Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-09-13
THEATRICAL Bah.
As a Play Reader She Fizzles
Out Like an Egg Phosphate.
THE SINS OF STAGE HER0INES.
Angels of Goodness-Delightfulo Old Chest
nuts-Coubin2tions of Music and
Emotion. of Indignation and
Virtue Noble Dogs.
Copyright, 1891, by the Box Syndicate Press,
New York;

Special Correspondence of Gazette.
If ! said that the city was fairly reeking
with plays, it would sound like an eXagger-
alton; and yet it is absolutely and undo
niably true. You meet somebody on the
street. and they have either been to see
new play, know i man who has written
one, or are anxious that you should waste
somet of your valuable time i'll seeing
whether play would 90. As l play reader,
| don't count myself I success, for those
that l have read and pronounced of great
interest have usually, when represented on
the real stage, hZZled out like an egg phuS-
phate However, il seeing plays, ! regard
myself as what might be called in the par
lance of the colored lady, L dabSter. But.
like that famous dog OF JeromeS, Mont
morency, my tastes are little low | have
too long struggled with the flesh and the
devil to try to love plays that are largely
composed of frocks, gentlemen ,attlred IN
corsets, with plots that hinged on the re-
ligious belief of the hero or the sin of the
heroine and where everybody talked
through five acts and al the end every body
said. al last we know" And | 1won-
dered why they didn't take the audience
into the secret | have tried 10 like these
plays. don't
THE UNDERSTANDING MELoDRANA.
think there must be touch of the an
cient Greek in me, for what like and what
most women like is good, blood-curdling,
eycitino melo6r,ma one of the kind WHERE
fine heroine is an angel of goodness and tEsS
villain is as black as his dress clothes III
mean his heart is as black. The sweetheart
is as nice as sugar candy, and the friead
who he;os them throuch all their difficult
tiaS is not eyarfIv a tin qo,i on wheels but
:, hrisL: v,rno man who IS in with all the
fire ,.omnanies who has an amateur a.,s
quaintance at the police station. and who
has the knowledge of the art Of telegraph
;n,r of writino shorthand and the anotheo-
eis Of the art of nal,e-up. So that he can
sand MESSAGES or annear discllised and res
enc virtue from vice Then. if a little biz
of celIar-aaD dancing is introduced. if some
body sings d comic song and a few delight
full old chestnutS are served up as fresh.
am happy. And, do you know. | think the
rest of the audience are, Life itself IS I
good bit Of i melodrama. II is i combine
ton of music and emotion, indignation and
virtue and vice. We women are fond OF
looking into mirrors. so 1t II Is the nleIO-
drama that suits us. / like 10 see the young
woman from Boston raise her eyebrows as
| say this. | like 10 SEE the O!aSe
young man put on his monocie and IaWn
at this expression OF my ignorance OF The
culture of the drama as expressed by me
| can endure the Shrug and the deadly
glance, ! can. And | can think to myself
what Il pity it is people don't stay young
enough in heart to enjoy what IS really
worth enjoying. The other night ! went To
see play called The Fire Patrol" IL had
a scene in it away out in DeadwOod- where
the ore-cruShcrs were just coming down 10
finish up one OF the most virtuous men you
ever imagined We hung. frightened out
of our wits, onto our orchestra chairs. We
knew he was going to be saved, but all the
same we had the dreadful feeling before
hand that the savior might be too late. and
when he got there in time we all gave
sigh of relief. and laid back and felt as if we
ought to congratulate the Young woman
who owned the heart OF the Young man. and
for whom he was undergoing such dangers.
Then there was another scene. when
TIE FIRE PATROL. CAME rr,PISc IN
to l,een the model younp man from BEING
nnrrered. and il was ali the whole section
nj fernirinitv coulG do To keen from cheer
mo he tiremen. There Is the sort of a play
| like I like a Dlav with 90 in il like To
Ioni- nm in fine gallery and seq the rows of
bovs with their eyes as bio. as sa1ct-rs. star
;n@ down and ,imirip.r Mile AIousseline
enthusiastic over the pluck of the man who
loved her and nearly kicking the remainder
of their boots to pieces as they cheer virtue
Virtue doesn't get IA special amount of
cheering outside the playhouse, and that is
one reason why think it is IL healthy thing
to have it in. y S. Give me the melOdramd.
should like Il meiodrama on tap. If
couldn't always have an ore-crusher, wish
train. running at full speed, with the hero
inc tied on the front OF the engine. Ii |
cOuldB' always have fire patrol, want 4
large and noble dog, who will rescue L fam
lily of children. and, by his eXertion-as an
adjunct 10 Il circus-Nvili support them III
luxury. until Lord Somebody discovers
that they are his own, and takes them TO
live in castles and wear coronets, ana puts
band OF diamonds around the dogs neck,
and has him fed out OF silver plates by foot
men dressed in red and gold livery, and all
adepts in the use of the dog language. In
at all like mine go and see The Fire Pa
may have up to date for the emotional in
the drama, and you will come away with
nice, sweet taste in your mouth, just Us you
do when you have had a cream or pepper
mint candy. instead of one of those ndiges-
tible French ones, compounded OF bitter al
monds and made tasty, so TO say, with the
liquor
BEA FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE ANGEL.
Tho otbar dav, q woman +aIl-ine, ,bout an
other woman finished nm nv saving. ..e,h,,S
yary charifohla ); Tho o,ha,. Iyoman haino
:. hit cul.ions asked. Glow is sha Chart
abIa7,, And tbn first one vaguely said
..lVaII she eyoas In thA bnsnit,Ic and t,l-as
them f,owers Ribles huns and ,ra,.rs and
roads IN tbern .,rd tails To them shnut tlI.i,.
souls ;, Then The ri her woman said ~ IN,
Ill III OF cba,itT, a., [-nn1 Wi r. 1yar,. :,
man 7 would lita IA nut :, a win a Inr,g
d.,sh srta,. IL and cal, II imnaItinanca If i
ysare .i,.t and in th,. n,,hIit ,yorJ of a hos
ritaI I shouid Il is nnssihI. no very ,niser