New-York tribune., 1897-08-22
MUSIC HALL UPS AND DOWNS
HOW ROSTER BIALS ROSE TO FAME
AND FORTUNE-THE PRESENT
DOUBTFUL PROSPECTS.

The subject Of the growth Of the music hal.
In New-York is again brought to mind by the
death Of Albert Bal, who surviving his partner.
John Roster, for a little more than two years,
died week ago yesterday. The term music
hall" is here intended to refer to the sort Of in
sttution which has been conducted under the
name Of Roster & Ba's for the last four or five
years, and not at all the old fashioned variety
! theatre. John Roster saw the music hall in
New-Yor start from nothing and reach its
summit Of prosperity. Albert Bial saw it start
a little the down grade. That is to say.
cord:ng to the present appearance Of things. 1t
| is difficult to forcsee what the public taste
and the means of gratifying it will be from
year to another-almost from one month to an
other-that it is not safe to say that the whole
condition may not change again within a short
| time.
In the days, not very long ago, when Kos
ter Bial conducted place of amusement in
West Twenty third-st, which many persons. not
over prudish persons either. thought it
proach to enter, the question was often asked
whether New-York was never to have music
| halls of the sort which had been for many
years popular in London. The answer usually
was that such places were impossible in New
York. because the law would not permit the
!
their prosperity. And in this particular of open
bars all around tn audience room nothing like
| the London music nall has appeared in
| New-York.
| But behold the change that has taken place!
Ten years ago many people who were not over
| particular about their amusements, as has been
said. looked with a sinister look at Roster &
Biars and barn Of place it was indeed.
aside from the entertainments given in it; and
about year and half ago, when Albert Che
Waller came and looked at the audience in the
beautiful theatre which Roster & Bial now oc-
cupy. he declared. and rightly. that only one
music hall in London could show gathering Of
anything like as good quality.
| 1t was Carmencta as has been said repeated
~. who started Roster & Bial's on the way to
become better music hall than the average
even Of the good ones in London. II she had not
done it, probably some one or something else
would just as else would have dis
covered America if Columbus had not, but it
was Columbus who did and it Carmencita
who did Women who had always shuddered
at the thought of such place put on wells and
went to see Carmencita dance. Then the man
ayers showed their farsightedness. for they
that they could get and keep better class OF
visitors If they would cater to It instead of to
|
more foreign performers Of note. they abolished
their old wineroom and finally they moved up
to Thirty -fourth-st.
And then all at once came the great vogue or
variety everywhere Music halls sprans up. the
old variety theatres grew, continuous perform
ance houses multiplied and roof gardens became
variety theatres The public apparently
variety mad. The natural result was that the
nroviders Of such entertainments Overdd it. and
in a little while reaction came. 1t might not
be easy to say whether Oscar Hammerstein. in
| building the Olympia Music Hall. actuated
| more by a conviction that it would really fill a
public want or by desire to rival Roster &
Balls At any rate. the first season when these
two houses competed for popular favor may be
I regarded as the elimination, up to the present
time at least, of the music hall in Ncw-York.
Each house spent enormous sums Of money
for high priced performers in the effort To outdo
the other When either house had an artist Of
the highest rank it would draw crowds away
from the other unless the other happened to
have one too When neither had one neither
could fill it's seats. And then. all of a sudden
! the public got tired Of vaudeville. The music
hall business began to look gloomy, or, rather
as has been suggested before, oyerdonc. Large
crowds would come only to see great perform
ers The two houses had been bidding against
each other to such an extent that the Srea,
performers abroad had come to expect ii. and
they asked three times much to play in
America as they could hope to get ut home
Moreover there were not many of them left
whom the American public would pay high
prices to see Those who had drawn phenomenal
crowds on their first visits drew only Indifferent
ones on their second. The people would come to
| novelties