Variety (March 1959)

76 LEGITIMATE P^KIEff Wednesday, March 25, 1959 Lose Philly s Academy Foyer Board Chairman Denies Tis Pity She’s a. Whore’ Caused Actors League Exit Philadelphia, March 24. Philadelphia loses one of its off- Broadway houses when the Acad¬ emy of Music Foyer, for years, a recital hall and more recently a little theater spot, will close April 12, by edict of the Academy's board of directors. The most recent show in the house was the Actors League pro¬ duction of John Fords “Tis Pity She's a Whore.” which closed Saturday (2D after a three-week run. Billboards on the 102-vear- oid hall advertising this lusty classic are understood to have of¬ fended fussier concerlgoers and hastened board's decision to close low-rental ($200-per-week ) play¬ house. That ended the Actors League tenure of the spot. Despite the coincidence of tim¬ ing, it was denied by Stuart F. Louchheim. Academy president that “Pity” was responsible for the League’s exit. He decided against the Foyer’s continue’s use “because we are not quite certain whether smoking is being done backstage. Although the Academy has four fire towers, the board felt parently without further harass¬ ment. A factor in the situation was the attitude of the New York dailies toward the ads for the play. Perhaps the key incident was the action of the Times in requiring the use of the full title in the qd, on the ground that deletion of the u-ord “Whore” seemed “sug¬ gestive.” — Ed.) that con is not worth The Actors League had its most : a big one but successful production with “Tis I faultlessly. Pity.” with the title an apparent come-on. Two Philadelphia news¬ papers, the Bulletin and Daily News, refused to take ads carry¬ ing the full tag. The company made a last-minute offer to fire¬ proof the room, hire an attendant to prevent violation of the no¬ smoking law. and a ?6,00Q yearly rental. Zara Dolonkhanova (TOWN HALL, N.Y.) Zara Doloukhanova is the first solo singer from the Soviet Union to appear here since World War II. A soldout house gave her standing ovation at the end of her concert under Sol Hurok management. Dressed in pink brocade, with glit¬ tering jewelry, she was soigne enough to have stepped out of the Czarist period. She deserved the triumph. She has a velvety voice, a superb con¬ trol, unshaking pitch and a wide “Widowers’ Houses,” Bernard Shaw’s first play, now being revived at the Downtown Theatre, is a timely piece of theatrical mer¬ chandise. Produced initially in 1892, it is GBS’s thunderbolt hurled at slum landlords.- In its caustic revelations about men who live as gentlemen while their tenants are suffering in moldering tenements, there is a story being replayed : countless times in the modern city. This is the first time “Widowers has been in New York since early in the century, and the current production is staged with state¬ liness and the proper amounts of cynicism and irony. The seven actors make the most of the sharp¬ ly contrasting parts. The play lacks the depth that might be expected from Shaw, but provides : interesting insights into things to come, “Major Barbara,” and “Mrs. Warren's Profession,” for instance. Of the cast, the best are William Major as a fatuous Englishman n.inued leasing of the Foyer i range which make her coloratura . J vho woul( j sacrifice all for tact; worth the risk and worry.” j arias stupendous. The voice is not D j. afl Seitz as an attractive, ego- ' ‘ schooled and used; centr j c g i r i ( a nd Williams Landis ! as a fawning rent collector. The first half of the program was This completes something of a entirely Soviet. The Armenian ; C vcle for Landis, who has appeared folksong “The Crane” was the most ; a *s an actor in a half-dozen Shavian remarkable in this group—captivat- works and now has produced ing and beautiful in its communi-; GBS’s first and last important play cation. In the German lieders, the ‘ diction was excellent (as in the French songs later and the two Italian arias she gave as encores) and in each song the artist ciilti- Another semi-pro organization, va * e( i a style proper to the text and Theatre 3, takes over Foyer next ■ coherent through her vocal lines, week. It will stage the Philly * She 1S an artlst highest distmc- premiere of “The Rope Dancers.” j tlon " , , , The 250-seat Foyer was launched : . Alexander Yerokhin worked the as a playhouse five years ago. ■ pi ano with much taste and skill, when Hedgerow Theatre wanted a ) midtown winter „ location. The at the same theatre. The latter was “In Good King Charles’ Golden Days. . The sets by Robert Soule, depic¬ ting an inn and a fashionable Vic¬ torian London town house, have remarkable depth on another of the less than spacious off-Broad- way stages. Nedi. Goth. group went broke in two years of operating the Foyer and was fol¬ lowed by Circle-in-the-Square, a New- York off-Broadway manage¬ ment which had spotty success with several plays. Despite local enthusiasm for legit fare, Philly doesn’t seem ready for the off-Broadway pro¬ ductions. The 43rd St. Theatre, after presenting Graham Greene’s “Pot'ing Shed” and the Eliza¬ bethan classic, “Volpone,” both financial losers although moderate critical successes, is now special¬ izing in recitals until the promo¬ ters raise fresh money for repairs demanded under the Fire Code. Tiie longest-runner of the re¬ maining local off-Broadway houses is the Ogontz, former uptown film nabe. It is playing a repeat of “Compulsion” and will follow that with Bert Wheeler in “Hotel Para- diso.” (’’Tis Pity She’s a Whore” created a situation in New *York last January, ichen it was forced ‘Log of Seesaw’ ; Continued from page 75 __ ^out tour w r ere Gibson, Coe, Penn Pelleas and Melisande (N.Y, PHILHARMONIC) One thing was evident in this Fonda performance: this opera by De-; Drama Into Comedy bussy didn t come off m conceit; ^ Gibson mentions as a more version. The conductor, Jean Morel, _ ,'r’ r»h*»nnm#>nnn lacked intensity. None of the magic ; ?£ less „ spell that the opera can weave: “Seesaw gradually evolved from when given on stage (helped by j a serious drama into a comedy, lighting and stagecraft) was ap-; albeit with a- bitter-sweet finale, parent. The singers dressed in tails \ It’s evident that everyone suffered and evening gowns with 1,000 men in background, could not evoke the atmosphere of haunted woods, dark towers, hidden grottos and peo¬ ple living in ha-f-dreams moved more by destiny than by their own impulses. To limit the performance within the usual Philharmonic hours, many orchestral interludes and some whole scenes were omit¬ ted—and missed. Cast as a whole lacked under¬ standing. Exceptions'were Martial Singher and Regina Resznik. The first gave style and expression as Golaud. Miss Resznik had feel¬ ing and glorious sound in the part of Genevieve. Mildred Allen ° U * PjP^cum Theatre, re- j Yniold and Calvin Marsh as the Vutedly by indirect pressure from ] doctor were capable but the leads the N.Y. City Department of Lie- ! Phyllis Curtin as Melisande and enses. However, the producers Nicolai Gedda as Pelleas were both were able to rent another off- ; disappointingly drab, superficial Broadway house, the Players ! and unsparkling. Goth-. Theatre, where the show trans-' ferred and is still running, ap- £ EASTER DINNER JJ <A 3- -f jM‘l AUTHENTIC DISHES OF INDONESIA mMiM COCKTAILS — DINNER 5PM-Midnight LATE SUFFER ■ ESSSS... Closed Mon. V ^_242 EAST 58th ST. PL. 5-8090 { Dance Review Ukrainian Cossack Ballet Paris, March 17. Spectacles Lumbroso presents a Rus¬ sian. Folk Ballet Co. with. 100 dancers and musicians. Choreography and direction. Pavel Virsky; costumes, Anatoli Petrit- ski; orch conducted by Igor Ivachtchenko. At Alhambra, Paris, March 1, ’59; $3 iop. “Collectivist” Russia has sent the west in the past year two boff dance groups, Moiseyev and Ber- yozka, respectively. Now comes the Ukranian Cossack Ballet and again it’s to be remarked that the com¬ pany is the mirror of one person’s rugged individualism, to borrow from the far right of H. Hoover. Pavel Virsky has welded folklore into a theatrical divertissment with top production and choreographic values. For sheer exuberance and dex¬ terity this creates the same sort of audience excitement as its prede¬ cessors. It uncorks bombast on the part of the men and great ease and grace among the women. Authentic folkways are present. Ditto party- line extolling of work. All palat¬ able, fetching and a darn good show. Looks a bet for Yank dance situ¬ ations. Mosk. in the process, probably the author and Fonda the most. There was apparently considerable stress be¬ tween Gibson, who was in torment as he had to make ever-greater concessions (which he felt and apr parently still feels were distor¬ tions) in the script, and Fonda as the star, who came to think he was miscast but was too inarticulate and withdrawn to get his ideas across. Yet such is Gibson’s honesty and generosity that he not only gives Fonda credit for making the pro¬ duction possible, but recognizes the actor’s justification for his at¬ titude and pays tribute to the value of his performance. The author also concedes his own vanity as a writer and cites the incalculable help that the producer, director and actors provided in making “Seesaw” a hit. Two passages of the “Log” stand out in particular (every reader, especially every play¬ wright-reader, will .naturally make his own choices), a sympathetic letter Gibson received from an author-friend (William Inge, al¬ though he doesn’t identify him in the book) during-the Washington break-in stand -Slid which must have provided a welcome morale boost, and the other a statement of his own reverie on a quick trip to his home at Stockbridge, Mass., just before the play’s New York opening. “The writer who laments it is ‘not his play’ on the stage is an ungrateful egomaniac who should confine his work to the schizoid art of poetry; and I thought per¬ haps i would,” he writes. Signifi¬ cantly, Gibson is now completing the stage adaptation of his tele¬ vision drama, “The Miracle Work¬ er,” with Coe slated to produce, Penn to direct and Miss ^Bancroft to star. ^ Bob Haddad will be choreogra¬ pher for the Pine Brook (N.J. Show Tent, which will present “Wish You Were Here,” complete with swim¬ ming pool, as its third offering July 20-Aug. 9. Casting News ; Continued from page 70 ; Producer-director, John Hale (no address available). SIGNED BROADWAY Gypsy: Carol D’Andrea, Mari? Karnilove, Mildred Hughes, Siri, Carroll Jo Towers, Kathryn Albert¬ son, Ruth Gates, Ian Tucker, Ivy Ellen. Inn<ocents: Peggy Feury. J. B.: Nancy Cushman (.succeed¬ ing Helen Walters). OFF-BROADWAY Ping-Pong: Dolores Dorn-Heft. Season of Choice: Ethel Smith. Single man at a Party: Marjorie Gateson. Smokeweaver’s Daughter: Irene Riordan. Waltz of the Toreadors: Bella Jarrett, Edward Dahus, Stori Reed, Kathy Braun, Lisa Hepburn, Caro¬ lyn Wilmshurst, Marjorie Brown¬ ing, Betty Jean Adams, Roger Sturtevant, June Carter. OUT OF TOWN Stratford (Conn.) Shakespeare Festival: Hiram Sherman. Television Producer, Ben Berenberg. There may be possibilities for performer resident in or going to Florida. Contact Don Hershey, c/o Screen Gems, N,Y., PL 1-4432 for casting contact and where on location. “The Verdict Is Yours,” - unre¬ hearsed courtroom dramas. CBS; producer, Eugene Burr; director, Byron Paul; casting contact, Liam Dunn, CBS, 524 W. 57th St. (do not phone). No open casting; all done from files. Submit photo and res¬ ume for consideration. Broadcast Management Inc., 680 Fifth Ave., N. Y. Available assign, ment for model who can sing for LP album cover and voice. Dem¬ onstration recording may be sub¬ mitted. Mail photo and resume. CBS-TV. Casting Marc Merson, 524 W. 57th St., N.Y. Available part for attractive femme, 17-19. Send photo and resume to Merson, above address, by mail only. “Camera Three,” educational, drama, CBS; producer, John Mc- Giffert. Submit photo and resume for consideration. Nat Greenblatt (524 W. 57th St ). Dela McCarthy Assoc., 515 Mad¬ ison Ave. Casting, Colin D’Arcy. Submit photo and resume for con¬ sideration. Grey Advertising, 430 Park Ave. Casting, Jim Kaye. Submit photo and resume by mail only. Huntington Hartford Agency, 13 E. 48th St.; casting director, Mar¬ shal Migatz. Auditioning by ap¬ pointment; applicants mail after March 10, photo and resume. T,” filmed on location — CBS; producer, Gilbert Ralston; casting through Marc Merson; address by mail only, Barbara Tuck, CBS, 524 W. - 57th St. Available parts: un¬ usual types, interesting faces, good physical conditions, will consider applicants having had bjfcd occupa¬ tions. Submit photo andVresume. J. Walter Thompson ad agency, 420 Lexington Ave.; casfing direc¬ tor, Evelyn Peirce. Commercials only; cast from file; application for appointment, photo and resume by mail. Kastor," Hilton, Chesley. Clifford & Atherton ad agency, 420 Lexing¬ ton Ave. Casting, Richard King. Mail photo and resume. “Lamp Unto My Feet,” religious drama, CBS; producer, Don Keller- man; director, James MacAlIen. Submit photo and resume for con¬ sideration. Nat Greenblatt (524 W. 57th St.). Lawrence Welk show (Plymouth Motors), ABC-TV — Seeking teen¬ age vocal and instrumental per- pormers for guest appearances or as permanent band members. Sub¬ mit disk or tape nome-recorded acceptable) of wellknown pop or standard numbers, plus recent photo, short biographical summary. Address Plymouth Show, ABC Studio, Hollywood, or 2623 Santa Monica blvd.. Santa Monica. “Look Up & Live,” religious- dramatic, CBS. Producer, Jack Kuney; casting, Marc Merson, 524 W. 57th St. Casting from files. Mail photo and resume. N. W.. Ayer & Sons, Inc., ad agency, PL 7-5700; casting direc¬ tor, Guy Wallase. Casting for Breck Shampoo, available parts for pretty natural blondes or femmes with light red or light brown hair, about shoulder length or there¬ abouts. Phone .for appointment. National Screen Service, 1600 Broadway. Casting, Carl Carbone. Submit photo and composite for consideration. North Advertising, 6 E. 45th St. Casting Frank Higgins. Cast from files for the Toni commercials. Pre¬ fer models with good hair. Mail photo and resume for considera¬ tion. Reach, McClintion & Co., 505 Park Ave.; casting, Esther Latterell. Photo and resume accepted via mail only for commercials; boys, girls; middleaged and elderly men and women; also young and mature women for shampoo commercials. Schwartz & Luskin agency, 15 E. 48th St., N.Y. Photo and resume of 8-year-old boys and girls ac¬ cepted by mail for future, com¬ mercials. “Stakeout,” 36 half-hour films, to be shot on location in Florida. Broker Fee Limit Continued from page 71 tor of the League, expressed the I organization’s position regarding i the premium suspension in a tele- j gram to State Sen. Joseph F. Peri- iconi, Bronx Republican and chair- , man of the Senate’s General Laws I Committee. Periconi and Assembly- man Alfred A. Lama, Brooklyn Democrat, are sponsoring the two legit bills.. League Surprises Moss Jesse Moss, attorney for the broker group, had been under the impression that the League would not fight the proposed suspension of the agency fee limit. However, Reilly’s wire notified Sen. Periconi f that the League board of governors, j at a meeting March 16. had voted ' unanimously to oppose the removal of the fee, but “wholehearted” sup¬ port of the elimination of the re¬ strictions on travel bureaus and package tour agencies. Ralph Bellamy, Equity president, had previously wired Gov. Rocke¬ feller, Mayor Wagner and several legislators, “We are vehemently opposed to the lifting of over¬ charge restrictions on theatre tick¬ ets. This would further deprive regular theatregoers of access to the theatre, in /avor of expense ac¬ count and corporation treasury beneficiaries. It would throw more middlemen’s money into possible ; uncontrolled and unrecorded chan- < nels, which could be at the ex- | penee of the state, the city and [ the theatre.” Moss, whose position is that the established ticket agencies would ! welcome an erid to the present i black market in the Broadway the- j atre, commented, on the League I move, “It is significant that those who publicly profess to want to do something about this, rush forth to scuttle a chance for reform when it reaches an action stage. I’m sick of those who cavort with gyps at night and then make pious speeches about ticket brokers the next day.” BUSINESS MANAGER PRODUCER'S ASSISTANT Young woman, experienced otf-broad- way, unusually diversified abilities In¬ cludes steno. Seeks summer or permanent fob. BArclay 7-3035, New York 5000 SQ. FEET (APR.) Street Entrance. High Ceiling. Suitable for: Theatre, Rehearsal, Dance, Vocal, Photographic Studios or Private School. HOTEL GREAT NORTHERN 118 West 57 St„ New York Coll Manager Cl 7-1900