Variety (Jan 1948)

234 UECOKrOIIA'Kll Wwrly*$0eonA Annivermry Vf«<lu«»lay, January 7, 1948 New B'way Producers, Paucitj of Laugh Shows Keys To'47.'48 Season The emergence ol & number ot successful new pJoducers ttn4 a paucity ot laugh shows-r-these are among the major &ctors in the 1947-46 Broadway legit season to date. Season Bttffted rather uncertainly but indications are it •will top last year quaUtatively, if not quantltlvely. Heavy dram dominated autumn, being in tune with the postwar era, yet on came sturdy patronage, proving thai audiences «an go lor serious diversion. Itoat ther« is fresh fun in the theatre is mostly to the credit of new rausic?as, particidarly bits in 'High Button Shoes" and "An^el In The Wings," ntft ftom straight comedies. Notliing among new straight jdays can ineasure up to th* comic Values of *'Harvey," "Both Testerdigr," "Voice of The Turtle," "Happy . Birthday" nor "John lioves MaJy,'^ aU^ from previous seasons. Comparatively nearest to them, among this season's crop are the revival of Shaw*s "Man and Super- man,", which afiords intellectual giggles, and "For Love or ■ Money." Sev^jsal season? ago Broadwayites fussed about where new shows iifOifld come from, when fetabii4»*<l Pi^iSucers slwrted for tien^elv^ It tos thai jcoreciat by ol««ac»ers not so pessimisacallisr inclined that new producers would s,urely tales the place of the showmen wlfom the parade had ikassect by. "Strange Bedfellows" (PhUip Waxman); "Kathleen" (Beatrice Lawrence); "Woman In Arms" (Harold Clurman and Walter Fried); "Dr. Social" (Harold Barnard an4 I*e K. Holland). Nearly all the oncoming attractions will have backers outside the usual fold, and that goes for other shows slated- , to arrive during the spring. The continence of outside money coming to Broadway is further assurance that show business is not expiring, and the iniseesing: number of sue* cesses from new diowmen contimtes fo s1*6ngthMi the out- look. EarHet aiin the leOl the bai^g of new p^mducticnia^i^^ peared to be sldiDi^jr an4 actorA Started woK^ing. .One disappotafment tjje feUia* irf seyeii^ iii^rts. At ' the start of the season s Ilock of Eingllsh i^hows was list and some did come over, but "The Winslow Boy-' is the only draiitia from liondon that has clicked so far this season. Some, managers went abroad for the first time in a decade, and. the West End fare looked good, but experienced showmen are aware that English successes on Broadway are comparatively rare. However, American hits do fall down in England too, as instanced by the recent flop of "Finian's Rainbow.". Last season had its flock of newcomer noaitagers but they ■were evidently not the calibre of this season's crop. That was indicated I? the fast folding of two dozen shorn during tryout before New iTear's lfl47. This season there have be^ only four or five tryout casualties. 9 NeWcolneBs Click Of the' season's successes to date, out of a dozen clicks nine have been presented by an element new to Broadway. The theatre isn't What It used to he, and it tapers off now , and then, but it always seems to be resurgent because of the itriii*l of newcomeis who are alwB^^^ 1%emi is no appreciaMe diminuiHoit 61 angels. Which is re- garded as another fftvorable sign lor Broadwast, along with the fa<!t that investors have pieces of most of the season's tuccesses. A number of backers iot mosUy musicals) in the past couple Of seasons dectered themselves out of subsequent financial excursions, but there seems to be a new crop rep- resenting "outside money" in show business. "A Streetcar Named Desire" rates the top spot as coming from new managements (Irene M. Selznick), other "new- comeip" shows Hp in the mioney being "Man and SupeMnan" (Hauidce 3SVWIS, 'ii!:«^e star hut new «s a producer ); "Bigb £ntio» Slwes" XWfente Rtosfer and Josefifa Kipness); "The Heiress" <Fred Finklehotte but with a heavy assist from Jed Batrk); "Angel in The Wings" (Marjorie and Sherman Ewing); "Medea" (Kobert Whitehead and Oliver Hae), and "Crime and Punishment" (by th© same young duo); "Com- mand Decision" (Kermit Bloomgarden, Who is of the younger , ehowmen, with Sidney Phillips assodated); "Love or Mon(^" (Barnard Straus); "An Inspectoy Calls" (Courtney Burr teamed with young Lassor H..<jl;osberg). Clicks from es- ttifclSsheft producers include "Allegro". (Theatre Guild); 'An- .1)WSf ' mi. €km^^i>^ Cornell andi Guttwie Mc- €lhii$e> ffhe pihJflSow- Boy" <Johh C, Wflsoh); '\- -i '-1 '^■•■CHlMSr'-^P^^ ■ ■. ' ■', I Shows on their way to Broadway being produced by "new" w comparatively new managers are "Inade U. S. A." (Arthur Schwartz); "Bonanza Bound" (Herman Levin, Paul Feigay and Oliver Smith); "Make Mine Manhattan" (Joseph Hyman); "Hailam's Wives" (William Brown Meloney); "The Survivors" (Bernard Hart and Martin Gabel); "Men We Marty" (Edgar F. Luckenbach, JrJ; "The Last Dance" (Michael EUis mA Jteii«i Eusso):^'Mister Roberts" (Leland i&;^ard^; "Xhe Bicfi^ Girl in The World" (Stanley Gilkey); Most Sinep I)H!at^ M. S. Gripsholm. Oat here on the high seas a man gets a ehauee to think up a "fia'irorite story''and ttrae to wri^ In 1925 I met the most sincere theatre-goer of my experi- ence. I was in London, helping to produce "Hose Marie" at the Drury Lane. It was the ni|^t before the Opening. We were deep into our dress rehearsal. Someone came in and reported that one woman had already arrived at the boxofflce. She had brou^t along a camp stool and was sitting out in the street, the &st of what pro'red to Toe a long c^ueue, I had heard that.the.Londoners lined up for "pit and gallery seats lohg before an Opening, but this was 7 p.m., on the night before. She couldn't be admitted to the theatre for 24 hours. There she was, alone out there in the cold, penetrating fog of a March night. Such .devotion, I thought, should be rewarded. What a kick it would give a woman like tiiat to see a dress rehearsal! It would be an experience to last her the rest of her life and make her the most prominent parsonage itt all her family Christmas parties from tWs time on. t knew that it would he difficult for me to rehearse. I would be looking at her face all the tinie. It would be as much for me as for her. So I ran out through the stagedoor and found her, sitting quietly on her camp stool. She was an old lady, short and round and rosy-cheeked. "I beg your pardon," said I, "It's so cold out here, and you have fully 24 hours to wait. We're rehearsing inside. I don't .supppse you've ever seen a dress rehearsal of a big musical show. Would you lilje to come in and watch us?" . ■ She looked up at me and gave me the sweetest and most inspiring answer. "Oh, ho," she said, "I wouldn't want to Bpoait." Iloiredher. ""HOscar Hantmerstein 2& A Plea for Gooperation On Gutting Service Costs By LAWRENCE LANGNER (C<i-Dir«c<ior of rheatf* Gttt^^ ]$R>oks Atkinson. lar>tS{ghted drama «irittc of Hie New York Ttaies, wrote'an article last suWliner regarding the high cost of productioii and the effect It was having on the pro- duction of Works of art in the theatre. In reviewing Barrie Stavis' "Lamp At Midnight," Atkinson, stated "It is time for a scene revolution in the theatre," and he added, "certainly there is something basically Infirm about a commercial thea- tre that can find no way of staging an intelligent and well- written play about the history of human knowledge." AtUhson is correct, and the answer lies in the fact that a production of this kind, which can be carried 6ut relatively inexpensively on Sleeker streeif, in downtown N. Y., would cost anywhere from $75,000 to $100,000 on Broadway, em- ploying the usual methods of the scene designers and com- mercial scene builders. Whet possibility is there for experi- mentation in the commercial theatre when the losses in case of failure are so colossal? It is usual to blame union labor lor ^ situation such as tio<ir e^ts; but It is not the labor unions which are making it more and more difficult for producers to take chances on plays. Other factors are at work, lor it is possible to have scenery built and painted lor substantially one-half, or even less, the amount than is charged by the N. Y. contractors either in Los Angeles or in Chicago, where costs of materials and labor are not substantially different. Heads Leagne Committee I As chairman ol a committee appointed by the League of N. Y. 'iheatres to attempt to find ways ol reduttoig the costs of production, I invited 10 of the leadhig scenic designers and 10 of the leading buUding and painting studios to fur- nish me with suggestions as to how the general costs ol pro- duction in the theatre could be reduced. Although several weeks have gone by since I "made my request, I have had only two letters containing suggestioiis from scenic designers and one leter. Irom a scenic studio-^rthis in. spite ol the lact that .1 drew the attention ol these parties to the importance ol finding ways and means of reducing produetiim costs In the iheatre. ' : I ieel sure, however, th^t the studios are not Indifferent to the situation, for their business has been seriously aftected by lack of new production, and their association has ap- pointed a sub-committee to consider the situation. I have asked this sub-committee to formulate concrete proposals fo( reducing production costs, but these have not yet been forth- coming. If they do not make any constructive efforts to help^ then there will be no course left open to the LeagtK ol N. Yd Theatres but to form Its own cooperative studio. Plans are now being formulated with this intent. « Such a studio will, I firmly believe, enable those producers who avail themselves ol it to reduce their scenic production and painting costs by "at least 331/3% and to have the scenery built in N. Y. on a basis at least comparable with L. A. andOiicago^ " According to the contractors 1 have spoken to, the mafai effort for economy must come from the scenic deM^er& They shape the work which the contractor has to tarry out. They claim that many ol the designers require carved mold- ings where painted moldings would be Indiscernible, and call lor the use of expensive materials when less expensive materials would equally serve tlie purpose^ Atkinson, in liis recent review referred to above, tirades agataist representational scenery. The more the artist In- dulges in photographic realism, tiie more expensive is th* job. Imagination is the most inexpensive Item.in fhe jcenie bill of fare, and is the rarest used. Most of the scenic artists are leeenly interested in the future of the theatre. I have already received pledges from several of them that they will do their utmost to help out in the situation, I know tliat they have the good of the American theatre at heart and can be counted on to cooperate in bringing down costs. • I wiU end this; diatribe with a pbitltude. "Hie audience comes to see a good play and good actors. Scenery may or ma^ not enhance •Uie play, but, by and large, the public does not come to a play to see the scenery. I am sure that the scenic designers as Sincere artists realize the conditions with which the theatre is now faced, and wil do their part to -make the production of the more experimental type ol play ptsslble by going back to the first principle of stagecraft, which is illusion rather than realism. Bn% Between lonpak aiut Legit Nmwm^M the By ARTHUR BBONSON The gtdf between longhair {mti lej^i narrov^ all the time; it's be- eoming increasingly tough to see the gap. What has heretofore geemed an unbridgeable diasm—with concert-opfera and Broadway ap- parently as far apart as Oshkosh and Omsk—is being brought closer and closer by the talent that's play- tog both "fields. Bhe Metropolitan Opeira House in Kew York is only seven blocks away from the Ethel Barrymore theatre, but the tw» playliouses have alwjays seemed tts he in separate worlds. Yiet th«y met last sea- son, in a inanner of speaking, when two short operas were presented ati the Barrymore in the guise Of plays- Vifith-musxe. Disguised as wliat-you- will, 'The Medium" and "The Tele- phone" were still opera. That opera has become a popular mass art in the U. S. is something not everyone is aware of yet. There are two resident companies in N. Y., the Met and the N. Y. City Opera Co-i and the Salmaggi Co. is in Brooklyn. There are resident com- pani« in other cities, such as the La Scala in Philadelphia and the San Francisco Opera Co. on the Coast, The Met; goes on tour, as do La Scala and the San Carlo Opera Co. ■ ' There are several $0rssoi>pera c<^- {lanies ih^t t^aur and usuail^ sellout (at a $4 or $$» top) before they ar- rive in a city. They give p^iffierent performances, yet instead tfif Idlling off the art form, they merely en-, courage it. The lact that there are 100 Symphony orchestras in the U. S., SO of them of major rank, performiiig opera excerpts constant- ly, has also helped opera's popularity -^being pacemakers in IM se^^sA of operatic tastet But . to return to i&roadway, long- hair has .been creeping up on it lor years in- divers ways. Using lives of composers as themes for musicals, and their attendant music—such as Grieg in "Song of Norway" ana Tchaikowsky in "Music ia My Heart" —has been one form. lacreiBSing use of ballets In musicals has been another, „ ■ Broadway writers hayf dabbled in the opera form, George Gersh- (Continupd on page 856) JOHN eONTE _ Third Season On Broadway Pon THE THEATRE GUiId Currently Appeartng In "ALLEeRO" l>er«Ofi«l Manatemenii JOHN CONTE NEGRO THEAWSItAIN' IS STOCK MEDIOCRnY The American Negro Theatre, Which has staged some interesting plays during its brief career at its Playhj>use in Harlem, falls to the level of stock group mediocrity with its current production of "Bain." It's not clear wSy ti^e ANT should have seleeted this itoy for revival in the first place. . Basically, If s a shoddy piece of stagecraft ivhich attaMted the stature of a classic chiefly through the ar- resting performance ol the late Jeanne Eagles. It was subsequently a failure with Tallulah Bankhead as star. "Bain" Is talky, formless and as dead as the era in which it was born. The ANT brings to this play some of its own vitality, but little in the way of polish. Alice Childress, as Sadie Thompson, gives a sound por- trayal during the first two acts but finds the conversion scene unman- ageable. Alvin Childress, as the Hev. Davidson, is stiil and virtuous ac- cording to recipe, while the rest of the cast reveals only glints of tal- ent. There is no explanation, how- ever, for the wholesale swallowing of lines which makes some passages intelligible even Irom third row center. Hcrm.