The record-union., 1897-06-13

Tomorrow evening at the Metropoii-
tan Theater the first Of a series of very
novel and instructive entertainments
will be given by Mrs. Lydia Mountford.
She is a native Of the city Of Jerusa-
lem, but of English parentage. A large
portion of her life was passed in that
city. She gives entertainments Illus
trative of village life in Palestin; of the
manners and customs of the time OF
the Savior: Of city life in Jerusalem; OF
the Bedouins Of the desert, etc. She
illustrates these lectures with Oriental
objects and costumery, and is assisted
by three aids who travel with her, and
by dozen local people, whom she en-
cages to assist in the illustrations. She
requires large stage for these illustra-
tions. and hence had to abandon the
CONGREGATIONAL Church at first engaged,
because of the inadequacy of the ros-
trum. Many notices of her entertain
ments are before us, and they are all
commendatory. The Stockton press is
especially laudatory of her methods,
and speaks warmly of the great amount
of information she gives and the light
she sheds upon Biblical references,
making clearer many things of Bib
lcal text referring to habits and GUS
toms of the people of the time of Christ.
She is represented as a most engaging
speaker, and as remarkably successful
in the Illustrations she undertakes.
At the Clunie Opera-house this week,
commencing tomorrow (Monday) night
the WILDER Comic Opera Company will
sing Gilbert and Sullivans original
success, H. NJ. S. Pinafore," with all
the twenty-four people of the company
in the cast, and of course with Miss
Busch as Little Buttercup. After the
opera the management will introduce
Edison's projecting machine, by which
there will be thrown upon a screen life
size moving pictures, fac-similes of
the late prize fight between Corbett and
Fitzsimmons at Carson. These views
are said to be far superior to any Of
the animatoscope order we have yet
had here There will be, if the showing
of the fourteen rounds do not take too
much time, a series of other moving or
living pictures shown also.
A New York paper says: How much
money do New Workers spend in the
ater-going in the course of a year?
Theatrical managers place it in round
numbers at $6000,000.
This may be a few thousand dollars
wide of the mark, possibly a hundred
thousand dollars, but at all events it is
the estimate of some of the most ex-
perienced and conservative managers
on Broadway. OF course such an es-
innate is substantially guess work, for
there is no way in which exact totals
san be had for publication. Managers
do not admit their books to the public,
and if the statements of the glib press
agents We're to be believed $4,000, 600
would not represent the business done
by one-third of the theaters. All the
exaggeration in the business is not con-
fined to the dramatic author and the
stage. The press agent and the front
of the house can give a few pointers
in that line.
Assuming that New York spends S6,-
000. 900 a year on it's theaters-there
are about fifty of them, all told, in
Guiding concert halls and the various
minor house of entertainment-how
much does Chicago spend on twenty
theaters, Boston on twelve, Philadel-
phia on twelve, Brooklyn on eleven,
Cincinnati on eight, St. Louis on eight,
Baltimore on six, washington on six,
Detroit on five, Kansas City on five,
San Francisco on five, Louisville on
five. Pittsburg on four, Indianapolis on
four and innumerable smaller cities
upon their one or two theaters each?
1t should be borne in mind getting
back to New York, that this $4,000, 600
estimate of this season is figured upon
what are the probable receipts at each
theater in what is acknowledged to be
a decidedly poor year, noted for few
successes and many failures. In pros
porous times at least a third of this
sum could be added to the figures.
One might think that it would be a
comparatively easy matter to estimate
pretty closely the business done by a
theater. If the house has had a pros
porous season some might suppose
that it would be four-fifths filled at
every performance. Multiply this by
your seating capacity and there you
are" AS a matter of fact, there
you're not" for several very important
factors have been overlooked
Every theater gives away a certain
number of seats for each performance.
Some of these go for billboard privi-
leges, others are wholly complimentary.
When a successful piece is running =
per cent of the house may be dead
heads. During the run of a piece that
is more or less of a failure or a play
which is being forced for metropolitan
run to give it prestige on the road, half
the house or more may be paper
On the other hand, the casual theater-
fcrhf c-~s n bDo
house would be half filed He would
argue that the attraction was losing
money. AS likely as not he would be
wrong, for theaters are deceptive as to
their seating capacity, and even If
there is half a house, and it represents
money. it means a profit to the mana
ger.
To find out what the season now
drawing to a close has amounted to and
how much the theater-gOers of this city
have spent upon public amusements
a call was made upon some well-known
theatrical managers.
IN regard 10 the season" said one
meditatively. lit has been fair here in
New York and very bad on the road
especially in the West. The times. now
Frightening, have been hard, and peo-
pie will not spend money upon the the
aters when they are forced to econo-
mize upon the necessities of life. In this
city, 1 think that 1 am speaking within
bounds when I say that there have not
been over half a dozen genuine sue
cesses. The failures have been many
while a few attractions have come out
about even
This may seem to be a pessimisuc