Variety (Dec 1944)

Wednesday, December 20, 1944 LEGITIMATE 89 L S. Lawrence Firing By J. J. Shubert Stirs Controversy in PhiDy With ATAM Pluladclphia, Dec. 19. Lawrence Shubert Lawrence was" bounced lost week as head of , the Shubert interests in Philly and man- ager of the Forrest theatre by his uncle, J. J. Tilnibert—but whether he's out entirely was- a moot ques- tion yesterday. The Assn, of Theatrical A; » Is and Managers (AFL), of which Law- rence is a member, sent a tough wire to "Uncle Jake" oyer the week- end telling him that Lawrence could not be flred as manager of the For- rest because of the union contract which has until next Labor Day to run. And furthermore, the union de- clared, the only one who could fire Lawrence as manager ot the Forrest was Lawrence himself, who had hired hiiTLself as nianager in his ca- pacity as an olTiccr in Ihc Forresl corporation. At last reports the union had re- ceived no answer frOin Jake Shubert and. yesterday Lawrence wa."; re- ported still on tlie job as house jnanager of the Forre.st. What the row was about nobody would say, but it was generally ad- mitted that it was the culmination of a series- of difTerences between tlie elder Shubert and l\is nephew, who has headed Shubert theatres in Philly for the past.10 years and has been with the organization for more than 30. New general manager here is sup- posed to be George Oshtin, com- pany manager of the Shuberts' "The Lady of ?," currently playing at the Forrest—the show over which, inci- dentally, the row between Shubert and Lawrence is supposed to have reached a climax. . J. J, stated merely that there was a general reorganization oX the Bluibert setup and that Lawrence plight go to New York, to work in Lee Shuberl's office. Lawrience, who is iisually affable to the press, could not be; located at any of the four theatres the Shu- bert* operate here or at his apartr ment in Overbrook, According to reports from reliable iou'rces, Jake Shubert was niiffed at {Vie oool treatment "Lady" received •t the hands of Philly reviewers. He |( supposed to have blamed Law- rence for not getting « better press "What's New By J. C. INUGENT TrMta With »lM ShlMK« Lt^lt ScMM IVeiifb Hm Dtcadci Ah idlteriol FMtMr* of: PSfiiEjrr's 39lh Aiinivetmry Nnniher Gordon Wins Exception Again for Mel Cooper On Equity's Alien Rules For the second time Max Gprdon ■•dured aii exception to the alien- actor rule for Melville Cooper, British actor who win play the part originated by Joseph Schildkraut iii "The Firebrand/' the manager's musical version of that drama. Equity rule stipulates that alien players must permit an interval of tlx months to lapse between legit •ngageinents, but earlier in the sea- ion Gordon got the nod to use Cooper In "While the Sun Shines," only a few months after his engage- ment In "The Merry Widow." When he applied to Equity for the present exception, Gordon said he had no recollection at all about the earlier exception. "Shines" had a mild en- lagement in the fall and flopped out. Cooper's salary is $1,000 per week, and because he is an alien must pay Equity. 5%, or $50 weekly. Regula- tion dues are $18 per annum. Equity, AGMA In Jurisdiction Row A hot jurisdictional fight was staged in the office of Equity Tues.- day (ID) between, the legit associa- tion and the American Quild of Musical Artists over the classifica- tion of "La Vie Parisiennc," being readied by the New Opera Co., show being due soon, into the N. Y. City Center. Both unions are, of cour.se, alTailiates wilhiii. the; Four A'-s, the parent talent union. Players in "Piirisienne" have been signed under AGMA contracts, whereas Equity contends its standard, contracts .should have been used, thereby class- ing the musical ais a legiter: .The squabble revolves over, the question of whether "Parisienne" is operatta or opera, latter activity be- ing within AGMA's field, the'former being legit. AGMA was the con- trolling iniion tot New Opera when it was active in grand opera and also when "Rosalinda" was pro- duced. Latter was operetta,' but Equity did not insist on jurisdiction in that instance, because of which •AGMA feels it is within its rights in the matter of "Parisienne." Argument niay go to the Four A's board tor a deci.sion. With Equity having the edge, since . Equity was the controlling union when New, Opera revived "The Merrjp, Widow, also an operetta. New 'Mama' B.O. Plan On Sale of Tickets , "I Remember Mama," Music Box, N, v., among the strongest agency draws in town, has followed the lead of ■•Oklahoma," St, James, by having all tickets available for di- rect boxoffice sale ev-y fifth week. Brokers who don't like the id^a refer to the setup as the ''pyori^hca system"—one out of every five—as claimed in a toothpaste ad. iFlodger.<! and Hammerstein pro- duced "Mama" and are the authors of •rOklahoma." Billy Rose Finds Its a lively Art To Try and Tease Tix Brokers Discontinue Suit On Det. Theatre The ^."iOO.OOO damage action against Jaine.s C. Petrillo, president of the American Federation of Musicians, and others, brought by David T. Nederlander, manager and stock- holder, of the legit Lafayette theatre. Detroit, - was discontinued in N:Y. supreme court last week, Suit wa.s withdrawn just before argument oil dismissal of the amended complaint was to be heard!. Nederlander had chairged that the Lafayette was forced by threats of strikes to hire union musicians when none was allegedly needed. Attorneys for Petrillo, had won dismissal of the original complaint last Jun^, on the ground that con- troversy about musicians was strictly a local matter, dispute arose in De^ troit, with all parties natives of Detroit. Other defendants were. Jack Rosenberg, president ot AFM Local 802. New York; John Ferentz, head of .Local .'5; Detroit AFM; The Lafay- ette Dramatic Productions, Inc., for refu.sing to join in suit and United Booking Office, which booked the shows for the- Lafayette, . A Fragment From the Now Historic "Ziegfeld Cycle" By BERNARD SOBEL (Lougihite Bottvell of |i an Idlterlol faafare Alto of !i9lh Aimiversnry Edition GREENFIELD'S SPOT AT 4A'S GOES TO GUSKIN Board of the Associated Actors •nd Artists of America has named Rubin Guskin to the post of flr.st vice-president, filling put the unex- pired term of the late Jean Green- field, who was head of the Hebrew Actors union. Guskin is business •gent of that organization, ' Four A's- board also assigned Jhomas J. Phillips, head of the af Hated Brother Artists Assn., to start a drive for membership. The outfit U made up of burlesque actors. Phillips' activities will extend from the east to the Coast, burlesque be- ing existent in many spots although Mnned In New Yojk. BAA is aun- (ing to eliminate a number of abuses which have been faced by burly People beieause of poor organizitfon; Franchot Tone Buys 25^ of His^^ Starrer Franchot Tone liked his starring' vehicle, "Hope for the Best," by William McCleery, so well he boughl 25% of the show, i.e., 50% of the backers' share. Jean Dalrym- ple and Marc Connelly are co-pro- ducing it, latter staging. It's Miss Dalrymple's debut as a billed pro ducer although she has pieces of several current legit hits. Show opens Dec. 28 in Nesv Haven an<^, is slated for the Fulton, N. Y., a month or so later. Cast replacement is Mercedes McCambridge for Dina Merrilli latter dropping oiit because she thought her role"top young." Oshrin Vei'dict Affirmed On Mike Todd Plea Judgment re'covered by Harry Oshnn against Mike Todd was af- firmed last Friday (15) by the Ap pellate Division.. Oshrin had. sold his lease on the. 48th St. theatre, N. Y., to Todd for $10,000 and re ceived a series of notes in part pay- ment. Oslirin claimed that "Todd failed to pay one of the notes when due and called a defualt on all of the notes via a notice sent To'id. Todd denied ever receiving siich notice. Trial judge decided against Todd and was upheld on appeal. 'Ruth' Not So Dear To Rascoe; Varies Sharply With Others It wa.s Burton "Bascoe again.st the field again in his coverage of "Dear Ruth" at, the Miller, N. Y., last week, with the World-Telegram drama critic putting the prongs, in, while the press generally was of the rave type. After lamping Rascoe's notice, it was the opinion in show circles that he gave an exhibition of a slow ... -. _ , «.i m burnup against Moss Hart becau.se of! Ilraa Fflllltv All! FaF the latter's jibe at the critic in a ""8* EqUKy /UO rVl See Ballet Outfit In Shubert Tiff A row is brewing between the management of the International Ballet and the Shuberts because George de Cuevas, who heads the elaborate dance puifit, aims to can- cel a Boston booking for the attrac- tibn. Ballet which finales this week at the International theatre, Colum- bus Giicle, N.Y., is slated to lay off for a. couple of weeks aiid then play a Shuberfs house in' the Hub. de Cuevas angrily ripped down a backstage-notice to the effect that the ballet would take to the road and is reported planning to jump the aitiaction to Mexico City, a par- ticularly cosily maneuver, consider- ing tlie horde of toe dancers and plenty of scenic investiture. International Ballet project repre- sents an outlay, to .dale approaching $1,000,000. de Cuevas Is married to a kin of the Rockefellers but there are a number of other exceptionally \yeallhy socialite backers, alt of them quite aware that the coin they put into the project is "for the sake of art." It is understood that the back- ers^r, more correctly, the spon- .soi's—are aWare of it's ,noh-profil activity. Elias Weinslock. the Shubert booker, .stated that de Cuevas signed a contract for the Boston date and there is no Shubert intention of making a cancellation. There arc direct telephone linea from the major N, Y. ticket agen- cies to the boxoffice of the Ziegfeld, N. Y.. where "Seven Lively Arts" recently opened, but very few tickets are to be had because of the record number of parties sold in advance of the revue's opening. Billy Rose,"Arts" producer, cam- paigned to pironiote the sale of tickets directly at the boxoffice, and although he says he isn't angry at , the ticketmieh, except around the edges, this week he bought another cxtra-sixe ad headed: "Tickets for the Firs*. Year are on the ■ press." And included was'advice oh how. to get 'em. Rose intimates he may open a store in'the Ziegfeld to sell "Arts" tickets exclusively, in addition to the boxoffice. ; . Not all the organizations which bought out the house for beneficial purposes, with the tickets . priced much more than, the established b.p. top of $6 \$5 plus SI, federal tax), are able to dispose of the entire bundle. Several have asked leading : brokers to sell the excess tickets, but as the prices are tilted that is a problem. If the_ agencies did sell .,' (he benefit tickets the pTice to, Iheir customers should be $6 plus the usual agency fee and federal lax,' but that can't be the case. The Gov- ernment, insists that only 20% be levied oh.the ainount printed on Ihe ticket. , Therefor«> the agencies would be reqired to charge their customers $3 or $4 lax instead^ of $1, and they explain that is not feas- ible. Other benefit people are oft'ering tickets to the public by means of ads in the dailies. One announced lhal the tickets on hand could be secured at prices from $5.40 to $9.60, and it is probable that the locations were upstairs.. 'Theatre party peo- ple, said to operate on straight per- centage state that if a benefit party i.s split between two charity organi- zations, the prices can be boosted over the regular scale, although the matter was . differently reported. They assert the Internal Revenue Department has i.ssued no rule on that phase of the .split charity, parties. Agents Sue Over 'Jake* Los Angeles, Dec. 19. Franz. Wcrfel,, author of "Jacob- owsky and the Colonel," was'sued in Superior Court by the Monter- Gray agency for $15,000 plus further commissions from the play. As Werfel's agent in the sale of stage arid screen rig*its, the plaintiff asserts it is entitled to 10% of his profits. Agency declares ■ its, lees amOuht to' $15ioi0l) at this time. "Seven Lively Arts" (Ziegfeld) sketch that Hart wrote. Rascoe's review of "Arts" didn't- say much about the show's critics interlude but he went all-out in rap- tures over the musical. While other critics credited Hart with fashionhig the Norman Krasna play into a first- night wow, Rascoe said "Ruth" is "lifeless, machine-made, badly di- rected farce." That Idea led the riptice but he finished the sentence, which started with high praise for Lenore Lonergan, a young actress In the cast, by saying that she turned the play into "a very enjoyable and frequently hilarious evening." John Chapman, ihe N. Y. New.s critic, also got his licks in but they weren't aimed at the show. Hi.s barks were aimed, at Gregory Rat- ofT, the actor-director. Chapman liked' "Ruth" plenty, but an opening night situation got him riled. He started his review with: "As I sat watching ■Dear Rulh'...l was thinking of a movie director, a. fellow famous for odd mannerisms and odd (Russian)- accent, and famous, tbo, for turning out hit films."' He mentioned, Ernst Lubitsch but actually he was think- ing ol Gregory Ratoff, who through a mixup .squatted in the seats allotted to Chapman and wouldn't vacate •'even if Mayor La Guardia wanted 'em.'' Michael Mok, the show's pub- licity man,' got anothej: pair of aisle seats out of his hat for the News man. Chapman finalcd his notice by opin- ing thzt Lubitsch or Al Hall could probably direct the stage, version of "Ruth" but "a director like, say Ratoff. wouldn't have the delicacy." On the day the notices of . the Kra.sna play appeared, it was an- nounced by Columbia' Pictures that a film called ''Dear Mr. Private" would soon start in production, tl has the same idea of "Ruth," that of a kid writing a soldier and signing her si.stcr's name. There are other film stories.said to,have a similar idea. Young Pei'fonners , At an Equity quarterly meeting held at the Astor,-N. Y., yesterday (19) a proposal'slated from the floor would have association give financial support to Library Theatre, a group of mostly young players. Latter con- tend that because of Inadequate lighting, absence of props and set- lings, they cannot appear to advaii- tage before managers or agents Jn .the. occasional gratis perfor'mahces. They'd like to have a real theatre for the showings and Daly's 63rd Street has been suggested, but the young- sters would settle for one of the .so^ called little library theatres if prop- erly equipp.ed. To aid the Ubrary Theatre move- ment Ihe John Golden Foundation made a grant, of $1,000, that money taking care of ordinary outlays, but th(3se interested in giving the kids and others a chance to be seen in performance back up their appeal for Equity financing. Sam Jaffe, one of the vet Equityites, is devoting considerable lime to the Library Theatre and joined the youngsters in urging more material support. Sues Theatre Guild For $186,850 on Tacf To Get mr Backini; Theatre. Guild is being sued for $186,850, for alleged breach of con- tract in -N. Y. supreme court, suit be- ing disclosed last week when the Guild moved for. a further bill of particulars in the action filed by David Lowe, producer and director. Latter claims the amount is due him for services and a share ot the profits, . of, investors allegedly secured by him for "Oklahoma!" Guild pro-, duced the musical. . ^ Lowe alleges that in .1942 he entered agreement with the Guild and it was agreed that he be re- tained to "formulate and cooperate in the eicecutioh of plans for the financing of 'Oklahoma!'" Lowe seeks $30,000 for his services and the balance as his percentage of profits by Investors he says he .secured. Musicers Upped to $79 At Philly Shubert Houses Philadelphia, Dec. 19. ' The Shubert Entierprises last week signed with Local '77, Musicians Union, granting member'i bf orche.s- Iras playing at the four legiters op- erated by Shubert a 15% wage in- crease. "The new pact calls for » $79 a week minimum. In addition to the increase, the union won the following conce.ssions: Only one free rehearsal period al- lowed. More than one must be paid for at regular rates. Dress rehearsals should be classi- fied as performances in rate of pay. Member of orchestra may. double on only one other instrument and must be pai4 29% more for same, NEW LONSDALE FLAY MILD TO LONDON CRIX London, Dec. 19. "Another Love Story," which, opened at- the Phoenix Dec. 13, was well received but critics here don't regard it as Frederick Lonsdale's best. ■ . Miajority of reviewers praised the ~ cast as being far above the play's merit, , Hurbk Files $60,000 Suit Vs. Philly Opera TrOupe Philadelphia, Dec. 19. Hiirok Attractions, Inc., filed suit in. U. S. District Court here Satur- day (16) against the Philadelphia Opera' Co., seeking $60,000 for al- leged breach of contract. Sol Hurok, head bf the New York agency, charged that the.Phniy out- fit..last June had made arrange- ments for him to book a tour •of at least 1'^ -weeks throughout U: S., Can- ada and Mexico, for which he had' guaranteed the company $7,000 a week plus 50% ot .the gross ever $12,500. . ^