Variety (August 1950)

Wednesday, August £3, 1950 LEGITIMATE The following are the comparative figures, based oti Variety's boxoffice estimates for last week (the 12th week of the season) and the corresponding week of last season: This Last BROADWAY Season Season Number of shows current................ ' 15 13 Total weeks placed so far by all shows ... 212 182 Total gross for all current shows last week $324,200 $380,500 Total season’s gross so far by all shows, .;. $4,770,600 $4,649,100 Number of new'productions so far ........ 3 2 ' v : ROAD ’{Excluding Stock) Number of current touring shows reported 9 7 Total weeks played so far by all shows.... 108 116 Total road gross reported last week.. $261,255 $203,700 Season’s‘'total road gross so far...,...... . $2,862,055 $2,887,700 :Chicago, Aug. 22. Legit business improved slightly in Chicago last Week with the second consecutive weekend of cool weather, but boxoffice was hurt some Saturday night 119) by the Chi Tribune’s 21st annual Music Festival, with an attendance of around 75,000. "Mr. Roberts” continued as the local pacemaker. Estimates for Last Week “Lend An Ear,” Great Northern (21st wk) ($4.94; 1,500). Held about even at $17,500. “Mister Roberts,” Erlanger (3d wk) ($3.71; 1,334). Registered a nice rise to $19,300. “Two Blind Mice,” Harris (15th) wk) ($3.71; 1,000). Up a trifle to $10,300. THIS WEEK Angels Unaware” — Pompton Lakes (N. J.) Summer theatre (21- 26). “Autumn Age”—Boothbay (Me.) playhouse (22-27). “Barefoot at Canossa”—Sea Cliff (1L. I.) Summer theatre (21-26). “Check and Double”—Biythe- wood theatre, Chestertown, N. Y. ( 20 ). “Crimes and Crimes”—Cohasset Mass, playhouse (21-26). “Don’t Be Upset”—Ivy. Tower playhouse, Spring Lake, N. J. (22- 27). ' . . • . “Homeward Look”—Show Shop, Canton, Conn. (22-27). “Lightning in December”—Ford theatre, Verbank, N. Y. (23^-28). “Little Blue Light”-r-Cambridge (Mass.) playhouse (22-27) (Re- view in Variety this week). “Of Sugar and Spice”—Old Town theatre, Smithtown Branch, L. I. (21-26) (Reviewed in Variety, Jan. 11, ’50), “Once an Actor”—Grist Mill, playhouse, Guilford, Conn. (21-26) (Reviewed in Variety this week). “One’s a Crowd” — Stamford (Conn.) Summer theatre (23-25), “See How They Run”—Lakeside theatre, Putnam, Conrt. (22-27); Monomoy theatre, Chatham, Mass: (23-26) (Reviewed in Variety, July 19 ’go). * “Touch Not My Pocket”—School of the Theatre, Gloucester, Mass. (25-26). “Web and the Rock”— Marble- head (Mass.) playhouse (2t-26) (Re- viewed in Variety, Aug. 16, ’50), You Have to Be Crazy”—Chapel playhouse, Guilford, Conn. (21-26). (Reviewed in Variety this week). NEXT WEEK “Barn Dance”—Millstream play- house"Sea» Girt, N.J. (29-3). “Box Office”—Lakeside theatre, Lake Hopatcong, N. J. (29-3). “Check and Double” — Blythe- wood theatre, Chestertown, N. Y. (27),* . “Homeward Look”—Show Shop, Canton, Conn. (29-2). “Man Who Grew Younger”— Ford theatre, Verbank, N. Y. (30-4). My Fiddle’s Got Three Strings” —Westport (Conn.) Country play- house (28-2). “Nothing Serious”*—John Drew theatre, East Hampton, L. I. 28-2) (Reviewed in Variety, Aug. 2, ’50), “§ee How They Run”—South- bury (Conn.) playhouse (29-3) (Re- viewed in Variety, July 19, ’50). “Sodom, Tennessee”>- Hayloft, Allentown, Pa. (26-3). “Story for a Sunday Evening”— Famous Artists Country playhouse, Fayetteville, N Y. (28-2) (Reviewed in Variety, July 20, ’49). “Vicious Circle”—Pocono play- house, Mouhtainhome, Pa. (28-2). “Wind Blows Free” *— Antrim playhouse, Suffern, N. Y. (30-4). Kipnis Taiist* Preem A new abridged version of Gounod’s. “Faust” is to be preemed by Alexander Kipnis’ Opera Group at White Bam Theatre, Westport, Conn., Sunday (27). ‘Annie’ Bullseye $51,000 . Holdover, Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, Aug. 22. Next to biggest click of summer season at Pitt Stadium was “Annie Get Your Gun,” which* last week drew around 42,000 people and hung up a gross of $51,000. It was topped only by the Opener, “Kiss Me, Kate,” which got $67,000. Annie” would have been bnuch nearer that figure had it not been for a bad break in weather over the weekend. Friday and Saturday (18-19) were both threat- ening. In fact, it did rain hard Friday before the end of first act and the remainder of the perform- ance had to be called off, although there were no refunds, inasmuch as enough of the show had been given. '*; " Public demand for “Annie” tickets was so great that for first time in five-year history pf the Stadium productions, it was de- cided to hold over a booking for an extra three days. Continued from page 49 Conn., and begged her not to “take my part away from me.” Subsequently, Miss Arthur sent a wire to Equity, calling Its ruling against her “arbitrary, unjust and unfair,” and demanding a special meeting to reconsider the matter. 'President Derwent and execu- tive-secretary Louis M. Simon made- an appointment to see the actress Wednesday afternoon (16), but after waiting 40 minutes for her, they were informed that she and her attorney, Morris Ernst, and her agent, Jules Stein, of Mu- sic Corp. of America, were con- ferring with Lawrence and Stevens and the latter’s attorney, Irving Cohen, of the Howard Reihheimer office. At that session, Miss Arthur’s representatives reportedly put tremendous pressure on the pro- ducers to take back the star, threatening suit for damage to her reputation and mismanagement af- fecting her $25,000 investment in the production. Lawrence is under- stood to have favored going ahead and signing Miss Field, but was apparently overruled by Stevens and Cohen. Situation backstage at the Im- perial, N. Y., when Miss Arthur returns to the cast next Friday night may be strained, as others of the company are said to have sided almost unanimously with the man- agement. in the dispute. In fact. When Miss Arthur sent word Tuesday. night asking the cast to come to her hotel to hear her side of the matter, only four members of the dancing ensemble accepted. Others took the position that their union, represented by Derwent, had spent two hours with her the previous Sunday, arid (he council had subsequently cancelled her contract, According to witnesses, Boris Karloff, costar of the play, made a vehement speech at the cast meet- ing, denouncing Miss . Arthur’s “irresponsible” actions in quitting on short notice and thereby jeopardizing the employment of her fellow-players. With Miss Arthur out of the cast and Barbara Baxley, playing the part as understudy, receipts for the Barrie fantasy dropped about $4,600 last’ week,, with the differ- ence mostly evident at the eve- ning performances when the pa- tronage is largely adult. ■ROBERTA’ SOCK $28,000 ENDS L’VILLE SEASON Louisville, Aug. 22. Hampered considerably by threats of rain most of, the week, Jerome Kern’s “Roberta” brought the summer season at the. Iroquois Amphitheatre to a close with a bumper $28,000 gross and played to 19,000 patrons the sixth and final week. With Gil Lamb starred, “Roberta” broke the sea- son s single-week record. “Show Boat,” however, opened the season for . a 10-day gross of $35,000. While final returns are not in, re- sults on the season indicate that the Louisville Fark. Theatrical Assn., operators of the, Amphi- theatre., will clear a profit on the 1950 series. Plans for the 1951 season are still indefinite, depend- ing—upon—the—war- and—economic Situation. Other shows comprising the sea- son were “Chocolate Soldier,” “Bloomer Girl,” “New; Moon” and. “Merry Widow.” Denis DuFor was in charge of productions, with John McManus as musical direc- tor; Eddie Scanlon, stage director; Ray O'Brien, choral director; Rollo Wayne, technical director; Walter Johnson, stage manager, and Vir- ginia Johnson, choreographer. No performances were lost due to weather conditions, although some shows were interrupted for a time due to light showers. Los Angeles, Aug, 22. Town’s total legit take topped $184,000 last week as three musi- cals and “Peath of a Salesman” weathered a hot spell neatly. Top tally went to “The Vagabond King” in the huge Hollywood Bowl, for a scant six-day run ending Sunday ( 20 ). Estimates for Last Week “Death of a Salesman,” Biltmore (3d wk) ($3.60; 1,636). First week off the Theatre Guild subscription list registered over $21,000, prof- itable and pleasing for this drama. “Rose Marie,” Philharmonic Aud (3d wk) ($4.80; 2,670). Up another notch to nearly $52,200; nicely in the black. “Desert Song,” Greek Theatre (1st wk) ($3.60; 4,400). Okay $45,- 000 for this veteran. “Vagabond, King,” Hollywood Bowl (1st wk) ($3.60; 22,100). Mixed notices held it to a slow start, but it built to a stronger finish although the $65,000 tally for six nights was below operating costs. ‘Dreams’ $6,200, Toronto; To Layoff for Recasting Toronto, Aug. 22, In ahead of the regular season and competing with the finest, weather this summer, “The Devil Also Dreams” grossed a mild $6,- 200 last week at the 1,525-seat Royal Alexandra here, at a $3 top. In this pre-Broadway tryout, all Toronto critics rapped the writ- ing, but praised Claire Luce, Bela Lugosi, Francis L. Sullivan and' Richard Waring, ail of whom get equal star billing. - Reginald Denham, director, and Fritz Rotter and Elissa Rohn, play’s authors, were all up here for doctoring and, during the Toronto engagement, lopped off some 20 minutes of play- ing time, Including a new third- act ending. “Devil Dreams” goes from here to Ottawa and Montreal, then lays off for recasting of two of the current stars. According to H. Clay Blaney, producer, the piece will then go into Boston and Phila- delphia prior to Broadway booking. (Aug. 20-Sept t). “Affairs of State” — Shubert, N. H. (30-2). “Death of a Salesman” — Bilt- more, L. A. (21-2). “Devil’s Disciple”—Opera House, Central City, Col. (21-30); Lobero, Santa Barbara d-2). “Kiss Me, Kate” — Watergate Stadium, Washington (21-27); Com- munity, Hershey, Pa. (28-30); Lyric, Allentown, Pa. (31-2). “Lend Ah Eari’^Great North- ern, Chi. (21-2). “Lost In the Stars”—Curran, S F (21-2). “Mister * Roberts” — Erlanger, Chi. (21-2). “South Pacific”—War Memorial, S. F. (21-2), ' “Summer and Smoke” Geary, g F (21-2) “Two Blind Mice”—Harris,, Chi. ( 21 - 2 ). Business held about even on Broadway last week. Attendance was generally off slightly the first part of the week, but some shows more than overcame the difference by the heavy receipts for the week- end, , when unfavorable weather kept many would-be vacationers in town. Grosses will probably main- tain the present pace until Labor Day, then start spurting. . The week’s only closirig was —La dy-fFem-the-Sear--w i hie li-en d ed- a scheduled two-week stock en- gagement at the Fulton, and was succeeded Monday night (21) by “Borned in Texas” as the third and semi-final bill. in the Festival The- atre’s eight-Week revival "season. No shutterings are set this week, but “Where’s Charley?” folds Sept. 9 and various others will follow when the new season productions begin pushing out the lower-gros- sing holdovers. “Texas; Li’l Dar- lin’ ” reopened Monday night after a summer vacation. The total gross for all 15 shows last week was $324,200, or 71.88% of capacity. The previous week’s total gross for 15 shows was $335,- 200, or 71.49% of capacity. Estimates for Last Week Keys: C (Comedy), B (Drama), CD (Comedy-Drama), R (Revue), M (Musical), O (Operetta). Other parenthetic figures refer, respectively, to top price, number of seats and capacity gross. Price includes 20% amusement tax, but grosses dre net: i.e,, exclusive of tax, . “Cocktail Party,” Miller (3lst wk) (C-$4.80; 940; $21,600). Previ- ous week, $11,400; last week, over $12,300. “Death of a Salesman,” Morosco (80th wk) (D-$4.80; 914; $23,800). Previous week, $12,200; last week, $12,300. “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” Ziegfeld (37th wk) (M-$6; 1,628; $48,244/. Previous week, $45^200; last week, topped $46,100. “Happy Time,” Plymouth (30th Wk) (C-$4.80; 1,063; $29,019). pre- vious wedk, $17,700; last week. $17,500. “Kiss Me, Kate,” Shubert (85th wk) (M-$6; 1,361; $38,000). Previous week, $35,500; last week, $35,300. “Live Wire,” Playhouse (1st wk) (C-$4.80; 819; $18,740). • Garson Kanin play, presented by Michael Todd, opened Thursday night (17) to three favorable notices (News, Mirror, Compass), three * negative (Herald Tribune, Journal-Ameri- can and Post) and one so-so (Times); first four performances grossed about $6,000. “Member of the Wedding,” Empire (33d wk) (D-$4.80; 1,082; $24,000). Previous week, $13,900; last week, $14,200. “Mister Roberts,” Alvin (126th wk) (CD-.U4.80; 1,360; $34,276). Reopened Aug. 14 after four-week hiatus; last week, $24,40Q. “Peep Show,” Winter Garden (8th Wk) (R-$7.20; 1,519; $53,000). Previous week, $38,600; last week, $39,000. “Peter Pan,” Imperial (17th wk) (M-$4.80; 1,400; $34,500). Previous week, $25,900; last week, with Jean Arthur out of the cast* $21,300. “South Pacific,” Majestic (71st wk) (M-$6; 1,659; $50,186). Has never had an empty seat or less than the standee limit at any per- formance; almost $50,800 again. “The Consul,” Barrymore (23d wk) (M-$4.80-$6; 1,066; $28,000). Previous week, $12,900; last week, $13,500. “Tickets, Please,” Coronet (17th wk) <R-$4.80; 998; $26,000). Pre- vious week, $14,000; last week* nearly $14,000. “Where’s Charley?” St. James (96th wk) (M-$6; 1,509; $38,700). Previous week, $30,200; last week, almost $30,300, “Wisteria Trees,” Beck (17th wk) (D-$4.80; 1,214: $33,000). Reopened Aug. 14 afieirfour-week layoff; last week, $12,300. Stock . v , “Lady From the Sea,' 9 Fulton (2d wk) (D-$3; 976; $15,092). Pre- vious week. $6,900; last week, $5,- 400; closed Saturday night (19) after 16 performances; “Borned In Texas” opened Monday night (21) as the third stock offering of Festi- val Theatre. “Medium” and “Telephone/' Arena (5th wk) <M-$3; 500; $10,- 600). Previous week, $6,400; last week, about $6,200. •' '• Reopening “Texas, Ll’l Darlln?’ Hellinger t (M-$6; 1,543; $42,000). After a ftve- iwcek layoff, the Anthony B. Farrell production resumed Monday night (21) for its 35th week on Broad- way; had been grossing under $20,- 000 before shuttering. Future Dates “Daphne Laureola,” Sept. 18, Music Box; “Southern Exposure,” Sept. 26, Biltmore; “Black Chif- fon,” Sept. 27,: 48th , Street; “Sea- son in the Sun,” Sept, 28, Cort; “Affairs of State,” Oct. 2, Royale; “Giaconda Smile,” Oct. 3, Lyceum; ; 4< Wuy^Tliiiigs~Go/^Oct~6 ; unspeei- fied theatre; “Call Me Madam/* Oct. 9, Imperial; “Curious Savage/* Oct. 10, Booth; “Legend of Sarah/* Oct. 11, Fulton; “The Barrier/* Oct. 14; Mansfield; “Burning Bright,” Oct. 16, unspecified thea- tre; ^Relapse,” Oct. 23, unspecified theatre; “Country Girl,” Nov. 6; “Lady’s Not for Burning/’ Nov. 8; “Guys and Dolls,” ' Nov. 9, 46th Street; “Ring ’Round the Moon,” Nov. 23, Martin Beck; “Out of This World,” Nov, 30, Century; “Bless You All,” Dec. 14, Hellinger. San Francisco, Aug. 22. Local legit, with a trio of hitSs current, hitting.the hottest pace in years,. -'South Pacific,” in its third week at the Opera House here, hit a new record, but is due to take in even more coin when the cur- rent reduced-rate subscription pe- riod is over. “Summer and Smoke” bowed to favorable reeeption at the Geary last week, while “Lost in the Stars,’* at the Curran, kept a steady keel on its second week. Estimates for Last Week “Lost In the Stars,” Curran (2d wk) (4.80; 1,771). Nifty $36,100, “South Pacific/* Opera House (3d wk) ($4.80; 3/252). Set new rec- ord with $83,155 in the till, but will top that when the San Francisco Civic Light Opera Assn, subscrip- tion period ends. “Summer and Smoke/* Geary. (1st wk) ($3.60; 1,351). Opened to okay $15,500. RM FESTIVAL GETS $46,200, ST. L. HDNY St. Louis, Aug. 22. With one performance Thursday (17) cancelled because of a cloud- burst that soaked 11,123 payees, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical festival, featuring tunes and dances from “Allegro,” “State Fair,” “South Pacific” and “Okla- homa,” wound up its seven-night stand in the Municipal Theatre Assn’S alfresco playhouse in Forest I Park, Sunday (20) with a hefty ‘ b.o. score. A new attendance record (12,- 123) for a single performance was hung up on the last night. It topped the previous high (12,027) registered July 29 and again oh July 30 during the run of “Desert Song.” In addition to the l09t , performance, the piece was beset [ by cold arid threatening weather* [ However, a total of 66,000 custom- ers laid an estimated $46i200 on the, line* With the orch augmented to 70, the principals, Marguerite Piazza, Edwin Steffe, David Polar! and Winifred Heidt in the warb- ling stints and Virginia Gibson/ John Butler and Genia Melnit- chenko In dance specialties, copped plaudits from the crix and payees. Lyricist Oscar Hammer- stein, II, won a solid mitt for his spiel from the apron opening night. Illness prevented composer Richard Rodgers from making a skedded appearance. Wheeling Into the final two weeks of the season, “Carousel/* another Rodgers-Hammerstein mu- sical, opened a two-wcek stand last night (Mon.) before a mob Of 10,400 that braved chilling tem- perature. The gross was approx- imately $5,000. if U the first time the piece, presented here at the American theatre in 1947, has been produced by any other company than the Theatre Guild. Virginia Haskins, a former native, Mario De Laval, Diane Keith, Louise Lfirabee* Kenneth Mackenzie and Dtisty Worral play the leads.