Variety (September 1958)

LEGITIMATE Guild-ATS Subscription Shows May Reach Record Gross This Season The Theatre Guild-American So¬ ciety has expanded its operation this season to 22 cities with a po¬ tential-of 198 subscription playing weeks. If the organization can ful¬ fill its booking commitments and .business remains on a par with last season the subscription gross on the road this semester may top the record $2,549,299 racked up last season on 177 playing weeks.. The ’57-58 gross, which marked the second straight record-break¬ ing semester,, represented more than 11% of the season’s $22,645,- 000 total hinterland tally. The per¬ centage, which was the same -dur¬ ing the *56-’57 frame, represents the biggest subscription share of the aggregate gj-oss in the 26 years that the legit membership plan has been handled by-the TG-ATS. ' The total playing weeks tally on the road last season was 728. That means the TG-ATS subscription service, which has been operating in recent years under the auspices of the Council of the Living Thea¬ tre, was responsible for nearly 25% of the overall figure. The 177 play¬ ing weeks, also equalled during 1953-54 term, is the highest regis¬ tered thus far by the TG-ATS. During the 1957-58 season, 35 productions, including 19 regular touring shows and 16 tryouts, played 18 cities covered by TG- ATS. The four new cities added to the subscription network this season are Toronto, Montreal, In¬ dianapolis and Kansas City. There’s also a possibility Toledo may be added to the roster. A two-week campaign is slated there this month to enroll a mini mum membership of 3,500 adults at $16 each and 300 students at $9 each. The subscription offerings would, play Toledo for two-night runs. The Toronto setup calls for five i shows, each playing a week, while i in Mpntreal subscribers are to get! four shows, also for a. single weekj each. The "subscription series in: Indianapolis and Kansas City will, each include four shows for split- j week engagements. Besides ex-; panding to new territories, the TG-1 " ATS has launched a campaign in j Cleveland to increase subscription from one week to a fortnight. The Cleveland expansion pro¬ gram appears to be working out; favorably, and the subscriber list: is expected to hit 8,000-10,000 for, an eight-show series. The previ¬ ous years, the number of one-week subscribers for eight shows was around 4,336^ Part of the apparent success of the Cleveland campaign is attributed to growing sales to industries and colleges. Mike La- pine is TG-ATS campaign manager there. In line with the TG-ATS expan¬ sion, Warren Caro, executive direc¬ tor of the TG-ATS for the past 11 years and administrator of the transfer of the subscription service from the Theatre Guild to industry¬ wide auspices six years ago as a result of an agreement with the Council of the Living Theatre, re¬ cruited three people, formerly with civic concerts, to assist in the program. They are Harlowe F. Dean, Robert Kuhlman and Jane Marks. The number of TG-ATS sub¬ scribers increased from 84,128 dur¬ ing the 1950-51 season to 107,113 during the 1957-58 semester. A breakdown of grosses for TG-ATS subscription engagements since the 1950-51 season, with the corre¬ sponding playing week totals listed parenthetically, follows: 1950- 51 ... .$1,039,086 (122) 1951- 52 - 1,378,423 (144V6) 1952- 53 .... 1,782,372 (150) 1953- 54 .... 1,560,909 (177) 1954- 55 .... 1,721,485 (171) 1955- 56 - 1,748,690 (173V 2 ) 1956- 57 - 2,216,363 (174V£) 1957- 58 .... 2,549,299 (177) Appoint Sydney Johnson Montreal Star Drama Ed. Montreal, Sept. 16. Sydney Johnson, veteran mem¬ ber of the Montreal Star’s theatre department, has been appointed drama editor. He succeeds Wal¬ ter O’Hearn, who becomes manag¬ ing editor. O’Hearn, who has developed the thea’re, film and book pages of the paper, will continue to write special theatrical stories for the Saturday editions and the lead book reviews each week. Stale Dept. Continued from page 1 — company to accompany the others to Brussels.” But he referred all further comment to Richard Sul¬ livan, executive assistant to the executive director in the office of the U.S. Commissioner General at the Fair. Blau said that the company flew to Brussels without Kershaw, but under protest. The decision to pro¬ ceed was reached after a meeting of the workshop’s five-man board of directors. Federal Judge George B. Harris is board president. The | main reason for going ahead and fulfilling the contract under the j Performing Arts Program, accord¬ ing to Blau, was that “It would be impossible to refund” travel money raised through a series of San Francisco benefits given last! spring. The company was in New York presenting “Godot” off-Broadway i for six weeks when, a fortnight! ago, the State Dept, phoned co¬ director Jules Irving there and said that Kershaw was “Unsatisfactory.” Irving was given no reason and his request for a letter of confirmation was ignored. Blau described Kershaw as **a strong union man, politically and socially liberal, with admirable in¬ tegrity.” The State Dept, said the decision was final, and that the week’s run at Brussels would be cancelled if Kershaw were in¬ cluded. Judge Harris offered to vouch for Kershaw, but this was rejected by the State Dept. Blau said, “Had the State Dept, notified us before the contract was signed that any of our company was unsatisfactory, it is conceivable we would not have accepted the invitation.” The Workshop is the strongest of the San Francisco’s little-theatre groups, and has an off-Broadway Equity contract. Blau called Kershaw “One of the most valuable in our theatre” and said “his presence (at Brussels) would be only by the farthest stretch of the imagination inimical to Ameri-j can welfare abroad.” Oddly, Kershaw’s wife, dancer Bari Rolfe, accompanied the' group to Brussels, where she’s attending the “Godot” premiere, then going to Paris to study with pantomimist star Marcel Marceau. She said of the State Dept.’s objections: “I haven’t the least idea what they have in mind.” (The State Dept, apparently did not refuse Kershaw a passport, a procedure it frequently followed until the recent Supreme Court rul¬ ing forbidding such action. Instead, it appears to have merely barred Kershaw’s appearance or participa¬ tion with the Workshop perform¬ ance of "Godot” at the Brussels Fair, on threat of cancellation of the show. (The State Dept, presumably had the power to take such a step, and thereby carry out its ban on Ker¬ shaw, because the U.S. presenta¬ tions at the Brussels Fair are under Government sponsorship, under the Performing Arts Program super¬ vised by the Department .— Ed.) SCHEDULED N.Y. OPENINGS (Theatres Set ) BROADWAY Swim In Sea. Lyceum (9-30-58). Handful of Fire, Beck (10-1-58). Touch of the Poet, Hayes (10-2-58). Drink to Me Only, 54th St. (10-8-58). Goldilocks, Lunt-Fontanne (10-9-58). Suzle Uteng, Broadhurst (10-14-58). T.N.P. of Paris, B’way (10-14-58). Girls in 5Of, Belasco (10-15-58). Make a Million, Playhouse (10-16-58). Once More With Feeling, NatT (10-21-58). Pleasure of His Co., Lontfacre (10-22-58). Palate, Miller (10-28-58). Marriage-Go-Round, Plymouth (10-29-58). Man in Dog Suit, Coronet (10-30-58). Crazy October, Alvin (wk. 11-3-58). Plume de ma Tante, Royale (wk. 11-3-58). George Dillon, Golden (11-4-58). Comes A Day, Ambassador (11-6-58). Flower Drum Song, St. James (11-27-58). Cold Wind A Warm, Morosco (12-4-58). Old Vic, B’way (12-9-58). Vb J. B., ANTA 02-11-58). Whoop-Up, Shubert (12-18-58). Redhead, 46th St. (2-5-59). OFF-BROADWAY Young Provincials, Cricket (9-18-58).. Jackknife, Royal (9-22-58). American Mime, Orpheum (9-23-58). Heloije, Gate (9-24-58). Lulu, 4th St. (9-29-58). ; Deathwatch, Theatre East (10-6-58). Ivanov, Renata (10-7-58). Gol-'en Six, York (’0-13-58). Family Reunion, Phoenix (IQ-20-58). Diversions, Downtown (11-5-58). l Sal->d D^ys. n~rhw,.n ■" w di-n-58). Cock-A-Doodle, Carnegie (11-12-58). .... ^ r Maij >Vho,Hever pied, Jan,Hu*^j-:^8). Stock Review Strategy ol Murder . Hollywood, Sept. 4’. Helen Jewell presentation of a three- act comedy by Sonia Brown. Staged bf William Gass; scenery, Rita Glover; light¬ ing, Dean Mitchell. At the Beverly Hills Playhouse, Beverly Hi U s, Calif., Sept. 3, ’58; $2.20. top. Satan .... Jonathan Kidd Nero ..Fredric Villani Domitia ... June Van Dyke Hair Dresser... Stephen Kent Dancing Master .Tony Manning Agrippina .. Marilyn Harvey Nero, as Child..Henry Avalon Claudius William Leggate Messalina ... . • Pe/Kf Power Crispus . Richard Valentine Andrian . Harley Boggs Livius . Mike Campbell Pallas ..John McCann Octavia .. Jean Beres Petronius .. Jorg Jackson Otho .. Lon Gardner Acte . Barbara Moore Poppaea .. Barbara English Brittanicus . Michael Vwidever Locusta .. Julie Holland Terpnus .. Larry Baxter Guards . Vince Baggetta, Ralph Taeger There are echoes of Shaw, of Wilder and of Sartre in Sonia Brown’s. “Strategy of Murder,” which is presented for a limited run at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. The title is intended to be satirical. Purposely violating the unities of time and space, the comedy com¬ ments On the different views held on individual murder in ancient Rome and mass murder in con¬ temporary society. The central character is Nero and the point seems to be that his celebrated depravities were tame compared with modern, psycholog¬ ically-justified mayhem. That is an interesting thesis, and gets an imaginative framework for treat¬ ment in the Helen Jewell produc¬ tion and William Gass staging. But “Strategy of Murder” is not a good play or a very interesting'one. It is not a commercial prospect. The setting is Hell and the cus¬ tomary caretaker and principal commentator is Satan, played by Jonathan Kidd. Fredric Villani, as Nero, is presented as a sensitive, poetically-inclined young man, driven to lust, licentiousness and murder by the corrupting influ¬ ences of his heredity and environ¬ ment. The production has a big cast and one handsome set by Rita Glover. The direction by Gass is fluid, moving the over-long play at a commendable tempo, but the acting is not cohesive. Some of the actors are overly histrionic, while others seemed frozen by opening night jitters, departing the stage with almost obvious relief. Those who made-, an impression included Kidd, Villani, June Van Dyke, Marilyn Harvey, Mike Campbell, Jean Beres, Jorg Jackson and Bar¬ bara English. Potoe. Extend Bard Season The American Shakespeare Fes¬ tival Theatres, Stratford. Conn., will launch its 1959 season around May 1, about six weeks earlier than usual,, in a campaign to draw schools, colleges, clubs and institu¬ tions. Touring Shows (Sept. 15-28) Aunt it Mama (Eve Arden)—Biltmore, L.A. (15-27). Auntie Mahie (Constance Bennett)— Erlanger, Chi (continues .indefinitely). _Auntie Maine (Sylvia Sidney)—Ovens, Charlotte, N.C. (15-16); Aycock, Greens¬ boro, N.C. (17-18);. Mosque, Richmond, Va. (19-20); Center, Norfolk, Va. (21-22); Municipal Aud., Spartanburg; S.C. (24); Township Aud.. Columbia. S.C. (25); Roy, Columbus, Ga. (26); Lanier H.S., Mont¬ gomery, Ala. (27). Can-Can (Genevieve)—Memorial, Day- ton (19-20); Hanna, Cleve. (22-27). Candida—Bucks. County Playhouse, New Hope, Pa. (22-27). . P rI !?. k *o Me Only (tryout)—Warren, Atlantic City (16-20); Wilbur, Boston (22-27). Girls In 509 (tryout) (Peggy Wood, Imogene Coca)—National. Wash. (15-27). Goldilocks (tryout)-^Erlanger, Philly (15-20); Shubert, Boston (23-27) (Reviewed in VARIETY, Sept. 10. *58). Handful of Fire (tryout) (Roddy Mc- Dowall, James Daly)—Locust, Philly (15-27) (Reviewed in VARIETY, Sept. 3, ’58). Look Back .In Anger—Ford’s, Balto. (22-27). Make a Million (tryout) (Sam Levene)— Warren, Atlantic City (22-27). Man rn the Dog Suit (tryout) (Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn)—Playhouse, Wil¬ mington (24-27). Marriage Go-Round (tryout) (Charles Boyer, Claudette Colbert)—Alcazar, S.F. (27). Mask and Gown (T. C. Jones)—Hart¬ ford, L.A. (15-20); Great Northern, Chi (24-27). Music Man (2d Co.)—Philharmonic Aud., L.A. (15-27). My Fair Lady (2d Co.)—Shubert, Chi (continues indefinitely). Old Vic—Curran, SJF. (16-27). Once More With Feeling (tryout) Arlene Francis, Joseph Cotten)—Shubert, New Haven (17-20); Erlanger, Philly (22-27). Patafe (tryout) (Tom Ewell)—Shubert, New Haven (24-27). Romanoff and Juliet (Peter Ustinoff)— Royal Alexandra, Toronto (15-20); Gass, Det. (22-27). . Shakespeare's Ages of Man (John Giel¬ gud)—Festival Theatre, Stratford, Ont. (20); Royal Alexandra, Toronto (22-27). Swim In the Sea (tryout) (Fay Bainter) —Walnut, Philly (15r27). „ Touch of the Poet (tryout) (Helen Hayes, Betty Field, Eric Portman, Kim Stanley)—Colonial. Boston (15-27). World of Suzie Wong (tryout)—Shubert, Bojtoij^ J15-2Q); Forrest* philly <2^-277. Wednesday, September 17, 1958 Shows Out of Town The World of Suzie Wong Boston, Sept. 12. David Merrick, Seven Arts Produc¬ tions & Mansfield Productions presenta¬ tion of Joshua Logan production of two- act drama by Paul Osborn, based on Richard Manson’s novel. Staged by Logan; setting and lighting, Joe Miel- ziner; costumes, Dorothy Jeakins. Fea¬ tures . France Nuyen, William Shatner, Ron Randell, Sarah Marshall, Noel Leslie, Stephen Cheng. At Shubert Theatre, Boston, Sept: 11, *53; $4.95 top. Robert Lomax .....William Shatner Suzie Wong >. France Nuyen Chinese Officer . Clifford Arashi Ah Ton* . Stephen C. Cheng Bartender ... David Hill Walter ... Viral Amonsin British Sailor . David Kitchen Typhoo .. Sirat Gwenny.Takayo Doran Wednesday Lulu .. Flavia Hsu Kingman Minnie Ho .. Mary Mon Toy Fifi .. Vie Von Thom George O'Neil . Noel Leslie Kay Fletcher. Sarah Marshall Ben Jeffcoat . Ron Randell Street Girl . Ellen Davalos Drunken Sailor ...... Warren Robertson Hotel. Attendant . VlraJ Amonsin Others: Jin Jin Mai, John Mamo, Ichlsuki Ishikawa, Tsunao Sato. Amahs: Meiyu Chang, Linda Ho, Tinya Lang. Yun, Sufei, T'ang, Hokon T’ang, William Becker, Jorge Benhur, . Curt Bieber, Bill Cochrane, Derrick Dobb. Tracy Everitt, Ed Garrabrandt, Karl Held, Bill Jason. Jerry Logas, Marc Mamo, Ted Morell, Richard Nieves. Paul Smith, NeU Vipond, Kathleen Widdqes, Fred Star- buck. “The World of Suzie Wong” proved a shock to Hub first- nighters. It is so highly censor- able that it’s inflammable, and it appears a major hit. Producer David Merrick might bill the play for-adults-only, for this is truly strong fare from opening curtain to the finale of the two-act, 12- scene drama. The show is as big as a musical, and could easily be made into one. It has a cast of 44, budgeted at $165,000, is hand¬ somely mounted with lavish, im¬ aginative scenery, with terrific deluge of rain onstage in the sec¬ ond act, and masterful lighting by Jo Mielziner. Actually, there is music from a jukebox, with off¬ stage singing and onstage chant¬ ing, plus a little . dancing, with sailors and femmes doing a jitter¬ bug bit. The story of a white artist and a Chinese prostie’s love affair, set in a brothel, is played straight, with almost the original dialog. The piece plays better than the book reads, and director Joshua Logan makes it touching. The opening night audience lust¬ ily applauded France Nuyen’s touching, childlike, dreamy parr trayal, of Suzie. William Shatner Is fine as the artist who is tom by his love for the Chinese girl whose “work” disturbs him, but not by .her. The heroine believes that her professional sex life has nothing to do with love, an attitude the artist finds hard to accept. The Boston censor, however, may have a lively time. Rife with ripe blunt words and references, it's likely to arouse some of the local critics as well as the censor. There are eyw-filling Chinese beauties in the cast, so personable, frank and disenchanted . about their “work” that the audience howls. Outstanding is Mary Mon Toy as a girl who always forgets to ask for the money. A fine por¬ trayal is given by Rofi Randell as Ben Jeffcoat, who gains new pros¬ pective while Suzie is his mistress. The descriptions of "short time” engagements, “long lime” engage¬ ments, various economical, prac¬ tical and ludicrous nappenings in regard to oriental prostitution are ! especially convulsing to femme showgoers. Oriental street scenes, hotel bar, ferry, demolished house, and hotel room are vividly effec¬ tive with sliding scenery, revolv¬ ing stages and hanging scenery. While there will be controversy over the play’s substance, it will certainly kindle a great fire at the b.o., and distaffers will, beat the doors down to see this. Bizarre, and splendorous, “Suzie Wong” goes beyond accepted limits, but is done with such care that it is a tribute to Logan’s artistry. Doro¬ thy jeakins has provided colorful costumes. Guy. A Touch of the Poet- New Haven, Sept. 8. Producers Theatre presentation of Robert Whitehead production of four-act drama by Eugene O’Neill. Stars Helen Hayes, Eric Portman, Kim Stanley, Betty Field; features Curt Conway, Art Smith. Luis Van Roofen. Farrell Pelly, John CaU. Tom Clancy. Directed by Harold Clurman; decor, Ben Edwards. At Shubert Theatre, New Haven, Sept. 8, '58; $4.80 top. Mickey Maloy .. Tom C. Carney Jamie Cregan . Curt Conway Sard" Melody . Kim Stanley Nora Melody . Helen Hayes Cornelius Melody .. Eric Portman "Dan Roche . John Call Paddy O'Dowd .-... Art Smith Patch Riley .. Farrell Pelly Deborah . Betty Field Nicholas Gadsby .Luis Van Rooten “A Touch of the Poet” will probably not be catalogued as one of O’Neill’s greater plays. While it has its r&or^enti^ notably, in an effective fourth act, the overall reaction - is -lukewarm. Despite flashes of fine dialog and excellent acting, there doesn’t seem to be enough for a smash hit. Para¬ doxically, values are simultane¬ ously enhanced and jeopardized by the playing of a cast of name troupers. In many instances out¬ standing physical performance is lost in unintelligible vocal deliv¬ ery. The play concerns a would-be gentleman of the early 1800's and the painfully plain woman he married as a gesture of “honor,” following a youthful affair. Maj. Cornelius Melody, quondam British army officer, operating a village tavern near Boston, has come upon times beneath his dignity, so he feels, and the drama involves the wife who accepts his abuse but never relinquishes her pride in her love for him and understand¬ ing - of his plight. Helen Hayes gives rich substance to the character of the wife, with a combination of fire, warmth and sympathy. Eric Portman has first- rate acting style and stage pres¬ ence as *the husband, but his marked British accent, coupled with staccato delivery, blurs the meaning of the lines. Kim Stanley does well as a daughter intent on snaking a cul¬ tured husband to lift her nut of her modest surroundings and con¬ temptuous of her father’s behavior, as well as bitter against his at¬ tempt to upset her marital plans. Betty Field makes a brief hut elo¬ quent appearance as a highly cul¬ tured woman. Curt Conway draws considerable meat from the sup¬ porting character of a one-time sergeant under the major. Production is mounted unosten¬ tatiously in the plain dining room of the tavern. The period cos¬ tumes are well executed. Harold Clurman’s staging has paced the play capably, with, interest rising to the fourth act. Bone. The Girls In 509 Wilmington, Sept. 10. Allred de Liagre Jr. production of two- act comedy by Howard Tclchmann. Stars Peggy Wood, Imogene Coca. Staged by Bretaigne Wlndust; setting and light¬ ing. Donald Oenslager; costumes, Lucinda Ballard. Presented at Playhouse, Wilm¬ ington. Sept. 10. '58; $5.20 top. Mlmsy ... . Imogene Coca Aunt Hettie. Peggy Wood Old Jim .Fred Stewart Dally News Reporter.Les Damon Pusey . King Donovatt Miss Freud . Laurinda Barrett Winthrop Allen . Robert Emhardt Herald Tribune Reporter .. Will Hussung Daily Mirror Reporter .. William Bush Post Reporter .Sam Schwartz Francis X. Nella . R. E. Encore Aubrey McKittridge .. James Millhollln A barrage of funny lines and wacky situations gives Howard Teichmann’s “The Girls in 509” a head start as a potential winner on Broadway. Especially as long as Peggy Wood and Imogene Coca hold down the top female roles. There are a number of cliches that could be played down or eliminated and other deficiencies that may be corrected during the tryout tour. There is not much sense to the plot, but then Teichmann throws logic to the winds deliberately in order tq point up his satirical ob¬ servations on the political scene and omer targets, antLhe’s always ready with a gag to keep the audience diverted. The story is located in a faded hotel suite where a rock-ribbed Republican matron and her niece retired in 1932 to ride out the hated Demo¬ cratic regime in Washington, For over 20 years they have lived in voluntary exile, hoping for the return of national “sanity.” When a timid journalism instruc¬ tor invades their domain, posing as a N.Y. Times reporter, there’s a turmoil, with the author lam¬ pooning political parties, journal¬ ism professors, drama critics, lawyers, tv, and films. The cast has a field day. Peggy Wood, who replaced Dorothy Gish during rehearsals, is a command¬ ing figure as well as a delightful actress in the role of the matron who counldn’t face her friends or enemies after Hoover’s defeat. Imogene Coca is cute and pert in the role of Mimsy, the niece, who shares her aunt’s views hut yearns for a little romance on the side. The only other female part, an officious social worker, is well handled by Laurinda Barrett. King Donovan strikes the right note as the journalism instructor. He has several of the best scenes in the show. The two political bosses are played to the hilt by Winthrop Allen and R. E. Encore. There are also choice character portrayals by Fred Stewart as the man-of-all work at the hotel and James Mill- hollin as a lawyer. Bretaigne Windust’s direction keeps things moving rapidly, Don- (Continued on page 82)