Robert Coleman was the drama critic of the Mirror. In his April 14 column he led off with a rave for the Ballet Theatre's production of "Giselle" with Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin in the lead roles. He wrote that it packed the house at the Met Friday night and was a testament to the drawing power of ballet. He quotes a ballotomane who told him, "I can see modern ballet in such Broadway shows as "Oklahoma,' 'Carousel,' etc. along with musical comedy stars, scads of scenery and costumes, hit parade tunes. But I cannot see Markova and Dolin in 'Giselle' except in ballet at the Met." (Classical ballet stars back then were expected to be Russian. Markova. born Lilian Marks, and Dolin, born Patrick Healey-Kay, both actually were English.)
Coleman reported that Milton Berle's stint at the Carnival nightclub was drawing lines out the door, averaging $10,000 a week. Berle was getting a percentage of the gross. Coleman bemoaned the fact that no producer had come up with a worthy stage vehicle this season for the star, who he said was "box office dynamite" who could be "funny with or without material."( Berle would soon reach the height of his fame as Mr. Television, dominating the early years of the medium and selling a lot of sets.)
Coleman also wrote that Olsen and Johnson, whose recent Broadway hit "Laffing Room Only" was playing in Philadelphia, were planning a new revue for the coming season, hoping to snatch back the Winter Garden, which recently had been converted to a movie theater. (The zany duo's knockabout, blackout humor was an inspiration for television's "Laugh In.") Ezio Pinza, known then as an opera star, was set for the title role in a movie bio-pic on the composer Chaliapin (movies and musicals on classical composers were big at this moment in time). The producers hoped also to cast Irra Petina, Russian-born opera contralto currently starring on Broadway in the long-running "Song of Norway." (The movie never got made). Playwright Jerome Chodorov, known then for his hits "My Sister Eileen" and "Junior Miss," was hoping Barry Fitzgerald would star in his new play "Barnaby," while his older brother Edward Chodorov, who had not been so successful to date, was also at work on a new play. (Both brothers would be blacklisted but Jerome would later have a hit Tony Award winning musical "Wonderful Town"). Singer Jane Pickens was ill in Florida. (She ran unsuccessfully against Ed Koch for Congress after becoming a prominent Manhattan socialite). Producer Frank Satenstein had organized a scouting staff to trawl the Hollywood screenwriting community for plays for theatrical production.