The sun., 1897-12-04
THEATRES BOOMING NOW.
NAVY VIEW YoRK SNOW HOUSES
COMING MONET.
aoo. Play, and Popular Players Rpjoyins
ac,son or ProsperttS seldom EauaIicd IN
a.. ,,.,ropoits - Not 30 IN Other Cities.

ao.. PLAY. and Popular Players Rpieying =
..,.ou or ProspeFtty seldom EauaIicd IN
en-. uetropoiis - Not 30 IN other cities.
Tbeotricnl managers are oonRrntulating them.
.olro. that New York never seemed to have
moro money 10 spend on tho sort OF plays 1t
wants IN SEQ than Il has this year. Tho amount
Of money which tho metropolis can spend on the
ntricals when Il wants TO is large always, but
during this season particular attention has been
called 10 the fact because more than the usual
number Of theatres arc playing simultaneously
TO business that is extraordinarily large.
The patient New Yorker long ago learned
that the first breeze of success that blows into
n theatre box office will carry all the tickets
Immediately into the hands Of the spectators.
These exasperating middlemen may stand with.
q, six feet of the box offico under such legends
as "Tickcts bought from spcculators are worth
less." or they may be in the news stands Of the
hotels. Wherever they are, the tickets fly TO
them, and the public must pay the advance OF
from s5 to 80 1-3 per cent. Possibly no greater
evidence OF the present popularity of certain
plays and the ability Of the public TO pay largo.
jy 70 sec them can bc found than the fact that
tickets everywhere from two to three weeks
ahead arc sold either to spectators or pho
nomenally lucky mortals who happened to be
at the box office when the sale Of seats com.
sliding in one direction or another.
Richard Mansfield closed his engagement last
urday % 4 his S afternoon and evening performances
drew 81, 900. During tho week, which included
Erh see ss sseBts
his engagement in ''The Devils Disciple
yielded results almost as large. The Thanks.
are said to have yielded gross return of $1,000
The theatres week amounted to upward of
$1,000, AZ The Empire, Maudo Adams PLAYED
$4,000. At the Garrck the takings every
week have been limited only by the size of tho
nt the Empire and Nat Goodwin, who has never
been popular Ar New York actor, PLAYED H, one
to D whs9 bere was wholly unprece
money that could be taken in for seats at Wal.
business during Thanksgiving as the Bijou
Theatre would hold. The Sunday night concerts
at the Sa a tsa
one night to nearly 81 900, and the houses have
been good since the season opened.
plays which are literally patronizcd,. but it
never before had so many playing to SO large a., an
time last year "secret Service was the popular
John Drew, Julia Arthur, Maude Adams, MAY
Irwin, and Nat Goodwin have no reason to re-
sus Sns that Besdsss hfs all as la Ss%
the Butterfly" which contains no star, is just
now playing to as many people as the Lyceum
Theatre can hold. Since Mr.. Sothern played
'"The Prisoner of Zenda" there first no such
crowded houses have been seen
One curious feature of this exceptional pros
perity is that New York alone enjoys 1t. From
'the road come the most distressing stories of
Improbable tours. And some of the cities that
were formerly most profitable are this year
hopeless. Philadelphia Is said to be hopelessy
unresponsive to all efforts to awaken an inter
est in the theatre. Chicago and the other cities
arc nearly as bad. But New York was never
30 liberal