Variety (Dec 1948)

WdneainTt December 29, 1948 IkBCITISfATE 49 Shubert, N.H., Suit May Test Leases Signed Under Old 77B Reorg Law Ralph T, Kettering fetli; there's o need 'For « Truly National Theatre" New Haven, Dec. 28. " What may develop Into an im- portant test case regarding the signing of leases under terms of 77B reorganization comes up for action today (28) at a show-cause hearing on a petition filed with the U S district court here by the Taft Realty Corp. Latter asks that iVase held by Yorkhaven Enter- nrises Inc., on local Shubert thea- tre be declared null and void, and also seeks $500,000 damages. In 1936, in a reorganization of the taft Realty Co. (not the present corporation), three trustees were appomted by the court to serve until September, 1952, or until such time aS bonds on the new setup should be completely retired. In July, 1941. a lease was negoti- ated between Yorkhaven and the - ^ . , - directors of the new Taft Realty | Dorfmafl, DalrVmpIe iH Corp. Subsequently, this lease was J J r extended to 1963, or a period beyond the tenure of the trustees. Taft Corp.'s contention is tliat trustees did not have the right to enter into a lease running beyond the term of, their office. Also, the Hickman in ^House' Hollywood juve Darryl Hickman comes east after the holidays to begin rehearsals for "The Glass House," new Howard Kocfc-Anne Floelick comedy. Norman Corwin and Katherine Locke have the leads. Rehearsals get underway Jan, '17. 'Kate Arriving on Broadway With Big Advance Reputation an tnterMting editorial feature in . upcoming' 43d Anniversary 'Number Out JSext Week ANTA to Sponsor Theatre Confab corporation claims that the lease ^^^^^ j^^^ .,j was negotiated at a hgure con-, „ siderably below a fair rental at the at the Majestic, N. Y , occasioned time of .signing. Taft further a squawk by Nat Dorfman, press- claims that the lease should be' agent for the show, against Jean declared void because terms were i Dalrymple, p.a. for Miss Lawrence, never submitted to the trustees or I Incident occurred when Miss Dal- to the court. ; rymple's office announced the sub-1 Fu 1 l-sca le. cpnf ere nee on t he sta te of th6; theatre; whicli has been called by Equity for late January or early February., will be under t lie .spon-sbfsHip^^^ <)fthfe.. Amfe^^ National Theatre & ' .Academy. Steerihg! ''cpmmUtee, ■, c by Morton. Baum. of the N. Y. City Center. incltide.s Clai-enbe perw^^ Mary Hupter, Jo-Mielziner. C, L ton CampbienOscar SeirViri and ? Milton' Weintraub. Actual date.; hasn't :teeri sejt, :bjit:;^ [, will prbbably:: life hfeld at', the: Met- j ropolitan Museum of Art, N. Y. I |\. I ■ ■ f I'ir i One. of the proposals likely to i Un LaWr€nC6-I0r-LlIII6 be discussed during the sessions is { 1 the idea recpntly offered by Rex | I Harrison for Equity to subsidize its as.; own stock ebmfianies throughout. the counti-y, on a .eomrnet^ > Accordiiig; to^ .t^^^ otherfstars wbijid be i.wilUiig'to .apr pear. with' siic'li grpups at: hdniinal: salary to- Kelp get th.<5. veiitiires es^ tablislied.v-'- ■ ■ I Eugene Burr 'admonislict' ' "Weep ISot for the Lowly (?)• Dramatist, 'or Are Playwrights Human?" on editorial feature In the . 4Hd Anniversary' ISMmber of USfilETY Oui ISexl Week Tiff on P.A. Release Substitiition of Paula Lawrence for Beatrice Lillie last week Yorkhaven's position is that the THEATRE GUILD DEFERS Ferrer to Run Gamut In Strawhat Dates, Set For 'Charley/ 'Hamlet' Jose Ferrer will run the full gamut ot legit characterizations next summer, when he plays one week in "Charley's. Aunt" anfl the next in "Hamlet" lor the Olney theatre, Olney, Md. Actor expects to devote only four weeks to straw- hat work,' the' other- two ; being st3ent -at: Westport. Gonn:. doing "Peer Gynt" and "Richard III," Engagements are dependent on run Of the current Broadway sue- TO VAN DRUTEN ON PGM.. 7».''^«.f«-r 'K I believed actor would take time off to do the strawhat stints if "Whis- is still running. "Hamlet" Monday night's (3) performance. i-stitiitibn toi the dailies!' I Dorfman immediately protested ■ the execution of the lease which,' on the ground that any an- Yorkhaven states, was authorized, nouncement of a ' star's a" - entered into and executed by the i sence from, a show because of -board of directors of Taft Realty ; illness or other reason, is in the Corp. Yorkhaven claims the board producer's domain. He argued of Taft Realty was not under the! that the publicity release in behalf control of the courts. Further, it ■ of Miss Lawrence was a breach of had the same rights and privileges J courtesy to Arthur Schwartz, . pro- as any board of directors of a j ducer of "U, S. A.,".if not a viola- . corporation would have, in this Uion of professional ethics, case, the right to negotiate a lease j with Miss Lillie out of the cast, on the Shubert under such terms attendance at "U. S. A." continued and for such a period of lime as s^de of the previous week, with it deemed best for the interests of' jhe gross falling from about $22,000 Taft .Realty Corp. to unjej, $17 000, considerably be- Original terms of the lease low the break-even level. Numer- called for an annual rental of $15,-; ous refunds on advance orders 000 for the first two years and ■ were reported, and receipts con- $21,000 for the next 10 years.! tinned off Monday night (27). I^IL^^Toft "^Zln^^^LrT^^A^t ' H»^;'ev/'--.with Miss Lillie expected , original' novels"" from" w'hich the so that Taft Realty received a, back during the week, at least m romedv was artantpH As iisii.-ii thp • guaranteed minimum rental of | time for the New Year performance ; Guild extenstve orosra^ mentions Jire^?rei5:?s"'™''ii;fnt?f^ ^"^^''""J^' '''' .-«naeer"^ to"membeT^^^^ of the receipts, making it possible | hopes to make a partial comeback ■ business staff for the total rental to equal, or I on the holiday week gross. ' ' fn^^lf' "V^'"""*""!' The star's illness has been diag ^Jt ^. to*"'"'^'*- nosed as a severe case of grippe that a reasonable annual rental at 1 _J' ^. ■ time of negotiating- lease was I $75,000. 'Drunkard' 41/1G Tnrnntn William Goonan, 22-year-old before spring. New Exec Board , drunkard 4/2U, loronto boy .in_;;Alleg;-o,;; was a.^ Actress, who . bince. execution of the lease, j At - -clianges have occurred in the mem-! revival bcrship of the Taft executive in deference to John van Druten, authorrdirector. the program bill-i tje' ing for the production of "Make' Way lor Lucia," at the Cort, N, Y;, was revised by the Theatre-Guild. Theresa Helburn and Lawrence Langner, cordirectors of the Guild, are listed as' ''producers," below van Druten's name as stager.- Nor- mally, Guild shows are billed as "under the personal supervision of ' Miss Helburn and Langner. • Besides his direc^pr credit below the show's title, van Druten gets author billing directly beneath the play title and just above the iiame ot -E. F. Benson, who wrote the > "Kiss Me, Kate," Cole Porter- Bella and Sam Spewack ^lusical : which opens tomorrow night iThur.) at the Century, N. Y:i ar- rives on Broadway with one of the biggest advance reputations in years. Besides getting superlative reviews from the Philadelphia, critics, it did almost solid capacity during--its three-and-a-half weeks' ; tvyout, actually making a profit of ;; about $10,000 on the engagement. Alfred Drake and . Patricia Morison are the stars, Show.will have an operating nut: of about $25,000 at the Century" ;ind can gross around $46,000. Pro- duction is capitalized at $180,000, of which the producer's share- is 44'"c. During the Phllly tryout the grosses were $19,800 for the first half week, $39,800 for the second week, $40,600 for the third and $40,400 last week, an almost un- lieard-of b,o. pace for the pre-L Christmas period. Only variation :; in receipts was from the courtesy tickets, used by people associated with the .production, .such as the-- authors, directori , choreographer, etc. Demand for premiere tickets to; "Kate" is so great that tiundreds of applicants have been turned away, , with many prominent fir.str nighters relegated to balcony seats. Some of those connected with the show have taken blocks of seats for distribut ion among professional as-r sociates- and friends; Porter, for, instance, has taken 50 pair. So has" Lee Shubert, who operates the the- • : atre. Press list has been-pared to the bone. ' : .With the prospect that the mur- sical will be a hit, a claim for a': ... , ^. * . ... . ... .. .share in the profits has already' will mark his first attempt at por-, ^ecn made by Richard La Marr, traying the Melancholy Dane. 1 ^j^^ ^ g Ly^^g ^fj^^^ Ferrer, a native of Puerto Rico, Through his attorney, Howard is flying to the island with his wife , Reinheimer, the agent has assert- after Saturday's il) performance ed that as co-producer Arnold of "Whistle." to attend the inau- Saint Sutiber's representative he guration there of Puerto Rico's was instrumental" in obtaining fii:st native governor, Luis Munoz ' Lemuel Ayers as co-producer and Marin. He'll return in time for designer, Cole Porter as composer. Chorus Boy's Bouncers Pittsburgh, Dec. 28. June Havoc Wanted For Broadway 'Wanted' Holljwood, Dec. 28. June Havoc is mulling, an offer from John Golden to co-star with Paul Muni in a revival of "They Knew What They Wanted" on Broadway. Producer hopes to get the 1925 Pulitzer Prizewinner b.v Sidney Howard on the boards Bella; Spewack as author et. the . book and John G; Wilson as: direc- - tor. : The producers, represented by attorney; Ben Shankman, deny La Marr's claim, declaring that he. never performed such services for them. board, as well as In the makeup ot the trustee board, present mem IMPORTANT READING ^. The most important reading for people in show husiness is the 43d Anniversary Number of «o ..ft * To'S"^"' Dec. 28. ^rested: last week in ? 1 "'JSP' n^"^r ^1 bad-check ^ charges filed by hotels h,H *i^ftn „„ rpnlnn" l''iai''*'„f !here and iii Boston, tburing stands bad $4,500 on return engagement: T.h„„*™ <-,.ji^ ™.. u„j -L-.^j at Royal Alexandra (1,525). Jhentre puild musical had played , Piece opens New Year's Day at, P"*"" ^° Cleveland. bcrs of the latter being Sattiuel I Playhouse, Winnipeg, and then on I Altogether Goonan allegedly de- Lebis, of New York; William L. | to Coas t. i fiaudcd inns of more than $800. Hadden, New Haven attorney; Guy L. Page, of Burlington, Vt. Yorkhaven regards the present filing of the petition by Taft Realty somewhat in the ligh^ pf a nuisance suit, stating that an independent nvestigaUdn of the facts and the laws applicable thereto establish the suit as wholly groundless. Commenting on this factor,! Maurice H. Bailey, president of I wf«®^.."' *^«*«<*- "There is no i justification for this suit on the 1 basis of either facts or law. It is 1 unfortunate that there is no law Which prevents an innocent party . from being sued when all that can ' be accomplished is to waste time ! ^vl""?* needless trouble and' . expen.se. . | r»a.^i!i'^^ emphasized further that, regardless of the outcome of the, Shnh?« '-.V""' operation of the' hhubert will m no way be affected Is „i 5? current season.. House Dorian* f country's most im- portant tryout spots. Buffalo Beefing On Snubs From Musicals „ . Buffalo, Dec. 28. nllKi?^'*'^^"'=y w"*" which touring U,TV\ ^l^ows are avoiding aeafn ""^^"^ here this season i.s jsain arousing local comment. suLlV'' i"*^^' traveling musicals s'destepped the town completely. A-urrently Actors Lab Takes Over Theatre for 4 Plays; Bills to Run 4-6 Wks. , ..^l;"'!?^ Hollywood, Dec. 28 stint in a revival of Rain for the . . » . . » , .iu. Circle Players here Sunday (26), , Actors Lab has taken over the has a one-picture commitment at 1271-seat Coronet theatre here for Paramount to complete. She has the presentation of four plays, verbally okaved "Red, Hot and! which moved over Saturday Blue," Beltv Ihitton-Victor Mature, "'ght (25) from the Labs work- starrer, as the film. pletely. Rainbow" f- will 1 "Finian's nainuow ^ half ^l""^ Rochester, which is rn\L^^ Buffalo .vmI then K a week and Chkago ^" Pittsburgh aia. More famous "By-lines" by the tops of --the industry-^ome satirical, some factual, but most are practical. Variety's own forecasts, based on trends and past experiences, compiled by its own experts in every field of show business. A comprehensive and easy-to-read edition, with hundreds of features of vital interest to everyone in show business, in The Bible of Show Business. On Newsstands Next V/eek—Order Your Copy Now I You can't afford to miss the 43d Anniversary Number OUT NEXT WEEK I shop, is John O'Dca's "Now Is the - Winter." . Each bill will run four to .six weeks. - Roman Bohnen is manager-director for the series. Next on the schedule is "Distant!. Isle," adapted by Art Smith from the original Dutch of A. DeFre.sne. Cast will Include the author, Mor- ris Carnovsky, Leon Penn . and Olive Deering, with Smith- direct- ing and Les Marzolf doing the de- signing. Third offering will be Les Pinc!s ''Untitled," with Sam Gary staging and Ruth Nelson, playing the lead. Final will be "Proud Accent." new comedy by ■ Oliver Crawford, with Howard De- Sllva staging and the cast prob- ably including Aline - MacMahon, v Farley Granger, Geraldine Brookt. and Ludwig Donath. Freedley-Crawford Exit As ANTA Show Producers I The second "ANTA Album" I show for the American National \ Theatre & Academy will pi'obably be postponed from its originally scheduled date of Jan. 23 Also, Vinton Freedley and Cheryl Craw- ford, previously listed to co-pro- duce, are expected to withdraw. ■ Successor and new date aren't set. Freedley's withdrawal has been, necessitated by his preoccupation I with getting the ANTA radio se- I ries, "Theatre U.S.A." established j on the air, plus the complications I involved with his legit production I pf "The Young and Fair," which , reopened this week at the Intcr- ■ national, N. Y., after closing two 1 weeks ago at the Fulton. Miss ! Crawford is going to London.