Variety (Sep 1946)

80 LEGITIMATB Wednesday, September 4, 1946 Strawhat Reviews Sex Is «»ul Guilford, ColiHi, Aug, 28. I.owiH .tlanvioii lu-oilnetioii at coitiedy ip tbreo aci» l>y civiU'lMtc liuflwvaUI. smra ■\Vllllain Tii-i-y; )e(ituro« Jcnii Sulllvafl. Dorothea; .IiivUson. Ktitftevl by Pnul Huiii- iMonil; siOltliiR. IlHi-oUl M. lU'lil. At Ckiinfl Pltij hiiusfi (.iulKi'id, Cmtn., Aur. UO, 'ill'. $2.-IO.lpii., . Vioijio. Dickson.,;. lildle niuUe <'.'.. ^'oni HaHley,....... Jasvliit JiislauiHyiV. Khia Trop.iier...... Steim... .. .... FiVerott .^th ert-.....'. AVestern Union NN'unu Mike N'olan. t^al) Dl'vver...... .. June Kavnionii lih-.s. Marlha l;il<.k.«.in Ml-.-^. SliyeVi. .. .... .,. Jot* .^U>itn............. Otticpr. (.COiiiinplf,... .; JSphraim L>:v!v!^on.... Jpii n Ku 1 h van .. .-i^oroUvPu JarK.siin ...,. rauKlin Tti> lor .'.LcBlip W.io.it .;;,:. ..Atinifrpii ;^1nrprhrei Williani-^ .. ;. .Taut llanim'init . .Kvi'ivn ifaniln ....... William 'I'prr.v ....: Hpniian .^Vpihnian ........ Iletlv .Kluart ...... :.Ili>lpn lli'ifp)! ......J.'ali r.ovi-lai'P . ..... .Di'nnis AHi'n. Jt I lion I>yVitv . .... . .Owen ITpwitt the role of the interloper. - Allen Nout-se looks harassed and tinhappy as the rather spinolos.'j husband, John Reagan and Dorothy Lambert- are adocjuate as a couple of outspoken servants, and there are other fair eijntrlbutions by Audrey Howard and ■Rudulph Watson, Production is run of tht* mill. /' Pavl. RKO has already purchased this script as iUi original screeiiplay, and A Ki.sN for l*ei4'r Hempatoad. N. Y., Aug. 29. W illiam 1''. llulvn iii'o.tlUction of cioiwily in ilii'ep acl.i (llv.p sc.pnpsV liy xlcliolas'C'oaPn- liuii. KP,:rj>y tlilo'Stmettl; sct(insv t'oi-- liiu.^ Al ileniiwtPaii (.V, Y.y.Siimnn-r 'Iho- atre. AUB, -Ji.:'•««. S'-'.'JH toii. .^^voniip.. . ... . ........ .1 felon "Wulei'y I'etof. i''!'0M.....'.; .:. . . .... ... .Joel Mai'ston . Min'aee Juil.-(m................ffeilii.- .Me.viM'- .lulla t''ont.ayop........ ;Kvelynu Kaloii .\Knc'H Fontayne...... .KattiU'eii Clionool Hcin;i'0 M.'iishal... .v..'. ■... ,*larites Dol>H)n, friends Williams; Pat McClarney is attractive as Hildy's ftancetf, and Cora Witherspoon registers as the girl's mother. Blanche Lytcll and Isabel Bonner do okay by. minor roles. On staging, co-author Charles Mac- Arthur has whippQd up his charges to a raoid speed as psychological moments and balanced this frenzy nicely with a frequent change oi pace that keeps things moving interests inglv. Single setting of the press room of thP Chicago Criminal Courts Building fills the bill. Bone. 3l4>ssH{<o for Mar{{arei; London, Aug. 29. it can tiiakt' a fairly good one. Film tgmpt prodliction: is not. cpntingent upon Broaoway, stage success, . but on the obvious asstimption' that ■ such.siiccess! would enheinijc pic values, there"; a possibility that this strawhat ell .n-t roay be expanded into a Broadway fling. Tryout met with fair .ipproval in a rushed-out version, giving im- pression of better things to come following, more expansive treatment. One possible stumbling-block to hearty acceptance is a marked simi- larity to "My Sister Eileen" charac- ters and situations. Story revolves around two girls. Vickie and Edie, who bat out confession stdry mag material in a small New York apart- ment. Vickie is in love with Mike Nelson, press ijgent who has accu- mulated enough cash to pay, for the annulment of a press stunt marriage he's Involved, in, but loses the . coin shooting, craps. Broke, Nelson , lives in the apartment with the: girls, a ■fact that ruffles Vickie's out-oi-town parents, who pay a visit thinking the ias^ is making a living writing po- retry. . Plot complications include the at- tempt of a Hollywood scribbler to sign the girls to a contract as his ghost writers; a couple of "scenes" when Nelson's wife tries to collect her Eiinulrnent money; an across-the- hall freelcve couple who develop matrimony as a tag line to preg- nancy; and a brief expose of the con^ fession story writing racket. It all Cioines out in the wash when Nelson ,strikes oil with a , script he's been working" Oh. Willisim Terry, as the p.a., is like- able in , a role that has its unsym- pathetic as well as favorable angles. Jean Sullivan and Dorothea Jackson make a good team as the'scribbling feiTimes. Paul Hammond plays the screenwriter competently, and Betty Stuart adds femme flash as the an- nulling wife from the chorus line. An apartment .house superintendent is played amusingly by Vaughn Tay- lor, and Margaret Williams has some good moments as a maid, a role that has good possibilities. Leslie Woolf gets chuckles as the freelove lather- to-be. Hammond, recruited at short 119'' tice as director, did a capable job in view of strawhat limitations. ■ • Bone. , Slierek I'.tai'eis, i>i'oilu(!llon, of, <lf»- niK In llii-ee' ni'ta fty Jivniesi I'arlsh., StaKiHl liv live: aulluii-,. .Vt Wettmlftsfer .llieatfo, I^.imlon, Auk, . ■'-W : ■ : ■ was made by this iunateur j Martcaiet Hayden........... Fioviv Roiison The suinmer theatre : hit . a , pretty low ebb here this week wlien. an at group of Hempstead strawhat thesps to tr.v out. a new show written by. Nicholas Cosentino. renieilnbered; for his ; "Moon' Over Mulberry Stvoet" Broadway contrib a decade ago. This one's caliod "A Kiss for Peter," a,nd whatever dubious merit it boasts i^ completely shrouded by two':painfui hours of inept, embarrassing per- iqrmahces, one. of the most unimag- inative settings that ever, graced, eveii the barnyard circuit,-and a woefully lacking job of direction. It all adds up to one of the, soundest pleas to date for a return ;bf gas; rationing. Cosentino has completely muffed this one, for "Peter" is almost com- pletely bereft of originality, and the dialog is bad. His story of two rival DUblishing dynasties that eventually become merged via the boy-rneets- girr route is shallow, and pointless. With the exception' of Helen Waters as a maid, the cast, though boasting names familiar with footlight tech- nique, hammed and mugged through three acts and five scenes. Critics of the status quo in straw- hat trouping, who contend that the whole meaning and intent. of the summer .theatre: has been destroyed, have a solid argument on the basis of this Hempstead performance. Rose. eirliPTi .\ustin .Vilpiine ChnlS't. Robeit riiiileot -,. ,.,.BilKnv 'Nortolfe; ..lliil'Uava: Ciiupor JaeU Allen Play Out of Town Woman Trouble Pawling, N. Y., Aug. 30. starlight Theatre presentation of comedy In three acta (Tour scenes) by Helen Red- ington. Staged by Da,vitl Lewis; 3ettins. Laurijt Malz .At Pawling, IS. r., Aug. 27. Abncr Green...i. .John Ucattan Amelia Green.Dorothy Ijambert Bodger Dunn.... .. . .Bob Bu.shman Judy Archer.. . .. i.... ..Mnirey Howard Clare liiirton .Jeanne Hrewer Chri.stopher Eui-ton.. Allen Nourse Cricket .Hulbert Ko])pel:TianTi Emily Burton .....Francea Greet Timothy Dunn..... RudoHih Watscm Molly Dunn I.Wbcl Rose .Betty Swan.. ^.......Carol Koyser There is more than a trace of im- probability in this comedy cf mar- riage and divorce. It's hard to be- : peve, first of all, that a man would put up for a minute with his first wife stayiiig on in, the sarne house whan he brings: home ■ wife No. 2. That the second wife should permit it is even less credible. And it's def- initely mudding; the audience's eye to have it turn out, along toward the end of tho evqning. that the husband signed over air his money and prop- erty to the first vvife before he went off id war and that :four years later he's cbmpletely foi-gotten about it.: , "Woman Trouble" also startles the spectator by opening: with one of those scene.'; irt vifhich a pair of ser- vants, dusting and carpet-sweeping, ladle out exposition.- Shades of Sar- doul' In its situation of: two wives tread- ing on each other's toes while they battle for one poor male, the present script suggests Reginald Lawrence's "Dream of Fair Women," tested re- cently at Westport, but Lawrence has the edge of Helen Redington in glib- iiess and polish. And at least he made both the wives in his play, living in a bigamous relationship with their husband, fairly attractiv« gals, whereas the two females in- troduced by Miss Redington are both equally impossible. Frances Greet, as the original Mrs. Burton, struggles valiantly with her inane assignment of an overgrown Claudia, while Jeanne Br^er brings an appropriate, cold handsomeness to:: ,^V:j.) .. ,:, n- ':;.■.■ 'i;;;.,:.,-i:,;-,;.,:i.„:,;..■ The Vrout Page (REVIVAL) New Haven, Aug. 29. Hunt. Stroir.berg, Jr..' and Thomiia Siieiiff- ler production oii melodraina In three acta by Ben Hcchtv and:: Chai-les, MacAfthur, Feature^ Arnold Moss,". Lew l*arkor. StaKed by Charles MacArthur; production tjosisned by Nat Karsoh; coatunies ,byMren« Aron- son. 'At Shuhprt' theatre, \ew Haven, Aus. '0; $:>,»(> itoi),.::' Wilson..... . ... . ;..„.... .Roffer Clarlv Endicott...... .:.;...■;:....:. .Jack Arnold Murphy... .:w.... .Bruce MacFarlane McCue .Bonny r..aker Schwartz .Ray WaiKton Krugpr, .Pat HarriUf^ton Bertsinger. .Roily Bocl? Mrs,. Sehlosser........,....... .Isabel Bonner "\\'o6denshoGS'':Eichorn...... .,Ciirli.«i Karpe Dihtriond' I.ouie......... ..Joseph De Saotis Hildy John.'jon................ ,I.ew Paricer Jennie .Blanche Lytell Mollic Jifallor............. .Klisabeth Dillon Hheriff Hartmatt............ .Williani Lynn PeRgy Grant,......,,..,,. Pat McClarney Mrs, Grant . iv,... .Cora Witherspoon The Mayor........ .... ..Edward It. Roljin.^ Mr. Pincus. . Harold Grau rOarl Williams...,........... .GeorKe Lyons WalteV Burnff. i . Arnold M.oss Tony,'.........i..........,,..Leonard Yorr Cart...'.. ...:.... .Pred lienlia Frank.,;...;.: .Vic Whltloclt A: powerful sex war, theirio oti woman-to-woinan lines, with stroffg situations, gives this the appearance of a promising film buy. It is good theatre and may get a run if a .sec- ond home can be found for it; pres- etii short seasph precedes transfer of the Westminster theatre to the Buchmanites, who bought it re- cently. When Mr. Hay den was killed, in an accident, he left behind a mes-- sage for two women, His wife learns for the first time from Adeline Chal- cot that she was his mistress,: Which.- woman then did he really love?, : The theme develops into a pro- longed battle between Margaret, the wife, whose emotions cannot be trifled .'svith, .: and Adeline, the mis- tress, a female of deadly cunning and seeiningly no emotions at all. When it appears that the latter is ex- pecting a child, the drama tautens, and the lives of the two women are poised in a cat-like conflict which can only end in tragedy. Author James Parish avoids the full horror of the situatiori by tipping Adeline's husband over a balcony, and in the emotional crisis produced by this act. the two woman come to terms. Flora Robson's study of a thwart- ed woman driven to the point of madness works up steadily to some piercing screams. It is a remarkably taut piece of acting, full of compre- hension. Barbara Couper's other woman is equally: admirable on the neurotic plane and manages to draw sympathy even from the : serpent's tongue. Jack Allen, as a he»rty poet who looks as though he's perma- nently wearing the old school tie. is miscast, but takes to the balcony like a gentleman. Edgar Norfolk com- pletes the cast of four. ' :\ Play was very cordially received. JEbct. Inside Shitf-L^t Mo.'is Hart, playing the Sheridan Whiteside lead role in his play, "The Man Who Game To Dinner," at Bucks County Playhouse, New Hope, Pa., this week, has appeared in the comedy before. At New Hope, in 1941* Hart had the Noel Cowardish role of Beverly Carlton, and co-author George S. Kaufman played the Whiteside part, and Harpo Marx came on from Hollywood to play Banjo, the part for which ha served as the model. Show, which attracted the Broadway gentry all the week;s run, was the most rowdy, adUbbish presentation of the comedy on record. ; In the present strawhat production, Rex O'Malley is Carlton, the role he did for a while in the original Broadway production. William Mc- Fadden, stage manager of the original, directed the current version. Natalie Schafer, onetime Bucks Playhouse stalwart, but now in films, flew in from the Coast to play the Lorraine Sheldon role. Play is a rOinp this week for the newlywedded Hart and Kitty Carlisle, latter playing the Maggie Cutler nurse role. Billing reads, "Kitty Carlisle and Moss Hart in. No theatre parties have been booked for "Yours Is. My Heart," Franz Lehar operetta opening at Shubert, N. Y., tomorrow (Thurs.), except for tonight's (Wed.) sole preview, taken over by Hakoah. Advance is re- ported over $100,000. ' Large mail order sale is attributed to reputation of Richard Taubor, well-known Viennese tenor (now a British citizen), who has appeared in concei't in the'U. S. and whose many recordings of light Viennese tunes are popular in the U. S, Musical, although new to N. Y., has been per- formed in Europe for a long time. It was written for Tauber, who has played the part of Sou Chong 2,500 times, in Vienna, Berlin,, London and elsewhere. He performed in it in Coventry night before the English town was blitzed by the Nazis. Show's book has been adapted for Broadway' by Ira Cobb and Karl Farkas. Tauber has signed for the run of the play.. His wifei British actress Diana Napier, flew in from London to attend the premiere. : Harry Segall, whose new play, "The Stars Weep," will be done this fall by Arthtlr Hopkins, reportedly has a special deal on x-oyalties. Instead Of usual 5%-7Vj%-10% scale (adjusted to week's gross), playwright will get a 7y2%-10%-12% deal. Scale is unusual, in that Eugene O'Neill's royal- ties are.reportedly I2%%. George-Bernard Shaw's tops all,, at a straight: 15%. Segall's comedy, ''Heaven Can Wait," filmed in 1941 as "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" (Col.), Wiiralso be staged this fall, by Theron Bamberger and Richard Skinner; Unlike his fancy deal with Hopkins, in thi.s instance Jed Harris owns all right.s, having bought out Segall's royally claims. Bamberger-Skinher must make their Broadway pi-oduction deal witli ■Harris. ■ , Revival of this Fourth Estate "'To- bacco Road" got off to a substantial start here, with indications that its Broadway stay will capitalize on a new generation of playgoers who didn't see the original. It's riotous, raucous, at times vulgar entertain- ment, somewhat overboard on pro- fanity. To a certain extent, the more recent film version has crimped the surprise element of plot unfolding, and the play's final situation is pretty well anticipated but, despite this angle, the overall impression is fa- vorable; . This new presentation is punctu- ated with good performances. Lew Parker makes a breezy Hildy John- son and manages to hold the hectic role within the bounds of realism. Parker has a lot of fast dialog and action to account for, and, he acquits himself creditably, Arnold Moss has the -task of making credible the al- most unbelievable character of Wal- ter Burns,: It's no easy assignrttent, entailing, as it does a tendency toward overtheatri'calism. Moss' interpreta- tion gives evidence of coming through in good style after a few perform- ances are under his belt. William Lynn contributes a cameo as'the sheriff tool Of the may^r, effi- ciently played by Edward H.Mobins. They've gathered a likely-looking crew of legmen for this production, li.st including Benny Baker, Pat Har- rington, Bruce iWacFarlane, Roily Beck, Roger Clark, Jack Arnold and Ray Walston. Curtis Karpe is good as the cop with psychologist lean- ings; Joseph De Santis makes out okay as a strongarm gangster; Har- old Grau's bit as the reprieve-server is well done, and George Lyons fits as Earl Williams, the' condemned mam ■ ■,■ For the distaffs, Elizabeth Dillon scores as Mollie, the tart who be- American Negro Theatre Preps for New Season Although Harlem's American Ne- gro Theatre hasn't selected its plays for the 1946-47 season yet, group has been holding nightly play-read- ing sessions past two weeks, and committee will submit recommenda- tions Sept. 15 for three plays for ANT members to vote on. Group, however, has made some unusual plans for .the coming season. ANT, which in previous seasons has Occasionally booked , its plays away from Hai'lem ("Strivers Row" was done four times last season in Greater New York), will expand its N.-Y, area bookings, In addition, the William Graham agency is mapping a tour of the South for one group of ANT actors. Radio series over WNEW, N. Y., will be continued, with group reverting back to straight dramatic scripts after a summer sea- son of opera adaptations. Betty Haynfa. Hi^^^^^^ Haynes and JaeqUelihe Andre, wrho were on leave to professional companies, are back with ANT. -Frederick O'Neal, ANT company manager, who was In the original Broadway company of "Anna Lucasta,'' has rejained ANT until Harry Wagstaff Gribble needs him for his next production. All ANT members who were in service are now back. . ■». Group did three shows last sea- son, its sixth, and put on three re- vivals during the summer to de- velop trainees, for its busiest year to date. Sixteen ANT actors were cast in professional productions last season: Dorothy Carter, Doris Block, Howard Augusta, Fred Carter, Maurice Lisby, Maxwell Glanville,- Elwood Smith,; Gloria Smith, Lula Mae Ward, Jacqueline Andre, Flo Hawkins, Oliver Pitcher, Vicki Hen- derson, Edith Whil ••man, Rourtenaye Olden and Raymond HilL. "Barnaby and Mr. O'Malley," Jerome Chodorov's play based on the comic strip, which producers Barney Josephson and James D. Proctor will preem in Wilmington this weekend (6-7), has 44 backers and is capitalized at $85,000. RKO is represented by a $21,250 investment through Kenneth B. Umbreit. Some of the trade names among individual investors include Bernard Hart, Herman Levin (through his wife, Evelyne), agent Pat Duggan, William Friedberg, all with $1,000 each; S.ylvia Friedlander (Emil's daugh- ter), $2,550; Hazel Scott and husband, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., $1,500 each; David Brooks, $500; and Louis Calhern, $2,000. Photographer Gjon Mill is in for $1,000; Lena Chodorov, $1,000; Leonard Field, $3,000; and Marion F. Fields, $8,500. Illness late this summer of Fred Burleigh,'director of South Shore Play- ers at Cohasset, Mass., and winter-time director of Pittsburgh Playhouse, sent Richard Hoover, regularly Pitt Playhouse p.a. and small partner of Burleigh's and Mrs. Alexander Dean in Cohasset setup, into stager's chair for three shows at the strawhat site. Hoover had originally been sched- uled to do only John Carradine in "Arsenic and Old Lace," but Burleigh's doctors ordered him to take it easy so Hoover also directed Grant Mitchell' in "Late George Apley" and Ann Corio in "The Barker," final show of season last week. Burleigh, Hoover and J. English Smith, Cohasset p.a., and director of Pittsburgh Playhouse apprentice theatre, are dtie back in Pitt in 10 days to prepare for 1946-47 season at community theatre there. Before N. Y.'s drama season gets under way. Daily News' critic John, Chapman runs a list of suggestions to make theatre-going a bit more pleasant. The critic would like to see ushers who know seat numbers; stagedoor men who don't think every man a stagcdoor johnny; stagehands who'll don coats or doff suspenders if they insist on being seen from the wings; managers who'll start a show at curtain time; police who enforce "No Parking" rules; firemen who'll enforce non-smoking regulations; a stop to theatre parties; a ban on coughers. "There is no charge for these suggestions," wrote Chapman in a recent edition, •"and nobody will pay any attention to them." Nixon theatre, Pittsburgh, will have closest thing in the country to a companion bar in a couple of months, Laws forbid boozery in any play- house, so there won't be any connecting door, but all patron will have to do is step out of the legit site and right into town's swankest cocktailery. It's being built now right next door to lobby in same building by Tony Conforti, operator of cafe downstairs and co-owner with Marcus Heiman of Nixon theatre building. Spot Was formerly beeupied by a florist and a tailor. It'll be called the Nixon Room and will seat around 120. Confortis spending around $100,000 on the project. Brooks Atkinson, writing his first Sunday piece for the N. Y. Times following a long service as war correspondent in China and Russia, de- voted his column Sunday (1) to "the incomparable Lunts" lavishing their talents currently on "a , wretched little: comedy that is hardly worth the trouble of seeing" ("O Mistress Mine," Empire, N. Y.). "Professional actors of great versatility who can do you the works," Atkinson wrote,, "it is no mean pleasure to watch them (the Lunts) skillfully shaking the laughs out of, 'Mistress' in a vein that we have all been loving since 'The Guardsman'." But Atkinson prefers seeing them in"a keener play." "Bal Negre," concert revue, with which dancer Katharine Dunham is to tour this season under management of Nelson Gross and Daniel Melnick, will use costumes and scenery from Miss Dunham's short-lived Broadway folk revue of last season, "Carib Song," and likely follow same dance- story show pattern, "Carib Song" folded last October after four and a half weeks, going in the red for $100,000. Gross is'son of producer Edward Gross, and Melnick is treasurer of the Ziegfeld theatre, N. Y. Eddie Foy, Jr., had another operation last week at the Madison Park hosp, Brooklyn, from which he'd been discharged after a previous opera- tion Aug. 19. Comic expects to go home next week. NH™ally Johnson, qo-author'of "Park Ave.," incoming musical, under observation at the New York, hosp for a stomach ailment. And LaUretle Taylor gives as one reason for not touring in "The Glass Menagerie" the fact that she may need an Operation; Bernard Simon, busy pressagenting three shows ("Call Me Mister," "On Whitman Avenue," "The Front Page"), has turned over "Strange Bod- fellows," which he was going to produce, to Richard Kollmar and Frank Satenstein. Duo will produce it in December, in associatiofl'with Simon. Play is by Florence Ryerson and Colin Clements. Max Gordlon has reportedly been offered flrst looksee at Owen Davis' new play, "Pockets in a Shroud." All Davis' plays heretofore went to the TlH-atre Guild for primary consideration.