Variety (Nov 1948)

4S I.K«ITIjlIATB Wcdneidaf, Noirenilier 194S Executive Status Only Hitch As Union Merger Deal Nears Completion Plea for Selden Visit Washington, Nov. 2i With the administrative setup in*- ' Actors "Equity Assn. somewhat' n. , iv . /i . n I cUrified, final details will probably' *jtate UCPt UCIS DOUSlaS i be: worked out next week for the ~ ^ merger of the four principal east- \ ern talenI unions. Committee of: Equity, American Federation ; of! Radio Artists, American-Guild of I state Dept. has received a re- Musical Artists and Chorus Equity quest from Ambassador Lewis Assn. has drawn up a tentative;Douglas, in London, for clearance draft for the consolidation. If ap- for Samuel Selden, director of tlie proved at a final meeting, it will | Carolina Playmakers, to go to Eng- be submitted to, the goyerning | land to address various theatre boards of the various unions. If groups on the subject of folk drama ' okayed therci it will be presented, and the American regional theatre, to the memberships for final ratiti- jUnderstood the bid. came through cation. _ jthe Arts Council of Great Britain. , Apparently the : only Femaining { Matter, has'been- referred' to the hitch is over the execulive person-' American National The.atre tt nel of the merged organization.' Academy, in New--York. ■ . ' It's generally agreed that George 2 Negro Aidas Two Negro Aidas are appear- ing in New York this &I1 in Verdi's opera of that name, in different companies. The Salmaggi Opera Co; is presenting "Aida" at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, with Mu?iel Bahn in the title role, Nov. 13. Miss Rahn sang Carmen.in the Broadway pro- duction of "Carmen Jones" some seasons ago. The N.- Y. City Opera Co. staged its first "Aida" at City Center last Thursday (28). with Camilla Williams in the name part. Personnel of the two opera outfits are white in the main, although Muriel Smith has sung with Salmaggi, and Law- rence Winters is also singing in City Center's "Aida." Heller, present national executive^ secretary of AFRA, is to have , the top exec post in the enlarged union and that Henry Jaffe is to be chief counsel. However, the Kqttity con- tingent is reportedly contending that. both these posts should not go to radio union representatives. That WLuld in effect narrow the situation cfown to a choice tietween Heller and JalTe. Only: immediate alternatives to Ileller might be Hy Faine, executive-secretary of AGMA; Angus - Duncan; acting exe»-seC' of Equity; Ruth: Rich- mond, top executive in Chorus -Equity, or Frank Reel, assistant to Heller in AFRA. Rebecca Brown- slein, attorney for Equity and Cho- rus Equity, is the only apparent alternative to Jaffe. ■ There are understood to . be: two suggested methods of solving the Selden's N. C. Stager Chapel Hill, N. C, Nov. Z. "Egypt Land," . an inspirational drama by Robert G. Armstrong, Jr., will be given its first produc- tion tonight and tomorrow night (2-3) by the Carolina Playmakersi drama group of the Univ. of North Carolina. :Samuel Selden staged it. 1949 Strawhat Season Envisioned 'Best Ever; 99 Spots Already Set Nixon Blows Whistle For mde' Pan * From preliminary indicationa, the 1949 summer theatre seaton may be the biggest ever. So tar,;, managements of 99 spots haw.: revealed plans: for resuming next summer, while six otliers will be; active, buf at different location;, or ; the prospects, ; 63 .operate Equityrf ranchiscd . tlieatres and 36 , are noa-Equity. Approximateljr:; 210 spots were active last sum-'/ mer. Pittsburgli, Nov, 2. Nixon theatre lias cancelled all legit advertising in and withdrawn openiilg-night critic' passes from Bulletin-Index, local class weekly \ newsmag, as a result of unfavor-j able review for recent Theatre ] of those reporting on the 1948 Guild production, "Silver Whis-1 season, 32 claimed that busin(>sa tie," in that publication. Notice j was better than the previous sea- was written by Anson Campbell, I son and 23 declared it was worse. U.S. Pbywrights Refuse To Sell Drama Rights To Scandmavia, Is Chum ■.: Stocliftdlm,:?'Qciti 26..-;:.' Scandiijavia has; seen few AiT>eri-! can plays in, recent years because. U. S. playwrights or their agents j mTt^rVne""proposed""tJ^' The \ l^^^^^ t'niimf P.l" n^^J^r^^ ' Equity contingent, would require' ^ore^^^^VSn^fT?/*^^^^^^^^ tliat the choice of execulive and ■ ™g«^jf ^e^^^^^^^ chief counsel be part of the pre- ^^"^^^^^ Scandmavian publisher of liminar.y agreement, to be decided by agreement of the governing boards of all the -UDions: The other, ■ proposed by the AFRA spokesmeni would leave the selection of per- sonnel to the overall board of the i plays, Which sUjpplifeS scripts to-all ■theatres-, here. ■':■._.■'■ ■;:,:.:',:.:' Interest in American piays is keen, he said, so that he can't iin- dorstand the reluctance to eriter the; Scandinavian ni irket, if it's a . . ,. Tr . - [ matter of high taxes on proceeds, merged organization If an agree- arrangements can be made ment on either method of selec-|^„ j.emit in part over a number of tion isnt reached at the merger; ^^.^^.^ j„ ^^^^ tf,^ ^^^^^^ Every ;Scihdiijavian ^ piroducer. committee's final ; meeting, the -whole question may be tossed into the laps of the Equity council and the AFR.A national board. Under the ■ proposed merger plan as drafted by the committee, the Initial governing board of the over- all union: would number 44 repre- sentatives from the various mem- says Hammaren, has been after "Harvey," but the author's agent has turned a deaf ear to bids for three years. It's taken until re- cently to get the rights for "Okla- homa!" or "A Streetcar Named De- sire." The only author' one can get results from apparently is Eu- ber groups. Equity and AFRA; gg^g O'Neill and his N. V. agent would have la each, and. Chorus i j^jg^g^^j lyigj^gj, . Equity and AGMA would havej ^^.^^^ playwrights prefer to wait seven each. The non-paid presi-.^^i^i, Scandinavian preems until dent of the organization would be 1 af^pr the London openings, but selected Irom Equity. After the, hammaren thinks they're wrong, unified group's first convention, | p,ay t^at succeeds in England probably to be held next fall, rep- j pan prove a bust in Sweden—and resentation on the overall govern-. v,(,g versa. Fact that legit in Ing board would be accordmg to Sweden has government support is ■ the humerical.;5trength of the memr ' — Equity Adjusts Its Exec Setup; Staff Pay Hikes Council of Actors Equity Assn. took steps during the last week to straighten out the unionfs mud- dled administrative setup: It voted Friday (29) to continue Angus Dun- can as temporary executive-secre- tary, but at a "substantial" in- crease in salary (reportedly about double his former pay), with the possibility that he may presently be given the assignment on a permanent basis. Meanwhile,. Re- becca Brownstein's status .as coun^ sei was clarified. : With the idea of bringing the. union's .personnel situation up. to date, initial steps have been taken to give liberal salary raises to vir- tually the entire : staff, most of whom have received no increases lor 10 years or more, although their' pay: even then was; barely, adequate. Tentative : schedule ; of. wage, boosts has 1 been drawn up for consideration by the council in the next couple of weeks, pref- erably before Christmas. It's ex- pected that the raises will bt okayed readily by the council, al-!: though the union's payroll must be i kept: within a limited budget. i Duncan's status was the subject; of a special council, meeting last j week, at whicli a committee headed .' by «^ymond Massey reported on i its five-month study of the execu-1 live situation. Understood that in-; the interim, Paul Dullzell, who re- ' tired last spring as exec-sec, had who recently instituted a page of critical comment in the mag: be^; fore that,; shows; were only brief-* ly listed. Action against Bulletin-Index was taken by Eddie Wappler, I Nixon manager. ■ House is operat- ed by Marcus Heiman and Tony I Conforti, who owned theatre un- ftil its recent sale to AlunUnum Co. ol, America. They now- are run-r I ning site: on lease until Alcoa tears I it down to make: way for big of- ' fice building, which will probably be at the end of next season: ;^ine (naiiagcmeinits state;} ihilt thi - 1948semester^ was,-., •.''■'.about.'"' .the; same" ^ 190, ' ')^fi>r 'variioiis spqU, 194iJ',;was :: the'.'- ^flrst' ■..■■suinnier//:.' it^. there was lib basis of comparisoii. Friinklin : Trask, who had eighi; theatr<eS 'l*?t Slimmer, Will add »:. taintb sfahd tp' his circuit for I849i' despite an estinMted ?!o% drop ii biisines^; fciir 1948; He; hiisn't i-e- vealed whetne the ;ai}diUdnal spot wilt he, but; is :iigurihg eh itavins ■ liine ■ditferent: producUonS, each- of which win play a *eek ,at evenr iibuse :in. the circuit. All will l»e: guest-istar units, continuittg^ the policy bf last; summer. T^ erates a stock company iat Biattlie Hall, Canibridgei :,M^s&y ' dttitibjil the winter season. ,•■■.■'..,■••.,;'' ■ . iJespit<j: better attendance last': summer; increaseijl operatinic.' co^; reduced the net rettirh nh the 10^; week seasbn' at' the ifahiptpn: jpiajr* bouse. Bridgehampton, ;t, cording, to produce^!' :Gait Hillsda/' If Equity boosts: the : scale: any higher or adds further rdstrie- tions, thie tnati^gement says it .may have to close or revert to nott'r Equity status, "after three yean of struggle and a large personal investment in equipment." ■ ':'!: ■ ■ Ray Hingiey and Robert. Vaster report a "mailed drop" in busi- ness at the Finger, Lakes drama festival, Ithaca. N. Y, last sum- , , , , . ^ I mer, for whicli they blame "Ui« _„ ... weekly paycheck of $350 for just i inflated cost of living " The slump raises will be routine talent is commonplace now- occurred despite adays. ■ Manager Points Up Shortage of Players In Yiddish Theatre New Haven, Nov. 2. In for a one-night stand of "The Cantor's Daughter" at the Shu- bert (26), Leon Schachter, di- rector of the troupe, had a few pertinent observations to unload concerning the law of supply and demand ..l it applies to -Jewish actors. According to Schachter, the ranks of this particular branch of the profession are becoming so thin that those now on tap can demand a stipend considerably out i of line with former . salaries. A ' ber unions. ■; One minor point still unsettled Is Heller's status with AFRA if he becomes executive head of the merged organization. Heller report-^ edly would like to retain his execu- tive-secretary title with AFRA; at an aid to plays, too. O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh" was a big success in Stockholm, Oslo and Copen- hagen. It hasn't been seen in Lon- don -yet.;'. ■ ■ Sweden has to go to other coun- tries looking for material, Ham- maren claims. French plays are GORELIK'S SURVEY OF least on a nominal basis, with Reel! very popular, with Jean-Paul handling the day-to-day executive | gartre and Jean Anouilh the favor- duties of the radio union. How-|ites. Spanish authors, especially ever, it's considered doubtful if Garcia Lorca and Del Valle-Inclan, either AFRA or the Equity-Chorus; are increasingly popular. Equity contingent would agree to' "Dtar HuUi" has been an enor- such a setup. i mous success, having been given I over 200 times at the New theatre, j Copenhagen.: It's also done very well:pn tour in 'Sweden, "jpah biE •ri..^'*i.»^ . .T . Loi-raine'-. was put :on badly in EUROPEAN THEATRES'Coi'onhagen and flopped. Then it liUnviLi/iM lUMJixinuu ^^^^^^ Municipal the- Mordecai Gorelik, stage and film aire in Gothenburg and was a big designer, shoves ofl, on , a leisurely . success. The Municipal took it on Europeaji tour of all capitals on lour and did well with it. Oslo behalf of the Nittional Theatre ■ liked the-Municipal's .version and Conference, ,but 'under Rockefel-' will soon have its own, at the Del ler Foundation grant, to explore Ny theatre. actual staging methods in postwar Europe. His now standard Samuel French, Inc. book, "New Theatres for Old." was the result of two Guggeneim Foundation gr a n t s pre-war, when he studied the techniques of the last 50 years. The book has gone into its fiftli Preserit :shertage of ■ players in this field, is due to two main fac? toi^s.; First; impprtatiori oJ Viailent froin abroad has virtually .dried up, that market having . been;. a heavy wai; ca.sualty: ; Secondly,! and younger ;generai;ipn :over here is not- training in the: Jewish braneh but is taking its fling in the Amer- ican idiom. This is': partteularly' agreed to'r'SAquislJcomplSe^^^^ """".'f^^l talent, which pre- executive reins and henceforth ^P" *° '^s lo with the diversi- comfine himself solely to his duties , "^"l English-speaking field, as treasurer. Latter will require i Another headache that besets his presence at the Equity office , managerial end of Jewish trouping only a couple of hours a week to I ^'}'^ "f ^^'^ with sign checks | touring. Unlike Equity, which has It's expected that, with the clari-i "If "S^^n/^'^^r^^J^^ ^7 fication of his anomalous Executive fl'*!'!*" ^"^ fn^Ff^f po.sition, Duncan will probably be ''",^"^f "^."/"li^l* able to operate more effectively f^^"/ow" to tipping the redcaps and .that before long he will re- f"^ ^f' ^H^'^: all mounts up ceive the full title of executive- L^m^h^*?/^'?"* "''t,'^^ secreUry. However, it was stipu-■fl 1,000 for a show lated that his salary increa.se is to | *,9L?f" „ , „ . „ , remain in force even if he doesn't ovch ^^K-f^' starrmg Freidele ultmately get the full exec-sec 9^^*"?^' ^^tT^i^**"'''/ ^"^^ T^' title, but becomes assisUnt to '"^ Montreal, and a week in improved public; relations, better promotion, excel- lent notices and a high standard of production," it's stated. George R. Snell, operating the Green Ililla theatre. Reading, Pa., plans to in- crease the capacity' of the house lower admission (top last summer was $2.10, including tax) to combat a sag in business. He has an Equity setup, with a guest- star policy. . Albert: H. Rosen was so success- ful in his first season at the Mont- ' (Continued on page 50) someone else who might be; Boston. Company included Leon Schachter, Sam Joscphson, Max Broadway Singer Takes Longhair Role With The Nippon Philharmonic Tokyo, Oct. 25. First appearance by a foreign artist with the Nippon Philhaf^ monic Orchestra will be made Nov. 2 by Frances Cassard, Broadway musical comedy singer. She'll create further precedent by doing such western music as selections • brought in. But the latter prospect ,.', ■'oscpnson. Max ; such western 'is not being considered. |Bo?hyk, l-lorence Weiss, Sally Jo-[from Wagner and Verdi, and prob- ,<=.nb<:n„ o„u.„^,»_ ^^,y ^^^^^ ^^^^ performance In Japariese of an aria from "{tiadame edition and has just been pub- lislied in England. It's expected this itinerary by Gorelik will be productive of a book and arlirles. Catholic House for Hub Boston, Nov, 2. .-\n official Boston Catholic The- iitre, aiming at eventual; profes^ sionalism, gets undo;r way in the . , , . ■ isephson; Sammy Schachter. Reizel ..ft^n^ff.Z<'^^'J"""" f'«Vbeen'Bo.hyk. Comedy was wri te" by settled for Miss Brownstein to re- William f.iegel, with music byMau- main as the union counsel. The ,.ive Tr«rhtrn:^n <it^aV^I^^ only remaining stumbling block, Hy^an fSCI Oscar Green fs Paul Turner's continuation as nom- impresario of. thLs onP inal chief council, is to be elimi- obliou^^v a l^^aof ^ f and the American Guild of Musical «tfmat^ $27oo at SI 60*^^^ Artists becomes effective. |CSHmai ecl »z,4»U at »3.60 to p. As. for then, Turner will retire I completely, not only as chief coUn- 1 sel of Equity and Chorus, but also i as chief attorney for the Associated ,'Actors & Artistes of America, the parent union. Meanwhile, Miss , Brownstein has received' a salary increase and the Equity is to pro- vide an a.ssistant at $50- a week. Modeled after the N. Y. Black- friars, the oulfil. endor.sed by /Vrchbishop Richard J. Gushing, will present plays of Catholic in- terest) including some by non-Cath- Edward W. KiuseUa, husband of o"^'. authors. Set for jiroduction during the sea.son are The Hound 'The: Z Little Theatres Map Season in Kaycee Kansa-s City. Nov. 2. Resident Tbeatre has brought in Stanley Ackerman to take over di- rection of its .season of four pro- pvessagent Helen Hoerle <"Mag-, „ „ dalena"! critically ill in a N. Y. o/ "^-aven, The Rivals, liospital . . . WNEW, N. Y., tonight ^ong of Bernadette, Joan of Lor- (Wed.) at 9-30, will devote a half- raine," "Career Angel" and The hour program to "Medea," with Cradle Song." Theatre will use the excerpts frtfm the play aired for.N- K. Mutual Hall and put on the the first time via Decca's recording sliows for two nights in succession. TREACHER MAY COSTAR WITH HORTON IN TORY' If Arthur Tteacher doesn't do a new musical by Otto Harbach and Peter DeKose, he may costar with Edward Everett Horton in a revi- val of "Springtime for Henry" on Broadway this season. Theron Bamberger and Guy Palmerton would co-produce the latter show, with Ilka Chase and Louise AUbrit- lon as ferame leads. Joshua Logan \\ould be sought as stager. , . ' "Henry" has been a boxoffice goldmine for ilorlon in summer Butterfly." Kazuo. Yamada will conduct. Appearance of Mi.ss Cassard, who ' sang in 'On the Town" and had I a leading part in"Song of Nor- I way" on Broadway^ ha.s; created such public demand^ that the con- cert is already sold out and a sec- ond is being scheduled. Emperor.: llirohito is expected to attend the first! concert, which will mark the anniversary of the opening of Ja- pan to^ western-culture. . Singer will give a concert Sun- day (31) at the Ernie Pyle theatre ■ here for U. S. occupation troops. "The Hasty Heart," "An Inspector Calls" and^ ^'Sound of Hunting." Two productions will feature guest slock and on the road for many stars.: . ■■,■■.■■•■■ ■■■ ■ ■ - • New group, Universit.v Commu nity Players, was .set up last week*in 1931. NTC TALEHT TEYOITTS Second annual NTC Tryout Studio wrill be :prescnted for three, weeks beginning Nov. 8 at the Kaufman Auditorium YM & YWHA and Hunter College playhouse, N.Y. Tryout Studio i.'i a showcase for young actor graduates of National Theatre Conference drama depart- ments, professional schools and community theatres, intended to help them make U)e transition to seasons. Benn W. Levy comedy' the professional stage. Broadwav •"""^ Broadway j producers, directors, agcnUs. etc., aie invited to attend the sessions.