Variety (Jan 1949)

VedncBday, January 19, 1949 LROITOIATB 4^ No Design for Living in Present-Day Stage Designing, Sez Howard Bay By HOBE MORRISON Under present conditions it's virtually impossible for a scene designer to make a living in tlie theatre from scene designing alone. That's why nearly all designers also do other kinds of work. In many cases they have been forced to give up the theatre entirely. What's more, indications are that things will get worse, not better. Howard Bay, one of the top de- signers, has taken up directing as well, having staged the Michael Todd production of "As the Girls Go" at the Winter Garden, N. Y. Recently back from Hollywood, where he tried designing for the screen. Bay intends to remain in the theatre hereafter, but will combine designing and directing. He feels that the two professions are closely related anyway and can be handled advantageously by the same person. Other designers who h a ve branched out into producing or directing include Lemuel Ayres, who co-produced and did the set-, tings and costumes for "Kiss Me, Kate," at the Century, N. Y.; Oliver Smith, Who has co-produced several Broadway shows and iS; an estab- lished designer; Norman Bel Ged- des. Who designed his own pro- ductions, including "Dpad End," until he gave up the theatre for industrial designing, and Vincente Minelli, who went to Hollywood as a designer and is now a name di- rector. A number of designers, admit- tedly talented, have left the thea^ tre rather than battle McCarty to Double In liberty, Video Show Mary McCarty, who scored a per- sonal click in the recent revue, "Small Wonder," at the Coronet,, . N. Y., has been set for a featured '^""^ part in "Miss Liberty," forthcom- ing jnusical by Robert E. Sher- wood and Irving Berlin. It's slated to go into rehearsal the first week ih April, with Moss Hart directing. She nixed film approaches from Paramount and 20th-Fox to take the legit assignment; ' Comediennersinger also joins the Sid Caesar television' show; for Ad- miral, starting Jan. 28. Yiddish 'Anna Lncasta' Causes Wbdy City Stir Chicago, Jan.. 18. Yiddish production of "Anna Lucasta" at west side Douglas Park theatre is breaking all house rec- lords, despite critics' cool attitude. I Record held by Yiddish ^ actor I Menasha Skulnik was surpassed by $8,200 in second week of "Anna." I Although play was originally skedded for two-week engagjem^nt, biz was so good it stays on in- definitely. Dinah Halpern plays Multiple Switch on 3 Incoming Plays Curtails Hayward-Logan Activity Ifflttte^^ Inlyidu^^^ With mediation efforts continu- ing in the strike of scene painters, the union Is tefusiiig to^ p hieimbers .:to; woi^fc. ;,on -Unfinished productitiiis brt^ payme^^ piiieii wage hike by ijidivi'dual pi-o- duc^rs. Such a. bid has been made by, several Btoadway managements with shows due. to open. But the I painters are not allowed to work withput a regular contract. Striking paiiiters are members of against I the United Scenic Artists Union, almost impossible conditions. Bay | Local 829, of the Brotherhood of says. He mentions Harry Hprner Painters, Decorators & Paper Hang- and George Jenkins, in Hollywood; ■ George Jenkins, in Hollywood; John Koenig, art director of a San Francisco department store; Henry DreyfuSi an industrial designer, and Aline Bernstein, who designs costumes at the Metropolitan Opera, N. Y. Wealthy Wives Help Various others supplement inad- equate earnings from the theatre by doing interior decorating, teach- ing school and assorted other side- lines. Others, more fortunate, he observes wryly, have wealthy wives and are thus able to confine them- selves to the theatre. As for him- self. Bay cites one recent season in which he designed 12 produc- tions on Broadway — one more would have bankrupt him, he says. Under the regulations of the union, the United Scenic Artists, Local 829, Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators & Paper Hangers of ■America, AFLv there's a schedule of minimum fees for scenic design, which in most in.stances is the pre- vailing scale. Minimum for a single set show is $850, plus $400 each for the next four settings and $200 each for all over five settings. Average fee for a straight play is $1,500 to $2,000, including every- thing, and the average for a musi- cal is from $3,000 to $5,000. From that, the designer must pay draftsmen, maintain his office and studio, employ a secretary and Continued on page 52) Sour'Smile' Loss $70,610 Playwrights' Co. production of "The Smile of the World," which opened and closed last week at the Lyceum, N. Y., represented a loss of about $70,000. Show was budgeted at $85,000, but was brought, in for around $65,000. General partners in the venture were Garson Kanin, the author; Victor Scmrock, Playwrights' Co. general manager, and William Fields,:, the firm's pressagent, Among the limited partners were pressagent Robert Hector, $850; actor Leon Janney, $850; agent Pe- ter Witt, $850; Albert D. Lasker, retired advertising man, $850; ad agency owner William -H. Wein : 1 ———f Production shuffles of "Miss „ , I, <rt f I Liberty" and "Detective Story" Buys Marchand s Secret | i-t week we^^^ part of^^a^Pjct.ure For Broadway Production; ;;Xie^^S'meaV^^^^^^ . , Paris, Jan. 11. I of the activities of the producer- Leopold Marchand's new, hit [ director team of Leland Hayward comedy, 'Le Secret des Dieux" ; and Joshua Logan. ("Secret of the Gods"), current at I Moss Hart replaced Logan as di- the Michel, has been bought for j rector and co-producer of "Miss Broadway production by Elisabeth ; Liberty," the Robert E. Sherwood- Deval. French-born ex-wife of} Irving Berlin musical due for playwright Jacques Deval, and now i Broadway presentation late this a U. S. citizen, she arrived in Paris spring. The production firm of two weeks ago to visit, her family. I Howard Lindsay & Russel Crou'se She saw the play and bought the [ took over the imminent presenta- American stage rights the next day I tion of "Detective Story," new Sid- through Louis Nagel, who handles [ nev Kin'<sley play, which Hayward Marchaivd's interests. I had a contract to produce within a Mrs. Deval has invested in; year. As a result, Hayward and Broadway shows but this will' be her first attempt at production. Bromley HSistress' Cost Only $14,000 , Harald Brpniley's^ t^ pro- duction of !'6' Mistress IVIine,'' co- starring : Sjlvia I Sidtiey and John Loder, was budgeted at $15,000, rraub." $¥5^ agent" Wimam'Lle: ^^^^^^^ '^'X^^^JZ LlMlllf" ers, AFL. They are demanding a 5Qc raise over the present pay of $3.^5 an hour. Painters work for scenic contractors rather than pro- ducers, so Broadway managers are caught in the middle of the situa- tion. -Shows involved at the moment are "Forward the Heart," due to preem Monday (24) at the Play- house, N. y.; "At War with the Army/' slated to open a tryout Fri- day night (21) in Hartford, and "The Big Knife," skedded to start a breakin Jan. 26 in New Haven. Settings for "Death of a Salesman," which begins a pre-Broadway tour Friday night in Princeton, were finished last week just before the strike deadline. Productions that are unpainted or only partly painted are to be opened in that condition. BURL IVES STARTING 3mTE CONCERT TOUR Burl Ives is set for a concert tour of 30 dates, from February «>rough April. Ballad singer starts Feb. 1 on the Coast, and after a lortnight comes east for a series starting Feb. 24 at Colgate Univ. Most of his eastern dates are at colleges, although Ives will make *" appearance Feb. 27 with the Rochester Civic TDrchestra Mae West Illness Likely To Set BVaylU'Preem Back; Equity Involved Mae West, whose appendicitis attack last week caused the can- cellation of two performances Sat- urday (15) of "Diamond Lil," at Ford's Baltimore, was much im- proved Monday (17), but the sched- uled opening of the show Feb. .3 at the Coronet, N. Y., may be post- poned. Management hasn't yet conferred with Equity regarding regulations covering the show's re- sumption. This week's booking of "Lil" at the Royal Alexandra; Toronto, was cancelled, but previous plans to play Buffalo and Syracuse next week may be carried out as a re- sult of the actress' quick recovery; Toronto had heavy advance sale of $19,000, which had to be re- funded. Miss West was headed for a sure $27;000 in Baltimore.,"Final count bling, $850;. his wife, agent Audrey Wood, $850; actor John Alexander, $1,700. Also Herman Bernstein; repre- senting Leland Hayward, $1,700; Mortimer Becker, attorney, repre- senting a syndicate, $1,700; radio writer, Mac Benoff, $1,700; Arthur Kober, $1,700; Hilda Kook, wife of stage lighting expert Eddie Kooky $1,700; attorney Jerome Wil- zin, $1,700; Samrock, $1,700; ac- tress Helen Claire, $3,400; Kip Good, Kanin's assistant as director of the show, $3,400; Kanin, $3,400; Lucy Mitchell, representing the Playwrights' Co., $3,400; actor-di- rector Elliott Nugent, $3,400; Lina Abarbanell, representing producer Dwight beere Wiman, $8,500; How- ard S, Cullman, $8,500; attorney Michael Halperin, $15,300. $14,000. That's figured an extreme' ly low figure according to present inflation conditions. Total p.'oduction expense was around $7,400, .plus about $6,500 for Equity and other union bonds. Settings from John C. Wilson',s original Broadway production cost $2,000, payable in 10 weekly in- stallments, but that item was not included in the initial budget. Prin Logan will confine their immediate'. efforts to "South Pacific," the Richard Rodgers^Oscar Hammer- stein, 2d, musical. Actually, the switch of "Detec.- five Story" from Hayward to Lind- say & Crouse appears to be a nominal one, as the two outfits have: • been associated in various projects, including their continu- ing partnership in the management of the Hudson theatre, N. Y. Also,- Herman Bernstein is general man- ager, for both firms and is under- stood to have been -a significant factor in the move. It's believed that Hayward will have a substantial financial inter* est in the Lindsay-Crou.se presen- tation, probably under Bernstein'i name. IncidentaHy, Paul Kelly, sought for the lead in the show, has reportedly turned down the part. He recently closed in "Com- mand Decision." Understood that the retirement of Hayward from "Detective Story" and of Logan from "Miss Liberty" ARTHUR HOPKINS IN REPLY TO RODGERS . ■ New York. ■ Editor, Vabiety; It was generous of Richard Rod- gers to use so many angry words to prove my point about the regret- able exit of joy from the theatre (Variety, Jan. 12). A good natured reply could have been much more devastating, and Heaven: knows there was ample opportunity. Among my other stated regrets was that malice had taken the place of geniality in the theatre. Here; too, Dick valiantly proves my point. Hard work in the theatre did not begin with this generation-and was not then, as it is not now, considered an angle. It was the cipal item, aside from bonds, was I stemmed to some extent from the a trifle over $3,100 for rehearsal i desire on the part of Rodgers and expense. | Hammerstein that they concen- Touring nut for the show runs' trate on "South Pacific." In view about $11,000 a week, depending I of that concern, Hayward offered on the theatre terms. Stars are on ' to withdraw from "Pacific," but a modest guarantee, plus a per- was dissuaded by the co-authors, centage of the net. As director, Ainicable Switching ■ Bromley gets $300,- plus 1% of the Replacement of Logan by Hart gross until the investment is re-; as director and co-producer of paid and 2% thereafter. Show; "Miss Liberty" was apparently an opened Dec. 3 m Wilmington and , amicable one. Preliminary plans has since played Philly, Toronto, had been to do the show next Montreal and Boston. It got $11,500 , faH, but Sherwood and Berlin, who last week in Boston, where it con- j have made rapid progress on the tinues thi week. It has had a cou: pie of losing weeks, but is ahead on the tour so far. No towns played by the Lunts in the original production are be- ing booked for the Sidney-Loder edition. M. Kanin East to Huddle Qn Film Plans and Next Season's 'Fancy' Setup Michael Kanin, co-producer 6f "Goodbye, My Fancy," at the JViprosco, N. Y-, arrived yesterday (■fues.) from his Coast home to confer with Madeleine Carroll on .. . . , , . . ., . ., plans for next season. Star's con- essential job, but m that evil, pre-1 tract as .star of the show extends historic era of which I was a part, o„iy ynyi j^n^ he hopes people spiked their work with fun. r I happen to think that it con- tributed importantly to better work. A light heart not , only eases the burden, but it is an invaluable guard against the' absurdities' that are clamoring to creep into any earnest Work. Good humor is the one characteristic that removes us from ourselves and gives us per- spective. This is the gift that Bobby Burns asked some power to show, now prefer to go into pro- duction this sjpring. But Logan is involved as director and co-ipro», ducep of "South pacific," so he withdrew arid Hart was brttiillit in^ That ehds speculation about whether Hayward might become associated in the presentation; thrpugh his partiiership with Logan. ■•■:•., . Exactly what part Music Cbrp. «f Anierica had in the geri«iM shuffle hasn't been revealed. How- ever, as agent for Logan and as^ sociate of Hayward, MCA obvidpS' ly figured in the multiple moves. Since Hayward and Logan have « • partnership arrangement, iVs fig- ured the latteri will have a share' in the former's financial stake in the LindsayrCroase presentatioh i>£ the Kingsiey''Plw,:., As things now stand, besides to reach an"agreement" for next i their interest in "South Pacific," Hayward and Logan are still asso- ciated in the Broadway and r^ad companies of "Mister Roberts," their while Hayward and the Play* Wrights' Co., including Sherwood^ are involved together in "Anne of the ThousfiRd Days;'? at the Shu- bert, N .Y. season, including a tour. While east, Kanin will aLso hud- dle with his brother, Garson Kanin, on film plans for Kanin Productions^ Outfit has a commitment , for a - picture this spring or- summer for Universal, for which Garson Kanin and his wife,: Ruth Gordon, will write the script and which the former will direct. Michael Kanin will remain east a week or 10 days. Garson Kanin's new play, "The give us. . It is not Surprising: t^^^ the epidemic anger of the world: Smile of the World." starring Miss _ ,.„„„,. has seeped-into the theatre, but it-Gordonr opened -and - closed" last" Ivps «,iri ^i;-,"^"■ J. tni- mooir ,.,ac ci'i'oMiv hpHp'rThan ' regrettable that it should have | week at the Lyceum, N. Y., as a ives will also have some radio for week was slightly better than .^^^^^^^ „f ^^e two few good 1 Playwrights' Co. production. men of the theatre. I regret that Dick so eagerly volunteered as querulous Exhibit A in a case tiiat scarcely : merits acrimonious cbn- troversy. ' ■ ; : ^ ,. Arthur Hopkins. guest spots, and make p.a.'s for his new book, "Wayfaring Stranger," and the Disney film, "So Dear to My Heart," in which he's starred, uue for release this week. Co- umbia Lecture Bureau is sponsor- ing his concert tour. L'ville's '49 Operetta Sked „ ^ Louisville, Jan. 18.- A,v;''u.?5* '^^^son at Iroquois ,,"lP"'theatre for 1949 will get under way July u, and is set for oix weeks $20,000 for six performances. 'Command' Road Fold A Break for Pitt Playhouse Pittsburgh, Jan. 18. Pittsburgh Playhouse was quick to grab the local rights to "Com- mand Decision" the minute it was announced that tour ended. Drama had been booked into the Nijton for some time in February ULRIC, OmL TRYING OUT PASADENA'SISTERS' Treasurers Club Head Lewis 11. Harris ha.s been elected president of the Treasurers Club of America, social and. welfare organ- ization of theatre: boXoffice men. Hugh J. McGaijley has been nam- ed vice-president, Charles R. Bow- man, treasurer, Murray Lang, financial secretary and Herman S. Leins, recording secretary. Elected to the board of govern- ors, to serve two years were, Pat- rick F. Liddy, John P. McPart- ..lo ..1". - . . .land, Clarence D* Jacobson, John Time," "Irene,'' "Desert I son "at the loca^ thea-1 which would have been longterm ' J. Wallum, Charles P. Murphy and ' !,. . , , . ,..! An«vi«,n;i,n.,A^tc. ' ■■.| Jack Melnich*- '::;;„: ■ '■^ -• :,.' ' Pasadenar^Jariv -lgr— Lenore Ulric and Sally O'Neill share top billing as "The Biinner I Sisters,'' which gets a Pasadena Lewis H. Harris Picked As f^^y^""^^^ tryout next Wednesday Wallis Testing Phillips i iMai^garet Phillips, featured In "Summer anid : Smoke," which closed recently at the Music Box, N. : Y., goes to. the Coast soon to be but when that date was necessarily screentested by Hal Wallis. If the ^. , erased, Frfed Burleigh, director of I deal jells, it will involve , oniy one J. ^'"?"P of musical shows under ' the Playhouse, went to work and : picture a year, ine direction of Denis Du-For is ', 24 hours later had it announced Actress has turned down several bong Of Norway," "Red Mill " 1 for his fifth production of the sea- I previous film propositions, all of Time," "Irene," "Desert son at the local community thea-1 which would 1 oong and "Wizard Of Oz " tre " I commitments. DeWitt Bodeen script is a drama- tization of the Edith Wharton novel. Barbara Vajda directs. Understood possible Broadway deal hinges on the local tryout. KEITH-JOHNSTON STINT Albuquerque, N. M., Jan. 18. ■ Colin Keith-Johnston will make a guest appearance the first week in February-witli the Albuquerque Little theatre, playing the defense attorney in a production of "The Winslow Boy," Deal wais arram td through ANTA,