Variety (October 1954)

140 LEGITIMATE Wednesday, October 20, 1954 Charge Account Trips Continue^ from page 137 f" —— trips. -Patrons would also have the Catalogs would be given free, with option to travel by bus or plane at monthly inserts, . to producers, proportionately different rates, , t ' directors, designers, stage mana- First junket froni New York to fiers, . etc. Income from the a tryout town is already set. It operation would come from nrms will be Dec. 3 by bus to Philly for paying for listing of their avail- a performance during; the pre- able products in 1 the catalog, ’Idea Broadway tuneup engagement of i s » of course, that manufacturers '.‘Silk Stockings,'’ the Feuer & Mar-! are almost invariably glad to lend tin production .of the musical ver- a product to a tele pr. legit show in sion of “Ninotchka,” with book by return for program credit. George Kaufman, and Leueen Mac- Plans are already underway for Grath and songs by Cole Porter, weekly trips next summer from and with Hildegarde Neff and Don New York to strawhat and musical a t ‘ ■ a '. •' *j • i. .a i • _ ’a ■ _ ' _1 • ' _/» Current Road Shows Ameche as costars. tent theatres within radius of The "Silk $tdckings M trip, in the about 60 miles. Two such jaunts nature of a tryout itself; will leave tried by Cohen last summer in con- frOm the midtown area of New nection with bis tryout of the York, perhaps Shubert Alley. Leslie Stevens comedy, “Cham- Patrons will, be taken to Book- pagne Complex,” at the Bucks binder’s, a noted Philly restaurant, County Playhouse, New Hope, Pa., then to the Shubert theatre for convinced him of. the possible scope the show and back to New York the of the whole show-trip idea, same night. Departure from New Although only 115 went along York will, be about 4 p.m. and ar- for the '‘Champagne” ride (all that rival back. at 2 a m. Inclusive could be accommodated), nearly price will be approximately $14.*. 1,200 applications were returned. Charge Acct. Angle The TSI plan: will be nationally The charee account ansle will merchandised through commercial apply to l me trips and ydllalspbe tieiips with organizations giving expanded to cover all ticket pur- travel tour trips as selling incen- chases at Ne(v York theatres. This five's.. Advertising will be handled is being arranged through the Blaine Thompson. Golden Key Club, national Milton R. Weir is attorney for charge system for eating places. TSI, with Murray Hollander ac- Out-oLtown trip costing $80 or countant, Milton Lowenberg insur- more may be financed and paid for ance consultant and a staff includ- witlt 20% down and the balance ing Carol Martin,. William Putter- over a period of months- rhan, Gabriel Katzka and Laura over a period of months. man, Gabriel Katzka and Laura It’s figured that if the response ^ e ®- is as heavy as expected, summer “ 7 " * ““ weekend tours to New York from a <19 000 f nr TKrnA 100-mile radius can be arranged at L/a,ne «>A4,UUU IOT inree , a cost of about $40 per person. In Indianapolis Stand Arrangements to obtain the tickets Indiafiapolis, Oct. 19. have already been made with the ~ . 1 ; ^ shnhf»rfc rtfu Pi>ixrViniieac<. Paul- Douglas, Wendell Corey Shuberts, City Playhouses,, and and Steve Sodie iiT^Caine m£ Martin Beck theatres 1 and bteve • die ’ in ■ aine Mu tiny Court Martial,” grossed $12,- Tickets will be purchased at the 000 at $4 top ($4.40, tax included) boxoffice, without discount re- in three performances to. open the turn privilege. This will not in- roadshow season at the Murat here volve competition with the brok- Oct. 14-16. ers, as tickets will not be obtained House will get off to a faster for individuals, but only for groups start than last season, with nation- attending together as part of a al company of “Seven Year Itch” junket. It's hoped that the trips set for three days, Nov. 1-3, and will bring 75,000 new legit patrons BaBe t Theatre for tw ights, Nov. to New York during 1955, 4 " 5, ... $250,000 Stock Corp. n i l l i \r a Project is being worked out by scheduled N.I. UpeniRgS Theatrical Subsidiaries Inc.; formed '* last week as a $250,000 stock eor- (Theatre indicated if set ) poration, with producer Alexander Mhinwiv and Peter Pan, W. Garden (10-20). A P V ? alph Traveling Lady, Playh’se (10-27). n aS vl(?e? P resi 4ent, Laura Rainmaker, Cort (10*28). D. Williams, secretary, and an ad- Quadrille; Coronet (11-3). yisory board including producers Fanny, Majestic (11-4), Herman Levin, Robert Whitehead, Wedding Br’kf’st, 48th St. (11- John C. Wilson, Arnold Saint Sub- 16). ber, Cheryl Crawford, Herman Living Room/Miller (11-17). Shumlin. and theatre executive Hot Rock- (11-22). Louis A. Lotito. One Eye Closed, Bijou (11-24). TSI also plans puBlishlng a cata- £!f 6 , ^ ,affable for. legit and Qll with Show, Hell’ger (12-2). television shows, etc., on a gratis Shoemaker’s Children (wk., ADVANCE AGENTS! COMPANY MANAGERS ! W. have been serving theatrical show* for ovar 42 years. Ours is tha oldest, most reliable and ax- p.rianced transfer company on the West Coastl • Railroad prlWIigii for .handling ■hows and theatrical luggage. • Complete Warehouse iadliti • Authorized in California., Equipped to frontier and haul anywhere in V. S I • R ATES ON REQUEST I Atlantic Transfer Company GEORGE CON ANT 1100 East 5lh/ Street Los Angelas 13, Calif. Mutual 1121 or OXford f-4764 loan basis irqm manufactures, | 12-3). Flowering : Peach (week of 12-6). Witness For Prosecution (12-8); Portrait of a Lady, ANTA Play- house (12-9). Lunatics & Lovers, Br’dhurst (12-13). Festival (12-15). Running Mate (12-15). Between Friends (12-16). Black-Eyed Susan (12-16). Stars Person’s Backyd. (wk., 12- i9i; <* Anastasia (12-22)., What Every Woman Knows, City Center (12-22). House of Flowers, Alvin (12-23). Film Flam (12-24). Painted ‘Days (Wk., D10). Silk Stockings, Imperial (12-30). Grand Prize (wk., 1-10). Plain & Fancy (1-20). Desperate Hours (1-26). OFF-B’WAY Stone for Danny Fisher, Down- town Nat’l (10-21). Slightly Delinquent, Blackfriars (10-25). Dybbuk, 4th St. (10-26). Sandhog, Phoenix (11-23). rate special rates! Metre is comfort plus convenience — spacious,, home-like rooms, and excellent facilities in a hotel that's right in the center of Philadelphi ' ight clubs and theatres. k John Bar tramHotel tH, BkO^D AND IOCUST STREETS WM. H. HARMED, CM Mar. Wet. 18-30) Caine Mutiny Court Martial (Paul Douglas, Wendell Corey, Steve Brodie)^-Aud;, E. Lansing (i8); Central H. S., Kalamazoo (19); State Toledo (20-21); Hill Aud., Ann Arbor (22-23); Cass, Detroit (25-30). Fanny (Ezio Pinza, Walter Sle- zak) (tryout)—Shubert, Phila. (18- 30) (Reviewed in VAniETy, Sept; 22; ’54). •' Fifth Season.— Shubert, Wash, (25-30). Gentlemen Prefer. Blondes — Royal Alexandra, Toronto (18-23); Erlanger, Buffalo (25-30). Getting Gertie’s Garter— Majes- ; tie, Boston (18-30). j v King and I (Yul Brynner, Par tricia Morison)— State Fair, Dallas (18-23); Aud., Memphis (26-30>. Living Room (Barbara Bel . Ged- des)—Shubert, New Haven (28-30). Midsummer Night’s Dream (Rob- ert Helpmann, Moira Shearer, Stanley Holloway) r— Indiana U. Aud.; Bloomington <19-20); North- rop Memorial Aud., Minneapolis (22-23). Moon Is Blue (Jerome Cowan)— Nixon, Pitt (18-23); American, St. Louis (25-30). Mrs. Patterson , (Eartha Kitt) (tryout)—Harris, Chi; (18-30) (Re- viewed in Variety, Sept. 29, ’54). Naughty Natalie— KMBC Play- house, K. C. (19-24); Memorial Hall, Joplin, Mo. (25-26); Convention Hall, Tulsa, Okla. '(27); Arcadia, Wichita (28-30). Oklahoma— Capitol, Quebec (18- 19); Capitol, Barre, Vt. (20); Strand, Plattsburg, N. Y. (21); Utica, N. Y. (22-23); S R. H. S. Aud., Glens Falls, N. Y. (25); Pi*octor, Schenec- tady, N- Y. (26-28); Oxford, Plain- field, N. J. (29-30) (Reviewed in Variety ; Oct; 13, ’54). . Quadrille (Alfred Lunt, Lyxin Fontanne, Edna Best, Brian Aherne) (tryout)—Colonial, Bos- ton (18-30). ' Rainmaker (Geraldine Page) (tryout)—Walnut St., Phila. (18-23) (Reviewed in Variety, Oct. 13, ’54). Saint Joan (Jean Arthur) (try- out)—Cass, Detroit (18-23); Cox; Cincinnati (25-30) (Reviewed in Variety, Sept. 22, ’54). Seven Year Itch (Eddie Bracken) —Capitol, Salt Lake City (18^19); Aud., St. P’aul (22-24); Iowa, Cedar Rapids (26); Pabst, Milwaukee (27- 30): - South Pacific (Iva Withers, Webb Tilton)—Forrest, Phila: (18-30). Time Out for Ginger (Melvyn Douglas)—H. S: Aud., Topeka (18); Arcadia, Wichita (19); Aud., Den- ver (21-23); Capitol, Salt Lake City (25-26); Marlow, Helena; Mont. (28); Bow, Butte, Mont. 29); Fox, Billings; Mont. (30). Traveling Lady (Kim Stanley), (tryout)—- Harina, Cleve. (18-23) (Reviewed in Variety, Oct. 13, '54). . Wedding Breakfast —Playhouse, Wilmington. Del. (28-30). What Every Woman Knows (Helen Hayes)—Huntington Hart- ford, L. A. (18-23); Curran, S. F. (25-30). Reviewed in Variety, Sept. 29, ’54). Wonderful Town (Carol Chan- ning)—Shubert, Chi. (18-30). World of Sholom Aleichem— Parsons, Hartford (28-30). Shuberts-League sssss Continued from past 137 worked out by the League. How- ever, the Shuberts are now out of the organization both officially and actually; and are apparently inclined to act independently in union matters, J. J. Shubert’s withdrawal from the League followed the group’s refusal of his demand that Milton R. Weijr be dropped as League counsel. The attorney had for many years represented Shubert’s brother, Lee Shubert, Until the lat- ter's death last winter. The. Shu- bert brothers had carried a bitter feud for some years. Apparently under J. J. Shubert pressure, Weir resigned from the Klein & Weir law firm that repre- sented the Shuberts. William & Jacob Klein thereupon took in Adolph Lund as a hew partner to take active charge of the Shubert legal affairs, and the law office was moved into the space formerly occupied by Lee Shubert in the Shubert Theatre building. Weir, meanwhile, represents Lee Shubert’s estate and is attorney for Milton Shubert, nephew of Lee and J. j. and the designated suc- cessor of Lee under the latter’s will. However, shortly after Lee’s death, J. J. forced Milton out of the Shubert firm and ousted him from his office in the Shubert building. AS the sole surviving partner, J. J: has full control of the Shubert interests. London ‘Can-Can’ Continued (com page 137 sisimmm box except that fury of leggy, joy- ous, Indecorous dancing girls,” Maurice Wiltshire, in the Daily Mail, quoted a line from, one of the Cole Porter lyrics, “But it is alt right with me,” and went on to add, “With me it was not quite so all right;” He found nothing mem- orable * any of the music, al- though some of the lyrics were cyn- ically bright and amusing; He opined that the evening went to Miss Hilda, “the only real Parisian thing of the show except Motley’s exquisite and thoroughly: convinc- ing sets.” . S . .. Sauce and Sex’ Daily Mirror critic Eve Chapman suggested that the production has: “little else but the ‘Can-Can.’ The program said Cole Porter wrote the music; but this is not the vintage Porter. In spite of its first-night faults, it will be a. success, because it supplies spectacle, sauce and sex.” " The. Daily Sketch review by Harold Coriway was spread over four columns with this heading: “Oh, What a Dull Can-Can.” He thought it was a case of Broadway turning the clock back 30 years to the days when plots were a nui- sance and only the dancing mat- tered. “Jerome Whyte’s produc- tion,” he declared, “has the skill and artistry he usually reserves for a Rodgers and Hammerstein show. But it is far from being that.” The Times criticism, unsigned as Usual, concluded with the comment that* it. was a .disappointing evening in which'the scenery, .deservedly . comes in for more spontaneous ap-. plause than anything else. The re- viewer noted that “the Composer’s relative failure is the more marked and the more disappointing since the story he is working on is a curiously charmless affair.” W. A* Darlington, veteran critic of the Daily Telegraphy asserted that the show does not rank very high; “in the long and magnificent list of musicals that America has sentois; but it has one invaluable claim to popularity, it gives chance after chance to a highly expert team of dancers." Paul . Holt’s notice in the DaHy Herald was headlined “Can-Can Just Can’t.” He commented, “It is probably the poorest show Broad- way has sent us since the war. The tunes, if you judge them by Cole Porter’s standards, are second-rate. There is not a big hit in the show.” Alan Dent raved. His notice was Show a ’Triumph’ headlined “Cole Porter Show Is New Triumph,” and he described it as “witty” and added, “The whole delightful production is an im- provement in both attack and vi- tality on the one still running in New, York. The evening’s chief triumph here, as. there, belongs to Cole Porter.”, He referred to the composer’s “10 , excellent songs,” and makes a play on' one of his lyrics, “I Love Paris,” concluding with the Comment “We Love Porter every, season of the year.” The three London evenings on Friday were divided two-to-one, against, with the one favorable n(K tice coming from the News. Chron- icle’s stable companion, the Star. Milton Shulman hit hard in his Evening Standard review, insisting that “Can-Can” falls far short of the standard of accomplishment “we have, now come to expect from this type of transatlantic import. Tril lyrics by Cole Porter and the lines by Abe Burrows, I’m afraid, maintain a consistent level of banality rising to Occasional peaks of mediocrity,” Stephen Williams, the Evening News critic, asserted that the au- thor took Herculean pains to be funny and. rated the Cole Porter | music surprisingly undistinguished. In D.C. for American Bow; LuisiDo Star Standout Washington, Oct. 19. Ballets Espagnols, Spanish dance company, which began its Ameri- can tour There last night (Mon.), appears set for certain success in the U. S. Following its one-week Washington stand, it moves to New York for a month and then heads for the provinces. Company, starring the team of Teresa & Luisillo, 'operates , along the same general lines as the Jose Greco troupe, and will benefit by the fact that Greco has been pop- ularizing this type of attraction, throughput the U. S. • in the past few years. Ballets Espagnols is more defi- nitely the ballet and classical com- pany of the two, although the sec- ond half of the program is just as light, fast moving, and, popular as anything offered by the Greco company. There is no duplication of material between the two com- panies. . Luisillo, star of the troupe; is as fine a Spanish dancer as has been seen on these shores, good ehough to dance Greco off : any floor you care to name. Another standout is Maria Vivo, young, singer and dancer.' Gal displays a fine .sense of comedy. Troupe as whole shows flashing grace and charm and can be rated with the best of its type, Loice. ‘Evai^eline’ Reading On NX Stage as Video Test Staats Cotsworth, legit-radio-tw actor, is experimenting in adapta- tions of classics, for stage and video. Having drummed interest last year in a treatment of “Mac- beth” designed to show adaptabil- ity of classics to the ty medium by use of a modified platform-reading technique, CotsWorth is at present polishing a lectern-concert presen- tation' of Longfellow’s “Evange- line,” with four actor-narrators and a singing-speaking chorus. Presentation of the concert-read- ing of “Evangeline.” Is planned for a late November stage date in N.Y. with music and choral arrange- ments by Charles Paul, and a cast including Muriel Kirkland, Paul McGrath, Horace Braham and Alexander Scourby as the nar- rators, Cotsworth Will direct the production. Equity Show (Oct. 18-31) Fallen Angels—Lenox Hill Play- house, N. Y. (20-24). Stock Tryout fact. 18-30) Shoemaker's Children, by Phoebe and Henry Ephron—Bucks County Playhouse, New Hope, Pa, (25-30), common stock The Compknjr will employ its funds in a diversi|fied entertainment enter- prises connected with television,, motion pictures, and the theatre. Price SOI« shove I Hourwooe anchs, imc. D#pt . V ; I 2t West IBM St., M.y. iJ, N. P jTRafalier 4-1119 I Ssnd Free Offering Circular Without cost I iancy kenyon Currently on TOUR ROMBERG FESTIVAL INC AC)