Variety (January 26, 1955)

LEGITIMATE Shows on Broadway Tli«‘ TiltiP of Your Life I played so memorably by Celeste city center Theatre Co. <Jean j Holme in the original production. Dar'mple. director! revival of comedy in I Justine Johnston is effective as the two acts by William Saroyan Stars fran- chot Tone: features Harold Lang. Myron McCormick. John Carradine. Paula Kau- rente Lonny Chapman. Lenka Peterson, liiff McGuire. John Handolph. Mike Kel- lin. Bill' M Greene. Arthur Jarrett. Siinuel Henskin. Gloria Vanderbilt. Di- rection. Sanford Meisner: scenery. Wat- Uarratt: costumes. Giace Houston: p'kKIETY I # New Linklater Comedy To Preem in Glasgow Glasgow, Jan. 25. New play, “The Isle of Women,” would-be blind date. Rosana San by Eric Linklater. is set to prvein Marco is amusing as the bar- at the Citizens’ Theatre here reb. tender's excitably talkative mother. 28. It is comedy, localed in a Lon- Bettv Bartley and Doris Roberts don theatre and an island off the are diverting as tart-talking trol- west Scotland coast, lops and Albert Whitley is proper- p , Vincent Carroll’s “The Old music. Max Marlin and Eidie Barefield; I ly supiM ClllOUS 3S the SOCietj hllS* t Foolishness" will precede the Link- lighting. Jean Rosenthal. At City Center. . band. laf^r nlav nnenine at the same the- ny. Jan. 19. 55 ; *3 45 top. 0 *trin Making her Broadway bow as a ld b “Thp River Line” joV* 5 Franchot Tone disillusioned nurse. Gloria Vander- , a \ re Feb M . T ftnf)nn success Arab R i^°w e Grwn" bi,t seemed nervous opening night. Charles Morgan s L • I»,unkarrt • • ^ McCormick • palpably inexperienced. Linda will open:March I 3 . .All . ^ree Willie' 1 e ......... ... Fred Kareman | Berlin, daughter of songwriter plays will be produced b> Richaid Tom P-ISrif.n I Irving Berlin, is also making her Mathews, formerly of the Wilson w l “rv Dl,Vdl ^'Viaroid Lang i Broadway debut as the bartender’s Barrett Repertory Co. Dudley . Bigg McGuii>t ' daughter. • New play. “Heather on Fire, by ^* slev Justine Johnston Sanford Meisner’s staging seems Scot playwright-novelist Moray Mc- BUck"* . Y.’.Y,".V....... • Arthur Jarrett 1 well organized, considering the Laren. will preem March 14 at Mary 1 £»r o1 ^rac* : complexity of the show and the p e rth Theatre, with Lennox Milne, McCarthy / '.7.7.7.* John 'Randolph limited rehearsal period. Watson , the author’s wife, playing a lead. N, C k's Ma Rosana s*n Marco Barratt. who designed the original Kit Carsun presentation, has turned out what i Anna r ‘‘‘.‘.V.. T LR»da Berlin : W»oks like an excellent reproduc- stteetwaiker Betty Bartley ; tion. and Jean Rosenthal has pro-. Her Sidekick vided expressive lighting. Society Gentleman . Albert Whitley j All in all. this looks like an ex- cops Clifton James. John Peiietti ; e ellent prospect for transfer to Others Wednesday, January 26 , 1935 Inside Stuff—Legit Fact that Lynn Fontanne and Tallulah Bankhead missed perform- antes recently in “Quadrille” and “Dear Charles.” respectively, while A E. Matthews was out for two shows of “Manor of Northstead.” in London, emphasized the infrequency of such lapses by the veteran legit plavers. Miss Fontanne had a virus infection, missing her fir>t performance since 1928. when she was out of “Caprice” because of an emergency appendectomy. Miss Bankhead missed three performances due to an eye infection. For 85-year-old Matthews, who had a cold, it was his first missed show in 70 years on the stage. The British star said he was treating the ailment with a bottle of gin. He returned to the cast in two days, though not entirely recovered. Unlike some of the younger crop of stars, such vets as the Lunts, Miss Bankhead. Matthews. Helen Hayes, Katherine Cornell and Shirley Booth almost never miss performances. In most cases It’s apparently not only a matter of taking better care of themselves and conserving their vitality for the theatre, but also a matter of attitude. There seems to be less tendency among the newcomers to regard stardom as a responsibility as well as an honor. Incidentally, that point was stressed, in a recent editorial in the Actors Equity magazine. David Martin. Nina Wilcox Saroyanism. the “Life Can Be Beautiful” of literati-legit. is still Eood entertainment in 1955 as it w as in 1939 But after the matur-) ing events of a couple of wars, its i excessive aren’t-people-wonderful j Broadway for a commercial run. provided, of course, that the large company is willing to go along on moderate salaries. Kobe. Festival ‘Fanny’ Taking National Ads As Tourist Hypo After Initial B.O. Click The management of “Fanny” is banking on the long standing theory that after the first few weeks of the run, Broadway hits are sus- tained by out-of-towners. In a Walter Fried (In —oci.tion with Felix ^ m()V g for seUout shoW , the ' coomc invenile If nnlv Brentanoi production of farce In three acts t***- ° philosophy seems juvenile, it oni> bv Sani anrt Be]Ia Sp< , wacK Star , Paul H m- David Merrick-Joshua Logan pro- William Saroyan would Stoop to a reid. Bettv Field: features Luba Malina. , hooan an pvtpnsive ad- little intellectual self-discipline, or | George Voskovec. Pat Hingie. Patricia , duct ion began an extensive aa with an Englund. .Abbott Lee Buskin. James vertlSing Campaign this month tO 1 Q ~— Ann Barlow. Harry Shaw Lowe hypo hinterland interest in the Residents of the New York metropolitan area take in an average of more than eight Broadway shows yearly, while the average for out-of-town visitors is five-and-a-half. Figures are based on a survey made last March by Playbill, New York theatre program firm. Of 3,763 persons checked. 2.618 '69.57%) lived in the metropolitan ana and attended the theatre a total of 21.845 times annually. The remain- ing 1.145 (30.43%) legitgoers lived outside the New York commuting area and had an aggregate Broadway patronage of 5,153 times yearly. Also surveyed were the number of trips made to N.Y. by out-of-town buyers, merchandise men and store owners. A query of that element resulted in a 20% response. Breakdown according to territories, listing the average number of trips, with the average legit attendance in parenthesis, follows: North and northeast, 13.5 (15); south, 9 (10); southwest, 4 <6.5>; midwest, 5.7 (10.7) and the Coast, 3 (7.8*. put up perhaps just editor! When “The Time of Your Life’ Reese, Leslie Alan Blatt. Direction. Albert , »” j Marre: scenery and lighting. Robert musical. was originally produced a little ! Ponsacre Thea U tre! # ’N. N Y*, Jan >,C> i8. * 55 ’. Project involves what is believed over 15 years aeo by the Theatre * 575*4 so $6 90 opening*. to be an unprecedented ad splash Guild and Eddie Dowling, it was j "^auVfienfJid in such national mags as Time. not onlv good fun. but seemed pro- Bubv Patricia Knelund Good Housekeeping. Harper’s Ba- vocative and perhaps profound. A, sa.ha Rostov ...... zaar . Vogue and Better Homes A stunnineh revived b> the N. V j Foster Abbott Lee Ruskm Gardens. Coverage of these peri- C lty Center, it remains a knockout i Martova Luba ndirak k due to begin next month chnu hnt it<; ^entimentalitv IS Ji»e Fo«ter Pat Hingle oaicais is aue to De^in next hioiuii. nV^uk i«h *it s t eehniaLeDrimRivI Emilv Foster , Ann B ?' lo ' v Ipitial P hase of the cam P al S n ' vas mawkish, its teenmoue primu p r \i gernon Burton James Reese 1 c v-ritv npwsDaoer ad spread and its garrulousness practically Bs>y Leslie Alan Blatt a 13 Cll > newspapei au spieau Following is a statement by Saint-Subber. producer of “House of Flowers,” Truman Capote-Harold Alien musical at the Alvin. N. Y.: “I am completely happy that the differences and misunderstand- ings between my star, Pearl Bailey, and Peter Brook have been re- conciled and clarified and are now a thing of the past. My admiration, affection and respect for Pearl Bailey as an artist and a person is limitless.” This presumably refers to reports in Variety and elsewhere that Miss Bailey and Brook, the show’s director, had a backstage spat during the recent tryout in Philly, and that the singer-comedi- enne left town and threatened not to return to the cast unless Brook was dropped as stager. epic. Sarovan has a sense of fabulous Jan. 9. a Sunday. During a long and productive Hitting one paper in each of the characterization, coupled with a writing career. Sam and Bella Spe- towns covered, bill for the Jan. 9 giant-size capacity for comedy. And , wack have undoubtedly encoun- exploitation was $4,400. Cities although he has an embarrassing : tered some spectacular eccentrics, included Atlanta, Baltimore. Chi- tendency to repeat himself (he not Taking an assortment, the hus- j cago. Cincinnati. Detroit, Houston, only has one character say what b a n d - w i f e playwrights have Memphis. Minneapolis and St. another has already said, but goes | whacked together a rough and Louis. Incorporated in the ads tumble farce about the^ concert were mail order coupons for the Original Last business, titled Festival. show, currently In its 12th week Theatre Guild <in association with Eddie j Costarring Paul Henroid and at the Majestic Theatre, N. Y. Dowiingi production, staged by Dowiine ; Bettv Field, the rumpus has a few j n the national mags will also Vhi. 1 ™ S i„g moments, but never quite in clude the coupons. scenerv* Watson Barrett. At Booth. N.Y.* .jells into satisfactory entertain- TFira T Anon c V Pnhrmon tloroM oct. ?5. * 39 ; played ib 5 ©erformanee*. ] men t and after progressively huf- _ Logan-S. N. Behrman-Harold KSS" ,,os ‘ j fine and puffing with inventive et- Rome tuner has been carrying a iviYn. .*,V.V.7.*.V.'.V.*.’.V. .7 will li. fort, it finallv wears Itself out and , consistently heavy ad budget, av- Jr w Eddi ^ Do ~ ,in< I lets down the audience. It’s a eraging about $3,500 a week. Tom .' ". 7 . 7 . 7 . 7 . . E"dw*rd Andrew, doubtful bet for Broadway, dubi- Although concentration is being Kittv Duval Julie Haydon ous material for pictures, but is a given to potential out-of-town Harry* ' ’ .'\7 Cl, Gene°Keiiy moderate prospect for stock. ticket buyers, the management Wesley Reginald Beane 1 "Festival” illustrates the fami- 1 overlooking local patronage. i liar theoo- that the success of farce In another rarity for legit adver- Arab Houseiey Stevens Sr. depends primarily on the initial tising, the musical is running N.Y. i premise. If the first few minutes subway placards on the Independ- McCarthy .. . Tom Tuiiv of a farce are believable and the ent line, at a monthly cost of kit Carson Len Doyle basic situation is funny, an audi- $2,500. Current plans call for ex- sJlior ^RandoVnh w a de ence is likely to accept and laugh pansion of the subway advertising. rU,, if' ‘t* I Besides the ads. show is «i w H.r st<t. Kick .!'"!* M.rv ! J- *■’f 'f!!* 1 * nfi 1 .. i,* ’f “V going all out in the publicity de- Society Lad> ... Eva Leonard Boyne i ter> aien t solid, the play is an a.- Da »*»ment emDlovine three nress- Society Gentleman Ainsworth ArnoM most sure Stiff. f A, f 5 , t fu ^ Cops Randolph Wade. John Farrell j n rase 0 f this Spewack con -1 Drumbeater foi the tuner , —: coc tion. the premise and the char- ls P lc *5 ^j® ver * with Abner Klip- in for having someone sav. acters seem labored and only mild- ste ! n handling special promotion “What?” after a long sentence, and ly interesting. Some of the subse- ♦md co-op tieups and Maxine Keith then having the original sneaker ouent incidents are moderate’.* just hired as radio-tv contact. Cost repeat the whole ♦ v ’in"i and wo’- funny and a couple of the charac-, for the trio tops $600 a week. Tak- The old Tabor Opera House, Leadville, Col., is up for sale. The spot, built in 1879 by Horace Tabor, former Lt. Gov. of Colorado and an early mining millionaire, has belonged to the Leadville Elks club since 1905. House functioned as a film theatre under the Elks management. Tabor, who was characterized in a Hollywood film tagged “Silver Dollar.” almost created a national scandal because of his romance with “Baby Doe,” whom be later married. News of the im- pending sale of the property was carried in the Territorial Enterprise, Virginia City. Col., paper published and edited by former N.Y. Herald Tribune staffer Lucius Beebe. Elia Kazan, explaining that he prefers to stage new plays rather than revivals, was quoted by William Peper in the N. Y. World-Tele- gram last week. “I only want to do things that I know about per- sonally. I’m a great admirer of Chekhov but what do I know about 19th-century Russia? And I’m not a Shakespeare man. A lot of his plays are badly constructed and I’m not taken in by the poetry. I agree with Shaw when he said his plays were better than Shakespeare’s. I like ‘Hamlet’ and ’Othello,’ but ‘Macbeth’ you can keep.” Legit Bits lows in some pretty sophormoric humanitarianism. the comedy as a tors, while uncomfortably stereo- ing a cue from film explolation __ type, are fairly laughable. But the tactics, plans are in the works to whole is refreshing^ goofy and general impression is labored and send out various non-performers filled with delicious little touches, the ultimate effect is rather flat. associated with the musical on As always, the author’s knowing | The plot involves (an understate- good-will hinterland tours, use of music is an eloquent asset. ment> an imperious concert: mana- • Fannv ” incidentals startpd a Perhaps only under a minimum- ! gcr w ho is trying to cajole his star , . d n -,; 1 ♦ „a salary arrangement could such a client, an egocentric pianist, to ful- , "' ia JJ"® 1 advertising trend large-cast show be satisfactorily fill a contracted appearance at a ri Lue mag last September. Other done today. At any rate, the pres- Mexican music festival. He is vis- that have taken similar ads ent revival seems, in most re- ited by an intense schoolteacher **’ * V, e s*nce then are “Silk Stock- spects. better than the original. It determined to obtain an audition j n Ss. ’ “House of Flowers” is outstanding in the performances and career for her moppet pianist “Saint of Bleeckcr Street.” of Franchot Tone as the quixotic, protege. The harum-scarum com- champagne-mellowed San Francis- : plications are too complex to keep co saloon habitue. Myron McCor- quite straight, but include forged and mlck as the tolerant bartender Paula Laurence as the adventurous ‘Ponder’ Dramatization telegrams, hints of illegitimacy, a Jerome Chodorov and Joseph champagne binge, a fistfight and ' Fields are dramatizing the Eudora society slummer. Lonny Chapman two long reminiscenes of a lurid Welty novel, “The Ponder Heart.” as the dimwit errand runner. Biff seduction. for possible production next sea- McGuire as the girl-crazy phone Henreid is authoritative as son. probably by Joseph M. Hvman caller. John Randolph as the world- the arrogant concert manager, and anfl « prnar H Hart ly stevedore and Mike Keliin as Miss Field Is expertly comic in ’ the cop with a rebellious imagine -1 the stencil role of the spinster The collaborators have also writ- tion. , schoolteacher, although she is l h e book for a musical, Harold Lang is notable as the ! stuck with some of the dowdiest “Dancin’ Day,” for which Frederick sad hoofer who yearns to be a gowns ever imposed on an attrac- Loewe is composing the music and comic. John Carradine is aupre- tive actress. Harold Rome will supply the lyrics, ciative but a bit slow as the Mun- There are capable caricatures by The show is based on Paul Vincent chausen frontiersman. Lenka Pe- Luba Malina as a temperamental Carroll's “Saints and Sinners.” terson gives admirable conviction Russian cellist without discernible to the preposterous role of the moral sense and George Voskovec prostitute, and there are satisfac- as the rampaging pianist, and ac- don't quite succeed in making an tory bits by Art Ostrin as the ccptable straight performances by i uninspired antic hilarious. Robert newsbov who wants to be a singer. Patricia Englund as the impre- O'Hearn has designed a suitably Wolfe Barzell as the harmonica- sario's imperturbable secretary and 1 pretentious Hollywood mansion in- playing gaffer. Billy Mr. Greene bv Harry Shaw Lowe. Abbott Lee terior setting and Noel Taylor has as a reeling souse. Fred Kareman Ruskin. Pat Hingte, Ann Barlow provided the unprepossessing cos- as the marble machine addict. Sam- ] and James Reese in subordinate lumes. uel Benskin as the unobtrusive parts, incidentally, the entire cast, j Perhaps a decade or so. when the piano player and Arthur Jarrett as including the bit players, gets the villainous detective. billing. Carol Grace is acceptable as the Albert Marre has staged the pro- unhappy lady drinker. Mary L.. * duction with broad strokes that odds weren’t so tough on Broad- way. “Festival” might have clicked, but it's too feeble for todav’s bru- tal requirements. Ho be. Mai Zetterling, who was brought from London recently to costar with Louis Jourdan in “Tonight in Samarkand.” planed back last Sat- urday (22) after accepting a settle- ment of her breach of contract claim against producers Bruce Becker and Robert Ellis Miller . . . A special exhibition. “Ethel Barry- more and Her Career.” opens to- day (Wed* at the Museum of the City of N.Y. and will continue through next summer. The Binghampton (N.Y.) Sum- mer Theatre has become affiliated with the Stage and Arena Guild of America . . . Paintings by Geoffrey Holder, leading dancer in “House of Flowers.” are being exhibited at the Barone Gallery, N.Y. . . . Robert Goss lias joined the na- tional company of “Wonderful Town” . . . Marcel Vertes will do the sets and costumes for the musi- cal version of “Seventh Heaven.” skedded for Broadway production by Gant Gaither and William Baeher. Sara Leve will design the sets for the three-play series to be pre- sented at the Downtown National Theatre, beginning Feb. 16, with Maurice Schwartz starring . . . Sam Friedman will pressagent the “ANTA Album,” while drumbeater Joseph Hedit is consultant to CARE on the closed-circuit tele- cast of the show. “I’m an Indoor Girl.” a new song by Michael Brown, has been in- serted in the second act of “House of Flowers” as a number for Pearl Bailey . . . Alberta Hunter, under- study. went on in “Mrs. Patterson” last Tuesday-Friday (18-21) when Estelle Hemsley was ill . . . Her- man Kogan, critic of the Chicago Sun-Times, in New York for 10 days to catch the new’ shows. Touring “Fifth Season” has dropped Sunday matinees in favor of regular Monday night perform- ances at the Erlanger. Chicago . . . “Climate of Fear.” a drama by Charles Ayeoek Poe about Wash- ington investigations, is being readied for tryout by the Raleigh (N.C.) Little Theatre. The author Ls a local attorney . . . Dave Fer- guson. executive secretary of the Jewish Theatrical Guild, is re- cuperating at Polyclinic Hospital, N.Y., after a heart attack. Producer-director George Ab- bott is the subject of an article, “Broadway’s Most Successful Penny Pincher,” by Maurice Zolotow. in the current Saturday Evening Post . . . Bud Gammon and Pat Leonard plan a Broadway production of ‘‘And the Leaves Cried,” a drama by John Duff Stradley . . . Charles R. Meeker Jr., managing director of State Fair Musicals, Dallas, goes to the Coast next Friday (28) to o.o. talent for the 12-week Texas season, June 13-Sept. 4 . . . Ramsey Burch, associate director of Thea- tre ’55. Dallas, is the new prez of Southwest Theatre Conference, which meets there next Saturday (29>. Afro Arts Theatre will present “Dramatic Concerto.” a program of readings by Simon Bly Jr., Ger- trude Harrington. Charles McRey and Osborne Smith, March 4-10 at the Club Barron. Harlem, N. Y., and March 11-27 at the YMCA, Harlem, N. Y. ... Max Gendel will pressagent the tour of “Solid Gold Cadillac”.. Jean Stein, daughter of Music Corp. of America board chairman Jules Stein, is secretary- office assistant to stager Elia Kazan.. As expected, the City Center revival of “Time of Your Life” may be transferred to Broad- way, with Alexander H. Cohen and Ben Marden partnering in the venture . Marjorie Lord succeeds Kitty Carlisle next week as femme lead in “Anniversary Waltz ” Ethel Linder Ryan, producer of “The Rainmaker." will present next season a musical version of Voltaire’s "Candide.” with book by Lillian Heilman, score by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by John La- touche, Miss Heilman and Bern- stein . . . David Wayne is with- drawing Feb. 12 from the role of Sakini in the Broadway company of “Teahouse of the August Moon, so E i Wallaeh will take over that part, while John Forsythe con- tinues to play Capt. Fisby until April 30.