Variety (January 1950)

60 UBGITIMATE Wednesjay, January 11, 1950 Coiitintied from Vttt 55 and-a-half \Veek road toUr. In; figuring losse.*?, only operating ex- penses; not production cost items, may be included. The concession klso applies Only to shows of pro- ducers using the accbuntihg system!. recently approved by the Commit- tee pi Theatrical Producers. TljC royalty • cut may riot be applied to the author’s advance against royalties. .Aiso, tn case the Show \yhich has suffered a t^^ loss subsequently earns back its iriyestment, the amount of the royalty cut iriust be returried to the>author before any profits may. be .distributed. It is emphasized that steps will be taken to, prevent producers from loading up finan- cial statements to show a: tryout • loss and obtain unwarranted rpyal- ty. reductions.' Since the royalty slice will not apply to an. author’s advance arid, in any casei will cover only losing tryout erigagements. on which the gross will presumably be low the Guild’s action is: obyiousiy .more in the nature of a gesture than a major financial concession. / Hbw^ ever, if it leads to Gorrespondihg waivers from Actors' Equity; the stagehands, mu.sicians and \ other unions; it may involve a substantial reduction of tryout losses, ' As the Guild noted in its. arinbuncement of the cut, the whole purpose of the CT]R is to reduce production expenses and thereby increase pror duGtibn. That in turn would iri- crease employment and earnings for everyone involved. / ; As the members'of the CTP have pointed out, concessions covering tryouts arid the critical weeks early in a Broadway run ordinarily would involve little aptuai sacri- fice, since that is the period when shows usually draw relatively small grosses. On the other haridy the Qnl 3 ' substantial return from legit under present conditions, is from hit shows. So it Should be a profitable gamble to allow conces- sioris on the low-grossirig weeks on the chance of helping to get a show established as a hit. In the latter case there; is generally ample profit for everyone irtvolved. The CTP sub-committee which worked out the rpyalty-cut propos- al consists of Shervvopd,/ .Herman Shumlin and Gilbert Milier; Hav? ing gained the Dramatists Guild approval of the scheme, the GTP. is next: expected to approach Equity and the other . urrtons for ebrre-f spbriing Concessions. Spine mbye. to persuade . thbatxe owners to agree r to, modification pf ’. theatre terms is also anticipated, since Uie- atre rental is usually Uie largest single item in a show's' ojperating budget,.;.. 7 MinneappliSvJari. 10: ■ .Reviewers pulled no stops, in showering praise on the play and ' cast, but '‘Light Up the Sky” suf- fered brutally from near-blizzards. ■■■ an d 15- beloAv-zero temperatures' i For the seven nights and. one. 1 matinee. at' S.3:60 top. in the 1.900- seat Lyceum, the atlractipn came through with only a .paltry $7,000. Next on the list i$ “Mister Rob- ; erts,” which starts a ip-day en- gagement/Jan; 15. ;; Schwartz 17G, Mont’l ’Montreali Jari. iO, “Y d § e l e , the Nightingale,” Maurice Schwartz’s folk comedy from the ijpvel by . . Sholem Aleiehem; did a near $17,000 ait His Majesty’s last week for 11 per- formances. ■ With this 1.579-seater scaled to I a $3:40 top, play drew, raves frorri all aisle-sitters and Was called by some the best theatre to . have played Montreal in the past year. ^PRlMiTIVE ANGEL’- FOR L;A. Hollywood; Jan. 10. “The Primitive Angel*” comedy |: with music, will be staged; at the I Westwood Playhbusp, L. A** Jan. i 19. Jay Ingram wrote the play and i will direct. Dick Sherman did the I lyrics.- i Shirley O. Mills, David Daniels, Bob Gardette . and Dodie Warren head the cast. TUrd Barter Ihpibre Troqpe Ta^es to Boad Abingdon,.; Jan. 10. . A th ird Barter Theatre company left here immediately offer New Year's day to troupe J. B. Priest- ley's “Dangerous Corner” through Virginia and\ s;x other southern states. Play has beep direeted by Robert: Porlerfield, , Barter’s found-. er-mariager.' Two btheir companies have been oh the road Since Barter closed its summer season in Abingdon early in September. , One outfit troupes ‘The Imagiriary* 1 n yall d^^ and “Thunder Rock”; the other coni- pany stages “Yoii Can't Take It With You” and “The Show-Off.” “Cornet’s” cast is composed chiefly of Lohdori and New York players' making their first appear- ance iri a Barter outfit and include Peter Pagan. Virginia Downing, William Kemp and Kelly Flint. Also in the compariy is Mary Perry, erstwhUe dean of dramatics at Brenau College, Gainesville, Ga. Tagliavlni Gifts Fee For J. C. Arts Center Plans to build a $1,500,000 arts center in Jersey City gdiried im- petus Sunday (8) when Met tenor Ferruccio Tagliavirii made^ the in- itial donation for the publicly-fi- nanced, project. The singer, who appeared that evenirig at the first concert sponsored by the Jersey City Community; Concert Assn., waived his fee as a gift for the venture.; •• . Backed bj' ci y i c officials and prominerit local citizens, the Gori^ cert Assn, revealed the formation of the7 Jersey City Fine Arts Assh., which will build an opera house and concert hhll in Jersey City. In addition the group is setting up a music festival to be held May' 5 arid/open to ail 1 amateur talent from the city and ; the Surrounding .area',-. Tom Amold's. “Ice Vogues’* at Stoll theatre folds, first week in February arid will be followed, by Prince LittleFs “Wild Violets” operetta Lou Wilson t6 Vienna Jan: 6 to look over Robert Siolz*$ latest operetta, ‘ ‘Springtime in Vienna.’' currently at Stadt thea- tre;. J, t. :Sachs to New York end of January arid expects to be away four weeks. Peter Dearing’s “Before ,the Party;” based on a iSoriierset Maugham short story, authored by Rodney Acklandr closes at St. Mar- tin’s theatre, Jan. 21, with nothing set to follow : “Sauce Tartare,” Cecil Landeau's successful revue, is also folding after a fortnight’s notice with nothing skedded after. U. of Minn. Continued rtprii page 55 Plays Out of Town Continued front page 59 we l*/\orn‘n9 hgtonrD®^^ .30 30 THE REASON: P^VLlETY —Jon- FILM PREMip SNAFUS I TArAgON' LEGIT PEBtIT * . -ivilmington. ; Adcbrdi-ng Ip Sliuberti. in ;the con- tract ■ wi Lh th e .Bri tisii .procVu’cci-.s. of th-e plu.;- witli-. the, English . company that • nuidc tlic .pictiU'C',, the latter was ' hot. to. .have Ih'Cii rdlca.sdd .ii'i ' the U. B, until six, mohth.s. al'Lcr the slrpw’s' Broadway, opening. lie' said that someone . i'nusf havb , .“ju.mped ; the, ft',iin” /oh tVie^ reJofi.se date, and th.'tt: he. intended to cbji- 'sLilt attorneys as ’to posslhie. Icgai actibh. • ' ../ . ■ , . T’lay- was, well ; roceJ wd • at tlie ^Play.holisa'.:,hore, ’ gros.sing aiv dsti- niatcol, JS'l.hiu) in. fo.lir porL'ornifrhCGs, oiroiuhR- -Thur.sdfty liiglit. (L'9.). It was to have opened- at the Ciolden, ,,N.. tonight (Wed.). , “ The Shuberts for- this-^plendid Production SIGNED — The Cast: Delive.ry Miin. ..... ■Kale ...;. •...;.... .Jessica ....:./ ... i . ; . Joan ..... The EaT'l of Gland on Sir Itohert Riiwley . Angela Ma.vwcll .Oliver ... Simon Hawley,...... .. .Edward Harvey ./,.:. Shirley Gale ...,Phoebe Mackay • ....Carol Goodnor ...John W, Austin ... .. John Loder: ... June Lockhart. .. .Richard Fraser . Chester Stratton Johnny Applcsectl and-times of the legendary John- ny Appleseed, has definite com- mercial possibilities.. Play covers years in Appleseed’s life when he was wandering in Ohio, bringing up Nancy, whom he had rescued from the'Indiaris, to be the“perfect w'ohian.” Action includes Apple- seed’s saving of Fort Mansfield, his controversy wiCli the soldiers arid loss of Nancy to a dashing young lieutenarit. Show, contains 13 tunes, among which “Everyman’s Got a Song,” “Fip Penny Bit,” “Let’s Tie Love Blos.soms to the Apple Tree” and “Toll the Bell for .Bunker” stand out. “Pip Periny” arid Everyman’s Got a Song” have elements for widespread popularity. The square darice number, “Oh Darlln’ Mine,” “One Little Seed” and“Johnny’s Wedding Day” are also catchy tunes. Scarecrow dance is an appealirig novelty, Alfred Russell In title role shines bn the acting side but his Voice isn’t up to the ballads. Jack- son W'arren as Major Coots, Don Hiatt as Private Tubbs and Sandy Paton . as Captain Willie Pucket shine in fat roles and on the distaff side .Cathy Paulson, as Nancy, and Gertrude Skoog, as Emma, stand out. : Settings are adequate but skimpy: John Forrest, program .director at KOL, local indie station, did the book, lyrics and mtisic and has cre- ated what could be the biggest mu- sical success thiswtown has seen in some time. Reed: had to buy the attraction outright or-put up a gUafahtee against a 60-46 split. The show has, earned an operating profit every week since the tour’s start, but still has I a distance to go before, its invest- j riient is earned back. Grosses have I been averaging $4,500 fo $5,000 a weekv with $l-80 top scale for the sirialler towris and $2,40, iri- cludirig tax,; for the larger ones. Nut is $3,600 to $3,800 weekly, giv- ing the attraetto^ art operating profit of ifroni $1,900 to $1,700 per weekv E.guity salaries for the per- formers riin from a riiinimum of $80 to a high of $150 a week. There is a cast of 10, an advance mari, a company manager, a stage mam' ager and two stage hands. A poir- tion of the. gross goes each week to Theatre-bn-Tour in New York to help finance that organization and in repayment for. its part in jthe tour. j Local end is handled by Bob J Gaus, engaged for that purpose by the universife and given the title of. director of Theatre Touring Service. Gaus, who made a name for himself as the head of the Minneapolis Civic Theatre, which was artistically successf 111 in a high degree, attends to the bookings and all other details, It’s poinlted out. that the U. of Minnesota I cannot continue to in- vest. $40,000 per production. Tax- payers have asked.‘‘Whai’s the uni- versity doing in the prpfessibrial theatre?” The ^nly answer, Gaus says, is that by entering the thea- tre, it is providing pleasure for epmmunities and helping to en- rich their cultural life, givirig them advantages riot otherwise had. This is the reason for Lombard’s I current sessions with Rust in New York, Lbnibard. representing the university,, believes a plan can be worked but whereby Theatre-bn- Tour itself \\'ould do the financing for the plays and handle the ac- tual production, etc:, later selling the “packages” to institutions of learning. Mass production, etc., would bring down the production costs considerably lower than the $40;000 involved in “The . Hasty Heart,” Lombard believes. The [New York Theatre Guild Would continue to select the plays and casts as well as the directors. AlbAriy, Jan. to. Owners, lessees or managers pf theatres and other places of amuse- merit who “knowingly’’ peririit them to be Used for immbrM stage shows or exhibitipris would be guilty pf a feloriy, puriishable by imprisonment from two-and-Prie- half tb five years, by firie ^pf not more thari $5;000, or by both—^in- stead of a misdenieanbr, as at pres^ entr^under the terms of a bill in-^ troduced by Sen; Rdy B, Tuttle and Assemblyman Charles F. StockmeisteiS iTemocrats; It is ririe of six “sex offerider”; rneasures sponsored by the Rochester legist lators, both employees of the Easit- man Kodak Go, Senator Tuttle has been a newspaper 7:^'^ rind: cpluniniSt: . Another of the Tuttle-Stock- ' meister bills niakes' the .display of ‘‘indecent” pidlm-es, - posters and; placards a felony, instead of a mis- demearior—punishable by impris- onment, fine or both. This miglVt affect advertiseirients for stage plays and motion pictures. /\ third would;make the sale and dis- tribution of obscene literature and prints a felony; rather -than a mis- demeanor., All six niake specified offenses felonies instead pf misde- meanors. They would take effect immediately. ;Persons convicted of felonies automatically lose their citizenship. . The “immoral shbws” bill amends Section 1140 pf the Penal Law. This is the one whose a u- thorizatioh for revocation of li- cense by the license commissioner has been for. the past five years the Subject of a measure here that would bar such action until a Siir preme Court judge reviewed the matter. The New York Theatre Authori- ty has long opposed the present revocation power. Daniel Reed will give iVis fii^t Broadway performance of char- acters from Edgar Lee Masters’ ‘?Spoon River Anthology” at Town Hall, Sunday (15), SUMMER tHEATRE Either FOR SALE OR FOR RENT $1,800, either down payment, or full season rental. Total sales price, $9,000. .(Wopld co.st $20,000 to dupli- cate today.) Remarkable bank mort- gage tuns 15 years at $480 a year.' Easily grosses $2,200 weekly.; 400 seats. Excellent reputation for 17 years, Fully .equipped; ready to pull curtain. Scenery, lights, included. Also small buildings, can sleep 8; 2 showers. Location: Maine vacationland. Marvel- ous opportunity, for someone; Candv concession pays rent. Write back- ground; we want this to go into right hands. Box V:-6520, Variety 154 W. 4&th St:, New York If/ N. Y; 2fi IDANC^ 100 WILLIAM $T., NEW YORK 7 , N. Y. Bowling Green 9-4426 $0*04^1 Diesiire (FORD'S, BALTQ.) Touring hasn’t affected this na- tional company’s ability to /sock over the impact, of Tennessee Wil- liams’.. compelling story. Judith Evelyn, given star billing In the role of the sensitive aristocrat whp fails in .her .battle. With, crass reality, takes, full command in every. sense and situation; arid Ralph Meeker pi-ovides an earthy, if at times, blatant contrast. The rest of the ■ troupe also comes th rough with con vincing portrayals. Cues for tricky light- irig and.syriehronized sound effects and music are sure, and', if this qualit.v of. projection can be main- tained, : there should be no beef from stubholders in the hinterJand. Two-week engagement here indi- cates a,. profitable gross in spite pf rather halting, return.^ for in- and-but entries offered rather sparsly to date. Bunn*: Cpiitimieid. from page 58 Mnrdor a< ilic Vicarage Agatlia Christie, and riar Barbara Mullen. ;A busybody Old maid in a small village sees all . and knows all arid her meticulbus observatioh helps to unravel a murder mystery; A local bigshof, who Is thoroughlv disliked by all, is found killed in the;.vicars studjL vyhere he was awaiting an interview. For vary- ing reasons many people are sus- pect, . chiefly his. second wife and her supposed-.lover, an afti?t with a taste for. painting in tile near riudp. . After many false clues fade oiit/ and false declarations of guilt, the Culprit, is disclosed arid gets conveniently shot to saVe a lot of trouble.;, Miss Mullen niakes an earnest fidgety figure of,the old lady with e flair for clues and a hunch as to probabilities. Reginald Tate, besides ably directing the play gives a forthright performance as the artist with ap'eye to. the main ehance. Genirie Graham is an attractive vicar’s wife, with Jack Lambert an easy, natural com- panionable ; cleric. Supportiric roles are skillfully handled. diem. SAMUEL FRENCH 81NC1C 1830 Play^ Brokers and A u thprs’ Represen tat fyeB __-2«VWe8t 4Cth Street, Ne>v York 7023 Siiilfiet Blyd., Uollvivood 46, CnI. LITTLE THEATRE AVAILABLE VERY Ub.W RENT for studio theatre bn . 5fh Avenue. : Performances,. hearsals less than $9 nite (monthlvj; 90c hour morning, $1.50 hour after ; Adlplhlng office for^ rent. 6 Fifth Aye. CoflF 8th St,), N* Y. C, Call ORegon 3-1849 Waterfront Hohie :2Va;-ACRES KING'S POINT private BEACH Great Neck 2-4463-J SALES opportunity available with prohvihcht and acti Connecticut' real estate office. Ope Ing for three men. Applicant must, dependable, ambitious, energetic a possess showmanship talent. Adequa training: program provided. (Phi please). Write Box V-2526, ■ Variei 154 West 46th St, New York 19y N.