, 1875-01-31
MANAGERIAL INCONSISTENCY.

! ETHIOPIA On THE sTAdE AND IN THE THEATRE
Did it ever occur to the tindefatigable manager
who caters for all classes Of people without re-
gard to age, sex, color, or previous condition,
either Of servitude or of religious training. that
he sometimes commits the most astonishing
! Inconsistencies Indeed, so gravoly does he con-
tradict himself with such sublime indifference
| to the unities does he cross his own tracke that
| he frequently becomes phenomenon Of impu-
dence or marvel OF managerial blindness. This
only upon the hypothesis tlat the theatre is the
handmaid Of The church, as it modestiy claims to
be. The alternative that the management have
| no other object in view but to make money
| one naturally rejects, because as = gen.
| oral thing, theatrical managers do not
| make money. Therefore their motive must be
I sought elsewhere. They endsavor to instill into
! tho simple mind Of man, reduced to proper
condition Of receptiveness by the kneading
process of days labor, through the medium Of
eye aud ear, Of poetry and prose, of blue fire
aid red, Of picture aud climax, of language and
attitude, certain cardinal virtues summed tip BIZ
BageB OF old AZ seven,-that vas before a,ith.
metic had made much headway, or the virtues
had become SO numerous as they are 1t present,
aud corresponding contempt, aod even abb |
horrenee, Of such principles al are not included
among the virtues aforesaid. To do !
which they prfseht upon The staga /
soma (for tho most part caricatures Of mankind !
in this its post-sim'an stage Of deveopment)
saying and doing certain thlnge rs il govereneI !
by set Of principles more or less PERFECTLY |
attuned to the virtues or vices which the play is
supposed to emphasize.
The theory is most excellent in its conception.
buE how ABOUT it's illustration ? The hero
leaves his wife nowadays, with glowing en1orv
upon the beauties Of chastity, loudly applauded
by TINT modest creature and her gentleman |
lover. While he leaves tile room on his way to
caress his mistress, the glow Of virtue fades out
in the precious pair OF auditors. t.1'ho Lilies
and languors Of v1rtuo are - changed in trice
for those equally acceptable (on the stnse) pro-
ducts Of civilization, ,-'' the raptures aud roses
Of vice." Then comes catastrophe, of course,
usually duel, IN which reluctant Nemesis gets
up and ya~ns protest, and goes 10 sleep again;
thers follows general coildonation, and 10! the
lilies blooin again AZ though by "Snaron's SHADY |
rill the ross-leayea are swept away (and bottled
for future use IN hours of LONELINESS" and |
s' marital neglect y, and the 1impid current of
theit virtnois lives flows purely to the sch as
though the fecufeut sediment had all been trans-
formed into 'sparkling gems Of purest ray
Serene"
As moral lesson, we call ttlis inconsistent.
But perhaps We mistake tue managers meabipg ,
overlook the authors deduction, and ara widely !
led astray as to the actual duties of social life
During the past week there have bebn upon !
he boards OF two stock theatres In this city :
;wo dramas, drained aud filtered from popular :
nan hofd man as breathing chatteL destitute | :
II the common instincts Of the animal kingdom,
a purchasabie commodity to cut and sash to s
liant and reap grain, to feed, to fatten and to =
Ioyels were pamphlets not political, but social;
,amphlets such as we're many Of the works Of e
ess5sd eea onarv asi?s' like til: s sSsse1 Do. Gt Ss
Bleak House." like many others. The burden | Il
I their SONG was that Of the grandest event in | 81
istory,-" liberty, equality, fraternity, and the q
ghts Of mun", This was the war-ery va. Of armed r
was in tha days OF -barricades. Of tnm-
rils, and the morning deluge OF the gull ;.
'tine Into the dramas "AIagnolia" and | =,
Uncle TOMS Cabin has been conveyed the r.
burst Of appliance indicated the measure Of ap- B.
:oval with which tho sentimouts Of equality, | Il
aterr1ity, and the rights OF man we're received: F.
henever the leading man (who was ~
u perfect equality with himself, did not the n
,dience reward his posthumous courage with O IA
und of manual commendation When the as= Pr
to Yankee insisted, keeping his temper all tho Gr
lille in the face OF the dfcst persecution, that a. a.
colored man was just as good as he was, did "a "a
It his hearers taking him literally, nod it's say- Az
al hundred heads approyingly, and sincerely X,
rate in thought the sentiment OF the play?:. III
And every colored man or woman in either
1use who saw the play looked down from the th
llcry, because colored men we're not admitted l7a
70 the dress CIRCLE or even the family circle for an
1T matter. This may be consistent, sitter to,
sborate investigation and explanation. but on sh
face it Is just a little inconsistent ey,
THE BHooELYx SCANDAL. ID
The present week We are to have version OF viii
> tremendous tragedy Of modern times; washed be
d whitewashed, cleaned and calclmned, ial
rged and pastered, for home use. We are to Fr
se reproduced upon the stage, IN q diapha- sin
Us disguise Of pseudonym and puppet dressing,
iiuted version Of the Brooklyn scandal The !.
't-fal OF the solemn giant OF Brooklyn is to
10 family aud with uncertain sound in She SUI
le. house where Uncle Tom was nightly anc
ughteTed last week The skeleton is to be Of
aided IN mockery where Uncle Tom ratified thi
les less ghastJ but few months ago. We ~
not Know what sort Of play this II. It WAS VS.
ibited in Boston, but reshed in Milwaukee; p1e'
faA lRQghed QYef il Urodk1Yn mid dbraa4 Ii Aon