Variety (March 1950)

Wednesday, March 8, 1950 LEGITIMATE TO NX FOR 2 . Two closings last week, one on-f Broadway and the other out pf town, involved a combined loss of about $80,000. Former was “Rat Race,” Leland Hayward production; which folded at the Ethel Barrymore, N. Y., after 84 performances. Latter was “Heart of the Matter,” Rodgers 8c Hammerstein production which was taken off in Boston after 11 tryout performances. “Rat Race,” GarsOn Kanin comedy-drama starring Betty Field* represented a loss of approximately $70,000. production was financed at $100,000 and cost about that to bring in. It drew negative reviews, but had heavy theatre party bookings through last week, so it earned back about $30,000 of its investment. There may be additional revenue for the show, as negotiations are reportedly in progress for a film sale. In case such a deal is set, • Kanin is understood arranging to include his services as adaptor of the . screen treatment. He would get a nominal fee for the Tatter assignment, allotting most of the proceeds to the rights to the play. In that way the production would share in the larger portion of the coin. Thus, the. loss to the backers would be reduced. Contract dispute with Daniel Mann, who was replaced as director by Kanin during the play’s tryout, has not been settled. Mann has refused to accept a settlement of the deal, so the 1%% director royalties stipulated in his contract have been placed in escrow. Meanwhile, Hayward’s production of “Mister Roberts” has thus far earned a profit of $950,000 bn its original $100,000 investment. In addition, Hayward is associated with Rodgers & Hammerstein in the presentation of the musical smash, “South Pacific,” and is partnered with Joshua Logan in the production of the latter’s highly regarded “Wisteria Trees,” currently being tried out on the road. “Heart of the Matter,” Graham Greene-Basil Dean dramatization of the former’s novel, involves an Investment of around $110,000 at present. Although producers Rodgers 8c Hammerstein are storing the scenery with . the idea of putting on the drama next season, if the collaborators come up with . a satisfactory rewrite, the venture must be rated as a total loss, as of the moment. It would probably require $30,000 or more additional to do the show again. “Heart” was financed at $100,000, subject to a 20%. overcall. The two other Rodgers-Hammerstein productions cent i n ii e to amass large earnings. “South Pacific,” financed at $225,000 and brought in for $163,000, has earned approximately $475,000. It has repaid the original investment, plus a 50% profit. In addition, about $150,000 earnings have been set aside to pay for the forthcoming road company, and there is a sizable cash reserve, plus assets in bonds. “Happy Time,” produced by Rodgers & Hammerstein at a cost of about $60,000, has already repaid the backers half of the investment, and is due to get out of the red this week or next. It is earning a steady profit of around $8,000$9,000 a Week. Delfont in N. Y* For Abbott, (KF Deals Bernard Delfont planed into New York from London Monday (6) to finalize two legit deals which he started some months ago. First is to close final arrangements with George Abbott to import his revile, “Touch arid Go,” to London/ and try to get Some of the leads. Show will be presented at the Prince of Wales in May in conjunction with Val Parnell and George and Alfred Black, after the run of Jack Hylton's ‘‘Take It From Here” vaudeville show. Second objective of trip is to settle an Olsen and Johnson deal promoted by Harry Foster to stage “Foiies Bergere Revue” on Broad-, Way sometime in May or June, With O & J starred. ♦ By HOBE MORRISON “Streetcar Named Desire” play a return Broadway engagement this spring at the N. Y. City Center. As both touring companies of the Tennessee Williams drama will have disbanded by then, the troupe for this date will be an amalgam of the' two, with TJta Hagen and Anthony Quinn in the leading roles, Irene M. Selznick ( production will play two weeks, i Conservative element in Actors Equity won a clean , sweep last week in the election of members to serve on the nominating committee. Added to the three con--servatives named by the union’s council, the selection of six Conservatives. by the membership gives that faction complete control of nominations for the annual election tp take place in June, Possibility is thus seen that an independent ticket may be entered by the union’s progressive elements, and that there may be unusually intense campaigning by the Opposing forces preliminary to the balloting . at the annual membership meeting^ Although such electioneering is forbidden, under the union rules, it is obviously widespread—as indicated by the results of the balloting last week and in previous years. Those elected last week as membership representatives on the nominating committee, are, in order of votes received, Walter Hampden, Gene Lockhart, Lee Tracy, Conrad Nagel, Edith King and William Tabbert. All Were supported by the conservatives. The losing "progressive ticket, in the order of votes received, consisted of Victor Jory, Meg Mundy, Beatrice Straight, Julie Harris, Sam Wanahiaker and John Randolph. They will serve as alternates, in that order. In addition, Ben Lackland and John O’Shaughnessy each received two wflte-in votes, while John Becker and Eugene Stuckman got one each. The council representatives on the committee, all regarded as conservatives, are Dennis King, chairman, and Barbara Robbins and Loring Smith, with Bill Ross as alternate. About 600 members attended last week’s quarterly meeting. A total of 315 ballots were cast, 309 of which ware valid and six void* The nine-member nominating committee will hold its first session tomorrow afternoon (Thor ). It is to name the regular slate of candidates for 10 council sdats for a term of five years, one replacement to serve two years and one to Serve one year. Victory of the Conservative forces in the nominating committee election is a reverse of last season, When the progressives named all six membership representatives. Although the conservatives did not enter an independent ticket in the annual election, they carried on an active campaign and polled a substantial number of write-in votes. In fact, the “secret” nature of the electioneering by the ^ drop in business on Broadway last week was a repeat of the last two seasons; The coal shortage, involving a brownout and train cancellations, apparently was not a major factor, despite wholesale Complaints of managers, brokers and others, since attendance followed much the same course the corresponding week last year, when similar conditions did not exist As a study of the figures in? dicates, the boxoffice, pattern varies little from year to year, and temporary or local factors have \ little effect. Last year, while the number of current shows slipped from 30 to 29 over the previous week, the total gross fell from $743,300 to $629,800. The previous season (1947-48), with the number of shows current jumping from 29 to 32, the aggregate " gross sagged from $728,000 to $651,000. in contrast^ business on the road is notably worse than at this period last season.. Total grosses for all out-of-town shows last week skidded $452,200 from the previous week’s $515,900. For the corresponding Week last season, total road grosses rose a bit to $551,800 from the previous week’s $526,600, No total figures are available for road business in the 1947-48 season. • With only seven more productions due on Broadway before May 31, the number of shows will probably reach only 54, including City Center presentations, a Gilbert & Sullivan repertory and such borderline legits as “Night in Spain” and Ken Murray’s “Blackouts.” That’s a sharp drop from the previous Season’s total of 73 productions, which was a new low for Broadway. The scheduled arrivals include “The Consul,” *Great to be Alive,” “Wisteria Trees,” “Cry of the Peacock,” “Peter Pan,” “The Liar” and “Tickets, Please.” If, as past season records indicate, day-to-day conditions are not the determining factor in boxoffice volume, there is little prospect for better grosses this week or next. On that basis, managerial hopes that Monday’s (6) lifting of the brownout would stimulate business may be disappointed, According to records of the last two ! seasons, no sharp upturn is due before Easter Week (starting April 10), and attendance will taper off, steadily thereafter until the season ends May 31. Shaw’s ‘Brassbound’ Fails to Click in Pitt Pittsburgh, March 7. Spectacular success of George Bernard Shaw on Broadway This season (“Caesar and Cleopatra’’ and “The Devil’s Disciple”) hasn’t rubbed off on the Pittsburgh Playhouse. That community theatre, currently doing “Captain Brassbound’s Conversion,” which was included by Shaw with those other two in his volume; “Three Plays for Puritans,” is having its biggest flop in a number of seasons. In fact, “Brassbound” comes off Saturday (11) week ahead of schedule, first time Pitt Playhouse has ever pulled a production before the end of the regular run. It’s only the second Shaw work group has ever done, First was “Candida” in 1943. Pitt critics were unanimous in their opinion that Playhouse had bit off more than it could chew in “Brassbound.” Producers Group May starting May 23, at $3 top. i ^ .»'* . »•••' — ~ — — <*-c» Also*: slated for the Center’s , conservatives became an issue in spring drama season are the tour the union and drew the official ing “Brigadoon,” Monty Woolley condemnation of the council. Lat in “Man i Who Came to Dinner and possibly Tallulah Bankhead in “Private Lives.” ter action was subsequently rebuked in a resolution passed at the annual meeting. For Organization Biz Cooperative ticket office to solicit convention and group business for Broadway legit may be jointly operated by the Committee of Theatrical Producers and > the League of N. Y. Theatres. Project, suggested recently by the CTP, has been made available to the League, which will consider the bid at its regular meeting tomorrow (Thur.). It’s expected that the plan will be adopted. At the start; the office would contact organizations planning conventions in New York or groups buying tickets in blocks, with the idea of getting advance orders for Broadway shows. Subsequently, it W’ould handle mail orders for all productions. At the moment, there’s no intention of having the outfit serve as a central office for the handling of regular ticket sales. Latter idea has been suggested frequently by various people, however, Musical stock setup will be sot up in Houston this summer, similar to that operating in recent seasons in Dallas. Local group, headed by Robert Altfeld, is readying the venture, having already posted ai $20,000 bond with Actors Equity to cover company salaries. Highschool stadium will be used for the j outdoor presentations. Plans apparently stem from a local operation there last season. That group gave shows in the Muw sic Hall with a semi-pro company, including semi-name. leads, but without Equity sanction. New venture will not be associated with last season’s activities, although some of the same people may participate. Another musical stock setup, though on a Smaller scale, is planned for this summer in Vancouver; W. H. Buckingham, who has previously run a non-Equity outfit there, has notified the union that he intends expanding the * Legit situation in Washington, already sizzling, became even more active this week; Coincident with the opening Monday night (6) at the Gayety of “Barretts of Wimpole Street” as the first touring show to play the town since the. summer of 1948, it Was reported that the National might abandon its racial* discrimination policy and reconvert to legit. Meanwhile, the. American National. Theatre & Academy, in cooperation With members of the Committee of Theatrical Producers, is continuing efforts to lease the Strand there, However, negotiations by ANTA to rent the Belasco from the Government have been dropped. .• According to insiders, the National, long the sole legiter in the Capitol, may soon decide to conform to Actors Equity’s rule outlawing racial discrimination there. It s noted that the theatre manage-1 ment has based its previous refusal to do so on the claim that local custom required the Jim Crow setup. Now, with the apparent public acceptance of non-discrimination at the Gayety, the way appears to be open for the National, to adopt a similar policy. It s reported that the operators of the Gayety recently approached Marcus Heiman, president of the United Booking Office, to see if that agency would book the theatre. Heiman, who is also manager of the National, is said to have shown a “friendly” attitude/but to have advised them to seek bookings independently. They subsequently contracted with producers Harald Bromley and Eunice Healey to present shows at the house. Although the CTP, as an organj Ization, has decided not to underwrite the lease of the National individual members will probably do so. It’s figured that even if the National, in addition to the Gayety, becomes available for legit, there is a large enough theatregoing publip. in Washington to support, a third house,, particularly one with a large capacity suitable for heavybudget musicals, ‘Streetcar’ for Gayety First show definitely set to play the Gayety, Washington, after Harald Bromley and Eunice Healey take over booking of the house, effective March 20, will be “Streetcar Named Desire.” . Company, headed by Judith Evelyn and project and ^operating under ; Ralph Meeker, will play a t'nreeEquity conditions. Another such j week engagement starting .-April 3. venture is reportedly planned for ; Also definitely set for the house is Montreal this Summer. j Mae West in “Diamond Lil” the A dramatic stock company, op l?, erating under Equity rules, opened 1 ^ a Pat Lad^ .7^X1, •**. « i for the week of April 24. . Opening bill under the BromleyHealey management isn’t set, but it may be Melvyii Douglas in Samuel Spewack’s comedy about Governmental redtape, “Two * Blind Mice*” : That may depend on the continuation on Broadway of “Bird Cage,” in which Douglas is currently starred. this week at Berwyn, Pa., near Philadelphia. It has a tieup with a local TV station for televising of its shows one night a week, when the house is dark. FletcherV Stock Try Chicago, March 7. Bramwell Fletcher is huddling with local moneymen trying to raise enough money for a local , company to present “Berkeley Square” here. . Actor will probably fprm stock group if first play, due to light up in April, succeeds. I 'ROBERTS’ IN BOSTON Boston, March 7. “Mister Roberts,” in for an indefinite run; had a spectacular opening last night . (Mon,) at the. Colonial here. Although tickets, for only four weeks are on sale, the advance was repbtTedly over $90,000 before the first-night curtain. That's believed to be a record lor the House for a non-musical show. Company, . headed by . John Forsyth, James Rennie, Robert Burton and Jackie Cooper, is figured a cinch to stay here at least through May, -and producer Leland Hayward hopes it may Stick into July. At a $4.20 top, the Thomas Heggen Joshua Logan play can gross $27*500 in the 1, 500seat house: ‘Barretts* Opens D. C. Washington, March 7. An. enthusiastic audience; largely ^ in evening clothes, .w elcomed back the; legitimate theatre to Washington last night (6) as Susan Peters, in a touring company of “Barretts of Winripole Street/’ (Continued on page 58) XE0NARDI BATONS TUNER . Hollywood, March 7. Leon Leonard!, composer-conductor, will be musical director for ! similar artistic performances to N.Y. STATE THEATRE ASKED IN NEW BILL Albany, March 7* Assemblyman Schupler, Brooklyn, reintroduced a bill for a state theatre in New York city, under supervision of the State Education Dept, and with a three-member governing board. Bill also provides for a $10,000-a-year director. Object is to “present dramas, musicals, recitals* operas, plays and “Of All Things,” Leighton Brill j the public at an admission fixed by William Trinz musical show, which i the governing board/’ opens at the Century theatre March j Bill also includes a $.1,500,000 ap 22* proprlation.