Variety (Jun 1943)

S2 tEGttlMATB Phys Out of Town GREEN APPLES II : V.r, I'.ii <: i' Km Bl-voiI.v Hi'.K-. Cal.. .\l:iv i.V . .ili-i M •III"- II')' -" '"■ • • ' ' !!■ I'M-' "> l.>: .1 1 M-T.-: ill:i-<li-l !•> I!'.' Ill >l.ir t i1m-:i:i»*. ■ i:: I'l* "A I-'' i: •■ llii.l.-..i.. l".-i') I "" TIf.i Tui I"i.>.i} I''"- '.M.'"i'!. i;-l":>i'il '!»>ii"'. <!' .Xiljli <lli"l >• •1"'"^ IajA'. Everyone seem.-, to bo wi'iliii!; war plays thcs* days, so why not lm> pair of Dclioil newspapermen, who had an idea, a conception ot play- wriiing. typewriters and plenty or copv paper. They have succeeded in gettinB their play on paper and liaving 11 .-itaKed. On the ba.-;is of its flrst warmup in a 150-.>-eal thea- tre by a cast of flcdBlines. ■Green Apples' .should be put away . in a dark place lo ripen, for speciallsl.s to work over. It isn't ready to n>ar-. ket. New.-'men t»ooler and Moore un- doubtedly had a big idea before they fused their talentn. but somewhere along the line it fell in with a lot of word.<i and' became just another situation among many- General pat- tern of plays dealing with the war. physical or mental. Ooint up a moral, propagandize, preach or pray against, the other elements being incidental. Occa.<ionally all these factors bob up. but never does one carry on to a climax or the big lift. It may- be in the playwriting, but it doesn t come out in the staging under the direction of Don Brodie, a seasoned dialog director ot the cinema. Chief concern of the producing Ruben.s' Is the tuloriiig of child actors for tlio Alms, so Brodie it was who took the adult portion in hand and there- in lies the play's salvation. •Skimming .synopsis-like over the apples, one peers acro.sii the foots into the living room of a large mid- w£stern family where a sorely tried father is trying to keep his brood together so that the war hysteria won't shake the unripe apples from his tree, symbolically speaking. His teen-age daughter \s ga-ga over a . furloughing flier and wants to marry him quick-like so as to give him comfort on the three remaining days of his leave. Strapping youn^ son smitten also by the heros uniform wants to gel into the navy. Head of the family doggedly blocks both moves and Ls accused of being un- patriotic, unsympathetic, etc. Even the townspeople turn against him for shirking nis bounden duty in time of national peril, but he stands hid ground. His chief interest is to . keep his family, together. ""At second act'curtain his young daughter is run down by an auto and that .seems to change everything. Third stanza is all forgiveness, sweetne^ and light, the old man forgiving everyone and everything except last year's laxe.s. The flier gets his three day.s of comfort from the Ally; the kid joins up with the Navy, and, oh yes. there's a moppet called the 'brain' prowling around in the basement cooking up some kind of a poison-gas neuiralizer who re- .ceives a call from a War Department emissary, who gives out with lavish Rraise for what the kid is doing to elp win the war. Somewhere In the folds is the big idea and that's where the work must be done, to bring it out and make all else sub' servient to it. Bill Hudson, as the shy hern, and Betty Lou Thurston, the ftlly who wants to go to the post pronto, show lo be^<l advantage and drew a cuiT note from the studio scouts who don't mi.ss a trick these days in their quest tor juveniles. They have a better chance than the play of mov- ing out of the little theatre precincts. Forre.st Taylor. Veteran Olm actor, ^ gives the father role flrsi importance ^ and inbue.s the youngsters around ■ him with confldence. Brodie's direc' W tion brings out some good perform ^ ances by the apple-green tyros Helm THE MERRYWIDOW (REVIVAL) Boston. Mav 2T. I l.ir«lli» .N'liriliaiiiiiii ■■niilui'iiiiii ,„■ ,i,„.|.. In itiK-i- iii'iH l)y Vnnr. \j,-\my: IUmvicii » " l-ir .l.iiin nii.l Sloln: liil.», V.lii in ll.w; r-villlli.:. Klliy (•:iill>i,.. Wllliiii K«iiii'«; Nliiiti'il lit KilKiir .M:ii-f*i-i>u>ii: i-li.ir*. iiisiiiiihv. |-:i,| Hnliil^tl: H"ii<. .I.i'<fiih T,.. Inim: ■illlHlinl illivriliiii, CIiiiiIim II: i.''„mi:iii - i'Ii"n<.i HI iLiMiMi ij\vn ll..ii!<.-. M.iv -j;. nil". S-J.-.H i„|,. him.-<ll wilh Till- Mvri> Wid'.w.' Kir-l iiii'lili-r-—iiliiio-t ii Ihiiim-uU-- wiMV ijli-a.-'iMl wilh priin-ipals and ni'iirliiriiitii. and th.iuKli the cornh-r :i.<i)oil.-. 01 the dialog and ciinu-dv wiTO iioi so eii.-ily dim-sted. the title wail/. -Viha' and otjii-r mollow Le- liai liiiir.- appeared.til make up the ili ili i. iu ies of the ni lultly I)<'"K. Kiltv Carlisle and Wilbur Kyans ulaving the I'Dmantir lead.-, click all- the w»v. Biilh have tin- .ippearunce iie> essarv to c rralr the illusion and Ihov work tom-thn admirably, biiiiyiii-.: olf ilu; laim-il wait/, scene ivilh .skill and ardor. Bnlh are like- tti.-r siillironily wtll ciimpped vo- cally to projcet the molodu- deniands of Iho .-tore, which, though not ex- ri-i-iviv require a icrtain nostalKJc Mall- l)v the principals. Each, in sh<>:l. ioiild bL- heard, yet neither adopied an heroic aililiidc unsuitert lo the medium. The audience wa.-< uiiii-=iiallv roidial m biilh. and Miss Carlisle "was fmied lo n-ueat 'Vilia. The supporting players reveal tne main deHiieiuy of the production alihouiih several eontributc acccpt- al>le performances. It seems 1 kely. however, that the company will m- crease in .<ec\irily and poise as the enifaeenu-nt wears on. Since the dl- ivilioii of Edsar MacGrogor reveals pleniv of nwai'ene.--s and took advan- la-e of the not inconsiderable assets of the company. The mob .scenes were well handled iiolwilhsiunding some raggedness in blending the mob action with the choreography. Pusiiig a pioblem. loo. is the ook- ina up of the book. In its original form, the comedy in the book is pietiv uiiaiiit. and there s no doubt about that, but it's to be questioned if the topical gaes thrown in actu- allv help the .show. Some of them drew laughs but many drew groans, so evidently it's going to be a ques- tion of getting good 'opical gags or slicking to the original. That matter will doubtlessly be threshed put dur- ing the current run—and It needs threshing. Nordstrom s production Is ccotiom- ical but by no means niggardly. The sets are attractive, substantial ana well suited to the occasion, while the costumes are visually satisfying, the big leagues. Music was sup- plied bv two pianos while th« sets used are chiefly suggestions, most oi | the revue being given before suit- able drapes. •. I ifniled 10 ligl" Mondni/ (31), | l>/ii|(ed iovr dMi/.<.' AFRICANA Hollywood. May 31. Ki.l III Illili-.M .•! t < 'I ' i»l. .1. I,.";l''^. f.'ittli.*.* **!» I I-'.'*'- ' i:.i> — . .Mini' 111 \ iiii. .-M-^ l-.*-j' 'I'.i'i liii. .I.iliiiii* T I* ■•■ c' ' ji'ili. !*.: I.;ili.-«*l"l 9t 11' - ,\\i-r\ I'.i.iiHli. r.Miii... r-.k. l-:;i.in» .IMI.IIIV l-'-IH .* H' lliiiii .-I; nHi!*i. I I'l.ti-n. '('••nil I 11.11.-*. .i|>«*ir Ml" <\. .\»>'i^l iliii* Hi.-lrii.l- I , M \ lliivvlfv. \\..|. Ii. l.-iin Will. .Mnsn-I I.> Hill. ,1.1 i..I I"- K.-iil II I'^llll •.»1«>|..I| IIIU I'l>" I'llll""!- Mii.i nil Kill P.ii--: l""l-"l. .\, .<>■ .■ Al""";' 1 III .Mil— l!-\. H.>!l>«>""l. Wednesday. June 8t 194S Miriam Hopkina. glvtn top billing in the realigned cast of "The Skin of Our Teeth; replaced TalluUh Bankhead In tlie Pulitzer prize winner al tl-c Plymouth, N, Y.. Monday (31) on schedule. Miss Bankhead. who for th! first time in her stage career got the nod of the critics gs having been the top actress ot the season, hai gone on vacation. Michael Myerberg, who produced *Teelh,' close to quote the late Alen- „nder WooUcott's opinion of the play in extra apace ads Stjnday (30). In. siders were amused at the former 'Town Crier's' remarks about the Thorn- lo Wilder play. WoolIcoU aaw 'Teeth' out of town and upon retttrning said: "It's the greatest play I ever saw but Tallulah stinks.' Entrance of Miss Hopkins into Teeth' was not without its show of tern- perament. Actress griped plenty over her costumes, which she claime.! were too tight. Myerberg exhibited a dash of temperament, too. ex- plaining thai he became nervous a* the date of Miss Hopkins' debut in the 'play neared. Katherine Alexander agreed to plane in from the Coast to take Florence Eldridge's part, but after making arrangements out there, the manager ehanged his mind. Viola Fraync went in instead, wilh Conrad Nagel tak- ing Fredric March's role. Katherine Smith is leaving the drama editor's, desk on the Washington Times-Herald for malrimon.y. Resignation.. elTective June II, is lor the purpo.se of marrying Army Lt. Don Craig, former drama editor of the Washi.ngton Daily News and 'Variety; mugg in Washington. He'a now a morale officer in Texas. Miss Smith was a .second-.s(ring drama critic on the Neiys before she went to the Times-Herald to become woman's page editor, later taking the drama desk. Lt. Craig had been in the Army since 1041. He served as editor of the Camp Lee Traveler at Petersburg. Va., and from that p<>- sition was entered in the Officers Candidate School. ' It is expected that Belly Hynes, society editor, but with long experience on draiha and Alms, having served there betore. will be. the Katheriim Smith replacement. .\l:.i ::i. I'.ii:".. «■-• -'' There have been some bad shows palmed olT on iiiisiispeiling theatre- uoers heri!abi>uls. but fi'w .sealed up to S'i.20 have as niiiih to live down as Earl Dancer's •Afriiaua. Billed as a musical romody. il has little of either qualitatiycl.v. and sorel.v lacks what one comes to expect ol a colored show-animal ion. It drags and .slalls. and if that wasn't bad enough, the sUgc crew reallv messed thing.^ up opening night. Talent, or what must pass as such, was recriiiled frony Central Avenue. Los Angole.*' equivalent pr New York's Harlem. It's mostly amateuri-sh. The Charioteers quar- tet. Alex Lovejoy and .lohiiny Tay- lor are the only ones to keep the show from being a complete wash- was around 10:30 at the pre- miere when the Hist art staggered to' its Analc. Few of the liullywood I Couple of New York labs teemed to be exercised when Boston's censor, erowd came back for the secoiid I John 3, Spencer, put the o.k. on 'Early to Bed.' musical comedy being halt. The audience had a taste of p^jp^^j f),^ Broadway, after preai^ service report.s stated that the plav'it things to come in^nie prolog^ wi^n ^^,3, Martinique house of Ill-fame.' Censor then appeared to I ^^^^ changed his mind. If not the management, if l>eing promptly an- nounced that the action would be within a gambling casino. Censor ordered out a dozen, lines and one song* number was reported dropped. 'Bed' was produced by Richard Kollma.r and Alfred Blooming- dale. It is due into the Broadhurst. N. Y.. June 17, Boston date being extended one week. Show's backers include Milton Berle, Ben Marden. Leon Enken. Eddie Davli. Lou Walters and Sherman Billingsby. The Ut- ter four are night club operatori. out-Saroyaned the 'sage of Francisco. Nor did the blary miisie. which drowned out the monologisl s lines, help matters. Just before the curtain dropped on the flr.st act a gal chirped a ditty titled 'Ain't It A Shame, which | voiced the sentiments ot the crowd. Earl Dancer induced terp pro- meter Leon Hcfflen to bankroll the show. Splash ads i" the dailies stressed a company of 75. but actual count couldn't muster more than ZS. 'Lady in the Dark' opened to rave notices in San Francisco last week, with capacity business Indicated for the four-week stay at the Curran. Sledllw'The CidSlIK^ n's best^'^^^^^^ were more than $32,000. Since arri'val on th. Coasl ihe music is the thing, the producer per otmances as management has received olter, from Seattle and Portland ahowmen has procured a large and a good or- }*"l'\Jf,,,J lath.i- nnt have remind- offering guarantees-for dates, similar to the arrangements covering Frwco M^.'^B.^c^rr " ^♦♦♦♦♦♦♦» * / :2:.,!ri£f». r FrfloM»R«view«J iMii.i Ci.iiiii i-oiiii'i r iiiiutiiMi J . ttt ttt-t ttftr and Los Angeies. Present bookinu are for aix weeks, terminating in L. A. early in July and. unless Mis* Lawrence changes her mind, alar will then return east, declining additional time. KiliMi viK III !«.. liil^ Mil.l IM ik-hi-b; t*:iliir."" Ki.'il K-..liiiK. Aim riMii'ln-. Ij<it.v .Miir. till .M.iii:il W 1111:11111'. •'ki'litliv. I'll^ill'H Sli>iiii.'iii: iiiiii'ii-. Al .s.-lii.ili-l.l: briin. N'lr- llMli Z.-lu.-. .•liii'i- liinl-n.il liy ."«• .Mi-yiTK an.i I I>»l> ; w-iiory. I'liiwiii " lliinmin: lIl-HP-IH Hllll .-III-ImIiI^. Ulllllll r.-ll# ailllulN: iKiiiiin'r. .MiiU'Mi. Ini-.: .Imiii-n bI.ibmI liy Don l.llicii..: niwii"-! mi i".i|il<-.i. IIiki-'Ii. .M.iy I'-'i::. Vi.'Si mii. <'il*l: Ki-*il Ki-iiiiiiir. Anil f'nini-ln^. I.srry .Mhiiiii. .Miiii.tl Williiiiii-'. Diiii l.lli-riii. N'lir.iiH :<li":i. Kiivl.l HnMik». Kiliiii lluiwll. HIMii .M.iiH.-. I.iii-lllf .Miiillii-wii. Iionitliy K-iliiii llil'll Ti-iiiiiliio. Slllili-y Hoiiin. Hill r.iilkliii. .N"l Hill III". Klixiil>"lli K^i-li. Aim Frniii liii. .Xilliiir S| i". •"•I SillnIrK O.'Viiii. ri'- sr. n.i.Hiii>.. .\iii:iii" 11" .l.ilnli.ii ll.'liiTfll .\'ii\-:ikii\ I li|.;:i .M Kllii.li: II.- f.'lKl'll.l.'l Xli-.-h Hhi-oii f'liiHirr Siillln rmiro Il:ilillii.,,, Miilll7.tl l*MI*lkllVlll . .\iii-.l f^■l'nl•M . .. KII-^;iIh.||i lIuUHIiill . ..Imiii'rt M.iiiii:,iiiii.ry ... ..si'iiili.!- Ilirrl*..il M.'iir liy.ii rmil .Kii.lfiM.ii T..|lllll\ CliMHilll Jiilin l'li.Fri-> l*Hlli Kill. (■'ii'llnll> Wllliilt K\-iii|.« IhlXiM lii'iiiii ..llllli* KiiliiK.'i- ftlnff^m: Slmrky AlilPkci-. KiiinMii-*! riii»|-| k"«'..|'. .Miirli-r I'liiik. <!li.ii:i ('.■|ii>lliii:in. Cl'.riii flllilili'ii .li-iiiiii. (l.ii'iti. Ih.iiH .l,.ltii- Hon. \'iv|i>nni' KIru. .Miulnii lliiu. Alriiu.ii.M llim:in. r.-llll Ali'li.i-H.111, .li.lin I', f'IIIiitii'li. H. MI, .liii'k ilri>*>iii*, .liiiiii>]i (iHrii'ii Mill'. I. I. l.i.t.1 IlililK-nl. ILilwi'l K'lB.in C'.i'l Ki. KiinJ-.in. .I.iliii l> M..|*'iii'::iiiH. .Ir.. .I.n-:. T. Slt..|4i.-r.l. l*iiiil Viiii'piii ItanrrrH! Uiiili i'lnh<«. r'l.ii>«* (;i.'.|..i Ki i.pfil Int' llrM-ii. ll-ll> lltiivk*"!. V K"|::ir. Ki.liiMl KilittiiCi. Hriiii* l/iff.-.. r.,r,.'yn l.i»ttli*. flini'i* Ml Ki*»tiiii. tMii!..|i" MiMi'li. I*fill-li*in IMllliMiii. yiilplli- S'h..i. Hoping to catch Ihe fancy of the Hub with a promise of u siiinmer of popular operettas. Claieii" • Nord- strom moy well succeed if he can mainlnln Ihe standards lie's set fur If. as the program),suggests, Ed- ward Gould Is thinking of hauling his 'Sugar N' Spice' oil to Broadway, he's likely to be taking his bankroll in his hands. If, however, he's thinking about taking his musical revue around the slrawhat ring, he might have a winner. As it stood opening night. It ran the gamut from just-below-top grade revue lo amateur night, the latter generally more in evidence than the farmer The vcviie docs have a half du'/.en very creditable numbers, an- other half dozen possibilities, and a few more on Ihe borderline. Obvi- ously, though. It was mostly a tryout of a tryout. What it amounts to al present Is a .series of Al SchoAeld tunes iii various presentations, none elaborate and some little more than inter- polated during change of scene. In between there are about six sketches credited to Charles Sherman, most of them given by Larry Martin, and .1 couple of them solid. As a matter of fact, several of Schoflcld's tunes Hie in the catchy class while Nor- man Zeno's lyrics are frequently (■lover. Virlualiy all. however, are .slighlly blue, and would need edit- ing for nopular consumption. Given 1(11) billing are Fred Keat- ing. Miirial Williams. Larry Martin and Ann Francine. Keating sort of m.c.'s once In a while between cur- tains and does a couple of sketches, but otherwise doesn't figure much in the proceedings. Opening night found him cracking about the show's Hnancial difficulties. Miss Williams has practically nothing to do. but Martin and Miss Francine spell one another in alternate scenes, it seems. Martin clicks with a monoloc called 'The Doctor Gets Better' and shows plenty of comedy technique throughout. Miss Francine shigs and straights In .some of the sketehes. Lucille Matthews draws attention wilh a natural comedy style: David Brooks, a tenor with an excellent and obviously well-trained voice, is standout In his assignments, and some good dancing is contributed bv Don Libertn and Norma Shea. 'Thoroughly overhauled, both in cast and in' material, and given a smarter production, the show might have noRslbllities as an intimate re- vue, but not. It Is fairly clear, for ♦ H ♦ « ♦'< "LIFE WITH FATHER' , With Muriel Kirkland and Harry Bannister now in tlie featured leads. •Life With Father.' in its fourth year at the Empire. N. Y.. remains one of the most enjoyable plays and a classic of the modern American thea- tre. No matter who has played it. the comedy is a triumph ol crafts- manship. . . Miss Kirkland and Bannister are only partly satisfying as Vinnie and Clarence Day. however. The former is not as mannered as she has been at times, but she still has a tendency to i^ng her lines, and she lacks the light, pixy quality the part should have. Bannister, as Father, is physi- cally suitable for the part and when he stops racing through his lines he should be plausible. However, the unforgivable fiaw in Miss Kirkland's and Bannister's perfnrmance is that they fail utterly to suggest the affection and warmth that Vinnie and Clare should have for each other. That quality may come with further playing, but it is painfully lacking now. In general, the others are accept- able, though several have become careless about makeup and. as is in- evitable after a long run. hit their points too hard. Notably good in support are Virginia Dunning, as the Arst maid: Ben Cooper, as Harlan; Dorothy Bernard, as the cook, and, although her performance has grown a triAe broad, Ruth Hammond, as Cousin Cora. Miss Kirkland and Bannister are the fourth pair who have played Mr. and Mrs, Day. Others have been Howard Lindsay and Dorothy Stlck- ney, who created the roles,. Percy Waram and Margalo Gillmore, and Louis Calhern and Dorothy Cish, Nobe. Stuart Erwin. who replace* Buddy Eb.sen tonight (2)' a* co-alar with Skeets Gallagher in 'Good Night, Ladles.' now in its 60th week at the Blackslone theatre. Chicago, was originally offered the role when tlie play was originally produced in California. Erwin had to refuse because ot picture commitment*. Ebsen has' Joined the Coast Guard with a com- mission. Several female roles will have new players with tomorrow night's performance. Peggy brake take* over th* Ingenue part and Yolanda Donlan, Christopher King and Dorothea Ard are the other replacements. 'Flare Path.' EnBli.<ih war drama, was presented recently at the Ward- man Park hotel. Washington, the oast including British officers and an enlisted, man. Matter of regulations was a problem, several Wing Com- manders feeling they should not use the same dressing room with a private, so three used the same room, an enlisted man having one by himself. ' 'Path' is scoring a run in London. It was presented here around the first of the year, but lasted only a week or two at the Miller, N. Y. Rhys Williams, in 'Harriet,' Millar. N. Y., who was named by the crilici as giving the best mala supporting performance ot the season in 'Va- riety's' annual poll, will remain with th* play indefinitely. He was given a new contract which calls for increased salary. Gilbert Miller produceil 'Harriet' and it is stated that Helen Hayes, who has an Interest in the production, arranged to up Williams' pay. 'Harriet' will lay off for five weeks starting June 26. as had been an- ticipated. Original score and transcription of a Frederick Crouch operetta, 'Kath- leen Mavourneen.' which had never been produced, was lost under un- explainable circumstance* last week by the owner, Clara Brady Dowting. The only existing copy, it had bean given her some time ago by a friend who had known the composer. Mrs.. Dowling. who was dickering 'for a Hollywood sale of the material, notified police, the Dramatists Guild. ASCAP and th* film company story depart inents ot her loss. Players Club collection of clippings: Including.play reviews dating back to IBSe, have been presented to the N. Y. Public Library and further en- riches the stage lore gathered in a special theatre department. Tliere are also 600 portfolios anent the stage appearances ot players for the past 50 years. Collection includes photographs, engravings, playbills and other data on th* theatre. Collection has been cataloged and is available to the public. San Cario SRO in N. Y, 50G Gross Looks Likely u-^^h mf«XT!!mited"o^ZZen^tl''he would get an engagement in 'Blos.som Time' and, when the manage, which opened a limited engagement | ^^i^^.^^^ j^.^ ^^^^^^ believed she had a salary claim, Il developed, however, that Carrtngion did not signature the contract and therefore tifere was no pay liability. Ruby Mercer recently auditioned for Frank Carringtpn, who is pre- senting operetta levival* at th* Papermill Playhouse, Milburn. N. J., and signed a contract in the office of Laura Arnold, her agent. She assumed at Ihe. Center, Radio City. Wednes- day 1261, is drawing capacity busi- ness and is claimed to have grossed around $23,000 at S2.20 tup in the first seven performances, which in- cluded matinees on Saturday and Sunday 129-30). Operatie outfit will have a 12-day dale terminating Sun- day 161 and indications ar* it will top $30,000. Takings ntay top last year's similar engagement by more than $5,000. William A. Brady attended the testimonial dinner to Marcus Heiman re- cently, it being one ot the fevir excursions the veteran showman has made from his penthou.s^ apartment in many months. Brady has been both- ered with, an ailment of th* toot. He Is anxious to produce a play, but has not come across a script to his liking. If he goes into action, rehearsals will be held in his apartment. ... , Freddie Schader, 'Variety' ex-mugg. is again walking out on Detroit, Stars on Ice' will resume at the! where he has been acting for th* U. S. Treasury Department in the siite Center late this month, with rehear-1 of war bonds and stamps. With his wife, the former Rachel Daly, the.-' sals of new numbers due lo begin! will reside In New York, where she will handle the affairs ot.a famll.- in a week or two. I estate. Schader, formerly -an advance man, will go ahead ot road show*.