National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-03-20
"GAGGERS AND GAGGNG. 7"

"GAGGERS AND GAGGING. I"
nov ANUsEMENT II MADE BY TEE
"ERICKs OF TIE Trade" =
aAGaINa As A FINE ART-How AcToao 81
TOBECOME POPULAR, AND HOW II fAts
TO DO so-GAGGINa DEFINED-A 9o0D
aAaaER MORE DESIRABLE THAN \ GOOD
ACTOR FEMALE aAGGERS = ANCIENT
AND MODERN GAaGERs.
Thar are utricks" In every ''trsds, says a old
adsrs and experience has Droval that ths
uyinr Il lamsntably trus. Row psopls Fseog-
mise tho faot that honesty d the best policy,
for the thirst for riches Il % great - 10 weigh
down the coincidence 81 . 0AaeeltY 81 mankind,
and to cause the rieks" to Be fssoFtsd to Just il
proportion - they add 70 earthly gam OF pepa-
lsfity Who ever saw the tradesman, no matter
how loudly b. might sing psalms or prsy IN the
churches, that would discharge . CLERK for giving
eleven ounces to the pound Of tea to customers
effef selling two feet and ten inches Of sir Tor
syNrd particularly II the article b high pricsd
ana In dsmsndf To be sure, there are honest
people IN all kinds Of business, but humanity u
sowsak and conscience 20 elagtiethst illegitimats
means are rssortsd to for PURPOSES Of worldly ad-
vsncsmsut much oftsner than 10 gsnersliy sup
posed. IN. .. .-.-r'7l5 -
oAesrKe. %. also,
Actors and actress are tradesmeen. They ell
their ability to the manager for % nueh Per
night, and the manager spscslstss Oh that ability
with the public by disposng OF Il 1t retail for %
much Q seat. In the sams ratio that N artist b.
comes popular with the public 70 Ais services
valued BY the manager; consequently whatsvsr
tends TO make him popular with theatre gosrs,
that does he stick to with the same tsnacity that
sparp sticks to the bone that constitutes his din
nsr. There are many words in our language more
expressive than elegant. One Of these 10 gag
very sound which cannot really b called sound
word either, but It has peculiar meaning among
the profession" that no other word can express.
A"gag," Electrically speaking, 10 word or 70
mark thrown into . speech that has usually some
local Significance which pleases . portion Of the
audience and gains the conooctor applause, which
Ia IN evidence of that popularity above alluded
70 that 10 synonymous with pecuniary value.
: "0agging" il usually confined to male actors,
and almost invariably to the class termed ''come-
disns," otherwise considered, either BY them
solves or the public, (too often BY the former
slone,) to be funny people. It will therefore be
seen how strong is the temptation to . comedian
to be funny or "gaggy." When funny man
comes on the stage he casts his eye up In the gal
AoLy. IueI6 uuuQl0O LOBotuor b11IkSlooSOo VI
coats-the former frequently Of An tnGsseribabls
color and the latter too often In need Of rspairs
are hundreds Of people Of the male sex, from the
shine 'em-up" Of ten to the old "crusader" Of
my. These people all have keen and critical
appreciation Of wit. The funny Wan sees them,
and he knows that funny speech will gain him
hundreds of friends in that highly scented gal
lsry, and his love of popularity yields to desire
to gain (which 10 to gain fame and digger
salary ct the same time-and he forthwith gets
OF gag" otherwise supposed to BE- . joke. The
result Is ~ he anticipated. Tho gallery IL In IN
uproar, he 10 recalled, and bowling his thanks, he
rstirss smilingly to the box-omcs, demands more
salary, gets 1t, and goes home oouoocting more
~gags" for the next evening. =.
The practice Is . dangerous one; for man may
be poor actor, but . good "gsgger," BY which
illegitinste means he runs rapidly to fame and
fortune, while the conscientious artist but really
COED actor, remains on the bottom rounds and 10
not received with whistles, shouts and "hi- his"
when he appears on the stage Of an evening. As
the sole object Of sagging 10 to provoke laughter,
the leading man or the tragedian Is dsbarrsd
from resorting TO that means to increase his popu
larity. It may frequently cause . good actor to
become envious when he sees poor one cheat
him out of share of the applause, but lovers and
villains are not supposed to be very funny; con-
secuently "gagging" is Of those aids to popu-
larity which the poor fellows are obliged to dis
pense with.
FEMALE eAaoINa.
"Gagging" is BY NO means confined to the male
members Of the profession On the contrary, the
practice Is largely INDUCED in by the other sex,
who may have adopted the stage a. means of
pleasure or profit. In burlesque the opportunities
and temptation tor ''gaggfng" are abundant and
great. Who, for instance, has not been charmed
with the wItticisms of the fair Lydia and her
brigade Of beauties, or been delighted with the
side jokes Of the sprightly Mrs. Oatesf Yet It 10
questionable If any Of their puns were originated
by the authors Of the pieces In which the ladies
mentioned appeared. No, they were gags, deli |
cate ladylike ones, perhaps, but gags, neverthe-
less. A popular judge, or q public clown, or .
well-knowp political character has each helped |
naturally the gagging business, and It may be
truthfully remarked that many artists on the |
stage today have actually gagged them into |
notoriety. For instance, the Hon. Ben. Butler |
and his spoon operation 1t New Orleans have |
been all over the country, while not burlesqus
artist that ever visited Washington but that has
sickened tho public here by gagging the Wash |
fngton monument into their ears. The "salsry
grab" ct low estimate, has been gagged into |
-four out OF every i've towns in the country; and II
the people were sick OF the members of Congress |
who originated the measure, they are immeasura-
bly, sick Of the gaggers who still persist In throw
ing It up. -.
eAeoINo IN THE PAST.
An English writer, who seems to have studied |
up the history Of gagging, remarks that however |
intslgfble and eIcusable Its origin 1t 10 certain
that BY tho time Shakspeare was writing the |
Iextemporsl wit" Of the theatre 1t had come to be
. very grave nuisance. There 10 no need to cot |
forth here his memorable rebuks Of the clowns |
who demonstrate their "pitiful ambition" by |
speaking more than their parts warrant. 1t ID 10 |
b observed, however, that while this charge ID
levelsd only 1t the clowns, or comic performers,
the faults Of the serious players by no means o.
cape uncriticised. The same speech condemns
alike the rant Of the tragsdians and the gag Of
the comedians. Both arc regarded as unworthy
means Of winning the applause of the ground |
lings" in one case, and the laughter Of "bsrren |
spectators" in the other. Sad to say, Hamlet, in
bis character of reformer Of stage abuses, failed
10 effect much good. The vices Of the Elizabethan
theatre are extant, and thriving in the Victorian
1t ID even to be feared that the interpretations OF
the clowns have sometimes erept into and disng-
ured the Shakspearean text, much to the puzzle |
ment Of the commentators. Orten as Hamlet's |
reforming speech has been rectcd 1t has been gen.
orally met and nullihed BY some one moving ''ths |
previous question"
At the same time, while there Is an inclination /
to decry, perhaps too strenuously, the condition
OF the modern stage, it is fair to credit It with
measure Of amendment in regard both to rant and |
gag. VI late years rant has certainly declined In
public favor, and the ''robustous periwig -pated
fellow tearing passion to tatters, to very rags
IL less familiar spectacle upon our boards than
formerly; albeit this statement is obviously open
to the reply that the system Of OVERRIDING Ter
magant," and "out-Heroding Herod" has ceased |
to prevail, inasmuch the tragedies and vehe- |
ment plays, which gave it opportunity and excuse,
have vanished from the existing dramatic roper |
tory. And gag, except, perhaps, In relation |
to certain fnterlopations, which are founded |
upon enduring, If absurd histrionic tradi- /
tions, acknowledged stricter limitations than It |
once did, gagging Polonius, Dogberry, Gobbo |
or Grsvedgger could scarcely expect much tole.
ration from . modern audience; while 1t il true
enough that these famous personages do not often
present themselves upon the scene In these times.
Al rule, the gag Of the present period is to b
found mainly in those more frivolous and ephem-
oral entertainments, which are not much to be
oamnined by any excuses with which the come
dams may be chargsable.
UNwARRASTABLI eAeoISe.
The additions made by the actors to certain OF
Sheridan's comedies-slch - Moses's redundant
iterations OF III take my oath Of thst!' in the
s.Schooi for Scandal" and Acres Interpolation Of
Il