Morning journal and courier., 1880-02-03
---------a. First Night of a New Play.
barrassment the Actors-Enthlsi. asm of the Free Ticket Holders and LeVilY of the Critics.

How the Preparations are Made-Ens.
 barrassment Os the ActOrs-Enthusi-
 asm of the Free Ticket Holders and
 Levity of the Critics.
 GNew York Letter to Phil Tmes.l
 I think there is nothing more interesting to student of human nature than an audience in New York theatre on the night of a first performance. The average manager, with all his care and caution and experience and anxiety and risk, naturally desires to present the play as nearly perfect as possible. To that end he summons, weeks and weeks prior to it's production, his artists, has the play read to them, gives his ideas, allots his parts, has his first, second, third readings, and then, calling letter-perfect rehearsals, insists that his people shall come as well prepared as though the audience sat in front. The stage carpenters and artists have their orders and their rehearsals follow. Night after night, when the theatre is as dark as 8 pocket, the stage is lighted and the scenic rehearsals go on. This is done not only night after night, but week after week, sometimes, as in the case of the Union Square Theatre six CT eight weeks, until every member of the cast is sup. posed to be as d-letter-perfect as he ever can be. And yet, in spite of all this, in spite of repeated performances with the manager sitting in front, in spite of the scenic prepara tions long completed when the first night comes, ninety-nine times in one hundred the artists are shaky in their lines. waits are in terminable and sets are as difficult Of place. ment as if no such thing as 8 rehearsal had been known. The public, anxious that the manager shall score a success, interested for the author and enthusiastic about their fav orites on the boards, turn and say to one an- other, 'sAdmirable' D Beautiful tWhen this is cut and has been played few times, and they are perfect in their lines and the carpenters understand their business, this will be a delightful play" And the press on the following morning says: ''With ju- dicious cutting here, and necessary pruning there, this play bids fair to be an unquestioned success, and when the artists are more famil- jar with their lines and everything is working smoothly the public will find, etc, etc" :" Now, why under heavens it is so I fail to under stand. That the fact remains no intelligent observer will presume to deny. It is custom ary here and, presume, everywhere, for our managers to send tickets on the occasion of a first performance to the several newspapers, and it is also customary for our leading jour nals to give, on the following morning, even though the curtain may fall at twelve and the paper must go to press at two, elaborate and carefully considered criticisms including the plot and story of the piece, the novelties in situation, the beauties in dialogue and the merits or demerits, as the case may be, of the artists engaged. That now and then, the best-intentioned critic may make mistake should not be considered strange. Indeed, in view of the hurry in which these articles are pt0pdEeQ, au IIo0 IO say tudt, us u IuI0. they reflect credit upon the head, the hand and the heart of the men who write them. The heart? Yes, the heart. If man goes to the theatre and sees bad play, which by tiDkering may be made partial go, knowing the nervousness of the manager, the trepida- ton of the artists and the positive misery of the author, he holds his hand. No critic was ever yet thanked for a courtesy or kindness; no critic was ever yet left uncursed for stern report and record of @ failure. The mana gers, the authors and the artists, as rule, want pufery and slobbery and slather or noth- ing How many times have writers been begged to say nothing; contrary to Barnum's rule, ''To say what you please, but say some thing i" contrary to 8 note received by man now somewhat advanced in years and in jour nalism, but then young in both, from MT. Wallack, who, day after a careful and con- scientious criticism upon 8 performance in Wallack's Theatre, wrote thus: "Your arti- cls gives evidence of thought and study. I thank you for the suggestions, and will en- deavor to profit by them" In this irst-uight house, in addition to the press men, who, as a rule, occupy the aisle seats, and knowing each other well, feel at liberty to express thelr opinions and interchange ideas, are number of other people to whom tickets are sent, very largely men connected with journals, not as critics, but as writers in other depar tments, correspondents of out of-town papers, bogus or otherwise; men about town and people prominent in society, to give tone to the au- dience. But there are also scores and scores of people who go to the theatre on the first night quite as much to see the noted people in the audi ence as the play upon the stage. These are as well known as the regular frst-nighters. There are families who have certain seats set aside for them as regularly as the press psen have their seats set aside for them. They call day or 30 before the production of the piece and pay for their tickets. On the night of the play they are on hand in full dress, and really do their share towards making the piece go by their kindly greeting to artists upon the stage, their liberal applause and their vehe- ment cells for painter, manager, author and so on.