The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-04-22
The .palmy Day, Fad scored.


Stuart Robson has taken up the cudgel
i'm defense of modern plays. playwrights
and actors. and pithily presents some
strong points against those who are wish
ing for the 'palmy days" From the Bal
tirnore Lyceum he writes as follows:
-As the pulpit appears to have tired of
its attack upon the stage. the Old Play
goer' comes forward to tell us how very
demoraiizing is the drama of to-day and
the incompet e1ice of the modern actor.
These complaints, though frequently enter
back to the time when 'Roscius was an
actor in Rome The palny days of the
drama are always in the past. and the fee
BILE cry of the decline of acting will go on
forever. Seventy years ago William Haz-
lett wrote that the drama of his day was
lived. and Miss o'Neili and the elder Kean.
Thirty years later the comedian Burton
"a SAM n the strain IN had the
many years ago. At rehearsal, one morn
ing, some one spoke highly of the promise
considerable notice, when Mr. Burton said
The young man is entirely without abil-
ity, and en- sorry to say It, for the great
players are dying away and we have no one
to replace them
The young man alluded to was named
Comedians voice stood pair Of players
who afterwards became as great as he
John f.. Owens and Joseph Jefferson: That
was forty years ago is manifest in the
fact that audiences are far more intelligent
most critca Of da pa h1y W day n paygoers
would applaud bit of false sentiment
wnich would nowadays excite ridicule For
the old fremont Theater. Charles b.
Thorne. the elder, played for his benefit
An Important scene represented the rescue
OF child from burning house by highly
neral truckman. The bad man n Of the play
pose as a hero when the indignant res
cuer replied: Proud sir, taunt me not; ma
ture i'm her most liberal mood never carved
a man more perfect than Boston truck
man. This speech was received in all seri-
BUSINESS and loudly applauded
mot the least important qualification for
tragedian was lungs. and the comedian
who was vulgar, clownish and fat owned
more paint on his nose, the more ridiculous
or ragged his attire. the more he could
audience liked him. l sometimes wonder if
the good old people who rail over the de-
generacy Of the, drama ever read an old
time prompt book. An acting copy of She
Stoops to Conquer with interleaved bust
ness of a long line of famous comedians
reveals gags, lines and sentences of such
positive fndecency as would be discarded by
the coarsest performers of Western min
~These recollections occur to me when I
read that prominent actor in New York
declares that a certain class of plays should
be suppressed by law--an opinion echoed by
worthy old gentleman in Boston. who
poses a dramatic censor and Shaks-
pearcan critic, who asserts that all the good
actors. save one, have passed away: that
only demoralzng plays are successful, and
that no play of distinctive literary merit
has been written in our day-this last as
sertion in face of the fact that the greatest
writer's of the age are engaged in playwrit-
ing
lis there such thing as a demoraliz-
ing play? have heard several sermons that
/ thought demoralizing the worst play
ever saw praised virtue and condemned
vice. Somehow or other | think the stage is
all right in spite of the ravens who croak
of its decline, and that the constant cry
of .degeneracy' Is not warranted by the
chronicles OF enc hundred years ago. Rich
ard Mansfield is doing as much for the
stage as Macrcady ever did, and Henry Irv-