Variety (April 1953)

Brit. Equity Gets Tough: Bars U. S. Actors Earning Under $1684210 Wk. LEGITIMATE London, April 14. 4 There has been, a complete stand- still in the past .week on the An. ^American Equity confabs for a reciprocal alien. agreement/ and t^-oects of .a mutual. understanfl- fng S appear. to .be .diminishing. Main points of . difference ber ♦ween the two. .unions have been referred to N. .Y. . for decision. Further joint talks are deferred until guidance has been received JJJ the counter-proposals submit- f £(1 Alfred Harding, who is negotiat- ing in London on behalf of Amer- ican Equity, told the British union recently that bis Council has turned down basic British alterna- tives but had agreed to defer, until May 1 the imposition of their new regulations, which would restrict •ntrv of foreign artists in America. It's understood that the British counter-proposals aimed at a sal- ary and percentage control of U.S. stars in British productions. Broad- ly it had been suggested that, in the case of musicals, artists whose weekly pay check was $42Qkor more should have their applications au- tomatically supported; those whose earnings were $210 and upwards should also be automatically $up- ported, with the provision that the total alien contingent should not exceed 10% of the total cast. Per- formers earning less than $210•a week should be rejected. For straight plays, the figure was scaled down to $280 weekly as the qualification of automatic accept- ance, and where an artist was par- ticipating in receipts, there must be a guaranteed minimum equal to this amount. Straight play artists, earning $108 and upwards were also to be ac- cepted, with the percentage basis [Continued op page 76) Top N.Y. Names to Do -Bicycle of the Boroughs’ Mod. (20) m Israeli Salute Some of the top names in Ndw York will do a "bicycle of the bor- oughs” in a series of showings In nine theatres throughout the oily Monday (20) ac a "Salute to Is- rael” on its fifth anniversary. For example, Mercedes McCambridge, Joe E. Brown, Diana Lynn an<!( Hazel Scott will travel between tlie Fordham, Bronx and the Beacon, in Manhattan, for shows in both theatres. In another shuttle movement, Jo- seph Schildkraut, Molly Picon and John Cameron Swayze will travel from the Second Ave. Theatre, Manhattan, to the Parkway, Brook- lyn. The toughest assignment of all will be handled by New York's ubiquitous Mayor Vincent R. Ira- pellitteri, who’ll address gatherings m all boroughs of the city on the same night. Motorcycle escorts will be provided for by Mayor as well as the acts who’ll be travelling the top distances. Talent is cuffo and admission is by purchase of an Israeli bond. The legit personnel will appear m a half-hour drama, "Key to the Future,” written by Sam Elkin and produced by Himan Brown. It will be presented in some situations at the forepart of the entertainment find m the other houses at the. tail end of the show. Singer^ and in- strumentalists will shuttle between the houses to conform with sched- ules still to be worked out. Others participating in this mass migration will be Jan Bart, Kim Hunter, Sam Jaffe, Sam Levensbn, Eugene List, Bess Myerson, Jar- s' 13 Novotna, Lanny Ross, Paul and J en n! e Tourel. other theatres on the circuit will 5? th ? Midway, Forest Hills and ii/fu V Far R°ckaway, which will nt,- u k° n 8 Island circuit. Oceana, Beach; Menorah Temple, ftr™ £ ark * and the Midwood The- ft,. e, i f^ttnish, will comprise the New Salmaggi Season ... * r edo Salmaggi’s sixth open-air seas T on at Randall’s Island Y., opens July 11 with : ’La Travita.” Bizet’s "Car- mon will follow on July 18. Butterfly” will be he. r d July 25; .. Aida „ Aug 1; „ La M Aug - 8 ’ and “Cavalleria ticana” and rPagliacci” Aug. Dano, Horton Leads in Ky. Outdoor Folk Drama Louisville, April 14. Leads have been signed for local playwright Barbara Anderson’s opus, "The Tall Kentuckian,” sked- ded for Juge 15 through July 5 at Iroquois Amphitheatre. Royal Dano will play the Abraham Lin- coln role, and Louisa Horton will portray Mary Todd Lincoln. Nor- ris Houghton, New York director, will produce and direct the Ken- tucky-themed outdoor show. "Tall Kentuckian” will be one of the highlights of the 175th anni- versary of the founding of Louis- ville. It is being produced by Uni- versity Festival, Inc., a nonprofit organization. 50G Pic Scratch Backs Chi M The touring edition of "Seven Year Itch” will be financed out of the proceeds of the screen sale. The Initial $50,000 installment from, film producer Charles K. Feldman, has been received, and will be used to underwrite the road company of the George Axelrod comedy, which is slated to go into rehearsal late in the summer for | a Detroit brealdn and opening early in the fall at the Erlanger," Chicago. The original. "Itch” production was capitalized at $60,000 and ac- tually cost just under $42,500, so it’s figured the touring facsimile can be done for slightly less.. And since there won’t be any tryout loss for the Chicago troupe, the $50,000 budget should be more than ample, including bonds and reserve. Although no one is set for the second company, co-producer Courtney Burr has the leading parts mentally cast. But no actors will be signed until director John Gerstad returns from London, where he's staging the West End edition being presented by H. M. Tennent and Rodgers & Hammer- stein. Production is due to open May 13 at the Aldwych, with Brian Reece and Rosemary Harris in the leading roles. Burr is going to England to attend the opening. Incidentally, the second install- ment of $25,000 from the $255,000 picture sale is due next November. Another $25,000 is due six months later, and the balance of the show’s 40% share is payable six months after that. Axelrod’s 60% end is also payable in installments, but not starting until next January. Jose Ferrer’s ‘Pirate’ On B’way Before Paris Prod. Jose Ferrer will produce "The Pirate,” from the French of Ray- mond Castans, before it will be seen in his native country. Author is a protege of Marcel Pagnol, who says, “Castens is the most talented of the new French authors.” Play- wright is a newspaperman, on the staff of Paris-Match, the Life mag of that country, and a scenarist in his spare time. His film, "Une Fille dans le Soleil” (“Girl in the Sun”) was a b.o. standout in France last ^jpar. Pierre Galante, roving feature editor for Paris-Match, "agented” the play because of his friendship wdth Ferrer. Indpls. Earmarks 250G For Starlight Theatre Indianapolis, April 14. Indianapolis Park Board has ear- marked $250,000 in a new $2,000,- 000 bond issue to build a perma- nent outdoor theatre in Washing- ton Park, on city’s northeast side. Pl^nt would be leased for musi- cal productions, from June to Sep- tember, by Starlight Musicals. Lat- ter suspended after the 1951 sea- son, beeause of high cost of operat- ing in a makeshift setup" at the racetrack on stafe fairgrounds.. What A Reprise! Chicago, April 14. Last week’s disappointing le- git attendance here recalls a crack by the late Harry Ross- nagle, at that time manager of the Blackstone Theatre. Hav- ing endured the usual Holy Week slump with the expecta- tion of an Easter holiday up- turn, Rossnagle had the sour task of reporting the continued b.o. downbeat. "Holy Week was held over,” he explained. i B&H to Raise 125G Of 250G'Flanders’Nut; Sam Schwartz In as Manager Joimny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen, respective composer and lyricist of "Carnival in Flanders,” have agreed to raise at least $125,- 000 of the show’s $250,000 finan- cing, and have brought in Sam Schwartz as acting general man- ager of the production. He’s cur- rently on leave as manager of the Academy of Music, Philly. It’s understood that Paula Stone and Mike Sloane will remain nom- inal producers of "Carnival,” but Harry Zevin, general manager of their other shows, will no longer be involved in this one. Sloane and Zevin are now on the Coast, reportedly holding auditions for prospective bpekers. "Carnival,” a musical .version: of the French film hit of 1936, is slated to go into rehearsal in about two weeks, open in New Haven late in May, continue its tryout in Philadelphia before, jumping to the Coast for a summer run under- Los Angeles and San Francisco Civic Light Opera subscription sponsorship before its premiere early in September at the Century, N. Y. The "Carnival” book has been written by George Oppenheimer and Herbert Fields. Bretaigne Windust will direct, Jack Cole will stage the dances, Oliver Smith is designing the scenery and Xuclnda Ballard the costumes, and Dolores Gray, William Gaxton and John Raitt are signed as co-stars. Thb Equity bond has been posted. The Stohe-Sloane production of "Top Banana,” a Broadway entry of last season, is currently on tour. Their touring edition of "Country Girl,” the Clifford Odets drama of 1950-51, closed recently in Philly. FRISCO CLO REVAMPS; ‘CAROUSE’ OPENS SKED San Francisco, April 14. Edwin Lester, general director of the San Francisco Civic light Opera Assn., in town for an annual press conference with Bay area drama crix and audition for sing- ers for forthcoming Civic Light Opera season, announced that plans are now being formulated to reorganize the SFCLOA. As the result of the death of Homer Curran and the sale of the Curran Theatre to Louis Lurie, the SFCLOA will be reorganized as a new non-profit organization, backed by Frisco financing. "Carousel,” opening the season June 1, will costar Jan Clayton and William Johnson. Rouben Mamou- lian is set to direct. Second in the series is "The Great Waltz,” with Dorothy Kirsten and John Charles Thomas. "Kismet,” with SFCLOA production, will mark first Califor- nia appearance of Alfred Drake. Show is to open Sept. 14, with world preem on the Coast * Final attraction of series is "Carnival In Flanders” Aug. 5. ‘ Pruneau as Director In Ohio ‘Bell, Book, Candle* Youngstown, O., April 14. Phillip Pruneau, director and playwright, is pinch-hitting for Ar- thur Sircom as director of the Youngstown Players, now rehears- ing "Bell, Book and Candle,” John van Druten comedy. Sircum is con- valescing after an operation at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, Youngstown. A special performance of Alice Duer Miller’s "Forsaking All Others,” planned for April 19, was postponed after Sircom went to the hospital. "Bell ,Book and Candle,” final production of the current sea- son., will open May 1. For the past three months, Pru- neau has been on leave of ab- i sence from the Rochester, ^ N. Y., f AreiTa" Theatre. Billy Rose s Ton Is My Hit, Bess’ Sparks 2d ‘Porgy’Group (or Europe 4* Blevins Davis and Robert Breen, One for Rinlov- Trfch T ho f e F evIval of ’” Por 2y and Bess” une I Or Itipiey. insn Is playing to profitable attendance Thespers 100% Employed at the ziegfeid, n. y., may have to nutiitn i a form a second company to fill . Dublin, April 14. scheduled engagements for the Denis O Dea, prexy of Irish Ac- George Gershwin opera in Europe tors’ Equity, making his annual re- this summer. nomiced thftwSTcto^re c“‘ ev^w«k stace^hfooenTn/and arSMime y ™J,rt°H. em rt!} 0 rt n !h n f BiUy Rose h « M^ed notice’that in BrUain'6^% of the S pe^a?e un- £ SnderXe^ontSarion mark*20% Be,6 P im ’ 50%: Den " Iimit of $30,000. The show can get Legaladviser Louis V. Nolan re- SEE W KfninTar^lbKher- tre, and that Abbey had now estab- . , ' . . lished a flayers’ Committee to dis- Actually, forming a second com- cuss internal affairs between man- ^ ai ? y would not be as tough an agement and artists. assignment as for most shows, .. since scenery and costumes -used for the European tour last fall zmd IT 1. * 4II7* 19V winter are stored in Paris and Hylton s Wish In ts,:: ssrst.. _■ * revival, the casting problem would I 1 run ^ relatively simple. Too, some I AliflAlt rail Ka 117 members of the present troupe' XjUllllvll E All DUtv might be shifted to the second edi- tion and be replaced by newcomers. "Wish You Were Here” will be For one reason, Davis and Breen produced in London next fall by w °dld welcome, keeping the pres- Jack Hylton. The Arthur Kober- en * company in N. Y. It would en- Joshua Logan-Harold Rome mu- able them to work out their pro- sical, adapted from Kober’s play, posed- plan of building a repertory, '•ftovtnd w/,na<,wr.,i »» «.iii With the cast mov in g from one city to another—particularly for oiuauwuy. limited engagements in foreign The ;onstage swimming pool, a countries — it would be virtually feature of the original production impossible to prepare and rehearse at the Imperial, N. Y., will be re- additional musicals. But standing created for the West End . edition. stil ! in N. Y., the project seems No theatre Is definitely set for the more feasible. . I • Lf Atol/1 AM hl«A A... am. "Having Wonderful Time,” will be with the cast moving from one done with a non-star cast, as on city to another —nartlruiariv fnr Broadway. show. Besides the obvious "Carmen OilvW* S — .w. www «a«v vwvavud WIUU1VU . Presentation of "Wish,” original Jones \ the producers have in mind of which overcame adverse critical a revival of "John Henry,”, the notices, to become a boxoffice R° ar * Bradford-Jacques Wolf mu- smash, will give Hylton five mu- ® lcal J done unsuccessfully on sicals in the West End. Others are Broadway in 1939-40, and a musf- "Call Me Madam,” "Paint Your ^version by Harol d Arlen and Wagon,” "Ring Out the Bells” and “Mamba’s Daugh- "LondoH Laughs.” * tefs, the DuBose Heyward novel Ken Later set the "Wish” deal v wbich the author and Dorothy for Hylton and original producers IL^ 5 ; Heyward adapted the 1938- Leland Hayward and Logan. ' P* ay starring Ethel Waters. Al- - • • though scenery and costumes for A VCD A* IMUinrCOAC Rose’s original "Carmen Jones” LAItUuKA 1/1V Vito ZUil! production of 1943-44 are still : MiAmit a • iTAm» .. AA -w**. available, Davis and Breen figure TOTAL PAYOFF $103,337 pr?sentEtioh "I Am a Camera” has paid an- Meanwhile, advance sale for the qther $20,000 dividend, bringing its current "Porgy and Bess" is re- total distributed profit to $103,337 P ortedl y building, notably for the t . summer months, so there s appar- ° r T aie ‘ . _ ently decreasing prospect for end- The John van Druten comedy ing the run here. The musical is grossed $90,735 for the four weeks contractually set for an engage- ended March 28* for $13,897 op-, ment in Rome in August, with plating profit, plus $133 souvenir dates set in Milan, Naples, Hol- program Income. That brought its land, Belgium, Switzerland and a total earned profit to $137,510 to return to Paris to follow, daLe and, after deducting the au- thor’s 10% share, gave it a total net. of $123,759. The Gertrude Macy-Walter Starcke production, starring Julie Harris, opened Nov. 28, 1951*, at the Empire, N. Y., and played 261 per- formances there before going on tour Sept. 1, 1952. Collegiate-Made ‘Medea’ Pic to Be Showcased On Texas School Circuit Abilene, Tex., April 14. A film version of "Medea,” pro- D;1 /w I f* duced in color last summer by the Aliea tan-tan maastro Dept, of Speech at McMurry Col- on , A • C here, will probably be show- llireatens UllSter OUlt cased on a circuit comprised of Pembroke Davenport, replaced SS?opSon^Pic^ sefio ondltor 5 P-em at'the school here May 1. Jh’n! P !nli Requests for the film have already edly threatening legal action and b een registered by the U. of South- ern California, Northwestern U., FrnMt Indiana Teachers College, Eastern F uer and Ernest H. Martin. Be- jjew Mexico U., little theatre yond indicating they are prepared groU n S in Abinedon Va and Al- nnn P t a L? ff th CCOr< ^ g * banyf Ga„ and Various Texas high contract, the producers decline to discuss the case. pi c ^ directed by Bill Adams, The Cole Porter-Abe Burrows speech department head, was musical, currently in the fourth filmed mostly on the college cam- week of a five-week Philly tryout, pU s, with the college gymnasium is due to open May 7 at the.Shu- functioning as a sound stage, bert, N. Y. Macon Sumerlin, associate profes- — sor of music, composed the back- Stretch N.H. Playhouse ground music. Cast and crew i were selected from a lecture course Summer Season 10 Weeks that offered regular college credit. Gilford, N.H., April 14. The three major roles were under- Alton Wilkes will extend this taken by alumni, currently teach- summer’s season to 10 weeks at ing at other schools, the Lakes Region Playhouse for An original musical comedy by his fourth year of operation. He three McMurry professors will will open June 29 and close Sept, also be preemed at the school next 6 in the 5d0-seat, converted thea- month. Slated for presentation tre. Previous spans have been May 7-8. show is tagged "Them nine weeks. Lovely Hills.” Adams and Jim Wilkes, former member of the U. McCollougb, ari department head, of Connecticut faculty and asso- collaborated on the script and ciated the past season with Mai- lyrics for all the tunes. Sumerlin, colm After bury’s Colonial Ple.y- who’d had previous compositions house stock company in Albany, is performed by various musical or- now in N.Y. lining,, up^plaj§ and ganizations, .wrote ,the v musi<; >r casts^ Une tuner’s 19 numbers.