Variety (August 1949)

Aogoet SI, 1949 ■.EGlTlHiATB 57 EXPANDED SUBWAY CIRCUIT Tacific Now Blamed for Scaring 01 Musical Coin; Houston Junket Nixed The terrific impact of “Souths : Pacific,” which some rival manage- hi *m n • ments blame for hurting attend- MlSS HealeV MaV DFing ance at their shows. IS also claim-i ed to be crimping the financing of I JJJ|> ByiLDIHmjllES, Central Office for Mail Orders to All Broadway Shows Now Being Mulled other proposed new musicals. As one disappointed producer com Eunice Healey may bring plained last week, after an ump- , all-Negro musical, “Sugar Hill,” teenth audition had failed to raise current at the Las Palmas thea- the required capital, “One Man I tre, Hollywood, to Broadway this was particularly counting on turn- fall. Former dancer, w'ho has been cd it down because he said it wasn’t ! associated with several New York u good as ‘South PScific.’ ” j shows, . has lined up sufficient Although numerous announced , backing for the venture, but productions are understood to be hadn’t worked out terms with Paul In abeyance because of insufficient funds, it appears that the coin shortage is especially tough in the case of certain proposed musicals. That’s to be expected, since musi- cals normally cost several times as much as straight plays, and are generally figured as having less chance of making a sizable profit. What might have become one of the most spectacular financing deals ever made was considered for a time la.st week by Herman Levin and Oliver Smith, producers of the forthcoming musical. “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. They had ar- | Girls Go” will switch ranged to charter a plane to fly Sunday performances and have them, the authors, director, chore- ' ^ $ 4.80 top week nights, when it Brandt Theatres, which has built the “subway circuit’’ in Greater New \ork into a profitable opera- tion. w ill add more houses and may go into legit booking on a national ♦ Central office to handle mail or- ders f(»r all Broadway shows has been suggested as a possible way to take care of the growing volume of such business. It's figured that a full-time agency, with a staff Maurice Abravancl. conductor of trained for the work, could do the Abravanel to Baton 1st 3 N.Y. Weeks of ‘Regina’ of 26 weeks. which Cheryl Crawford is present- | The theatre, it’s pointed out, has Already, the Brandis are major ‘V**' "Pfratrd on a raah basis iployers of logit talent and por- .1' ‘7'““';. , '<1>“PP5<' '» '•'•‘‘f- <■•'« Schriebman and Alvin Baranov, j co-presenters of the Coast engage- ment. “Sugar Hill” was written by Flournoy Miller and James P. Johnson. employt-rs ui legii laient and per- sonnel, with three lighted theaters. Flat bush. Brooklyn; Windsor Bronx, and Brighton, Brooklyn. Since opening the .season June 14. they have provided a total of 30 weeks’ employment so far. Salar- ies are generally minimum, as 'Girls Go’ On Lower Scale Abravanel, whose last Broadway of mail orders. As a result, the conducting stint was for the run volume of mail orders for a pro.s- of "Street Scene” in 1947. arrived pcctive hit frequently swamps a in N.Y. la.st weekend to sit in on boxoffice staff. The extra employ- final casting decisions, and begin- ees hired on such occasions are ning of rehearsals next Tuesday generally inexperienced and apt to (6). He’ll be in N.Y. with “Regina” be incompetent, so there are c lOot, 1 .until .Nov, 19. then Hying to Salt almost certain to be delays and sho«s play to IPW adm...sion prices. bi-ginning of his etrors. The fourth house to be added to regular Utah Symph season. His More important than the cost in- ine circuit next sea.son will be built first symph rehearsal is set for volved in such situations is the In- Nov. 21. with first concert Nov. 30. convenience and resentment that ographer and some of the prospec- tive cast members to Houston for a private audition for Glen McCar- thy, the multimillionaire oilman who recently created a publicity flurry with the opening of his lav- ish Shamrock hotel in the Texas capital. The junket was called off, how- ever, because it was figured that McCarthy was not a likely-enough angel prospect to warrant the cost involved. The round trip was c.s- reopens Sept. 13 at the Broadway, N. Y. Top will be $6 Saturday nights, $4.80 Sunday nights and $3.60 matinees. Despite the lowered scale, the musical will be able to gross al- most as much in the new location, i because of the larger seating capacity there. With a $6.60 top , week nights and $7.20 Saturday nights. “Girls” could gross over I $55,000 a week ^at the Winter ' Garden, N. Y., where it played un- The in Kew Gardens, Queens. The exact location of the new theatre is not revealed and the builder is not identified, but it will have a large capacity and will operate at a low b.o. scale and play the same sliows as the other houses of the I circuit. j With many theatres thoughout i the country in desperate need of 1 sufficient product, the Brandts go into legit booking on a national Abbott Backers Few on Touch’ George Abbott will have only 10 backers, including himself, for his . , scale next sea.<!on. As a first step $100.000 production of “Touch and may ensue. In the ca.se of “Miss Liberty." for instance, the com- plaints from di.sappuinlcd and em- bittered mail order patrons were so numerous that John M. Mur- tagh. New York City Commission- er of Investigation, qu( .>t oned the theatre staff and the producers alMuit it. Drama editors of nearly all New York dailies received let- ters of protest, some of which were in that direction they are book- Go.” revue by Jean and Walter ing their production of “The Heir- Kerr, with music by Jay Gorney. with Miriam Hoi)kins and Among the investors i.s Anthony timated as costing $1,500. It had „ uu /-.i i u sn been hoped McCarthy would put Bobby Clark became ill up the necessary $80,000 to com- vacationing in plete the show’s $200,000 budget. Equity to Mull Lifting 5^ Alien Fee; British Schedule Similar Bite New Hampshire, is reportedly well and anxious to get back into ac- tion. Michael Todd, producer of ess. Ralph Forbes, into the independ- b” Farrell. Albany indu.strialist ently-operated Maryland theatre, and owner of the Hellinger thea- Baltimore. for a pop-price run. In tre. N. Y., with a $10,000 slice, general, the operation would be at incidentally. Farrell also has a low b.o. scale and thus would de- $i()0,000 share in. and will be asso- pend on large-capacity houses. i ^iate producer of, the Theatre The Brandts now buy the physi- Guild’s forthcoming musical ver- cal productions of many Broadway I sion of “Pursuit of Happines.s.” shows that do not tour. Thev pay ! other “Touch and Go” limited including both the little for them, but the deal is ' partners inZde HowarS S CuM- ^^^ance ones designed to pull mail profitable for the original manage- ^an. $6,000; Abbott’s daughter subsequent plugs ments involved, since it saves them Judith Clark $20 000' his nenhew critical quotes, etc., could the co»t Of havtn* the setting, cart- Ao"iSS;' ht Zth™ .TIL? I'::!.',?'"'',,!!”*.?.!''!:;’ Situations of that sort presum- ably hurt not just the shows di- rectly involved, but tend to alien- ate theatre patrons generally. In- stead. a permanent agency for the job has been suggested. Its staff would be expert and, to insure agaimst dishonesty, the individuals put under bond. or Ultimate Benefit The idea would be that display Actors Equity may revise its song-and-dance revue will remain •lien rules to eliminate the 5%! fn the house, where it has been assessment on British players w'ork- playing since July 7. Between ing in the U. S. The matter will Plane trips to the Coast to line up be considered by the union’s coun- stars for 'hi.s proposed cil, as a special order of business, ^ Day” vaudeville show, Todd has •t next Tuesday’s (6) meeting. Un- hinted that he has Lee Shuberts less a reciprocal agreement is' promise of the Broadway for reached, British Equity has voted "Girls.” to slap a 5% assessment on Ameri- can actors playing in England, ef- fective Oct. 1. In an exchange of letters recent- ly, British Equity has sought to work out a complete reciprocal •greement by which a card in either union would entitle the member to work in both countries ** hi* will the Broadway for the reopened mu.sl-I ed away and burned:'Ansul-h p7^ BurweU^M’ Abho7' * regular office, the ad cal. despite claims by the pre senters of "A Night * in Spain’ (formerly “Cabalgata”) that their ductions are stored until t4icre is sister Isabel jiieraens ^$6 000- the wliich would be gi\'pn. Ad- ,n opportunity to use them. , in ^p'^SdEtcer hims“^^ * some cases several years elapsing epnetarv Celia Linder $10 000 while to become conditioned to the before a suitable star is aviilahle -^cieiary. L,inaer, ^lu.uuu. then it might prove oeiore a suiianie star IS ava iaDie. jbe partnership agreement pro- e,,nprinr for natrons and manaire- For instance, the “Counsellor-at- vides for a Dossible overcall of patrons and manage- Law” setting is still in storage. 3 ^^^^ possible overcaii or alike. BROWN SOLID CLICK IN LONDON ‘HARVEY’ London, Aug. 30. Joe E. Brown, taking over as El- wood P. Dowd in “Harvey.” replac- —VM.UCI 10 woris in oum uuuiiiin-n y,, »;,• l epnri'd a solid of additional dues , fhe Prince of Wales \he- lish*^^’ meantime, the Eng- j ^ jpgit bow. the anS se?^t^‘f oT 1 H'pam?n% “I'Her' American comic was given an ova- Joadline, after; pertain, responding thespeJs inL'KLur As far as is known there’s little pro.spert of modification of other 1 phases of Equity’s alien rule. Spe-' cifically, the stipulation that British 1 players must wait six months be- tween engagements in the U. S. i.s figured likely to remain iiit.net, and bS nne<i.' and his understudy played Brit sh Equity will try to have the ^ waiting until Paul Muni is free to star in the show on the “subway circuit’’ and po.ssibly elsewhere. Besides the employment and au- thor royalties involved, the “sub- way circuit” operation probably builds future legit audi<’nces. as many of the patrons at‘ the FJat SHU6ERT GUARANTEES ‘NIGHT IN SPAIN’ PAY After a row la.st week between Daniel Cordoba, producer of bush, Windsor and Brighton have "Night in Spain” (formerly “Cabal- never seen live entertainment be- , American Guild o( fore. After seeing one or two .shows » a-,, u u they frequently become regular Musical Artists, Lee Bhubert has playgoers. It’s on such audienc«6,« stepped In to guarantee expenses the Brandts feel, that the legit for the show. Understood there ment alike. Even if many orders were still addres.‘;ed to the theatre or the pro- ducer’s office, as before, they could be taken to the central office for handling. The central office, with a regular system and .staff, should be able to keep abreast of the mail (Continued on page 58) theatre must build any comeback it may make. Revision on ‘Best Play’ Choice Will Be Sought At N.Y. Critics’ Meeting Revision of the N. Y. Drama was unanimously acclaimed by the critics. BrowTi, who starred in “Harvey” for several sea.sons on Broadway and the road, is subbing while Field takes a vacation. However, because of illness, Field had to leave the show earlier than plan- was a dispute about salary pay- ' ments. with the union taking a I $3,200 bond posted by Cordoba, Critics Circle rules governing the I plus $400 of boxoffice receipts, to selection of the “best play" each i pay the cast. season will probably be sought at I Shubert took over after Cordoba group’s next meeting. John i reportedly attempted to dismiss chapman, N. Y. News critic, Indi- several cast members and then cated in his column Sunday (28) Basic Agreement of N.Y. Producers, Treasurers Ta Ra pTfAnilAfl fnr Yr threatened to close the revue. As he would sponsor a motion to lU Uv LAlvUUvU lUI II* owner of the Broadway theatre, effect, and he implied that Basic general agreement between where the Spanish song-dance pro- George Jean Nathan, of the Jour- Broadway theatre operators and diction is hou.sed. Shubert agreed nal-American. and Brooks Atkin . „ ^ guarantee oi>eraling expenses son of the Times, might support th' the Treasurers & Ticket S . lers p(,yp|. back salaries to the per- proposal. Other members are als English government’s labor regu- wtions amended to ease the em- ployment of American players there. There may be considerable oppo- sition in the council and among the jnembership against relaxing the assessment. The general atti- the part until Brown arrived. Suit Vs. Allan Jones Settled on Song Use Detroit, Aug. 30. The troubles of singer Allan ^ Jones over “Yours Is My Heart tude in the union recently has been Alone” ended in Federal court here toward more stringent alien regu- la.st week. lations. i Jones was charged last year ^^ilh infringing the copyright on Julie Hairis Slated Por the song. Ile wa.s singing with iiarrib Sldltu ru Detroit’s Civic Light Opera when Union, Local 751, lATSE, will be formers extended for another year follow- I ing expiration of the current con- * tract in early .September. Con- tinuation of the old terms will be automatic under a cla'jse providing that propo.sals for changes must be j submitted 60 clays in advance of the expiration. No .such proposals have been entered by either side, I Individual contracts between the treasurers and theatres will al.so DowlinK* Bel Geddes In Houston Stock Group Houston, Aug. 30. Permanent stock company, to be called the Houston Players, the also understood to favor change. I Chapman suggests that the rule ' should not specify that the "best” play be of .\merlcan authorship, lie would make the award open to all plays, regardless of the nation- ality of the author. Apparently, although he doesn’t say so explicit- ly. he would do away with the “best foreign play” classification entirely. The critic broached the One of ‘Weddinj^;’ I.»eads the suit started. Milton M. Mad Julie Harris is reportedly set for din. attorney for April Productions one of the three leading parts in Vork. owners of the by the probe "The Member of the Wedding.” Carson McCuller.s’ dramatization of her own novel. Also sought for one of the leads is Ethel Waters. Robert Whitehead and Oliver expire next week. It’s exported that a number of switches will be made in employment tickets at the theatre here, with Dowling slated Shubert hou.ses. The only direct to star in his original Broadway will be started Oct. 1 by producer- actor Eddie Dowling and designer- subject In writing about the re- producer Norman Bel Geddes. opening at the Royale. N. Y.. last Group will u.se the River Oaks 'veek of “Madwoman of Chaillot.” Inc., New York, owners copyright, said an out-of-court settlement was reached. Jones made a $625 cash pay- ment and agreed not to u.se the song again without permission. French import, which received the “best foreign play” citation casualtv of the rec( nt furor rau.sed role in .Saroyan’s “The Time of According to Chapman, a motion bv the probe of N.Y. Comrni.''-sioner Your Life’’ a.s the opening hill. to eliminate the L. S. autliorship of Invc-stigation'john M. Murtagh Ralph Mead, a local showman, requirement In the “ho.st play’’ se- U expected to be Jack Pearl, who.se will be in charge of the business lection was presented two or three contract rcportedlv. will not be end of the operation, with Robert years ago by Nathan and Atkm- Eea wIlYprtiduce 'the play early in Maddin said^ Federal J'’(ige 'Theo the fall. tdore Levin discontinued the suit. renewed Pearl was suspended for fJ’Donnell, president ol the Inter- son. It looked like a cinch for refusing to answer .Murtagh’s quer- state circuit, which owns the approval he was un- hoxoffice tieups house, having a substantial inter- accountably voted down in an of- I iicial meeting. ies concerning with ticket agencies