Variety (Jul 1946)

Wednesday, July 10, 1946 O'Neill's Iceman' to Come Around Eight Times Weekly; Split Show Idea Nixed II is virtually definite that Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh" will be presented eight times weekly rather than as a bisected perform- ance starting at five in the afternoon, which would have precluded mati- nees. Understood the author is •working on a more compact script permitting the show to ring up around eight o'clock, with matinees at two. It will start rehearsals early in September, opening the.following nionlh at the Martin Beck, N. Y. "Iceman" is regarded , as a prob- able booking prize, Louis Lotito contracting for the drama with 'he Theatre Guild, whose "Jacobowsky and The Colonel" had a successful run in the same house. On an eight - performance - weekly basis "Iceman" has a.much better-chance 1o prove profitable for- the Guild and the theatre.. It is a one-set-show, scene being the interior of a blowsy downtown hotel but it' requires around 15 stage hands because the setting rolls from side to. side be- ..'tween the bar and another portion of :hc hostelry. On a six-time basis, as originally planned, with a 7 p.m. supper m- termission,' - .matinee revenue would have, been eliminated and the cost of operation increased, stagehands getting three hours additional pay per day, for. one item. Ticket scale has hot been determined. Local Radio As Roadshow Hypo There is a definite trend towards increased use of local radio in ex- ploitation of road shows. It started during the war when newsprint shortages curtailed the size of ads in the dailies. That doesn't mean that the amount of lineage used in the dailies will be necessarily reduced but showmen in key cities, who were hesitant at participating in the cost of spot programs when suggested by advance agents, now concede that radio is well worth while. In New York radio plugs are. occasional rather than general. In some stands during the past .season theatre ads were limited to a single inch and so advance men made radio tieups. In Chicago at least one deal had been made by an incoming show whereby the house will participate' in spot radio up to $500 weekly, while in St. Louis the legit house has a. seasonal arrange- ment with the local station, amount of participation by visiting shows be- ing optional. Not all broadcasts are on a cash basis, microphones being hooked up in the lobbies and dress- ing rooms, with members of the casts going on the air on nn average of three limes weekly. Those pro- grams are gratis. One road press agent reported learning some odd incidents in con- nection with the failure of dailies in reaching a percentage of potential theatregoers. In one stand a shop- keeper was unaware that a hit was coming to town, his explanation be- ing that he was too tired to read the papers at night CPO Balks Albany Try to Revive Legit Albany,- July '9. Malcolm. Atterb'ury's . project to convert the Capitol theatre into a smaller house for a fall-winter legit repertoire has been blocked by re- fusal of the Civilian Production Of- fice in Washington to approve re- modeling plans. Atlerbury, operator of the Tama- rack -summer playhouse at Lake Pleasant, and son of the late W. W. Atterbury, Pennsylvania Railroad president, invested $85,000 in pur- chase of the 25-year-old house from W, W. Farley, He aimed to revive legit in Albany. LEGITIMATE 51 O'Neill Into'State' Hollywood, July 9. Henry O'Neill, currently, under oontract to Metro, will shift to the stage temporarily as co-star with Conrad Nagel and Irene Hervey. in the Coast version of "State of the Union," current Broadway hit. Show is booked for five weeks at the Bi It more, starting Aug. 19. ' HERBERT'S POSTHUMOUS OPERETTA TO BE PROD. Ella Herbert Barllctt,. daughter of the late Victor Herbert, still plans producing a posthumous operetta by her composer-father. ■ Score is said to contain 22-24 unpublished limes, and a book is still to be written. Option on the piece, until recently, was hckl by Mike Todd. 'Mr. Winkle' Has Short Holiday Aquaietla, the marine amphi- theatre at the former 'World's Fair grounds', Flushing, N. Y., which offered "Mr, Winkle's Holiday," a combination musical comedy and swim show, folded Saturday (6) after two weeks and one night: it is said to have represented an invest- ment of over $100,000. Performance was highly regarded, but was played in a spot hardly accessible to patron- age except that which came in autos, so attendance in the 10,000-seat Aquaretta was generally disappoint- ing. Show was presented by'Elliott Murphy in association with John Moses: latter not being related' to Robert Moses, commissioner of parks, who prohibited posting of outdoor : advertising near the Aqua- retta nor along the Long Island parkways, show being entirely de- pendent on the dailies for publicity. The real handicap was transporta- tion, place being serviced by a sin- gle Brooklyn car line which went oilt of operation- several days last week, when the'tracks buckled. An elevated-line track, used when the fair was open, was not. operating either. At that the station is some distance away. Nor did buses run near the show's site. "Holiday" played six nights weekly. Manage- ment protected it with costly rain insurance, but weather was not a factor in the show's failure. Only other permanent building on the fairgrounds is the New York city building, which will be used by the United Nations. Delegates, staffs arid reporters will have motor transportation. Karlweis, Bromberg Set for Cahn Legits Oscar Karlweis, last seen on Broadway in "I Like It Here." has been signed by.William Cahn for a revival of Marcel Pagnol's "Topazfe" in December. Frank Morgan did Play originally in 1930. J. Edward Bromberg, who played w.-'.h Karlweis- on Broadway in "Ja- cooowsky and ihe= Colonel," was s.;;ned by Cahn for- the lead in the tatter's forthcoming new musical, "Toplitzky of Notre Dame." This ^viU mark Bromberg's firsi singing role. 'OBSESSION'TO OPEN CHI STAY JULY 29 Kansas City, July 9. "Obsession," the two-people legit starring Basil Rathbone and Eugenic Leontovich, has been set to open its Chi run July 29, following a four- performance stand here July. 25-27 at the Music Hall. The Chi engage- ment is set for the Erlanger, and plan is to hold the play in Chi until fall, when it will be taken to Broad- way, according to Bert Stern, ad-, vance man. K. C. date for "Obsession" was set only after "Merry Wives of Wind- sor." in a June hot weather stand, indicated that legit could go. profit- ably through the summer in the air conditioned Music Hall. here. "Obsession" is now being done with its third ending. Opener on the Coast saw a happy ending. In re- buttal. Rathbone turned to killing of! Miss Leontovich'. That met with jess public approval, version has Rathbone killing himself —with belter boxoltice response. 'Maid' Flits Out Of Ozarks to Flirt With B'way DDT The road's "champ two-for-oner." "Maid in the Ozarks," billed as "To^ bacco Road' without brakes," is dated to open at the Bejasco, N. Y.. next Monday (15). The United Booking Office had ducked booking the "saga" of Ozark hillbillies, and New York managers refused to con- sider the show, but Max J. Jelin. whose tenancy of the Belasco has seen a long succession of flops there, accepted "Maid" through booking by Consolidated Radio Artists. "Maid" is presented by Jules Pfeiffer, Who in extra space ads Sun- day (7) anticipated its reception by conceding that "the general critical consensus will be it's the worst play that ever hit Broadway:" He then claimed that the attraction "smashed boxoffice records in virtually every key city in the U. S." After first hearing about "Maid" in San Francisco, Pfeiffer rented the. then-shoddy Great Northern, Chicago, and opened the show there, with Danny Goldberg interested. Average take for its 62-week Chi- cago run was between $8,000 and $9,000, with New Year's week top- ping 10G slightly. After that stay the show's . profits were $88,000, Pfeiffer also profiting from the the- atre's end. Literally millions of Iwb- for-one tickets were dumped into hundreds of war. plants in the Chi area, and audiences were largely from rural areas, many of them re- putedly never having seen a legit before. "Maid" was first presented "at Frisco's Alcazar, now dark and in the discard, in January, 1941. Claire Parrish, who wrote it, evidently set out to outdo "Tobacco Road," the play being described as "a comedy caricature" of that drama. Comment in. Variety's notice at that time in- cluded: VThe Ozarkian crowd is pre- sented as the dirtiest, lousiest (ac- tually), most bedbug-ridden bunch of folk ever assembled on a stage." Reviewer said it was corny "but made 'em roar" opening night, house being filled with half-price ticket- holders. ' H. F. and Charles R. Woolever, local printers, were then the presenters. Show*will play Sundays, the mati- nee on that day and Saturday tech- nically have a $4.20 top, while the night scale will be $3.60 top. Pfeiffer getting press attention with that stunt... Pfeiffer plans spending $20,000 in advance publicity. Tuesday's papers carried ads headed "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolves," and the names of the drama critics were listed in the copy. Vera Allen Takes Over Theatre Wing Duties Of Antoinette Perry Sudden passing of Antoinette Perry, associate of Brock Perhberlon and a tireless director of the Amer- ican Theatre Wing during the war, has been followed by some shifting of the . all-fcmmc officers in the Wing. Vera Alien of the legit stage, who is third viccpresident of the Wing. Sale of Picture Rights a Key Issue In Huddle This Week of Producers And Dramatists Guild on Contract Dave Schooler Set To Produce B'way Revue Dave Schooler, producing an inti- mate revue, plans its Broadway ar- rival early in the fall.. Show, orig- inally called "Give Us This Day," is now titled "Happy Day." . Formerly a biglime vaudevilliati, Schooler during the war was pro- duction head of USO-Camp Shows. Score for "Happy" is credited to Hughie Prince, Dick Rogers, Erwin Drake and Jimmy Shirl, sketches cording from Matt. Brooks, Charles Sherman and Alfred Geto. 'Laura,' Geared Too High, Folds Closing in Chicago last week of "Laura,"'drama based on the 20 th- Fox picture of same name, is traced to the fact it was too highly geared and because sharing contracts were such that it was necessary to gross $16,500 to break even, a figure far too much for a one-set show. Play was presented by Hunt Stroniberg, Jr., who bounced onto Broadway last season with "The- Red Mill," teamed with Paula Stone, revival being cur- rent and aimed through summer. Young Slrombfrg, son of the film producer, has scheduled several at- ... , . ... . ,„;,,„,, ,„ V _ » „,„„ ...u»r the showmen will be permitted to do tractions for next season, but when ( __ :J ._ 4l __ _. ^ u _„,,..„ "Laura" goes on again the operating By JACK PULASKI: Negotiations. to revise regulations, in author contracts covering legit production and the sale of picture rights will start this week in Kew York between the Dramatists Guild and the managerial League of New York Theatres. Interest, in the ■ re- visions by major picture companies- has been indicated, and film execs in the east are slated for one or more conferences with the League though not with the Guild. When the expiring pact was nego- tiated picture rights were, an integral part of the rewritten provisions. At that time the fllmites huddled many times with play producers. Lawyers for the picture firms found points id which they objected nnd eventually advised their principals to walk out, which they did, Warners and Metro being the principal dissenters. -Both outfits were disaffected principally after they discerned that financing of plays did not accompany control of the screen rights. Authors "stood for open bidding by Hollywood, and that, will continue to be a pertinent pro- vision in the basic agreement. Last week Warners requested that the . firm be invited to participate in the negotiations for new : revisions, and it's presumed that other majors will also talk it over with the managers. Although it's hoped that the points to be argued will be amicably agreed upon, there is a feeling among man- agers that if changes drawn up by the Guild go through as is, all that budget must be revised downward Miriam Hopkins and Otto Kruger. who headed the cast, were reported getting approximately $2,000 and $1,500, respectively, with one or two others being paid four-figure sal- aries. Gross of "Laura" last week was close to $13,000, and ordinarily takings of that amount for a straight play would mean profitable opera- tion, especially in-the summer. Drama is slated reopen in Toronto about Sept. 15. by which lime a-number of cast changes will have been made. Chicago, July 9. Despite ads proclaiming "Laura" as "The Love Story They Dared Nol Tell on the Screen," the Hunt Stroniberg. Jr.-produccd legiler suf- fered much the same fate as '"Re- becca," another post-film play, fold- ing after four weeks at the Harris Saturday (6). Leventbal, Shubert Tiff Producers J. J. Leventhal and Lee Shubert figured in a dispute over several matters last week. Shubert is said to have been an- gered because Leventhal sent Jane Cowl to Buffalo in a train coach seat instead of providing parlor car ac- commodations. Another argument arose over McKay Morris, both play- ers having been engaged for a Buf- falo stock showing of "Candida.'' Leventhal claimed that, he could not obtain belter accommodations for Miss Cowl. Morris, who also ap- pears to have steamed up Shubert, was replaced. Leventhal is presenting stock in Buffalo and other stands in addition Ip two New York nabc houses, the Flalbush, Brooklyn, and- Windsor, Bronx. While Frank McCoy is his associate, Shubert is generally in- terested with them. Is to provide the cash for produc- tion, with full control placed- in the hands of the authors. There's a pos- sibility that the new contract could be agreed upon, in one session for there is a mood' to negotiate rather than for prolonged argument. How- ever, there will be lawyers present, and in the past there were extended huddles before agreement was reached. The factions are supposed to complete their labors by Aug. 1. Proposed changes of rules per- taining to musicals appear to be a principal issue, some producers hav-. ing strenuously objected. Proposed changes would strip the manager .pf all say-so in the selection of com- plement, according to the inlrepreta- tibn of the wor.dage, and they could even involve showmen with the musicians union, which has no pact with the Guild. Managers have not sounded put the authors, since such clauses are only broached, awaiting for the negotiation sessions. It's pointed out that all proposals first aim at objectives that seerri far- fetched, then are later- modified. Ex- pectation is that the authors Will be | amenable to waiving the protested provisions. Friedlander's Daughter To Produce Deval Play Sylvia Friedlander: has purchased Jacques Deval's "Balhsheba'' for Broadway production late this sum- mer or early fall. Exact production dale depends on casting of two lead parts. This is the production deblil of Miss Friedlander. 'daughter of Emil Friedlander. chairman of the board of Dazian's, the costume-fabric house. and current and who has been in charge of shows sent to GI hospitals, will take over Miss Perry's duties. At a board meeting of the Wing. Rachel Croth- crs. its president, paid high tribute to Miss Perry, saying "I have al- ways been convinced thai no one else in the theatre could have done so much and as well. We owe her a debt of inexpressible gratitude." Mrs. Martin. (Louise) Beck, the Wing's treasurer,, has been made chairman of the executive commit- tee. Gertrude Lawrence and Helen ! Hayes are first and second vicc- ! presidents respectively, but are nol j always available. I It has been suggested by Jake r Wilk, head of Warners' legit depart- ment, that a memorial tribute- to ■ Miss Perry be planned. He has asked I John Golden to . head a committee ; for that purpose, the manager hav- ; ing been a leading participant in the 'formation of the Wing. At the re- I cent dinner given to Golden he ; highly evaluated Miss Perry's war ! service work. Others invited lo par- 1UCASTA' ENDS 44-WK. RUN AT CHI'S CIVIC Chicago, July 9. "Anna Lucasta" ends a 44-wcek ■ run at the Civic on Saturday (13), company returning to New York but . due lo tour in the fall. In anlicipn- tion of a year's slay the house is un- der lease to John Wildberg tor on* ! year, presenter of the colored-cast j drama having a renewal option for a similar period. He has entered in- I to a deal with United Artists to show j "Henry V" at the Civic, English film [ starling, on two-a-day basis Aug. 5. • Theatre Guild, which" sponsors "Henry," is not'a factor in the boOk- | ing ' "Anna" is slated to ppen on. the { road in Bridgeport, Sept. 30,. lenta- 1 tive bookings . extending into next 1 May. probably finaling on the Coast. ! Original "Anna" is still on Broad- way, aimed through the summer. licipalc in the memorial include Marcus Hciman, Dick Rodgers. O:-- ! car Hammerslein, 2d, Lee Shubert. | Dwighl Deere Wiman and Vincent ■ Sardi. . I Miss Perry was to have directed | "The Magnificienl Heel," slated by ' Pemberlon early in the fall, but the ' producer now will stage the .play, : tlso the road "Ilarvcy" with Joe K. Brown, which resumes soon in Buf- Eleanor Lynn to Sub For Holliday in 'Born' I Eleanor Lynn is now in rehearsal lo sub for Judy Holliday in "Born ("Yesterday,"' at. the Lyceum, 'N. Y., during a vacation for Miss Holliday the first two weeks in August. Miss Lynn is also set to head a second company lo tour starting early in September. Miss Lynn was last seen In New ralo on one of several dates prior i York in Lindsay and Crousi's pro- ! to a Chicago engagement J duclion of "Strip For Action."