Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-10-19

pie. But farce-comedy will shortly suffer,
or, more properly speaking, benefit, by the
process of dramatic evolution which never
stands still. And it will yield to the in
eyitable. You will see the faroe-eomedy
in its present shape fade gradually from
the stage and be succeeded by the broad
but more refined comedy Of the style of
the midnight Bell"
Already Mr.. Hoyt, who is keenly alive
to the manifestations of dramatic evolu
ton, has gone still further with it, and
given to his patrons "a Texas Steer" and
another piece of the same class, which are
quite as funny as "The Parlor Match" he
claims, and which have Modified the crit
les of Chicago SO much that they have
been praisipg, as a writer, Mr.. Hoyt, whom
they had been wont to decry as base
pander to the tastes of the vulgar theater-
goers" Here is an undeniable symptom
of dramatic evolution at once encouraging
and pleasant-to Mr.. Hoyt, at least.
| have heard it said that Mr.. Hoyt was
the direct evolution OF Mr.. Harrigan, and
that the farce-comedies of the former had
come upon the scene as thenatural success
sors. of Mr.. Harrigan's local sketches. ]
do not see theslightest family resemblance
between the productions of these gentle
men. Mr. Harrigan was the dramatic
evolution of John F. Poole and Thomp-
son. Mr.. Hoyt is the Yankee child of the
French farceur in a small degree, and of
the American humorist in a large degree.
think it will be admitted ere long that
Mr.. Hoyt is applying French methods to
American work, or, more properly speak
ing, French work to American material.
We shall see. This, however, is incon-
testable, that Mr.. Hoyt is the dramatic
evolution of American comic papers and
Amer lean comic sketches in minstrelsy
and variety, so far as he has gone up to
the present time in material.
The American comic opera is coming
along, many people to the contrary not
withstanding, and it is the dramatic evolu-
ton of English and German comic opera,
as the same are represented by Sullivan,
Suppe and Strauss. In other words, the
seeds were planted on this soil by the COM
posers above named and will bring forth
fruit Indeed, they have begun TO fructify
already.
With regard to melodrama, it must be
admitted that American melodrama is the
consequence of French and English melo-
drama Boucicault transplanted both years
ago, and was first husban3man in this field
of American dramatic literature. We
have had dozens of toilers since, all i'm
ported; but Americans haven taken up the
implements and are cultivating melodrama
now. 1t will thus be seen that there has
been and still is a decided and dramatic
evolution at work in this country.
Gbnara- Good,
Archie Gunter, Mackaye, Rosenfeld and
many clever writers and composers in dit
ferent parts of the country, notably in Chi
cago, Boston and San Francisco, are busy,
proftably to themselves and the public
And thus the evolution progresses.
In acting, the effects of this evolution
are felt unpleasantly, fear for while we
are getting any quantity of fun and lots of
taking music, we are not educating artists
for every wax of the drama.
Our people are so fond Of fun that they
want little-I had almost said great
deal of tin every play presented. The
question rarely is: What kind of story
are we going to hear tonight? 1t gen.
orally is: Who is the comedian or the SOU
brette?
Now and then we find a play with such
breadth of human interest and wealth of
dramatic situation that the public must be
pleased and must go to see it. But such
plays are so few and far apart that we cease
to think of them, except as ships or inter-
esting strangers We have met casually
from time to time at sea or on the high
ways of life.
l wish it were not so! / wish that col
laboration were more frequent and common
IN this country. Then might we see a
completely successful all-round melodrama
from the pens of two such collaborateurs
as Mackaye and Hoyt, Young and Harri-
gan and Howard and Bret Harte.
These would be combinations of talent
which might compel results in dramatic
evolution which would affect American
players quite as much as the American
drama and vastly improve both.
VIII it ever be? ROBERT NORRIS,