The daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1889-1890, 1889-11-14
THEATRICAL PROSPECTS.
AS1EVII-I-E IS A VERY GOOD
PAYING TOWN.

what GsOrtOn, the Head of the
Well known Minstrel Troupe,
Has to Say Concerning This Sub.
ject-An AprreciatiYe Town.
"Well. How are you? Youimust have
enjoyed your last visit to Asheville pretty
well to have turned up here SO soon
again" The person addressed was Mr..
Gorton, of minstrel fame, whose COM
pany gave such universal satisfaction at
the opera house Tuesday night. AS he
leaned back in his chair and pulled away
at his fragrant weed he seemed the very
pcrSOnltlcatiOn of ease and enj jOyment.
Yes, ! am with YOU once more and !
am mighty glad of it. | like to give
performance where the people enjoy fun
as much as they do here and are not
afraid to show their appreciation Of it by
a round Of good, hearty, honest applause.
Why have played in some cities where
you had to make Il plaster of paris cast
OF the joke and pass it around the audi
cnce to show its genulncness before they
would even crack smile Its an honest
fact, assure you. | remember playing
before small house in country town.
We tried our best and worked our fun
nicst gags but none of them seemed to
take. All the people were as sober and
serious as if they were at their own fun
eral When the performance was over
a grave, old sober-sides came up to me
and said: 1 kalkerlate stranger that
you uns air the funniest men | ever seed.
1t was the tarnalest work to keep those
ere people from a laughin' right out in
the meetin.' You see he was deacon of
church, and the members of the congrc-
cation, never having seen a show of any
kind, thought that they would take this
i'll and see if had that spice of deviltry
in it, which they had had preached at
them from their youth up.
Did you ask me whether this was n
theatrical town? Well | should rather
say it was. 1t is one of the best theat-
rical towns of its size in the South. Why
there is everything here which makes
theatre paying and profitable. 'Therc is
the large influx of visitors which you
have, and then this is a, rapidly growing
town, town which is continually at
tracing men of wealth and refinement,
who make it their permanent home and
invest their money in home interests
"Of course the town could not support
more than two performances a week.
You see it is not like a Northern town,
and know what am speaking of, for
have Travelled all over the United States
with my company. There they aremorc
of theatre-golng people than those far
ther South. Naturally, since the lower
classes are better paid and have more
money to spend, while here the darkes
will work for next to nothing and so
have cut down the prices paid tormanual
labor.
MY idea of theatre here would be
this: There are always some people who
desire the best of everything and won't
think it the best unless they are made to
pay large price for it, We would ac-
comodate these by giving them the best
front seats and charging them a dollar.
Then there are the good, substantial Citi-
zens, who don't care for style and who
don't think the chief object Of life is to
try to appear better than their neighbor.
The tariff on these might be reduced to
scvcnty-fve cents. Also, there should be
a gallery i'll which any honest, respecta-
bic man would not be ashamed to az
pear with his wife, and this should bring
the more modest sum of fifty cents.
Lastly, would have peanut" gallery
where the darkies could congregate and
we might draw the color line at twenty
five cents. This last gallery should not
communicate with the main entrance and
staircase. In this way no one would he
deferred from coming to the shows
through fear of any unpleasantness aris-
ing. This, think. would harmonic all
the various strata of society from which
the theatre draws its patronage.
You think my scale Of prices rather
high? don't agree with you. They are
higher by thirty per cent. than those in
the large cities. But you must take into
consideration that Asheville is off the di-
rect line of travel for troupes going south
by the way of Atlanta and then there
are no large paying theatrical towns in
the vicinity to help share the extra ex-
pense incurred.
There is large theatre being bull,
here? Well, am glad to hear that.
only wish it was ready so that we could
use it tonight. am sure Asheville
needed one and know that there will be
no trouble in getting the best troupes to
come here"
1t is a satisfaction to find that the the
atrical profession thinks so well of the
success of the step which has been made
towards giving the Ashevile citizens a
chance Of seeing the best plays givenin an
opera house, which will afford the theat-
rical talent every advantage for the dis
play of their ability.
Tuesday Nights Rain.
The heavy fall of rain on Tuesday night
caused the work freshly done on sewers,
water mains and sidewalks, to assume