The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-05-16
OUR new YORK LETTER
WAR WITH SPAIN AND ITS EFFECT
ON THEATRICAL ENTERPRISES.
A q whole the Season Has Been Good
Throughout the Country In Spite OF Had
business mt the start-war Gags-A
Spanish Plays Failure.

| Throughout the Country In Spite OF Had
| business mt the start-war Gags-A
| Spanish Plays Failure.
/ NEW YORK, May 16.-[Special. Men
ton has already been made In these dis
| matches of the demand for war plays, but
| it would be difficult for any one not d.
| rectly connected with the amusement busi-
ness to understand how strenuous that
| demand has become.
The lucky playwright who should offer
a moro than fairly good dramatic piece to
the public at this time would be sure to
| reap rich reward, and there Is no doubt
that big output of such plays VIII be
offered TO the managers next autumn. By
| that time however, the wire edge OF the
demand will have disappeared, even should
the war be in full blast. and managers
will be inclined TO judge far more critical
ly of the offerings than they are now.
Bearing in mind the present popular
enthusiasm for everything patriotic and
warlike, It will be easy to understand the
statement made to me this morning by
theatrical manager that the war has been
ruinous to some companies, but productive
of great prosperity to Others. "Secret
Service" which was a favorite play here
last season, has been on the road this year
and has done exceptionally good business,
especially during the last few weeks, and
| similar report m'~ht be made of every
similar play.
Perhaps the vaudeville performers and
those who may be generally though some
what vaguely termed comedians" have
been driven hardest In their search for
available star spangled banner matter, for
they have been expected to Introduce such
matter into their performances whether 1t
had any bearing upon their original form
or not.
"I'ye tried so hard to get up something
patriotic and at the same time new every
few nights" said a variety man to the
writer today, THAT my brain Is lame from
the unwonted effort. Some OF my gags
have been fairly good, though more have
been outrageously fat and pointless, but
must say that the public has responded
very satisfactorily even to the worst OF
them"
Good Season on the Whole.
On the whole, the amusement season
Just closing has been fairly satisfactory
one the country over as well as In New
York, In spite of the hard luck encoun-
tered by the travelling companies during
the fall and early winter. The poorest
|
in certain parts of New England, particu-
larly "away down east" The best re-
turns have been realized in the middle
west.
Saving the war plays however, nearly
all have fallen off rather more even than
the lateness of the season would warrant
ever since the victory in Manila bay, and
!, this has been particularly true here In New
q York Until then the public hardly seem
n ed to realize that war was actually III
!. progress and that genuine news or Inn
v portance was likely to DO received ut any
: moment For this reason little attention
comparatively speaking, was paid to TIT
bulletin board till then. Since that time
: however, thousands of habitual theate
goers have given up their regulation even
. ing amusement to stand in front of thu
bulletin boards and read the latest new
. and speculation.
y I should say that the continuous per
y formance houses had suffered worst from
r the bulletin boards here in New York. Fo
I, some of them, as performer declares
e from the stage a day or two ago, war ha
:. already proved to be a horrible thing, an
DO their managers are getting gray heade
20 from their often fruitless attempts to dc
o0 wise some attraction that shall be stron
DO enough to counterbalance the free enter
wv tainment afforded by the bulletins. Pra6
M tically all the continuous performanc
% managers have resorted to ono form or al
W. other of the kaleidoscope, giving mov1n
no military views under such varying title
90 as wargraph, "warscope" and the like
10 but, while in some instances pictures
~ Uncle Sans tars raising the colors, view
Oh Of the Maine after the explosion, etc., ha'
90 been given, many moro have been pr
0o sented that have no American qualit
100 whatever.
,oo One which was extensively advertise
00 as view of Yankee hosts OF lighting me
100 was nothing more nor less than repr
200 sentation of portion OF the queens Jub
,Oo lee procession. Another showed parat
80 of Austrian troops in Vienna and still al
700 other of British troops in Egypt. Yet the
l,oU00 have all done as well as could be expectt
100 in the circumstances, and 1t is safe to pr
800 dict that 1t will not be very long befo
10y more pictures of United States soldie
, and sailors will be shown.
500 A Spanish Play That Didn't Go.
zoo "The chief cause for the good theatric
$50 business in the west during the seast
i4 now closing" said the travelling manag
3" mentioned in the first part of this lette
. "was undoubtedly the heavy crops ha
vested last fall, producing surplus
cash all round, which naturally flow
into the theatrical treasures, and the co
re verse is true with regard to the bad bu
of ness done In parts of New England.
,er "Tbere was one play that started out
ga good business in Maine and kept it up I
20, some weeks. 1t was called In Old Ma
u u rid and, as It's title would indicate,
ne subject, its scenery and the costuming
ar, It's characters were all Spanish. 1t "
no really pretty good play, and Its back'
I'D were beginning to think they had got nc
in of an attraction that would enable the
to keep their company out until late
he the season. But when the Maine exp
az sion came there was big reaction. III
-, disaster ripened the Spanish question
hu at tho sama time killed In Old Madrl