Night Hostess

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Night Hostess
Written by Philip Dunning
Directed by Winchell Smith
Date premieredSeptember 12, 1928 (1928-09-12)
Place premiered Martin Beck Theatre
Original languageEnglish
SubjectNightclub melodrama
Genre Dramatic comedy
SettingThe lounge of the Little Casino, New York City

Night Hostess is a 1928 play in three acts written by Philip Dunning. Its author called it a Dramatic comedy, but most contemporary reviewers said it was a melodrama. [1] [2] It has a large cast, fast pacing, and one setting. The main storyline concerns a crooked nightclub manager who is robbing customers and cheating the owner, complicated by two murders and a romantic triangle.

Contents

Produced by John Golden and staged by Winchell Smith, it starred Norman Foster, Ruth Lyons, Averell Harris, Maurice Freeman, and Gail DeHart. [3] After tryouts in Atlantic City and Minneapolis-St. Paul during July and August, it ran on Broadway from September through December 1928. Night Hostess drew unfavorable comparisons from critics with the author's earlier Broadway . [4] [5]

Katharine Hepburn made her Broadway debut in Night Hostess, playing a bit part as one of the "Other Hostesses". She was billed under her own name (spelled as "Katherine") for the tryout in Minneapolis, [6] but according to IBDb took the stage name of "Katherine Burns" for the Broadway run.

Characters

Lead

Supporting

Featured

Bit players and Walk-ons

Synopsis

Chris Miller, manager of the Little Casino nightclub has been cheating the proprieter, Ben Fischer, for some time. Miller's girlfriend Julia, and his henchmen Hardware Herman and Hennessy have been setting up "chumps" for rolling after a big win. Miller is getting interested in hostess Buddy Miles, who also sings for the customers a ditty called Everybody's Buddy. One night a rolling goes wrong, and the chump is murdered, with Julia leaving her cigarette case behind in the apartment. Meanwhile, Ben Fischer has been getting suspicious about the club's income dip when it is busy every night. He sends for Rags Conway, a vaudeville performer, to be his secret informant in the club. Rags and Buddy have had a relationship going, but Miller has gotten Buddy's attention by promising her a part in a Chicago stage show in which he has an interest.

Julia, whose substance abuse has led her to a near breakdown, becomes jealous of Buddy, and threatens to spill about the murder. Miller kills her and stuffs her body in a trunk. Tom Hayes, assigned to investigate the killing, recognizes the cigarette case as belonging to his estranged wife, Julia. He questions Miller about her whereabouts, but gets no satisfaction. Miller, panicking, has some hoodlums shift the trunk with Julia's body several times. This draws the attention of Conway and Hayes, who finally are able to find the trunk. Miller sends for some hoodlums to take out Conway and Hayes, but the doorman Tish won't pass them thru into the club. Pursued by Hayes, Miller meets his literal downfall courtesy of an open elevator shaft.

Original production

Background

Philip Dunning's 1926 play Broadway had been a success, for which George Abbott received much credit for rewriting and directing. However, Dunning went solo on the writing for Night Hostess. A reporter at the second tryout said Dunning made note of audience reactions to specific lines and adjusted the dialogue. [7]

Producer John Golden managed an empire of touring stage and vaudeville companies. He advertised his productions extensively, and rather than trot out his players for the press, he cultivated journalists by giving personal interviews. [8] [9] He had a long-standing partnership with playwright-director Winchell Smith. [9]

Cast

The production was on hiatus from July 30 through August 25, 1928, and again from December 17 through December 23, 1928.

Principal cast for the tryouts in Atlantic City, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and during the original Broadway run.
RoleActorDatesNotes and sources
Rags Conway Ross Alexander Jul 23, 1928 - Jul 28, 1928He was just 17 when cast in the first tryout. [8]
Norman FosterAug 26, 1928 - Dec 29, 1928Foster replaced Alexander when the latter was injured in an auto accident just before the second tryout. [6]
Buddy Miles Marguerite Churchill Jul 23, 1928 - Jul 30, 1928She was just 18 when cast in the first tryout. [8]
Ruth LyonsAug 26, 1928 - Nov 03, 1928She left the production to take a lead in Jimmies Women. [10]
Kay CarlinNov 05, 1928 - Dec 29, 1928 [11]
Chris MillerAverell HarrisJul 23, 1928 - Dec 29, 1928
Ben FischerMaurice FreemanJul 23, 1928 - Dec 29, 1928
Julia BarnesGail DeHartJul 23, 1928 - Dec 29, 1928
Tish Porter Hall Jul 23, 1928 - Dec 29, 1928
Tom HayesCharles LaiteJul 23, 1928 - Dec 29, 1928
Hardware HermanJohn L. KearneyJul 23, 1928 - Dec 29, 1928
HennessyFrancis O'RelleyJul 23, 1928 - Dec 29, 1928
PeggyLouise KirtlandJul 23, 1928 - Dec 29, 1928
JoeNorvell KeedwellJul 23, 1928 - Jul 28, 1928
Henry LawrenceAug 26, 1928 - Dec 29, 1928
Frank WardellHarold WoolfJul 23, 1928 - Dec 29, 1928
DotLilian LyndonJul 23, 1928 - Dec 29, 1928
RitaJane AllynJul 23, 1928 - Dec 29, 1928
First ChumpJ. S. BoatsmanJul 23, 1928 - Dec 29, 1928
Second ChumpChester De WhirstJul 23, 1928 - Dec 29, 1928
Cyril KeaneGraham VelseyJul 23, 1928 - Dec 29, 1928

Tryouts

The play was first presented at the Apollo Theatre in Atlantic City for a one-week run beginning July 23, 1928. [12] The local reviewer gave the storyline and identified some cast members, but limited their opinions to general praise for the production. [12]

A. G. Bainbridge Jr., who leased the Metropolitan theaters in Minneapolis and St. Paul, struck a deal with John Golden to host the second tryout at his theaters. [13] Bainbridge agreed to pay for the round-trip cost of transporting the company from Atlantic City to Minneapolis, where the play would open at his Metropolitan Theatre on August 26, 1928. [13] After one week there, it would then move to the Metropolitan Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota for another week-long run. [13]

When the play opened as scheduled, one local reviewer noted that it was either a "sequel" or "twin" to Broadway: "The resemblance between Broadway and Night Hostess is striking. Nearly every element in the former show has a counterpart in the second". [14] This same reviewer praised Averell Harris as the villain, and Norman Foster as "the juvenile lead", [fn 1] but thought "a stronger feminine lead" would help. [14]

Merle Posner wrote in his review that the theatre for the unusual Sunday opening night was "only partially filled", but the audience gave an "enthusiastic reception" to the play. [6] He also reported that author Dunning was making notes throughout the performance, and that Ruth Lyons as Buddy Miles would be more convincing with less refinement. [6]

Premiere and reception

Night Hostess had its Broadway premiere on September 12, 1928 at the Martin Beck Theatre. [4] Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times , who subtitled his review 'Foiling the Palukas', [fn 2] labelled Night Hostess as a "farrago", and said "It might well be the end of the Broadway formula in low-life melodrama". [4] He acknowledged the five leads performed their parts creditably, but said "Night Hostess seemed too much like forced and synthetic entertainment". [4]

Arthur Pollock in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle thought the only innovation in the play was to attempt an underworld melodrama without any salacious language, otherwise there was "no originality in either scene or dialogue". [1] Rowland Field in the Brooklyn Times Union said Night Hostess stood the comparison with Broadway well enough. [2] Burns Mantle was clear that Night Hostess might have benefited from the George Abbott touch, but considered it an exciting melodrama that pleased the opening night audience. [5]

Change of venue and closing

Night Hostess finished at the Martin Beck Theatre on Saturday, December 1, 1928, re-opening on Monday, December 3, 1928 at the Vanderbilt Theatre. It took a one-week hiatus from December 17, re-opening on December 24, 1928, only to close for good on December 29, 1928.

Notes

  1. ↑ The term "juvenile" in this context is not disparaging nor does it indicate a child, but rather at that time it was a type of male role, as an ingénue is a type of female role.
  2. ↑ A term more commonly spelled as 'palooka'.

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References

  1. 1 2 Pollock, Arthur (September 13, 1928). "The Theaters". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. p. 36 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 Field, Rowland (September 13, 1928). "The New Play". Brooklyn Times Union. Brooklyn, New York. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ Kayton, Alvin J. (September 13, 1928). "The Premiere". Brooklyn Citizen. Brooklyn, New York. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Atkinson, J. Brooks (September 13, 1928). "The Play". The New York Times. New York, New York. p. 40 – via NYTimes.com.
  5. 1 2 Mantle, Burns (September 13, 1928). "'Night Hostess' A Broadway Echo". Daily News. New York, New York. p. 363 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Posner, Merle (August 27, 1928). "'Night Hostess' Wins Approval". The Minneapolis Journal. Minneapolis, Minnesota. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Lowry, Helen Bullit (August 28, 1928). "'Night Hostess' Audiences Help Write Broadway Play". The Minneapolis Star. Minneapolis, Minnesota. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 3 Dimon, Howard P. (July 29, 1928). "John Golden Puts Dependence On Atlantic City's Opinion". Atlantic City Sunday Press. Atlantic City, New Jersey. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. 1 2 "'Night Hostess' Producer Here". The Minneapolis Journal. Minneapolis, Minnesota. September 1, 1928. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Guest Artist In 'Jimmies Women'". Brooklyn Times Union. Brooklyn, New York. November 12, 1928. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Playhouse News". Brooklyn Times Union. Brooklyn, New York. November 4, 1928. p. 131 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. 1 2 Farrell, J. J. (July 24, 1928). "New Apollo Show Is Good Entertainment". Atlantic City Daily Press. Atlantic City, New Jersey. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. 1 2 3 "Minneapolis to See Play Before New York Does". The Minneapolis Star. Minneapolis, Minnesota. August 1, 1928. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. 1 2 "Drama". The Star-Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota. August 27, 1928. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
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