The San Francisco call., 1898-07-10

- HE latest issue or one or the leadlnS
 dramatic journals of New York says
 that the man who can call the turn
 and call it right, on the show busi- ness for the next season can have
 a good salary as a prophet" A similar statement was made in these col umns last month and it still holds good. Another recognized authority of the metropolis says: Just now the thou sands are asking themselves this ques- tiOn: What is the matter with the up to-date drama that reaches us from Eng land or that which springs up spontane- ously in our own fields? Something is the matter with it or else the thousands would not be asking the question:
 The expert managerial guessers are struggling with this problem throughout the great show Centers of the country and their errors or excellences of judg- ment will be known at the close of the coming regular season. These observations are not intended as reflections upon the wisdom of the gentlemen who cater to the anlusement-Ioving public, but are plain facts, the correctness of which is well known to those who watch the Vagaries of the dramatic kaleidoscope.
 The history of the drama in this coun- try shows that the American people ap- preciate and properly patrOniZe first-class productions, whether they be of the vint- age of twenty years ago or of recent date.
 AS an instance, take the war drama,
 Shenandoah which has made the au- thor not less than $500 GOO, and as a chest nut is now running in Chicago and New Aork to crowded business; but when he presented ''Aristocracy" it did not ill all the requirements. It was too rich in cyn- lcallSm, so much permeated with the cold ness and uncomfortable features of sO- called high social life, that the comedy side of the play did not suffice to create the happy balance that dramatists strive for. Again, take the Little Minister" which has had a run of 300 nights in New York, and has secured a fortune for it's owner. The play simply struck the re- sponSlVe chord and our American play gOers did the rest.
 The people of this country, as a rule.. know what they like in the way of amusement. They are earnest, not excitable, and as a nation do not overlook the serious side of lie However, they can see enough iting the play house, and they will not be coddled into promoting those unin- Nlted productions that, with all the ac- CeSsOry preparation and talent of the act ors, succeed only in leaving a bad taste in the mouth. They don't care for the Verities, the bad-odored, realistic horrors, moral or otherwise, which have been forced upon them, and the failures of such plays have proven the fact.
 It IS strange that authors and managers will not take cognizance of the circum- stance that our average playgoerS are easily bored. If they be. not so, why is it that the successful old-tjme star lecturer is matter of history only, and that the most popular preacher of the day is he who delivers not alone a bright and en- tertaining sermon, but makes it exceed ingly brief. Less talk and more action Is their WatchWord, and some day the promoters of the legitimate will succeed in discovering the fact to the advantage of all.
 While considering these facts it may be well to refer to the circumstance that such stars as J. H. StOddard, Rose Cogh- Ian, COrinne Robert Downing, Clara Nor ris, Neil Burgess, and. lastly Frederick Warde. the most eminent English trage- dian of the day, to say nothing of many minor favortes, have betaken themselves 10 me vaudeville stage. The managerial reply to the query as to why this is thds Is that these people are tempted from the legitimate paths by fat salaries. As the people make possible the payment of these corpulent retainers it must be inferred that they find in these playhouses some thing they are willing to pay for. So far as San Francisco is concerned the eXperi- ence of years has proved that a Well-act- ed hrst-clasS play, made on the right lines, is invariably rewarded with crowded houses, whether produced in favorite theater or not
 The question why. in view of such facts, more such attractions are not presented, has not as yet been consistently am sWered
 A peculiarity of the situation in the theatrical world of America is that our DeSt ana brightest productions are going to London while our British cousins are sending us in return their alleged good things.
 To our sorrow they do not fit They are too superficial, notwithstanding their clever manipulation, and, furthermore. are pitched in a false key-do not hold the mirror as they should. The day has passed when the American people can sSslmllate the works of such men as shaw or Pinero. For the welfare of the stage something with the ring of true metal must be provided if the public taste is to be sratified
 1Ee success of vaudeville has had a paheIul effect upon the minds of a num- Der or the promoters of burnt cork shows ana we regret to record the fact that tney are now laboring under the deusion that the public are really pining for an all-round revival of minstrelsy Even the patflarchal Colonel Jack" Haverly has been hypnouzed into the idea that he is called upon to come forth from his long seclusion and fill a painful void with burnt cork art. However these be war days, and We can sadly prepare for a bombardment by Haveriy. Primrose and Dockstader, West and Trust, Cleveland and Wilson, and Al Field There will certainly be 'hot time" before inc trouble is over. At this pace we will soon be witnessing the revival of the real old blood-and-thunder melodrama which we must confess would under certain cir cumstances, be regarded as the lesser evil.
 The attractions in the local field for the