The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1882-09-23
Our New York Letter.
Regu lar correspondence of ADVOCATE.
NEW YORK, Sept. 20, 1882.


NEW YORK, Sept. 20, 1882.
FOUR MILLIONS FOR FUN. Il
Four million dollars is good deal of
money-enough to repair an iron-clad. or
to pay for the wines and cigars of Con-
gressional Committee on a short investi-
eating cruise. This is about the figure
spent in New York last season for theat-
rical amusement, as calculated from the
receipts of fourteen theatres, The Madi-
son Square Theatre with its travelling
companies) took in over $500, 900 Booths
Theatre (where Bernhardt appeared)
$3.50, 900; the Standard (playing PA
tience" nearly all the year, $203, 600;
Niblo's Garden 81 9S, 900; Wallack's (~ith
short season after the new house was
opened) $l86, 900, and 50 down through
the list. wont stop to moralize over
any other possible uses which might have
been made of the great sum of money.
and nobody is Influenced by them any
way. The people want to be entertained
and will pay literally for the service, and
judging from the repairs and refurnish-
ing and redecorating of existing theatres
aud the erection of new ones during this
year, it is evident that the managers are
looking forward to largely increased
patronage over even that of last year.
New York alone did not pay that four
million dollars, by a long way. That
would, to be sure, represent only an av-
erage expenditure of about four dollars
for every man, woman and child in the
city, but when you deduct the vast null
titude who have neither time to spare for
the theatre, no money to ouy admission,
nor clothes fit to wear there, and then
deduct the infants who are too young and
the decrepid who are too old, and the
church-goers who are too austere, and
the ailing who are too sick, you have 80
narrowed the number that the average
cost wonld be a startling one if they had
to make up Sl7, 600 day for the 240 days
embraced IN the theatrical year, 1t is
the floating population-the average of
200, 900 strangers and visitors who are
always within our metropolitan gates
who contribute In very large degree to
the support of the theatres of the city
A compai y atany leading house is play
ing not simply for New York audience
but for Cleveland, Chicago. San Francis
co, Nashville, Oshkosh and a thousand
other places whose representatives have
paid for the best seats in the house.
So in making up the programme at the
opening of the season, the manager aims
to strike the fancy of the whele countr }
and not New York alone.
WHAT IS OFFERED ON THE BOARDS.
The season is fairly over; the theatres
are in full swing. What sort of theat
rioal banquet have they prepared fol
! their cosmopolitan guestsH Well, to tel
, the truth, the bill of fare presents a queel
compound. The
, MADISON SQUARE THEATRE
| is the one bright and shining exception
= to the crazy rage for spectacular hotch
: potch, Here the clean, healthy. yigor
/ ous and natural play of "Esmeralda" il
S in the eleventh month of its continued
b representation. A good drama. wei
g played in charming theatre. 1t issool
e TO be withdrawn, after its Remarkable
f run, to give place to Young Mistres
: Winthrop" which, we may be sure, will
C be worth seeing and hearing, or it woul'
d not be produced at this house.
s wALLACKs
Q new theatre, so new that it has not re
= quired any new redeeorAting during tn