Variety (March 1959)

Wednesday, March 11, 1959 UGTTOfAtE 79 VSriety Gnrian Sought TG-ATS Subscription, Peninsula’ Thrives on It, Says Caro New York. 4---- 1 -:— Editor , Variety: The road production of “The Warm Peninsula,” starring Julie Harris opened Monday night (9) in Chicago, where it has already banked a check from the Theatre Guild-American Theatre Society for $52,300 covering the guaran¬ teed advance for the three weeks’ subscription.. When it completes its tour this season, this show will have had the benefit of a total of about $238,400 (net, after taxes) in advance-guaranteed grosses from the TG-ATS. Subscription has supplied approximately 37% of all boxoffice grosses for this at¬ traction in TG-ATS cities to date. At this juncture. Manning Gu- rian (Miss Harris’ husband, who is presenting this play as his first producing venture in the theatre) has issued an effusion of inflam¬ matory and irresponsible utter¬ ances about the TG-ATS and the subscription programs organized by it under the auspices of the Council of the Living Theatre, and it appeared in Variety last week. In applying for subscription in January, 1958, Gurian wrote the TG-ATS, ' “I would like the benefit of subscription at all play dates where subscription is in effect Much of my plan de¬ pends on whether the play will have Guild subscription \ on tour ” | This January, one year and many thousands of subscription dollars later, Gurian, apparently having decided that subscription was now expendable, cancelled, without notice to us, three sub¬ scription engagements. They were for Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, and had been reserved for this production and held throughout the season as per con¬ tract of July 11, 1958, between I him and the TG-ATS. [ The contract made subscription available as he had requested. His ] cancellation without notice meant: 1) Holding the subscription for J “The Warm Peninsula” from July, I (Continued on page 83) Chi Local Legit Spotty; 2 Off-Loop Groups Fold Loft Troupe Prospering Chicago, March 10. Two off-Loop local ventures have folded, both after short runs. Theatre 270, a musical stock j group playing in semi-arena style at the Belmont Hotel, expired after three lean weeks of “Damn Yank¬ ees.” A few weeks earlier. Art Peterson’s American Cavalcade Theatre, which had been using the 21th St Theatre, caved in after reducing its operation to week¬ ends only. ACT had started with Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” and followed it with a production of Maxwell Anderson’s “Both Your Houses.” In contrast, Bereniki Bobbins’ Stage ’59, which has been giving Jts performances in the loft of Riccardo's Restaurant, appears to be expanding. Group is planning a move to larger quarters and has become a subsidiary, along with Videostage ’59 and Workshop ’59,. of a newly formed non-profit cor¬ poration, Chicago Foundation for Theatre Arts. Board of directors now ^consists of Miss Robbins, Frank Reed, and Herman Kogan, the latter formerly Chicago Sun- Times drama critic. Current production is a program of- three one-acters by Tennessee Williams, “Lady, of Larkspur,” “Mooney’s Kid Don’t Cry,” and “Auto-da-fe.” Plan BTA Subscription Next Year, Columbia, S. C. Columbia, S. C., March 10. The first Broadway Theatre League in South Carolina has been organized here by the Broadway Theatre Alliance (BTA). Plans call for promoter Henry M. Marcus to present four touring shows here next season on a subscription basis, under local charity sponsorship. Charlotte and Greensboro, N. C., presented similar subscription set¬ ups last season. Songs for Strawbatter Return as Film Stint A summer theatre association with Philip Barry Jr. had a de¬ layed payoff for the songwriting team of Charles Strouse (lyrics) and Lee Adams (music). Barry, who knew the cleffers from having co-produced a 1957 stock tryout of a musical for which they had writ -1 ten the songs, gave them the as¬ signment of providing title tune for the new picture, “The Mating Game,” produced by him for Metro release. Besides being used in the film, the number has also been recorded by Debbie Reynolds, costar of the Barry production, incidentally, the stock property, “A Pound In Your Pocket,” is being presented this week at the Royaal Poinciana Playhouse, Palm Beach. S. I. Abelow and Robert Cenedella wrote the book for “Pound,” based on their play, “Small Servant,” which was tried out in 1956 in Dallas. The musical was tried out in 1957 by Barry, in association with Ron Rawson at the latter’s John Drew Theatre, East Hampton, N.Y. Set Pkg. Prices On‘Babes/‘Abner The package revival of “Babes in Arms,” which Lee Guber, Frank Ford and Shelly Gross are produc¬ ing in association with Richard Rodgers, is being, offered to stock managers for $8,650 per week, plus 10% of the gross over $15,000. “Li’l Abner,” which Guber, Ford and Gross are also packaging for stock, is being sold by them for $7,250 weekly. “Babes,” the Rodgers & Hart musical, has been revised, with a new book by George Oppenheimer, and is scheduled to open March 30 at the Royal Poinciana Playhouse, Palm Beach. After one week there, it moves to the Coconut Grove (Fla.) Playhouse for a fortnight Julie Wilson is starred in the pro¬ duction, which is geared for pros¬ cenium and tent showcasing. The “Abner” package will be in addition to the current bus-and- truck touring edition of the musi¬ cal, which Guber, Ford and Gross are also sponsoring. The road com¬ pany opens next Monday (16) at the Blackstone Theatre, Chicago, then goes to New Orleans, Los Angeles and San Francisco for seven weeks, beginning April 27. Subsequent dates are also being planned. The packages will also play the four tents, which Guber, Ford and Gross will be operating next sum¬ mer. They are the Valley Forge Music Fair, Devon, Pa., Camden County Music Fair, Haddonfield, N. J.; Westbury (L. I.) Music Fair, all previously run by them, and the new Storrowton Music Fair, Springfield, Mass. Marvin A. Krauss is general manager for the producers. The producing trio are also plan¬ ning a summer tryout tour of Julie Berns’ “The Law and Mr. Simon,” which they have under option. Menasha Skulnick is scheduled to star in the presentation, which is slated for an eight-week tour of the | four tents. Sked Osborne Musical For West End Showing London, March 10. David Pelham, in association with Leon Heppner and Cedric Levitt, is to present John Os¬ borne’s first musical, “The World of Paul Slickey.” It goes into re¬ hearsal next week and will have a short provincial tour before open¬ ing May 7 at an unspecified West End Theatre. Pop singer Dennis Lotis" will play the leading role of a daily newspaper columnist in the satiri¬ cal musical. Arthur Cantor is pressagenting ’Calculated Risk,” which Irene Mayer Selmick plans for Broad¬ way, production next season. Equity Stiffens Rides On Nhery Legit Shows Actors Equity has revised its rules for legit shows in night clubs. The regulation requiring furnish¬ ing of “all necessary clothing” now applies to actors earning $350 or less, instead of $250, as previously stipulated. Payment for injury under the “extraordinary risk” clause has been raised from $250 to $350 and payment of contractual salary for vacation has been hiked from $250 to $350. Equity Forbids Moving of B’way Shows Off-B way Actors Equity has imposed a ban oh quick transfers of Main Stem and road productions to off-Broad- way. The regulation prohibits the reopening of a show under an off- Broadway contract during the same season as produced under a standard contract on Broadway or out-of-town. The rule also stipulates -that in no case may such a reopening oc¬ cur within six months. The situa¬ tion stems from attempts by some managers to present certain shows off-Broadway shortly after their Main Stem or road closings. The union had been approached in this respect on “Epitaph forGeorge Dillon” and “Candide” following their Broadway closings, and “En¬ rico” after it collapsed during its out-of-town tryout. The new regulation does not af¬ fect the off-Broadway presentation of a show that exits Broadway to tour, however, as was the case ear¬ lier this season with “Look Back in Anger.” The play was produced off-Broadway several weeks after the Broadway edition had em¬ barked on a road hike. The union’s attitude in such cases 'is that the off-Broadway presentation, rather than repre¬ senting a possible attempt to con¬ tinue a show in New York at lower off-Broadway wage scales, provides added employment for performers, since the original production is still in operation. ‘FELONS’SHORT PAYOFF BY FORD’S, IN BALTO The management of “Gay Fel¬ ons’* and Morris Mechanic, opera¬ tor of the Ford’s Theatre, Balti¬ more, are in dispute over the amount of money due the produc¬ tion for its eight-performance run at the house last week. H. Clay Blaney, co-producer of the comedy with Geoffrey Jones, claims , that the theatre’s payoff to “Felons” was $2,500 short of a $14,000 guar¬ antee. Mechanic acknowledges that the show was guaranteed 70% of a minimum $20,000 gross, which ac¬ counts for the $14,000 figure. The gross for the week, however, was only $12,600 and of that amount, $11,500 was paid to the producers. Mechanic asserts that the $2,500 balance on the guarantee, which he’s withheld, relates to certain adjustments. Blaney, however, feels the show is entitled to the full guarantee. Mechanic says he’s holding the money in escrow and will abide by the decision of any disinterest¬ ed mediator. The Joseph Carole comedy, costarring Denise Dar- cel, Jacques Francois and George Tobias, is current at the Locust Theatre, Philadelphia. It’s due to move to New York next week, but, as yet, a theatre hasn’t been booked Raze Badin (N.C.) House, Former Touring Stand Greensboro, N. C., March 10. The razing of the 40-year-old Badin (N. C.) Theatre marks the demise of onetime stand for tour¬ ing shows. The two-story structure, built in 1918 by the Aluminum Co. of America primarily to provide an entertainment spot for its local employees, cost about $160)000. The house seated 600 in the orchestra and 150 on . the balcony. Figure Ibis as Do-or-Die Summer For Outdoor Historical Pageants Re-Elect Herbert May As Pitt CLO President Pittsburgh, March 10. Herbert A. May, local industrial¬ ist, has been re-elected president of the Civic Light Opera Assn. Others named in the annual elec¬ tion included Orphans County Judge A. L. Wolk, a co-founder of the CLO, as honorary board chair- j man, and E. Earl Moore, Birger! Engstrom, Dale McFeatters, Paul B. Reinhold and Mrs. William. RockweE Jr., vice-presidents. Newly elected to the board were Jerome R. (Tad) Reeves, general manager of station KDKA-TV, and Benton W. S. Dodge and Nicolas Unkovic. William Wymetal returns as managing director for the 1959 season, but Edward H. Young has resigned as executive-secretary. After 13 years, the CLO is mov¬ ing its shows this summer from the Pitt Stadium to a showtent down¬ town. The new site is near the future Civic Auditorium, now un¬ der construction and due for com¬ pletion in about two years, when the CLO operation will shift there. Univ. Tours For - Off-B way Shows By LES BROWN Chicago, March 10. | The appearance of the Irish Players to Chicago Univ. for eight [performances March 17-22 is seen as a possible forerunner of a “road” of .college dates for off- Broadway productions. The initial attempt will be to arrange a tour for the New York troupe at mid- western schools. If arrangements similar to those at Chicago Univ. can be swung elsewhere, the proj¬ ect is seen as economically feas¬ ible. Local backers of the Irish Play¬ ers’ engagement here are taking a shorter-than-usual percentage, but their investment is only in the production, talent and transporta¬ tion. The college, is donating the theatre, 1,000-seat Mandel Hall. The student organization, as part of its training, is building the sets and is handling boxoffice and pro¬ motion, thereby ducking union de¬ mands in those areas. The total investment by the Chi¬ cago angels comes to around $10,- 000 for the eight performances. The house can gross $19,000 at capacity, at a $3.50 top. The actors are getting a minimum of $150, slightly over road scale. “Playboy of the Western World.” and a triple¬ bill of J. M. Synge one-acters will be the alternative bills. Backers will get first operating profits, and after repayment of the investment the university takes out its expenses, and thereafter the profits are to be divided between the investors, the university thea¬ tre, and New York and Chi agents of the company. Rodgers to Palm Beach; Hammerstein Vacations Richard Rodgers, composer-pro¬ ducer of “Flower Drum Song,” leaves-next Sunday (22) to attend, final rehearsals of the stock-tour¬ ing edition of his and the late Lorenz Hart’s “Babes in Arms.” He'll be present for the show’s March 30 opening at the Royal Poinciana Playhouse, Palm Beach, and wiU remain for the week’s run there and accompany the troupe to Miami, where it plays a two- week engagement at the Cocoanut Grove Playhouse, April 6-18. Rodgers is due back April 12 in New York, but then goes to St. Louis to conduct a concert April 18, with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Oscar Hammerstein 2d, co-pro¬ ducer, lyricist and co-Hbrettist of “Flower Drum,” leaves today (Wed.) for a vacation in Jamaica, B.W.I., but is due back first week of April to resume collaboration with Rodgers and Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse on their forth¬ coming musical about the Trapp Family singers, to star Mary Mar¬ tin. The upcoming summer looms as decisiye for several outdoor his¬ torical dramas. A substantial at¬ tendance decline last year for most of the major al fresco operations has put several spots in an edgy po¬ sition. In line with the b.o. drop, two of the nine entries on tap last summer will be dark this year. The two bow-outs are Paul Green’s “The Founders” and “Wil¬ derness Road.” However, two new entries are slated for the forthcom¬ ing semester and the number of historical entries on the outdoor circuit may possibly again total nine. Scheduled to join the re¬ peaters are Green’s “The Stephen Foster Story” in Bradstown, Ky., and a Pittsburgh bi-centennial drama by Kermit Hunter for pres¬ entation in that city. The overall 1958 attendance drop from 1957 was 27% according to a report in the Southern Theatre News, a quarterly publication of the South East Theatre Conference. The productions involved in last summer’s comparative statistics in¬ clude four by Green, “Lost Col¬ ony,” Manteo, N. C.; “Common Glory” and “The Founders,” “Wil¬ liamsburg, Va., and “Wilderness Road,” Berea, Ky. Also four, written by Hunter, “Unto These Hills,” Cherokee, N. C.; “Horn in the West,” Boone, N. C.; “Chucky Jack,” Gatinburg, Tenn., and “Thy Kingdom Come,” Salem, Va. The ninth show run¬ ning last summer was Green’s “The Confederacy,” in its first sea¬ son at Virginia Beach, Va. According to the STN report, of the eight repeat productions last year, “Chucky” registered the only > attendance increase, with a jump of about 40% over 1957. “Hills,” which had a 6V£% attendance drop, remained the top-audience puller with a total of 113,748 patrons. The (Continued on page 83) Fred Stone Dies at 85; Versatile and Perennial, Career Spanned 64 Yrs. HoBywood, March 10. Fred Stone, 85, musical comedy and occasional silent film star of yesteryear, died Friday (6) at his North Hollywood home after a two years’ Illness. A celebrated per¬ former and personage to earlier generations. Stone’s treatrical career spanned 64 years. He lost his sight two years ago foUowing a heart attack. This indirectly stemmed from injuries sustained in a 1928 airplane accident. Funeral services were held here Monday (9) with interment in Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills Memorial Park. Surviving are his three actress-daughters and a brother, PauL The daughters are Mrs. Dorothy Stone Collins, Mrs. Paula Stone Sloan and Miss Carol Montgomery Stone. His actress- wife, Allene Crater, died in 1957. For more than a half century -Stone was a pillar of American musical comedy, both artisticaUy and boxofficewise. He scored his first major stage success in 1903 as the straw man in the original ver¬ sion of “The Wizard of Oz.” In the years to come he was hailed as “a great American institution” and at his peak had no peer at the box- office,, Bora in a Longmont, Colo., log cabin, the son of an itinerant bar¬ ber, Stone showed a flair for audi¬ ences, and the theatrical at the age of 10 when he and his brother, Ed¬ die, did a tight-rope act. They soon joined a Circus and Fred later teamed with David Montgomery in a blackface so>g and dance turn. Regarded as a key to Stone’s unfailing appeal to audiences was his versatility. (Joe Cook was a younger entertainer of same sort.) Not only was he an accomplished (Continued on page 84) Light Music Box, H’wood; Now Has Equity Policy Hollywood, March" 10. Stan Seiden, who presented **Pajama Tops” at the Civic Play¬ house here last year, has taken over the Music Box, formerly the Sartu Theatre, and will reopen April 1 with “Good Night, Ladies.” House, which previously oper¬ ated on a non-Equity policy, will now be fully professional.