bir everywhere was shot as a result. 'Arsenic' In Pitt then played to almost twice the biz the original company got last week. 'Something For the Boys.' due to start a tryout date In Boston Thursday (17). shapes up as the most costly musical of the season so tar, production outlay being estimated at $125,000. Of that amount Michael Todd has in- vested $62,500, with 20th-Fox putting In an equal sum, for which It gets 25% of the show. Deal Is not 50-50 as reported. 'Boys' is a book show, libretto being by Herbert and Dorothy Fields, score by Cole Porter, and it was originally known as 'Jenny Get Your Gun.' With Hassard Short staging, it will be long on the electrical end. Show Is dated for the Alvln, N. Y., Jan. 7. War Department sat down cold on officers and civilians who tried to see the Camp Meade, Md., performance of Katharine Cornell's "Three Sisters' for ISc on Sunday (13) afternoon. Telephones were busy and pressure was applied by outsiders eager to see the Chekhov play. At Camp Meade it was announced that the per- formance was strictly for soldiers, and that was the way it would be. Many officers in the War Department were among those who got the thumbs down. For first time there is an all-woman house orchestra at the Windsor, N. Y.. which opened last Thursday (10) with 'The Willow and I.' Sam Schwartz, who manages the house, recently acquired under lease by Harry Oshrin, engaged the femmes as a novelty. Quartet is spotted in an upper box and used only at the start and during intermissions, which is usual in houses with straight plays. GirU are members of the musicians' union. Max Gordon was apprehensive about The Doughgirls' when his comedy hit Washington. 'Will you get me $10,000 on the week?', he inquired of Manager Edmund Plohn of the National theatre. 'I'll pay you off now on $13,000.' replied Plohn. Gordon didn't accept the offer. Comedy did $16,000. Smart business was traced to ihe $2 top and nrotterate-pricett' upstairs, which brought out of the low bracket government workers. Ole Olsen's 4-40 cafe on 40th street near Fifth avenue. N. Y.. Is virtually the home of the Ziegfeld Club. Place was formerly shut on Sundays but now the former 'Follies' girls hold forth there on that afternoon and evening (S to 11 p.m.) with entertainment to all comers. Dinner may be had and the bar is available to the thirsty, with Olsen giving the club 50% of the takings. Recorded news announcement heard during the air raid scene in the last act of 'Yankee Point, withdrawn Saturday (12). at the Longacre theatre, N. Y.. was spoken by Fredric March, co-star of 'Skin of Our Teeth,' at the Plymouth, N. Y. March is a long-time friend of John Cromwell, stager and one of the leads in 'Yankee Point,' and made the recording as a personal gesture 'for luck.' Fact that the spiel was by March was publicized. Katharine Cornell's "The Three Sisters' will have an 8 p.m. curtain when it opens Dec. 21 at the Barrymore, N. Y, Producers figured that the play would not be over until 11;25 if started at regular show time, and a.m. paper critics would have to ease out early to make their deadline. Curtain time will be 8:20 during riin of the play. • Joseph Calleia, back on Broadway from the Coast, Is angling for a stage engagement, although preferring a directional job. Calleia hopped to Hollywood on the strength of his performance on Broadway In 'Small Miracle.' His most recent studio stint was in 'For Whom the Bell Tolls.' Brooks Atkinson, critic on leave from The N. Y. Times drama depart- ment, landed his first page one story in that daily Friday (11) since turn- ing war correspondent. Yam came from the China headquarters of Brig. General Claire L. Chemault, commandant of U. S. Air Task Force.