Variety (October 1954)

138 LEGITIMATE PTESnSTr- Wednesday, October 20, 1954. on Tlie: Tender Trap Clinton Wilder production of comedy, in three acts,(four scenes) by Max^Shul- man and Robert Paul Smith. Stars Robert Preston, Kim Hunter, Runny. Graham; features Janet Riley, Jack Mannin .Julia Meade. Parker McCormick. Joey Faye. Staged by Michael 'Gordon; scenery • and lighting, Paul Morrison; costumes; Anna Hill Johnstone. At Longacre,: N;Y.. Qct. 13. '54; $5,85-94.60 top (S5.90 opening). Ronny Qrahajn Charlie Reader Poppy Matson Joe' McCall Jessica Collins Sylvia Crews .Julie. Gillis Earl Lindquist Sol Schwartz Parker McCormick. ,: Robert Preston Julia Meade ..... Kim Hunter Janet RUey .. .. . Jack Manning" Joey Faye Some funny things are said by some unattractive people ‘ ‘‘The Tender; Trap.’’ Before the evening Js over, the authors manage to make every character so unpleasr ant that the audience -is inclined not to care much what happens to anyone. That’s practically a defi- ition of an unsatisfying show. On that basis, ’.‘Trap” is a ques- tionable bet for Broadway, al- though the show’s moderate cost and operating nut, combined with Its heavy theatre party hookings and the revenue from its pre-pro- duction film sale make it a reason- able prospect to pay off. If Metro, which owns the screen rights,, can make the characters a bjt more likable, it might get an amusing picture out of the yarn: The play’s title refers to a. gabby young gal who snares a gadabout but cagey young New York bache- lor. The big town, according to co- authors Max Shulman :and Robert | Paul Smith, is overrun With man- hungrv career girls who scamper in . and out of bachelor^ apart- ments at all hours, including Sun- day breakfast; keep the sofas rumpled, the phones ringing and their, nv'le "rey. deluged with.pres- ents and affection. The whirlwind - happy h e r o spreads his masculine, attention among Such eager candidates as a. balmy lass who presents him With a whitefish caught by her father, a southern accent number who brings him. a large cheese, an NBC Symphony violinist who gives him recordings and comes around to cook his Sunday breakfast, and the non-stop, talker . and weeoer who finally has him headed for the altar at the finale. The girls-chase-man routine is varied by a domesticated business associate and schooldays crony who arrives as the bachelor’s house guest and is soon ready to ditch his wife and three kids back home for one of the on-the-make- girls. This so unnerves the bache- lor that he gets 'engaged to two girls at once. There are some undeniably funny jokes in the script, but ‘‘Trap” can’t rise above its un- savory characters. After awhile, it just doesn’t matter which selfish guy gets which predatory gal. They pretty much deserve each other. Some, ingratiating actors make game but futile efforts to put across the unpr&possessihg ma- terial. Robert Preston is particu- larly engaging as the visiting medi- cine man who tries tq sample big- city sin, but the part finally, be- comes so lowlife that it’s no audi- ence hardship when he goes, hack to wife and kids. Kim Hunter gives a skillful per formance as the amorous fiddle player.... although it’s hardly con ceivabie that such a good-looking. Intelligent and self-respecting girl would be hard up for a man. But the authors ultimately cross her up, too, as it turns out that she merely wants a husband and is ready to settle for almost anything In pants, if only, he can be ma neuvered or tricked into marry- ing her. Even so; she takes the play’s slight remaining interest with her when she •f inally exits. Ronny Graham, as the bachelor who never had dalliance so good back in Indianapolis, is moderately disarming in a grinning, jittery way, but the authors ultimately make him just a slaphappy kind of jerk, so he’s an audience dud, too. Tile various transient , girls, in- cluding Janet Riley as the human talkathon,: Parker McCormick as the daffy fish-giver and Julia Meade as the down south accent, remain pretty much incidental* de- spite their acceptable perform- ances, and there are competent hut relatively unimportant portrayals by Jack Manning as a lovelorn chemist and Joey Faye as a hilari- ously hopped-up jive musician. Michael Gordon has staged the comedy adequately, Paul Morrison has designed an interior setting suitable for- bachelor depravity, and Anna Johnstone has provided decorative clothes. Kobe. Fragile Fox \ Paul Vroom (In assn, with Barnard : Strauss) production of drama in three acts (five scenes), by Norman A. Brooks. Stars Dane Clark. Don Taylor; features James Gregory, Andrew Duggan, Rich- ard Carlyle. Crahan' Denton. Clem Fow r lev. Jason Wingreen,.Lionel Wilson. Addi- son PoivelL Directed,by, Herbert Swope Jr.; sets and lighting; Ralph Alswang. At Belasco, N.Y., Qct. 12, '54; $5.75-$4.60 top. Cabt. Ersklne’ Cooney... .Andrew Duggan Corp; Jackson Lionel Wilson 1st Lt; Joseph Costa Dane Clark 1st Lt. Harry Woodrurf..;.. Don Taylor Lt. Col. Clyde Bartlett ... James Gregory Pfc. Bernstein Clem Fowler pfe. Snowden -, . . .. Jason Wingreen Tech. Sgt. TolliverCrahan Denton Capt. Gerstad Addison Powell Pfs, Herman Ricks Richard Carlyle Pvt, Jacob Abramowltz. .William Hellinger Tall German Eugene Smith Short German .......... • Leonard Bell Pvt. Sneider Robert McQueeney “Fragile Fox/’ despite its nariie, is a frequently sturdy melodrama about officers and Gls during World War II. Familiarity of the subject-matter and '. the . cliche- pattern of certain incidents and dialog,, however, militate against its Broadway chances, and a cer- tain slickness in its presentation also doesn’t help. Odds are against its b.o. success. . This first play by Norman A. Brooks, reportedly based on> per- sonal experiences of the author, has a lot to commend it. Starting a little slowly, it picks up plenty pace in the tense and exciting second act, and continues its mood and suspense to the end. But flaws in characterization, certain exag- gerations in speech or incident,, crop up too often, to curb enthu- siasm and interest. The humor* in the first act (as with the attempt of a Gl to get to Paris for a date) is repetitious, forced and hackneyed, although there are funny moments in the second act* Oddly enough, they still seem humorous though closely associated with grimness and death. The story revolves around two young lieutenants, loyal to the Gls under them, and constantly in fric- tion (openly or overt) with their two superiors; One of the latter is cowardly,, drunken captain and the other is a materialistic colonel who protects the captain because he needs the help of the latter’s father to further- his future politi- cal career back home. The captain is responsible for the death of sev- eral men through his Cowardice, and in a final scene, when he is about to surrender more men to the Germans, he is shot by one of the lieutenants. What makes the drama persua- sive are the fine performances by the all-male cast, good direction by Herbert Swope Jr. and excellent Ralph Alswang sets. Dane Clark brings drive and conviction to the part of a rough-hewn first louie, embittered over the needless death of rhen due to the captain’s cravenness, and determined to make him pay for this—even though the part is overwritten and distraught towards the close, Don Taylor impresses as the thoughtful schoolteacher turned lieutenant who tries to curb the impetuo&s Clark, yet who himself shoots the captain at the finish. Andrew Duggan is generally con- vincing as the yellow captain until the scripting, too, gets away from him, and Janies Gregory , is effec- tive as the blustering, tough and opportunist colonel. Crahan Den- ton brings quiet authority and strength to the part of a moun- taineer sergeant,,; and there are some other good' supporting per- formances. Some of the GI figures, however, are too stock. Bron. Sing Me No Lullaby „T. Edward' Hambleton ■ and 'Norris' Houghton production of drama In three acts . by . Robert Ardrey; Features Larry Gates, Richard Kiley, Jessie R6yce Landis, John. Marley, Beatrice Straight. .Tack Warden, Marian Winters. Staged by Paul Stewart; scenery. Ben Edwards; costumes, Alvin Colt; lighting, Klaus Holm. At Phoenix, N.Y., Oct. 14, '54; *3.45 top (*4.60 opening), Christine CoUlnger .. Ben CoUlnger Mike Hertzog ...... Clay Dixon Abe Levene. .. ... Maddy Hertzog Fanny CoUlnger .... Johnny Colton Smith Parrish cellent choice for limited-engage- ment presentation at the? special- 1 public Phoenix, it’s a dubious pros- pect for transfer to Broadway. This is the play that, it’s under- stood, Ardrey has been writing on and off for about eight years. Dur- ing that period it has presumably undergone some of the author’s changing convictions in changing times. But it still is fundamen- tally a statement of a citizen’s re- sponsibilities in a republic and an argument that compromise is the essence of democracy. In a way; the drama’s thesis of- a condition of intellectual terror-; ism. in the U. S. is refuted by the fact that “Lullaby” has been .pro- duced. But it has been done un- der the special Phoenix. aus- pices, : not on Broadway; More- over, the tone; of almost hysterical denunciation in some of the no- tices supports the play’s premise. As should surprise no one, there 1 is some line writing in' “Lullaby/’ When Ardrey finally gets past the awkward first two acts, with their unnecessary, confusing flashbacks, the drama crackles with action and conviction; Its final passage is elo- quent and genuinely stirring. However, the first act, in particu- lar, fritters away so much, time and tension and exhausts audience pa- tience, that the play never entirely recovers. In . general theme, “Lullaby” is slightly suggestive of the anti-es- capism of the same author’s 1939 drama, “Thunder Rock.” It is the story of a disillusioned liberal who finally becomes so aroused over the repressive tendency of the country that he goes back into, public life to fight for. his beliefs. His cur- tain speech is to the effect that right is not an either-or choice of extremes, but some middle ground with room for everyone, The play’s complicated structure seems diffuse and weak. The de- vice of gathering the leading char- acters together in a small town Il- linois cottage at various key points in their lives appears arbitrary and incredible. Moreover, some of the pivotal characters seem insuffici- ently motivated or explained. , But such scenes as the FBI man questioning two f r i e n d s of a suspected scientist. and by plain implication trying to black- mail them into turning against him and each other, the sequences in which shortwave contact is estabr lished with a Soviet, agent in* New Zealand, and the affirmative finale are taut and gripping; Under Paul Stewart’s sympathe tic but slightly restrained direc tion there are effective, perform- ances by Richard Kiley as the li beral who finally accepts responsl bility; Larry Gates as a political manager who wavers under threat of guilt-by-assdeiation smear, Bea trice Straight as the liberal’s ill-ex- plained wife, Jessie Royce Landis in the imperfectly defined role of a reactionary matriarch, Jack War- den as a former Commie sympath- izer a Unable to escape that stigma, Marian Winters as his distraught wife and John Marley as a cool BI man. Ben Edwards has de- signed a properly primitive looking farm cottage interior and Alvin Colt has supplied the costumes. “Lullaby” will almost certainly have the distinction of 'infuriating the reactionary and lefty extrem- ists, but unfortunately it’s unlikely to have commensurate popularity with general audiences. For a realist like Ardrey, it must there- fore be rated a failure. Hobe. Quadrille Boston, Oct. 14. John C. Wilson and H. M. Tennenti Ltd. Pardon Our Antenna Chicago, Oct 16. •Broadway . Productions presentation of production of comedy,, in three acts ii n « ct iL h 2 (seven scenes), by Noel Coward. .Stays Lynn Fontanne, Alfred Lunt, Edna Best. .Brian Aherrie. Directed by Lunt; scenery and costumes, Cecil Beaton. At Colonial, Boston,. Oct. 14; '54,v *4.95 top. French Woman' , Madeline Clive French. Man Byron Mitchell Buffet Manageress.. Patricia Quinn O'Hara Rev. Edgar Spevin.,. His WHe .. . ........ His Daughter .... * Walter Courier ..........;.... Marquis of Heronden. Mrs.. Axel Dlensen'..,, Catchpolo Footman ... .Marchioness of Heronden.. Lynn Fontanne Lady" Harriet Ripley.. . Brenda Forbes. Foster Mildred Clinton Axel Dlensen ........ Alfred Lunt Countesss of Bonnlngton. DorothySands 2d French Woman 2d French Mail by . Ole. Olsen and Chic Johnson. Stars' Olsen and Johnson; features Marty May, June Johnson, Johnny 1 Bacbemirt, Eileen O’Dare, Eileen end Elsa Nilsson* Sid. Krofft. JOy Lane, Nina Varelas Directed by David Tihmar; -music and lyrics, Michael and Nova Simpson; additional dialogue, Eugene. Conrad; special music Paul Jordon, Paul Severson, Paul Crum- baugh, Frank Panico and Olsen; scenery,. Manqel AviUa; costumes,. Harry Bosen and Paul Brune; musical director. Jack Cavan. At Selwyn, Chicago, Oct. 16, '54; 94.50 top. Cast also'includes Scat Man Grothers, Bobby May; Les PhUmer, Earl Renard, Howard - Tong; Richard 'Wright, Tom O’Horgan, Donn Lester, Marlene *. Lind, Shula Bass, Evelyn Cavan, Mary . Dale, Pat Garber, Susart Hartman, Mary Roe.. rich, Arlene Schwab, Dana Sosa, Eleanor Stattin, Dorothy. Macey, Kenny Davis, UU Miidred^CHnton I Hartley Karns. Emmanuel Wlhston. An- ...Jerome Kilty Phyllis Connard ,.. Nina Reader Bruce Webster ichard Longman .. Brian Aherne .....; Edna Best Harold Crane Rhoderlck Walker .. Beatrice Straight ....Richard Kiley Jack Warden . ........ Larry Gates .... Michael' Lipton ■. Marian Winters Jessie Royce Landis ...'. *,. .John Fiedler ...... John Marley Robert Ardrey, a respected name in legit Without ever quite clicking at the b.o., has returned from sue cess in Hollywood with a drama of contemporary significance, “Sing Me No Lullaby.” it’s the first pro- duction of T. Edward Hambleton’s and Norris Houghton’s second stock season at the Fhoenix The- atre, on N. Y.’s lower east side. “Lullaby” is perhaps the most serious drama of recent seasons. Despite its obvious and consider- able flaws, it is an important play. As a propaganda piece, its effect must be measured primarily by its popular acceptance, and on that basis it cannot be rated a success. For while the play seems an ex- The special charm of “Quadrille” Ole Olsen and Ghic Johnson ies in the mingled personalities have patched together an uneven of Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fon- and untidy revue that’s supposed a nostalgic whiff of the to lampoon television. It opens with Noel .Coward of ^two decades ago v t . r . • , and the fragrance of designer Cecil a crac k Liperace and.only Beaton in his richest ajid most ele- rarely gets^out of left. during gant vein. It is ai fragile distilla- the .remainder of its course, which tiqn; but to anyone under the spell ^ opening night ran a long 150 of : these two superb people, it is miI *utes, saris intermission, a delightful experience. Although avowedly imed for Even the most enamored, how- o^terprise seems ever, will always be aware that the headed for the ashcan. There _just play is more a slow and stately ^ an t fie that many theatregoers sarabande than a lively quadrille. comedy Yet once a Singularly appealing an ^, sniCKeri i*S sex gags. American railroad pioneer appears . The two afcts are a conglomera- in tlie drawing room of the Mar- tion. of skits, most of them feeble chioness of Heronden to confront takeoffs on tv shows; several night her with the fact her husband has club acts tossed in as is, and a eloped with his wife, the old magic, series of production numbers; The begins to cast its spell. The Lunts video allusions, like “Gagnet” and are on the stage again. ‘Love Lucille,” are pegs for some The rest is as inevitable, as the' ^ virtuosity, Together, they face the ^ ca ^ seems badly jdated by the eloped pair at their Cote d’Azur villa. And this one act gleam* with S 1 ®™; ” £ the small jewels of repartee hardly ^ dimmed by their reminiscence of f.^5 e is ^ I lne ® as raiy^as Private Lives” and “Design for P^ uc ^ e d chicken used as a prop. Living.” In the end the gruff but What honors of the evening there good-as-gold railroad man with a are belong to vaude-nitery per- Wliitmahesque flair for reciting formers Johnny Bachemin and Sid the grandeur of young America Kfofft. Bachemin dashes off a fine carries off the Marchioness* warm song - dance - keyboarding routin* heart. and Krofft displays marionette It is all very smooth, very civil- ized, very elegant and at timos very and June Johnson con- dull. At odd intervals the sugges- tion of the earlier Coward is a little sad, yet there is a romantic after-glow that, like a fall sunset, is as warm as it is melancholy. Still, as a frame for the urbane though essentially noble qualities of the Lunts both as personalities, it is hard to think how it could be improved. Months of refinement abroad have given; their characterizations a subtlety, a lustre and an expres- siveness without trace of ostenta- tion or conceit. That will carry the play for the steelier members of the audience, while softer hearts, especially those of maturer women, will melt. Contributing to . this situation, tribute featured .cheesecake and acro-dancer Eileen O’Dare helps ’em get the scenery changed With an okay turn, Nilssop twins work hard for a few .laughs in a smeary face cream demonstration- bit. Marty May’s chief function is to keep things in motion between blackouts. He’s an expert upfront singleton, but most of the material is. from the bottom of a stacked deck. Production pieces range from fair to laborious. Mambo number featuring the Jose Bethencourt orch and the “Lately, No Love Lately” displays spotlighting Miss Lane have their moments. Music and lyrics by Michael and NOva Simpson are suitable for the occa- London Shows London, Oct. 19; (Figures denoto premiere dates) After the Ball, Globe <6-10-54). .Airs Shoestrln*, Royal Ct. (4-22-53). All For Mery, Duke York (ft-9-54). S ell, Book, Csndlo, Fhoenix (10-3-54). ofh Ends Moot, Apollo (6-0-54); Boy Frlond, Wyndham's (12-1-33). Csn-Csn, Coliseum (10-14-54). Dork Light Enough, Aldwych (4-30-54). .Day By Tho Sea; Haymarket (11-26-53). D'Oyly Carte Opera', Savoy (0-13-54). Dry Rot, Whitehall (8-31-54). Duenqa, Westminster (7-28-54). Folies Bergore, JPr. Wales (9-24-53). Hippo Dancing, Lyric . (4-7-54). I Am a Camara, New (3-12-54). Intimacy At 1:30, Criterion (4-29-54). Joyce Grenfell, St. Mart. (6-2-*4). • Keep In Cool Placo, Savllle (8-16-54), King and I, Drury Lane (10-8-53). Lovo Match, Viet Palace (11-10-53), Manor of Horthstead; Duchess (4-28-54). Mousetrap, Ambas* (11,25-52), • Never Too Late; Strand (6-3-54). No Nows Fathtr, Cambridge (9-15-54). Old ViC Rep, Old Vic (9-9-54). Pal Joey,. Princes (3-31-54). Party Spirit, Piccadilly (9-23-54). Relations Apart, Garrick (8-3-54). Skbrlna Fair, Palace (8-4-54). Sa r ^d Days, Vaudeville (8-5-54). Separate Tables, St. James's (9-22-34). Teahouse Aug. Moon, Her Mat. (4-22-54). Wedding In Paris, Htpp. (4-3-54), Witness Prosecution, W. Gard. (10-28-53). You'll Bo Lucky, Adelphi (2-25-54). and vastly, to*, is the jSSSSS. ^ scene. Few plays even approach the are properly gaudy. _ . . • opulence of Cecil Beaton’s ex- quisite settings and costumes. Every detail, from the golden hues n C P . ° r of the Marchioness’ sitting room in P er ^aps a generation too late, a Belgrave Square mansion to the uave. sun-bathed plan of the Villa Zodiacque, Is a masterly re-crea- Naughty Natalie tion of high Victorian splendor, set Minheanolia Oct 11 off by costumes of the richest fash- ion of the period. The contempla- thfie actf. ly .nd^Caroims tion Of these beauties, indeed, Schaffner. Staged by Harry Miriturn. At often sustains the interest in the to£ eu,n * Minneapom, Oct. li. '*4; *3.99 less rewarding aural moments. ; Tommy Brigg* William stout .... Art Kassul , j i , ,r .. . , jiv»i Ervll Kay Hart. good deal of the dialogue was in- Thomaslna (Tommy) rigga audible in all parts of the house. Wt , „ Pamela Printy Brian AhAmA ac Natalie Neaome ..... Francyne Semmona .Brian Anerne, as me pnilanaermg Juniper J. Juniper George Womack aristocrat, though he looked the Jimmy Wilson Ray Hilton part and played it excellently, was particularly apt to speak too fast, “Naughty Natalie” ; is obviously but the Lunts themselves often designed as a two-for-one offering, tossed a line away. This will cer- Threefer or fourfer or maybe tainly be corrected before the play freefer would be niore suitable, leaves Boston, for the superlative t»i*« k,. n,nmr eviddnt* 1 0f Lvnt “ ^ erywher s Gdldbwg, erstwhile tartn?r , 0 T ' . ‘ . . .. . Jules Pfeiffer, to take over the Edna BesL completing the four- latter’s “School for Brides/* dates s « n lu’ con ^ r ^ u ^ e ^ a lively portrait called off because of Pfeiffer’s ill- of the petulant Bostonian wife of ness. It’s just plain terrible, the railroad builder. Only three hi other performances need mention. J® jf ^? r i?. on larJ C t r ^ These are by Brenda Forbes in a w ^ick the cast works hard; It sharp and aniusing characterization a s ^ 0 , r ^ a , executive who of the Marchioness’ confidant; acquires a bogus wife and child Jerome Quilty, in a notable sketch 5? Per the edict of his board of of a harrassed provincial parson, directors that employees must be and Dorothy Sands, whose bit as a ia c mi }y men Coincidences, a couple libidinously preoccupied old coun- of female impersonations and a tess is contained in a torrential and gratuitous kidnaping provide him comical monolog. Other brief w i th n°t one, but three apparent speaking parts, capably accounted wives and kids. It all simmers down for, are givgn by Phyllis Connard, to an off-color curtain gag* Nina Reader and Bruce Webster. Single set is obviously a cheapy. All in all, it would seem that with sleazy drapes and a couple the Lunts’ numberless admirers of ramshackle door frames repre- will happily overlook the words senting an apartment. In the title for the music. The words are often Part, Francyne Semmons is an at j Phnrt and npf*a«inr>nltv'hrilHn'nf. tractive , blond. With Plenty Of SCHEDULED OPEN! Wild Ooos* Chas«, Embassy (10-19). Jdah of Arc, Stoll (10-20). Book of Month, Cambridge (10-21), Matchmaker, Haymarket (11-4-54). good and occasionally brilliant, but tractive blond, with plenty it is the music of tlie.Lunts’ own figure, William Slout is creditably persuasive perssonalities mingled harried, Ray Hilton does what he so beautifully here that will carry can with a femme takeoff, this play. Elie. Mur/.