The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-10-05

tne manager OF Cntlr nine one VINO u
also player, Lyman Is. Grover pleads
for Il playcr-managcr In theatrical af-
fairs. In 'hls opinion the ordinary man.
ager Is 1.-THE worst possible Judge of
plays. And why should he not be thus
distinguished? His function IL that of
financier and arranger extraordinary
of business details. Neither by train
ing nor education Is he capable Of deter
mining the art and dramatic aspects OF
q literary product. He would be quite
as much at home with a case OF arpen-
dicltls or a problem In constitutional
law. On the principle that the Jack Of
all trades IL master OF none, the mana.
ger who knows all about routes. print
Ing, railroad contracts, advertising.
salaries, rent, percentages, and such
matters In general, Is quite well enough
informed for one man. No pent-up
Utica contracts his powers. His work
Ia laid out for him In such ample meas
ure particularly If ne has "A dozen COM
panies to look after, that 1t Is quite i'm
possible to add the burden of play ex-
aminer, drill master for the actors and
artistic producer of plays in general
These are distinct and important
the most lmpOrtant-,branch Of n dill
cult profession, and no man who does
not possess the soul of an actor and the
lHSte VI uH aTtist S1iil Hope W HuS''tu III
handling the necessary details with
skill and discretion. The actor-mara-
ger Is the legitimate solution of the
whole matter. Leaving bill posting and
mere financial details 70 the business
manager, he can apply an artistic in
stinct to the selection and production of
plays with reasona BILE expectation Of
success. Henry Irving, willard, Beer
bohm Tree, Wyndham, Toole, Barrett
and the l[endals belong to the English
contingent of actormanagers who have
fully demonstrated this theory. Richard
Mansfield, Otis Skinner. the Tabers and
other producers are adding American
testimony to the same conclusion"
The same excellent writer. In his
weekly budget IN the Chicago Times
Herald thus pointedly discusses the
recent failure of the imported sex-prob-
lem play. 'John-a-Dreams": "Re-
spectacle human beings-and most of
those who attend the theater may be
called respectable-are not necessarily
absorbed lin the vagaries of opium
fends and Magdalens of all sorts and
conditions, from the defiant and unre-
pentent Mrs. Tanqueray to the sorrow
ful Kate of "John-a-Dreams," who
never feels quite easy in her own mind
unless she Is confessing to some one the
sins of her past. Those who are afraid
that some one will purify the drama
when they are not looking, and thus de-
prve them of ravishng studies in gar
bage box philosophy. need not waste
any tears over the narrownesS of de-
cency. If they wish to take refuge in the
dramatic slums and cry aloud that the
exhibitions of vice and vicious people
is for the healing of the nations. no one
will object. There is no law forbidding
distempered people to find beautiful
perspectives in muck heaps. but it Is
altogether too much to insist that sem
sible and wholesome persons shall SYM
pathiZe with them in their visions.
Plays of the John-a-Dreams' class are
chiefly Objectionable on account of their
utter worthlessness. They do not hold
the mirror up to nature either in point
of character or incident, but are
strained, artificial and often ridiculous.
developing false theories of life and
Offering the shadow of social philosophy
In place of its substance. The building
of play around morbid and hectic
characters, solely for the purpose of eX
hibiting those characters, is vicious and
unwholesome work, particularly so
when the play Is essentially weak. in
coherent and shiftless.''
De Wolf Hopper tells an amusing story
of Alfred Klein, the dlminutive come
dian of his company. When both We're
members of the McCaull Opera COM
pany, Fall1a' was produced. and at the
end OF the second act a wild and deliri-
Gus dance was indulged in by Hopper
and Klein. This effort achieved such
enormous success that the curtain was
ftnr t1,a a. 1.
of course, a different dance each time.
Hopper was by no means prepared for
this success, and in the excitement of
the moment. inventing haphazard. as
he had to, he flung the little roly-poly.
Klein, through space In a way that
threatened the absolute collapse of said
Klein. Hopper went to his dressing
room after this, and in his calmer mo-
ments realized that If he hadn't killed
Klein, he had come very near 1t. At
this instant he heard his miniature
partner coming up the stairs in very
labOred fashion, and he Immediately
settled down and prepared himself for
a profound kick. Klein eventually ap-
peared at the door of the dressing
room, with Niagaras of perspiration
flowing from him. and paralyzed Mr..
Hopper with the remark: Gee whizz,
Hopper, ! had no idea there was so
much in my part before"
This is now the New York Herald
comments on the premiere perform
ance, the other evening. of 1.-The Gay
Farisians," a Frohman production of
pretentious character: whether IL Is
seven or eight thousand times that
farces have been built around the idea
of Jealous wife who seeks to revenge
her husbands neglect by initiating his
reprehensible conduct. there are no stat
lstics at hand to show, but every per-
sistent theater-goer has seen at least q
hundred of them, some rough and
noisy, others gravely intent on teach
ing something or other which all the
world would admit as a self-evident
proposition. That another has been
added to the list does no particular
harm The present specimen, like SO
many of it's predecessors, begins with
the quarrel between q young husband
and wife. and then the Inevitable best
friend suggests retaliation in kind TO
the injured wife. The suggestion is. of
course, accepted and away 20 she and
the friend to that familiar restaurant
where the characters in the play chase
each other through doors and up and
down stalrwnys until each Of them has
acquired the name of somebody else
ard o general cataclysm Is impending.
This all happened I'm the regular way
and such observers as had not seen such
happenings on too many other stages,
were amused more than little. They
even laughed when Mr.. Ferguson, who
played the tempters role, was made IN
by the smoking of long cigar. For
tunately he disappeared through one of
the many doors Just before his na,,~aa
became uncontrollable. A raid by the
police brought events to climax soon
after his recovery and return, and then
all the mistakes as to identity were
either confirmed or cleared away 10
everybody's satisfaction"
II II Il
Upon the arrival Of Comstock's moy.-
ster minstrels In this city today the