The herald., 1897-03-14


enough and honest enough to come TO
The theater and analyze my work De-
fore conticmning ii or me, ana among
my warmest personal friends L NUMBER
many of these preachers. l am III con-
stant receipt Of letters OF encourage,
ment and sympathy from preachers an
bidding me to go on, and all acknoWl-
edging the power of the theater as an
educator. and it's right tobe classed with
the church in its divine mission.
"Denounce a theater, a certain build
ing. a .thsater given over entirely TO sus
gestive attractions If you will. but DO not
denounce the theater az an RESTITUTION
because It occasionally presents attrac-
tions you would not care to have your
wife or children see. The theater Is a
commercial enterprise. and 1t cannot al
ways reject the play or player 1t woulo
like 10 reject nor can Ii always pre-
sent that which it believes best ana
highest As | said in the beginning, IL
presents that which its patrons most
generally demand. You must select tnat
which you desire to see or have pre-
sentsd, and so cont you see II you ap-
sent yourself from a true play because
YOU believe the theater as an instltu-
| tion wieldS an immoral influence you
will ultimately put it out of the power
Of the manager to present true pay
and you will degrade the true actor and
/ the true QIdHld tlSl ~ pONSAAA'+, F>~-
derers for vice, because few men are
big enough to starve in order to present
a truth his fellow men constantly re-
| ject He will carry the truth within nim-
self, but he will earn bread and butter
for his family as best he can.
| There are good theaters and BAD
| theaters; there are good plays ana pau
| plays; there are good actors and bad
actors; there are good men and women
on the stage and bad men and women
on the stage just as there are good ana
bad in every other walk OF life. Inere
are good and bad preachers; there are
good and bad churches. Now hold thaI
the church which is bound to dogma,
creed and superstition is an influence
for evil as great as Is the evil theater
But no sane person would dream OF de
nouncing the church as an institution
because some churches do not profess
the same doctrine or advance the same
thoughts as others.
1T is to the credit of the theater that
one of the greatest philosophers and
graEdest poets that ever lived was an
actor-William Shakespeare. If we de-
nounce the theatef we must denounce
William Shakespeare, for the theater
produced him, and while actors of today
honor him and exalt him as a great
dramatic poet and the master mind OF
his day, we hold that the modern play
wright is doing his work along lines
equally exalted, that the trend of modern
art is toward truth Suderman, 1bsen
Bjolnsen, Haupnlann in drama; How
ellis, James, Hardy and Hamlin Garland
in literature; Ennecking, Robinson and
others in painting; Partridge, Taft and
Miss Potter in sculpture; Damrosch IN
music, are striking examples of this
fact Wagner is modern, but where in
history is there TO be found grander
,sio will N do for ap6RrS
and congregations to say, Well, l so
to the theater when Shakespeare is pre-
sented by a man like Edwin Booth,
for if they do that they are electing unto
themselves a god and indulging in false
worship. Every man fills his time and
place in art and the greatest is yet to
come The artist of the past is mys-
terry; we look at him effectively through
the dim vista of time which sanctifies
him. The modern artist is modern
man, we meet him in common with ev-
eryday men and women, and hence there
is no mystery about him. AS Mr.. En-
necking once said. no one ever dreams
that the men he meets on the street and
in the elevated trains every day can be
great"
In view Of the recent stampede among
members of the dramatic and operate
professions to the vaudeville stage, II
Is interesting to note that the change
which at first was supposed to open
short cut to the mines of Golconda and
to furnish fabulous incomes in return
for very little work is not after all quite
SO attractive a prospect as has beer
rather generally, if prematurely, sup
posed
The Dramatic Mirror is authority for
the statement that Signor Perugini and
Madame Cottrelly, who have been sing
ing in vaudeville. have decided to return
to legitimate fields of professional ac-
tivity. They were led to enter vaude-
vile by the pecuniary inducements
which it seemed to offer But these"
says Signor Perugini, ARE largely de-
luson." While the salaries are some
what greater than those as a rule paid
on the legitimate stage, it has been Sig
nor Perugini's experience that the cor
responding increase in expenses for trav-
cling, properties, advertising and Incl
dentals more than equalizes the advance
in salaries, with the result that the net
income is frequently less than that re.
ceived for legitimate work. Another
drawback which lowers the average of
compensation is the absence of contin-
uity in engagements, even for excellent
performers. This is largely the result
says Signor Perugini, of the practice or
the part of some of the leading vaude-
Vile agents of engaging as many gooc
performers s possible without regard
Tor the question of whether they can
provide them with continuous dates
In addition TO this shortcoming it has
been the experience of Sgnor Perugini
and Madame Cottrelly that vaudeville
Is not altogether congenial to artists of
the most refined senslbilities There is
in the first place considerable nervous
Strain involved in giving three meritori.
GUS performances day, as is demanded
IN the continuous houses Furthermore.
says Sisnor Perugni. the most artistic
work is not appreciated is much s noise
and crudity. To recite case in point.
talented young woman sings several
songs with much feeling ard effective
ness. They excite mild approval. Then
she turns aomers2ult, and the audience
bursts into enthusiastic applause Sig
nor Perugini states that neither he nor
Madame Cottrelly turn somersaults or
make much noise, and that they there
fore feel that they are not wholly eoljp-
ped for vaudeville. They have decided
tnat artisticauy it IL certainly not a GOOD
fe.d Tor ambitious members of the pro-
fessioD. and particularly for opera sing
ers, and that pecuniarily 1t is not by any
means what it has been painted
Cissy Fitzgerald, she of the inimitable
wink, is another of Manager Wyatt's
coming attractions The lady is not only
famous for her wink, but is said to be a
very clever dancer. The play in which
she appears is by William Lecoco. the
Of Tet- 4 ~