The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1898-05-13
INSIDE THE THEATER.
Customs at the German Plays Unlike Those
of American Audiences.

The audiences that gather at the Ger
man theater in Irving place are unlike
those seen at any other playhouse in
town. During the recent engagement of
Agnes SOrma there, the audiences were
exceptionally large and offered strik-
ing illustration Of the difference be-
tween them and the gatherings in the
theaters devoted to English plays. The
quiet of the spectators is the first no.
ticeable difference. Nobody speaks
even quietly to his neighbOr without
leaning over so closely to him that the
sound could not possibly disturb any
body else. Even then the whisperer is
likely to be reminded by rebuke from
in front or behind. The slightest noise
interrupts the course Of the spectators
enjoyment and that is something which
will not be tolerated by the serious play
goers of the German theater. The only
talking they propose to hear Is that Of
the actors on the stage. Applause very
rarely comes until the close Of the act.
Then, if the performance be worthy, the
acknowledgment is unrestrainedly cor
dial. Laughter at the funny points of a
farce is never repressed. That indul-
gence is unrestrained In comic opera
the applause is quite as common as it
is at the other theaters, and the audi
ences like encores quite as much as those
who hear them in English.
1t is in the quiet moments of a seri-
Gus play, however, especially when the
scene leads to an exciting climax, that
the mood of the audience is most char
acteristic. Then from the orchestra
seats to the crowded gallery the specta-
tors are intensely absorbed III every
movement and every word Of the actors.
When the climax has come and this
tension is released, it can be immedi-
ately felt, although there is no applause
or any audible outbreak. The feeling
runs through the house and the emo
tions are relaxed. But the customary
relief is not expressed as 1T usually is in
other theaters by applause. That must
wait until the curtain falls.
Like all German theaters the world
over, the Irving Place is dreadfully
overheated. Fresh air is all very we'll
when one sits i'm freien, hut indoors ev-
erything must be appropriately stuffy
and hot. So the German theater in New
York frequently becomes distressingly
warm. But the regular audiences do not
appear to object to it. Many of the men
leave the theater between the acts and
smoke in the lobby, more possibly, than
would usually be found in an American
audience. Some Of the women occasion
ally retire to the lobby, but the number
of those who follow the example Of the
men is small. Possibly if the theater
had foyer as large as those in Europe
the audience would retire just as those
in Germany do. But that custom has
never become popular here, and there is
the added attraction Of an orchestra to
keep the audience seated between the
acts. Very few of the continental thea
ters have Orchestras.
The clOakrOOm system 6S.eSS tn d
greater extent in the German theater
than it does at any other place excepting
the Metropolitan. ClOaks and hats are
deposited at the garderobe with regu-
larity, and the men as we'll as the wOm-
Ell are patrons Of this branch of the
theater. The rule about hats is a quail
ified one. The management asks only
that those hats which interfere with the
view of persons behind shall be remov-
ed. Others are not forbidden. Few are
worn, however, and it is interesting to
see the size of those that are retained.
They may not be triumphs of millinery,
but they show that women sometimes
think of other things than beauty or
fashion when they get hat-that they
think, in fact, of the persons who may
sit in the row behind them at the thea
ter.-New York Sun.