The morning call., 1894-05-06
THE GERMAN DRAMA.

| The extraordinary success of the new
| German play "Magda" is attracting atten-
ton to the German theaters generally. and
people are discovering that it possesses
| many features which are worth study. A
| hundred years ago the Germans had fine
dramatic literature. Neither England nor
France produced at the close OF the eight
eeuth century works of equal Importance
with Goethe's Faust" Schiller's oval
lenstein" OF Lessing's 'Minna Won Born
helm" But the school died with the Ma
poleonic conquests. There has been no
German drama worth commeLding in this
century until now. The theaters at Ber-
lin and Vienna have been content to pro-
duce translatons of pieces by French
authors. Here and there German has
brought forth comedy. but it has gener-
ally been so ponderous that the jokes did
not penetrate the spectators mind till next
day. Now, it seems, the Teutonic soul is
waking, and while Vienna is attracting
italian composers who bid fair to make it
the center of music Berlin is pushing to
the front with dramas of the neo-realistic
school. of which "Magda" is type.
The German takes his theater seriously,
as he does most things. He will not dine
before going to the play lest digestion
should cloud his perceptions. he takes a
light lunch at 5 or $50 O'Clock. enters the
theater at 6 80 or Z. and the curtain falls at
9 or 10. Then he sups. He rarely ap-
plauds. He watches, listens and thinks
After he has seen piece five or six times
be feels competent TO express an opinion
about it. !Theater tickets are so cheap that
he goes every night. lie is never late for
fear of disturbing the attention Of the
audience. He sees everything. for in a
German theater ladies are not admitted
with their hats on.
A Germans idea is that a piece should
have purpose. and that the purpose
should be wholesome. The two leading
theaters at Berlin are under socialist con-
troll; the most successful of them-tbough
both are pr6sperous-is conducted by
Herr Bruno Willie, who calls himself a
pacific anarchist" The objective point
of the plays produced at these houses is to
bring into clear light the shortcomings of
modern society. AS Magda and her father
represent two opposite social poles, the
one typifying the reckless Bohemianism
of gay life, and the other the starched
primness OF German puritanism. so other
pieces constantly raise the question what
existing opinions and customs are worthy
of preservation, and which of them should
fall under the ak of the iconoclast. The
German mind is desperately in earnest.
Convince him that thing is wrong and he
will hew it down, though he and his an
cestors have worshiped it for centuries.
He is not content to have the last word in
human knowledge taught in his universi-
ties; he insists that it shall be also pro-
claimed on the stage. and IMPRESSED on
the mind by the artificial aid of color and
drama.
We of the Anglo-Saxon race ara not in
clined to take our pleasures so gravely.
We have no objection to weep on proper
provecaton over the sad fortunes of a
pale-faced heroine in tulle; but a little of
such vicarious grief satiates our appeit
and We crave for an excuse for good
hearty laugh The German is not naturally
prone TO laughter. His funny papers, the
Ftiegende Bldtter and the Klddderdddtsch,
are good sheets TO carry in the pocket at a
funeral procession. And though there
have been German comedies and even
German farces-Daly adapted one or two
of them-their jokes are not of the kind
that Nestor would have pronounced laugh
able The Germans forte is strong clear
reasoning; and il, as seems possible. new
German dramatic school should be born at
the close of the century, it may do for
social philosophy and high politics that
which the eighteenth century school did
for history-convey lessons Of truth in
pleasing and emphatic style.