Variety (Jul 1946)

Wednesday, July 24, 1946 LEGITIMATE 59 Royalty Question on Foreign Works, Bonds, Newest Mgr.-Author Problems After last week's negotiation hud--f die between tr.catre managers and the Dramatist Guild, the authors went back to their offices to con- sider objections set forth anent some of the proposed revisions in the basic agreement which will cover the next five years. Points at issue which arose concerned foreign works and a changed regulation whereby pro- ducers could be required to post bond guaranteeing the payment of royalties. Present regulations are that adapt- ers ol all foreign plays must receive at least one-third of the royalties. Guild now wants all such plays and musicals .to be presented under standard contract terms. Heretofore managers made their own deals with foreign dramatists, often making out- right purchase deals instead of royal- ties, and the proposed change is evi- dently jntended to set the definite percentage payable to adapters. Guild, too, is looking toward an expected increase in imported mate- rial in coming seasons, although the number of plays from European sources', has been . negligible since even before the war. From the. time hostilities started very few imports were made. siich plays principally coming from England, but the num- ber of hew attractions has been steadily increasing, as indicated by reviews of "Plays Abroad," almost weekly appearing in Vaiuety. Defaults On Royalties During the J>ast year or so there have been' several 'defaults in the payment of royalties and because of that the Guild has rewritten the regulation covering such obligation. Revision gives the author the right to. insist on a bond of $5,000 for straight plays and $10,000 for music- als to guarantee royalty payments. In the present contract there is a similar clause, without the denom- ination of the bonds being set forth. Few producers have been asked for such guarantee, and well-knowns seem to have been somewhat miffed at the provision. . Some years ago the courts ruled that royalties shall be deemed to be money held in trust by the manager ' until paid the author and anji show- man in default would be subject to prosecution. Authors feel however that they should not be compelled to go ■ into, court to force payment. They say, however, that dramatists may only use the bond prerogative occasionally during the season if at all.. Paris B.O. Slumps, Legits Shattering Wholesale • Paris, July, 18. . Legit B.O. here is in a bad slump and many houses are closing for the summer. Leg iters already dark are Comedie Francaise, Gaite Lyrique, Gramont, Oeuvre, Palace, Renaissance, Arri- bassadeurs, Bouffes du Nord, Iena, Math'urine, Landry, Humbur, Mont- parnasse, Potiniere, Sarah Bern- hardt, Porte Saint Martin, Saint Georges, Atelier, Capucines, Studio des Champs-Eiysees and Gymnase. Despite advent of U. S. product, pix houses are also feeling summer dent in grosses. Kurtz Estate Sues To Retain 1/3 of "Mill' Profits Nathan Kurtz, administrator for the estate of Jerome L. Kurtz, sued Paula Stone and Hunt Stromberg, Jr., listed producers of the Broad- way hit musical, "The Red Mill," in federal court, N. Y., yesterday (Tues.), for one-third^past and. fu- ture profits. Claimed Jerome L. Kurtz, who died Aug. 7, 1045, Was third pro- ducer of the Victor Herbert revival; and that after his death, other two transferred show's assets to a limited partnership. Red Mill & Co., ignor- ing the. estate. / Swim Show Finds Resumption Tough "Aquaretta," new name for the open-air attraction ' on the former site of the N. Y. World's Fair which closed as "Mr. Winkle's Holiday"' recently, resumed last Friday (19) in an attempt to recapture some of the red on a revised routine. It's no longer classed as legit,.- show being made up of swimming numbers, diving, vaude turns and fireworks. Management ran into fresh diffi- culties and Sunday night's (21) per- formance was rained, out American Federation of Variety Artists, which took over jurisdiction, demanded a $5,000 bond to guarantee two weeks salaries but only part of that amount was forthcoming, union attempting to obtain the balance early this week. Amphitheatre may eventually develop into a profitable attraction but at present transportation facili- ties are so limited that it's difficult to reach the spot without autos. Pool is used in daytime for swim- ming and a fee is charged but tak- ings go to the city. Forrest Fire Shutters 'Follow the Girls'Ron Temporarily in Philly Philadelphia, July 23. "Philadelphia's expected summer season of legit came, to a sudden half—at least temporarily—Friday night 119),- when a fire of still-un- determined origin, but believed to be due to faulty wiring, closed run of "Follow the Girls" at the Forrest theatre. Blaze occurred at 11:40 p.m., after duced late in the fall by Al Borde, audience had left the Walnut st. probably bowing here. Bor'de, made i p)avnou ,. c Manv members of the the announcement last wec:^ .'companv and chorus were still in Producer, whose Follow the, lt Girls" is skedded to replace BORDE TO STAGE FARCE WITH NITERY COMIC Chicago, July 23. "Extra Girl," farce-comedy by Beth Brown and starring Willie Shore, Chi nilery comic, will be pro- Iheir dressing rooms, however, and .,„, „. „, . .. . . ,-,„, some did volunteer jobs in rescuing -Bloomer G.rl" at theJShuberl OcU , £ d lher properU e S , 7, following a six-week run of the , „ , , ' ... . „ latter musical, advised he's also se- Saturday a.m. da. .es carrying cured rights to stage others of Miss!story of fire, sa.d that management Brown s novels, among them Men Only,' "Wedding Ring," "Ri — . . - „„h side Drive" and "All Good Dogs Go Saturday evening performance and to Heaven" |perhaps even for matinee. However, ' Plans for the Chi teeoft of "Extra ! a later investigation by Fire Mar- Girl," which concerns the- experi- jfhal- George J. Gallagher resulted c--cs of Shore and three ex-Miss ! his order that the house be closed Americas while on call by Holly- . » , »„„♦ „„, wood's Central Casting Office, are famage w«« done to two front cur- promoted bv Shore's oooularity in «>»" and the proscenium although for at least two weeks. Principal ! seats in front two rows of orchestra prompted by Shore's popularity his home town, Borde said. Miss, . . . Brown is finishing up the stage ver- «™ also partially charred, sion how. and casting will start in a ! Biz was ort last week but its be- few weeks. [licved it would have passed $20,000 Choice of Shore for the lead is, In- Fire was second mishap."Girls" had cidcntally, a continuance of Bbrde's ■ format picking nitery performers f<.' his legit ventures, last sample being - Gertrude Nicscn, star of "Girls." loo'Auditions in L A. Los Angeles. July 23. Arthur Grossman,, producer, and Ralph Murphy, director, of "Legend of Lou." legit play authored by Steven Gross.vare holding auditions to complete the cast for the drama which opens here late August, with a Broadway showing slated for Oc- tober, here, the fall of a two-ton curtain during second week slightly injur- ing a chorus girl. With "Girls" probably relighting early August it's given a chance to hold until regular Labor Day open- ing of local legilers. which will in- clude "Voice of the Turtle" at the ' Locust. Menagerie' Folds Tent After 70 Wk "The Glass Menagerie" is winding up on Broadway, closing on Satur- day (3), next week at which time it will have played 70 weeks. It is announced to tour starting Oct. 14 with Laurette Taylor and Eddie Dowling again co-starred, by which time "The Iceman Cometh" which Dowling will stage for the Theatre Guild, is expected to have opened at the Beck. However it's understood that Miss Taylor's contract calls for her appearance in only a limited number of stands out of town. There will be another "Menagerie" star- ring Pauline Lord, slated for Pitts- burgh Sept. 2. "Menagerie" did virtual capacity for approximately one year, then started to taper. Grosses dropped sharply When Miss Taylor vacationed during June and although she is back, business failed to improve. Show had moved from the ' Play- house to the Royale where, it was scheduled to play into the new sea- son. Tour of the original company is slated to include Chicago *where it proved a surprise 1 click at the Civic, prior to Broadway. Producer Bill Harris Critically 111 in N. Y. William Harris, Jr., is in the French hospital, N. Y., reported critically ill, although his condition was described as "fair" yesterday (Tues.). Producer, who has been inactive for years, planned a Coast trip to try out a play by Vincent Lawrence, who delivered a number of scripts for Harris, including "Sour Grapes." Harris attained managerial atten- tion with the presentation in 1919 of "East Is West," a comedy drama that established Fay Bainter. It had a long run at the Astor, N. Y., now used for film's. Among his other clicks was "The Thirteenth Chair," a mystery drama. SAtEpty Help Oust Dual US-Brit. Income Taxes for Half-Year Period Critic Turns Producer For One Abbey Show Dublin, July 18. Gabriel Fallon, former Abbey actor and now drama critic of the Stand- ard, will produce Sean 'O'Casey's "Trie Shadow of a Gunman" for the Gaiety theatre here" July 29. Fallon, who played in the original Abbey production of 'Shadow,' has no intention of returning to the stage. Move is emergency measure because theatre's producing staff is all lied up for the period. Road Hands Get B'way Pay Break ♦ Dual income taxes that applied on British and American actors have discontinued, a reciprocal agree- ment having been entered into be- tween the respective countries. The double levy was one factor keeping English, players from coming here and. Americans"from appearing over there, and when the new arrange- ment was made it paved the way for Old Vic to visit Broadway. Understood that had the Londoners been required to pay taxes to the Internal Revenue dept. and the British treasury, the spectacular repertory engagement would -not have come off. According to the new deal, earn- ings of American players appearing in England are hot taxable over there for a period of 183 days, or half a year, the same applying when Britishers are over here: Beyond that period the double taxation docs apply, but only on the earnings after the half year, and it is expected that eventually that requirement will be dropped also. Previously a business man could go from N. Y. to London, 'there Legit managers have finally con- ceded that road stagehands, retained after shows reach Broadway, are j making a profitable deal and if it took less than 183 days, he would not be required to pay taxes to England. Then it was discerned that that provision did not apply to "the enumeration of public, en- tertainers, such as actors, musicians and athletes" and presumably play- wrights. That stipulation lias now been deleted. Bea Llllle's Costly Cut Recalled that when Beatrice Lillie entitled to pro rata additional' pay for extra matinees. Matter has been' hanging fire for more than a year and a half, but the issue was retro- active to Dec. 1944 and the coin in- volved, which was approximately $1,200, was held in escrow; There are comparatively - few deckhands involved, the extra coin going to 21 men, according to the records. , It is optional for managers to re- tain roadmen after shows come to j came from London to co-star in town and those kept on the staff are J "Seven Lively Arts,", she discovered usually electricians, operators of that while her earnings approxi- porlable light boards. Such deck- mated $5,000 weekly, so much was hands are known as "I. A. Men," belonging to the International Alli- ance of Theatrical Stage Employes, parent union of stagehands, and not necessarily members of local No. 1. They are to get one-sixth more for extra matinees, instead of one ejght. Additional pay applies to others backstage for extra performances also to actors. Legit for Bethlehem Easton, Pa., July 23. A charter is being sought in the Lehigh county courts by the Penn- sylvania Playhouse, Inc., w^hich plans to put .on a number of legit j only a few highly paid' stars would plays 'during the year in a theatre be affected. Stated however that withheld for the tax collector, plus the percentage due Britain, that she was actually getting small money. She had a suite in the N. Y. Wal- dorf - Astoria but said she couldn't afford it and moved to less expensive quarters Just how much the star netted was not stated, but under the new reciprocal tax rule her "Arts" engagement would have been much more renumerative. . *' Equity and the Screen Actors Guild were principally credited with knocking out the restriction, parlic : cularly. the latter. It was contended that the regulation was chiefly de- signed because it was then felt that near here. Petition: says the group plans to train and instruct persons in the art of writing, directing, managing, producing and performance in stage presentations, in making and pre- paring scenery and other stage equipment and to produce and pres- ent plays. A number of Bethlehem residents are listed as directors. B way Is Hillbilly Canyon, 'Ozarks Proves; Freak Show's OK Gross caught in the double hick were hundreds of. American actors in cat- egories below stardom who play en- gagements in England, such as screen players, night club artists, legit and vaudevilllans. ALL-AROUND AUDIENCE FOR NEBRASKA LEGIT Lincoln; Neb., July 23. Revival of Shakespeare and his three-sided audiences as in Henry V" has been topped by Circlet the- atre here which has audience on four sides of the stage. Cast walks on i and off like boxers. Sets are struck Audiences to "Maid in the Ozarks" | that performance was profitable al- : j„ f u n v j ew 0 j audience'who are after the opening night at the , though the cast collected two-eighths . k ept j lom sitting on their hands Belasco. N. Y., may principally have extra pay, the Equity requirement j by gals in formal attire who serve been curiosity seekers wanting to see for shows given beyond midnight. [ Russian tea between the acts whether the hillbilly "epic." was as There was additional pay for the! front of the house and back and if any actual profit was netted, it's be- cause of the show's low nut. Box- i Lincoln Journal followed up re- view of first production with long editorial praising the project, adding „. . . ., .. ... . . . , that "films, sound tracks, color, and office reported the midnight trick j lelevjsion are wonderful rilven . sold out in advance and Pfeiffer fig- - tion , „ t „ as th but no comV ures on tilting the scale for that binalion of could ever '. uhe -' bad as critics, first nighters, and even the management, had. admitted it to be. Anyway, the show did busi- ness the first week. Takings were claimed to have bettered $11,000— most of which was garnered at the bbxoffice at full price* only a small percentage of Iwo-for-ories turn- ing up. At that level, "Maid" can make plenty of coin because the total pay- ! cony being $4.20 as against $3.60 al. roll doesn't exceed $2,300. That fig- ! night. Latter rate goes for the first ure includes company mgr.. press- row in the gallery at the matinees, agent and three road-crew deck- "Maid" has no stop limit in the con-i . ■ hands, all of whom get more than tract for the balance of summer, it ! ^.„* s trooping support any of the actor, with one excep- I being.set at $.0,000 starting Septem- ; "^SSSt SVprS^ show Other prices strange to Broadway apply at the matinees Saturday and Sunday, scale for first floor and bal- the place of flcsh-and-blood thea- tre." Circlet Is pushed mainly by Mrs. Elmer Lindholm, socialite, and di- rected by Don Carter, with George Randol, Don Johannes. Tom Stimp- .fig, Jean Racine and Dorothea Dux- 'GirlK' In Australia "Follow The Girls" has been bought for Sept. production in Australia by Dorothy Stewart, N. Y. agent for J V C. Williamson theatres. Musical, - which ran two years on Broadway and Is now on tour, will be cast in London, with Lois Green lion. Top salary is $150. which goes 1 ber, should the engagement continue to Burman iBoots) Bodel, show's that long. hillbilly comic. Most of the others j The two-for-oncs are printed in! get more than the Equity minimum ' Chicago and sent to business and ■ ($60), it's claimed. ; industrial plants in the metropolitan . Jules Pfeiffer. the Chicago "boy" area. Whether the bargain tickets manager, pulled publicity stunts in will show up in quantity won't be A form of extra-space ads, which were I evident for several weeks but that! limited to the News, Mirror and | type of audience was relied on be- Journal-Amcrican. because the.read- ! fore the show was brought in "Those Endearing Young Charms." Munsell Back to B way With Some English Plays . Jane Darwell, Lyle Talbot and I as lead in the Gertrude Nieseh role Eslelle Taylor are slated for top | Freddie Carpenter will go out frorr roles. | London lb produce the show. Warren P. Munsell,.. Sr. has re- igned from the London staff of ers of the other'dailies "are not our j "Art work" in the -form of colored Louis Dreyfus' productions to ' re- I kind of customers," according ' to blowup photos turned _ up on enter legit production in the United Pfeiffer. He got a laugh by adver-I easels outside the theatre, after be-i States. He has some English prop- osing tickets on sale "eight years in j ing absent the first night.' The pdses , erties which he'll <io on Broadway. I advance" immediately after opening. ; are supposed to be sexy and have | Munsell, at one time.general man- I Nine -performance." were played, i little to do with situations on the agci for the Theatre Guild, will not 'one at midnight Saturday <20) when 'stage, at least n,ot as displayed at the go back to that organization- when ! all tickets were $1-20. Claimed that''debut -he returns to this country.'