The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-04-16

flowers, and in that way got their pres
ent name, "fiowery paths" AS popular
actor struts along this walk In manner
that would make palmy-day tragedian
green with envy or work TO hide his face
from the sight OF man, his name Is
hurled at him in tone that seems
defiant. II is the popular form OF APP
plause; hand clapping has but lately
been introduced.
Ten or twelve years ago STEELE Mackaye
introduced in the Madison Square Thea
ter. New York, revolving stage, which,
owing to the height OF the scenery, was
not a success. Nevertheless he was credit
ed with a very clever invention. But Tor
nealfy a century the Japanese have been
using 1T instead OF sliding scenery.
The scenery and accessories are excel
lent. The miniature scale of things
Japanese makes a realistic scene with fe-
like accuracy possibly. i have frequently
seen stage pictures OF street scenes with
several houses. jinrikishas, horses ahd
hundred persons, all illuminated by
daylight, which greatly increase the real
ity of the illusion.
The plays draw rather on the. physical
and nervous than on the mental force
AS result each stage is provided with a
large stone bathtub. in which the actors
find relaxation several times day. The
water used is about 10 degrees Fahren-
heit, a degree unbearable to an Ameri-
can, but always used by the japanese.
On the lett side OF the stage is sort OF
menagerie cage. in which the orchestra
is kept. / must confess japanese music Is
beyond me. IL anticipates Wagner. A
monotonous twanging OF aimsen and
an occasional shrill shrek from flute
punctures the performance. There Is also
bass drummer, who plays star engage
ment on the advent OF each ghost. On the
opposite side is still another cage for the
~ al nQ n
days. In a sing song voice they explain
the actions and almost thoughts OF the
characters during pantomime.
The puppet show OF medieval days Is
responsible for other blemishes. With
the advance Of plays and actors IL is sur
prisjng these ime-honored customs are
not dispensed with. They still retain the
black-robed super who acts as prompter
and master of ceremonies. He Is perfectly
at home at any place on the stage during
an act, arranges the actors clothing, and
removes dead bodies and other superfiu-
Gus articles. Such thing could only oc-
cur in this country OF vivid imagination,
parlor decorations and people are moved
to tears by sigh. He is unobserved by
the Oriental eye. Custom and imagina-
tion have thrown the mantle of invisible
ity over him.
The japanese stage has it's blood-and-
plays anu TANK urdtnHs, dS well
as It's stories of feudal days. I'm the
theater only are the old nstional customs
illustrated, and magnificent costumes Of
former baTharic splendor are seen. One
play is very popular with foreigners on
account OF the introduction OF trailing
trousers with two feet OF cloth extending
over the feet, and worn in the Shogun
days, so that the subjects, even while
walking, might have the appearance. of
kneeIing TO their sovereign.
Plays are usually the joint effort OF a
star, manager, scenic painter and hack
writer. The manager clips from news
papers accounts of murder, fire escape,
or some heroic deed, and submits them to
the star. A hack writer at the dictation
of the star shapes the plot and the actors
are allowed to fill in their parts in order
to show themselves to the best advantage.
The result Is play of unequal merit,
"confusion worse confounded, f" and more
subplots than a dime novel. As might
be expected from this method, each actor
keeps himself in the foreground, conse-
quently there are several leading parts.
Realism is carried to an extreme In the
climax of a recent JspapesesChine war
drama a new set of actors to play China
men was necessary every night. Blood
was freely drawn and they were battered
about in n manner that aroused the Wild
est enthusiasm in the gallery, but was
rather hard on the actors. Thick wigs
with blood saturated sponge concealed
under the hair are used with good effect.
In his death agony an actor wildly
clutches his head and, pressing the
sponge, causes a stream of BLOOD to flow
down his face. LEWIS q. STEVENSON.