Variety (November 1957)

71 Wednesday^ November 6, 1957 PtMUEff LEGITOIATE Chi Sirawhat 011 7-Year Plan ' Edgewater Beach Playhouse Has $60,000 Bankroll— Undecided on Policy of Tryouts or Tour Pkges. The Edgewater Beach Play¬ house, Chicago, is operating on a seven-year. plan. The 1,000-seat strawhat, which last summer com¬ pleted its first season under the production auspicies of Noel Behn, is capitalized at $60,000 with pro¬ vision for 20% overcall. It’s been leased for. seven years' by the Edgewater Beach Summer Theatre Corp., witH costs to be amortized over that period. . " On the amortization basis, ac¬ cording to Behn, the Playhouse broke about even on its nine weeks of operation last summer. A side¬ light to the reopening of the house, previously operated by Marshall Migatz and dark in 1956, was that it was set up for business by off- Broadway personnel from the Cherry Lane Theatre, N.Y. . Behn Is genera; manager of the Cherry Lane and his staff lor the Playhouse included James Pres¬ ton, managing director, and Don McGovern, stage manager and set¬ up man with Jim Njchols, who was sent from New York to Chicago four weeks in advance of the open¬ ing to- make contacts for equip¬ ment purchases. During its nine weeks of oper¬ ation, the Playhouse offered three regular touring packages and two independent productions, one a new adaptation of “Affairs of An- atol” and the Other a tryout of ‘(The Circus of Dr. Lao." The plays ran A fortnight each, “Anatol” at a loss and “Lao” breaking about even., .Uta Hagen and Herbert Berghof qostarred in “Anatol,” while Burgess Meredith starred in “Lao,* which was also presented for a week at the Famous Artists Playhouse, Fayetteville. N.Y. .The Playhouse management-■is mulling a future policy of concen¬ trating on tryouts, packages, or a mixture of . the two. Pre-season ex¬ penses for last summer came to about. $16,000, with - the amount next ■ year expected to drop, to around $14,000. The weekly oper¬ ating cost at the house levelled off to : about $14,000 during the sea¬ son. Expenses, however, were par¬ ticularly high the first season, with advertising - promotion getting a hefty outlay. According tp. Behn, the house Was also overstaffed most pf the season because of its late and abrupt start. In the ease of the two inde- (Gontinued on page 76) Anna Wimaa, Wanamaker Open Liyerpooi Theatre As Membership Venture London, Nov. 5. Two American residents in Lon¬ don are operating Britain’s first ma¬ jor provincial club theatre, the New Shakespeare, which opened in Liverpool last Thursday (31). They are Anna Deere Wiman and Sam Wanamaker, who are managing the project under the banner of W. W. Productions. Following the example of the New Watergate Club, which took oyer the Comedy Theatre, in. Lon¬ don last year, the new Liverpool venture opened with Arthur-Mill¬ er’s “A View from the Bridge” and will follow that with “Tea and Sympathy.'? The third presentation will be “Finhtn’x Rainbow,” which had a brief run in the West End some] eight to nine years back. The musi-1 cal will run from’ Dec. 26 to Feb, 8 and is expected"to be followed by still another American production,: “The Rainmaker,” which was a West End hit a year ago. The initial production, warmly- received by the opening night audi¬ ence, starred U^S. film actor Marc Lawrence in his first British stage role with Vera Fusek as his wife, Tim Seely as the blonde illegal im¬ migrant, Ralph Nossek as the elder brother and Catherine Feller as the young girL Sam Wanamaker, who staged the piece with considerable authority, played the role- of the lawyer. . “View from the Bridge” and the scheduled “Tea and Sympathy 1 ’ are being presented at the Shakespeare under fheprivate dub setup, which permits, the performance of play not approved by the Lord Chant- berlain for public performance. Habimah Near-Preems Wm. Saroyan Innocents’ Tel Aviv, Oct. 29. “Slaughter of the innocents,” a drama by William Saroyan about a fear-ridden country ruled by super-patriot demagogues, has been produced by the HaJbimah Theatre as “almost a world premiere.”-The play, written at the peak of the late Sen. McCarthy's career, was never produced in the U.S.,but Is said to have been given a single presentation In Holland. The sombre piece, translated into Hebrew by Jacob Orland, was directed by Peter Frye. It had a mixed reception. Shows in South , The Independent Booking Office is experimenting with southern dates for touring shows. Ironically, the getaway entry in the test is Tennessee Williams' “Cat on a .Hot Tin Roof.” Williams? plays, in¬ cluding “Cat”, are notorious for their sordid depiction of southern life. “Cat” being sent out by George Brandt and costarring Victor Jory and bis wife, Jean Innes, began* its hike Oct.. 24 at the WRVA Audi¬ torium, Richmond. Bookings last, week took in the. Auditorium, Charlottesville; Carolina Theatre,, Durham; Ovens Auditorium, ’Char¬ lotte, and Tower. Theatre, Atlanta. This' week the presentation plays a full frame, at the Civic Theatre, New Orleans, and'from there goes into the Coconut Grove <Fla.) Play¬ house for a fortnight The show then moves into regular touring stands, : DIRECTOR-ACTOR’S OWN PIANO SPOT IN DESK’ Houston, Nov. 5. "The. Desk Set,”. William Mar- chant comedy which opened re¬ cently at the Playhouse, equipped' with furniture the author never ; envisioned, a Steinway Piano. On 1 th£ bench behind it is Playhouse producerdirector-star and play doc¬ tor, Herbert Kramer, in black tie and tux for the performance of ! “favorite selections from his orig¬ inal N.: Y. Town Hall k Programs” 4&s noted id program). - Musical, stint, which runs 20 min- ! utes and two encores, is one of the liveliest moments in the . Kramer version of the three-acter.' Since | the play involves the life and loves, of a network’s minor employes who are about to be replaced by an electronic brain at Christmas time, cue for piano bit is interpolated line, “Air. Kramer is coming -be¬ fore his television Show to enter- -tain at the Christmas party.”, A few minutes later, half-way 1 through second act, lights go down, cast sits on arena floor, and Kra-j met enters behind piano. The audience reaction to non-Kramer segments was not hearty though some laughter and applause re¬ warded the cast. -Crix reacted as always to Playhouse productions. That is, the Post, tongue-in-cheek; Press, softened by liberal doses of editorial blue pencil; and Chron¬ icle not at all, as Kramer has hung the “nongrata” sign on aisle-sitter because of past ^criticism. Allentown (Pa.) Civic Gets Permanent House Allentown, Pa., Nov. 5. Allentown’s Civic. Little Theatre, in operation for 30 years, is getting its first permanent home, a film theatre purchase# for • $95,000. Activity at the new house, which has been renovated, got underway last Saturday night (2) with State and focal officials and legit cele¬ brities from nearby Bucks County slated to attend the opening. The preem entry is “Jantis,” which will continue through this week.. Equity Considering Own . Service for Casting Info Actors Equity is considering set¬ ting up a casting information serv¬ ice for its members. A motion .that such action be taken was made at the union's recent membership meet and adopted unanimously. The Equity council has followed through by authorizing A ~ sub¬ committee of the House Affairs Committee to survey the situation. Roger!. Stevens’ Blue Chip Angels Roger L. Stevens has. lined up an ultra blue-chip hacker list for this season’s Playwrights *Co, produc¬ tions, Rather than go through the. Usual routine of lining up financ¬ ing in varying units from a long list of prospects, the .producer- tfealtor-theatre operator went to a handful of bigtime associates and friends,' getting $300,000 from 12 individuals. Those investing include eight at $30,000 each and four at $15,000 each. The $30,000 group includes Emil A. Bartz, a vice-president of Webb & Knapp, representing the realty firm’s president, William •Zeckendorf; Robert W. Dowling, president of City investing Co. and a partner with Stevens in the Producers-Theatre, and Alfred R. Glancy Jr,, and Ben Tobin, part¬ ners of Stevens in various large realty projects. Also, philanthropist Mary Wood¬ ward Lasker, widow of advertising. agency 1 owner Albert Lasker; Rob¬ ert R. Young, board chairman of the N. Y. Central and Chesapeake & Ohio railroads and the Alle- ghenny Co.; and Stevens himself, representing David Rockefeller, one of the sons of John D. Rocke¬ feller Jr,, and a top executive of the Chase-Manhattan Bank. The $15,000 group includes for¬ mer ad agency head Milton H. Biow; George Killion, president of the. President steamship line on the Coast; San Francisco financier, Louis R. Lurie, and Judge Samuel- R. Rosenman, former law .partner, political adviser iand Speech* writer for Franklin D. Roosevelt The syndicate/. legally titled -Playwrights-Six Play Co.; is back¬ ing the following Broadway shows this season; “Miss Lonelyhearts” (already dosed), '‘Tune Remem¬ bered,” “Nude with Violin,” “Country Wife,” “Rope Dancers” and “Summer of the 17th DolL” Each of the productions is being presented in partnership with an¬ other management, so the Play¬ wrights Co. is putting up only part of the capital in each .pase. That explains the fact that $300,000 is sufficient to cover six shows. ATPAM STIFFENING ON HOUSE MANAGER RULE The Assn. p£ Theatrical Press Agents t Managers is clamping down on house managers who fail to abide by tenure of employment contracts. An action by the un¬ ion’s board of governors to enforce such contracts was approved by the membership at a recent meet¬ ing of the association. The ATPAM • stand oh house managers is that outside employ¬ ment is permitted when.* theatre is dark, but when It reopens the house manager must report fra* duty. Otherwise, upon the agree¬ ment of the theatre owner, the manager contract will be termini ated and another member will be assigned to the job. Vat Stag* Manager ROBERT DOWNING has on afftclioRatc VabMlN te~tfca Choristers (Wham h* affectionately calls Gypsies) fa a Bright Piece titled Gypsy 9 Love Song * * * ,«ae of the many Editorial Footer** la the upcoming 5Zd Anniversary Number of VSsmfr Equity Building Case vs. Merrick; Could List Hun as Defaulting Mgr.’ Harold Gary to Texas As ‘Rock’ Actor-Stager Harold Gary, who succeeded the late Harry Clark as the film pro¬ ducer in the Broadway production of “Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?” is going to put in an¬ other four weeks in the play be¬ ginning tomorrow night (Thurs.) at the Alley Theatre, Houston. He’ll be playing a different role, how¬ ever, and will, also double as di¬ rector of the stock production. His part in the Alley presenta¬ tion will be that of the devil-agent, which Martin Gabel originated on Broadway. Griffith, Prince Producers Robert E- Griffith and Harold S. Prince distributed $140,- 000 over the weekend to hackers of their four Broadway productions. The payment includes $30,000 return of capital on “West Side Story,” 860,000; return of capital plus profit on “New Girl in Town,” and $25,000 dividends aoiece On both “Paiama Game” and “Damn Yankees.” The repayment on “West Side Story” brings the capital return on that musical to $60,000 thus far. The show, presented in partner¬ ship With Roger* L; Stevens, is cur¬ rently in its sixth capacity-attend¬ ance week at the Winter Garden Theatre, N.Y. It represents a $300,- 000 investment- The distribution on “New Girl in Town” includes A final $30,000 return of capital and an initial $30,000 profit dividend. The musi¬ cal, co-produced with Frederick Brlsson, is currently, in its ,25th week at the 46th. Street Theatre, N.Y. It has recently returned to standee business, after easing below, the capacity level during the traditional summer lull. It repre¬ sents a $300,000 investment. The dividend on “Pajama Game” brings the total profit to date to $1,400,000, divided equally be-, t^een management and hackers, • That gives the latter a 280%! profit on their $250,000 investment. The “Damn Yankees” divw ra'ses the total profit on the musi¬ cal to $806,943 thus far. On -the basis of the standard 50-50 split between management and backers, that gives the latter a 162% profit their $250,000 investment. Both “Pajama” and “Yankees” were produced by Griffin & Prince |n partnership with Frederick Brisson. Actors Equity Is quietly gather¬ ing evidence against Broadway producer David Merrick. The union’s move involves a number of complaints having to do with the producer’s dealings with ac¬ tors. Some of the charges could lead to placing Merrick on Equity’s list of “defaulting managers.” Latest incident to arouse Equity’s ire involves the cast of “Look Back in Anger,” John Osborne’s drama which Merrick brought to Broad¬ way with four of the five members of the London cast. All the im¬ ported players are getting what Equity officials regard as inade¬ quate salaries, and it’s claimed that Merrick has refused to grant adjustments, despite the fact that the low-budget production is play¬ ing to capacity business and is fig- j ured to clean up a substantial | profit. One of the players in the show, according to Equity sources, is get¬ ting only $175 basic weekly salary. That is subject to 20% deduction for Federal Income tax, another 20% for New York State income tax (the law provides for the em¬ ployer to deduct the tax from the pay of out-of-State residents), as well as 5% that alien players must pay to Equity, and certain other small deductions bringing the ac¬ tor’s take-home pay to about $85 a week. % That’s figured to be* just barely subsistence pay for anyone able to sublet a modest apartment, but not enough for anyone living at a hotel, as.the four British cast mem¬ bers are now doing. A trade re¬ port that Osborne has been giving .financial assistance to some of the actors out of his author royalties could not be confirmed, and Equity has not been informed of it Tha playwright incidentally, is mar¬ ried to Mary Ure, femme lead in the play. Since the contracts were all signed for the “Anger” cast. Equity has been unable to take any direct action to remedy the situation. However, union officials have de¬ livered verbal dressings-down to at least one actor’s agent involved and will probably write a letter to the League of N. Y. Theatres pro¬ testing the matter and other of Merrick’s dealings with actors. - Caution Britons In addition, a union official has reportedly advised British Equity to caution its members about con¬ tractual terms offered for New York engagements in London shows. That is apparently aimed primarily at ‘The Entertainer,” an- (Continued on page 76) Boston Colonial Sale Closed for $1,250,000; To Condone as Legiter Boston, Nov. 5. Sale of the Colonial Theatre and fthe adjoining office building was Iconsumated here last Friday (1), : Princess Virginia Corp. of St. Paul, Til C A VIET Minn-, was purchaser of the build- in uUllLl IVUdJiii | ing, and the sale was made by a “The Theatre in Soviet Russia” j corporation controlled by Jacob J. BOOK ON THEATRE by Nikolai A. Gorchakov (Columbia! Shubert, U. Press; $1), is billed as “the first extensive and authoritative treat¬ ment of the Soviet theatre by a prominent participant, outside the Soviet TJnion,” Author graduated from Moscow Higher Theatrical School in 1926, studied theatre painting with Yelev and Ekster, and was for several seasons directorial assistant of Meyerhold and Tairov. He taught dramatics and wrote for Russian stage and films. Since 1945 he has resided in Munich, where he writes about theatre and teaches acting. Book, translated by Edgar Lehr- man, was made possible by a com¬ bination of grants. Including a Rockefeller donation. The Minnesota firm paid a de¬ posit of $125,000, plus $187,500 in cash. The Shubert corporation took a first mortgage at 6% on the re-* mainder of the purchase price. Purchase price was $1,250,000. The mortgage of $937,500, was given by the purchaser to the own¬ ers and sellers of the property, 138 West 48th St Theatre Co., Inc., New York. Walter N. Trenerry was named as head of the Princess Vir¬ ginia Corp. Sale of the Colonial ends the Shubert control of' the Hub legit situation.'The long-dominant firm now operates a single legit house, the Shtfbert In the past two years, the Shuberts have given up the acKeieucr aonation. ,! Majestic, now the Saxon’ film Author writes Inviet • house; the Plymouth, now the Gary theata* P to terras ft activity and lack j {**“* Bo b 'I at unemployment; but also with the j Michel j Kavanag h, former Shu- , C °S n art ^ mgr. in Boston; the Copley, regime has permitted a great art j n a. eoD iev nieture house the been largely lost.the Soviet the¬ atre sees Bolsheviks—and even their secret police—through rose- colored glasses.” Rodo. Richard Weede has succeeded Riissell Goodwin in “The Most Happy Fella,” in which his father, Robert Weede, plays the title role. ished; and t At the Colonial, Louis Cline stays on as manager. Talk is that the new owners will refurbish the 1,500- seater and install an air cooling system. Sale of the Colonial at $1,250,000 was about $400,000 more than the Shuberts paid for the house in 1952.