The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-05-31

glish management will also take a
sharing risk with me.
Among other home products that
propose TO arrange for in London is a
new. drama and comedy by Martha
Morton: David Belasco's Heart of
Maryland with the entire American
cast. to be presented next season: a
production of Lord Chumley;; the
farce. -Gambols. recently launched sue
cessfully at the Irving Place theater,
and which l shall do here in Ensissh
next autumn. expect also TO arrange
an opening for the Bostonians in Lon
don with The Serenaders-
i have a new deal with the English
authors. by the way" added Mr.. Froh-
man, which not only includes the pro-
ducing OF their plays in New York, but
in their own country as We'll The only
English attra that we intend 10
bring over next season is George Alex
ander and his st. James Theater com
pany, in which theater John Drew will
play while Alexander is here
g % s.
This unbosoming OF himself by Mr..
Frohman induces a Chicago man to
sound an alarm in the following fash
ion:
Is the great American syndicate seek
ing to ger a cinch on the worlds
amusements2 Is this step of Brother
Charles Frohman in advertising his
designs on London only the first chap
ter to a new book of the worlds the
atrical history? Has the American
success of the syndicate created a
thirst that will absorb all known cities
before ii viii be satiated? Is the pros
porous American actor TO be sent
abroad willy nilly? Are American au-
diences to be deprived of the few good
performers who are to be depended
q A se-
ting greedy? After duly considering
these observations and placing them
side by side with the facts of the S70.-
600 Frohman profits. OF the successive
triumphS of the great American syn
dictate, OF the poverty of offerings in
Chicago and other leading American
cities during the season, and the like
lihood of the new deal giving as much
as il takes, it seems becoming to ask,
what is the country to do?
Next season we are not TO have Iry-
ing, Bernhard, Duse. Nethersole or
Hare. George Alexander, who is an
unknown quantity here. and Willard,
are about the only important importa-
tons. There will be fewer stars with
the American trade mark; the Hol-
lands. Georgia Cayvan, Maurice Barry
more and the terrible Hilliard have
been cast back; the comic opera lists
win be smaller: Russell, Fox and
D'Angells have succeeded well enough
to make the tristan scheme promising
for a season: the Whitney Opera COM
pany is on its last legs; the Irish
Opera company will not live. and there
are no new corners on the horizon.
Vaudeville continues Unsuitable, and
those who fall into its yawning vortex
cease to live in the first ranks of the
possibles.
And yet the great American syndi-
cate desires to reach out!
A London season ror an American
organization means from six to ten
weeks to be profitable, two weeks of
which is a dead loss to everybody but
the steamship companies. The season
of 40 weeks at home may be extended,
but not enough to compensate for the
loss to American play goers. The three
years existence of the syndicate has
taught those who further it the best
course to pursue in the matter of book
ing and with satisfactory plays the
various organizations have profitable
tours. These tours embrace the lead
ing cities. and at best give short sea-
sons in each. With a London theater
which would perhaps be as eager for
America s test as are the American cit
les, the home tours would necessarily
be materially curtailed. With London
seasons for John Drew. Maud Adams.
Z. II. Sothern, Nat Goodwin, De Wolf
Hopper. the Bostonians. Henry Miller
and such others as may come into the
syndicate before next fall. like Mrs.
Fiske. Francis Wilson, James 4.
Herne and Richard Mansfield. Ameri-
can theaters are bound to suffer, even
if the syndicate doesn't.