The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-12-26
THE MODERN TuEATER.
a Lack of Brains and an Abundance of
Frivolity and Greeainess.

"Gath'S' New ork Letter
The theaters have been managed with greedi-
ness A house is put up of limited area, and the
whole calculation is to get enough chairs into
that space to crowd so many dollars in The
managers do rot consider the occupants OF the
seats as human beings, nor do they name them
So They say: 1--WE have got $1,000 in the
house, and probably if you would ask how many
people there were there they would think you
were fresh or would not know, But the people
themselves do know. They have comfortable
homes. They can 60 to the large beer gardens,
or otherwise spend the nights than by being shut
MP iu a small house with probably imperfect
arrangements made against a fre-and so terri
BILE is the fear of fire in our theaters since the
great Brooklyn horror few years ago that the
word 'fre," uttered by some drunken fool,
would probably cause terrific loss OF life. There
are one or two theaters here which give good,
large seats and space between the rows Of
seats for person to walk. The Grand Opera
house. which was built by Dir. Pike, of Cincin-
matt, was the model theater of this kind. How
ever after it had failed under expensive mana
gers, some plain peoplew went there who had been
brought up in the variety show business, ard
they put the prices down so that for fifty cents
you could get an excellent seat, and for seventy
fivo cents superior one even the orchestra
floor. They trusted to the large area Of the
house to bring good audience. For few sea
sons they had splendid success, and then, when
it was discovered that they had invented out OF
a costly piece of property which had long been
n failure, profitable property, Spectator
came and took the house, Mr., George Gould, the
son of Jay Gould. He instantly raised the rent
on everybody, above and below, and, of course,
he leased the theater to Mr.. Abbey, who has
been fol- some years experimenting with the
American public to how much they can
be made to pay for their amusements
under the spur of novelties. Men
have To consider these 0ueStiOuS the
public press with regard to the whole of society.
This perpetual putting of actors and managers.
and inventing fights between them, and drawing
them into the reading columns of the paper.
where they pay nothing. is not to be excused
unless it serves some general purpose That
purpose, in the case of the suit Of Sealchi
against Abbey, means that our people will con
slider the artist when it is an issue OF avarlce be-
tween the artist and the manager.
We do not think that great glory in this
country is Mr. Abbey. If his name had never
come forward the theater would still have ex-
isted and perhaps have been III a better condl-
tion than now. 1t is certainly a singular race of
men who would rather hear newspapers talk
about the manager than about the people of
genius he retains, chiefly because they do not
possess any intellect nor much morals,
and there is too much manager and
TOO little talent A country of the extent of
ours should have its own drama, or at least
fair proportion of the dramatic entertainment
should be germane to the people. II pieces are
not forthcoming for the managers it is because
the managers themselves have no respectable re-
lstions with the creative talent of the country.
When Shakespeare lived we had manager who
could write play. Looking around the United
States to-day for a manager who can write a
play, the very jackasses seem to bray the echo.
The modern manager is what is called nervy
fellow He gets money somehow or other and.
overlooking whatever is humble or bashtul near
him, he announces the magnificent purpose to
have nothing which has not been European
success. So he crosses the ocean and files, with
nothing but money, caveat on whatever is
going to he produced at the Bull and Dog or Hen
and SIumpet. He then returns to his country,
puts his thumbs in his button holes, expands
his abdomen. and says he has got the success
When the success comes it is some ridiculous
tabeau or sensation like In the Ranks" or
''rhe Lights of London" or The World" or
"Taken from Life" and it will not stand up and
be played, Notwithstanding all the scenery
which has been brought with it The people
VINO saw the first piece OF this kind, with a sort
of unpatural interest, got enough the first time
Next our massive manager says he will go to
the Continent and bring out something stun
ming. and let her play anything she likes. So
he fetcheS Bernhardt over some of tho
played-ouJ French prime DONNIE and fills the
steamer with nasty ballet girls and then we
have the matter worked up gloriously. The
people turn out and they see some Partisan
coeOtte from forty five to fifty years old, with her
chorus endeavoring to sustain her when she
strikes a string by herself The people go away
and tell their friends to stay at home that week
and make moasseS candy. n some of the
theaters, we have pretensons to a stock com
pany, but the notorious relations of the
actresses with coarse and vulgar men about
town have emptied the seats. Both women and
men lose their moral grip when they dissi-
pate their self-respect Consequently our
American theater is just now laboring
under plethora of Investment and an
absence of wit. Every town has got one or
two opera houses. so-cailed: and the whole bust
of DreSPnfiOp pQTfOrrn tO tba mn blip il
kind of convict-contract job. A piece makes
what is called hit Of month or two in New
York, and then four or FIVE companies are got
up and all sent out on the road at once and each
one announced to be the original company which
is playing the piece in New York There is as
much difference in these performances between
the different companies as between the weather
IN different parts of the country. You see a
piece of not much consequence in itself and it
is frequently saved by one interesting face.
Money is the universal god of everybody on the
stage. There was time when Macready went
wandering over England and playing parts
night after night. He finally acquired the
knowledge and Judgment to be a manager,
who brought up the greatest theater in Lon
don, and by his presentation of the old and
new plays gave the last glory to the British
stage. There has been little worth consider
ing the British stage, which includes our
own since the day of Macready. AT that time
Macreadys consideration for obscure men, like
Sheridan Knowles or untried men. like Bulwer.
extended to the United States, and we produced
men like DR. Bird aud Penn Smith, and Stone,
who made very respectable dramas in the same
line. The Gladiator" was produced abreast of
Macready and his two plays of "Richeeu' and
the LADY of Lyons" At the same time Knowles
was producing "Virginius' and other pieces In
those days the theater maintained ladies on the
stage, as can be seen by the marriages many of
the actresses made, like Miss O'Nie and Fanny
Kemble and her sister The tour of Fanny KEN
BILE and her father to this country was a revolu
ton in social life. as well as in the drama 1t
to be noticed that the play of "Riehelieu" |
have just mentioned gets its main support at
our theaters from tine best Roman Catholics. The
play In itself is interesting and highly dra.
matte, but it lahors to do good work in two