Los Angeles herald., 1891-07-12
Why Not an Out Door Spec
tacle at the Beach?
An Interesting Interview With
Manager Frohman.
The Great Managers Views on Plays
and Play Writing.
Matters in New York-The Limited Mail
This Week-Musical NOtes-Dra-
matte Gossip and Personal
Mention, Etc

Why does it not occur to the enter
prising men who conduct Redondo or
Santa Monica, to get up an open air
spectacle, something like Babylon, The
Fall OF Rome, and similar performances
that the Kiralfy's have given in the
vicinity of New York.
Such performance given on moder
ate scale, aided by our glorious climate
would draw from all the country about.
1t would have to be we'll given, and
would not cost large amount OF money
but the returns would be immense and
the resulting popularity of the resort
would be very great.
MANAGER FRoHMAN's VIEWS.
Daniel Frohman arrived in San Fran
cisco on Monday md saw his Lyceum
company open in the Charity Ball at the
Baldwin.
A Daily Report reporter interviewed
the great manager and from the result,
the following excerpts OF general interest
are taken:
OF the howers-over-the footlights
nuisance, Mr.. Frohman said: SIT not
only tends to destroy the harmony of
the performance, but it is really vulgar
display of favoritism, which has been so
greatly abused that the best theaters of
America have stopped the practice.
Anybody can buy flowers for themselves.
1t got so bad in opera companies that
the prima donna had oftentimes to spend
q large portion of her salary to buy her.
self enough floral tributes to keep pace
with less meritorious singers of the COM
pany, who had managed to captivate
club men,"
Regarding profits from play writing,
the manager stated "Relative to re-
Enumeration for play writing, it is as in
almost every other speculation. There
are so many plays written that can never
be produced that it is speculation in
intelligence on the part of any author to
write one. And yet good plays are al
ways in demand. Messrs. Belasco and
De Mile have in four years written four
acceptable plays, which thus far have
netted them in royalties about 100000
-$50,O00 apiece. Play writing has GER
tainly paid them. But while they sue
ceeded, hundreds have failed. In the
last five years 1 have read or perused an
average OF 100 plays year, out OF which
L could necessarily select only two or
three year. In my case everything |
selected was successful, but there is no
telling how much more successful might
have been others which did not select.
No manager ever vet became so expert
that he could tell exactly how play
would take until after it had been tried.
A striking illustration of that is in the
case of A. M. Palmer's production
OF The Alabama. He had had
disastrous ending to his 1890 season.
He felt the necessity OF trying some-
thing new. He had had Alabama
in his trunk for a year and had
once promised the author land foolish
ly, as he thought) to give it trial. In
consultation with his stage manager,
Alabama, he agreed to close up the re-
naming three weeks OF the season with
it. The result was a surprise. Alabama
took and he began last season with it
and has been playing it ever since.
81 prefer American plays by Ameri-
can authors, because good American
play by good American author ought
to be appreciated in this country better
than foreign ideas. But if 1 cannot get
good American plays, I intend to do the
best can in Europe. l have just re-
turned from Europe, and | find that
although there are many clever, success
full playwrights in London and Paris,
everything seems to be at a low ebb
theatrically, because the clever writers
have run out of material. 1t was that
which induced me to attempt to get
foreigner to write an American play. A
clever foreigner ought to be able to find
plenty of new material in this country
for play which would escape the obser-
vation of our home talent by reason OF
which we will show here, is the first in
stance of a play written by an English
man &C. Haddon Chambers) and pro-
duced first in this country before being
taken to London for approval.
"One great drawback to our American
playwrights is their ignorance of stage
mechanism. Bret Harte, a clever poet
and novelist, failed as playwriter be-
cause he knew nothing of stage carpen-
try. Archie Gunter, whose novels have
been exceedingly popular, has never yet
written one irst-class play. He knows
some strong dramatic situations, but he
has not worked behind the scenes long
enough to utilize them to the best of ad-
vantage. The literary men of the pres
ent day who aspire to dramatic fame ire
,quently forget that Shakespeare was an
actor OF much experience and knew the
ropes thoroughly. HAD ne not OeeI, ne
never could have used his genius to such
good advantage.
xix
AS to the prospects OF young men and
women who wish to become actors, there
is always room for intelligent, adept and
pretty women or handsome men. The
modern society drama demands stage
full of good-looking men and pretty
young women. The middle aged need
not be so attractive. In the case OF both
men and women they must appear well
in evening dress when necessary. The
stage pays larger salaries to women than
any other institution, and to men also.
A clever woman on the stage can de-
mand almost any terms she wishes.
Talk about woman's rights Why, a
woman has more rights on the stage
than the men-at least she always gets
them if she insists upon it.
MATTERS IN NEW YORK.