The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-03-03
STAGE ART AND BUSINESS.
FROM HEL ENh MoDJESKh,s EyTUs
TO "A MIDWAY PLALslNOE.

she Discussion or the Great Actress-s Frorp,.
sioual ana Commercial M~etheas-ntheS Pn.
V"rites Have to No Mere work Ter The,r
menoy-A Couey leland Show In Tewn.
A recent article in THE SUN accused that
Rreat ~Nctross. Helena Modioska, OF making her
art subscrvient to her business, and Of at the
same time preaching against the very evil
wnich she was practicing. In an address to the
Twelfth Night Club she had Declared and de-
plorcd tho fact that the drama had become n
Thing OF commercial purchase and sale, because,
a. she believed, her profession was degraded
by such a traffic. Thereupon TIE Sun remind.
cd her that she was selling her own genius at
che greatest possible money profit by acting
with a cheap company in plays oarelessly pre-
pared and shabbily mounted. Journals in the
Western cities whore sho has appeared this
season are quoting THE Suns statement Of the
truth approvingly and commenting on Il as
though New York journals were usually blind
TO thelapsos OF eminent actors. pretty soon"
says one writer, I'VE shall have THE Sun say.
Ing that Joseph Jefferson, whilo talking much
OF tho development Of stage art, has produced
no now play since no founded his fortune with
Rip Van Wrinkle forty years ago." Well, the
public does deserve something moro from the
genial dean of the comedians than he gives.
Still, he has tho Same right that Nine. Mod.
jsska enjoys Of controlling his own business af-
Neb" IA bho o"h way IN OuOTluk 1OI HulO WuAt
tho people are willing to buy. In his case tnero
10 neither hypocrltical cant nor false pretenoe.
Nor need 1t be assumed that Nine. Modjeska
was a deliberate or even conscious offender In
chat respect when she uttered tho conventional
stun and nonsense to tho Twelfth Night Club.
Nevertheless, 1t Is duo to most Of tho other stars
to say that they have to maintain O better
Reandard of art. else they would get no remun.
erative audiences. Mr.. Crane, Mr.. Drew, and
Dir. Miller are very popular, but would they DO
drawing large audiences now in this city IL they
did not employ good supporting companies and
prepare their plays carefully Maudo Adams
has stepped into sudden celebrity on the stage,
but. with all her charm, our public would not
have accepted her with such miserably inartis.
&c surroundings in 1.-The Little Minister as
those which mako 1t q pain to gain the pleasure
of Modjeska's acting. Minnie Maddcrn Fiske,
after years Of earnest and brainy experimental,
which taxed her resources Of art and business
sItIh9 qgt a faif sr.sssTS .sl e &. has Ct Length gained
would she have succeeded, no matter about the
genius Of her individual performance. II, she
hold. With ali the Vogue which he has ATTAINED,
teem il he were to Isolate his won tsienss in an an
environment eRUh, men Of inability let, us be- sensible
lnirable exponent of dramatic art, but in the
business Of theatrical amusemonts she does
nnos-,nS most Others are coppsllsd somgive to
cept as they may derive 1t from her always ad-
mirable personal share in the representations.
The directors of the Travellers Fair knew
better than to devote the whole of Madison
Square Garden to any one diversion, and in
dividing 1t they have been so thorough that
there is an unusual variety in tho exhibits.
Lumiere's cinematograph holds the supper
room with pictures of the battleship Maine.
Just inside the main auditorium the visitors
ears are assailed by a sh0uter for q variety per-
Torrance given in the upstairs concert hall.
Here are employed enough specialists to I'LL q
programme Of ordinary length, and the names
Of some of them are familiar in variety theatres.
Little Egypt is one Of tho experts. In the west
ern two-thirds Of the garden proper are sea-
tered commercial exhibits, the range of articles
displayed being wide, but the number Of booths
70 not enough to nearly fill the floor. Canvas
partitions set Off a stage that musicians occupy.
Back of this is the array Of tables that are kept
hpretty FULL showing Of Coney Island staples.
Tho chutes and roller coaster are not there, but
sasebails, " with En'e cigars p,'s as souvenirs If Of fnocE.
downs. arc on hand, the ring and. cane dissipa-
DO purchased OF darker trouBered females. Of
fortune, tellers there's a choice, but of wild men
. misshapen head. Ono corner is set OF by q
row of spruce boughs, and here. In what is
s sSortsf E asf% dams sisias whose aeln CHEEKS sfs Ss ars %o by
drously bright and whose waists are quite as
Confessedly from Coney Island is the aggre-
katton Of sublime artists that holds a dark sec
tion OF the cellar Immediately beneath the GEN.
Tiaisance. At Intervals its director summons
his forces to a platform in front OF his doorway,
listen. and proves himself q skilled separator OF
money from the multitude, A half dozen wo-
tpedu ia i9 %s Ss S5ssss spS Sss In h bsf arsi the one eroM u ini
heads Of Europe and the deadhsads OF the Bow.
Ssy; ARSthe 4 Il thir e S sRriiniish a1 1oased 1f eI Ipiss
Because brick dust and chalk ) are ehssPs S.'I All
and the ability Of each is described suggestive.
ly. After declaring. that the show to begin at
SnS, he Is SSsrHs i1s4 he aS sxsf to sn make g. no oG imSO isl,
remarks while the forbidden displays are on
CLOSURE E1s' Such Of tho crowd as DO So Ole leave coins
Nth the 1i6 do or and pass on th to an undseorated:
about o half dozen muscular black men until
again 70 once more tempt the outside crowd.
tho show begins. Il Is utterly devoid Of merit
fHs ends 4 R With ss " mo ass' sui fipSas ske. TO R e isG shat I:
on the women got outside Of the inelosure again
crowd Is about tic entrances as the audience
passes out. The Darker" is vociferous and
he dssm SaSis IAGnd not an escaping Victim dsres
say It is a whit less deserving than the "best
ever"
Nancy Mcintosh will retire from the DAILY
company and go next into a play by Burr Mo
Intosh, her brother. Minnie Seligman con.
templates q tour with q company playing
many and various short pieces, in the manner
which the late Rosina Vokes practiced sue
c~essfully. Adele Richie says that she will
como back to America with a comic opera
which has been made for her. If Eleonora
Duse returns to America noKt season she will
appear in ''The Dead City" DAnnunxio's.shock-
ing new drama of incestuous love. Helen Ber-
tram win next : season take her place again
with the Bostonians. supplanting Alice Nielsen.
who is to go into a comic opera written for her
by Smith and Herbert and called The For
tune Teller" Edna Wallace Hopper may ap.
pear as tho leading figure of "a Normandy