Variety (Jul 1946)

52 LEGITIMATE Early Strawhat Harvest Heavy; Lawrence $9,400 With Tygmalion Dennis, Mass., July 9. Gertrude Lawrence's "Pygmalion," at Richard Aldrich's 500-seat Cape Playhouse, last week grossed over $9,400 for smash biz. Gregory Peek's "Playboy", sold, out 10 days ago, is current. Strawhat prices have caused some comment in trade, for. their compari- son with Broadway, legit figures. Bucks County Boflola New Hope, Pa., July 9. Virtual capacity is being regis- tered : by Bucks County Playhouse for first four bills in what looks like a bonanza season for the Delaware Valley deluxe- strawhattcr. Gross varies little from $5,500 Xo $6,000 for manager Theron Bamberger weekly. Last week Sidney Blackmer in "You Touched Me," despite usual holiday shunning of matinees, tal-! lied $5,500 . to cpme' in a close' third, to "Everybody's Wonderful" ("Jason"), which was second stanza bill the week of June 17. Best b.o. bill to date was "Kiss and Tell.", week of June 24, with the Dennis King, opener, "Blithe Spirit," the weakest. Entire nine performances for Helen Hayes in "Alice-Sitrby-the- Firf>" opening next Monday (15) are already sold out. Bamberger has scheduled an extra Thursday matinee to absorb some of the over- flow. Mary MacArthur will make her debut with her mother in that bill, with Joshua Logan directing. Logan will also direct "Happy Birthday" for Miss Hayes on Broad- way in fall. ' This week Sidney Blackmer is staying over as star of "Chicken Every Sunday," with another boff frame indicated. Kitty Carlisle will follow Helen Hayes July 22 in "To- night or Never." , Strawhat Tryouts Beginning Tuesday (16), Hemp- stead (L. I.) theatre will produce "Carbon Copy," new drama by George Morris to be staged by Otto Simetti. Leading roles will be taken by Richard Barron, Joel Marston and Joan Copeland. Saratoga Springs Spa theatre, state-owned, house managed by Jewel Steven, has scheduled "Moth- er, Please Behave!" an original by Miss Steven. . New play is set for the week of Aug. 27-Sept. 1. Heat Wilts Yardley Yardley, Pa., July 9. Soaring thermometer and holiday exodus . at local strawhatter five miles up the Delaware from Tren- ton, NJ J., cut gross last week of "Claudia." with Betsy Drake in title role, to $1,700: Converted town hall seats 300, and is under management of actor Wendell Corey. and William P.. Dix. Jr., with Warren. Reid as general, manager. "Of- Mice and Men," featuring George Cotton and Lynn Masters, started strong this Week. "Fair and Warmer" slated for July 15, "Ber- keley Square" for. July'22. Wilder In 'Skin' Cohasset, Mass., July 9. South Shore Players production of "Skin of Our teeth" will star play's author, Thornton Wilder, in his first appearance in that play. Wilder will play the role ol Mr. Antrobus dur- ing its presentation the week of Aug. 5. This • week has Dennis King starred in "Blithe Spirit." followed by, Gle.nda Farrell in "Brief Mo- ment," July 15. Washburn Comedy Tryout Long Beach, N. Y., July 9. "Boys in the Front Room," new comedy by Charels Washburn, legit pressagent, will be tried out at the Crest here week of Aug. 12 by direc- tor Rowland Edwards. Strawhat got under way July 2 for first time in 14 years with "The Play's the Thing," starring Jose Ferrer. Sam Jaffe and Zero Mostel in "The Milky Way" are current. Edwards ran the theatre, then known as the Castle when it last of- fered legit In 1932. House seats 718. Theatre has a high scale for straw- hats, week night prices running from $1.80 to $3.60, Friday through Sun- day, top being $450. Gus Schirmer had a $4.80 top for'opening night of his Greenwich, Conn„ summer sea- son, ' when Tallulah Bankhead ap- peared in "Private Lives," but top for rest of fortnight's engagement was $3.60, and top since then has dropped to $3, with $3.60 on Satur- days. Louisville's 'Moon' Louisville, July 9. "New Moon," Sigmund Romberg operetta, teed off the six-weeks' summer music season at Iroquois Amphitheatre Tuesday (2), arid drew excellent $23,000 in six per- formances ending Sunday (7). . Cur- rent season is the eighth, with last year's skipped. Marita Fan'ell, sang the femmc lead, with Walter Cassel playing op- posite. Supporting were : Robert Pitkin. William Sully. Donald Burr, Hal Conklin, G. Swayne Gordon and Nan Shannon. : Orchestra was directed by William A. Parson. Denie Dufor is production director: "Girl Crazy," with Willie Howard, is second week's bill opening to- night (9). . Illinois Haylofts Oft Bis . Chicago, July 9. Strawhatters are off with a bang here, with Elm'hurst Community the- atre, Elmhurst college, packing 'em in with "Blithe Spirit" for three days over the past weekend. Upcoming are "The Would-Be Gentleman,'* Wednesday (10) through the 13th, by the Western University Summer Theatre in Evan- ston, and "Post Road" Friday (12) through the 14th, by the Barnum Summer : Theatre, near Michigan City, Ihd. 'Blossom Time' ll'^G, Memphis Memphis, July 9. Overcoming terrific weather han- dicap, "Blossom Time" turned in fair $11,500 for week of July 1-6 as first attraction of Memphis Open Air The- atre season, . Shows must do slightly better than that to break even. Rain forced cancellation of ' the opening Monday night performance. Also cut Thursday's Fourth of July performance at end of second act. Boxoffice suffered dally from show- ers, even on days when weather was okay at night. "Blossom Time" starred Ethel Tay- lor, Edward Roecker, Frank Horna- , Wednesday, July 10, 1946 day, Elizabeth Houston and Jann Moore. '/Bohemian Girl" current this week; with Rosemaric Brancato, John Gurncy, Martha Larrimorc, Frank Hprnaday and Eddie Roecker. „ Deeter In 'Tragedy' Moylan, Pa , July 9. Jasper Deeter, director of the Erwin Piscator version of Theodore Dreiser's "An American .Tragedy" when it played at Hedgerow theatre here in 1935, will play the speaker in the Hedgerow revival in the fall. Direction will be by Rose Schulman. David Metcalf will play the role of Clyde Griffith. Hays Abroad 'Strawhat Review Cup of Fury New ' Mil ford, Conn., July 3. LuuI.s 'i'ownPtMul pnitiuvllun of tlrnnVu" In llnvu-iii-is (l"uur sevnes) by'BUI Noblf anil CruiK" Savngc. St;iy* Dhniche Yurkii. SliiKi'ri by IIukI» KpHiiwh: trotting by. Kd- wnrtl'T. i\Mipt»Y. (ipi-nril ;it Tlieiili-fr-hi-ilip- Dalc- ."New Milfiml. Comi.. July 'W. top. ' J:im(\«, the Hutlci-. <*aryl llrynoliW.. . Paw \VinlPii* Martha Winter*... Chrlytlno Winter.*. Honor Winlora..... Wai;rcn Wlim-i*;., Ha i on . Joan "Winters..... Uui'hrl Juililll Wlnlcrs.... Crac*. lit*' Maiil... Clun k's Winters. .. , ..Ulclmni Snundors ... Jriii KUi'i lto l.cwl.s ..... Waller llronhc . Atlelyn WnndlnKton Vickie" l»nul .. Mii-linel l>ennlmm ........John Sfo'rny HimtteIC ..' <:iui-ln --.Willis .... Unrren. McLean .. Nl:inchc Yiirku Clorln /Wliltney ,. WilUnm Hobci lyon $100 FULL COLOR TEST IN 16 MM CALL COR YN Circle 7-0575 953 Seventh Aveaue, New York "Cup of Fury" is a psychopathic drama that needs considerably more stirring. Angles that are important to 'the story are developed insuf- ficiently, though dialog makes for easy listening. Authors have an Interesting, though not particuarly original, theme in the story of a spinster who reigns over Spokane clan whose former head had made a fortune out of mining. Through trickery and subdued terrorism she has a brother and spinster sister, together with an assortment of nephews, pretty much under her thumb. This situation prevails until youth- ful Joan marries into the family and challenges the despotic spin- ster's right to govern the lives of the entire flock. As a result, a mental twist that has been smoul- dering within the dictator mind comes to a boil and, after killing off Joan's favorite .dog as an indirect warning to the girl, she builds up to a sequence in which she is about to polish off the bride herself. The plot falls through as other mem- bers of the family realize how they have been duped for years, and the play ends with the spinster left alone! in the family mansion with a single servant, and her own con- science. Play requires a strong central character, which it finds in Blanche Yurka. who dominates action ca- pably as the spinster dictator. Sup- porting cast as a whole is compe- tent, the better performances being turned in by Walter Brooke, as an. adopted son: Gloria Willis, as Joan; Adelyn Woodington, the other spin- ster aunt, and William Robertson, as a tippling uncle. Hugh Fellows, on staging, and Edward T. Cooper, oh set Resigning, did well in those respective depart- ments, Bone, Play Out of Town 1 > ( > » • Ml / Two Hearts in % Time ' Hollywood, July 9. 'Two Hearts in Three^Quarter Time" opened at what bids fair to be the running mate to the Hollywood Bowl in the Griffith Park Greek The- atre. Situated in the hills above Hollywood, east of the Hollywood Bowl by two miles, the theatre is approximately one-fifth the size of the bowl, seating 4,200 as compared with the other's 22,000. The Hollywood Starlight Theatre Ass'n, headed by Gene Mann, pre- sents the Robert Stolz musical, which is pretty slow-moving and has too little of a tuneful score to be more than a fair opener for this spot. However; the production by Barrie O'Daniel's is rich and James Wester- ner's staging has a good sense of showmanship, Kenny Baker and -Irene Manning carry the vocal leads well, living up to star billing. Pair, however, like others in the cast, are hampered by a poor public address'system, which needs proper amplification as well as control. Dances are neat packages, with Patricia Bowman as prima bal- lerina. Alexis Rotov is of star calibre with his eccentric terp chores, while Chick Chandler rises lo topflight form as the comedy lead. Kate Drain Lawson designed the costumes, and R. L. Grosh designed nifty sets. Productions, i£ they escape the fog which seems to hang around the summit of that section of hills/should click and possibly become tradition, picking up a season as they do from the tail end of Civic Light Opera's, yet offering a different type of enter- tainment from the usual concert bowl fare. ; . ; .'..,. '»l' IHolle Ue Cadiv Porta, July 2. ' I.e Kalllcr production of musical comedy lii - aula (10weni'H). Directed t>y Muurlrr 1'oirKl.' Utara - .Michel Murono, Hotter l.aciwt; features Jncky Flint, Henri Xlcl, France' Auhert. Fubrea'y, slmonc Chuhlllun; .cliorua or I.V llnok by Marc-Cab and: Itay- inond Ylncy. >Iujmc by Francis* Lopez. liyrlt-S by Maurice Vnhdalr. ■ CoHlunii'H by Marinette. Seta by Velle&rl and l.nmli'ln. OancON by. Mlsu Dcu'un. At Cn>lnu dc Muntpnrnnftiip. CnrloA Medlnn ... >fiinlllon .-. , : . ...... Top.i ,.. Miu-la T.uKsh l>uny Clair llnmlroz Sliuonnc Cbobilttur Burmnii The luiKbnnd '. Ciitin kiii(r .toHo Mnrlo Mcmlnzn I.olllit Oo|»cz ....... .. -MlrhM Milrnno ... Hvrifr .Lnri>sli> Jiuky l>'llm .. .Vrnnrc Anliorl ...... llcnrl Nlfl Kubrezv .( Vi llin ...Joec 'Allcci-lnl. . . J|II*,|UI>!< Viilcpr . ...1 (ic-quos Dldier .Kernnril l>einory .... Miuvel' Aynre ..Henri lluviMine. ... Mlna. l''liurtcni'o Aside from some fairly good music by composer Francis Lopez, this show has interest only because in the fall it is slated to becoipe a. mu- sical comedy- produced by ' Lee Shubert and Clifford C; Fischer for Broadway. Latter considered that some catchy tunes, and the' Spanish locale could be used as basis for. a musical extravaganza. As is this show is done at this nabe by an in- expensive cast and with poor sets. Play opens in Cannes and intro- duces the male singing lead ns a big Him star about to leave for Spain where he is to make a picture. His assistant director is the chief come- dian and the director is his foil. Next scene shows the company at a Spanish Inn, were the servant, cast as comedienne, gels busy with- the assistant director. A local beauty (femme singing lead), dissatisfied with her hometown lover, seeks to make him jealous by appearing to fall for the picture star. She is cal- led upon to substitute for a missing femme in a picture scene showing her getting married to the mule star. But since the man who performs the ceremony is a real gypsy kinw. and the girl herself is of Gitan. blood, the marriage becomes valid. The home- town beauty and the star find they are.really married. Second act has them spending an unsatisfactory honeymoon, the bride pining for her Spanish lover and the groom thinking of an Amer- ican girl he left in Cannes. He fi- nally decides to return there, leaving his film, uncompleted: The Ameri- can girl arrives in time to find out about the Spanish beauty, anxious not to be left behind. The end comes on the Cannes beach, where the star arid the Spanish belle, the assistant director and the comedienne as well as the American girl and the home- town lover all are happily matched. Although not well done here, the first act offers a happy mixture of music and comedy. The second halt, frequently draggy, calls for much revamping. In its present condition, show is just a frame in which Broad- way prbduclional values and dances may be inserted. The screen value is entirely contingent on its final treat- ment. Maxi. Clullerbaek ' London, June 25. Stephen Mllehell prescnuilon or nnw i-uui- edy In tlirow acta by Beuii w. i,evy. ■ di- rected by the author. At New theatre, Hull, Yorkshire. Julittn.. Push * Nnunton Wayne Arthur Pomtrct. Cnall Xadford Deborah Pomfret Patricia Burke Jane l'UKh Conalance CummlnK* Clulterburk (lordou Hell Melissa' • LalHKd f.nviit Waller. Charles Wade Benn Levy's first play since be- fore the war (he was in the Royal Navy) is a slick variation on Noel Coward's "Private Lives" with a glance at "Fallen Angels." Strongly cast,'with a rich role for Constance Cummings (his wife), it is a play of characterizations: rather than action. Its static qualities are a weakness, but it should get by on the strength of its wit and its reckless analysis of wanton wives and straying hus- bands. Four people are on a pleasure cruise. The two wives both have shared a former lover named Clut- terbuck. The two husbands have both shared Clutterbuck's wife be- fore her marriage. And it just hap- pens that Mr. arid Mrs. Clutterbuck are abroad and the two of them, passing by like Mr. Pym, have a shattering effect on the emotions of the crusing quartet. This scandalous setup, of course, is told in retrospect. The various affairs are dragged up from the past in an. atmosphere of cocktails, blue skies and romantic moons. Author Levy, a Socialist member of Parlia- ment, is able to fly into this luxury atmosphere with the greatest of e4se. Two clever strokes are the making of the play. Clutterbuck is drawn as almost a non-speaking part,, whose mere presence is a deadly comment on the erratic .passions. And the au- thor reminds us that a married woman in. her 30s is always sigh- ing for some reckless love-affair like she had in her youth. The play is well done by cast, Con- .stance Cummings and Patricia Burke, as the romantic wives, and Basil Rad- ford and Naunton Wayne, as the sinful husbands: A clever young ac- tress, Lalage Lewis, adds plenty of glamor as Melissa. She appears okav for films. . 1 Show had a cordial reception and should translate weir into''picture form. It is the first post-war ven- ture of theatre chief Stephen Mitch- ell, ex-army man, who picked "The Corn Is Green" for London before the. war, "Clutterbuck" stays six weeks on tour before going into London, prob- ably at.Wyndham's theatre. Ebct. . La Monnaie Du l*apc . _ , - Paris. June 'si. Jean rniiul iiroducilon of (onndv r. «eue») by. .Michelle l.ahaye. Stars die I.nhuyc, feutures tlcui-RCH Ltrcli',i Claire Oerurd. Andre Uarnny. Dlrecied In" llnlierl Dhcry. Seta b) Hayiin,nd At Thonlrc Oaunou I'lerro Devnull.. An .old num.... Anno Ijifce llclcne... i Mndaine .Devaull Yvonne:- The maid Mr. Devnult Kdounnl *Mrs. Pols.wo.i The Detfctlve.. l-'jlure.' tleuise llrehat Unbelt Illume Mlrbelle I,:ilin\c . Janiuellne DesrochVs Claire Ccrard .Marcelle Ta^sencian t .Clni-y Monlb.-il . Andt-c Camay lncqiics Snimnei .Marguerite lM>niane» ......,.. .lluy-Ulvicro This first: writing effort bf nch ess Michelle Lahayc, was. well received at the Daunou, and looks like screen, material. It shows a girl entering : a home where everything is going wrong, and vanishing when she has set things. right. Miss Lahaye lias set the play in a provincial bourgeois family, treated the matter in a light vein and injected plenty of comedy. It is well directed by Robert Dhery, Miss Lahayc. who plays the hcav- enrSent girl, first introduces herself as looking for a job. She interests Georges Brehat, a young man who rebels against his family's habits and has broken off his engagement with a girl the' family wanted him to marry. Remainder of the play takes place in this family's drawing room. ■Brehat gets his supposedly invalid mother, Claire Gerard, to hire Miss Lahaye as companion. Latter ingra- tiates herself with everyone, turning her employer into a lively woman again and helping Brchat's sister to' break off her engagement to Jacques Sommot, a young souse. After she has performed all those good deeds, she leaves when -Brehat obtains the family's approval to marry her.-.The entire thing is a satire of bourgeois prejudices.. Miss Lahaye, about whom the whole action centers, gives a nice performance. Claire Gerard, as Hie middle-aged woman who at first fakes being an invalid, turns out an, energetic pleasure seeker. She sup- plies a lot of the play's comedy. Jac- ques Sommct has a good drunk scene. . ■ Maxi. george jean nathan names broadway's best and worst * the dean of drama critics ■cores.. v * 60 plays, performers, performances as fops during 1945-46 • 65 as the teason'i poorest den't miss ..... nolhan'j nominations for stage fame and failure »•• • • first nights and passing judgments in the just-out august I • I 'I .- V