Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-05-25
NOT WORTH THE WHILE.

NOT WORTH THE WHILE.
Joseph Cook Thinks the Modern Stage
Hasn't Enough Merit to Attract.
Rev. Joseph Cook, of Boston, one Of the
best known preachers. lecturers and writers
of our day, sends the following:
81 do not attend the theater myself, and
feel under no temptation to do so. am an
enthusiastic student of Shakespeare, never
theless. Some advocates of the stage have
insisted that as the theater owes its exist
ence to the dramatic instinct in man it can
never be preached or written out of life. but
like the poor, we must have it always with
us, and that therefore it is the duty o
Christians to reform it by so patronizng it
as to create a public sentiment in favor of
pure and good plays, elevating and refining
in character, and thus to compel theatrical
managers to produce only such. Now, when
we take into consideration the fact that in
the city of New York, with its more than
million Of inhabitants, there are but 70, 600
Protestant Christians, it seems scarcely
credable that so small a minority could
possibly be able TO dictate the character OF
an amusement that could rely for its support
upon so large a number OF other patrons.
The same state of things exists in propor-
tional degree in other cities.
1T Is believed by many that the theater
is now more largely patronized by church
members than at any other period in the
history Of our country. There has been a
general relaxation from what has been
called the 'Puritanical strictness' that pre-
vailed half century ago with regard to
amusements, yet every dramatic critic and
every actor will frankly admit that the
character of the great majority of the plays
produced was never so bad and worthless as
now.. Instead of standard tragedies and
comedies abounding in merit as literary
compositions, the work of men of brains and
genius, breathing noble sentiments and
teaching high moral lessons, interpreted by
men and women of intelligence, who had
passed through long apprenticeship and
training in their a-t-we now have the
so-called farcical comedies, without sense,
plot or purpose, consisting of ques-
tionable songs, dances and buffoonish antics
strung together by the coarsest slang in
lieu of dialogue, or we have Spectacular
plays whose principal attraction consists of
young women attired in that style of dress
of which the famous French wit, Tallyrand,
once said that it begins great deal too late
and ends great deal too soon; or We have
the 'adulterous heroines of the French
school-the Cdmilles, Frou Frous. Adrienne
Lecouures, Coras and Miss MAltons, SPLEEN
did animals in whose sufferings and innate
goodness we entirely forget their true char
acter and at length come to regard their
vices as not only to be wholly overlooked,
but as almost worthy of emulation. The
gradations by which we arrive at this state
of feeling are we'll expressed by Pope:
Vice is monster of such dreadful mien
That to be dreaded needs but to be seen,
But seen too oft, familiar with her face.
We first endure, then pity, then embrace.
"The patrons of this class OF drama would
do we'll to remember Mr.. Samuel Johnson's
remark to Boswell about a real-life Miss
Mutton OF their day: Sir, never allow
yourself to associate vice and virtue in the
character of the same individual
ITO determine whether or not the Amer
lean stage Is intellectually and morally de-
clining, daily newspaper in Western
city some time since gave list and review
OF ALL PLAYS produced at four principal
theaters during the preceding year. 1t
showed that at one of these establishments
13 evenings had been devoted to the legiti-
mate drama, while all the other perform
ances had consisted of what the critic |
STYLED trash At another there had been |
80 performances Of good plays and all the |
remainder had been worthless. At third |
the standard drama had been played 18 |
been meretricious. At the fourth and last |
all but two weeks had been given up to |
trash
In view of this state of things it becomes
question not only whether it is wrong or in !
consistent for Christian to visit the thea |
ter, but whether it is worth while for any |
one to do so-at least until the theater shall |
Danish from its stage farcical comedies, |
adulterous heroines and spectacular plays, |
of which feminine nudity is the principal |
feature, and shall replace them with good |
plays worthy of intelligent consideration.
"Old Mr.. Slearv, the lisping circus man.
ager in Charles Dickens novel of Hard |
Times says to Mr.. Gradgrind: People |
can't be alwayth working nor alwayth |
They mutht be amuthed. Tho |
do the kind thing Thquire and make the
betht of nth, not the wortht.' But those |
who have tried to make the best of the
stage-who have taken it in hand |
far signally failed. Mrs. Hannah More, |
the Tenth Muse, as the great actor, David |
called her, tried it by writing good !
plays which we're produced with commend |
alton, but she finally gave up all hope of |
efecting any permanent good, and gave up |
writing for the stage with the following re-
marks: 1T is generally the leading object of
the dramatic poet to erect a standard OF
honor in direct opposition to the standard
of Christianity; and this is not done subor-
incidentally, occasionally, but
worldly honor is the very soul and spirit
and life-giving principle of the drama.
Honor is the religion of tragedy. It is her
moral and political law. Fear and shame
are the capital crimes in her code. Against
these all the eloquence of her most
powerful pleaders; against these her
penal statutes-pistol, sword and poison
are in full force. Injured honor,
can only be vindicated at the point of the
sword; the stains of injured reputation can
only be washed out in blood. Love. ieal-
ousy. ambition, pride, revenge, are too often
elevated into the rank of splendid virtues,
and form a dazzling system Of worldly
in direct contradiction to the spirit
of that religion whose characteristics are
charity, meekness. peaceabieness, long-suf-
fering, gentleness and forgiveness
SIT is possible that in a thoughtful con-
sideration of these words of Mrs. More,
there may be found a sufficient answer to
your question.
'Yours very respectfully,
JOSEPH CooK."