, 1874-10-25

was customary in the last era Of respectable
E'ece with g farce. Even a shakspearcat
tragedy was preceded or followed by one q
these brilliant bits Of humor, md the con
trast was greatly to tho benefit Of audi
ences., The orator who desires K
raovo hls hearers TO tears. and STIR theh
sempathies to tho utmost. will first tickle theil
| fancy Tith humor. and then catching them al
the rebound carry thcm with him, On this Irin.
c1pie the farce was feeder TO tho tragedy
Again, after dismal, dreary play, the manage
ment invariably flung in = rafting farce to cleo,
away the melancholy impression, and send the
hearors cut in the sunshine OF misth. It was
pretty idea, but it took time. Dramatic perform
ances commenced then Mt Al hour which would
| orally At 7 o'clock upon the farce. By tho time
| the preliminary performance was over, the las,
| tardy play-goer had taken his seat, and the
| majestic movement Of the tragedy was not in
| tetrupted by the rush and rustic Of elk and
| heavy boots, OF chatter and remonst,ance, OF
| confusion aud vulgar display; Such perform-
ance was 1ong one, and those who paid for
| their seats rot tho worth Of their money
It frequently happened that it ran beyond II
o'clock. This made performance Of four hours.
Eleven is not late hour. Four-act French
pieces run as long nowadays and longer. But
the public Ia diiatory. and our customs have
| changed. Audiences could assemble at as
easily as at half-p2st o'clock. il there we're any
induceznent for so doing. But the hour for lear
| ing the theatre has its disadvantages II is the
parsirnopy and want Of Judgment Of our
srEEErRA1LnoAD xASAoEMESr,
| which makes that hour unfavorabla for seeking
home. Aud from cansn to Affect it is this very
| msnauagenent which has eliminated the
farce from the theatrical entertainmeut- It is
this which eiyes tho only shadow OF excuse for
the vulgar scu1ry to the door before tho curtain
has begun to descend. It shortsns tho por-
for1aa1,ce aud robs it Of Of its best faatu1ss
There are other caueea, however.
THE MODERN SOCIETY DRAMA,
lacking the elemont Of legitimate interest," relies
upon tho wealth OF it's setting, the idea being to
minister to the oye. To set snch scenes as We
arc accustomed to demand takes time. and q
great deal OF it is wasted in the entr'acte.
This is lamentab!e, because it stretches the
drama out beyond anv reasonable necessity.
The four-act condensation OF adultery occupies
as long time for representation as tho fve-act
tragedy. This reacts upon the maoagar again in
another Har-
The entr'acte Of &C minutes must bo filed in
By hook or by crook. Somebody must do it.
Tho orchestra must. unless ballet is Introduced.
Thero must be something to keep tho mind EN-
ploycd, and orchetrs wonld bo moro generally
acceptable to piav-gocrs- Consequently
THE ORCHESTRA
hes become Of nbcessity 4 feature Of theatrical
economy Competition las driven the marager
OF to-day to make the orchestra 4 very e1peu64Ya
addition to his forces We have one manager
boasting that he p=ys his orchestra $500, aud
the critics, justly praisiog this feature, tho v.
manager will not be outdoue. He mist have
tho post orchestra as well as tho beat
company, aud there it is. With in
creased expense there is no corresponding,
income. What he pays the orchestra must ba
deducted from some other branch OF his buai-
ness, or there must come smash Wa hayo
expensive companies in town-theEc are fen in
tho country which cost more to maintain. BuRi-
ness fortunately las hold up this season with
astonishing perseverance,: but the hish-pressura
system is dangerous, to speak mildly. Things
arc being oysrdone. 1luaic is s very charming
addition to the dramatic stage. Could it bs
maintained without sacrificing t:ae other features
OF the drana it would bs desirable. But there
is too much of it. The drama is sacrificed to it.
THERE IS ANOTHER POINT
which managers aad ayen stA1s overlook in the
loag leap between the acts. The Interest Ct the
drama is apt to 1as very decidedly. The curtain
falls On thrilling table2u- Before the next
seens follows, ths Impression has been IN srea:
measure, eiraced by evoats outside the drama.
The orchestra has done its bakt to interrupt. By
charming but inappropriate music the train OF
emotions which the drama has set in motion,
aad BY the tins the fumss Of alcohol from tho
adjoiiling saloon begin to circulate through the
house, tho last tablcau Is lndiBtiuot before
tho mental vision As the photographers proof Of
I last years portrait As instance OF this let
US mention the experience OF Ioo Jefferson with
"Trip Yan Tinkle." Between the second and
\ great deal Of change has to be made in
tho appearance OF the artist. It took Mr..
jefferson some eighteen OF twenty minutes to
arrange tho stage, dress, and prepare every
thing for the opening sceno- Even with the
auxiliary efforts OF tho orchestra. ne found the
impression left by the tabieau OF the second act
so eyanescent thst it faded before tho curtain
was 1unE up. He WAS compelled, therefore, to
hasten his movements, and by dint OF the
utmost ondeavor reduced the entr'ac:o here to
11n rf hat f1H4
of the two later acts was sha,p and powerful. |
and il now oao OF the marvols OF tho dramatic |
stage. What is truo Of Rip Is true OF any |
other piece Of acting. 4 long en- |
.r'acto is an abomination. II there |
must be relaxation, it must not be hurled into |
he current Of the drama.
Our father5 were not the doits NO appear to !
hpk them. Their methods were not Ill de- |
'erying Of contempt They loved putty aud |
.t more than we do they loved ostentation and
li.pay less. Their relaxation in tie theatre
vas wisely chosen and legitimate, and wo should
10 well to irnita:e them Our modern comedies
re dismal enough to taGo the place OF tho
ragadies aud melodramas of . by-gone age.
let us nmeliorato our condition With restoration
II the farce. Abbrevlaso Shakespeare. il ncces-
ary, and give us farce afterwards; improve |
|ur modern society drena to the extent OF omit
Ing half OF 1t, but give us back tho farce. We
10 not want the coarse and vulgar members OF
hat glittering family; there are hundreds which
ro uno1ceptonable. Let our managers give /
hem trial. Let thom raise the curtain half IN
lour earl1er, and cut down tue entr'acte. It
ill bs money added to their store, and pleasure
0 that Of their patrons.
THE DRAMA
Is had but little chauco during the past week.
'he opera has monopo1ized Mcyiciefs Theatre, G.
Fox has been pleasing the young and old with
Humpty Dumpty" at the Academy Of Music;
t Hooleya tho "Sphin1" alone has borne the
Of the Legitimate. It was heavy
ontract ior so weak piece as the ''Sphinx" but
10 week has been worn through aud business
as been very fair. The present week will see Z
reat change in this respect. We are to have
70 Of the best artists on tho stage as stars at
[cVickera and the Academy, Carlotta LeClercq