Variety (February 1957)

Vedneflday» February 20» 1957 P^iEfr LEGITIMATE 57 HeDinger Selli^ for $3,l)l)9,i0 To Undisclosed (Not City) Buyer 4 ^ :: ‘Gendeman’ to Get Show Tour Hypo; TT&P Launches New Package Plan; Seek State bw Change to O.K. Biz ^ A deal has reportedly been con¬ cluded for the sale of the Mark Hellinger Theatre, N. Y., for $3,000,000. The identity of the pur¬ chaser is being wtlhheld for the present, but it’s not City Investing Co., which had been negotiating for the property for several months. According to trade ru¬ mors, the buyer may be the owner of the adjoining property fronting on Broadway, including Lindy’s Restaurant. , * It’s understood that the deal in¬ volves a $750,000 down payment, with the balance to be paid at the rate of $250,000 a year, with inter¬ est at 2%. Albany Inudustriallst Anthony Brady Farrell, who bought the theatre from Warner Bros, nearly 10 years ago as the start of a venture into show business, paid $1,400,000 for it. The purchase at that time did not include either the lobby entrance opening on Broad¬ way or the backstage dressing rooms. Farrell took longterm leases on the latter two sites, but subse¬ quently sublet the lobby site and has moved the theatre entrance around the corner on West 51st St. It’s understood that the new pur¬ chaser will have to continue the $40,000-a-year lease for that. The Hellinger’s present tenant, *‘My Fair Lady,” is the first hit it has had since Farrell took owner(Continued on page 60) Says Exclusive Agents Should Be Permissible If Actors Prefer Them ' New York. Editor, Variety: I would like to answer some of the loose assertions that have ap¬ peared lately about the supposed desirability of non-exclusivity of actors’ agents in the legitimate theatre. There are a few agents left who are not Interested in rep¬ resenting actors on a wholesale basis. We (those same few) work very hard and care for a group of clients year in and year out. We really manage their careers — not only in the theatre, but also in, tv and pictures. In such cases client and agent have been working as a team for a long, long time — years, in fact. We know, we respect and trust each other. If a part in a show comes up the actor wants his own agent to negotiate for him, because he knows that his own agent will work for him and not for the producer. I know that the Equity rule is that no agent may represent an actor exclusively. But why not let the actor himself decide if he would like to be represented by one agent? My clients want me to make their deals — not some agent who knows nothing of their real talents or potentialities or salaries —or if the part is right — or, in fewer words, cares nothing about the actor or his career, but only for the Immediate money he ex¬ pects to make as commission. Admittedly, many actors do not feel that way, but there are those who do. Why can’t they be ex¬ clusively represented if they choose? This is a business and we all want to be successful and make money. But we’re not selling shoes or lamps — we’re dealing with hu¬ man beings with human emotions, so let’s put the agency business on a more creative and dignified level. • Gloria Saiier. Toronto’s Annual ‘Thaw’ Schedules Tryout Tour Ottawa, Feb. 19. “Spring Thaw,” New Play So¬ ciety’s annual revue, opens a try¬ out tour tonight (Tues.) in Guelph,' Ont. After dates in St. Catherines, Hamilton and London, Ont., it “opens early in March at the Ave¬ nue Theatre, Toronto, where last year’s edition ran 104 perform¬ ances. Mavor Moore again produces, with the same cast, as last year except that Louise Thomson re¬ places Diana Laiimer, now married and living in California. Robert Goulet and Barbara Hamilton will head the troupe. NFS's production of Donald Harron and Earle Birney’s “Turvey” is currently in its fourth week at the Avenue, Off-BVay Theatres Join For Co-op Exploitation Three theatres In New York’s Greenwich Village have teamed up for promotion campaigns. They are the Cherry Lane, the Circle in the Square and the Theati*e de Lys. All are top-rated off-Broadway spots. The outfits are currently split¬ ting the expense of a centrally lo¬ cated Village billboard on which their respective productions are spotlighted. In addition, the three theatres have interchanging ads in their programs. The houses, inci¬ dentally, are within a four-block radius. The current Cherry Lane entry is “Purple Dust,” while the Circle has “Iceman Cometh” and the de Lys, the longrun “Threepenny Opera,” VanDrutenHas New Legit Play; Eyes Olf-B way John van Druten has recently completed a new legit play, but is withholding it from production for the present. The untitled script is understood to be unorthodox in form and content, and therefore possibly not suitable for commer¬ cial presentation. The playwright is said to be mulling the idea of having it produced off-Broadway. Besides writing two television scripts for presentation this spring, the author has also completed a book, “The Widening Circle,” de¬ scribed as a sort of philosophical biography. It’s due for spring re¬ lease by Scribners. In addition, he has recently written several short stories for magazine publication. Meanwhile, he has a damage suit pending against Hecht-Lancaster for alleged breach of contract for an original fijm script. The case has also caused The Screen Writ¬ ers Branch of the Writers Guild of America to put the company on its “unfair” list. The van Druten pieces for tv are “Dr. Shussy,” to be presented on the “Playhouse 90” series during March, and “The Princess Back Home,” to be done next Sunday (24) on the “Goodyear Playhouse.” A legit comedy, “Dancing in the Chequered Shade,” which closed last season during a tryout tour, is still on the production schedule of Waiter Starcke, subjject to re¬ titling and satisfactory recasting. WILUAM MORRIS’ 14 CONCERT AHRACTIONS Attractions ranging from grand opera to jazz now are being offered by the recently enlarged concert and special attractions department of the William Morris Agency. Out¬ fit now ‘has a total of 14 artists and attractions on its list, headed by Piccola Scala, the associate com¬ pany of the Milan La Scala Opera. Others on the list are the Orfecn Choir of Portugal, an 80-voice group making its first U. S. tour by special arrangement, with the Portuguese government; the Ameri¬ can Mime Theatre, only profes¬ sional mime troupe in the country; Leonard Feather and 16 artists in the Encyclopedia of Jazz; the Mar¬ ionette Theatre of Braunschweig, Germany; '‘harpist Robert Maxwell; the National Ballet Company of Canada; Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians; the Jose Greco troupe; Gracie Fields; Florian Zabach; Joyce Grenfell in “Bids You Good Evening;” the Marlow Twins, two piano team, and soprano Jan McArt. Costumers Meet Aug. 4-7 The National Costumers Assn, will hold its annual convention next Aug. 4-7 at the Sheraton-McAlpin Hotel, N. Y, Costume industry reps from the U. S., Canada and Europe will be on hand for the meet, which will be highlighted by the Bal Masque to bjt held Aug. 5. Jasper Deeler to Tutor Fiscator Drama Classes Jasper Deeter, founder of the Hedgerow Theatre, near Philadel¬ phia, the only repertory theatre in America with more than 30 years of existenof^, is joining the faculty of Piscator’s Dramatic Workshop, New York. In the professional classes he will share with Dr. Maria Piscator the coaching and training. Dr. Saul Colin is prez of Dra¬ matic Workshop in the Capitol Theatre Bldg. ‘Game’ Ends With $1355,000 Profit “Pajama Game,” the touring edi¬ tion of which closed in New Or¬ leans last Saturday (16), represents an approximate $1,355,000 profit thus far on a $250,000 investment. Additional income is expected fromstock and other subsidiary rights, including a summer pro¬ duction of the musical at the Rivi¬ era Hotel, Las Vegas. The resort cabaret presentation, which will utilize as many mem¬ bers of the touring cast as possible, is slated for a five-week run begin¬ ning June 5. It will be under the jurisdiction of Actors Equity, as was the case a couple of years ago when “Guys and'l3olls” was given a similar hotel workover In the gambling-saloon center. The profit earned by the musical thus far is based on Jan. 26 ac¬ counting, plus estimated income since then. The audit covered the four weeks ending on that date, when only the national company was in operation. The original Broadway production ended a 1,052-performance run Nov. 24. The touring edition, starring Larry Douglas, Buster West and Betty O’Neil, dropped $22,705 on the four frames reported in the accounting. Business, however, picked up during the subsequent weeks. The biggest single week’s loss for the period was $11,760 for the stanza ending Jan. 26, when the musical played only four per¬ formances, having been forced to cancel another four because of damaged scenery. The London edition of the musi¬ cal, which has been rufining for nearly a year-and-a-half, is slated to close next month. Highlights of the Jan. 26 audit of the Frederick Brisson-Robert E. Griffith-Harold S. Prince production were as fol¬ lows: Net profit, $1,349,036. Distributed profit, $1,300,000 (split 50-50 between the backers and management). Capital balance, $49,036. PLAN 3 ‘FACES’ UNITS FOR SUMMER TOURING A three-company package spread, utilizing material and performers from Leonard Sillman’s Broadway production of “New Faces of 1952” and “New Faces of 1956,” is scheduled for the stock circuit next summer. The multiple project is being packaged by Howard Hoyt, with Sillman supervising. Each of the three companies will be designed to fit the needs of a particular warm-weather outlet. One will be for the regular barns, the other for the musical tents and the last for the outdoor municipal theatres. It Seems Martyn Green Just Can’t Resist G&S Marty n Green, former D’Oyly Carte star, may return to Gilbert & Sullivan next summer. The comedian-singer and his personal manager, Hillard Elkins, are work¬ ing on two G&S packages for the strawhat icircuit. If the project materializes. Green will stage the offerings and possibly appear in one of them. Meanwhile, Green is currently a starring substitute when Cyril Ritchard misses performances in “Visit to a Small Planet” because of prior commitments with the Metropolitan Opera. He’s also scheduled to star off-Broadway in a double-bill of Jean Giraudoux short plays, adapted by Maurice Valency. The briefie progi’am, comprising “Apollo of Belles” and “The Vir¬ tuous Island,” open April 2 at an undesignated house. David Brooks will be stager. Poet’s Theatre Offers Medieval English Yarn Cambridge, Mass., Feb. 19. Poet’s Theatre opened its fourth production this season, “The Saint¬ liness of Margery Kempe” last night (Mon.). Written by New York playwright John Wulp, the comedy is about medieval England. Sarah Braveman plays the title role and the cast includes Jack Rogers, Michael Lanenthal, Patri¬ cia Guest, Don Cerulli, Beatrice Paipert, . Lew Petterson, Robert Handy and Bernard Miller. Equity Picks Up 5 Agent Tickets; GrMs 4 Others The drive by Actors Equity to remove inactive agents from its list of licensed percenters has thus far resulted in the voluntary re¬ turn of five franchises. Answers still haven’t been received, how¬ ever, from about 20 other agents who were sent notices to show cause why . their franchise should not be revoked. The percenters, who’ve turned in their licenses are Frances Rob¬ inson, Mark Hanna, A1 Knight, Robert Schultz and Martin Poll. The union, which plans to grant new franchises only if vacancies occur, has filled four of the five openings. Those granted licenses were Lillian Arnold, Archer King, Barna Ostertag and Isobel Baker. The Equity move to defranchise inactive agents was cued by a com¬ plaint from one of its members that the percenter field is over¬ crowded and that less than 25 of the reps are of real value to the actors. AFM BOARD HOLDS UP TOOTER-ANGEL RULING The International Exec^utive Board of the American Federation of Musicians has Indefinitely de¬ ferred decision on the validity of the recently-adopted Local 802 by¬ law prohibiting its members from servicing legit productions in which they’ve invested. Meyer Davis, bandleader, orchestra con¬ tractor and legit backer, who’s challenged the validity of the rul¬ ing, and Local 802 were notified of the board’s action last week. Until a decision is made, the stay granted by James C. Petrillo, AFM president, barring enforcement of the by-law remains in effect. Davis and Local 802 reps appeared Jan. 17 before the full executive board in New York to argue the case. Appearing for the union were the four top officials, headed by pre.sident A1 Manuti, together with members Morris Stonzek, Sol Giisikoff and Carl Prager. Joining Davis in opposing the measure was Samuel Tabak, an as'sociate, while letters from Guy Lombardo and Victor Borge sup¬ porting his stand were received and placed in evidence. Gene Wesson ‘Happy’ As Standby foi ‘Follies’ Gene Wesson will be collecting salai’ies from two Broadway shows at the same time when “Ziegfeld Follies” opens March 1 at the Win¬ ter Garden Theatre, N. Y. The for¬ mer Wesson Bros, nitery comedian, who’s currently playing the Chi¬ cago Tribune reporter in “Happy Hunting,”' will double as Billy De Wolfe’s standby in the “Follies.” His deal with the managements of both shows stipulates that noti¬ fication that he’s going on for De Wolfe must be made before 7 p.m. of the night of the performance. An understudy will sub for him In “Hunting” when he goes on in the“Follies.” A rash of new developments is erupting on the legit package tour front. It includes a unique Theatre Tours merchandising campaign for a Broadway play, a new Theatre Trains & Planes service and the introduction of bills in the New York State Legislature to legalize the resale of theatre tickets by show tour agencies. The merchandising angle in¬ volves a tie-up between the forth¬ coming Alexander H. Cohen-Ralph Alswang production of “The Fh'st Gentleman” and the, former’s Tours package operation. Cohen, who inaugurated his package tour proj¬ ect several years ago, is planning to utilize the agency to boost outof-town trade for the show follow¬ ing its New York preem April 25. He’s offering the regular pack¬ age service to those who purchase tickets to “Gentleman” through Tours. Under the current setup, the Tours packages are only available for legitgoers using TWA, Delta, Swdss-Air and El-Al Israel Airlines. The “Gentleman’^ offering will make the same packages available to patrons without any transporta¬ tion link. In other words, out-of-townerg coming in by train or car can pur¬ chase tix to “Gentleman” through Tours and, according to the type of package selected, can see one-tothree other shows of their choice, with Tours taking care of the legit tickets, hotel reservations, lunches, dinners, etc. Ads will be spotted throughout the country highlight¬ ing that angle. “Gentleman,” whi.ch will star (Continued on page 60) ‘Chalk Garden’ Blossoms Into Payoff Class With Road and London Coin Income from subsidiary rights has boosted last season’ll Broadway production of “Chalk Garden” into the hit category. Top revenue pro¬ vider sinco the show’s New York closing last March has been the 10-month-old London production of the Enid Bagnold comedydrama. The Broadway original, produced by Irene Mayer Selznick, ended a 23-week run last March with a $26,925 deficit on a $100,000 in¬ vestment. Shortly after the New York closing, $75,000 was returned to the backers, including additional income from sub.sidiary sources. Another distribution, covering the $25,000 balance, was made early last month. As of a Jan. 2 account¬ ing, the Broadway company had earned $2,455 profit. The audit, however, only covers income from the British production up ^ last Dec. 1. Leasing of the road rights to Edward Choate & Albert H. Rosen has also paid off. That producing, constarring Judith Anderson and Cathleen Nesbitt, ended a profit-making h’ke Feb. 16 in Princeton. The accounting only takes in coin earned from that source up to last Nov. 24. Highlights of the accounting were as follows: New York operating profit, $30,129. Film income, $38,317 (represents the show’s full share of the preproduction sale of the picture rights to Paramount). English rights (to Dec. 1, ’56), $23,157. Road rights do Nov. 24, ’56), $2,493. Stock rights, $2,447. Foreign rights, $900. Sale of props, $418. Costuipe rental, $100. Total income, $9’7;962. Cost of production, $95,506. Amherst Offers Course In Theatre Aesthetics Amherst, Mass., Feb. 19. A course in theatre aesthetics, available in few American colleges, will be introed at Amherst this spring. It will be taught by Prof. Edwin B. Pettet of Amherst's Dra¬ matic Arts Department, According to Prof. Pettet, work in the course will involve looking at the theatre “from an oblique point of view” in an effort to de¬ termine the philosophy of theatri¬ cal activity.