Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-04-18
Ill.

Judic has been playing here to empty
houses. She is one OF the most exquisite
artists that ever came to America.
Round the corner Lillian Russell. a pet
OF the FOUNDERS, packs the Union
Square.
Rot reigns. Up at the Standard a comic
opera has been produced called oThe Lit.
tie TYCOON" which will give any man oil
average rational balance the spinal men.
igitis. l never in all my life saw such
lnane hog wash scooped by the bucketful
from every available cesspool of idiocy.
The man that wrote the libretto would
have been tarred n feathered in half an
hour had he tried to fill the place of q hu-
morist on a penny paper. His lines fall
below the candy notices of a children's
tea party. His music is borrowed balder.
dash.
And yet large audiencessit the stuff out
and applaud the oldest and most thread
bare gags, and grow enthusiastic at the
immemorial "ham fat'' that lards the
whole thing.
You must come to the conclusion soon
er or later that while there is one man in
a hundred who can tell an Idea from an
1clcle, and doesn't confuse a sonnet with
a sardlne, that there are ninety-nine who
would quite as readily accept a seven
sheet poster as a fresco Of RaphaeFs. |
ohPpOoO Juab 0NCIy CIRCULATING uDTdfX IN
the country that keeps one uncut COPY of
Dante on it's shelf has twenty-five worn
copies OF Upper on the next shelf. l sup
pose you know that the ~farrago called
'"The Bunch OF KEYS" made more money
than Henry Irving did during his season.
II some innocent lamb should ask you
what form of the intellectual drama had
been most successful in New York for the
past two years, you might run over the
names Of Booth, Barrett, Davenport, Nor
ris and Janauscnek inc answer "Dixey.v
II you should ask me If l thought the
drama is a powerful instrumentality in
drawing the minds Of men and exerts a
wide influence upon the community, l
would answer: eyes, when you put it
in tights"
The problem OF every manager in New
York who has one grain Of self-respect is
how to do good work and keep out of the
poorhOuse at the same time. l can name
you a double score of prominent actors
whose artistic tastes kept their stomachs
empty for years until they took the dive
into popular rubbish.
The moment a manager announces that
he is clean. ambitious and got some pride
in his work, you ask him: elbow big is
your bank account?" What it costs j.
M. Hin to hold Shakespeare in the teeth
of a frivolous public we shall never know
unless some e%nterprising reporter steals
his private account books. What 1t has
cost Mrs. Thurber to keep American
opera on high ground a whole season only
shrewd financial men can guess.
At this moment there is not one theatre
out Of our t~wenty-four thatis presenting
serious or worthy work. But there are
six of them making an exhibition ofigno-
ram and shapely girls who posturize,
giggle rhythmically and show their
legs.
Those houses appeal to the floating pop
ulation-the hotel crowds, the idle, GID
ed youth and the country merchant who
leaves his obligations at home when he
comes to town to buy goods. The press,
with very few exceptions, treats these
shows with she anne consideration that it
bestOws upon the most ambitious and
worthy efforts. The louder the exhibition
the longer the advertisement, and criti-
cism may be said to have given way to
enterprise.
There is only one way out of this ruck.
If the theatre is of any educational or san
itary value, or is worth preserving for its
lost art, there is but one way to hold it in
its best estate against this deluge of SEN
suality and frivolity, and that way is for
capital and intelligence to come TO its
rescue. When you think of what capital
has done for opera you wonder why some
of the m~illiOnaires 10 not rescue the
stage. One OF the richest men in New
York said to me last winter at the Metro
pOlitau Opera House: 1--WE want a ma
tional theatre in New York with a fund
Of a million dollars behind it, where only
the best players and the best plays can
be seen, and it will come. 1t must not
be at the mercy Of popular moods. Its or
~ganization and character must guarantee
excellence, and then the great cOnserva-
tive classes Will be drawn to it. It's in
the air" he said, "and it will come"
Had Mr.. Edwin Booth been possessed
of pluck and ambition he could have pre-
cIpitated this matter.
Just imagine what Booth and Barrett
and Joe Jefferson and Lester Wallack
might do if il had been given to actors, as
it is sometimes given to other men, ''to
pool their issues"
New York is very provincial in some
respects, despite its largeness. l don't
believe there is a town in Illinois that
has ever been so shaken up by a travelling
show as has been this metropolis by Bar
NUNS circus. We have a riot about once
in ten years, but Barnum ZONES every
year. And Barnum has this advantage,
you know what to expect. You never do
with a riot. NYM CRINKLE.