Variety (Jun 1948)

44 usgiumatb Wednesday, June 23, 1948 'Shoes Backers Doing Nicely Despite Musicals Lawsuits, Producer Scraps LONGHAIR AND SKATES FOR ST. PAUL SEASON St. Paul, June 22. Annual season of pop concerts here, combining symphonic music with ice-sl;ating features, will open July 17. There will be 22 programs Wednesdays, Fridays and Satur- days in the Auditorium. Joseph Wagner, d£ the Duluth Symphony Orchestra, will direct'the first four weeks of the season and Leo Kopp, St. Paul Civic Opera Co. conduc- tor, will take over Aug. 11. The concerts are sponsored by the St. Paul Civic Opera Co., St. Paul Figure Skating Club, the city department of education and the St. Paul Musicians' Assn. Part of tlie sitting is at tables where re- freshments, liquid and otherwise, may be purchased^ and consumed during the show. °. Although "High Button Shoes" 4 has been beset by legal complica- tions and producer bickering since before the opening last October, it is proving no headache to the back- ers. The musical, at. the Shubert, N.Y., will have earned back its orig- inal production cost by next week, its 28th on Broadway, and the backers will get the balance of their investment within a couple of weeks later. The musical cost a trifle over $177,000 to bring into New York, including $13,000 lost on the road tryout, but excluding $21,000 put up as bonds to various unions. It opened Oct. 9 at the Century, N.Y,, and grossed at the rate of $42,000 a week; of which the theatre's share was about $12,000 and the company's end $30,000. With a Tunning nut of $23,000, the show was earning about $7i000 a week operating profit. Since moving to the smaller- capacity Shubert, the Monte Proser-Joseph Kipness production has been regularly grossing a capacity $38,000, with the theatre rental amounting to $10,000 and the show's share about $28,000. With ' the running expense still $23,000, the operating net has been a steady $5,000. The amount re- paid to the backers now amounts to about $120,000. And with an additional sum in bonds and cash reserve, the entire production out- lay is almost regained, and the final balance will soon be distributed to the investors, Clil Company OK, Too The Chicago company, capital- ized at $150,000, actually cost about $111,000 to produce, as Kipness (who handled it by himself during Proser's absence on the Coast) was ■ able to effect economies on vari- ous items, although the salary list is virtually the same as for the original cast. Tlie weekly gross at the Great Northern, Chicago, is ' running- a consistent $38,000 and with a nut of $32,000 (including the theatre rental), the weekly operat- ing net is about $6,000. Meanwhile, an estimated $400 a week is being deposited in escrow (effective since last October) to cover payment of the arbitration award won by Mary Hunter in her breach-of-contract claim against the producers, Also, a damage suit by Mack Sennett is pending in the courts for the show's alleged un- authorized use of his name, j ■ Finally, Proser and Kipness have i been at odds since before the pro- Subsequently, the council laid it 'Show Boat'to Feature Utah U. Theatre Fest Salt Lake City, June 22. The University theatre has an- nounced signing of leads for its forthcoming summer festival pres- entation of "Show Boat." Kenneth Spencer will play Joe; Peggy Engel, Magnolia; Richard Charles, Ra- venel, and Gale Page, Julie. No deal yet for the part of Captain Andy. Heinz Roemheld will be mu- sical director and Nenette Charisse will handle the dances. C. Lowell Lees will direct. "Show Boat" will be put on at the Univ. of Utah Stadium, with a seating capacity of 10,000. Tix will be scaled from $3.60 down to 75c. Performances are slated for July 14-17, 21-24 and, 27. "Midsummer Night's Dream'' will be presented July 18-20, 25-26. By using the stage, lights, sound system and seats of last year's "Promised Valley," total budget for the two shows is expected to be held to 65G, about half of what the nut would be otherwise. Plans call for the Utah Symphony Orch- estra to handle the musical chores. Censor Bill Continued from page 43 , duction went into rehearsal,- and the two are now pursuing separate plans with future productions. (AnV-EnTISBMENX) SEAIjED PROPOSALS will bo receivea by the Federal Works Agency, Wash- .Ingtoh. I>, up to 2;00 o'ciOQk. P.M., 'Eastern Daylight Savliifirs Time, July 1, t^i^, and then opened publicly, to lease . tUe Belaaco Theater Building, Washlng'- totii D. Ct except thei fifth floor, that .iportlon of the fourth floor coritainiiig approximately i3.125 b<\. ft. and located tmmcdlately in front of the storage Xotl . ovi^' the .atais'ei and that portion of the baaem^nt Gontq.inlng .approxlmatj,'ly 70U feq. ft.- and lylng'somh' of the main south wall of the buUdirigr, which are reserved to the United States arid to lyhtcli. there are direct moans of access from the ad- joining Treassury Uopartment Annex No. 1, for a ternf of years commencing on September 1. 1948. and ending on AugM^<t 31. 1968: PROVIDED that if the Con- gress shall appropriate, fundg for th« conaLruction of a new buildingon the (ite of the Belasco Theater Building dut'- tng the., term of the lease, the. Govern- . ment fihalV havo tho right to cancel the lease' on one year's notice in writing; PKOVJDED FURTHER that, at tho ex- piration of the flrat live years of the term of the lease, the'Governijaent shall have the^ right to cancel the lease for any cause whatsoever on one year's notice . In writing. All proposals must be accom- panied by the reauired depoalt and must oe submitted on the form of propoaa) .which may be obtained in Room 7023 of .. the Fedei*wl Worlts Agency Building, 19th and "F" StroctB, N. W., "Waahingtou* D. C» The Federal Works Agency re* serves the right to reject any or aU pro- posals* and to waive any informality in propouals received when such rejet'tlon or waiver \u in tho Interest of the Untted , fltates. If more than one proposal be offered by any one party, by, or» in the . name of his or their clerk, partner, agent, oi* other person, a|l sucl^ proposal^ may lie rejected. Prospective bidders may view the property by appointment only by calling Executive 4900, Branch 37S7, or by addressing a letter to the Coih- . xnlssioner of Public Buildings, Washing- ton 25, D. C. SAMUEL FRENCH SINCE 1030 Play, Brokeirs and Authors' Representatives SB Wcat tSth Street, Mew York Toss Stuuiet. Blvd., Uollywooa W,. Cftl. over for this week's session, but still made no arrangements for a public hearing on it. ■What's in a Name' In announcing his intention of introducing the bill in council, Cunningham revealed some time ago that the measure was specifi- cally aimed at "The Bespeetful Prostitute," the Jean-Paul Sartre one-act drama which New Stages produced originally at its Green- wich Village theatre and subse- quently moved uptown to the Cort. However, in his letter of explana- tion to the dailies, the Bronx coun- cilman referred to the play as "The Respectable Prostitute," appar- ently indicating that he had not seen it and was not familiar with its subject matter. Objection, ap- parently,. Was to the play's title, not its subject-matter. Among those accompanying the delegation yesterday were David Wayne, chairman of the committee, and Richard Rodgers, Faye Emer- son, Arthur .Margetson, Donald Richards, Sigmund Spaeth, Adolph Green, Betty Comden, Kyle Macr Donnelly Sid Caesar, Joshua Shel- ley, Joe Yule, Nan Wynn, Meg Mundy, Sam Wanamakeri Mary Hunter, Richard Watts, Jr., Edward Chodorov, Alfred Drake, Marsha Hunt, Sono Osato, Beatrice Straight, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter, Victor Samrock,- Russell Maloney, John Martin (N. X. Times dance critic), Bosley Crowther (Times filih critic), Martin Gabel, ■Philip Loeb and David K. Ber- minghausen (oiE the American Li- brary Assn.). '* Organizations opposing the bill Include the League of N. Y. Thea- tres, Actors Equity, Authors League of America, Assn. of Theat- rical Agents & Managers, Ameri- can Civil Liberties Union and Stop Censorship. Earl Carroll ^ Continued from page 2 federal district atttomey and the police investigated and Carroll was charged with violation of the then prohibition law. He could have taken a plea for disorderly con- duct and paid a moderate fine but insisted that there was no viola- tion of the dry law. Convicted of perjury, Carroll was sentenced to one year and a day in the federal pen at Atlanta but was freed after four months and 11 days. • Carroll resumed production ac- tivities on Broadway and changed the' revue pace, presenting in 1929 a costly operetta flop called "Fioretta," backed by a Mrs. Pen- nington. Something like $300,000 was lost in that show despite the fact that the cast had Fannie Brice. Leon Erroll, Lionel Atwill and Savoy and Brennan. Dorothy Knapp was then his favorite show- girl and he put her in the lead at $1,000 weekly. Result was a quar- rel with the backer who sued the manager but then discontinued suit. Prominent players who ap- peared in "Vanities" and "Sketch- l>oolc" or who became show busi- ness names" included W. C. Fields, Ted Healy; ^ilton Berle, Patsy Kelly, Julius Tannen, Jimmy Savo, Will Mahoney, Herb Williams, Bill Demarest. Shift to Hollywood Carroll continued his show acti- vities in Hollywood but after going into bankruptcy he emerged with one of the town's showplaces which he called a theatre restaurant. It has been highly successful for more thaa 10 years, with Beryl Wallace the leading actress. Miss Wallace, who accompanied him on the plane east on a vacation, first was in his "Sketchbook," at the Carroll theatre, Broadway, in 1Q28. Miss Wallace was stated to be beneficiary to an insurance policy of $300,000 Carroll had taken out. He had two brothers, both now deceased. One was Norman Carroll, who was found burned to death in a Ninth avenue, N.Y., rooming house in 1938. Latter had' two daughters, one killed several years ago by a motor car. The other, Patricia, is the only known kin. James Carroll, an elder brother, was an officer- in the first World War and was on the staff when the Hollywood restaurant was develop- ed. He died of a strolce in Wash- ington in 1941. Venita Varden Oakie, divorced wife of Jack Oakie, was also among last week's plane victims. The former "Follies" girl and the film comedian had- planned to' rewed and he was supposed to have ac- companied'her on the trip. Another professional, Remo Buf- fano, was also among the victims. He came from Italy as a child and developed into a maker of marion- ettes, his puppets bringing him attention in such shows as "As Thousands Cheer," "Jumbo," "Cinderella" and "Alice in Won- derland." He also made the ani- mals in "Skin of Our Teeth." In his youth he appeared in Green- wich Village play groups. hside Stuff-Legit Theatre-Eatery Goes On Hollywood, June 22. Tragic death of Earl Carroll in a plane crash last Thursday (17) did iJot interrupt performances at his theatre restaurant on Sunset boulevard, nor will the policy of the establishment be changed. On the night of the disa.ster attend- ance was capacity for the first time on a weekday evening in months. While Carroll's gave two perform- ances nightly, it was used for radio broadcasts and telecasts through most of each day. Virginia Lear, who is business manager for Mrs. Bessie Schuyler, backer of the Carroll enterprise, stated it was his wish that the elab- prate nitery continue along the lines he iplanned. Ownership of Carroll's is the Inner Circle, Inc., he haying been the sole stockhold- er, Miss Lear being secretary-treas- urer and Joseph L. Reina, vice- PMieident. Value of the showman's estate has not been estimated. JARED REED DEBUT Jared Reed, son of actoi" Dan Heed and pressagent Isadora Ben- nett, will make his first legit ap- pearance as lead in "John Loves Mary" at the Bard College Play- house, Annandale-on-Hudson, July 6-10. Like his sister, ballad-singer Susan Reed, lie has been singing in New York night clubs and on the radio heretofore. John Sylvester pacted for "Sun- down Beach," opening at Westport, Julys. Wood Soanes, w.k. Coast drama critic, covered the recent one-night San Francisco appearance of Brock Pemberton in "Harvey" and rated his performance over that of Frank Pay of the original cast and Joe E. Brown, who starred in the road company. Said Soanes in the Oakland (Gal.) Tribune: "Just why Pemberton never thought of himself in the role of Elwood Dowd (lead part) must remain one of the theatre's mysteries, because of the men I've seen in the role to date, he does more justice to it than any , , . it certainly should get him at least an honorary senior card in Equity. ... he did a fine job of work as an actor." ■ Adding that Mary Chase, author of the comedy, injected some bitter comment on modes and manners into it, the critic wrote that "it came through for the first time" when the manager'actor played the part. A dozen or more managers and agents in addition to Broadway box- oflice men are working at the N. Y. racetracks and the trotting meeting at Westbury, L. I. Such employment is summer'fill-in jobs mostly in selling admission tickets, rather than at the pai'i-mutual betting win- dows. Pay is $12 per day for selling tickets and the jobs are in de- mand. There are similar but fewer jobs at the Lewisohin Stadium, where longhair concerts have started in the open, Harry Benson is again manager, of the Stadiiim and Lep Solomon is in charge of the ticket offices. Treasurers and Ticket Sellers union at annual election last week renamed Walter O'Connor, president; Charles Bowman, vice-prez; James Murphy, secretary-treasurer and Morris Seamon, business agent. For the council: Lewis Harris (third term), Willie Joe Harris, George Handy, John Farrell, Thomas Burke and Herman Leins, the latter two being newly-elected. More than 9,000 free tickets to 62 Broadway shows were distributed during the 1947-48 season by managers to unemployed actors, it was disclosed last week by Tei-ese Hayden, chairman of the Equity ticket committee. List of the shows and managements involved \yere sent to the managers by the committee, with a note of thanks. • Dr. Kdson Russell Miles, professor of homiletics and practical religion at St. Lawrence Univ. Canton, N. Y., for 31 years and a onetime stock company actor, has retired from tho college post. r Dr. Miles was formerly pastor of a Universalist church in Buighani- tdn and of a Universalist church in Boston. Plays Abroad lien* Pnntila und Seln Kneclit (Mr. Puntila and His Servant) Zurich, June 12. Schftiispielhaus production of comeOy by I;ei uilt lii'f uht. Staged Uy Kart Hirfn'hleUl, v. iUi si'ta by Teo Otto. At ■SdiHttSPlelhuu.'), I'lmtila...■.. . ......Lennai'tl Sieckcl Malii......, . .GusUiv Ktintti ]*]va }*untila .....................HiMtin Vila Atttiehev......^,,.,......Lukas Ainniann J.iwyer..,,,,.;,,v.■.... .Mefman Wlat-li .liiilfit'. , .Wilfvi.ed Seyf*'rtli Pai-aiin.................Wolf Beneckondorft ffinn. , ElizabetK Muelloi' Ijafna;.. .Alice l,acli ' World preem of this new play by Bertolt Brecht, during Zurich's June Festival, was one of the eagerly awaited e\ients of the legit season. Brecht, author of "Beg- gar's Opera," "Galileo" and other stage hits, spent part of his exile during the Nazi era in the United States, and one year in Finland, where this dramatic comedy takes place. It's based partly on stories by Hella Wuolijoki, one of the foremost Finnish writers. With a few slight changes (some scenes are overlong), play would have a U. S. chance, under the right direc- tor. Puntila is a rich landowner who spends most of his time with drink and women. When he is drunk, he is kind and gentle and soft- hearted, but during his sober moments his brutal, cold nature shows up. His servant is Matti, his chauffeuv, a straightforward, honest fellow, who finally runs off, leaving a possible marriage with Puntila's daughtei- Eva, who cares for him. There isn't too much more, but the way it's done makes this play so fascinating and highly amusing. It contains several scenes of real humor, and others of great serious- ness. Brecht wants to show once more the difference between the high and the low social classes, and as usual the low wins all sym- pathies, , Performance by the SChauspiel- haus players is one of the best of the season. Three main parts are played by Leonard Steckel, Gustav Knuth and Helen Vita—and the job they do is excellent. Mczo. The Lady Asks for Help , „ , . London, June 15. .Tat'k Bueliajian production of amma in throe acta by Jamos Parish. ■ Dii4cled bv amiior. At Qarrlck, London, .tune 14 MS wHn'iw™?!;"'^--"- Barbara ciupe- Hilary Grahame .William, Kendall Harry Rrahame.............l>ettr aS w Pauline Kirby..... .V....... J ,vw I S,l Kioharcr Monroe... .•.■.■.•.•.•.•.■.fS^.^lSR liileen Monroe,. .n„i.i Tr„ofi • P. H. Alexander This is a very poignant do- mestic drama of accidental murder and its effect on the lives of three couples. Its very casualness en- hances its relation to real life, where chaos reigns over petty crises and philosophic calm pre- dominates when real tragedy in- vades a home. As a moral pointer It should win approbation, and if (Continued on page 49) Huge 'Harvey' Continued from page 43 ; to change the house's segregation policy but those known to support his action "feel that the right of a man to conduct his own business in his own way is as sacred as the rights of any minority." Equity Didn't Explafn "Equity has done little to ex- plain its stand to the Washington public," Coe added. "It has taken no poll of the National's custom^ ers; it has not clearly explained that this year was to have been one' of truce. Nor is the Theatre- Guild without blame. It presents three full months of plays to its 14,000 local subscribers, but it has done nothing with its impressive public to settle the question." However, those supporting Equity's stand feel "it is hypo- critical for the capital of a nation based on equality to practice the- opposite." Coe ended his piece with:/"Only Marcus Heiman can assure theatre next season in the national capital. He can do it by magnanimously swallowing h i s pride and giving the plan at least a try. Unless he does, all this is going to make fruitful reading be- hind the Iron Curtain." Post Scouts Belasco Use Washington, June 22. Call for the U. S. Public Build- ings administration to make more attractive the terms on which it would lease the Belasco theatre for legit is contained in an edi- torial in Saturday's (19) Washing- ton Post. Structure, now used as a Treasury warehouse, has been put up on lease bid because the National theatre, town's sole legiter, is going over to a pix policy. National will be unable to get attractions after Aug. 15 be- cause of its "white only" policy. "The terms under which bids have been invited," says the edi- torial, "afford scant hope that the reconversion will become a reality. The offer of the Public Buildings Administration to make the Belasco available; will be no more than an empty gesture unless that agency acts to make private operation of the theatre feasible and to insure that it will actually be operated in the interest of the community's cultural life ... It is a far more important consideration than the amount of income which the gov- ernment can glean from the lease." Woodstock Gets Corio Woodstock, N. Y., June 22., The Woodstock Playhouse will open its tenth season tonight (Tues.) with Ann Corio guesting in "Sailor Bewase" Others sched- uled to appear during the 12-weeK season include Lillian- Gish, Brian Aherne, Joan Caufield, Mlscha Auer, Walter Abel, John Payne, Asthur Treacher and Dorothy Peterson.