Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-08-18
LET Us HAVE FARCE.
Some Suggestions Why This Glass OF
Plays Should Be Recognized.
THE LATEST LIVING PICTURES.
A Noted Actress Whose Wnr"r""e
Consisted OF n Coat of Paint-Dr"-
... and the rublic--NtO1tns
With Two sets OF strings


tho spoVe Thus tragedy claims n supe-
r,o-,,v over comedy, and s,in more over
farce. Let man Of cheerful DISPOSE
tlon." writes Mr.. Lecky, In his Histoty
of European Manufacturing 70 prove
the power Of our intuitions-"and OF cul-
tlvated but not very fastldious TASTE
observe his own emotions and the coun-
tensnces of those around him during the
representation Of n clever tragedy ana
of a clever farce. and II Is probable 'ha'
he Will come 70 the conclusion that MS
enjoyment in the latter case has been
both more unmireled and more intense
than In the former. lie has felt no lassi-
tude. he has not endured the amount o.
pain that necessarily accompanies the
pleasure Of pathos; he has eXpenehced
vivid. absorbing pleasure. ana he nus
traced similar emotions In the violent de-
monstrations Of his nelghbors Yet ne
will readily admit that The pleasure DC
rived from the tragedy is OF a hie"e'
order than that derived from the la'os.
Sometimes he Will find himself hositall'S
which Of the two he will choose. ne 1ofe
OF mere enjoyment leads him 10 'he oHe'
A sense OF its nOblcr character inclnes
long 10 consider here az length Why II -
that tragedy is intuit.vcly ackno"icdgeI
Ia he nobler than farce; hat the TACT au-
n,its Of no dispute Tragedy is heH u
be higher than comedy, ana Gomez! j.
held 10 be hichcr than farce. le!hnls
a consciousness thar tragedy ana C9mtt'
are noblcr forms 81 the drama j. IN
cause that the estimation OF iafce Is "il
duly low. Perhaps even the greater anu
more b,tsterous entertainment aioTde
~ farce IS the cause q &c contempt an
which many affect 10 hold IT, for there Is
strange tendency in mankind - q. ,se
thos, who amuse 80. especially II the
laughter 10 nj an hearty and ROBUST y
vhrewd ambitious politician never oareS
IL be as funny as he can. he knows lhat
II & better 10 make the people take m
serio,slv. he curhs his humor as best no
NAV: and rather than be halted IS a wit
ne "a willing by force of dulness t. AZ
tain a reputation for prctundi;y
Now I. for one. NJ least, fan % SOC any
reason why farce should be stamped
with the stigma Of illesitimacy. There
are degrees in the drama. no doubt. ana
The highest places are res rVed Tor t'''-'-
ny and for comedy; but mclodrama
and burlesque and farce are all leeiu-
mate dramatic forms and they have each
m honorable pedigree. Modern melo-
drama may recognize itself IN some or
he plays of Euripiles and Sophocles;
and NJ dEmery. for example. would not
nisavow Adigus Rex. BuGlcsque may
claim as It's founder that great poet. Arts
tOVhan-s and as one or rs irthlS thr
,uth0r u ~ Midsummer Night Dream.
Farce could trace It's descent from
Meva7der onI from Plautus. If it needed
to so further back than the authors Of
the Merry Wives % Windsor and The
Precieuses Rldicules"
one II the phenomena ~ theatrical his
tory q the scarcity Of comedy and the
prevalence OF farce There has been no
Sine recorded in the annals of the Eng
Fish stage when the critics were not COM
planning Of the dearth Of real comedy
ani denouuclrg the plethora ~ farce.
As w look along the lisr Of oh come
die which keep The stage TO this day
" find a very large proportion Of farces.
. What are "She W0uld and She Would
not" "'The Country Girl" and The Busy
BODY" but farcos2 Gollsmith's enemies
,cnouncsi "She Stops to Conquer as
farce. and declared that some Of its IN
:.lents were too low even for that.
sheriians friends cannot deny that
good half Of The Rivals" IS frank farce
ma in fact, II Is the better half And,
as for tn Heir a, Law" with which
Mr.. Jefferson and Mr.. Florence delighted
u. and which many theatrical critics
have been "a prompt q praise as they
would BE- swift 10 condemn were any
living author 10 bring forth such hete-
rogeny Of Instructions Colman's farrago
OF Oidity and commonplace Is farce. II
81 is anything ut all. In fact II is Diff
cult 70 deny the frequent exactness OF
the epigram declaring that comedy Is
farce by an author who is dead.
IN the last half Of the present century not
n few of the beet Of our plays oni favces,
and, though we may think lightly OF those
who make us laugh. surely We ought 70 be
grateful 10 MIR Bronson Howard for
SARA tora." 10 Mr. Gilbert for "Enga ged.'
70 Mr.. Grundy for The SNOWFALL" and
70 Mr. Iincro for The Magistrate TWO
Of the greatest successes Of the Br1tish
stage in the past twenty years have
been pink pominOes." an adaptation 81
a French farce ana the private Score
tary." an adaptation Of n German farce.
Three Of tn greatest successes on the
American stage in the same period have
been Mr.. Days "Hig bonanza" "7-2)-S"
and "a Night Of" all Of them adapted
from the German farces. In the French
theatre farce has been as prolific
and as popular as In ours.
very large proportion OF Moliere's
works took the form OF farce. The
comic plays Of RcGuard are called
comedies and as such they are apparently
accepted 10y the French. But most OF
them. and the best Of them, are farce
exuberant. robustious. and inordinantly
funny farce And in the two great
comedies Of Beaumarchais the Barber
de Saville" and the marie de Figaro"
there Is more than a mere Infusion OF
farce. Certain acts are supersaturated
with II. In this century Scribe and Sar-
dou have written farcos as they have
written plays OF every other sort.
Surely a form Of art which can show
as long a roll Of masterpieces as farce
s. not despicablc. Surely IL deserves TO
be treated with the respect paid TO the
other forms Of the Drama. II IL not as
difficult, perhaps as comedy, which de-
ponds on the clash Of character and the
sparkle OF epigram: but IL is not easy.
II il an art with laws Of its own. II is
not burlesqpc. for one thing. although ii
IS akin 20 burlesque; ana marriage be-
tween the two is within the forbidden
degrees. Like true burlesQue. as dis
tinguishcd from an extravasa nza, farce
demands the utmost seriousness ia its
conception and In it's performance Gar
rick declared that comedy was n serious
thing he would not have denied that
farce was even more serious Farce H.
negative towards burlesque. and positive
towards comedy. /, repels the one. and
attracts The other While farce and bur
lcsque arc abhOrrsnt. and cannot be
Joined 10 advantage. farce and comedy
combine readily and melt one into the
other In vague and imperceptble nuctua-
tons. The farcicai comedy is not only
"a legitimate form Of art. but II Is almost
Inevitable. as we learn by looking down
the long vista OF the drama, and seeing
how very often II has blossomed lusur-
family.
The bastard hybrid called farce come
a.. ..rounlDnf of lain In our iheatrns-a