Variety (May 1948)

60 Wednesday, May 19, 1940 Plays on Broadway Hoi»«!*N the Tiling TRtldle Do\vilng production (undei' sponsor-' •llllcot the AiHoi-lcau National Xlieatre and Acailemy) of three jilaylc'ta b5* Richard'Har- rlty. Stars Ray Duolcy and DovllnR* No •ettlngs; but seenio Huporvlsiun by . Mordl Gassner. Oi)ened at Playhouse, K. v., May 11, '18; ?*.20 top. : HOPE IS A THING WITH FEATHERS Kttc... . ......., r.-...».B, G- IMarshall Steve.. i,. lOeorgc Mathews 'T\'iter ,.. i llobert Alvm Oscai'i.,. • 1.. fPhtliJ) Hoblnson . SWeoneyi,.... i.. ,. - Will Ueer ' CUarliei..;.... i......... • • • ■ -Lou Gilbert Old Alan Nelson,, Wan Reed Joe. .IVredrii,' Martin A »fcm .Jabez Gray Short iplay by Richard Harrity attracted critical favor recently at the Elliott, being presented there by Experimental Theatre, along With two other playlets under auspices of an actors group called the Six O'clock Theatre. Same cast, directed by Joseph Kramm, was selected by Eddie Dowling as a feature of his three-playlet show, presented under legit format, ftightly and two matinees weekly. Narrator Fred Stewart explains that "Hope" is distinctly imagina- tive, and there's no doubt about it. It's a drama about crumbums who sleep in N. Y.'s Central Park. One down-and-outei-' captures a duck from the lake. The duck escapes, but then the fellow comes back with a monkey. But the others free it. • Will Geer as a sardonic has been, E. G. Marshall as the duck catcher, George Mathews as a grouch, and Lou Gilbert as a puftch-drunk ex- pug are in most of the going. Gil- bert recently won a $500 Derwent award for his characterization. In essence it's a woe story. HOME LIFE OF A BUFFALO Joey. i .Kevin Mathews josey.. ..i....... ....;.Ray/ Oooley Eddie;,..<.... i; i. .Eddie Dowling MoHy,.Leoita Powers Otto..,.,..i......VttUBlili Taylor some money to Muldoon. A fellow with a bottle of rye is agent for an opposition undertaker and it's a sort of wake until ambulance men from a Protestant-hospital come to fetch the uncle, who has decided to leave his remains for experimen- tation. Humor of the playlet is well handled, especially by Ralph Cullinan, Barry MacoUum and Peg Mayo. Dowling directed. Ibec, (Closed Sat. (15) after seven performances.) ■ Tlie fiSolniii (HEBREW) Theatre, Ine., presentation, under spon- sorship of American jFund toi\ Palestinian Institutions, of- drama in three acts afid prolog by H. I>evik. Staged by B., Val'slil- lov. Setp, .T, Nievliiaky; music. M. IVIilner. At Broadway, N, Y., May lo, '-LS, Maharal.. j................. .Shimon SMnicel Ttis Wife..... 'I'raimo Judelcvitch Debora..;.... < f-i .Tamar. Robins Tanchiun Zvl Ben-Ha ini ^lem.............. > > , Aaron Meskln Elijah Zvl Priedtana The Messiah Hnnna Ronina Tadeush,, 1..,,,,,.. ..Toshua. Bertonov Don: Pedro..... . .Raphael .lClat:flcln The Beadle.i'......... i..... .Shlonio Bmolt A Red Jew:..............Abraham Baratz The Tall Man.. , JAri .-AVarschawer The Blind Wonian .Trnima, Judelevitch The Old Woman;.. i....... .Ha,n.*iie Hendler A Watoif-CaJTier;..... ■,. .Raphay IClatzkln The Yellow-Haired Maid,......Niura Shcin, Woman With Ch lid.Inna Govlnslja Young Woman... i.. .Iliitz-Zion Rubcnstein Nostaglic and mirch better is Harrity's 40-minute sketch about the McQuinns, a passe vajude hoofer fouple; Dowling and his wife Ray >ooley are in action in this one, neitheir being in the other playlets. There are some hearty-laughs, one line about working. outside show business and getting overtime "like the stagehands" especially being liked by the first-nighters. Props indicate the west side New York, where Eddie, Josey and Joey, their growing kid, live. £ddie domes iii with news that the act has been booked and vaude- ville is coming back, but Josey sees that the contract calls for only the first half of one week. Before that Miss Dooley, back from retirement, does her squalling infant bit that made 'em laugh in more than one "Follies," also sings "Dirty Hands," Dowling being at the broken down piano and .their kid (Kevin Math- ews) participating. They have iVisitors, a duo who had a trained goat act. When Otto (Vpughn Taylor) tells (in Dutch dialect) how well; they are )dbitig since leaving show business, with nodding assent from his wife / (Leona Powers), Eddie is incensed «nd chases them away. Hafoimah, presenting the third of its foiu- plays at the Broadway Saturday (15) for a week's run, offers the most interesting thus far in "The Golem." The medieval- like fantasy about the automaton created by a Bohemian Jewish rabbi to rid his people of the op- pressor, the Inquisition, has more action and movement than its pred- ecessors. Despite the language bar- rier of its Hebrew tongue,' the play is intelligible and makes for an in- teresting evening. Fantasy, realism, suparstition and sometimes broad burlesque make up quite an amalgam in this play. It contains symbolism, too, as when the oppressed Jews dis- dain the gentle assistance of the real Messiah for the rough-and- .ready physical aid of. a clay crea- ture who becomes a Frankenstein. Aaron Meskin makes a'terrify- ing-—and sometimes pitiful-^—figure of the robot, or Golem. Shimon Finkel, as the Cabala-tainted rabbi who creates him, plays an imperi- ous role fprcefuUy. Zvi Ben-Haim, as the town imbecile, who carries the theme of the play in his re- peated cry of /^'Whence will come our salvation?," gives a vivid, pow- erful portrayal. Supporting roles are all good; Sets are simple and costumes as limited-. Direction vis excellent. Bron. a prospective suitor on trial is good. As the suitor, Hurd Hatfield gives a competent reading of tne worm-that-turns type. Henry Daniell is cast as the egotistical Duke, and he does justice to the role. < Production carries two^ sets, a garden scene in London and a liv- ing room in Scotland. Both are at- tractive visually but former has considerable playing within an ele- vated arbor which precludes re- laxed movement of players. Physi- cal appeal of the two femme char- acters is . enhanced by good cos- tuming but a radical coiffure of Miss Evelyn's drew questionable audience reaction as bordering on the bizarre. Staging has paced the tempo at a steadily increasing rate from a slow start to play's best moqiebts in third stanza. ' Bone, Tills Yoniig World >- Pasadena, May 6. Pasadena Playhouse production, In asso- ciation . with Arthur I.ubin and Ivvins lacobs, of lii-aniii.ln three acts by Judith Kandei. Directed by aiarcellit Cianey. Set- ting by Mor'deoai Goi-ellk. Opened at Pasa- dena I'luyhuuse, May S, '4S; S'J top. jjgrg-s. i,.,,.. V..........D?\rryl Hickman Ricky...iiwoyne Hickman Neely... ......»... .Dale Boldlng Chic......-., . .. .^toward JetCrey he Verna., Eddie;. Mickic. ..... .Robert Grummcr ..lanet Burston .Lex HunsicUer .......-Sharl Robinson .Doveen McC'ann Bobby Bobby Hyatt .Toe .Donald I'letro Henry .Parker KgRlcston Kmmy Ann Kimbel Anna. .Diana BUresh GONE TOMORROW Mrs. Muldoon i', .' Teg Mayo airs, tjacey.. .Ruth Vivian WlUle Iten Terry f'eter MuUtoon <..Halpli OuUinan trtif . CAnavan...;... i... .Barfy MacoUnm Although trouble is also the theme for this Irish dialect sketch, it has comic flavor. - Scene is an- other dump in .Hell's Kitchen, on New'York's west side. Peter Mul- dooii, a streetcar conductor and his wife anticipate the passing of a crusty old. uncle upstairs. There's sjiecuIatioA about who's going to pay for the funeral, until it's learned that he has bequeathed I LEISfUIID IHCRSASES WEARING tlME iwTO MAtTER what type of con- xN tact lenses you wearj you may gain several additional ; hourg of tcomfort daily with the cleaf-vision, long-wearing, "new priticiple CLS "M" Cushioning FLUm. Bring your lenses in for Complete demonstration without charge or obligation.. € I.S r/fc omeiNAi Contact )Lens Service SSI Sth AW„ Mew YMk MU Zriego (E«t. 2) On Approval New Haven, May 13. Qant Galther production of comedy in three acts by ITredericls Lonsdale. Features Judith Evelyn, Hurd Hatfield, Henry Da- niell, Brenda Forbes. StaKed by Lex Riqii- ards; settings, Louis Tvennol; cttstumd^. Billy Livingston. Opened at Shubert, KTe* Haven, May IS, '48; $3.«0 top. • Helen (Mrs. Hayle). .Judith Kvelyn Maria (Mrs. W^lalaclO.......Brenda Forbes Dulcc ot Bristol ..Henry Daniell Richard Ilalton. Hurd Hatfleld hside Stuif-M Unless something radical is done to bolster this revival, "On Ap- proval" will probably be sent back after a brief trial. Current produc- tion contains a mildly diverting third act but play in toto has only limited appeal. Present plans call for holding this one away from Broadway at least until fall. It's A smart move because premiere indi- cations place it as a weak con- tender ^gainst Gotham hit incum- bents. The brief tale of four people, matrimonially inclined, who dis- cover unsuspected negative charac- teristics in each other when they spend a month together on an island off the coast of Scotland, is told to the tune of much conversa- tion and practically noi action. Script carries more chatter than a magpie's convention; Some of the dialog is amusing but little of it at- tains the brilliancy necessary to support a literary creampuif of this nature. The fact that the play is in the hands of competent players is one of the redeeming features of what might otherwise be soporific theatre. Judith Evelyn is nominal head of the cast but in only one instance, when she tells off the conceited Duke of Bristol who has proposed to her, is she called upon to ex- hibit the histironic skill that has characterized her work in other productions. Balance of her .pres- ence onstage is largely decorative, which is a personal physical com- pliment but adds little to her act- ing stature. Brenda Forbes fares better on the meaty assignment. as far as roles are concerned. Her interpre- tation of a shrewish widow putting For the second time within a month, the Coast has seen the world premiere of a play in which the world's ills, are discussed through the mouths of children. The first was "The Stone Jungle," which had an interesting theme but badly needed doctoring. The secr ond, "This Young World," also of- fers an interesting premise, but even more than doctoring is in order. This sei'ipt needs a sur- geon, who will carefulfy cut away the fatty tissue. If the operation results in a good one-act play, it can be considered successful. Pitched in a rural schoolhouse, script allegoricall^ poses the prob- lem of a world-in which violence finds eager lieutenants. The igno- rant bully takes over when teacher absents herself and forces his class- mates to do his bidding. No. adults are in evidence although two adult voices offstagciigure in the action. In the end, fear brings the bully's aides to their senses and reason triumphs. The parallel is obvious; so obvious in fact that the device of halving a young Greek refugee put it into actual words becomes tepetitiously annpying. Construction and dialog are both weak and any Broadway, possibil- ity rests squarely' on an almost complete rewrite job. Author has failed to build the tension prop- erly, each incident of horror being repetitive rather than progressive. And the lines handed the adoles- cents are so adult and out of keep- ing that the youngsters become precocious and create little' audi-* ence sympathy. . Best characterizations are of the kids under 10, apparently : the group with which Mrs. Kandei is best acquainted. In the younger age group, there is a quintet of finely-drawn characters including a youngster with bladder trouble, a Uttle girl who wants to show oft her cut thumb, a moppet who knows all the answers from having seen every Bogart film and a pair of completely natural tykes. Direction by Marcella Cisney is spotty, an understandable circum- stance since her cast is composed of kids ranging in age from six to* 16. Of the group, Darryl Hickman, as the heavy, is best, giving an ef- fective reading to his credible lines and doing what he could with the rest.' Brother Dwayne Hickman, as the hero, has to struggle with lines that make him out to be a book^ reading panty waist and there seems to be little he can do to overcome the handicap. Ann Kim- bel is good as the adolescent girl. Younger members who shine are Lex Hunsicker as the blood-and- thunder kid; Parker Eggleston as the bladder-sufferer; Dale Belding, Howard Jeffrey, Sharl Bobinson, Doreen McCann and Donald Pietro, who makes his Greek refugee ring true despite the dialog. Single set by Mordecai Gorelik is excellent. ' Kap^ G&S for Atlantic City Atlantic City, May 18. First legit of the season comes in for a weekend, June 3-5, when the Repertory company presents "The Mikado" and "Pirates of Penzance" at the Globe, which is only open in the summer, when it offers burlesque. S. M. Charlock is promoting the Gilbert & Sullivan shows, and will move them to Philadelphia, after the opening here, followed by a t)lanned tour. The three short plays written' by Richard Harrity under the title "Hope's llip Thing," which Eddie Dowling presented at the Playhouse N. Y., last week, and which were taken off Saturday (15), included • sketch called "Home Life Of a Buffalo," story of two struggling vauife hoofers. It's a playlet in which Dowling and his wife, Bay Dooley, an. \ peared. It's indicated that Dowling either suggested or wrote into the "Buffalo" sketch bits that actually dealt with himself or Miss Dooley She did the bawling infant bit that she did in a Ziegfeld "Follies" of the 1920's and which is supposed to have inspired Fanny Brice's "Baby Snooks" of radio. Miss Dooley, who hadn't appeared on the stage for nearly 14 years, also did "Dirty Hands," one of her kid numbers. In the "Buffalo" dialog Dowling mentions the "time I took you awav from your brothers" (Johnny, Bill and Gordon Dooley),. All are de, ceased and all were in vaudeville. Miss Dooley was in vaude too before going into legit musical's, but only worked with her brother Qorl don. She last appeared In Dowllng's "Thumbs Up,"- produced on Broad- way at the St. James inr1934-35. Both were in the show but did not work together, the "Buffalo" turn being one of the few times they have teamed on the stage. The Dooleys were a discovery of the late" Bart McHugh, bigtime agent (father of the present Bart McHugh, an agent with MCA) who headquartered in Philadelphia, where the Dooleys were bom. Although no scenery was used, the three playlets entailed a loss ap- proximating $12,000. Dowling presented the show, having undisclosed backers who agreed with him that business did not warrant continu- ance. First night's takings were around $2,000, but there was little boxoffice activity there9fter, with takings of $350 «r less reported on subsequent evenings. Interesting sidelight to the contract Judith Anderson has with the producers Of "Medea" comes to light as show finished its run last week. Anytime or anywhere the Robinson Jeffers drama is done, with or without Miss Anderson, producers Robert Whitehead and Oliver Rea must pay actress 30% of their take or profit. If show goes on tour in the U. S. this fall, actress will get her cut, as she will from the production which goes on in London in August, with Hugh Tennent producing in conjunction with Whitehead-Rea. Original deal made with author Jeffers was that Miss Anderson was to have first crack at the lead role wherever produced. Her deal with the producers, called for $1,000 a week salary until production paid off. Then she was to get; 1S% of the gross, plus 30% of the producers' profits. The 30% clause covered all futute productions. of "Medea," too, even if producers turned the production over to Qthers. She still gets 30% of whatever their take will be. Actress is believed angry at producers because they took show out of the National, N. Y., where it could gross $30,000, and put it into the Royale, which could gross only $26,000 top. Also because she had to play show from October until mid-March at $1,000 weekly before show paid off and her per- centage started. During Api-il, when take averaged $18,000, she got $2,8S0 a week. Mady Christians, who returned recently from three months in London, where she staged the British prod^iction of "I Remember Mama," said she felt that the play's comparatively short eight-week run there was due to the faet that the stoiy was "too much for the imagination of the average theatregoer." But despite the evident unsuitability of the play for London tastes, the actress declared that she was "terribly happy to have done it" and also has the "greatest admiration for the way' the British run then: theatre." Meanwhile, she's recuperating at her New Canaan, Conn., farm from a sprained ankle sustained in a fall aboard the Queen Maty the first day out of port. . Nixon theatre, Pittsburgh, has been a late-season Waterloo for pro- ducer Jnles Leventhal. Three shows in a row which he's interested in have nose-dived there, requiring bank drafts from the home office to get productions out of town. Jane Cowl's "First Mrs. Fraser" started the parade of Leventhal headaches, getting only $3,500 to hit a new low at the Nixon for two seasons. Katherine Dunham followed and did better, nearly $11,000, but that still wasn't enough to show a profit on the production end, and last week again, Leventhal had to dig down for "Anna Lucasta"- troupe when jt barely did $7,500. jSe won't have to worry any more about the Nixon this season at least. It's Bhutting down Saturday (22) with "Winslpw Boaf," and lt'6 not his Show, After the death of Harry Kaufman, who, although a theatre ticket broker, supervised musical shows for Lee Shubert, especially those with Olsen and Johnson, his estate filed claim against O, & J. and the manager for money due from the shows, last of which was "Laffing Room Only" (1944). Last week Walter Reed, intimate of the deceased, accepted a settlement offer of $18,000, haVing a power of attorney from Kaufman's principal legatee, a daughter. She was bequeathed one-half of the estate, other heirs getting the balance. Their okay of the settle- ment IS necessary before the claim can be liquiclated. S. Jay Kaufman, brother, was willed a one-sixth share. Value of the estate, not couBt- mg the show claims, was around $50,000. Reported plans for legit shows at the Belasco, Washington, next sea- son are discounted. Property is owned by the Government and if only one years lease would be given any prospective lessee, the cirnces of spending an. estimated $150,000 to rehabilitate the house for stage shows appear slim. Capacity of the theatre for legit is around 900 a bookmg handicap. National, which switches to pictures because of the segregation impasse soon after the-current engagement of Harvey terminates, is more than double the size, of the Belasco. The Lunts, who closed in "O Mistress Mine" in Seattle last Satur- day (15), are due to appear next season in "Speak To Me of Love" on Broadway, Helen Hayes, who was supposedly set for the play, having withdrawn. Reports are that since a leading man was not available. Miss Hayes suggested to the Theatre Guild that the play would be more suitable to the Lunts. "Love" is an adaptation from the French by b. N, Behrman and had a working title of "Next to My Blonde." Valley Players, Holyoke, Plans Holyoke, Mass., May 18. The Valley Playei:s, operating the Mountain Park Casino as a summer theatre, will open their season June 21, with "Accent On Youth," and cloise the week of Sep- tember 11, with "Fresh Fields." Other plays will include "Kind Lady," ' 'Years Ago," "Rain," "John Loves Mary," "The Ghost Train," "You Can't Take It With You," "Goodbye Again," "Pursuit of Hap- piness," "All My Sons," and "Tons of Money." Jean and Carlton Guild operate the company, with Dorothy Crane, director. Established Prodacer Offen Ohnncft to iBveHt Kn "Grade A" Smn- mer tlwntret houiie tapucMy liM". Star eiystem. Nenr New Vnrtc City Froject WUI Stand Htrletvat InvcfitlKatioui Box 810, Vnrtoty. lll4.W08t mn St.. New York 19, N- ^• Oppaitnnity For Young Man Youni man, tlitrouilily wuericnctd, w<»<t'<l Jl' turnitiire manuraoturtr. !• ««ll rent lutni- tum for lagitimate lUgt. Only two houri dally, prtferably in tht aarly afternoon. E>- cellent iiro0o>ltlon tor party who-knows ■<>> oonlactt. Salary and tomminion. Wrin »• Fabian, 227 E. 47th St.,. H«W Yatk. piMM d»iiat call ar iftatOi