, 1879-08-17
THE STAGE.
THE DRAMA.


LIE lcaNln1 ClIle3 OIL LnE cOuutE1s-EAECphu4e
New Iork,-of which so much has been said in
these columns, naturally leads = lorer OF the
Stage to ask whether or not this is an evidence
OF the degeneration of dramatic taste? The
loss. in different measure, of the past pooularl-
II ct such stars as Edwin Booth, joseph Jeffer-
SOU. and even of Forrest Immediately before his
death, suggests the same question. Has our
taste fallen behind that OF our fathers in mat
ters theatrical, or has it passed beyond that
which they possessed. or is it simply in traasftu,
moving to meet some higher form Of dramatic
art which the tendencies OF the present might
evolve in the future?
1t may be safely asserted that the taste for
the grand, imaginative works OF Shakespeare, Of
1Iasstnger, of Jonson, or OF Webster, has en-
tirely passed away from the masses In this coun-
try. For it is very plain that, il such taste were
still in existence among us, managers would
find it to their profit to cater for it. The truth
Is that the bulk of our people have ceased to
enjoy Shakespeare in the theatre They will 60
to see phenomenal actor-Hho is or has been
written up into noisy fame-plar Shakespeare.
They would 80 just the same to sec that game
actor play ptcce written bS Tom Taylor or
Robertson.
THEY WENT 10 SEE BOOTH
play Hanuef, not to see the play Of "Hamtet,"
just Is they went to see Mr.. sothern play Dun
drtary, not to see Tar]or's play Of "Our Amer
ican Cousin" Une man had been made the
fashion, the other curiosity, aud SO the curious
and the fashionable went to see rach or both.
It ls yery evident, also, that If the love Of the
grand old drama OF England had not decreased,
<le Gamend for its production would hare
created supply OF people fitted understanding
j. to portray It. This fact is as true In England
as 1t is here. There is in the vast City of Lon
don but one thcatre that can attract profitable
crowds to witness Shakspearean performances,
and that crowd is attracted not by the beauties
OF Shakspeare's play. but by the personal ce-
lebdty OF Henry Irving as portrayer Of one Of
the characters in the Shakspearean drama.
Therefore 1t il to the public ulat We owe the abb
sence Of companies fitted adequately to render
such plays as "Othelio.' "a1uch Ado About
So:hlng,'' "Thc Duchess Of Maih," IA New
Way to Pay Old Debts," etc
As TIE TASTE II SHAKESPEARE
and in poets OF his kind died ont, there arose
another, graceful and critical in ITSELF but which
Tor truth or sub1;mity comes as near to the
drama 1t supnlanted as q mole-htll comes to q
mountain. This taste was, and what remains
OF it is, purely foreign and exotic in quality. It
runs sbuddcring away from the sublime crea-
tions Of the great imaginative poets Of the drama
and seeks protection from them in ihe ottotnans
and tee-a-tctes Of modern drawiuc-rooms- There
the inauities of modern society, which in our day
cannot boast OF possessing even the superficial
wit and airine6a OF our grandfathers. is accepted
as something deIicatclY superior und-hang
the wosd-geuteel. Now IT these modern society
plays @yre natural outgrowth of our own
pictures. possess certain Tatue, but. as ne2rlv
all works Of this class produ ed are simply
adaptations from the French, they are IA false As
they are inape~ In France they are realistic and
useful: but invariably, in passing through the
Apgio-Saxou mind, their original flavor Is lost.
The absence Of sincerity and truth in this sort of
vorE-for the truth is invariably lost in the
translation, and the sincerity is shattered in the
more felt By the public. Sono manager ventures
10 keep resident com pany to produce simply
a series Of what are called modern comedies and
comedy dramas. for he knows that what be may
make on one is almost certain to be lost On the
other.
TIE HIGHER CLASS OF STARS
not drawing in the higher class OF work, the
manager fesrs to keep resident company TOR
star performances, and the successful plays
imported iron the French and German soil sue
ceeding but occasionally. the manager will
keep no stock company for their production.
The actors are thrown idle. and the actors, like
the philosophlc criminal, believes that he must
live, while the public like certain Judge,
don't see the necessity. Obeving4 boweve1, the
universal law Of self-preseryation, the actors
form combinations The generality OF these
combinations during the coming season depend
UPON meeting the changes in public taste By the
presentation OF new p1ars, iB each Of which
each combination hopes to find character
that some member OF it will be enabled to
make passing excitement such as RAYMOND
did With Sc 1e7s, or Florence in 'tThe Mightr
Dollar" It s sale to say that the experiment
thus pushed upon the theatrical pro-
fession can result onlv in general
ruin, because not enough of such charac1 ers can
be created to suuuly each combination with one,
OF, indeed, with quarter OF one Those who are
not upon this hunt will be found searching for
d play that will act itself INDEPENDENTLY Of the
capacities OF the actors. OF such We have had a
Two Orphaus " was one which no mediocrity Of
artine could entirely kill, and ''The Tickef-ot-
Leave Man " was another, in which dTelt phi
losoohy SO true and so great that however bar
public seldom failed to respond to it.; but it is
very evident that neither D7Ennery nor Nus, to
whom Mr. TAYLOR was indebted for the latter
u!ay, is afflicted With habit Of producing such
plays as easily ns rabbits populate warren.
They write that sort oi play once or tNice in
and even that sort Of olav, after two or
three seasons OF unceasing representation, be-
comes stale to the public and the auditorlums
tt,"' knew It cease 10 KNOW 1t more
That We are in
IA TRANSITION STATE"
as regards dramatic taste We do not believe.
There Is nothing in the history OF either dra-
matte or poetic literature to lead us to believe
that in our tongue, and during our MODE OF
civilization, NC will ever produce such another
galaxy Of writer's as crowded the reign Of Queen
Elizabeth It is veil and wisely remarked by |
alacau'ay that, in works purely poetic ana |
imaginative, no race eyer gathers Second har-
vest. lie saws, and Eays truly, that, '*while |
Montf. in ltaiy, has successfully Initiated the /
style OF Dante, and something Of the Eliza !
bethan Inspiration has been caught By eminent !
Englishmen, jet never will Italy produce |
another Inferno OF England another Ham |
let.'" The present age is too intense |
IL critical to be productive and it |
knows too much to be enthusiastic !
at great productions even II it could !
supply them. The machinery Of the stage is too /
veil known by the masses for 1t to produce iu
our day the Illusions It produced in its infancy.
The man who has full knowledge of the ropes
aud pulleys, tile srap-doors, and calcium lights
that arc working behind the curtain eau never
enjoy again the picture thev created when he
irst saw 1t from the front. THIS generation is
precisely in the position OF that n1n- The
rrs.nder
ILLUSION OF THE STAGE
s. therefore, gone, and it csn only be utilized IN
y1yjng US realistic pictures of the present; but |
hese realistic pictures should not be largely i'm
IN - |