The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1877-12-13
Not Enough Tor the Money.


Many New Workers who are old enough
to have been habita<s OF Burton's Theatre
have pleasant recollection of the roaring
farces that used to be SO admirably acted ut
that house and that were certain to send
home the audiences in excellent spirits,
with their digestions improved by laughter
and with certainty OF good nights sleep
before them. Younger citizens, who do not
remember Buttons, and only knew the
memorable old building, whose every brick
was consecrated to fun and jollity, as dry,
dusty, musty old nest OF mysterious United
States courts and marshals' Offices have yet
seen these farces occasionally played, and
sometimes we'll played, within the last
twenty years. At Wallacks, Niblos, the
Broadway and the Bowery, up to within the
last ten years, fnrces used occasionally
to be played, and in some houses
the evenings entertainment of our
fathers-a drama, with farce either
to precede or follow it, and sometimes q
spectacle to close or short ballet between
the pieces--was long adhered to- But NIL
this seems to have gone out of fashion, and
now a theatre-goer who pays dollar and q
half for a seat is bound to be satisfied with
q comedy" as some pieces are called, in
defiance OF the critical Boucicault, or $50
ciety play" or French piece Of naughti-
ness, full of divorces, intrigues, fiirtations
and fummery all, like ''linked sweetness
long drawn out" or, in other words, diluted
III in nrJa In ha
necessary space of time supposed to be
proper for All evenings entertainment. The
desire Of the arrangements nowadays APP
pears to be to economize in their
companies by giving only single
piece and allowing the music to
fill up the necessary time by playing
enough overtures and airs for all ordinary
concert before and during the performance.
The music at the New York theatres is GER
tainly excellent, rs a rule; but people who
pay their money to sec dramatic perform
ance do not care about being put of with
diluted dialogue and an extraordinary sup
ply OF fiddle scraping and horn blowing.
The New York audiences Of to-day do not
get enough for their money. A single play
in an evening may be enough occasionally,
when it is q thoroughly good one and is not
dragged out and rendered tiresome for the
purpose OF making it act the orthodox length
OF time. But three-fourths of the single
pieces could be cut down an hour,
at least, and vastly improved by the
curtailment. This would afford time for
one OF the roaring, amusing farces with
which the stage Libraries abound, give the
theatre-goers their moneys worth, and send
everybody home satisfied. II may be said
that we have now no good farce actors. but
this is an error Ii the old farces were re-
stored to the stage they would find plenty
OF excellent interpreters, and we should
not be long without our line of Burtons,
Hollands, Placides and Wnlcotts. IT some
Of our managers would think more of the
people and less of the profits, and give us
back the good old farces as an additional
attraction to their present performances,
there would be no more grumbling ut the
prices OF admission, which have thus far
succeeded in maintaining war rates