Variety (April 1957)

58 LEGITIMATE Wednesday, April 24, 1957 Shows Abroad The Entertainer London, April 15. English Stage Co. presentation of three- act (15 scenes) drama by John Osborne. Stars Laurence Olivier, Dorothy Tutitt; features Brenda de Banzle. Staged by Tony Richardson; decor, Alan Tagg; music, John Addison. At Royal Court Theatre, London,. April ^10, '57; $1.75'top. ; Billie Rice .George Relph Jean Rice. . Dorothy Tutin Frank Rice . Richard 'Pasco Gorgeous Gladys.Vivienne Drummond William Rice . Aubrey Dexter Graham . . Stanley Meadows as an ingratiating extortioner. Also, Louis Ramsay scores as a dancer and Zack Matalon, a tv name here as 'a crooner, makes a moody Romeo and shares the bulk of the singing with Jo Ann Bayless, who -attractively ■fills; the stereotyped ingenue role. " : ; The show is directed at a slick tempo, and is even enlivened with a rock 'n’ roll number. Clem. John Osborne, author of last sea¬ son’s controversial, “Look Back in Anger,” so impressed Laurence Olivier “that the star promised to appear in his next play if. there was a suitable role for him. The author has taken advantage of this invitation by providing an outsize starring part, making it more of a vehicle for one actor than a straightforward dramatic offering. The combination of star and au¬ thor’s name has been good enough to make this a gilt-edged offering. The theatre was presold before opening for Olivier’s six-weeks’ run. What will happen after Olivier leaves the cast? Will there be an¬ other star available who can carry the lead role with such vitality,* authority and boxoffice draw? That will !be the final test and the decid¬ ing factor in the ultimate success of “The Entertainer.” Osborne’s new drama is a study of the decay of smalltime vaude¬ ville. The central character, played by Olivier, is a tired vaudevillian whose sorry gab, forced humor and outmoded songs are eloquently ex¬ pressive of the rot that has devel¬ oped. His father had been a headliner, but now admits that “the nudes are killing the business.” He has to watch his son steadily going down the ladder, incurring debts and facing jail. The staging of the play is quite ingenious. In the main, the action alternates between the living room and the stage. In front of the foot¬ lights-Olivier goes through the mo¬ tions of his weary routine; at home with his family, in between over¬ doses of gin,, their arguments and quarrels are" mainly about the un¬ due attention he pays to younger women in the local saloon. The. family bickerings have a dramatic edge and are as grim and depress¬ ing as the empty houses to which he plays. Olivier’s vigorous portrayal al¬ most overshadows the other mem¬ bers of the cast. Dorothy Tutin, as his daughter, has a role which makes no demands on her talents. Brenda de Banzie makes, a pathetic and moving figure as his wife. , George Relph plays the father with, dignity, and Richard Pasco ‘ offers a lively study as the son. The remaining roles, all of minor character, are filled by Vivienne Drummond, Aubrey Dexter and Stanley Meadows. William Blezard leads the small combo which gives an appropriate¬ ly noisy musical background for the vaudeville scenes. Myro. The,Singing Wood Glasgow, April 18. Citizens’ Theatre of Glasgow presenta¬ tion of three-act (four scenes) drama by Elisabeth Kyle and Alec Robertson. Staged by Richard Mathews; set, Nevil Dickin. At Citizens’ (Princess’s) Theatre, Glasgow, April 15, '57; $1 top. Janet . Edith Macarthur BiU Livingstone .Robert Cartland Isabel Lee ....Marie Burke Sir Allan Cathcart .Walter Carr Mally Lee.Elizabeth Ashley Connie Cunningham.Jessie Morton Annie Cunningham..Joan Scott Busy'Girl Cynthia Belgrave has taken on an ambitious off-Broadway assignment. She’s been signed to under-* study three prostitute roles in Louis Peterson’s “Take a Giant Step,” at the Jan Hus House, N. V. London actress Marie Burke is guest lead in this new play, staged here merely for local consumption. She brings a regal quality, gentle tenderness and distihguished de¬ livery to the role of a lady guilty of a 40-year-old unsolved murder. The play piles on the melodrama good and heavy, and there is never much doubt as to who is the killer. But the action holds tension, the characterization „ is good, and lack of originality Is made up for by sound thesping and careful plot de¬ velopment. Miss Burke makes the most of the role of lady of the manor who murdered her sister four decades previously. Her niece arrives un¬ expectedly from America, and sets about solving the mystery and clearing her . father’s name. That role is crisply played by Elizabeth Ashley, perky redhead with a forthright attack. Edith Macarthur is convention¬ ally cast as a bent and crusty servant. Robert Cartland ,is ade¬ quate as a journalist visitor from Edinburgh, Walter Carr looks awk¬ ward as a rather tightly-clad Scot¬ tish knight. Gems of character are also contributed by Jessie Morton and Jean Scott as pixillated old ladies. Richard Mathews directs with admirable dramatic touch, and the Nevil .Dickin setting creates at¬ mosphere. Gord. Greatest Man Alive New Haven, April 17.. - Frederick Fox (in association with El¬ liott Nugent & John Gerstad) production of three-act comedy by Tony Webster. Stars Dennis King; features Russell Col¬ lins, Kathleen Maguire, Biff McGuire, John Gibson, Richard Kelly, Joseph Boland, Nydia Westman. Staged by Nu¬ gent; scenery. Fox. At Shubert, New Haven, April 17, '57; $4.50 tqp. Amos Benedict ..Dennis King Tom Hopkins .Russell Collins Peggy Thomas .Kathleen Maguire Harry Dugan .Richard KeUy Steve Boyle .Biff McGuire Policeman .Joseph Boland Hazel Hoffman ...........Nydia Westman Bishop Hansen. John Gibson Ambulance Driver ..Edgar Meyer Hospital Aide .William Windom Photographer .Stephen Gray Harmony Close London, April 18. J. Baxter Somerville (in association with Welbock Productions Ltd.) presen¬ tation of musical in two acts, with book by Charles Ross; music by Ronald Cass and Ross. Decor, Neil Hobson; directed by Ross. At Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, London, April 17, '57; $2.15 top. Tony Peters . Bernard Cribbins Robin Webster ..... Colin Croft Mr. Brown..... Sam Woodcock Mrs. Brown . Pat Gilbert Jill Grant .Jo Ann Bayless Paula Scott . Louie Ramsay Dolly Gander .-. Rose Hill Col. Carruthers...James Raglan Mrs. Carruthers... .Betty Huntley-Wright Jim Sinclair . Zacfc Matalon Launcelot Gqldfarb,..Barry .Gosney Sam .Barry Kent Daisy . ‘Barbara. Ferris Paper Girl .. Wanda Sinclair Milkman . Charles Schuller Vera .. Elizabeth Wallace Here is an unpretentious new musical with a dash of sophistica¬ tion and unmistakably British stamp, rather resembling the cur¬ rent long-runner; “Salad Days,” It has melodious tunes, and fairly diverting lyrics. It is a lively production, with a capable, cast that performs with zest and confidence. The show should do well in this outer Lon¬ don theatre, but its chances on a transfer to the West End are only so-so. The musical’s slice-of-life story is localed in a London news, where an assortment of assortment charac¬ ters with a variety of backgrounds, temperaments and interests live a sort of community existence. The yarn takes several melodramatic turns, but presently focuses on a romance between an afctress and a writer. No one is featured in the cast, but the best performances are by Bernard Cribbins as a painter, Pat Gilbert as a mousey wife, Rose Hill as an ex-madain -and Colin Croft Actors Self-Conscious Tyrone Guthrie Claims Montreal, April 23. American acting, as a result of The Method, threatens to become “an imperceptible phenomenon." That’s the opinion of British direc¬ tor Tyrone Guthrie, stager of “The First Gentleman,” opening this week on Bro"adway. It’s expressed in an article published last Sunday (20) in the Montreal Star and syn¬ dicated papers. Referring to “style” in acting, the stager wrote, “Style, inciden¬ tally, is an alarming word to Amer¬ ican actors. They think of it as something assumed, something ‘fancy’ and affected, something connected with being more ele¬ gant and flossy than anyone has a right to be in private life. “It is hard to convince them that style in acting, as in dress, is con¬ cerned with appropriateness, with suitability to environment, and does not necessarily involve a great deal of elaborate mannerisms and posturing. It sometimes escapes notice that a style of speech and deportment suitable for one envir¬ onment is entirely unsuitable for another. But both styles may be equally ‘natural.’ “Young American actors in the convention of which Marlon Brando is the figurehead adopt a sluggish, slurred method of speech at once tough and babyish, a slouching, lumbering demeanor, and dress with studied disregard of Bourgeois convention. I’m not saying that this is wrong or right— in certain contexts it can be very effective. But it certainly is a style—a very self-conscious and elaborate one. “Moreover, it is a style which has so powerfully infected the whole American theatre that it is beginning to be regarded as nbt only a style, but as the only pos¬ sible way to act. Young actors are how quite afraid to try to act other than in accordance with The Method. “They are afraid that any overt display of emotion or articulate expression of ideas will appear un¬ bearably ‘ham.’ "The result is that American acting is in danger of becoming so elaborately simple, so intricately inarticulate as to be an imperceptible phenomenon.” The article was' the eighth in a series Guthrie has been writing for the Star and its syndicate. ■ Since comedies have been writ¬ ten on every conceivable theme, it’s not surprising that someone should attempt to find humor in the ^subject of a 72-year-old man hanging himself. That the play largely succeeds is due to a com¬ bination of penetrating writing, able staging and stellar acting. “Greatest Man!’ gets off to a “different” start and maintains a consistent interest, abetted by a pair of classic'character perform¬ ances. It* can emerge a§, a rib-tick¬ ling sleeper.. . . , ; . .Script tackles.'the- off-beat tale of a likable, did codger .who, after a .lifetime ‘ df being, shunted aside, decides to focus the spotlight on himself for once at least by being the .first man to hang himself wear¬ ing a derby hat. Ensuing situation combines laughs and pathos, with a generous side dish of workable philosophy. • As the ingratiating oldster, Den¬ nis King, contributes one of the best characterizations of his career. Pitching, primarily for chuckles, with sober sequences adroitly in¬ serted, he is undeniably appealing as the frustrated old duffer with a front page yen. Russell Collins is an excellent foil as a fellow eccen¬ tric who wants to accompany the hero on his hanging expedition,.. Kathleen Maguire and Biff Mc¬ Guire handle 'the love interest capably and Richard Kelly fits as a pompous suitor. There are addi¬ tional acting highlights by Nydia Westman as a tear-drenched niece and John Gibson as a somewhat uncertain bishop. Producer Fox has doubled effi¬ ciently as the designer and Etyiott Nugent’s adept staging keeps a po¬ tentially incongruous situation within the bounds- of credibility. B6ne, British Shows (Figures denote opening dates) 0 LONDON At Drop of Hat, Fortune (1-24-57). Balcony, Arts (4-22-57).- Boy Friend, Wyndham's (12-1-53). Brido A Bachelor, Duchess (12-19-56). Camino Real, Phoenix (4-8-57). Chalk Garden, Haymarket (4-11-56). Damn Yankees, Coliseum (3-28-57). Dry Rot, Whitehall rtJ-31-54). Ewfge Feulliere Co., Palace (3-4-57). Fanny, Drury Lane (11-15-56). For Amusement Only, Apollo (6-5-56). Grab Me a Gondola, Lyric (12-26-56). •Hatful of Rain, Princess (3-7-57). Houle by Lake, York's (5-9-56). Iron Duchess, Cambridge (3-14-57). - Lovebirds, Adelphi (4-20-57). Mousetrap, Ambassadors (11-25-52). New Crazy Gang, Vic. Pal. (12-18-56). No Time Sgts., Her Maj. (8-23-56). Nude With Violin, Globe (11-7-56). Plaintiff in Hat, St. Mart. (10-11-56). Plaislrs De Paris, Wales (4-20-57). Plume de ma Tante, Garrick 11-3-55). Polish Theatre, Wint. Gard. (3-25-57). Repertory. Old Vic (9-7-55). Sailor Beware, Strand (2-16-55). Salad Days, Vaudeville (8-5-54). Subway in Sky, Savoy (2-27). Tr.opical Heat, New Lind. (4-23-57). under Milk Wood, New (9-20-56). Waltz of Toreadors, Criterion (3-27-56). Zuleike, SaviUe (4-11-57). Scheduled Openings Janus, Aldwych (4-24-57). Tea & Sympathy, Comedy (4-25-57). Glass Cage', Piccadilly (4-26-57). Summer of 17th, New (4-30-57). Closed Last Week View From Bridge, Comedy (10-11-56). Wit to Woo, Arts (3-12-57). On Tour Bed Caine Mutiny Court Martial Dead Secret Diary of Anhe Frank Doctor in the House D'Oyly Carte Opera Free As Air Glamour Girl Kismet Lie Detector Mrs. Gibbons' Boys Palama Game 'Reluctant Debutant# Sliver Wedding* Six Months' Grate Spider's Web t ^ Summer of the S*v#nteenth Inside Stuff-Legit The American Theatre Wing, which presented its annual “Tony” awards last year about two weeks before the Broadway opening of “My Fair Lady,” caught up with the hit musical last' Sunday (21). Six of the 17 “Tonys” presented at that time at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, N.Y.-—covering shows that opened on Broadway during the year end¬ ing last Feb. 28—went to the Herman Levin production. ..The awards, in all categories, were as follows: Dramatic play, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”; musical, “Lady’*; male dramatic star, Fred- ric March (“Journey”); female dramatic star, Margaret Leighton (“Sepa¬ rate Tables”); male musical star, Rex Harrison (“Lady”); female musi¬ cal star, Judy Holliday (“Bellg Are Ringing”); supporting dramatic actor, Frank Conroy (“Potting Shed”); supporting dramatic actress, Peggy Cass (“Auntie Marne”); supporting musical actor, Sydney Chap¬ lin, (“Bells”) and featured musical actress, Edith Adams (“Li’l Abner”). Also, director, Moss Hart (“Lady”); choreographer, Michael Kidd (“Abner”); scenic designer, Oliver Smith (“Lady”); costume designer, Cecil Beaton (“Lady”); musical director, Frani Allers (“Lady”); stage technician, posthumously to Howard McDonald ' (carpenter, “Major Barbara”) and a special award to the American Shakespeare Festival. Thq American Shakespeare Festival Theatre & Academy, inciden¬ tally; handed out its fourth annual Shakespeare awards yesterday (Tues.) at a Waldorf-Astoria Hotel luncheon celebrating the Bard’s 393rd birthday. Cited were Joseph Papp, for his N.Y. city amphithea¬ tre productions of Shakespeare; Louis B. Wright, director of the Folger Shakespeare Library, and Virginia L, Freund, for their new edition in tlje Folger Library General Reader’s Shakespeare of “The Tragedy of King Lear”; and Penguin Books' of Baltimore, Md., and publisher Harry F. Paroissien for the Pelican Shakespeare. Also, Professor Henry Wells of Columbia U., director of the school’s Brander Matthews Theatre Library and Museum \ for being instrumental in having detailed models of the Globe Theatre built and NBC-TV's Producers’ Showcase for the telecast of “Romeo and Juliet.” Commenting on recent references in Variety to the complicated managerial setup of “Hotel Paradiso,” co-producer Charles Bowden notes that “many firms have several partners who are not necessarily active but receive billing because of original contractual arrangements.” In the case of this show, he points out, Julius. Fleischmann was in Florida .during the entire production period, and H. Ridgely Bullock Jr, is stationed in Tokyo with the Armed Services and will be there for three years. Hardy Smith has been on hand, Bowden says, but no one from the H. M. Tennent office in London has been present. Finally, he explains that Charles Lisanby should properly be credited with supervising the Osbert Lancaster settings and costumes only. “Unfortunate^,” he concludes, “the present contractual agreement with the United Scenic Artists forces us to bill him as we have.. We are seeking at once to clarify the designer’s credits in relation to foreign productions.” The gross for the touring “Fanny” for the week ended March 30 was underquoted in April 3 issue of Variety. The correct figures were $22,590.06 for four performances March 25-27 at the Murat Theatre, Indianapolis, plus $12,489.55 for another, four performances March 28-30, at the Memorial Auditorium, Louisville, for a total gross of $35,079.61 on the week. Off:Broadway Shows Wayside Wayside Production Co. presentation of three-act drama by John Duff Stradley. Features Diana Herbert, Herbert Voland. Staged by Stradley; scenery and lighting, Arthur Aronson. At Barblzon Plaza Thea¬ tre,' N. Y.> April 17, ’57; $3.43 top ($4.60 opening). Cast: Alfred Hinckley, Gregory Robins, Charles McDaniel, James Pritchett, Her¬ bert Voland, Diana Herbert, Jack Barnes. Into the lonely life of a one- armed proprietor of a remote desert gas station-garage comes a hardbitten blonde cutie fleeing the law. Although the local State Po¬ lice quickly sense where the girl is, they temporarily refrain from arresting her out of sympathy for their handicapped wartime buddy. Eventually the. police must inter¬ vene, but the girl, ennobled by her new love, promises to return. Both in content, and in the sub¬ dued presentation of its 14 scenes, “Wayside” suggests video fare. ,Much of the low-key playing at the Barbizon Plaza Theatre, could, in fact, use the magnification of microphone and closeup. Stradley has calculatedly evaded theatricality. None of the 14 cur¬ tain-blackouts has what is conven¬ tionally called a “curtain line.” The dialog goes along, the lights go out—end of scene; and when the lights come up again, things are much as they were. . The play’s more engaging mo¬ ments are its transitory passages of humor. Most of the capricious lines fall to Charles McDaniel, as an easygoing trooper, and he han¬ dles them breezily. Herbert Voland is tersely colloquial as the garage man, Diana Herbert’s switch from toughness to warmth is fully cred¬ ible, and James Pritchett mutters: southernly as a trooper torn be¬ tween friendship and duty. Arthur Aronson’s cutaway set of barracks, garage and hillside is well conceived. And “Wayside” has an additional virtue not entirely of its own making. In an Off-Broad-; way season composed almost exclu¬ sively of revivals, this is a new play. Geor. Oscar Wild© Manuel D. Hevberf’revival of three-act drama by Leslie and Sewell Stokes. Fea¬ tures Thayer David. Staged by BIU Penn; settings, Ed Flesh; costumes, Rene Pro- coplo; associate producer, Frederic Vogel. At 41st St. Theatre, N. Y., April 16, ? 57; $3.45 top ($4.60 opening). Cast: Gen Boyer, Louis d'Almeida, Thayer David, Nick Franke, ^ Robert de Cost, William Griffis, Robert Casper, Eugene Wood, Gordon Peters, Alan James, Walter Thomson, Neil Fitzgerald, “Oscar Wilde” is a one-man show. The Leslie and Sewpll Stokes dramatization of the crucial epi¬ sodes in Wilde’s career to self- destruction relies chiefly on the playing of the actor in the title role, other parts being relatively small portraits of men contra Wilde or of men who fluttered around him as afound a flame. The 41st St. Theatre, new to off- Broadway, is in an office building between 6th and 7th Aves. There may be a coterie public ready to beat a track to the unprepossessing basement " auditorium to see “Oscar,” but the revival’s limited virtue rests in the performance of Thayer David who, as Wilde, moves through the play with measured dauntiness of a river tug that never expects to be tossed on outsize waves. Oscar, of course, was so tossed, and capsized. It’s a bromide that one way to play a drunk is to attempt to walk a straight line. In facing the special problem of portraying the colorful hero, Thayer David has chosen the conservative approach. While he uses mannered vocal deliberation .to a fault, David’s characterization is a good one, and in the play’s closing moments he has created a scene of nostalgic compassion. David's control has a salutary ef¬ fect on the production, as some of thfe cast haye different notions and occasionally accent the positive to a ' regrettable degree. In^ fact. David’s dignified understanding of the problem sometimes seems at odds with Bill Penn’s staging, for Penn has not always imposed a similar control. William Griffis, as Frank Harris, Wilde’s biographer, relies mostly on bumbling expostulation. Ken Boyer, as young Lord Alfred Douglas, ,whose friendship with Wilde led to the latter’s downfall through the enmity of Douglas' father, lets handsome appearance serve. And as; one of. Wilde s seedier acquaintances, ^Robert Cas¬ per, by his caricature-ization, makes Oscar seem-a fatuous fellow indeed. Geor. Love of Four Colonels Equity Library Theatre revival o! three-act comedy by 'Peter Ustinov. Staged by.Zeke Berlin; settings, Fred Voelpel; costumes, Zelma Welsfeld; light¬ ing, Marvin March. At Lenox Hill Play* house, N/Y.i April 10, '57; admission by contribution. w _ . . „ .. Cast: Michael Lewis, Ed Reach. Sorrell Booke, Reuben Singer, Albert Corbin, William Harahan, Dorothy Rice, Kays Lyder. Although Peter Ustinov’s spoof- ish “Love of Four Colonels” was a sportive contribution to the. 1952- 53 Broadway season, its present Equity . Library Theatre revival is (Continued on page' 60)