Variety (December 1960)

53 LEGITIMATE Wednesday, December 14, 1960 You Caii Hear the Actors: But Too Well Sound Engineering a Disputed Art in Legit—Many Parallels With Radio and Other Amusement Media By ROBERT J. LANDRY Even a yami comes in like thun¬ der. Which is a way of saying that modern “sound engineering” tech¬ niques are pulling a noise-level switch on legit productions, espe¬ cially musicals, tutting the road these days. The innovation is not universally welcomed either by au¬ diences or provincial city theatre managers. The old complaint of not being able to hear the actors speak is reversed by a new r complaint that over-amplified sound volume pre¬ vents the spectator from “hearing himself think.” The suspicion is expressed that some sound en¬ gineers are out to call attention to themselves somewhat in the w'ay lighting -wizards have sometimes overdone their own art in the peri¬ od since World War II. Electronics have, in any event, arrived on the road, complete with a variety of gimmicks, including footlight pan finger microphones, and balcony speakers costing $400 apiece. There are local showmen who think that the New York pro¬ ducer’s cure for outsize auditori¬ ums or acoustically-poor houses has been worse than the disease of previous inaudibility. Another point of discussion about sound engineering in the legit theatre is its susceptibility to excessive gadgetry. This is repre¬ sented as further running up over¬ head and operating costs in to¬ day’s inflated economy. One elab¬ orate musical which spent a lot of time on the road before hitting Broadway is believed to have $8,000 in “experimental” sound gadgets, added to production costs. Local managers cannot do much where the sound is over- projected. but a number have gone backstage,-to protest. One hinter¬ land manager who makes a prac¬ tice of hearing part of any show- opening night from the critic’s downfront locations has been espe¬ cially strong in objection in “blast¬ ing.” Naturally, proper sound-level al¬ ways has been somew’hat a matter of taste and judgment. It was a problem, and a debate, in radio and television, as now in cabarets. It is also true that performers of the present generation are almost hopelessly dependent upon micro¬ phones and amplification and fre¬ quently unable to get across to an audience unaided. This is, of course, not true at the Metropoli¬ tan Opera or the N. Y. City Opera, where trained voices are supposed to be and generally are sufficient unto themselves. Numerous technical problems are involved in miking a theatre for a musical. In Detroit recently some new transistorized gear used to bring individual performers to the mixing board was reported getting crosstalk from the local police calls. If so, veteran radio engineers will be amused at his¬ tory repeating itself. Between the ideal of having everybody able to hear every word and note and the contrary excess of “blasting” lies the judgment of the experts. Are some of them bucking for their own careerism more than for the proper balance? The question is being seriously asked. Feedback is a commonplace of all sound projection, along with hum. and what engineers call “im- pedis.” Expanding volume of sound ex¬ pands flaws. There was critical no¬ tice taken at the opening of “Camelot” in Manhattan that Rich¬ ard Burton’s voice filled the thea¬ tre when singing but, ironically, seemed hoarse. This was attributed to the new transistor “lapel mikes” which, in technical jargon, are in¬ dividual hroadcasting stations from the principals to the mixing con¬ trol board backstage, where the total output into the auditorium Is directed. It is a case of radio studio repe¬ tition in the case of Flanders and Swann forgetting that they were hooked-up via body mike and let¬ ting go with some backstage com¬ mentary not intended for the au¬ dience. That became very run-of-studio among the old broadcasting stations around the country. “Blasting” is resorted to in many- night clubs around the country, especially those w r hich do not dis¬ continue food and drink service during the performance. Because of the alcoholic exhilatration of the “rival show” (i.e. the audience) in cafes, the music and lyrics have the subtlety of a locomotive ap¬ proaching a highway. Reviewers have found the amplitude pattern at the International Casino on Broadway particularly “high.” Suffice that the legitimate has lately fallen heir to many of the quarrels and technical difficulties which miking has brought to en¬ tertainment media generally. E the Old Time Actors I j TOM WEATHERLY .J The old time actor always played. Whether on or off; And when bedecked for walking out— He was quite a toff. His greatcoat sported sable trim, At least the collar did; And then the velour, spats and cane— Plus gloves of creamy kid. Ah. yes, I loved the show he gave \ To other fresh air seekers; i And you can have the current i hams— In open shirts and sneakers. Douglass, Gretch Wyler Leads for ‘Destry’ Tour San Francisco, Dec. 13. “Destry Rides Again” is chang- ! ing its leads again. Stephen j Douglass and Gretchen Wyler will take over the key assignments w-hen the musical exits the Curran Theatre here next Saturday (17) for a regular road tour. They’ll succeed John Raitt and Anne Jef¬ freys, who’ve been top-billed since the production bowed in Los An¬ geles last Sept. 26. The original Broadu'ay costars were Andy Griffith, in the title role, and Dolores Gray. They were replaced by Gene Barry and Monique Van Vooren w’hen the tuner left New York for an eight- week engagement at the Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas. The show moved from there to the L. A., with Raitt and Miss Jeffreys headlining. Other replacements when the production leaves Frisco will be Edward Etienza for Tom Tully and Warde Donavan for Phil Reed. Raitt. Miss Jeffreys, Tully and Reed -were signed only for the 12- week Los Angeles-San Francisco run under the aegis of the Civic Light Opera Assn. The musical, currently in its sixth week at the Curran begins a Denver date next Wednesday (21) ‘Alligator*’ Proviso Metro paid $65,000 for the screen rights to Molly Kazan’s “The Alligators,” the short play now running at the off- Broadway York Theatre with Mrs. Kazan’s “Rosemary.” Under the deal, the film ver¬ sion can’t be released in the U.S. until September, 1961, and six months later in Eng¬ land,, where a legit production is planned. TED SHAWN’S MEMOIR *AN IMPORTANT BOOK “One Thousand and One Night Stands” by Ted Shawn (Double¬ day; $4.95) is a worthy recap of career of America’s dean of male dancers, written in cdllaboration with Mrs. Gray Poole. By 1940, Shawn had spent 27 years of continuous touring all over the world—ds solo dancer, with his wife Ruth St. Denis and their Denishawn dancers, and with his group of male dancers. With latter outfit, Shawn covered 100,000 miles in six years. Such terp artists as Martha Graham, Doris Hum¬ phrey, Jack Cole, Charles Weid- . man, Barton Mumaw and Paul Haakon appeared in Shawn troupes. Late comedian Fred Stone inspired a muledrivers’ dance for Shawn’s male company by demon¬ strating Australian whip tricks at Jacob’s Pillow. Lee, Mass., where Shawn instituted annual summer dance festival. In 1958, the King of Denmark decorated Shawn for cul¬ tural achievement. Singular victory for the dancer was a good notice (after years of the reverse) from hard-bitten Boston Transcript critic, the late H. T. Parker. Shawn’s memoirs range widely, from his professional association with Ruth St. Denis, whom he mar¬ ried in 1914; and touching on his fringe activities as author, lecturer and sculptor. Much of his life has been dedicated to refutation of bromide: “But men don’t dance!” He makes light of the. handicap some enthusiasts gave him as “the most beautiful man in the world.” Shawn writes that for every suc¬ cess, he’s had “a kick in the pants.” At height of popularity of his male troupe in 1930s, the saga of his problems in staging “Job” make the legit woes of “J. B.” pale by comparison. Work is an. important, well-illus¬ trated dance volume. Rodo. j Oreg. Shakespeare Fest Grosses Peak $105,064 Ashland, Ore., Dec. 13. The 41-night Oregon Shake¬ spearean Festival grossed a record $105,064 at a $2.40 top last sum¬ mer, the non.-profit festival asso¬ ciation has reported. Operational expenses also hit a new' peak of $92,562, with most of the indicat¬ ed $12,502 net absorbed in capital investments. The scale for next summer will he advanced to a $3.20 top. B. Iden Payne. Elizabethan stager current¬ ly with Texas Univ. drama depart- j ment, has been signed to direct • several 1961 productions. | Geo. Freedley’* ‘Mr. Cat’ “Mr. Cat” by George Freedley (Frisch; $3) is a short, touching tribute to the late pet of the cura¬ tor of the N. Y. Public Library The¬ atre Collection. Without undue sentiment, and with great charm, Freedley writes lovingly of the “city cat” who shared his life for 16 years. Book easily takes Its place with distinguished eulogies to pets. Vic¬ tor Dowling has provided several captivating illustrations. Show biz readers will find a familiar cast of ; characters among the human friends of Mr. Cat. Lillian Gish j provides a pleasant foreword. I Rodo. ‘Kukla’ Puppets Figured As Losing $15,000, Plus The “Kukla, Burr and Ollie” puppet presentation, which recent¬ ly had an 18 performance run at the Kuklapolitan Room of the Hotel Astor, N.Y:, was capitalized at $15,000 with provision for 15% overcall. Most of the coin invested in the Cheryl Crawford- Joel W. Schenker production is figured to have gone down the drain. The backers of the offering w r ere to have shared in 40% of any profits, with the management re¬ taining the other 60%. ft r s under¬ stood Miss Craw’ford and Schenker, previously partnered in the produc¬ tion of a series of plays at the defunct Bijou Theatre, N.Y., which they had under lease, have rented the Astor - showcase for an esti¬ mated $25,000 yearly. The Kuklapolitan Room,, so tagged because of the puppet of¬ fering, was known as the Emerald Room prior to its conversion into a 208-seat theatre. The puppet entry, in which Burr Tillstrom was assisted by Claiborn Cary, was the mezzanine theatre’s initial presentation. Incidentally, besides his. legit activities, Schenker is also president of the Webb & Knapp Construction Co. Author of 'Only in America / 'for 2c Plain' and 'Enjoy! Enjoy* Harry Golden !| recalls some of the many personalities who contributed to The Glory Of The Yiddish Stage another Special Story in the upcoming 5,*th Anniversary Number of PBriety Inside Stuff-Legit A “first night” to beat all first nights was held recently in the ancient Italian hill town of- Perugia when a play was produced, exactly 1894 years after it was written. In this- case the author’s absence did not surprise anyone. The play was Seneca’s “The Trojan Women.” Research fails to find any record of a production of "The Trojan Women” since the Renaissance. Some Jesuit boys schools in order to show off their Latin do recite Seneca tragedies at school exercises. But as “The Trojan Women” relies mostly on female roles, it is improbable that it was ever chosen for such a type of performance. Thus, w'hen the curtain went in Perugia bn the lamentations of Hecuba standing on the ruins of Troy—it possibly was for the very first time. The production was an effort by Perugia’s “Little Theatre” group which Jn past seasons has staged successfully in Perugia and elsewhere two other Seneca plays (Hippolitus and Oedipus). Seneca’s tragedy has to measure up w'ith the famous “Trojan Women” by Euripides. American colony in Paris Is irked because most of them are just beginning to find out that Hal Holbrook was in town a month or so ago and played his Mark Twain show' at the Vieux Columbier Theatre, Showr was there for one night only via ANTA-USIS and was sold out in advance for a charity performance. Not one ad in any paper, French or American, no publicity and no reviews; critics ware not even invited. Americans in Paris feel they were snubbed. Show biz people in Paris, on the other hand, point out that this doesn’t matter, ANTA shows are not sent abroad for the various American colonies living outside the U.S. On the other hand, they feel, If the show (or any show') Is to do any good for the U. S. cultural claims—should there not be some advertisements in the local press, should not critics be invited? With the press of competition via the recently installed N. Y. Times local edition, the Paris N.Y. Herald has ordered its drama critic, Tom Curtiss, to rush his reviews for printing the morning after opening of shows, especially if the shows have some import to Americans. The Herald has also added a third nightly edition. The upswing on review's, apparently, does not include music, which the newspaper continues to pass up most of the time, or cover once- over-lightly whenever its music critic, Ed Pendleton, gets around to it Off-Broadway Review Emmanuel j Gale Repertory Co. (Matt Conley, man¬ aging director), in association with Vin¬ cent Spar, presentation of two-act drama by James Forsyth. Staged by Conley; set¬ tings. Herbert Senn and Helen Pond; lighting, Richard Nelson; costumes, Sonia Lowenstein. Opened Dec. 14. '60, at the Gate Theatre, N.Y.; $3.90 top. Shepherd . Archie Smith Joseph . Charles Caron Herod .. Kernit Murdock Justinius .. Maurice Edwards Innkeeper’s W’ife . Norma Justin Thomas . John Miranda Mary . Joyce West W'ise Men._Frank Echols, Alan Bruce, Andrew Cox Nicholus . John Cowger Old Simon . Ted Grover Women of Bethlehem... ...Anne Peters Willamette Hines Young Man of Bethlehem Robert Vandergriff Probably since its first appear¬ ance,-the Bible has been an in¬ spiration to dramatists. Along with the Easter pageant, possibly the most wudely interpreted of these Biblical tales is the Nativity story, and last week the Gate Repertory Co. presented yet another version. James Forsyth’s “Emmanuel” is a play about the birth of Christ. It relates the famous tale of the journey of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem to pay the Roman tax, their, stay at the inn, the Child’s arrival and their flight to escape the tyrannical King Herod. There is little if any attempt to place a new or unusual interpretation on the story, but “Emmanuel” is none¬ theless distinctive. Whereas. most creators of re¬ ligious-based drama tend to deal with it on a divine and holy basis, Forsyth tells his story from a hu¬ man point of view’. His characters \ experience the fears, doubts and confusions about their situation as the average man might be ex¬ pected to react, rather than be¬ having as exhalted or otherwise different. “Emmanuel” is . thus more a play about the people in¬ volved than about the birth itself. The result is a moving and in¬ timate drama, performed with skill and fluidity. As Joseph, Charles Caron blends the human¬ ity of a simple carpenter with the dignity and confusion of a man facing great responsibility, and Joyce West is beautiful and serene as Mary. Archie Smith is delicate as a warm and earthly shepherd who directs the couple to the inn and eventually leads them from the danger of Herod’s pursuit, and John Miranda and Norma Justin are Impressive as the aw r ed inn¬ keeper and his wife. Other effective characterizations are provided by Kermit Murdock and Maurice Edwards as Herod and the Roman tax-collector, and by Frank Echols, Alan Bruce and Andrew' Cox as the three rather affected w'ise men. Herbert Senn and Helen Pond have provided an attractive and flexible setting and Richard Nel¬ son’s lighting adds clarity. Sonia Lowenstein’s colorful costumes are decorative and Matt Conley's di¬ rection is swift and imaginative. First performed in 1950 by the BBC as a one-hour radio play which was subsequently re-written into its present form, “Emmanuel” is a human and authentic re-telling of the story of Christ’s birth, and is a welcome addition to the Nativ¬ ity collection. Kali. Bel Geddes’ Posthumous Autobiog a Fine Memoir “Miracle in the Evening” by Norman Bel Geddes (Doubleday; $4.95) is the posthumously-pub¬ lished autobiography of the great stage and industrial designer, edited by William Kelley. For 30 years, until his death in 1958, Geddes (Bel w r as added to his name to honor his first wife w’hose first name was Bel) enriched the theatre and the American scene with his daring, often monumental designs. Book recounts his impov¬ erished boyhood in Ohio and de¬ tails his entrance inta the art world via a commission to sketch. Blackfeet • Indians for Chicago’s Field Museum. Geddes’ recap of his alliance with Max Reinhardt and Morris Gest will interest show biz readers. In 1923, Geddes constructed a Gothic cathedral inside the Cen¬ tury theatre on Central Park West, providing a masterpiece of design for Reinhardt’s production of “The Miracle.” “The Eternal Road” fol¬ lowed in 1936 and “Dead End” (1935) offered Geddes’ inspired set for Sidney Kingsley’s play. In 1931, he designed a produc¬ tion of “Hamlet” starring Raymond Massey. This was one of the first stage sets in New York to push ^through the proscenium (of the Broadhurst Theatre) to make the audience literally part of the per¬ formance. Geddes’ Futurama at the 1939 N. Y. World’s Fair was a startling example of. his boldness in design and his grasp on trends of the future. In 1925, he created a production of “Jeanne d’Arc” in Paris, starring Eva Le Gallienne, for which N. Y, papers sent drama critics to France to report the opening (the review's of “The Miracle” had been front¬ paged in Manhattan and, as was often the case with a Geddes show', he emerged the production's star). Designer was father of actress Barbara Bel Geddes. Book carries pithy anecdotes of famous folk Geddes knew r and worked with. Fully reported Is his interest in model-making and in construction of mechanical games. Tome suffers on two counts; Geddes did not complete the manu¬ script before his death, and volume appears without a single illustra¬ tion of his memorable work. Edi¬ tion stands in need of proofreading of proper names, especially those of theatre people. Rodo.