Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-09-22
4 CHAT ABOUT PLAYS.
How They axe Remodeicd Mt Rc-
hearsuI aud Pcrforpnuccs-An
Experienced Manager Talks.


"a manager would rather own good
play than first-class theatre" This
was said 10 me the other day by Daniel
J Frohman, who wns brought up in the
theatrical business, and was for some
years at the head Of the Madison Square
theatre management, during which time
manuscripts of plays passed through his
! hands. "a manager" he continued,
''who owns good play can always find
first-class theatres in which TO produce At;
n manager who owns iirst-class theatre
cannot always procure good play for it,"
/ This remark started our conversation on
the subject of plays.
! 1t is regarded almost rs maxim in
the dramatic profession that every writer
reporter, editor, novelist or poet--whom
q manager meets, no matter how casu-
ally, will sooner or later send II play TO
that manager. For every writer thinks
( he can write play. In point OF fact the
| art OF play-writing is rs much Il gift "a
any other art Success in another branch
| Of literature, even in novel-writing, which
OF all literary branches seems most closely
allied to play-writing, is by no means
certain indication of capacity for play
! writing for the stage. a successful nov
elist is reasonably certain OF writing pic
turesque, imaginative, and even exciting
dialogue. But dialogue is of small i'm
portancc compared to dramatic situations
They form the handspring OF every sue
cessful play, and the writer who possesses
| TIE gift of devising effective situations
and climaxes is the successful playwright
Give a manager a good plot and he
can get the good dialogue by the yard.
| Unfortunately writers do not bear these
considerations in mind. As result
nearly every manager OF a wei! known
theatre receives from eight to twelve
plays week. There is a general opinion
| among writer's of plays who have their
manuscripts returned to them that
conspiracy against them has been formed
among managers. As II matter of fact,
managers, in this country at least are as
anxious to get good plays rs playrights
are to have their work accepted and
produced, and will therefore read through
any amount OF rubbish in hope of finding
a germ OF success. English managers
are less anxious than their American
brethren. For the old English theatres
are rich in manuscripts, and many Of the
modern English dramatic successes are
old manuscripts worked over and made
HtTIll;lUe 10 our tl1lleS.
HOW THE FRonMANs HANDLE THEM.
At the Madison Square Theatre, for in.
stance, every play is passed on, and
record kept OF the author and the story
and source, whenever the latter is given
or can be ascertained. This is done in
order to check the writer in any attempt
10 palm off the play upon the manage
ment under Il new title. OF course some
plays are so ridiculous on their face that
Il glance over Il few pages suilices to sat
isiv Il manager OF their lack of available
ity. Frohman gives me the following in
stances OF the ridiculous plays which
have been submitted to him: The scene
throughout one play was laid in Central
Park; it contained tfty-two speaking
characters, each OF them INDUCING in
long speeches averaging 600 words.
II was in printed form. In another play,
the action throughout took place in II
courtroom, and the audience would have
been Obliged TO listen to the pleadings Of
the lawyers, the evidence and the rulings
OF the judge. A play with some thirty
speaking characters, with a moving pano-
ramic scene in paradise. The hight of
absurdity was reached in play with 300
speaking characters. The scene through
out was laid in the House Of Represents
\ ,
Jefferson Davis and all the congressman
and other public men. These are OF
course extreme cases, but there are not a
few almost as absurd. Curiously enough,
distinguished actors, who might be sup
posed to know the value OF action and
strong situations, are among the
least successful playwrights know
that within the last fortnight Il
manager received play written by
an actor OF great repute The manager
in reading over the play found difficulty
in persuading himself that he was not the
victim OF Joke. These extreme cases
excepted, tine plays usually received by
managers are not utterly bad. On the
contrary many OF them are we'll written
and tell IL good story. Their general
fault is lack of strong, moving situations
Their stories, though they would read
well rs novels, are not entirely available
for dramatic purposes. Often good
dramatic story IL obscured by dialogue, OF
is not properly and effectively developed
The manager, II he knows his business
will at once recognize the possibilities o.
success in such play. He will accept il
with the provision that he will be al
lowed to alterit and put it into such SHAPE
that 1t will have chance of becoming
dramatically effective.
THE REMoDELISd OF THEM.
D Then begins the remodeling. Thi
work is best done by men of the calibr,
of Mackaye, Cazawran, Boucicault, Dial,
and Belasco, Arthur Wallack is also goot
| Mt it. One OF the first principals apDlicl