Variety (December 1953)

Wednesday* Pecemlier 30» 1953 LEGITIMATE The N.Y. City Theatre Co, is winding* up an unusual season at N Y’s City Center this weefcr-an eight-week drama season which saw four plays presented in.repertory, with Jose Ferrer as chief actor, director and sparkplug, and Jean Dalrymple as production coordinator. Terrific job Ferrer and his associates have done, working for Equitv -roinimums or no pay stall* rehearsing while acting, getting up in long parts for a fortnight run each—has occasioned much comment in the trade. Fact that Ferrer s offorts are expected to net the Center about $100,000 in much-needed funds, which will help it out of some present financial difficulties and assist in carrying on the current opera and ballet seasons, hasn’t gone unnoticed. Press generally has been paying tribute to the star* With special salutes from the discerning critics in last week’s reviews of “Charley’s Aunt,” the windup production ••Ferrer and his associates have all made financial sacrifices to appear in four revivals , at City Center this season,” said the N.Y, Mirror’s Robert Coleman. “But for the generosity of players, acting for Equity mini mums, we could not have had minor and major roles played half so. expertly. To these exponents of a great tradition, we owe a debt of gratitude.” Similarly, in his "Charley’s** notice, the N.Y. Times’ Brooks Atkinson remarked that “the occasion should not-pass without taking note of what Ferrer has accomplished. During the preceding six weeks he has acted ’Cyrano de Bergerac,' ‘The Shrike’ and ’Richard III.’ He has also personally staged three of the productions. They have been well cast and' acted. They have made the theatre seem like a fresh exciting, varied form of public art. Since the public has liked them’, they have put the City Center in the strongest .financial situation of its 10-year career. From every point of view this has been the best dramatic season that hospitable institution has had. < “Many public-spirited people have helped'to make the season stimu- lating. But Ferrer has been the driving spirit. New York owes him a vote of thanks. Can’t Grover Whalen present him with an official carnation on the stage of the City Center? There is still one unfinished job of ceremony for our departing Grover;” The News’ • John Chapman, hailing Ferrer as “the‘ most durable actor since Punch or Frank and Milt Britton,” added that “this is my final opportunity to say thanks-to the manly dozens of actors, designers and workers in Jhe stage crafts who have been so generous with their talents and time.” Unalloyed praise for Ferrer, however, hasn’t affected the feeling of a segment of City Center wellwishers that the season 6f Ferrer hits, while an admirable stopgap and moneyraiser, isn’t the answer to a permanent drama setup at the Center on par with the ballet and opera adjuncts. Chapman expressed that thought in last week’s “Charley’s” review, by closing with “this is my first opportunity to say that some other scheme for making productions Of real distinction must be evolved if the City Center is going to hold to its original high purpose.” Management .would like Ferrer to return, both for his artistic efforts as well as his b;o: pull, but he doesn’t know now what his commitments Will be at this time next* season, and the Center must wait on him with its plans till then. Feeling is, this is no way to build for the future,/for a permanent drama setup. “Kismet,” playing to almost solid capacity business in its fifth week at the Ziegfeld* N.Y., is making around $9,000 profit at its average weekly gross of $56,000. Musical version of the old Edward Knob- lock romantic play cost ' about $430,000 to bring in, so it would have to sell but for approximately a year to recoup. Elaborate physical production re- quires a large backstage crew and there is a sizable cast. In addition, Alfred Drake’s contract as star is understood to give him $2,500 guar- antee, plus 5% of the gross from $30,000r$35,000, plus 7^% from $35,000-$40,000 and 10% on every- thing over $40,000. That comes to $4,725 on a $56,000 gross. Doretta Morrow, featured femme lead, re- portedly ;gets $750, plus a small percentage bringing her take to $1,000 at sellout level. “Wonderful Town,” currently in its 45th week at the Winter Gar- den, N.Y., is netting about $8,600- $9,000 a week on a $55,000 average gross, with Rosalind Russell get- ting a straight 10% as star, plus 10% of the profits, and George Ab- bott receiving 5% of the net in ad- dition to his regular royalty as di- rector. “Can-Can,” in its 35th week at the .Shubert, N.Y., is earning $U,600-$12,00D on a weekly gross of $50,900. ( /“Me and Juliet,” in its 32d week at the Majestic, N.Y,, made almost $20,000 a week on *a gross up to $58,000 Until ^ts $354,000 produc- tion cost was recouped. Fact in that relatively high return Was that ■nichard Rodgers and Oscar Ham- merstein 2d received no royalties f s t r ® sp . e ?^ ve composer. and libret- .^i'iyricist until the musical was in the black. However, they now get their regular 10%. ‘Blondes' on BBC v . . . London/ Dec. 22. 4n i ola nde Donlan, who went back to America after she was refused L ! a ,?°r, permit to star in “Peter h a P . ^s Christmas, is to he N ard .. in A BBC radio program i n ^ Year s Eve. She is featured mo! ^corded version of “Geritle- Lee Prefer Blond es” as Lorelei s how will be aired In the th^ C i! ^ e4 ' Pr <»gr«n. which is radio 8hafr d ® partm * nt 01 British 5-Location Swann Stock Operation Grosses 128G ■ In 40 Weeks’ of Playing Don Swann Jr.’s Hilltop Theatre operation grossed a total of over $128,000 in 40 weeks of playing time in five different locations during 1953. There were 37 pro- ductions put on during that period, with the employment total for the offerings reaching 2(53, including actors, technicians and business staffers. Included in the five locations was a six-week run at the Theatre- in-the Round, Sheraton-Belvedere Hotel, Baltimore; the 16th consecu- tive strawhat Season at Hilltop The- atre, Lutherville, Md.; a seven- week fall season at Hilltop Theatre, York, Pa.; the current run at the Parkway Theatre, Baltimore, and a short test operation in Ellicott City, Md. Top draw at the Sheraton-Belve- dere was “The Women,” with Mag- da Gabor. Only other show during the six weeks of operation to show a profit was “My Sister Eileen,” with Patsy Kelly. Lutherville’s two big grossers were Miss Gabor in "The Play’s the Thing” and Ilona Massey in a tryout of “Barely Proper,” which ran for two weeks. During the seven-week season at York, John Newland and Jeffrey Lynn were the top-drawing names. The season wound up in the red and the theatre has since been de- stroyed by* fire. The first two weeks at the renovated Parkway Theatre, Baltimore, which opened Nov. 23, drew a gross of over $20,250. Jackie Cooper stars in “Stalag 17” as the final attraction of the '53 season at the theatre. Incidentally, a summer season is being planned for the Parkway, since the theatre is air- conditioned^ The test operation in Ellicott City showed a profit on three pro- ductions playing two nights each. Company utilized was composed of Baltimore talent. Mata & Hari Prep Concert .Return for Next Season Mata & Hari are returning to the concert field next season after a year's sabbatical, during which they, divided their time between televi- sion and nightclubs. The Coppicus, Schang & Brown division of Columbia Artists Mgt. will book a fall tour of nine weeks routed from Chicago to the. Coast* Tour may be extended after Jan. 1, 1955. Satirical dancers will be sup- ported by a company of six. Playing It Safe , Tanaquil LeClerq, lead hal- . lerina with the N. Y. City Bal- let and wife of its director, • George Balanchine, is also an amateur photographer of note. Complimented last week on the professional quality of her camera work, Miss* XeClerq replied that she - took it very seriously. “I may have to go in for it,” she added, “when these, legs of mine give out.” The ballerina has j u s t " turned 21. Anthony Brady Farreli rates as one of the season’s biggest back- ers of an individual show, with a $115,000 investment in “The Girl in Pink Tights.” Musical, which is being produced , by Shepard Traube, in association with Far- rell, is capitalized at $250,000. Far- fell also owns: the Mark Hellinger Theatre, where the show is sched- uled to bow Feb. 25. His financial stake in! the tuner includes bonds to Actors Equity and similar orgs. Other backers include souvenir program agent Arthur Klar, $5,000; Traube, who’s also: directing the of- fering, $4,250;. Robert Rockmore, Traube’s attorney,. $3,750; CBS exec Oscar Katz, $3,000; John G. Celia, owner pf the American The- atre, . St. Louis, $2,500; Floyd Od- ium, head of Atlas Corp., invest- ment outfit, and his wife, aviatrix Jacquelin Cochran, $2,500 each, and Milton Starr, owner of a chain of film theatres, $2,500. Also orch leader - contractor Meyer Davis, $2,000; Jerome Cho- dorov, co-author of the musical’s book with Joseph Fields, $1,750; theatrical attorney Sidney E.‘ Cohn, $1,250; Marjorie Fields and Ralph Fields, daughter and son, respectively, of co-a uthor Fields, Head of Broadway Angels, Inc:, $1,250; Joseph H. Hazen and Hal Wallis, partners in indie film pro- duction, $1,250 each; Marion B. Javits,, wife of Congressman Javits, $1,250; Alexandra C. B. Larmore and James Larmore, daughter and son-in-law, respectively, of screen- writer Charles Brackett, $1,250 each, and TV producer Max Lieb- man, $1,250. Among the remaining investors are Gerald O’Connell, company manager of the touring edition of ‘Time Out' for Ginger,” $1,250; Maurice I. Sohn, Traube’s account- ant, $1,250; Helen Walpole, play- wright and radio-TV scripter, $1,250; theatrical insurance agent David Davidson, $1,000; Mae W. Jurow, sister-in-law of Marty Ju- row, William Morris Agency exec., $625; copyist Mathilde Pincus, $625, and producer Ethel Reiner, $625. Capitalization of : the Renee Jeanmaire^Charles Goldner starrer includes a provision for 20% over- call. Other top-coin investors include Marion Davies, who has $180,000 sunk in “Kismet,” and Michael Grace, who has $92,000 in “John Murray Anderson’s Almanac.” Of Grace’s investment, $37,500 is un- der his own name, while $54,500 is understood to have been put up by him under the name of a repre- sentative. i Due to AM-TV: Thomson Minneapolis, Dec. 29. Opera has become the darling: of the : serious music field, according to Virgil Thomson, American com- poser and author and N, Y. Herald Tribune music^critic. Here for an appearance with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra as a guest conductor, Thomson said that the great rise in opera popu- larity is probably due to the fact that the Metropolitan Opera’s ra- dio broadcasts “have started . to bear rich fruit” and that TV pre- sentations of opera are proving so successful. . “The real roots of the movement are, however, in opera workshops in. every part of the country,” he asserted. “When I visit various communities to speak, the first thing people want to talk about is opera.” Ron Randell Pacted For London ‘Season’ London, Dec. 22. Ron Randell has been signed fbr the lead in the London production of “Fifth Season,” which is skedded to open in the West End after a two weeks’ tryout beginning in Glasgow on Feb. 8. Show will be presented by Linnit & Dunfee, Joseph Buloff, who has been rtion inked for la -major.. role, is due to arrive from Broadway shortly. Syl- via Reagan, the authoress; will come here for rehearsals which are due to start early next. year. New Haven, With Its Best in New, Haven, Dec. 29, . With various other road cities exhausting their supply of crying towels over the; plight of non- BrOadway legit, It is noteworthy to record New Haven’s best first-half of a season, in several starts. Not only qualitatively, but also from a b.O. standpoint, this legit- stand, which more or less- special- izes in premieres, has come up to the intermission spot of midsea- son with an impressive list of at- tractions and grosses. Of the current list of Broadway newcomers, the' following had their premieres at the local Shubert: “Prescott Proposals” ‘ ($23,800 gross; five shows; $4.80 top); "Oh, Men! Oh, Women!” <$8,700; four; $4.20); “Sabrina Fair” .($19,300; four; $4.80.); “Tea and Sympathy” ‘<$16,000; five; $4.20); ‘Teahouse of the Aiigust Moon” ($17,000; five; $4.20). v been “Time Out For Ginger” ($9,- 200; four; $3:60); “John Brown’s Body” <$14,800, four; $4.80); and even the two-for-dne “Twin Beds” ($13,000; eight; $3.60). * Perhaps the most striking fig- ures to record are those turned in during the traditionally ebbtide period of weeks just prior to and including Xmas week. At that time, “Mile. Colombe” pulled a" sock $14,- 350. on four shpws at $4.20 top, and “Caine Mutiny” snafed a sensa- tional $35,700 on eight shows at $4.80 top.. This tabulation seems to back up the theory that, if you give ’em at- tractions worth spending money on, they’ll spend it. SOL HUROK BOOKING DANILOVA FOR ’54-’55 Dallas, Dec. 29. Ballerina Alexandra Danilova, now making her home here and teaching at a local studio, has been signed by Sol Hurok for a tour next season with a new’, small group. Unit, to include two male dancers, another femme, and two pianists, will tour the Civic circuit mainly, with 12 weeks’ minimum guaranteed. Group will carry no sets, only costumes. Mme. Danilova owns rights to "Mile. Fifi,” ballet choreographed for her by the Met Opera’s Zach- ary Solov, and this will be in- cluded In the repertoire, in addi- tion to several other numbers the famed ballerina has been asso- ciated with. Lurie Quits Promotion Job at Ballet Sam Lurie, promotion manager of Ballet Theatre since August, 1951, is leaving the company in mid-January. Acknowledged as chiefly responsible for the success- ful advent of Ballet Theatre into TV last season and this (mainly on “Omnibus”), Lurie is believed bowing Out (although amicably) be- cause of lack of appreciation for his efforts. He has a couple of of- fers under consideration, and will decide after New Year’s. He was in adertising apd promotion before joining BT. In another change, Isadore Ben- nett will take over publicity for the ballet organization, .handling its road promotion from N.; Y., while Bill Fields will continue handling bookings. . Nathan Shen-r ker continues as advance man. By KOBE MORRISON . Robert Anderson was so ; sjucCess- ful in writing “Tea and Sympathy” that he no longer has time to write. He had hoped the sellout click of the .-play -would free ‘ him- from bread-and-butter television assign^ ments to concentrate on a new legit script. But so far he’s been unable to get anything on paper. Not all the activity has stemmed from the operation and , exploita- of “Tea.” The playwright took a month off for a vacation cruise with his wife, former pro- ducer Phyllis. Anderson, a member of the play department of Music" Corp. of America. But aside from that, interviews, conferences and various matters relating to “Tea” have kept him busy. “Under the. circumstances,” he says, “I’m particularly glad that ’All Summer Long,’ my earlier play done last season at the Arena Theatre in Washington, will be produced on Broadway next spring by the Playwrights Co.” Anderson is a member of the latter organiza- tion, which is presenting his “Tea” in partnership with Mary K. Frank. He reveals that Alan Schneider, who directed the play in its Wash-, ington tryout, will repeat the stint for Broadway, with Clay Hill re- creating bis characterization of the adolescent-lead, if he hasn’t out- grown the part by- then. ‘GoUty’ Feeling The Broadway presentation of “All Summer Long,” a dramatiza (ion of Dohald Wetzel’s novel, “A Wreath and a Curse,” may give him greater opportunity to work on a new script, Anderson hopes. In the meantime, it will release him from a “guilty” feeling for not turning out- any writing since the Opening of “Tea ” Although being the author of a' Broadway hit is time-consuming, it financial ones, Anderson reveals. He drops in at the Barrymore The- atre, N. Y., tw’o or three times a week to catch ‘Tea” performances. T used to arrive during the show, but found I couldn’t stand it, so now I . get there on time and re- main until the end. “The perfonnances-are still per- fect,” he asserts, “perhaps even deeper and more sensitive than when the play opened. Elia Kazan did a brilliant job of direction and we have a wonderful company in Deborah Kerr, Jack Kerr, Leif Erickson. John McGovern and the others. I’m Very grateful.” The playwright has nothing in mind for his next play, but expects to resume his morning writing ses- sions soon. If past experience is reliable, ideas will begin to jell before long and he’ll presently be completely absorbed. in a new work. “I’m lucky,” he admits. “I like to Write. In fact, I’m not entirely happy unless I am writing.” Record $21,200 Grossed In N.Y. Single By Ballet A gross of $21,200—an alltime record high for a ballet evening —was racked up by Ballet Theatre Sunday night (27) from a gala show biz-society audience at N. Y;’s Metropolitan Opera House, in the troupe’s sole Gotham date this sea- son. Event, a special booking to precede the company’s annual tour, which started Monday (28) in Philiy, had a $25 top for all the boxes aind for 210 orchestra seats down front, with $7.50 for balance of downstairs. Upped tariffs were to aid in launching the troupe’s public drive for $200,000 in funds, and to help it inaugurate its 15th anniversary season next year. Troupe’, last in N. Y. in Septem-. her, 1952, spent six months in Eu- rope from last May through Octo- ber, and is now off on a trek of 76 cities that will keep it busy through next May. It showed to gobd advantage Sunday, despite some opdrting-night raggedness and a mixed program. Fresh cos- tumes and sets were colorful and its stars seemed to be dancing as well as ever. Program was un- usual in listing five entries, in- stead of the normal three. Evening furnished two Novel- ties, the stage premiere of Eugene Loring’s “Capital of the World, (Continued on page 59) I