Variety (July 1958)

Wednesday, July 50, 1958 PfonEfr LEGITIMATE 121 Dallas; July 29. ° 4' Dallas may have two theatres for touring legit shows next fall. The State Fair of Texas, which operates the 4,100-seat Music Hall at Fair Park, has been negotiating with city officials to take over the 1,770- seat Municipal Auditorium as a legit showcase. That would enable the State Fair to book non-musicals into the more suitable smaller house; The move ties in with the re¬ vitalized swing the road has taken since the demise of the United Booking Office and the inception • of Broadway Theatre Alliance, a subsidiary of Columbia Artists Management, Inc. BTA, utilizing concert booking methods, is send¬ ing shows to locations usually by¬ passed in recent years on regular, tours. Another factor is the desire of; the Theatre. Guild-American Theatre. Society to open a sub¬ scription season here. TG-ATS had lined up 1,200 local subscribers during the 1948-49 sea¬ son* for production at. the Melba and Majestic Theatre. However, four shows had been promised dur¬ ing that semester and only three were delivered, necessitating a. re- . fund. Charles H. Meeker Jr., man¬ aging director of the Music Hall, feels that unless the booking offices are certain of their shows they shouldn't commit themselves and that they should be required to put up a performance bond. Regarding . the State Fair take¬ over. of the auditorium. Meeker j and City Manager Elgin E. Cruli j have, prepared a contract, which is ‘ now awaiting legal Clearance. The ? auditorium, which was opened in February, 1957, had been asking, rentals of $350-$500 nightly,, plus 10-15% of the groSS; However, the. gross percentage would be Waived for the State Fair and the rental would be $350 a performance and $500 on two-performance days. At the end of the year, the books would be audited and any net profits divided equally: between the city, and the S’.ate Fair. . The State Fair qualifies for this cooperative treatment since it’s a quasi-munici¬ pal, venture, operating city prop- ■ erty at Fair Park, and a non-profit operation. Guest Privileges Philadelphia, July 29, Arena stage should be called ; theatre-in-your-lap. That’s the opinion of Arthur . Treachef:, - who starred last week In “Vis-. It to a Small Planet” at the Theatre in the Park here.. “I horsed it up frightfully last night,” said the legit-film T:omedian, “and: they loved it.” . Referring to the theatre-in- therround performance, the ac- . tor .commented, “You can get chummy with the front rows, fun up ; and down the . aisles and do everything but sell peanuts.” Staked Slice of ‘Swan in the Sea’ Profit For Tryout in Florida . The Royal Poinciana Playhouse, Palm Beach, Fla., is in for 2Vi% ©f the potential net profits of the forthcoming * Broadway production of jess Gregg’s “A Swim in the Sea.” That’s the theatre’s payoff for trying out the comedy-drama last April 28-May 3. . The deal was .worked out be¬ tween the Playhouse and producers Robert E. Griffith and Harold S. Prince, who have booked the play, for a Sept. 30 opening at the Ly¬ ceum Theatre,, N Y. The percent-: age cut is in consideration of the stock operation, having footed the tryout Cost. The agreement also called for the Playhbuse to retain all income, received from that pres¬ entation: :/. - Griffith and Prince, who had the . play under option at.the time of its Palm Beach outing, are the sole general partners of the upcoming Broad wav production, which is capitalized at $100,000. Shirley Ayers, widow of scenic designer Lemuel Ayers, previously owned, the'script, but turned it over to Griffith and Prince. She’s to get associate producer billing. Elliott . Silversteiri, who directed (Continued on page 124) Washington* July 29. The Washington Ballet, ybung In years both for itself and its per¬ sonnel, is clicking , its heels over •Its first international engagement. It dances in the Dominican Re¬ public in early September with Alicia Alonso and Igor Youske- vitch as its guest:; stars. The en¬ gagement is Sept. 4-6 in‘El Teatro Agua-Luz Angelita, Ciudad Tru¬ jillo. , V/- - This summer, the local group has danced in Carter Bajrron Amphi-: theatre here and on the road in New. York, Buffalo and Wheeling, W.Va. Boston, July 29.. Although the Hub. is bow down to only three legit theatres; pros¬ pects for. the 1958-59 season are fairly, bright. As one notable indi¬ cation, the Theatre, Guild subscrip¬ tion setup is comriritted. for 10 shows. The Boston season starts Sept; 2, Labor Day,, with the Playwrights Co. , tryout of “Howie” at the Wil¬ bur. A posthumous Eugene O’Neill drama, “A Touch of the Poet,’’ is due Sept. 15 at the Colonial, “The Pleasure of. His Company” is set for a tryout starting Oct., 6 at the Wilbur arid “Comes a Day” is listed for Oct. 20 at the Cblomal. “Flower Drum Song,” the Rodgers-Hammer: stein-Joseph Fields musical, arrives: Nov. 3 for a 'tryout - at the Shubert. . Other tryout possibilities include “The Unsinkable Mrs. Brown,” "The Cold Wind and the Warm” and an untitled Arthur Miller, play. One of the scheduled touring pro¬ ductions is “Look Back in. Anger,” which will, be one of the TG sub¬ scription items. The. Colonial, now operated by the Jujumcyn Corp., with Saul Kaplan as house manager, is being renovated, Mike Kaplan- is. manag¬ ing the Wilbur, and John Yorke is expected to be back as house man¬ ager of the Shubert No longer available for legit are the Ply¬ mouth, Copley and; Majestic Thea¬ tres and the Opera House. Will Do ‘Barefoot Boy’ On the Home Grounds 'Minneapolis, July 29. “Barefoot Boy With Cheek,” produced on Broadway In 1947 by George Abbott, wili be presented by the Univ. of Minnesota. Theatre here next. October. Max Shulman, who wrote t\e book; for the show; is a Gopher alumnus, and the locale is the Min¬ nesota campus. Sid Lippmari, who composed the music; also is a Twin City native. as Picked 6 Hits in 7 Shows Backed Cleve. Sk$ds 7 Shows Cleveland, July 29. Seyen shows* including two try¬ outs. ’,The Warm Peninsula” with Julie Harris, and “The Night Cir¬ cus,” with Ben Gazzara, will feature the'fall-winter season at the Hanna Theatre. • . Among the' Shows booked are “Romanoff arid Juliet” with Peter Ustinov, Dec., 9:. “Look: Back in Anger,” Dec. 29: “Sunrise at Campobello’’ arid “Two for the. See¬ saw,” both with 1 national com¬ panies; “Bells Are Ringing,” Feb. 9, and possibly the road company of “My Lair Lady,” at an unspeci¬ fied date. The Hanna will : present eight shows on subscription by the Thea- tre Guild-American Theatre So¬ ciety^ . St. Louis, July 29, The scheduled long pre-Broad¬ way tour of “The Warm Peninsu¬ la” iriay point the way toward a salvation of the road. That’s fig¬ ured by; Paul Beisman* manager of the. American , Theatre here and one. of the top key-city represen¬ tatives in the Independent Booking Office. ; \ With Julie Harris as a boxoffice draw,.; plus the Theatre ..Guild?. Ainerican Theatre / Society sub¬ scription setup, “Peninsula” is a good prospect to do business on tour, Beisman thinks. “If it brakes money, it. will demonstrate that a good show can tour, successfully without a Broadway reputation and that a production can earn back its investment before risking the i New York verdict.” ; j Manning Gurian, Miss Harris’ i producer-husband, has booked “Peninsula” for a long preliminary J tour, and will not take the show to.: Broadway until next spring, with plenty of time for doctoring. Since Miss Harris demonstrated her b:o. draw in “I Aril a Camera!’; and “The Lark;” she’s figured likely to repeat,, provided the new play. is satisfactory. That would enable Gurian to bring the production to Broadway already in the black. ' Beisman says, that iriost of the road theatre managers will be watching the “Peninsula”; tour closely, arid that a riumber of the more alert and progressive Broad¬ way producers are also interested; “With few of the. great stars of former years still willing to go on four, we must develop new person¬ alities,” he says, ‘The young peo¬ ple today have never even , heard of most of the established names,” Amorig the prospective bookings for his American Theatre this sea¬ son Beisman lists “My. Fair Lady” or “Music Man” (in case “Lady” remains in Chicago all season), “Bells Are Ringing,” “Li’l Abner,” “Two for the Seesaw/’ the. Old Vic, .the T. C. Jones show, “Sun¬ rise at. Campobello,” “Tunnel , of Love,” “Look Hoineward, Angel,”. “Look Back in Anger,” “Roman¬ off and Juliet,” . “Dark at . the Top of the Stairs” and ‘‘Peninsula:”.;. 4- Theatrical Interests Plan, Inc., a legit investment-production firm,, has raised approximately $300,000 thus far in stock sales. That fig¬ ure, based: on a May. 17 audit (and allowing for subsequent sales), rep¬ resents about, 30% of the organ¬ ization’s proposed $894,401.50 capi¬ talization. The.firm’s financial position as of the audit reflected a net capital of $210,114.18. That represented income from stock Sales, less of¬ fering expenses and operational deficit.. The offering expenses in¬ cluded $2,707.66 for the period from July . 1, i956, to June 30, . 1957, and $22,129.39 for the peri¬ od from July 1, 1957, to last May 17. The deficit on operations totaled ' $27,300.27. That involved a $33.68 , ; profit for the-one-and-a-half-month j period from April 12, 1956, to the Contract negotiations between Rowing June 30 a $3,233.39 defi- the League of N.Y. Theatres and fit for the period from July 1 1956 the stagehands union started last to. June 30, 1957, and a _$24,100.56 week after a temporary stymie, deficit for the period from July The grips Tefused to discuss the L ’57-May 17, ’58. How Can It Miss? A, would-be producer with a blue-sky approach about a new play, telephoned a well-known angel about Investing in the project. “Can I read the script?” inquired the oft-stung money man. “1 haven’t any copies yet” replied the young promoter, adding optimistically, “but Anne Meyerson has agreed to mimeograph it.” Producers-Grips Remote Ancient Dramas Draw 52,000 Viewers Athens, July 22. The Epidavros Festival of. An¬ cient Drama has had. a successful year and now the Athens Festival looms for Aug. 1-Sept. 6 period. Epidavros had a record number of spectators, realizing 52,000 ad¬ missions, a good mark taking Into consideration the isolated geog¬ raphy where ancient theatre, is lo¬ cated and the fact that audiences have to travel many miles to reach it. '• The National Theatre Co. will re¬ peat the Epidavros . repertory at Herodus Atticus here with .23 per¬ formances of ancient drama and two. comedies. Athens!: Festival, however, also has concerts by the Wien Philharmonic Orch conducted by Dimitri Mitrqpoulos as well as other concerts. terms of a new pact when informed that the League had brought In a special negotiator for the purpose. . The stagehands* members of the Theatrical Protective Union No. 1, the New York local of TATSE, de¬ manded that confabs be conducted with a League committee. The or¬ ganization of producers: and thea¬ tres owners acquiesced, but re¬ served the. right to have the special negotiator, attorney Daniel F. O’Connell, present at • discussions. A sidelight to the situation is that the union does riot operate interstate arid therefore is subject only to New York laws and not Taft-Hartley regulations. This means the union was not required to negotiate With O’Connell as an individual representative of the League. It’s figured a major fac¬ tor behind the uniori’s desire to negotiate with a committee is that since the same members don't al¬ ways show up at meetings there’s a better chance of obtaining conces¬ sions.-- The two groups continue pala¬ vers this week. : ED SCANLON PRO-TEM BIZ AGENT OF ATPAM Ed Scanlon has been appointed temporary business, agent of the Assn, of Theatrical Press Agents & Managers: He’ll fill the post until the union’s next membership meet¬ ing in October, when a permanent successor to the late.: Joe Moss will be elected. Scanlon was named to the post last week by the ATPAM boarif: of governors. Moss, who died June 26, had been elected business agent a few weeks previously. In the in¬ terim since his. death and the ap¬ pointment of Scanlpn,. the business agent’s chores were haridled ■ on a voluntary basis by different ATPAM members. ALL-AMERICAN CAST FOR WEST END ‘STORY’ . London, July’29. An all-American cast is to be used for the upcoming London pro¬ duction of “West Side Story,” Which Robert E. Griffith & Harold S, ..Prince will present in associa¬ tion With H. M. Tennent. British Actors Equity has given its okay. About half the cast will be chosen from the existing Broadway company, and rehearsals are due to start in New York on Sept. 1. The musical may be presented in Brussels arid Paris before the West End. Also in association with Ten- rients. Prince is. preparing a West End edition of “Two for the See¬ saw,” but production plans have not yet been completed. TIP’s activities, as of May 17, in¬ cluded investments in seven shows, I six of which are hits, and running on Broadway. Actually., one of the six, “Jamaica*” is currently laying off until Aug. 1L The other five payoff entries are “Look Home¬ ward, Angel,” “Dark at the Top of the Stairs,” “Music Man,” “Two for the Seesaw” and “Sunrise at Campobello.” The flop was “Sum¬ mer of the 17th Doll.” The total invested in the seven shows by TIP as a limited partner was $36,200. Since six of the sew en have clicked, the organization is sure to earn a profit on its over¬ all investment, of which $29,025 had been returned as of the May 17 accounting. However, TIP may not he as for¬ tunate in a deal negotiated with Hermit Bloomgarden for a 20% managerial interest in “Look Homeward, Angel ” in addition to the firm’s 4% limited partnership interest in the production. TIP purchased its 20% managerial stake in the presentation for $106,- 609.67, of which it still has to pay a $31,609,67 balance next Aug. 5. When TIP bought its managerial interest in “Angel” the show was a steady sellout. However, once the summer slump hit Broadway, following the exodous of most of (Continued on page 122) “Oh Captain: for Stock : “Oh Captain,” which ended a 24-week Broadway run last July 19, is being hustled into circulation, as a stock vehicle. Tams-Witmark, Which is licensing the tuner for summer theatre production, has al-. ready set deals for presentation at two tents early in September* /The musical is slated . by Ben Segal to play the Oakdale Music Theatre, Wallingford, Conn ,- and the Warwick (R.I.) Music Theatre the weeks of Sept. 1 and Sept. 8, respectively; St. Loo Cabaret-Theatre To Move* Sheds Tryouts St. Louis, July 29. J A series of preems is scheduled by the Crystal Palace, a local caba¬ ret-theatre,. when it reopens next fall at a new location. -.. Produc¬ tions planned by the. Equity opera¬ tion, which has shuttered for the summer, will be split between new American plays and European works previously unproduced in the U. S. Among the plays already under option is an untitled entry by j Chandler Brossard, editor of Look ! iriag. Others include “Rolf,” by i Gerrnan playwright Gert Weyman; i “Friend of the Fariiily,” by Peter ; Stone, and" The Secret Concubine,” by Aldyth Morris: The Morris play was previously tested in Septem¬ ber, 1956, at the Murray Theatre, Princeton, N. J. Negotiations are also under way with the Soviet Embassy for a new Russian play. . The Crystal is booked by a syn¬ dicate of local businessmen. Fred and Jay Landesman and Theodore J. Flicker axe producers at the spot, with Flicker doubling as artistic director. Disastrous Try Admission Slash Pittsburgh, July 29. In an effort to salvage something on the wind-up of its most disas¬ trous season. Civic Light Opera Assn, has slashed general admis¬ sion prices from $1.10 to 55c on Tuesday and Wednesday nights for remaining shows. Reduction went into effect last week with ‘'Can- Can” and continues through cur¬ rent “On the Town” and next week’s finale, “Starlight Revue,” starring Gordon MacRae. arid the Weire Brothers. Al fresco venture, in its 13th year at Pitt Stadium, has been practically clubbed to death this summer and Will go disastrously in the hole. Only “Oklahoma” starring Dorothy Collins came close to an (even break; all the others have t been heavy losers. Seven performances have been rained out altogether, and on least 21 nights the. weather forecast was for cold and showers, which killed business. Only eight performances so far have been presented under ideal weather conditions. Cash Prizes m Italo Legit Rome, July 22. “Quality” cash prizes of $12,000 each have been awarded to the legit companies led by- Vittorio Gassmann and Giorgio Alberta/zi, for their work during the 1957 58 theatrical season in Italy* Awards are a form of govern¬ ment aid set np by the current Ihgit legislation. Many other cash awards went to other companies, soirie actors, authors ($1,500), and a director, Guido Salvini. (also $1,500), under the “quality” aid setup.