Variety (Oct 1944)

Wednesday, October 11, 1944 LEGITIMATE 48 License Commish Moss Again Warns Agencies, Mgrs. on Ticket Abuses 'Unusual Subject' Set For Musical By D uke Vemotv Duke's next assignment, after' pnttilrg finishing touches to, the score, for "Sadie Thompson." im- pending musical version of "Ram." will be a musical play sponsored by the, composer, and designer Stewart Chancy . They will work through a, Broadway . producer, whose • name they're withholding lor the present. Play will ,be on "an unusual sub- ject,!' according to. Duke,, vyifh an old ■New York background. A. new, unabridged version of the composer's oratorio, •Leningrad," foi chorus, soloists and orchestra, will be premiered in February by Leopold Stokovvski and the New •York- City Symphony, Paul Moss told off the ticket boys 4- jt a special gathering of brokers arid managers late last week. Directing his remarks to the agency people, he said they shouldn't regard him as a w rong guy, for as license com- hiissioner it's one of his duties to see that, brokers comply with the. N. Y. Slate law, .which limits, .the price for which tickets can be sold. ■'.- It appears that with the new sea- son starling to excellent business; : Moss lisured a pep talk was in order; He said that those caught gypping would be prosecuted, that, he would seek prison . terms for violators- as a ."prelude; to .license .cancellations, . and that pressure or influence W'ould not softer, up the punishment. Com- iniss-irmer opined that business is So sturdy in the - agencies that, there should be no reason forndt.adhering .to thev law, > v. ■•'. Recently, lie said that 45,000 lie kefs were known to have been sold by the agencies, indicating';that most thea- tregoers were obtaining tickets from . tli.cni. A checkup showed; that the . agency' sales a mo anted to 25'i, of the total: based on house capacities, al-: /though ifwa.s conceded - that, only a percentage of attractions are selling out. There were 2,'i theatres lighted (Haing the Week cited, with ah eight- performance 'weekly) capacity of 224.000 seals, so that the agency sales seemed to be '.ess than one-quarter of the total. Muss had contended' that the brokers handled.75% of .capacity and as high;as 90 r i but.such percent- ages apply only to the standouts "and are? hot applicable to the . average sliow siid theatre. .;' •';';!". '«.' •'; Oiie manager suggested' that Moss talk' about; ••ice"r-coin supposedly ■slipped the boxoi'fices by the agencies, although, gratuities were - ruI'ed out on the ticket code. If tin's-Condition I m8V • hP'^dues rating is existent the coin paid is much less -\ E « l »lY u.pojv -application Hurok Mulls European Tour for Dunham—If Katherine Dunham's "Tropical Re- view," now doing boft biz in the mid- west, is working way to Coast for tour there as well as. to permit Miss Dunham to'make a film. Sol Hurok will then send show to Mexico City. Producer is also inulling a Euro- pean tour, next summer, i£ war -is over there by next winter, with London and Paris for main bookings. Boston Show Biz Upset by Censorship, See Fway Producers Staying A way Equity Members in U. S. Services; Arrears Out Action of Equity's council last Week on the matter of. dues owed was not clearly explained but it is now definite that all arrearages of members who are in the armed services have been stricken from the books. AH are now in gbod stand- ing whether they were'back in the payment of dues prior to induction riot.; Nor. will there be liability Move to Increase Actor Minimums, $57.50 to $75 Ben Roeder, Belasco Mgr., Left $452,975 ! Estate of • the late Benjamin F, Roeder, general' manager for the late David Belasco for 44. years,. Was ap- praised Monday (9) by the New York Transfer TaX' Departmental $452,975, gross value, and $419,128. net, .. the ;chief, assets being, slocks and \ ponds amounting to $415,505. Dife him from 'the estate of David Belasco is $12,612. I.V Belasco, who! died ..in 1931. named | Roeder executor and trustee, of his estate; aiid! one of its. -three•'-.principal heiicficiaries. After completing his. It-has been proposed lo Equity by Unties as executor. Roeder retired certain members that minimuxn sal- I ftprrt.active connection with the the- ary in legit . be •'■raj being made-, that 'the along, at. the .preseni. .$5.7.5.0 pay, es pecially on the road.'. Whether the i matter will getactiOh this season Is ' uncertain but if there is any .Change | hi scale it 'could not be made man- I dntory upon the managers because the .basic agreement between the showmen-. and /.Equity, ■ .stipulating (hat . no rules/ be changed, ..was re- : cently extended until next Labor Day. .Understood "that, .most man- agers are! using a $60 minimum for the road rather 0ikn the odd $57.50. and. it's felt that should suffice for younger players scd complaint j all ' e - He was a member of The Play- ev e.innot get el ' s and The Lambs. He died at the age of 77 on May 4 ; 1943. Suoreme Court Backs N.Y. State Law OK'ing Patrons' Admish Ri?ht Boston, Oct. IP. Story m "Variety" last week about George Abbott opening "Soafu" in Cleveland in order to avoid Boston b.luenbse censorship has the riajfo here and . the drama editors plenty upset, They have been upset enough by the non-Boston openings of several musicals skedded this season, and especially by the fact "Sadie Thomp- son" isn't, opening here They'rebe- g'lnning Jo wonder if this is just « coinciiionce -or . if it. marks a-lieud away from a town which.-has,, in re- cent months, put plenty of obstacles in the-''producers' paths ';,';-. In; any case, -the fact is this is the first season in years that a nuiMcal. hasn t been trying out at the Shu- bert at lh's time of year, the first, one booked being ' Laflilhg Room On],y" in; mid-November, These'* even talk here. now. that Dave Wpl- per might not bring his new musical in. although It's booked. ' % '! Legit prospects remain plenty solid, however, and the' five legit houses aie - booked'-to the ears up to De- cember Nonetheless, the suggestion is plenty disturbing hereabouts tor theie is a great deal, at stake, and. a trend away from Boston would, if it got-going, destroy the- city's one remaining theatrical distinction. Proponents of the" :boost . seek at decisions- of'.the- New York court No one wilh tickets of admission can be barred from theatres, tin less for obstreperous conduct, it was defi- nitely and finally decided Monday j (9) in Washington, when the U S. < ; Supreme Court refused to review CHAMPAGNE BAR FOR least $75 per week, with those-op- posed saying that such'"a..-.minimum for dues for one year after discharge I .-might- likely become the maximum from the,'.seryicSs. uriless engage- ments in legit are played during that period. If. people discharged froih the services do not obtain stage jobs for longer than one year they from for top many players. Opponents'fear which ruled,that persoiis .with tick- I ets must be; admitted. Negative ac- | tion by the highest tribunal, ends for all time the attempts of: producei s. N. Y. BALLET HOUSE hat middle-bracketed people would namely the Shuberts. to bar- critics suffer, salaries for them being sliced I. whom thev don t like or wrhbse re- by. producers to make up for the in-, views were unfavorable to shows in crease to the minimum people, Same their theatres. No other Broadway, than in former seasons. Commis- sioner .stated,, as he has before,'that it's against the law to pay or receive gratuities, and that any boxofflce so collecting jeopardizes the theatre license, which could be cancelled lor that cause. Theatre operators don't see eye-to-eye with Moss on that, matter, insisting they should not be held responsible for the acts of em- ployees. Managers also say that they cannot always, engage the ticket- sellers they prefer,, and the task of keeping tabs on contracts between boxollices and agencies is virtually impossible. "t- ' A veteran broker w ho attended the session! dryly remarked that;he has It had been the idea that liberal dues concessions would, be made to those in the services until, it be- came known that the American Fed- eration of. Radio Artists had. can- celled back dues of soldier members. Equity <buld hardly , duck the issue and so ordered that all its members in the M'ar be given a clean slates Quite a total in back dues was. owed Equity by members .in uniform , but the number who were , not in. good standing for that reason was not esti- mated Known that between 1.500 to 1.800 Equityites are in various ,ser-. vices Equity, has instructed all. rep- resentatives in New York and else- where not to attempt collection of been listening to the same kind of ! bi, *-' k c,ues - Soldier members have been exempt from dues since the draft, started but some; entered the Army without informing. Equity, so, that back dues incorrectly piled up. Other talent unions will probably also cancel dues of. servicemen members. !?,'' • ,«'. '.•;.'>V'- : -;. !.;•' "<■'.'.'"; -talk for,many years. Generally be- lieved that the amount of gypping has been leduced to a virtual mini- mum/ That there . always w ill be some instance's. , of' h igh prices isn't doubted because some types of pa- trons want the best locations., some- times: at the last minute, and there are'some.ticket-men who .will take a chance because of bankroll trouble— 0i just because:they are that way. argument supplied when ihe lowest pay was upped from $50 but how much the next higher grades; were affected never has become known.,':, If a trend for a higher minimum develops it can be partly blamed on the. managers themselves. Contended that opening night prices, such . as $9.60 top for "Bloomer Girl" last week, (Shubert), and the proposed top of $24 for the premiere of "Seven Lively Arts" idue at Ziegfeld.) may have inspired some of. the small- bracketed people to Seek more coin Some: hing ; new in .theatre- setups., wilt' accompany the debut v Of 'the lnte.matibfiai" theatre,! at- Columbus Circle, N. Y.- j59th and Broadway'l, which will house;, the new Bullet In - feriiational. ppening'"its first seasph Oct. SO. Adjacent to the entrance . there is to be a champagne bar, the Over a long , period of years the !. j (iea b'f the .management" being , to:!' •manager ever resorted to such prac- tices..' ';■ v -.; ■' -'.'. ' ''••.•';•;'!'.•■';>;••.•, ,.'.'!- Shuberts have, from time to time barred various critics and gotten away with it oc"™^' •> >. ~>t' p statute was adopted; by the N. Y. Legislature which guaranteed the right of all persons to enter theatres In 1941, during the run of ' Panama Haltie." at the 46th Street, N, -Y:,' Robert Christie, an up'stater. was re- fused admissiomto the-theatre with- out explanation. He was offered hife money back, but refused, going into court with the' result that he was awarded $500 damages from t'he 46lh Street. ! ; . .; ;,'•-.'•,.;• !•'•!.> •,"'-"."'"'■'.•".''• It was apparent from the first have., thai type of liquid service available for what it figures \vill be a .carriage trade. No legit house in New York has a bar but there is one. at the Metropolitan House, which- is the only N. Y. house allowed to have a bar -because-"it's classed as a civie enterprise The International's bar will be. set. up in a.spot right- next to the theatre-but not in-the theatre . proper.; ;;'•- ■•;.% ',;'■; " ■.',.-' ! Ballet International has been in reheaisal since June.; During the season, of the .16. ballets presented n'iiie! will be "world premie.es.'' MET OPERA-ATAM ROW BECOMES MORE HEATED Row; between the Metropolitan Opera- House and the Association of Theatrical- Agents and ;Managers union was steamed up oyer the week- me! when the latter accused the qpera management : with , assuming", an aiili-labor attitude. Union de- mands the Met engage a press agent, house and . company manager from.-' among its membership, opera bunch retaliating by claiming ATAM didn't have people qualified for the -jobs. ATAM responded by citing its agiee- rnents with sundry concert and oper- »tic outfits. ; - - ATAM states its people are ahead «"d back with the San Carlo Opera Co.; also one presented by Alfredo Salmaggi iboth pop. priced), Colum- bia Concerts operatic tour, National Opeia .Co., N. Y. City Center Opera. Negip Opera, New York Opera and . Philadelphia Opera Co. It also has. its people- with the S. Hurok atlrac- • tioiis, except for. single artists,! and . the several ballet outfits.. •/ f A " ATAM-er is manager of HuroK's ! Russian Ballet,,currently,:at!the Met, - *nd because . the /.booking is : on'' a rental. basis, I here's a union house .manager: installed for the four-week engagement. Deadline set by! ATAM : vj* .H'hicu time the. Met was s,upposcd to entei into an afirecnitnt with tlie jtnion. was appareiitly scrappetf by m umon. Now .stated inat if the mi ckscs. not put on uhion -peopfc by •V>v. IM, tw;o weeks prior ta the start j iinglinf •' int- °t th grand opera season,'the house i Miire.i- I'liirt ••'!! br p : .'<,.-.(..d. ;,;;;'!!',',,-,,-',''„;-. LACK OF REHEARSAL SPACE HITS SHOWS A tunent problem of Bioadway. producers is to find places for re- hearsals, the demand ..being . heavy- because of the number of the hew. shows being' readied. Halls ! suff ice lor first week or two but stages are required thereafter. • Not ' enough theatres; are available for one rea- son or another.. House oVvners w ith one set shows are hesitant about permitting re- hearsal.s of new attractions because the settmg>s not struck. Some pro- duceis have rehear.-al halls but 'on matinee days the pressure for re- heal sal space is especially annoying. Stated that the Shubert,Office has 2d B.O. Staff May Be Added By Theatres For Big Mail Orders There's a possibility ■ that some Broadway hptiseSAyill install a second boxofiice staff, the added people be- ing assigned to handle 'mail orders only,-so great, is the demand from that source. Mail, orders for stand- out attractions ate reported, to be sisted oiv taking the case to the Su- L3ihe'tievefbpi^ents of~the "new mounting to such ..proportions that preiiie Court. - season Theatre opposite Central regular staffs are^unning way be- hind jn filling 'orders/although' stay- ing on; well beyond the'-usual quit- j Heading the new -project is Marquis that; the. Christie action was started ^e Guevas, a South American; who. to test: the legality of the then-new .l js vedded'to the granddaughter of state law. The Shuberts. who op- • llle late John D. Rockefeller. Mis. erate : the house through their Select | Herbert Wither^poon, formerly w ilh Theatres Corp., did not openly ftg-ithe American Guild of Musk ,il Art- ur.e in. the case, but their attorneys | j s executive director of Inter— weie. in evidence throughout the , national . '-, ' - original hearing and the appeal ac-i Reconves sioh of the theatre to tions. .'Understood the Shuberts in- | . s t a ge! performances is one.bf the'' ting time, Houses with hits. • have at least three persons in the. b::o.. lines being, virtually continuous and telephone calls numerous. At two b. o s ticket sellers; are on the ,iob throughout the day, one- assistant treasurer working on mail orders when ."not answering phone queries. Proposed dual ticket staff would have a late shift, coming on duty at nine p m Mail order aides would get the. same pay as *tbe regular staff. Ideas of a double b.o. staff comes from out of town, Paul Bos- nian, manager of'tHe American, St. Louis, being the .first to engage extra ticket-sellers. House is largely sup- ROSE STILL AWAITS .eason. Theatre. : opposite' | Park, -was formerly' called the Park ; and . Co.--moRoiitari'.'-, among other ;' ! a be is. a'id if was therelhat such lilts' • ,,„,. _ A _ tm . n —-J'as—The Wizard of Oz"! and '.'Wine, ■ LILLIE FOR 7 ARTS; wo,re„ «r,d ——s ; -. mg a pe/iod when it was. .Deiieveq Up to yesterday ! noon (10) the (i. a t show business would, move from ' Billy Rose office had heard nothing ' 42d street, then the legit hub. up to from Beatrice Lillie, 'who started j the cii (If from Eng last Friday <6), by t . Theatre is being redecorated but. plane, to stf, i preparations for Roses |. t ii e same seating plan devised by the Seven Lively Arts," due to open in '• U.\ e Joseph . Urban, for Ziegfel.ds ■ ported! by patronage not resident in issued an order prohibiting. tlie use | r| la . c '• '• '■ - of its considerable string of houses j '■ ; ; -- for reheat sals Unless the shows sre.f ^ '".' r\ n » " is i booked into that, firm's ' theatres, j Only Une rally Cancelled That has made it more difficult for N:Y- in .December. She was .sup- posed to have been accompanied by Gertrude Lawrence,who arrived in Baltimore aboard a flying boat Mon- day 19), according to an; interview printed: in th« N Y. Times yester- day. Miss Lawrence, who was over- seas for about six months, is fresh from Normandy, where she enter- tained Allied soldiers.!. 'She! is slated -Louis XIII" (house w'as then called the Cosmpolitan, owned by Wm. Randolph Hearst) will be .retained. Interior is highlighted by an enw mous glass chandelier . installed by Hearst, it . having been designed by | Tiffany, and the eos't was »reported ! to have been $75,000. That, too, IS | being refurbished.. House has for j yea is" been U.Hinting grind p.x. Ann Nichols Joins inclependent producers booked into indie houses. who. are B'way Stripper Comedy f, Tr/w.n Hall Tonite, '. comedy w ith songs by Margery Mal'-on, has been acquired. . for; immediate Broadway production by Beaux Aits Produc- tions, of which Man'ice Abbe- is managing director. ... Comedy is about a *ti pteuse who gets leligion via the gospel touts and unnohoi s the G--fnng to be- come an eViliijieli'sl, Miss' Mat -on 'has ;• iso ilone t'ne. show's: ly.i ic.s. .with .Edward Kling compo'-mg the tows, .'' Abbe, who; will direct apu*, ks citiK'i" Ann; Cnr-o uf both', fn.-rnVr■■■ij'iiri.c>rfi;i<! i .'i*ii;''l".t?;,-•»'■ jv.' i'f'i '.rrfl-'c^ sV ,'.;'•'" -.: .'■'* After Merman 'Sadie* Nix There were 31 theii'ife parties j-rranged u for. "-Sadie" Thompson," booked mto . the .\lviri , N. Y, next nmivThj'trp - 1 o"'th'e time I^ncl-Merman w'ithdrew from the r.'iusnwith which she leheaiscd two week' When June Havoc replaced, only one i of the block ticket. Mcais cancelled | because of the. replacement. Inch- . ta ted tha t Miss Men;-.;,, did not. leel up to handling the It-nme lead in "Sadie,'' a miistcc.l vci sio'f of Raiir,": which ptll.s. foi: dMi.miit c i(itf*fl ; ude^ - sii'hI- 'considerable dtiiiiMiig. AJ«ttcr of i the star not likinii the Ki n 1 i' said J in have hecn wcojjftiiiy- ■• Mi>s HaVoc'v. ' ejiyWii t < cd 8> Iw-rtig a g.uod type, of r,j»c" v ..ti'J |h6'« a;. ; o for ( oil '4W>' : ' .''! S"t;pl twlls fiir-the lTOd tq-linnttc tifc'.f '■■>n ihrec •«:ll</ts. : --: : ; : '-.H"''':/ -'.', ; ' : ': .'';- ; :;; : v to star !in, "Errand, For Beriiice" on Broadway this fall;-. ,V- ■ : : ,'i '■'Arts" is due to! start rehearsals i at the Zitgfeld theatre, N. Y., next | Al,«f 'nV nn Npw VritA Monday (16), Rose planned-to open | 3ICl^0y Oil 1 TUU, the bo.xoffice on -the same date, un-j . Ann ,Nichols creator:of the pei en-, usual .for a . ticket sale to begin so i hial "Abie's Irish Rose", has suf- 'touch In advante of the opening, j fi.cienlly recovered from recent ill* which is dated for Dec" 7. It. was iiess to join torccs with Frank Mc- discovered that the tickets had not Coy on production of. "Horses Ave printed, so the b.o .will: prob- Like That.!' new comedy by Alfoid n(.-( abty not begin operating foi another < i-KijjJ: Van Ronkel. who collabtd week; Manager savs tickets for.the ! w-.ilh Miss Nichojs on ' Pre-Honey- (irst 16'\veeks will.be oh sale. : moon.* 1 produced several reasons. -'L__:.l_ —,-iiir n i it,/ . ;"ba<-(e. He a ho did like service for r.'.dio. ver.-io.n of ."Abie's Irish Rose." ■ "I lorVes" goes' intb. rchearsnl. this wi-ek- under direction- of- Miss.Nichols, .iktiri will open in Detroit "around Oct. .'(0.- It may follow with a Chica- go, run. -prior- to Broadway. " Those set- i'li ,'ch.«t- si> fat ;i re Ethel. Br it I (.n, Fi link O'.U). CMt;.:- Polk »:■.(! Rir-ln.rd Xi'')<>f. W!:!iii!v Omm-Wollcr. ;.h:is d.oitttid thei/H ;;>>/!:';GrV.(/• Mi-iiken Meyer Davis Nixes :5(K)% Profit on 'Bloomer Girl' Mf yt'i Davis,' who" .has a SlO.fJOO twv(«tn)i'nt hi Bloomer Gill" a as (lifct'.cd .> :)00', profit on all <Sr part (tf.'his v.,, t'e. .between the act-*: on h'iici""S. night 151, h\ JOi-eph Kittz i \r / \n\ Agi v . ; -- v ; ! -"!-..' v i.- 1-vij IH' ! I hit :,off(:r:(h<v/-i:: : . Ill' , : .l;i IT'