Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-08-09
Playwrights' Profits.

The New York correspondent of the Cincin-
natl Gazette contributes to that paper the fol-
WHAT FOREIGN PLAYwRIGHTs RECEIVE HERE.
The price Miss Davenport paid for OLIVIA"
tempts me to say something Of playwrights'
pros These are really II the
small proportion, perhaps, OF what he should
receive. In London, j. q. Byron has Just re-
eeived $4,000 for four years use of "Our
BoyS-a handsome return, of course, from a
single play. which could not have occupied
him more than few months; but it is to be
onsidered, on the other hand that the play
ran all through those four years, and cOiued
an immense sum for the managers. Such men
as w. 5. Gilbert receive $1,000 for a single
comedy and such actors as Sothern proceed to
make $4,000 year or so out of it. Then, on
the other hand, again, the piece may fail, and
the $1,000 is sunk. Foreign playwrights are
making pleasant little sums in addition to
right law does not prevent this, as the com
mon law protects an authors property in his
manuscript. The disposal of such plays for
the American market has grown to be a bust
ness in Paris, and has necessarily assumed
equal proportions here. Mr.. Michaelis, of
Paris iu1 sells lis French plays to New York
Americans living in Paris to translate for
american readers, and acts as a sort OF lite
this city, Samuel French & Son, the dramatic
publishers, have taken the lead in this gu Ger
traffic in ideas. They are understood to have
paid $4,000 for the use of IA Celebrated Case
splendid success that they are likely to reap a
pleasant profit, even on this generous royalty.
They also own the American right to "Diplo-
equally liberal sum-, and certainly will
receive like profit. M. Sardou and
MN. D'Ennery and Gordon, the authors
braled Case, would scorn $1,000 probably as
the price of a play, but thrown in merely as an
extra plum, it can hardly be disagreeable.
THE PROFITS OF NATIVE AUTHORS.
OF native authors there are few whose plays
deserve the name, aud yet all of them make
probably every year what a college professor
or young journalist would look upon as a
Some are paid royalty on each performance
until the total reaches certain sum-if it ever
does; some are paid royalty on every per
instance, brought out at Days, would pay the
author $25 for each performance, or $l75 for
six nights and matinee. So that play which
ran 100 nights s0 would bring in at this one thea
will be wanted in other cities-in Boston, Gin
cinnati, Chicago. and st. Louis. Sometimes
one OF these light plays, the manuscript of
magazine article, will be running in three
cities at once and bringing in its author SIS a
night The rate runs down, however, west of
New York, sometimes to So and in the smaller
cities, like Detroit, even to SIS and SD. In
DeadwOOd l suppose they would hardly pay
i nave known l1Snt, comic play, costing
no great labor and having comparatively little
originality, to bring its author in over 5000
the first year and comfortable sums for several
years after. Then there are other ways of dis
posing of plays. An author who thinks of
something that would suit certain star u
goes and reads him his plot, and finds out
what terms he can get: Then, too, an actor
will conceive the idea of a character, and will
call in an author, to whom all the main ideas
catch words, and comic remarks the actor
has been able to get together will be handed
| over with instructions TO put plot around
them. For very poor piece of work of this
description have known the play carpenter
| to be guaranteed royalty on each perform
ance until it should reach 5000. Il don't
think it ran long enough, but that was his
fauIt.) Sothern has just put into w. s. Gil
bert's hands an idea which he has been turn
ing over in his mind for eight or nine years. II
| IS that OF "Dundreary'S Private Theatricals, >
with Dundreary, at the last, as an amateur
| Hamlet" Heaven save the mark, how funny
| that will be! And if Mr.. Gilbert gets hi.
| usual price, 1t will hot be less than $1,000
| Mark Twain exacted from John T. Raymond
one half of all his receipts for Colonel Sellers
/ leaving Raymond to pay all his expenses Ou
| Of his half, and cleared probably $3O,OO0 the
| FIRST year. And yet it is SO difficult to write
| good play, that of the hundreds of manu-
| scripts turned in at the theaterS every year
| practically none are ever used, and WallacI
| proposes, during the Coming season, to reviv.
| the Colleen BaWQi ROUNDABOUT