Variety (Nov 1948)

Wednetday, Novembet 17, 1948 LBCITIMATE S9 Playwrights' Co. In for Busy Season; Several Scripts Still on the Shelf From present indications, the+' current season may be the busiest In the 10-year history of the Play- wrights' Co. Organization is al- ready presenting Maxwell Ander- son's "Anne of the Thousand Days" and is about to go into production of the new Garson Kanin play, "The Smile of the World," Also on the slate, subject to ability to cast it suitably, is Elmer Bice's rewritten "Not for Children." Other possibilities for the season «re the musical, "Miss Liberty,:' for which Robert E. Sherwood is writ- ing the book and Irving Berlin will do the score, and Anderson's con- templated dramatization of "Cry, the Beloved Country," the Alanj Paton best-seller. Meanwhile, several other com- pleted or partly completed scripts by Playwrights' Co. members are on thfe organization's shelf. In each case, the script has been tTirned do\Vn by the other members and might conceivably be resurrected, although undoubtedly not this sea- son. Under the company's setup, any member may insist on the pro- duction of any of his plays (pro- vided the cost doesn't exceed a cer- tain limit), but no member has ever made such a demand. In every in^ Stance Of turndown, if the play was subsequently done by another man- agement, it failed. Early in 1945, for example, the ether members voted against pro- ducing "Dunnigan's Daughter," by S. N. Behrman, who was at that time a member. The author ac- cepted the decision, but the play was subsequently presented by the Theatre Guild, with Dennis King and June Havoc in the leads. It flopped. Similar situation occurred the following season with Anderson's "Truckline Cafe." In this case, Etia. Kazan and Harold Clurman were the unsuccessful producers. In 1939, Anderson and Kurt Weill, who had previously co- authored "Knickerbocker Holiday," : collaborated on a musical called "Ulysses A f r i can u s.'' It was dropped on the advice of the other members, but Anderson and Weill still have an itch for the idea, and may. revise the script if they can figure the right treatment. , About 1942, Rice wrote"My Country is the World," based on the life of Tom Paine, but at the . snggestibn -of his partners the author dropped it after attempting revisions. Sherwood had an untitled script Jn 1945, but stopped work on it of his own volition (though with com- pany concurrence) before it was • completed. Like "Ulysses Afri-- canus," this may someday be. re- vived for further consideration.: Running The Gamut Dorothy Kirsten flew into N. Y. from the Coast yesterday (Tues.) to commence rehearsals for the Met Opera season, after two weeks of playing "straight" to the three leading comics -in radio. She re- cently finished a. season with the San Francisco- Opera Co; Soprano appeared on the Al Jol- son. show Nov. 4; recorded ^with Bing Crosby last Wednesday (10) for the Nov. 24 broadcast, and ap- peared on the Jack Benny show Sunday (14). She sang on ABC's "Railroad Hour" Monday (15), then came east. Lytell s Impact On Lambs Club Bert Lytell; since he has been the new shepherd: of; the,'Lambs, has sparked it into unprecedented spirit and prosperity. Many obvi- ous physical improvements around the club on West 44th street, N. V., evidence the marked steps forward. For one.thing, the club-has a wait- ing list for the first time in years; it's in the black; the hotel rooms have all been redone (a $350 dona- tion honors the donor with a name- plate, otherwise a group of several contribute to have each room re- decorated). Then new Edwin Burke theatre, for the first time^ has permanent chairs, instead of being used as a cardroom, which is now elsewhere. The Dec.:6 winter gambol will hon- or the late playwright whose $25,000 bequest to the club made possible the beautified permanent theatre. Lytell, incidentally dis- covered that the: original fine paneling of the Lambs' auditorium was still well preserved despite a black paint job which had been over it sohiehow for years past. Arthur Knorr, the Roxy theatre producer, engineered some fancy comfortable theatre seats an an in- side price. Happy Fellon and Walter Greaza Will be co-collies of the Dec. i6 Gam- bol to honor Burke, "1?»"s.SSr^1rrip lice Show Grosses Go Tlieir Own Way; . Lauritz Melchior, now doing: a series of recitals in the east; Will finish his tour Nov. 30 in Hunting- ton, W. Va., preparatory to the Met Opera Assn, season. Melchior, however, will sing with the Met from Nov. 30 to Dec. 22 only. He's due on the Coast Dec. 22 for an 'Elgin Hour" broadcast^ returning to N. Y. to prep a Soutli African trip. Singer leaves Jan. 8 for a month's hunting in South Africa He'll also give concerts there, re Pattern Reverse of Other B way Plays On the strength of its boxoffice record thus far, indications are that "Howdy, Mr. Ice," at the Genr ter theatre, N. Y;, will probably be continued for another season. In general, the Sonja Henie-Arthur M. Wirtz skating shows at the Rockefeller Center house are played for two seasons, unless they appear to lack sufficient audience turning to the U. S. end of April, pull, in which case a new show is Then he'll go to the Coast to begin i produced in the spring, another film. His last pic was Ice shows at the Center follow Metro s "Luxury Liner." ' an almost unvarying pattern in weekly grosses. In general, their pattern is the reverse of that for other Broadway shows. For in^ stance,, grosses for "Howdy; Mr, Ice" are currently in a steady Ae-,x cline after the usual .summer, boom and Labor Day peak, while most legit productions are in a general seasonal upswing after :the annual - summer low. With the exception of holidays, when "Howdy, Mr. Ice"- and the Broadway shows all habitually. (Continued on page 60) BRITISH COIN FREEZE STALLS PHILLY ORCH Philadelphia, Nov. 16. ■ • The.. Philadelphia Orchestra's first'trip abroad is set except for one detail—^the British Laws .regu- lating the export of currency. Harl McDonald, the orchestra's man- ager, revealed that the problems of International exchange were hold-^ Ing up the agreement between the symphony: and a group of British impresarios. . ; Announcement-was made: from London that the Bhilly Orch would ] ing a appear there in May, but McDon- ald said the plans were far from complete. "All agreements must be made through the Bank of England and, according to the latest word i ' have received, from our Embassy in London; there are many hurdles to jump because of the British laws on exporting currency. "There have been so many, con- flicting opinions from so many lawyers that nothing has been signed as yet.For this reason we have made no announcement and the Of the tour," McDonald said, Harold Fielding, London con- cert manager, announced the pro- posed tour, The Philadelphians were to give 15 concerts and up- wards in the British Isl6s and Eire, with Eugene Ormandy conducting at the end of the local season. Legit's Odds Are Wrong, Sez Scripter Ardrey In Sticking to Pix, Novels Hollywood, Nov.. 16, Robert Ardvey, who in recent seasons has. written a number of Ifegit plays between film scripting j assignments, is not interested in j \\riting anyUimg else for the' I stage, at least under present con-' I ditions m the theatre, llavmg re- ' cently completed three screen ^ i stints for MetrOj he intends duck-1 I ing more picture deals for a while ] and concent r;Umg solely on a I novel he's had in preparation fori more than a year. j "If and when I get at writing plays,again," Ardrey said, it will be because I've found some ap- proach other than the usual rou- tine of writing a new play, ,flnd- producer and turning the | script into the Broadway null, j There are just too many hazards i in that. "I eniov risks. But any gambler j who knows his business will Steer dear of any proposition where the odds are wrong. That's the trouble,| with the stage now. All the haz-[ ards — production costs, theatre | sliortage, operating costs and, j above all, the smash-or-flop angle. 1 "I don't believe the critics are j responsible for the smash-or-flop situation. It seems, rather, to be musicians have not been told i p.,ft of (lie gene(-al : Broadwa.y at AGMA Xmas PaCty American Guild ot Mi;?.' .-.I Art- ists to hold its second annual bene- fit, or Artists Christmas Parly, at Met Opera House, N. Y., Dec. 26, litude that everything is either 'great' or 'it smells.' The critics do no more than reflect this over- simplification and the present eco- nomic condition of the theatre gives it ellect." Ardicy's last three screen as- signments, all for Metro, were "Secret Garden,'' now shooting; "Three jVIu.sketcers," currently in release, and "Madame Bovary, which goes into production next week. THE OFFICERS OF NIGHT STARS express their profound appreciation to the fol- lowing distinguished artists who participated in the 15th Annual priesentation on Monday eve- ning, November 15th at Madison Square Garden, on behalf of the United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York. We also acknowledge with gratitude the services of the mem-' bers of the Producing Committee, the American Legioiir the Labor Unions and all cooperating Organizations. NATHAN STRAUS ' Chairman ROBERT M. WEITMAN ' Chairman, Producing CemmitiM