Variety (May 1959)

76 LEGITIMATE ISfiklETY Wednesday, May 27, 1959 Off-Broadway Review Vavp If to Jane Joseph Beruh & Peter Kent revival of 1917 musical by Guv Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse. with score by Jerome Kern. Staging. Lawrence Carra; choreography. Mary Jane Doerr; settings. Lloyd Bur¬ lingame: costumes. Al Lehman: lighting, George Corrin; conductor, Joseph Stecko. Opened May 25. '59, at the Sheridan Square Playhouse, Greenwich Village. N.Y.: S3.45 top (S5.65 opening). Principals: Kathleen Murray, Art Matthews. Dorothy Greener. Dorothy Stl- nette. George Segal. Monroe Arnold, Angelo" Maneo, Josip Elic, Jon Richards. Al Checco. Vince O'Brien. Alek Primrose, Rav Tudor: aTso Eddie O’Flynn. Austin O’Toole. Ronald Knight, Carlo Manalli. Bob Carey. Noel Erie’-. Gene Bullard. Lee Thornberrv. Mitzie McWhorter. Marianne Gayle. La'inie Levine. Patricia Brooks, Linda Bates, Sue Swanson. out of the Kern score at several points. Yet it may be quibbling, reviewing a performance not given, to fault an always energetic, show- must-get-On performance with lack of facilities. Carra and his two pro- Stock Review A Piece of Blue Sky er pres- i Juli Robert Ludlum, & Merwin Orner entation (by arrangement with Jay J _ of three-act comedy-drama by Frank Corsaro. Staging. Jack Ragotzy; setting. Robert Conley: lighting. Charles LaMar- tin. Stars Shelley Winters; features -Albert Morgehstern, Marian Scldes, Gerald respectable number of witty lines. This road edition at the Huntington Hartford, however, is far from impressive, and its four-week stay isn’t likely to set any local records. The Randolph Hale presentation, directed by Ralph Levy and star- sing Fernando Lamas, Marjorie Lord, with George Tobias top-fea- , tured; is often tiring than uplifting. Jlwls „ i;ikCllll ducers, Joseph Beruh and Peter j The play basically is one-idea, with ! o’Loughiin. ’opened May 5. '59, at the Kent, have elected to play the j several asides but no real subplots, i $Tco h to» rsey playhouse ' Fort L ? e * N J - ; thing in pretty-close-to-real Simula- j and it, therefore, needs swift pace 1 Katy tion of the original. There is no j and well-timed high points, neither 1 Antonette „ spoofing of old-style musicals, as in ; of which it had opening night. j . .7.7.7.7.7.7.7 Albert d M?rgenftern dr f, n : B V t n Sudie . Bond makes “The Bov Friend.” Instead. “Leave { As the egomaniac svmphony con- • Grade .. Mary Lasio ! nothing of the caricature bit part It to Jane” is an old-style musical, i. ductor. Lamas, benefits from an ! jfj^ ble . Rfrhai*d e e?r 0 a n fa i ? f tlie gossip’s eccentric compan- The guess is that it may find a cer-i appealing style and . speech, and : Margaret Schneider*.'.':.'.'.. Marion sweet: ’ on » fJ }dJMarion Sweet is thwarted tain vogue in this 180-seat air-con-j he achieves credibility and okay’ i °- v * he . expendable, bit of the ditioned haven. | comedy effect. Miss Lord, though j As a preliminary tryout, pro- j heroine s ^pos^ssive^^sister-m-Iaw. The house, of course, affords j a looker, doesn’t impress in her■ducer Jay Julien has lend : leased ! •• T ~ single apartment setting ana the incipient hysteria of the first scene or the pathetic anxiety-to- please of the finale. Mary Lasio is properly obnoxi- bus as a mischievously nosey, 'gos¬ sipy neighbor, and Richard Carafa is acceptable as her understand¬ ably irritated young son, presum¬ ably included by the author to show the heroine’s love of chil- forgotten had this off-Broadway resurrection of and carelessly identified by the a 1917 musical comedy by three waiters as whiskey. As the present then-frisky fellows due for long Playhouse it is operated by Irene theatrical careers, viz, the late t Rubio, Philip Minor, John Marley Jeronve Kern and the still-extant > and Joseph Beruh. This production Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse. The result as exposed at the Sheri¬ dan Square Playhouse, last Monday night (25) may be summed up- under two heads <a» it’s about what would be expected and <b) it’s en¬ tirely suitable for Greenwich Vil¬ lage. The story creaks with age and pops with corn. It is as innocent as football used to be. That it has a is budgeted around $15,000. At a guess,-the original at the Longacre Theatre 42 years ago cost about the same amount. The cast is notable for the num¬ ber of players from Carnegie Tech (drama, not football) and there remains a feeling that what several of the performers screamingly need is two seasons on the old Pantages Circuit. When Ray Tudor, certain beguiling nostalgia is a mir- Angelo Mango and Dorothy acle of levitation which will be Greener go into a patler-and- soft- arbitrarily credited to director shoe routine the evocation of an- Lawrence Carra, a professor at other generation of entertainers is Carnegie Tech. He has managed to strong. . make the thing roll, if not quite Miss Greener, from Britain, is iidu sumeuuuuie wnii nueb open- . .n.j.. iu ue iuuuweu uy single- ..._. •__ ing bight, but his words are the week stands early this Summer at | ® play’s funniest and for the most: the Tappan Zee Playhouse, Nyack.: part he delivers them with comic : N.Y., and the Westport (Conn.) i £ obe -Skill. ; Country Playhouse. He then plans , Rn er fl om Mantiattan * H 0De - Supporting cast Is generally a regular road tuneup jtour and a) - good. With a highly funny per-: Broadway opening i® October, j P n Yiliinc’ *11 \ A * TrAlina f ormance.from Sam Hearn in two ! Shelley Winters is starring in the | lVUUUlUo UUUpc roles as temperamental fiddler- 1 tryout and is set for the Broadway brothers. Howard Wendell is adept. production. as the music-hating orchestra ! As caught last week at Ft. Lee. backer, with good work frorfT “A Piece of the Blue Sky” seems Henry Corden and okay perform- a promising play, already im- ances from Jerry Barclay and proved by two weeks of perform- George N. Neise. ance and rewriting, but with fur- “Once More, with Feelin; " " potentially is much more amusing; required, than is this production. Ron. To Dance in Europe The next order of business f^r Jerome Robbins, with the Ethel- Merman show, “Gypsy,” behind him, is his second summer produc- ther clarification & and tightening , I*? 1 * of . B ^o ets: ^ Casting News a __ Its prime asset is the ! "’ill. as in 1958, open at the Festival central character of the harried, of T' v ° Wprlds, the Gian-Carlo courageous and likeable wife, Menotti project in Spoleto, Italy, played with insight and persuasive ; Thereafter, the Robbins unit will skill by Miss Winters. play Paris. London, Berlin, Athens, Perhaps the theme of the drama Salzburg. Edinburgh and probably has been obscured in the exten- other dates. It will go behind the sive rewriting already done. Liter- Iron Curtain to appear in Warsaw, ally, the title refers to a piece of and will also hit Belgrade, Jugo- uiaivv. -- - -i- - - x Continued from page 74 - musicalize "With performers, some' the deadpan spinster-comic, very , r , T , , . , of whom are theatrically as virginal' much of another day conception. ; shall Migatz. Interviews by appoint- ..... __ -- — - - as the co-eds of another generation.! Her quiet underplaying is probably ment, but onlj _on basis of photo a jig-saw puzzle (for verisimilitude, slavia. Tho cpnrp ^pvpral dimlv ■ just right and yet a vaudevillian ‘ and resume. Mail to casting ai-.the property man should get a. Works in the new summer edi- remembered tunes from a Kern i would wont to boff. She and direc- rector. ^ _ .’genuine puzzle, not one of those tion will include an untitled piece S e S e n e nt S f3 1,1 S! tor Carra have made the wise i "I.’filmed on‘ location ridiculously easy children's kind) set to a new score of Aaron Cop- uhn had not ouite found his later ! tor ^ :arra nave maae Ine ^ lse 1 rmicuiousiy easy cniiaren s Kina; set to a new score of Aaron Cop- ?n<-hnr?taHv» manner it almost ! selection of key and accent, since: prpducer, Gilbert Ralston casting surreptitiously taken by the hero- land . The Robbins dancers for the "aS iren ? a sSS?" 5 the old jokes would never stand the : through Marc Merson; address by ine as a sort of gesture of .irrita- overseas jaunt will inclUd^ a shocker when A biren s &ong , fj nlv nPr asionallv are anv mai * only. Barbara Tuck, CBS, 524 t ion at her unresnonsive down- *77 ;*' jium wiii muuue .io n (which has survived as a “stand-; suess. unij- occasionally are any , . Avai i a hle nart<?- un- * • 1 - vL u c P i v Abbott. Robert Bakamc, Jamie L nil icr-iP i- ,-n • of the quips funny in today s con- Avauapie pans, un- s t airs neighbor. Symbolically, it « \T„ r ipi Rantiav Aviima Pnr . ard m the ASCAP catalog) la in-j ^ Thm-a allusion to Presbv- usual types, interesting faces, good annarentlv denotes the romantic fauer.iMunelBentley.WUma Cur- troduced. This tune, as it must have Joxt There ia fusion tc• Preso ph y sicai conditions, • will consider dream that thev both sacrifice for ley ’ P ^ tncja Dunn - Larry Gradus, seemed even in 1917, is a little gem o K . UfJrd U n 0 n the Ameri- 1 applicants having had odd occupa- the sake cf^domestic obligation and John Jones * Gwen Lewis, Erin among the cammis twirn. I in § hardl >. heard U P°^ the Amen-, £ Submit nhoto and resume ■ oD11 S aUon ana Martin . Jane Mason Christina among the campus twirp. Kathleen Murray in the title can stage in some while. Uops. Submit photo and resume. moral standa rds.. i: “I ve Got a Secret,” CBS, Pro- _. . ' Martin, Jane Mason, Christina Mayer, Michael Maule, Barbara Kathleen Murray in the title h st of four is snugt , led : “i ve uoi a becrev' T-ro- Thp Dar t of the heroine has be- * vlayer ’ ^^naei xuauie, uar role, the college president’s daugh-: int ™l “g^e a rbor in one cEner ’ vsSdbvilPe^eZrme^tvith^^s'neefa! lievable P dimensloS besides a ^ behtod the “suggestive" _sets of, not nece^fsfrfiy headliners down-to-earth sort of gallantrj’. man, B,ll Re.Uy, Doug Springier, .. vho can and pleases the eye. is thoroughly i LloVd Burlingame who is Carne-ie ! h ™ bies ' " ot necessarily head noised and likeable but she is mak- '• ^ u Q i5U1 . imga . e ’ j. no \ s ^axne 0 ie A j so seeking impersonater wl poisea ana iiKv.aoie, oui sne is ma«. 1*^ as 1S m usic director Joseph ; imitate the voire look-? artim ing her debut in musical comedy . Cfpetn Rnhert He<?«: ic on the niand 1 1 ? !r laTe ine . v .°. 1 . ce > i{ >p K S. actio] and qhe ran harelv sing W’riters of : c i K ® Der *- tiess is on tne piano a ther specialties of famous per- ana sne can Dareiy sing. 7 r . u “‘ s * ot \ Charles Russo on the sax-clarinet = sons photo and resume Dress vm.uv.-o auu .«n.ii S . --- that era. George Ade m this case,» and Sarn Fede handles percussion.; dippings and applications accepted locale is the Pelham Bay section of but substitute Booth T ark mg ton.; Theirs is a hard task Th ^ y do well . A dd ressF?anf \br^ Bronx, in 1934, and the De- j WiKif ^ U nn h niSa Se refii,ie f wh ^ i though naturally no sub for a full j hams, “I’ve .'Got A Secret.” 375 Passion sense of desperation, as ■ -Liou uuugijunQcci vwiu tan character changes and Beryl To\vbin*and James White, imitate the voice, looks, action and S 10vvs duri .oS the action of the play. • ~ . In short ’ 11 s - a f a fw n ’ The Drop Jimmy Savo Show human virtues and failing. The , swooning retinue. Such is: orc he S tra. Afrika Korps Before London Opening London. May 25. Jane Witherspoon, who uses her" "Boiton and Wodehouse book^ 1 K^ild 5 ^eKecU^^SSt^T 0 *' Triva °eo le« a \ has many subsidiar - v ' characters” two special shows to be televised The heroine, a former dancehall Lt the Fortune Theatre a rival college. I which echo the “Hey, Rube” of in the fall. girl and marathon dancer, grieves Deere Si 1 More could probably be made; George Ade’s Hoosier antecedents. “Lamp Unto My Feet,” religious because her unemployed husband IS? s ™" ■ ; One is a state senator (Alek Prim- 1 drama, CBS; producer, Don Keller- <he quit his job over a matter of stl0 'J r s American producer, felt the i rose! dragging his freshly-shoed; man; director, James MacAllen. ; “principle," and won’t return un-. production wasn t ready and that i hillbilly son (Ray Tudor) to the ; Submit photo arid resume for con-; til the boss apologizes' cannot af- the material was too thin for West ' campus. Another is a high-powered t sideration, Nat Greenblatt 1524 \V, ford to have their small son live End audience. I college benefactor (Vince O’Brien) 57th St.). ; with them. When the husband Savo. who scripted the vehicl® i who has pledged his half-back-heir i “Look Up & Live,” religious- cracks under the strain and tries in which he was to have starred, •to one college, from which he is; dramatic, CBS. Producer, Jack to kill "her, he is .committed to said, .."I knew there were produc- • snatched by the “college widow.” i Kuney; casting, Marc Merson. 524 . Blackwell’s Island, and the wife tion difficulties. I wanted a British The seven-girl, seven-boy chorus W. 57th St. Casting from files, moves in with a sympathetic cou- director to bridge.the gulf between . has little room to scamper and the j Mail photo and resume. ^ : pie on the floor below. American and British humor, hut ; two-aisle exits ’ and the third (to ; National Screen Service, 1600 : These two are also in a state, It Miss Wiman insisted on having an ; the men’s room, entre’acte) are em-! Broadway. Casting, Carl Carbone, appears, as the clothing worker- American director.” The stager, i ployed with considerable ingenuity. ? Submit Photo and composite for husband’s union is'on strike and Roy Pascal, was engaged by Savo . Indeed, imagination commands re-. COI }SKteration. _ : he is quietly bringing home work 1 as his assistant. t j spect for pace and grouping man- ! Stakeout, 36 half-hour films, f roni a non-union establishment to — » ■ ■■■ ■ r .■ ■ agement throughout. ' j sa0 „ on location in Florida. kee p going, while the wife, in an Though he went to Northwestern ' Producer, .Ben’Berenberg. There emotionally-contorted state of guilt and not to Carnegie Tech, the male . may be possibilities for performer 0V p r u ie de ath of their infant lead. Art Matthews stands out vor; resident m or going to Florida. ■ daU ghter, has become a religious cally, that being the rarity, in this APP*] can $? (or a S er }ts' querey f 3n atic with a strong sex revul- ; muster. Tile roll includes the cari-! y?® Bar ^'Asency,. 40 W . 5/th s j on After too much delay (for ! catures of another era—the butter-■; S J[ * N. Y., Cl 6-o740. lor details . theatrical effectiveness"), the t\w | fly-chasing professor (Al Checco), about Florida contact and location, f upse t mates succumb to mutual at- : the muscle-bound oversize football! , ‘The Verdict Is Yours, iinre- traction, and there is a blowup and ; recruit (Josip Elio and the whole- i “ ea rsed courtroom dramas. CBS; ; fj na n v a ta t least for the moment) i some second leading girl (Dorothy P roduc er» Burr ’ director, happy ending. - i Stinette). Byron Paull; casting_ contact, Liam . Although the script Is under- ■ Off-Broadway’s diligent scriDt! ^ nn \ C ? T S ’ 524 W ’ ” St ‘,, j no stood to have been cut consider- searchers will undoubtedlv ; Phone)^No open casting; all done a bly, it seems over-incidented and Desert Cap At last available In tha F. S. — the Jaunty ruitEe.l looking Afrika atyle cap with soar¬ ing uplift front and dashing "forward look" lines. ’First created In tha Austrian Alps, then made world-famous by the no¬ torious Afrika Korps. this masculine height- butl.Urig cap is worn throughout Western Europe for both work and play. Ita long Thor and high style combine usefulness and looks In a way not yet achieved by our own sport caps. Now being worn by atyle leaders all |>ver America—for beach, golf, motoring. boating, etc. Made of durable lightweight = twill, fully lined for In¬ sulation. Colors: Tan, hunter green, slate b.-ie. white, red. ypllow. Sizes 0% to TV 53.95 each, we pai postage, 10-day refund guarantee. Dealer Inquiries InTlted. PAUL MURTAUGH ASSOCIATES INC.. Dept. V-IO, 115 Firitoa St., N.Y. 3«» N.Y. 'researchers will undoubtedlv bei> r,-, ., . ; , n -***v*«^.***^» — ■quickened by this musical It will ■ from -> . s ’ ^ p loto ■' aRd res ' • overlong, and what’s more vital,; I really be a surprise if, one time, i UI ^Theat?e n fi? e a a storv ” CBS TV* aut ^' s P° int s t in needs c ' ari : ! something for uptowm is uncovered.! nr J,T!5 e D n hLt wirrMcs® rac, and sharpening. At least “Leave It to Jane” needs to be P roduc ® r i.Robert Hem dge.. C-a^mJT lvvo possibly three, characters judged in the environment nf a ’ Star ^ -^ a ^ e in April. Mail photo P nn!H alcn he eliminated (one listed mti! nntoftLoov h 1 a and resume to producer, at 524 W. Sh nf'etSS- Si ho ■ “ wdh a ' 57th St., N. Y. (Room 2227 bunch of stamina kids giving their all. It manages, in those terms, to , MAXWELL LUMBER COMPANY SPECIALIZING IN SCENERY LUM- ftER FOR THE THEATRICAL TRADE Distributors of K. D. Fireproof Lumber and Plywood 111 .West Itth Street# New York WA 9-40IS be diverting. Land. Road Show Review Once More, With Feeling Hollywood, May 12. could also be eliminated (one listed in the program had already been dropped as of last week'. Also, the author has included a few an¬ achronistic references in the dialog. Under Jack Rogotzy’s workman¬ like direction the cast is uneven OVERSEAS but generally convincing. Miss Italian Ballet Co. Producer. Ugo ^ Winters gives a penetrating, skill- , , , TT , --- : dell’Ara, Via Messina 9, Milan.. £ uI1 y modulated and paced per- m?nt with M a i e iin re Gabe a i & Male dancers with three years pro- f ormance that is consistently soils) of three-act (five scenes) comedy j fessional experience in Broadway plausible and progressive^ touch- by Harry Kurnitz. staging. Ralph Levy; | musicals or ballet companies send. in ff- It ranks with the fine por- %T r /S5r S i'. 8 rd; description photo and resume to trayal she gave on Broadway sev- features George Tobias, Sam Hearn. ! producers. Company to tour Cen- eia i seasons ago as the dope ad- tral Europe late summer and fall, diet’s wife in “A Hatful- of Rain.” First-featured Albert Morgen- features George Tobias, Sam Hearn, George N. Neise, Howard Wendell# Henry Corden, Jerry Barclay. Opened May 11, '59, at the Huntington Hartford Theatre, Hollywood; $5 40 top. Chester Stamm . Jerry Barclay MaxweU Archer . George Tobias Victor Fabian .Fernando Lamas . Gendels . Sam Hearn ; Luigi Barbijil .. Henry Corden i Mr. Wilbur .....Howard Wendell ' Dolly Fabian . Marjorie Lord j Richard Hilliard.George N. Neise Harry Kumitz’s “Once More, with Feeling” is a humorous ! enough comedy, salted with an oc- f casionally interesting set of cir¬ cumstances and peppered with a THE BUSHKILL PLAYHOUSE HAS A VACANCY for a good publicity and pro¬ motional man or woman from June 15th to Labor Day* Own car is necessary. Apply di¬ rect to Harold Auten, Bush- kill, Pennsylvania. DOM '? MMOWf Our Gang Comedies “Industrial Show On Tour” Pro¬ ducer, Jack Morton Productions. Two Week tour of Mississippi, Colorado and Atlantic City. Audi¬ tions for male and femme singer tomorrow (Thur.) at 2 p.m.. Show¬ case Studios, 950 Eighth Ave., N. Y. stern is credible and likable as. the torn-two-ways husband down- j stairs, a character that may seem ! offhand to be inconsistently moti¬ vated, but that oHers few real complications. Marian Seldes is believable as his religiously- obsessed wife, an unnervingly taut character and a difficult role. Gerald O’Loughiin plays the heroine’s psychopathic husband passably, but without conveying 87th and Riv«rsld« Driv* TR 3-6200 The Park Crescent Very desirable 314 room terrace apartment# facing south, river view. Living room, two bed¬ rooms# two bathroom*. Gee kitchenette, free utilities, hotel service. Restaurant, reef eun deck, tennis, handbell courts, golf driving tso, swimming pool. 5th Avonuo bus at doer. Con¬ venient all transportation. Call Mr. Reck, Manager,