Variety (April 1953)

■Wednesday, April 29, 1953 PSSiSrf LEGITIMATE 71 R&H Stepping Up ‘Joliet’ Tempo; Mostly Raves, One Pan, in Cleve. Cleveland, April 28. With their new musical, "Me and Juliet," an absolute sellout and certain to set a boxoffice record at the Hanna here, Richard Rddgers and Oscar Hammerstein 2d are doctoring the show to speed up the opening scenes. Otherwise, the pro- duction is figured in excellent shape. ^ - Although the ^musical as a whole is getting the customary tryout condensing and pointing, the chief problem at the moment is what the author-producers figure is the slow-starting opening. Backstage yarn rings up with the dancing en- semble limbering up, and there are several minutes of gab before Is- abel Bigley, femme lead, sings “That’s the Way It Happens" and “A Very Special Day.” That leads into the first dance number, a gusty, flashing routine along the lines of a jam session. It's the first rousing moment of the’ production and it gets a big audi- ence response, but it’s figured to be too long in coming, so Rodgers and Hammerstein and director George Abbott are trying to get into it faster. Performance seemed to be considerably improved last Saturday (25), but still wasn’t right. Critical reaction to the musical was generally excellent, with one notable exception. William F. Mc- Dermott, of the Plain Dealer, called it a "big, beautiful, elaborate, and ingenious show," although he (Continued on page 75) " C? Razing American, St L.; Mgt'Shifts to Shubert, Renaming It American . St. Louis, April 28. Work of razing the American Theatre, downtown legit house, and the American Hotel in which it is located starts next week to make way for a $1,500,000 modern multi- story garage. That will mark the passihg of the town’s leading legit house opened in 1907. However, the owner of the hotel and theatre will transfer theatrical activities to the Shubert, also in midtown, and will rename it the American. Work of remodeling and" reseat- ing the Shubert, at an approxi- mate cost of $100,000, will begin at once. The house will also be under the direction of Paul Beis- man, who has been manager for 30 years. The new house will have 1,600 seats, of which 1,000 will be on the first floor. This arrangement will produce more revenue than at the present American, which has a seating ca- pacity of nearly 2,000, with only 700 on the floor; .With a larger stage, musical comedies can be brought here, Beismap said. New American will be only a block from the Ansell Brothers’ Empress and in the midst of three first-run film houses owned and operated by Fanchon & Marco. All of the property involved in the changes is owned by the Southern Real Estate and Financial Com- pany, headed by John G. Celia. Final booking it the present American is “Fourposter," playing this week with Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn as costars. Name Regular Slate In Chorus Equity Election Candidates for election this June on Chorus Equity’s regular ticket are Jack Dabdoub, Ted Thurston, Joseph J. Caruso, Walter Kelvin, Robert S. Davis, Enid Harding and Donald La Mon for three-year terms on the executive committee; Eleanore Fairchild and Jacqueline Hairston for two-year and one-year terms, respectively, on the exec committee; Paul Dullzell, chairman of the exec committee; and'Dorothy Love, recording secretary for a one-year term. - Davis, Thurston and Caruso are also candidates for three-year terms as council members and Harding for a two-year term council member. Offenbach Operetta On Billy Rose’s FaD Sked 'Billy Rose will present an Eng- lish version of "Orpheus in «the Underworld” this fall. New libret- to for the Offenbach operetta will be written by Ben Hecht, with lyrics by E. Y. Harburg. Laszlo Halasz, former N. Y. City Opera director, will be production associate. Musical directors will be Jean Morel, French conductor, and Halasz. as Gottlieb, Selden To Produce Plays Morton Gottlieb, general man- ager for producer Gilbert Miller and house manager of the Henry Miller Theatre, N. Y., is leaving to form a producer partnership with Albert Selden. Pair have no. pro- ductions definitely scheduled, but are interested in several' projects. George Banyai, former play agent and Miller’s representative in Europe, will be manager for the Miller Producing Co., while Ed- ward Choate will book the Miller Theatre and Darcy Miller will be house manager. Milton Baron, general manager for Jqse Ferrer, will have that assignment on the scheduled Ferrer-Miller produc- tions of "Dazzling Hour" and "The Swan." TEXAS TO GET‘BLUE’ WITH IRELAND, DRU Hollywood, April 28. John Ireland and Joanne Dru, who toured the New England silos last summer with "Petticoat Fever,” are prepping an eight-week trek through Texas this summer with F. Hugh Herbert’s "The Moon Is Blue." Deal is being worked out by Bob O’Donnell, Interstate Circuit prexy, for a junket in houses of his chain. Trek would start early in June. HERE’S A SWITCHEROO; MPLS. TAKES ST. P. ADS Minneapolis, April 28. "Returning good for evil,” Minneapolis newspapers are ac- cepting ads for "The Deep Blue Sea” which plays its Twin Cities’ engagement exclusively in St. Paul next Monday-Tuesday (4-5). St. Paul newspapers have refused this season to take ads for the nu- merous shows that passed up their city for exclusive Minneapolis en- gagements. Fact that "Deep Blue Sea" sought also to play Minneapolis wasn’t the influencing factor with the newspapers here. Ad depart- ment heads say they’ll always take such copy. Lyceum, legit house here, al- ready had been engaged by rentals when "Deep Blue Sea” wanted the local dates. In St. Paul it will be the fifth arfd final Theatre Guild subscription offering. Minneapolis will have had its full quota of such seven promised offerings \tith The Instant Wife” < 4.i ‘Wife’ Original to Close Pitt Playhouse Season Pittsburgh, April 28. Fred Burleigh, director of the Pittsburgh Playhouse, has picked an original play by two alumni of the local community theatre to close the 1952-53 season. It’s by Irene Cowan and Jay Looney, titled "The Little Wife.” Play was first tried out last summer by the Rochester, N. Y., Arena Theatre. Miss Cowan was. active in radio here for several years and at the same time acted in a flock of Play- house productions before hitting out for New York, while Looney has long been active in Playhouse activities. The comedy deals with a famous Broadway actress who decides upon a career of domesticity. She settles down with a banker husband in Columbus, O., and proceeds to set that city on its figurative ear. "Little Wife” opens May 23 and will run for four weeks. Connie Bennett Heads 12-Wk. Operetta Setup For D. C. Amphitheatre Washington, April 28. A 12-Week season of .operetta at the 4,000-seat Government-owned Carter Barron Amphitheatre.opens June 15 with a revival of **Show Boat," That was announced today (Tues.) by Constance Bennett, prexy of Washington Festivals, Inc., lessors of the outdoor theatre. Professional staff, headed by di- rector Arthur Sircom, will produce musicals with guest stars and sup- porting actors, and with a resident company of 16 singers, 14 dancers, and probably some bit players. Miss Bennett will supervise operation and take an active role in produc- tion. Blueprint for operation of the amphitheatre," as outlined by the screen-stage star at$i press confer- ence today, calls for a seven-night schedule and one-week run for every production except "Annie Get Your Gun," which is booked in for a fortnight, late in the season. House will be scaled from $3.60 to $1.20, giving it a $30,000 potential gross. With an estimated weekly nut of $18,000-$20,000, and the usual hazards of rain, the margin of profit is narrow. Corporation of about 15 to 20, "mostly local people," according to Miss Bennett, with total invest- ment of $75,000 to $100,000, is said to look upon the venture as more of a civic than money-making oper- ation. Former Hollywoodite, now married to Col. Theron Coulter, made it clear that she considers herself a Capital resident, and hopes the project will "break even," so she can tackle it again next season. Department of In- terior gives options on a season-to- season basis. Although resident cast will be largely recruited from local groups on an audition basis, production staff is strictly professional. In addition to Sircom, those signed include Albert Johnson, scenic designer; Jay Chemis, musical di- rector; Fred Kelly, choreographer; Borife 'Cogan, choral director, and Diana Green; executive assistant to Miss Bennett. Chicago publicist Jon Jonkel, currently advising Miss Bennett, plans to step otit as soon as a union flack is chosen. Resident orch of 22, to be recruited from such local groups as National Sym- phony, is planned. Festivals, Inc., which- outbid competitors to get the lease from the Department of Interior, include in addition to Miss Bennett, Garvin Tankersly, treasurer; Louise Gore, secretary, and directors Oliver Presbrey, Milton Ritzenberg, and Martin Goodman, of New York. Everything Is Status Quo in Chi; Orix “Buy’ Tix, But P As Pay for ’Em Guild Sponsors Young Bard Group in Schools Young Vic, U.S.A., group of American actors who have trained at the Old Vic, is currently spon- sored by the Theatre Guild pro- grams of Shakespeare selections at Connecticut highschools. Outfit, which has already ap- peared at Westport, New Canaan and Wilton, is offering scenes from "Romeo and Juliet," "Taming of the Shrew," "Henry V," "Merchant of Venice" and "As You Like It," i with a minimum of costumes and 1 scenery. I Working at a special nominal scale with Equity approval, the group reportedly will form the nuclous of the Shakespearean com- pany which Lawrence Langner, of the Theatre Guild, Hopes to estab- ish at Westport, Conn., as the American Shakespeare Festival & Academy. Northern CaL Stock Group Skedding 2d Season San Francisco, April 28. The" Stumptown Players of Guerneville, Cal., 70 miles north of here, will open their second season at their Redwoods Theatre July 2, with John Holden as man- aging director and Jinx Hone as his assistant. Non-Equity pro group will play 10 weeks,. doing five shows for a fortnight each, with a revue also done one night on the weekend all during the season. Philly Papers in Mixup On ‘Joey’ Opening Dates Philadelphia, April 28. Hassle between the management of "Pal Joey" and the local dailies occurred last week over the open- ing date for the musical’s engage- ment at the Shubert here next week. First word was that due to transportation difficulties the pro- duction. wouldn’t get here from Washington until too. late to be set up for opening next Monday night (4), so the press release reported that the preem would be Tuesday night (5). Then Jule Styne, producer of the tourer, was informed in Washing ton that the transfer could be com- pleted and the production set up in time for a Monday night per- formance, so a second release, contradicting the first, was sent. "Joey” is slated for a two-week run here before going to Chicago for an indefinite stand. Rose’s ‘Immoralist’ Billy Rose is considering a fal production on Broadway of “The j Immoralist," adapted by Ruth and Season will tee' off with George Augustus Goetz from the Andre Kelly’s "Show-Off.” An original by Gide original. . Richard Eshleman, "Tenants in the He’s seeking Marlon .Brando Geraldine Page as cpst*js,. q Seek Cronyns For‘Sycamore’ St. Louis, April 28. Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn are being sought for the leading parts in "Under the Sycamore Tree," Sam Spewack’s satirical comedy, which Jose Ferrer may produce-direct on Broadway next all. Couple, costarring here this week in "Fourposter," would have the roles played in the original ondon production last season by Alec Guinness and Diana Churchill. Project depends on script revisions being made by the author. The Cronyns have also been ap- proached by Roger L. Stevens for his scheduled production, in part- nership with Alfred de Liagre, Jr., of "Escapade," Roger Macdougall’s current London success. Mean- while, they are considering a tentative Hollywood film offer for this summer. Couple would like to do a bill of one-act plays by name dramatists, probably breaking in the produc- tion on a strawhat tour, as they did with "Fourposter." However, their current tour makes that im- practical for this season, so they are taking their time about mulling scripts by Shaw, O’Casey, Wilder, etc., as possible items for the bill. "The Flying Yorkshireman,” Eric Knight novel which Cronjm has commissioned Norman Corwin to dramatize, is still in process of adaptation, so it remains an indefi- nite production prospect at the moment. Meanwhile, .the Cronyns are planning an extended rest after the completion of their cur- rent tour May 30. Chicago, April 28. After all the hootin’ and hol- lerin’ recently about the critics buying their tickets for opening nights of touring legit shows, things are apparently back just about wheni they were before. The difference, such as it is, seems to be that the managements of the shows now pay for the reviewers* seats—on first nights as always. Tipoff is that, despite J. J. Shu- bert’s widely publicized action in refusing to send press seats to the critics for opening nights, re- viewers still have their same old locations. According to official statements, the aisle-sitters pay hard cash for the ducats (being reimbursed by their papers, natch). But it’s an open secret that the pressagents for # the shows in- volved have actually been/ issuing the pasteboards. That means that the show man- agement in each case pays for the tickets, since the Shuberts, who operate the principal legit houses here, won’t okay opening night passes for the aisle-sitters. Actual- ly, of course, there’s a sizable catch to that, as under the normal terms for a legit show, the theatre gets 30% of the gross. In other words, management gets back 70% of the price of the tickets, merely having .to pay roy- alties and star percentages, if any, out of that. Net result, therefore, is pretty much as before all the uproar started, except that every- one is doing a make-believe act about it. e Delay Preems 2 Days More tangible consequence, how- ever, is that after all the years of griping about "unfair" review of faulty opening-night performances, producers are finally getting around to taking steps to cure the (Continued on page 75) GILBERT GEN. MGR. FOR ‘FLAGG’; HARTLEY UPPED George Gilbert, formerly casting director and production assistant for producer Jule Styne, has been made general manager of "Hazel Flagg;" Styne's current musical production in partnership with Anthony B. Farrell. Styne himself is serving as g.m. of "Pal Joey,” his touring show, also in partner- ship with Farrell. Rose Goldstein, formerly Styne’s g.m., resigned about two weeks ago, Neil Hartley, who has been Styne’s principal stage manager, is now technical advisor on ’both productions, with Joe Grossman company manager of "Joey” and Mike Goldreyer in a similar ca- pacity with "Hazel." Meanwhile, during Styne’s shuttle trips to Washington, Philly and Chicago with or in advance of „" Joey,” he’s holding local talent auditions. He’s also talking about merging forces with another Broadway producer organization in order to be able to do all the shows he has in mind, but declines to‘reveal identity of the prospective partner. Bigger Road B.O. Boom Due for Next Season On CLT Hypo (Sez CLT) Minneapolis, April 28. Because the Theatre Guild de- livered so well this season for sub- scribers, helping along with the Council of' Living Theatre local campaigns to increase legitimate theatre interest greatly, the 1953- 54 road outlook stacks up as un- usually good. That’s the admit- tedly biased opinion of Bill Keefe, CLl* publicity-promotion rep, who stopped over in Minneapolis last week on a tour of subscription cities. Keefe is confident that cities like Minneapolis, which increased their Guild subscription lists sub- stantially as a result of CLT cam- paigns, will more than hold. the extra ground next season. He also believes that initial drives 0 to be staged in other stands will bring gratifying results. N In Minneapolis this season, he points out, only one of the seven Guild subscription shows grossed less than $20,000 for a week or shorter run after coming here with an approximate subscription $12,000 advance sale. Pointing out the unusually large number of important productions scheduled to be sent on tour next season, Keefe argues that consid- erable optimism regarding the road is justified. "Little Girl, Big Town,” an orig- inal revue, will be produced next Friday-Saturday (1-2) by the Queens College Play Shop, at'the . Andrew Jackson High School, St. ^lbans,ft Y. ‘•‘ ■'iSilb EDNA BEST IN ONE-SHOT ON KRONENBERGER PLAY Edna Best will star in "The In- ternational Set," by Louis Kronen- berger, for a single performance June 11 as part of a festival dedi- cated to "the comic spirit in the arts" at Brandeis U., Waltham, Mass. Broadway producer Thomas Hammond is producing tflte play, to be staged by Eri<y Bentley, with Felicia Montealegre featured and perhaps Mildred Dunnock, Philip Bourneuf, Estelle Windwood and Walter Mathau in the cast. The festival, under the general direction of composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein, will also in- clude the American premiere of a Poulenc opera, a new ballet, a symposium of humor by name par- ticipants and a series of discussion events. "International Set," orig- inally written as a p!ay by Time drama critic Kronenberger, was subsequently adapted by him as a ♦5?.)', . i > < n