New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-05-16
MORE THAN THEIR PARTS.
THE ACTORS EVIL HABIT OF "GAGG1NG."
UNLICENSED TESTING WHICH SEEMS TO PERVADE
THE WHOLE HISTORY OF THE STAGE.

operetta and burlesque have pretty much all sea-
sons for their in these times. but the uhe
now near Is the in which no other type or play
is attempted. To he sure. too. tho liberty or the
actor in pieces OF this borders upon license al
all times. but now again the dread period is com
ing when the author Of the work has no rights
that tho actor is bound 10 respect. and when the
audience has no rights of any kind. At the pres
er,t moment the signs are that the summer en'er-
&ainers will be Just as merciless they ever were
In the roof gardens and such theatres as remain
open through the summer. II Is now beiieVeo 'ha'
the LIQUOR law, in spite OF the wear TO when IL was
subjected last will still be the suoJec' %
frequent reference while 1t ia feared tho, inc
Greater New-York charter will be somewhat dweit
upon and made TO afford material for Jests INC
evil experience Of the New-York baseball team mas
not vet driven the National game OF the stage
and that too will doubtless reappear
spectator of a recent ouriesque VINO haPpeneu
to know the manager ventured TO speak TO MIN
6isnar,oinrv OF the author OF the piece for put
ing into II an intended witticsm which was en-
.ited by its ago and inhrnity to complete rest anu
Quiet "Oh. the author didn't write that' sara tho
manager; ''we let the stage manager ana inc
actors put in the jokes
.'rhen why don't they?" was the next auesoon,
.rd the manager seemed to think that II sounded
uncompnentary.
Indeed the composition or many stage P'ooo
when 4, gets before the public makes the nearer
wonder how much of It was the WORK OF the nun
xvhc
author how much was added by anybody WHO
,honnene6 20 be around to suggest at the time OF
Tho rehearsals and how much was put IN by inc
actors on the spur Of the moment Inc ias' pio.
ess Is the one known en- the stage Us sabsHe'
and everybody says that it is wrong Yet sooo
many actors DO 1t upon occasion ana sonie.i'iie'
the nlav IA really so bad that anything that the
actors can think OF 10 say when the time comes Is
sure TO be better than the text
NOT TO BE KNOWN BY ITS AUTHOR
A few wears ago there farce that was re-
markedly successful. on the programme appe"i'u
the name Of a person called the author ou' 'i'e
manager said that the piece as II was piaveu was
almost all the work OF himself ana inc ac'oio
Nor did he make any pretence that II was gu
p,ece after all But the antics Of the actors ana
tho songs and the dances and the funny sayings
filled n New-York theatre for months one iish.
the alleged author of the piece came IN ana asAeu
the manager for two seats The manager gave MN
two tickets and when he presented them al 'ie
door the doorkeeper told him to go up to the pa-
cony The author returned to the manager IN
rage and asked him what he meant by GiFii's nm
seats upstairs. "Oh think those seats are plenty
good enough for the author OF ms pay VIC
manager replied. The story says that the angry
man went in and saw the play and then agreed
that the seats were good enough for Its autnor
# 1t could only be found out who he was.
Tho great trouble with gags is that they often
make the audience laugh. and the theory Oh
that anything that makes the audience iaush Is
tust the thing 10 say. Therefore many cheap
writers put things into tho originai haiusoi ip''
OF their plays that are intended 10 souho iiAe
gags" When the stage manager ana the ac'o'e
do not find an abundance of such things ready for
them they put them in themselves at the fehea'-
sails One Of the strangest beliefs OF modern oper-
eta manufacturers is that all slang is huii.of'
Some of them so so far. almost. az to believe that
all hurnor is slang. at leas: that is the impress
sion gained from observation Of their WoIk: 10
dress a man and a woman II they lived in the
court of Louis XIV, and then TO make tnen . tfiN
Sion Of these gentlemen quite amusing as INC
audience has any right 10 expect play 10 DC, 5n o
n iarse bari. but the same incongruity for break
fast dinner and G,y Of in anG YeT h S3 IS
need to cite Instances There is not ono opeIetia
IN 9T5e cxc sS' the constant Introduction slang
opere companies Of the hghes G 6a 6 IN wnf 5r
an Instant do ol hesitate 10 a9cep1 "'rS 5a h n
smGst aiS SsaE sh up would doubtess
moraze eompany ha was ryng 10 40 al s his
terrible vulgarty makes the sin all the more deep
and reprehensible.
FITTING THE JEST TO THE OCCASION
But there are other kinds of gags and occa-
sional interpretations than pure slang. Ihey us"ul-
" have reference TO something that Is IN the pub
liz mind so as 70 be understood and are SUFFICIENT
" apt in the situation in which they are introduced
20 have some pretence Of point When' Tor H.
stance q society or convention visits the theatre,
If the play is that admits it,, the actors are
extremely likely TO study some dozen or sixteen
lines" for the occasion. Let crowd OF hotelKeep-
Whole audience Will come away knowing more
about hotels than anybody but hoteikeeper OF
1t is the custom for the cadets at West Point TO
Ihen n xS 70 reaches it's
But 1t is not true 'gagging, because IT Is not mn
about West Point to think Of gags" for them, and
then they study them for days in advance West
fl Sy eli its own Il is never heard anywhere
except at the theatre on West Poin. night ana,
that the cadets OF to-day use being exactly Ike
that which used when Grant rn MAS s
by the use Of expressions which they thought were
1t is not 10 be supposed that true "gaggi1F'
would be permitted at DAYS Theatre yet IN TIE
WORRYING about an exPee,eS SIGNAL Sn sps
That IS not much OF Joke but It must have basrl
agreed upon. An actor on that stage would scarce
~ venture 10 say such a thing on his own re-
Actors do take liberties on other stages. In q
George Fortesque, who plays a womans part In
stead Of making his usual reply to slight from
6esidss You" sa aSs TherS ehsr srs sSs
Rice had owned and CONTROLLED "EvSngene.". but
y Is hardly that eha aG ' connvsd s'H
It is ont Of town that the actor who delisats
town no looks FOR local affairs that Will bssI
comment on the stage. and when he gets one nc
makes the audience laugh with 1t. largely because
a remark on local subject is the more unSx-
N tho town. one popularity Of gags is lha.. q
ell classes Of jokes, they will the least bear re-
,DeatIne Sometimes they convulse the audience
and the man who the most amused Of ell a.
them fnds 10 his dismay, when nc tries 10 tell ms
frIends about them. that they fal! utterly nat
This II may be remarked. is the reason Why some
Thousand OF them are not quoted mere Inc readeI
is really escaping more than he realizes:
II "eaggine" could be prohibited eltogether J,
would doubtless be public gain. 1t IS nltogethel
reprehens.be and usually, to any auditor OF serst
and taste. an offence and NUISANCE But the sps
TOM ia not new. Hamlet seys 10 the players Lei
those that play your clowns speak no more Thar
IN his time were IN the habit Of speaking more
firarl was set down for them They stu 90 oil tht
they will probably continue TO DO them all. gag
icIns' included az long as there are any players
gSn5 any "barren spectators" who can be set on Il
Naueh at them.