The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-03-14
TOPICS OF THE THEATRE.
.yr rREsHLF A0ITATED QUESTION
10 or rick EFT PEDDLING,

- I, bnrd for tho general public to believe
-, theatrical managers need hnve any diff
10, IN keeping ticket spectators away II
80 . ar. not wanted. Such n condition can be
"a IN no other commercial pursuits. II n
.s,ot,encr finds that n group OF men habitually
"..rs IN front Of his establishment and i'm
NPLnnoa his.customcrs to buy his wares from
pVso, advanced uriccs, he would at once nbol-
y. ,h.m by cutting off tho supply. Peddlers
= hung about n hat store, just rs they do
-, , theatre, would readily be got rid of.
s'Snr.llr. the public concludes that n placard
N.,,or,nr ueople to "bewarc'of spectators" Is
y, honest IL at the same time the-trpfficsi is
ING m undisturbed. Managers who really
ss..ro 10 protect their customers can keep the
: oway, as many Of them do. AT the Metro
s.,I,,n Opera House tho peddlors are MS regular
s,.,,urc OF the outfit rs any OF the employees.
,,rr Of the other theatres are visited by them
.,lv when the play is attractive enough 10
~.te the demand for seats urgent. The ma
.o-itv Of the pests are free lanccs, who wander
tom one thon,rc to another where their pros
~. Ia tolerated; but others are virtually en-
.Iovees. Possibly II is the appearance. of pros
pr.rity which they impart which leads some
rp.nseers TO permit them when. they post up
warnings aga'n aEyc .nfn, %na priE in tbis ~ eit ue Z ope
so.sd To ticket speculation and would like to see
E.tamncd out said ono to q SUI reporter; but
Eas,S;ng" Yet one provision of the ordinance
Mich the pcddlers arc seeking to have passed
flows them to sell tickets in the lobby of a the
.trc with tho written consent of the manager.
STns objection to their presence cannot be in
snrmountallc when such a contingency Is pro-
,SdsI for. The public believes Thai the man
W.. ,nsys are IN sympathy with them, and will be
aNtsly TO hold 10 that view so long AZ seats are
.1d on the sidewalk at an advanced price when
here are none to be had at the box office. Some
49, .,n IL, N = onNinna IN pnf rid nf fhpm
y, they appe6r to he and may really mean their
rTot,esis and printed warnings; but other Lusi-
hess men can protect 1nt ms ihciy t nfpni su nnd IN r.
isTeasonGblc for the public to think that they
s,n do the same thing II they wrnt to. But the
p p@ss prices for some OF the successful plays is
sut OF the question, without. reference to.the
sdewalk dealers, because the good sehts in
,,arly all Of the good theatres go to the hotels.
There the advance in price is about the same
that is demanded by the sidewalk sellers. But
nobody has ever heard q protest rom mama
ssrs against the sale of tickets In the hotels. The
ssIruse is that they are placed there for the con-
ysnIcnce OF the out.of-town visitors to tho thea
trss. As the vast majority go:to the box office
Tr their seats, il would seem more rational
hat their convenience should oe considered.
Whatever becomes Of the peddlers, however,
and whatever the real feelings Of the managers
10 become hopeful. 1t is seemingly reconciled
n having % per cent. advance on its theatre
tickets, so long as anything near the stage Is Sc
cured.
Are affected by the proposition to forbid the
POSES and to stop the sale Of tickets to moro
persons than the seats can accommodate, prac-
Ideally doing away, with what is known as
applied 10 street cars, it is difficult to see why
he theatres should be compelled to abide by
any such law In the music halls, .particu-
prefer TO stand for the few minutes they spend
In the theatre. Tho sale of tickets distrib-
uted for billboard privileges is something
managers envy rho New Workers who are able
TO secure these privileges by merely giving out
tickets and not by paying money. The distribu,
no hardship when they are not in demand by the
persons. who would pay full rates for them.
When there is a desire on the part of the pub
lie to buy their tickets to see the play the ne
cesity of Swing many away must be slight.
That Mmc.,viarda acted one week at a Broad
way theatre 10 audiences that yielded an ag-
gregate Of only $15s.75 shows how complete a
failure can be in New York. 1t might be sup
posed that the number of persons lounging in
the streets, not caring especially where they
went, and led into the first theatre they saw,
would have brought larger receipts. At the regu-
lar prices for orchestra seats that sum meant
little more than q hundred paying persons for the
entire week. or an average of less than fifteen
Tor each OF the seven performances. Probably
that will be the record of bad business for a
eng time. For the past week. during which
friends OF the actress bought tickets, the re-
eipts ran up to $500. But the third week was
an Improvement Of only $40 on the disastrous
S ESSRq have an 'h heeD r Sossible' e theg neeeiets ba II
been $500; for the enterprise to have been con-
Quoted without !oss; But under no %circnn-
stances could profit have been expected. The
was never more plainly shown. Nine. Viarda
vas a foreigner without even a foreign reputa-
uon. Her own scrap book contained only the
most perfunctoTy notices of her ,European ap-
NafanGes, and not one recorded her acting at a
court theatre. She was no longer young, and
eumstances only genius could:havc gained the
attention Of the, public. If she had revealed
, NH,, gift il her first performance here it
Noulu have been freely acknowledged. There
was no prejudCmcnt against her, and there
vas indeed, reason 10 regard her with favor.
enc wasa Pole. and. so was Modieska, who
sas.not known in this country. although her
mhe was great in her native land. Nobody
WHO saw the unfortunate Niarda will believe
, NAY her attempts here failed through lack of
tsGincleht advertising, but il there ever was a
ume when advance exploitation could assure a
success IN this country for n foreign actor. that
ume Is past. 1t is doubtful II even a first might
auulence can now be drawn by such methods.
Nathaniel c. Goodwin has treated Clyde
iNeh'S Nathan Hale" TO the process known in
INC theatrical vocabulary as shelving; but he
nas done il with q purpose different from the
customary one. He put the drama away after
10 success in Chicago because he wishes to
nave the scenery and costumes fresh when they
se seen here next autumn. 1t is difficult for
NC" York audiences to regard him seriously.
~ represents to them Il type of tho cheerful.
amg' generous, s~portive hale fellow. Never.
asnIeless, he was effective with the sentiment In
an American Citizen" here, and now he has
t,SSmShied chicago with tragic matter in Ma.
Hon . Hale' y scenic novelty in the produc-
s GE o. me Fitch play is Ernst Albert's apple or
t T. which i said TO DO an artistic and beau
su sight. Tho last act Is almost a tabIeau
v.hout dialogue. When the curtain rises the
sac Is dark. Gradually the sun rises, the
sUaha OF singing birds is heard, and after a few
iiSeches ifdtc Is seen about To ascend the gal
a %"s MS novel ending was considered re.
EWnsLp.e for muGi OF the dramas success.
~ whether Mr. FITCH or MI. Goodwin or Mr..
S"rrt Is most responsible, the success attained
Nav e@P,oded The lhcatricnl superstitution that
ss~2e founded on the Revolutionary War or
IN Passing Mt the time were bound to fail.
hannc uniform OF the Continental soldier has
nal considered u hUOGoo. That period has
II LIta.y appealed to writer's, who have found
X pntureS'ne and stirring, but the theory of
I'M, tuanaptrn has been that SUCH matters could
", mage ~ appeal to our audiences. Now
tcrSsrtuiaan Hale comes along 10 prove that an in
ave. ,imis p!hY IS certain to make Its way what.
NJ le period of the manners of II rnny be,
NNA' VIVA ~ Il a41 a. 1T -. a.