Variety (Mar 1948)

Wedjaesday, March 8, 1948 LE«SITIMATE 49 Dram^ts Eye m. h Drive Vs. Segregate; Seek Belaseo, D.C. The nesX »t«p to the Dramatists-i Guild drive to end Taciifl-segrcgatioii policies in legit theatres wtU prob- ably be against the American, St. Louis. However, action will likely be deliorad indefinitely, primarily to aUow the situation to clarify at the National, Washington. The Guilfl's stand on the subject is similar to, but distinct from that of Actors Equity, whose contract with the League of N. Y. Theatues prohibits Equity membfers from appearing on the Na- tional stage afterjiext May 31, un- less the house's segregation nile is ended; The Guild is cooperating with Equity in the case of the National, but it actuaUy began a drive against segregation there before Equity did. This was done by per- suading Guild- membeors to sign a sledge not to permit their plays to be ptesmted in the theatre as long as the segregatioii policy was in eflfeot. Practically every, leading playwright sigaed. and none of their woriis; (writhen and contracted ior » production' since the pledge was cir- culated) has been presented at the National. The Guild figures that such »■ poiiay must ultimately force showdown on the segregation ques* .<'tion. Influential members of the Guild Intend to mo*e slowly iij the case of the American, They recognize that public sentiment may be more sym- pathetic to segregation there than in 'Washington, and that circumstances there aren't as appropriate for dramatizing Hut anti-democratic, un- Ametiean aspect of such discrimina- tion. Guild leaders ace determined to vase a fi|$ht on -the issue until their plays are not shown in any theatre practicing: segr^ation. Their en- tir« attitude on the question is in- dependent of that of Equity, ChrmaQ New Drama Ed (tf New Repdbfic Mag Harold Clurman,< legit producer- director, becomes drama critic ol New Republic, effective March 15, succeeding Irwin Shaw. The latter is resigning to devote full time to another writing project, believed to be a novel. Shaw has been critic since last fall, following the de- parture of Stark Young. Besides being a corfounder and one of the mainstays of the Group Theatre, Clurman "was co-producer of Arthur Millei-'s prize-winning "All My Sons" and staged such Broadway play.s as "Awake and Sing," "Golden Boy," 'The Gentle People" and "The Whole World Over." He directed "Deadline at Dawn" lor RKQ," wrote "The Fer- vent Years" a history of the Group Theatre, and has contributed to various magazines. Bodh tor BelMe*, DiC, Leg<ii Washington, lUbroh Z. A new pu^ to have ttie old fielasco theatre restored to use as a legit house has been started here by Rep. George H. Bender (R., O.) , Vfba dedsp^ that at least one D. C. legit xhould be open to all, irres- pective of color or race. The Na- tional maintains a "white only" •policy, similar to most other amuse- ment spots in town. Bender called on W. E. Reynolds, tli S. Pcilplic Buildings Commis- sioner, to reconsider his prior re- fusal tp lease the Belasco for a theatre. The building is now oper- ated by tlie Treasury Department as a warehouse fbr old files. Bender declared this was a "trivial and- un- substantial" reason for not providing a second theatre. "It is a national scandal," said Bender in a statement, "that the capital of this, tiie greatest democ' racy of the world, has no legitimate theatre whicii may be attended by pei-scms 0* the Negro race. As long as this remains true, it. reveals that 'socious gap between our ideals and s«n* ot' our practices' which the President in his messages declared must be closed." ' Bender wrote to Reynolds, "I am informed that several prospective bidders have indicated their interest in renting tiie- Belasco building and neonverting it into a theatre which could be freely attended by persons wganllesB of race." Broadway producers and the N. Y. stagehands union. Local 1, huddled again last week on a revised basic agreement for more wages and con- ce.ssioris, but there were no devel- ments. Sesdon at the offices of ttie lieague of New York Theatres found no change in the portions taken by the respective factions but- there were indications .that the dif- ferences are on the verge of settle^ ment.. Union held its monthly mem- bership meeting Sunday (ZS) with- out any untoward reaction. The. factions got together Friday (27) at tlte suggestion of Richard ^olsh, president of' the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Em- pleyeesv of which Local I is an at- -flliate. lA ai^ed the deckhands to continue negotiations despite the. impasse with tiie managers, whose offer of a moderate wage boost was rejected. Wateh has been in Wash- ington on call as witness in the Con- gressional investigation of the Hol- lywood studio strike ijitaation. Dorothy Samoff Set For Lester Operetta Hollywood, March 2, Dorothy Samoff has been signed for the lead in '-Magdalena," a new operetta with music by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos; lyrics by Robert Wright and George' For- rest, and book by Homer Curran and William B'rederick Brennan. Edwin Lester will put the show into reheai-sal in June for the Los Angeles Civic Laght Opera Assn. It intends to premiere here in July and open in New York in mid-Sep- tember. A^taAai%. ResigBs m Wake Giiild Mm 4-Ma.y Simng Sked Detmit, March 2. The Detroit Drama Guild, which expanded its activities this- season by bringing a Broadway company of Arthur Miller's "AU My Sons" here, is already jplanning four of its own productions for next spring. Roger Stevens, local realty man who heads -the group, is in New York this week (or .huddles with the American Na- tional Theatre tc Academy on the subject. The DDG was started last fall with a, pro company and Ian Keith as director-iead. Productions of Piran- dello's "Right You Are" and Molnar's "Tlie Play's the Thing" w<3re pre- sented in the Grosse Point high school auditorium, with Molnar piece sub- sequently moved downtown to the Cass theatre. Stevens and his asso- ciates brought "All My Sons" to the Lafayette when the scheduled en- gagement of "The First Mrs. Frazier" was cancelled. The "only play set for the DDG's four-week season next spring is Jean-Paul Sartre's "No Exit." $9 liise. Bars Two Kids Fromflapf hi'Mama' Milwaukee, March 2. Wlien "I Remember Mama" plays the Partcway, Madison, Wise, March .9 and 6, the Davidson, Milwaukee, the week of March 8, it will have to do without its- two chUd players, a boy of 11 .and a girl of nine. Wisconsin Attorney General John E. Martin ruled that the Wisconsin law prohibited children under 12 from appearing in professional stage productions. Although the law has been on the book for years, nobody paid any attention to it until the question was- raised for "Mama." The "Life With Father" troupes, with their numerous youngsters, have play-ed in Wisconsin for years with- out being bothered. John Scharnbergi manager of the Parkway, and Anthony Thenee, 'Davidson managd:, said they could get oldor (ihildnen for the roles with- out difficulty. SALARY CLAMS VS. m mm producer Claims for salary in lieu of clos- ing notice hy player.'? in "Dr. So- cial," drama tliat played less than a week at the Booth, N. Y., recently, were filed with Equity last week. Management (Harold Barnard) complained that the actors didn't know their lines. It was brought out that the play was rewritten more than once after opening. It closed down for two days during the try out in Boston, at which time it was discerned that the part played by Al SheaH, one of the leads, had ^'een written out, then reinserted. Seven-eighths of s week's pay is due each. ■■■ B'wiy Sei^ h Te^i Last h Qffi^, E^edill^ Tuners Atlanta, March 2., Burt Wellborn, manager of At-" lanta's S.OOO-!>cat Municipal Audi- torium, resigned Saturday (28) as climax to series of disclosures in- volving alleged mismanagement of aud. Charges culminated ' in indict- ment, of Wellborn by 'E^ilton County Grand Jury on charges of larceny after trust, bribery and making fraudulent .state income tax returns. At same time George Carr, assist- ant manager of aude and Wellbom's son-in-law, submitted his resignation to City Council's Buildings and Ath- letic Committee, which ha^ been in- vestigating «ilc@Bd irregularities in handling of aude's rental and affairs. .Committee had previously announced, that it would ask- for removal of Wellborn at City Council meeting. I n v e s t i g a tion of irregularities started two weeks after disat^ear- ance of $7,000 from Wellbom's ofBce in aude at close of 'Holiday. On Ice' 'engagement. Loss was reported to police, who launcdied immediate in- vestigation. Moneiy subsequently was found on person of Wellborn, who told police he found it back of pipe organ in building. No charges, were filed against Wellborn at'time, but both Councils Building and-Ath- letics Committee and Grand Jury started - aeparaite investigations: Felony indictment returned Fri- day (27) charged Wellixim converted to his own use on April 4, 1947, ^00 delivered to him by O. L. Freeman, aud concessionaire, 'for the purpose of applying the .same for the use and benefit of Paul Jones!^ Bribery indictment declared Well- bom received bribes totalling: $10,- 380 fi-om promoters Paul Jones and J. Lee Friedman. First- count al- leged Wellborn received a bribe of $6,180.57 to influence his official be- havior in renting auditorium space to Jones for the 'Holiday On Ice' show in March, 1846. Second uount alleged that on Mardl 10, 1947, Wdl- bom received from Jones, and Fried- man a bribe of $3,000 in order to obtain rental of Auditorium space fbr 'Holiday On Ice' &om Feb. 24 to March 8, 1947. Third count alleged Wellborn received bribe of ^00 from Jones for rental of space f&r a New Year's Eve -hillbilly ball Dec. 31,1947. Indictment for making fraudulent state income tax return clUirged W^Uborn with intentionally omitting taxable income in amount of $4,785'. After submitting his . resignation Wellborn appeared at Fulton County SherifiTs office and posted ,$3,508 bond. He said he was ,«oing fishing. In testimony during investigation Wellborn admitted that be had shared in profits Ot various and sunr dry promotions of Jones, .stating that he was to have received one-third cut of $18,000 net of 1948 'Holiday On Ice'. Carr admitted that lie had received $300 cut of hillbilly ball. The $503 which Wellborn is accused of appropriating was a payment made by Home Builders Exposition for purchase of a date Jones had reserved. Paul Jones, who cut quite a sv^th in wrestling circles for many years is the promoter of weekly wrestling shows here and dabbles in other promotions. Garfield Battles Illness Despite an ear infection and persistent cold, John Garfield played every performance last week in "Skipper Next to God," at the. Play- house, N. Y. ' Ther-e was a ques^ibn whether he'd be able to go on Tuesday night (24), but his physician okayed it at the last minute, and the actor played not only the legiter but also filled a scheduled appearance at an orphan- age b^Biiairshow at Madison Square Garden. ^ Margo Jones to Stage 'Smoke' on fi'way in Fall Dallas, March 2. Tiieatre '48 board of directors has sire, voted to extend the length of the local drama season each year, be- ginning next winter, until it eventu- ally will have year-round operation. The current season of 20 weeks will close March 20, following the cur- rent four-week repertm-y program. Eugene McDermott, board presi- dent r«ports that revenue from the current season ' will provide suf- ficient funds to coAier expenses of reopening next fall. Margo Jones, managing director, will work £i-om March through June hi detailed planning for next winter's season. From July until Oct. 1, she will be in New York to direct'the Broad- way production of Tennessee Wil- liams' play, "Summer and Smoke," which preemed at: Theatre '47 last summer. She'll return to Dallas in early October to begin rehearsals for .the November opening. Pi-oposal to the New York legit ticket code board to okay "lifting the premium for balcony tiokets sold by agencies fi-om 50c to 75c has been turned down. Brokers have been advised that the extra quarter iee will apply only in the mezzanine, or ft-ont part of the second' floor, and then only when the boJtoffice price is the same as-on the orchestra .floor. AlQiDU^ 17 Hieatres are supposed to designate mezzanines there are few hous&s where such locations are separated hy an aisle from the bal- ance of' tile second floor, and oiUy a couple of attractions have? the same scale as downstairs. If so that price applies only late in the wfif^ Brokers contended thaft it requires as much service to sell balcony loca- tions as for the lower flecgr and that the tilt should be .allowed, too, be- cause of .the rise in the cost, of opera- tion. N. Y. state law limits the pre- mium to 75c also, but makes no distinction as to locations, statute applying to all tick%ts of admission whereas the code is limited to legit MRY HUMTER W&£S; CLAIM ON 18^' Full payment' under the teems of her contract was awarded Monday (1) to Mary Hunter in her claims against Monte Proser and Joseph Kipness, producers of "High Button Shoes," -at the Sfaubert, N. T. Miss Hunter charged brfiach of her con^ tract to stage the production. The- 'S-ward was made Iqr -«n American Arbitration Assn. panel, iiicluding Irwin Maigueties, R. H. Burnside and John W. Rumsey. The decision entitles Miss Hunter to $1,509, plus three-quarters of one percent of the gross for the Broad- way and any other companies, plus her Contractual share of stock, ama- teur, subsidiai-y and ..foreign rights. Sh« was not allowed .punitive dtunf Ages for alleged injury to her. pro- fessional reputation. Qualitatively, 1»47'48 continues to' top last season on Broadway in straight plays and, more emphati- cally, in a musical way. Approach to spring sees two ■ smashes in the first classification, "Mister Roberts" (Alvin) and "Streetcar Named De- (Barrymore-), as against last: season's sensational '"Joan of Lor-" raine^" There has been only one . major musical casualty on Broad* way, "Music in My He.irt," which is something of a record considering failures of other seasons, although another, "Bonansa Bound,^' failed fit Iryout. Six of the current money musicals are new this season, four out of th& ' 10 ISow playing being huidovei-s. The fresh flock: "Allegro" iMajestic), "Angel in the Wings" (Coronet), Gilbert Sc Sullivan operettas (Cen- tury), "High Button Shoes" (Shu- bert), "Look, Ma, I'm Dancing" (Adelphi) and "Make SiGne Man^ hattan." The holdovers: "Okla. homa!" (St. James),. "Annie Get Your Gun" (Imp«ial), "JinlanVs Rainbow" (4eth Street) and "Briga- doon" (Ziegfeld). L.ist season there were only two new musical standouts, "Finian's Rainbow" and "Brigadoon" ■ .but "Sweethearts," a . reviwal, also scored. The number of musicals then was 10. " There were -also four holdovers at the time, "Oklahoma!," "Annie," ' Carousel," and "Call Me Mister." La-tter has expired, "Carousel" is cleaning up on the road, '|Annie" drew capacity last week and "Okla- homa!" did very well, too. Latter the ftv.e-3«ear -mark on ' Broadway at the end of' the month, a record never attained heretofore by a musical, but it hasn't yet been decided whether the show wfll ex- tend further into the spring. There are at least two more ma- jor musicals due on. Broadway dur- ing the spring. "Inside the U.S.A." and "Hold It." Ether or botti will strengthen the comparison between this season and last musically.There are a fair portion of- dramiatic suc- cesses, exicepting "Streetcar;" and "Tloberts," some straijtht-Blay -hold- overs that, continue to clean up in- cluding. "Harvey" -anA **Born Yes- terday," plus cisck- revivals ;»uch as "Antoriy :and Cleopatra" "vnA "Man and Superman." At the musical's current pace of _^ $3b,000 a week at the Shubcrt, the | (,^ncrship and-editorial setup. MFlUsMoBil IMye to Mti liie &H;liingat^aliead A national membership drive, with the dual aim of raising funds and organizing a wide public for the -the-' atrci is under consideration by .th« Aiilerician National Theatre tt Academy. It will probably be ap- proved shortly by the ANTA board of direetont. Idea Would be to offera new mem- bership claaeification, with $2 an- nual dues including a subscription to the projected ANTA bulletin. Such bulletins have been issued spasmodi- cally in the past,' but would hence, forth become a regular publieotion, carrying new* «f ANTA and th» tfaetttett'generally. Thui- fitr, no -real membership c-,Mi>paign has been condurted by ANTA. It has various membership classifications, and anyone writing to inquire about becoming part ef the organization has been invited to become a subscribing manUMr, 4it' $10 annual dues. This membership has included a year's subscriptwn to Theatre Arts Monthly. It's eitpected ihia sxraawsment will continue, even though the mag recently changed award will bring Miss Hunter an e5tiinate.1' $285, per week (retroac- tively), plus a percentage from the road company now being ireadied. If, as reported, tba shoW is done in XiOndon, she will also get her stipu- lated share from that Miss Huntef^s .attorneys in the case were William Fitelson and his associate, Floria Lasld. The attor- neys for Proser & Kipness are Jaile ic Jaflfe, but this ciise was handled by Milton Weir, lawyer for Lee Shubert, who has a $21,000 invest- ment in the musical. Options Newman's 'Dollar' other available ANTA member- , iihips include corporate (elected by the board of directora, and limited to-500), at $25 anaual dues, with the right to vote in etectiens of di- rectors; group, at '$2S dues, includ- ing subscription to TA mag; life, at payment of $S00, Jtnd organization^ at $100 dues. Hart Puts'Em to Work Moss Hart, president of the Dram- atists Guild, has appointed several committees to handle special phases ' of the ofganizatioa's activities, Rich- ard Rodgers is chairman of the young writers committee, Kurt Weill Of the office management committee, Marc Connelly the racial discrimination -committee and How- ard Lindsay the foreign rights com- mittee. Paul S. Newman's play "Dollar Diplomacy" has been optioned to Vioila Rubber. Deal was agented by Paul Small. The author is a son of Joseph _ , . „ ., Newman, head of - the Broadway \ Mills Ten l^ck is the Guilds ex- Theatre ticket agettcy, N. Y. ecutive-sccrctary,