Variety (May 1959)

Wednesday, May 27, 1959 LEGITIMATE 73 ‘MILKING CENSORSHIP’ When Luben Vichey, head of National Artists Corp., refused to stand up and fight the N.Y. City Commissioner of Licenses on the honest issue of censorship affecting “Les Ballets Afri¬ cans” he chose safety and caution. On a balance of the legal costs and chances, he probably felt justified. But when there¬ after he elected to exploit the brassiere “issue” coyly and leer¬ ingly, he succumbed to a type of pressagentry which went out with Earl Carroll’s bathtub queen stunts in the 1920s. But something more was involved. In lighting its incessant enemy, censorship; honest entertainment needs to present it¬ self with dignity and sincerity. The campaign adopted for the road tour of “Les Ballets Africains” was likely to cheapen the profession. It may have done so. The company has now returned to France, its tour a success. The question w v< * lingers is whether it will be remembered for its artistry, wbi^ix was high, or its American publicity strategy, which was not. The point of view of Vichey and his publicity team, Bill Doll and Samuel J. Friedman, is stated with remark-^ able candor in a mimeograph tiandout just released, under the latter’s by-line. It speaks of credit belonging to “the milking of the censorship problem” and it refers to Vichey’s telegrams to the mayors of 38 cities asking the bare^chested question, “then booking the show without any attention^ to their answers.” Silent at the test, declining battle when challenged in New York, Vichey’s subsequent exploitation of his own flight from battle was not, of itself, either dignified or sincere-seeming. As a dis-service to the entertainment world’s war against cen¬ sorship. it is to be regretted. ANTA Chapter Sects Des Moines, May 26. Mrs. Robt. Lcuboid bas been elected president of the Des Moines chapter of the American National Theatre & Academy, Mrs. Geo. Caswell was named vice-president, Mrs. Robert Bums, secretary,' and Mrs. Larry McKeever, treasurer. ANTA board members, in addi¬ tion to the officers, include Irvin White, Mrs. Robert Pickard, Bonn Baker, Mrs. Warren Winslow and Robert Hoak. (Herewith, partly excerpted, is; the statement of S. J. Friedman, of i Doll-Friedman, which handles the j Luben Vichey tour publicity for | “Les Ballets Africains .” It states' flatly that “good dancing alone] could not account for the fantastic ; grosses/’) “A two week New York engage-; ment turned into isix weeks of SRO . business. An originally scheduled, eight weeks in thi|5 country became j a 16-week triumphal tour. While i all ballets companies except two j of the three Rusrian groups lost fortunes touring the country this ] past year, the singers, dancers and : musicans from the heart of the Af¬ rican jungle grossed more than $475,775. “All thru this country and Can¬ ada “Les- Ballets Africians” v r ere greeted with critical kudos ranging from the New York Times’ John Martin calling it “a wonderful show” to the Washington D. C. News’ Tom Donelly stating " ‘Les Ballets Africians’ at the National is, precisely as advertised, and ex¬ citing, uninhibited electrifying, ri¬ otously exotic entertainment/’ But good dancing, alone could not ac¬ count for the fantastic grosses. “Some credit the milking of the censorship problem for its financial success. Though peaceful Philadel¬ phia and banning Boston thought nothing of the nudity. New York City’s License Commssioner, with¬ out even having seen the ballet, ordered the girls covered after their second performance. “The resultant publicity, which found the ballets’ girls, under Lu¬ ben Vichey’s direction, even going to the United Nations, made the attractions a good box office bet. “Mr. Vichey queeried Mayors in 38 cities about the prospects of the girls dancing as they danced in Af¬ rica and then booked the show without any attention to their an¬ swers. Censors were baited, when necessary; cajoled, when possible; and blasted as a.Jast resort. What¬ ever the tactics, the resultant front i page publicity, even when the girls | had to be covered, proved a box s office bonanza. “In Montreal two female police officers, more- pulchritudenous than any of the girls in the show, insisted the girls be covered be¬ fore the curtain went up. In Toron¬ to strict censorship prevailed. In Detroit the opening night perform¬ ance was followed by four pages of single spaced demands from the censor. In Cleveland the censor went backstage before the second act opening night and insisted the girls be covered. In Chicago a po¬ lice lieutenant, Edward O’Malley, lost his job as censor and was or¬ dered to a neighborhood post, be¬ cause he proved more reasonable than any censor in - the country. O’Malley told Vichey we would cover the show opening night with two dance experts- and if it were as ethnic and folklorish as Vichey claimed, he would allow the danc¬ ers to appear as they appeared in Africa. O’Malley’s boss, Police Com¬ missioner O’Connor, was so furious, he countermanded the reasonable attitude and sent him to the. sticks. Pittsburgh and Washington proved civilized and allowed the ballet to be presented as Vichey wanted to present it. “Strangely though since the pub¬ licity helped the box office, that in two of the cities where the girls danced sans brassiers, the grosses were lowest with Pittsburgh gross¬ ing only $18,345 for the week and Philadelphia an anemic $19,893. “The biggest week the ballet had was its second week in New York when $41,486 was taken in at the Martin Beck Theatre, “Vichey wall bring company back to U. S. in January; opening the tour in -San Francisco, working South and then East. Grosses of this seasons tour were: Philadelphia .... .... , .$19,893 Boston. .... . I.30,023 New York.. ... .36,872 , 41,486 Moved. 24,683 27.455 23.970 31.128 Montreal...38.821 Toronto.... .... ..33,213 Detroit. ..35.539 Cleveland...... .... ....18,469 Chicago. .27.295 28.517 Pittsburgh..18,345 Washington. ... .40,000 Violla Rubber, Ackerman Readying Barn Tourers Violla Rubber and Floyd Acker¬ man will be represented on the strawhat circuit this summer by four or more packages. They’re sending out Virginia Mayo and Michael O'Shea in “Tunnel of Love,” Pat O’Brien in “The Loud Red Patrick,” Joan Bennett and Donald Cook in “Anniversary Waltz” and Joe E. Brown in “Har¬ vey.” Miss Bennett and Cook may play several weeks in “Once More, With Feeling” and Brown is available to play “Father of the ‘ Bride,” and Marie Wilson is due to tour in a play to be selected. Also, Acker¬ man will be associated with pro¬ ducer Bruce Becker in presenting Margaret Truman in a limited tour of “The Happy Time.” Triple Play A 40G Casualty The backers of “Triple Play,” which folded at an estimated $40,000 loss after five weeks on Broadway, were to have shared in only 3814% of the profits on the production. An equal percent¬ age was to have gone to the man¬ agement and the balance was to have been split 20% to costar Hume Cronyn and 3% to the Roy¬ al Poinciana Playhouse, Palm Beach, Fla. ^ Cronyn’s profit-sharing deal was the result of his having trans¬ ferred to the management all of his contractual rights to the plays involved in the production, as well as various physical properties and costumesMised by him in his straw- hat presentation of the one-acters last summer. The 20%. compensa¬ tion also was in lieu of his fore¬ going any royalty or other pay¬ ments as director. The Royal Poinci ana’s involver ment was in connection with the show launching its pre-Broadway tryout at the stock house last March. The deal provided for the theatre to construct all sets and to turn over such sets to the Broad¬ way production at no cost to the production. The program of one-acters was produced by the Theatre Guild and Dore Schary. It was capital¬ ized at $50,000, with provision for 20% overcall. The Guild and Schary were also in for a cut of the backer’s share of the profits in return for Guild executive Law¬ rence Langner guaranteeing $il,» 500 in bonds. There’s a possibility that the production may tour in the fall as a subscription offering. Cronyn’s costar in the presen¬ tation, which closed May 16, was his wife, Jessica Tandy. Wme5sc*!!T rr.d >!"^stein ♦‘ADVENTURES IN PIANO MUSIC” (Town Hall, N. Y.) George Schaefer Sets Staff for Production George Schaefer, who's been active in legit and television pri¬ marily as a director, has set the staff for his new organization, Compass Productions, Inc. The outfit, located in New York, will be Involved . in legit, tv and film production. Schaefer’s immediate assignment is to produce and di¬ rect six 90-minute dramas for NBC-TV’s Hallmark Hall, of Fame. The Compass staff includes Rob¬ ert Hartung, associate producer; Gordon R. Wynne Jr., coordinator and story editor; Mrs. Jaiui H. Frank, production associate; Ed¬ ward Sullivan, vice president, and Sybil Trubin, executive assistant in charge of casting. There are few things more ex¬ citing than the rousing of a child’s interest in music. In recent years, notably via the efforts of Leonard Bernstein and Thomas Scherman, I the methods of doing this have re- ! ceived a good deal of attention. And now comes Paul Winchell, his puppet Jerry Mahoney, and pianist Seymour Bernstein to demonstrate convincingly that learning about music “can he fun.” At Town Hall last Saturday (231 they were presented bv youthful impresario. Jay K, Hoffman, in a fun session called “Adventures in Piano Music.” There was no ques¬ tion that the smallfry audience had itself a grand old time and that it went away both entertained and enriched. Winchell and Bernstein made a fine team and the formula certainly had novelty. Winchell and Jerry engaged in amusing banter which cleverly re¬ flected the young audience’s own and inevitably mixed feelings about “longhair” music. But as Winchell explained and narrated, cleverly mixing laughs and infor¬ mation, Jerry somehow became more interested and appreciative, providing the kind of identification youngsters can understand. Bernstein is an accomplished pianist and be never “played down.” even In the simplest pieces. Scarlatti’s Sonata in C major, the Mozart variations on a French ‘theme, Schumann’s Scenes . of Childhood. Gershwin, Chopin, Bar- tok and Villa-Lobos—they were all integrated in a program designed to impress the children with the range of the piano, its capacity for expression and its vast reservoir of sound. Perhaps the show was a little long, and in the second half the exchanges between Jerry and Knucklehead were forced. Perhaps, too, the attempt to pitch the pres-, entation at too wide an age range was over-ambitious. Hift. Shows Abroad Orpheus Descending London, May 15. lEngiteh Stage Co. presentation of three* act (nine scenes) arama by Tennessee Williams. Staged by Tony Richardson; decor. Loudon Sainthill, Opened May 14, '59, at the Royal Court Theatre, London; SZ30 top. Dolly Hamma.. Diana Beaumont Beulah Binnings Mavis Villiera Pee Wee Binnings.Larry Taylor Dog TTamma ... Ivor Salter Carol Cutrere .- - Diane Cilento Eva Temple . Catherine Wilmer Sister Temple . May Hallait Uncle Pleasant. . John Harrison Val Xavier .„. Gary Cockrell Vee Talbot. Bee DuffeU Lady Torrance .. Isa Miranda Jabe Torrance . Fred Johnson Sheriff Talbot . Robert Cawdron Woman.Maria Britneva David Cutrere . David Airey Nurse Porter . Bessie Love Clown . Michael Seaver Man . Richard Wilding For all the rewriting Tennessee Williams accorded “Battle of An¬ gels” since its abortive original presentation in Boston in 1940, “Orpheus Descending” still bears the stamp of immaturity. The play can generously be regarded as a sketchbook for later and more elo¬ quent works. Without such reference, how¬ ever, it’s not a very cogent and loosely integrated probing into as¬ pects of idealism versus realities, love and hate, innocence and cor¬ ruption and more, including in¬ evitably everyone’s basic loneli¬ ness. “Orpheus” had a run of 'a couple of months on Broadway in 1957, hut it’s unlikely to have even that modest success in London, not only because of the doubtful im¬ pact of the play itself, but also on account of the presentation. The drama is directed at a fu¬ nereal pace, possibly because of the linguistic limitations of Isa Miran¬ da, cast in the dominant role of the woman who runs a drygoods store in the south while her hus¬ band is sickroom-caged upstairs and who takes an itinerant guitar player as lover. The actress speaks in. a broken English at a rate she seems unable to vary, so that text¬ ual longwindedness sometimes be¬ comes almost insupportable. This omits the freauent question of comprehensibility. As the catalyst to the action, the wanderer who is corrupted by the woman and who, when about to leave, turns back and is mur¬ dered by the mob after the preg¬ nant wife has been shot by her dying husband. Gary Cockrell gives a sound, well-studied performance. Diane Cilento’s imusual appear¬ ance and style fit admirably the role of the local belle intent on self-destruction, while in a lengthy cast the contributions of Mavis Villiers as one of the nossips. Fred Johnson as the sick husband and Roberi: Cawdron as the vindictive sheriff stand out. End. the gentle Scot aunt, keeping to the rules as the minister’s wife. Jeremy Brett makes a handsome military partner of Miss Smith. William Dickie, an operatic singer, captures the pompousness of the local suitor. Jean Kent is suitable as the French actress-mother. In supporting roles, Stephen Hancock provides a subtle study of a nervous divinity student who isn’t against joining in a sprightly, polka, and Madeleine Christie and Edith Stevenson are good as maiden sister aunts. Aubrey Morris commands attention as a batman, and Betty Henderson is convincing as a Scot maidservant. The Hutchinson Scott settings have a gay tartan-and-Scoteh hue, and Highland reel dances provide pleasant interludes. Murray Mac¬ donald directs with right mixture of zest and last-century gentility. Given injection of catchy tunes, the production Would loom as a much safer 1 London prospect. Gord. Ulysses in JVijjhttown London, May 22. Arts Theatre Club (in association with Furndel Productions) presentation of two- act drama, adapted by Marjorie Barken- tin from novel by James Joyce. Staging. Burgess Meredith: decor, Bernard Dayde. Stars Alan Badel. Zoro Mostel, Belita. Valerie Bettis. Ope:iPd May 21, '59, at 1 the Arts Theatre Club, London; $1.75 top, ! Narrator .Allan McClelland I Buck Mulligan r. Carroll O'Connor 1 Stephen Dedalus. Alan Badel , Coachman Donald Conlon ; Martin Cunningham .Robert Bernal : Leopold Bloom . Zero Mostel Simon Dedalus . Brian O’Higgina Blazes Boylr.n . Paddy Stone < Corny Keilehcr Patrick Connor ■ Children . Silvia Francis, Pat Roots ! Crone . Pauline Flanagan* 1 Bandy Child ... .. Myra de Groot Virago . Jill Melford Mrs. Breen . A-f.. Sally Travers' Zoe . \... Belita Mrs. Thornton. Valerie Bettis Marigold Edinburgh. May 12. Stephen Mitchell, in association with Murray . Macdonald and John Stevens, presentation of two-act musical drama; book and lyrics. Alan Melville: music, Charles Zwar; based on play by F. R. Pryor and L. Allen Harker. Staging, Mur¬ ray Macdoriald; musical staging. Malcolm Goddard; settings, Hutchinson Scott; cos¬ tumes, Bernard Nevill. Stars Sophie Stewart, Jean Kent, Sally Smith, Jeremy Brett. Opened May 1). '59, at King's Theatre, Edinburgh; $1.20 top. Sarita Dunlop . Madeleine Christie Valencia. Dunlop. Edith Stevenson Beenie .. Betty Henderson Mrs. Pringle.Sophie Stewart Peter Gloag ...Stephen Hancock Marigold . Sally Smith Archie Forsyth .. Jeremy Brett James Payton . ‘William Dickie Mme. Marly . Jean Kent Maj. Sellar . Trevor Reid Mordan . Aubrey Morris Capt. Lumsden . Trevor Griffiths Lt.. Townsend .John Morley This Is the sentimental Scottish play of 1927 brought up to date as a musical. As an . offbeat produc¬ tion, with setting completely aloof from current times, it has interest, a colorful, pleasing show. The prin¬ cipal weakness is a lack of mem¬ orable tunes. The appeal may be fairly local, with 'frequent references to re¬ gional spots in southeast Scotland. When caught at King’s Thealre, Edinburgh, it had obvious draw with resident patrons. “Marigold” ran a total of 753 performances in its original form, and was one of the U.K. theatre successes between the wars. Sophie Stewart, now cast as the aunt, played the title role over 1,000. times in the early 1930s and in the 1936 revival, and toured in the play through Canada and the U.S. This version has been adapted by Alan Melville, with pretty- pretty lyrics and a book with inti¬ mate knowledge of Edinburgh and its citizens at time of the 1842 set¬ ting. The cast is entirely compe¬ tent, with main interest centered on teenage newcomer, Sally Smith, in the title part. She is appealing as an actress, and captures all the wonder of a village ehild to whom the big city and a visit by the Queen Victoria are events of a life¬ time. Miss Stewart is almost perfect as It was a bold, but probably mis¬ taken venture on the part of the Arts Theatre Club to import James Joyce’s “Ulysses In Niglittown” from New York. Obviously not in line for a benevolent nod from the Lord Chamberlain, it can be shown* only in the privacy of this theatre club. Even there it is a connois¬ seur’s piece and cannot bring the company much material gain. Apparently it is impossible to transfer even a section of Joyce's bock successfully to the stage. Despite all the ingenuity of adaptor Marjorie Earkentln. the imagina¬ tive, skilled direction of Burgess Meredith and distinctive lighting, Joyce's poetry is largely lost and the result is a co nplicatcd charade. The bawdy, boisterous, sprawling dramatization tcremes an uneasy mixture of lyricism and eroticism, poetry and obscenity, naivety and wisdom, excite inert and boredom. In the end, the a. ilience is almost bound to lose its v.^y, particularly in iV ie second s!air:a, and finish up battered and numbed by the flood of undisciplined rhetoric, and em¬ barrassed by the blasphemy and j pornography. ! Nevertheless, there is much that i is rewarding in the fevered fantasy 1 set in a sleazy Dublin slum around the turn of the century. Even though Joyce's father-son sjearch theme gets bogged down by com¬ plexity, the staging and acting com¬ mand admiration. With the limited resources of the small theatre, Meredith has done a remarkable job of direction. The events go at a slick pace against an economic but effective decor by Bernard Dayde. Valerie Bettis is responsible for stage movement and led by Paddy Stone, one of Britain’s standout dancers and choreog- rephers, some of the scenes have a stimulating ballet effect Meredith has controlled his cast in what seems an impossible tasw. According to the program there are 72 parts, including the narrator (though some may have got lost in the turmoil), handled by 17 -people with ingenious versatility. Despite its many irritating drawbacks, “Ulysses” is a rich theatrical ex¬ perience largely because of the performance of Zero Mostel. Last seen in London as a mi min g cemedian in an act at the London Palladium, Mostel gives a rare and absorbing performance as the ab¬ ject Bloom, at once uplifted, de¬ graded, dejected, cuckolded and humiliated. With subtle observa¬ tion Mostel blends very funny com¬ edy with faded dignity and sheer poignance and his playing is one of the events of the theatrical year. In the brothel scene Belita leads an array of assorted harlots with spirited and licentious abandon. Pauline Flanagan, among her many roles, is particularly effective as Bloom’s lush, unfaithful wife. Alan Badel plays young Dedalus with appropriate gloom, and Valerie Bettis is fine as the strident, evil (Continued^oiTpage 75)