The Washington times., 1930-03-01
GLEANINGS'
AND
SCREEN INGS.
b ANDREW 3. KELLEY

Wnen Ziegfeld'B Snow Boat
ends It's career on the road IN
the near future. it win have
accomplished = run Of 107
weeks. something Of . record
FOR an attraction Of this mag
nitude, which prohibits engage
ments Of less than one week.
70 me IL win always remain
Ziegfeld's greatest achievement.
rs opening night In Washing.
ton Is indexed IN memory as
one Of the greatest evenings
ever spent in the theater. Now.
as the closing chapter nears.
1t Is . pleasure to find that
this footlight CONNECTION retains
the sympathetic appeal Of Edna
Eerber's novel, the wonderful
music Of Jerome Kern, the
wholly engaging work Of tai
ented principals who breathe
life into the interesting charac-
ters Of fiction. Contrasting 1t
with what Hollywood did with
the same material, accord
must be handed to Producer
Florenz ziegfeld as q modern
theatrical genius.
Once ziegfeld played q Fol
lies at the National Theater to
q gross slightly above 5000.
He made money and so did the
tfeater. This week Show
Boat" on the return trip, viii
play to receipts beyond $50, 900.
and yet the profit viii be
negligible. Production costs
have mounted and the mainte-
nance charges for q super.mlsi-
cal are staggering.
As an illustration Of how
salaries for headliners have
hoped to the higher brackets,
Eva Tanguay. one Of the first
Of the Ziegfeld stars to be
glorified, worked for $3.50 q
week. In his latest production,
Simple Simon" now running
ct the Ziegfeld Theater, Ed
Wynn'S contract calls for
$500 Q week and q percentage
Of the gross when receipts. at
tain q certain figure. In addi-
ton, the Wynn contract calls
for / per cent additional Of
the gross as royalty for the
co-autlaor Of Simple Simon"
1t guarantees the actor D sea-
son Of 80 weeks. So, while
Simple Simon" leaped at once
into the snaaSh-hit class and
Mr.. Wynn Is drawing closer
to $4,000 o week than his
$500 contract figure, II will be
many months before the $2iO,-
600 production cost is wiped
out and "Ziggy' begins to
count on q dividend.
Master Of Ceremonies Leon
Nayara, who moved out Of
washington with the departure
Of the Loew unit, Gypsy
Dreams" last night, Is a gra-
cious entertainer. He left be-
hind an orchid token Of appre-
ciatior1, 10 be duly delivered by
this department to The Times
reviewer who wrote glowingly of
his talent. Say for me-" said
Mr.. Navara, that any pleasure
she may have derived from my
performance was matched by
the happiness q very generous
report of my act brought to
me- Consider it said, Mr..
Navara. And the decorated
critic is Miss Helen Kinyor1,
the III. K" Of the reviewing
staff.
While It was duly announced
that Happy Days" would open
at the Fox Theater with q
midnight showing Friday. the
premiere was delayed until the
regular hour today. Reason:
the rule Of the Musicians
Union that the full orchestra
be employed for the extra show.
An appeal has been taken from
the union demand and the
matter viii be arbitrated.
Meanwhile the regularly sched-
uled Saturday openings con-
tinue.
Bailieff's "Chauve souris,"
which toured the country as o
$5-a-seat attraction under the
aegis Of Morris Gest, has been
boiled down into q Commute
revue capsule and is now play
ing the Publix motion picture
theaters. Bailieff, with his
Tnangled English, is acting ais
master Of ceremonies for the
condensed "Souris," and the
principal feature Of the tabloid
entertainment is the famous
Dance Of the Wooden Sol
diers."
Ethel Barrymore, whose tour
OF the country has been the
weekly gold nugget for the
Shubert enterprises, will con-
tinue on the road until June.
Queen Ethel carries around the
key to the stars dressing room
Of the Ethel Barrymore Thea
ter In New York, since no other
actor or actress win be per-
nlitted to occupy IL.
When her tour with 'AThe
Love Duel" and Kingdom of
Cod" is ended, the star win
give attention to q production
Of Julia Peterkin's Scarlet
Sister Mary" This presents q
e7Vaxsaa4ia s{n&fs,. y,-.tIt.,. .I-..4