The herald., 1898-07-24

suddenly terminated the night after Man.
ager Wyatt's benefit of Thursday last,
is, or ought to be- a matter OF regret to mu
sic lovers of this city.
The attempt made by Messrs. Wood &
Wyatt to furnish a good operate enter
tainment at a maximum price of Is cents
for admission during the summer season,
when people are ordinarily complaining
of the lack of amusement facilities, should,
1t would seem, have been honored by a
modicum of success.
The works presented ranged from I'll
Trovatore" to La Mascotte,' 1.-The Pr
rates Of Penzance' and even as low down
on the musical scale as the nondescript
"Privateer," with which the company
made its exit.
1t would seem that there ought to have
been sufficient attraction in some portions
of this repertory to have secured paying
patronage, especially when 1t is remem-
bered that the singers were for the most
part capable people and that the ensemble
was up to the average of the San Francis
co Tivoli.
Amusement caterers In Los Angeles do
not have an easy time by any means. and
quick intelligence is required in order to
feel the popular pulse and find out what
kind Of attraction will pay. 1t has been
suggested that If Messrs. Wood & Wyatt
had announced their company as coming
from New York and had charged full prices
they would have made money instead of
losing It, The public likes to be hum
plugged, as the venerable Snowman Bar
mum used to say, and It will pay more for
a cheap imitation than for an acknow-
lodged original that does not pretend to
be of the first class.
The opera company at the Los Angeles
was advertised simply on its own merits.
and without any fiamboyant claims to con-
sideration. The entertainment was con-
didly believed to be worth the price
charged, but still the public did not re-
spond.
At the same time the Orpheum with fifty
cents as it's maximum price for ordinary
seats was crowded to the doors and the
Burbank, at a similar scale of prices, was
doing a good business.
This is entirely local question, and
managers may profit by considering 1t with
all the attention it deserves.
There Is a large theater-going public
here. but 1t Is as difficult to catch as GER
tain fish are said to be to an angler.
AS a personal opinion, think that the
Los Angeles theater management made a
mistake in reducing its prices in what
might be called a halfway manner. The
cut should have been made to meet the
other houses. or never made at all.
Cheap prices are no inducement to a GER
tain class of theater goers, but on the
contrary keep them away. And if prices
are not cheap enough to compete with those
charged by other houses there is no in
~
er the cost first and the amusement after
wards.
The moral is that cheap prices are not
cheap unless they meet the rate charged
by other houses doing cheap business. To
which 1t might be added that the musical
taste of the Los Angeles public is an UNI
ascertained quantity.
1.-THE Passing of Hoyt" is the theme of
an article by Lyman B. Glover. which l
am pleased to quote, because 1t is con-
firmatory Of opinions I have heretofore
expressed upon the class of so-called plays
which Mr.. Hoyt in his later endeavors has
sought to infiict upon the public. Mr.
Glover says:
"A Stranger In New York; is now also
a stranger to London, where, after fitful
experience extending over the brief period
of two weeks. this ill-considered product
of vitiated taste was relegated to appro-
pirate obscurity.
When Charles H. Hoyt sailed away from
America, incensed by the refusal of Chi
cago to accept his tenderloin play with its
vicious meanings and degrading scenes,
1t was with the implied If not expressed be-
lief that London would reverse the verdict
T,,k ,tr
ton was ill-founded. While the London
critics may sometimes commend smart
satire and witty dialogue, even though it
be trife risque. they are seldom if ever
induced to praise bald vulgarity and those
mephitic emanations from the sums that
never can be acceptable to decent people.
OF late years Mr.. Hoyt who at one time
promised to develop into the typical Ameri-
can satlrist. and was regarded by many as
the probable author of the long expected
American comedy, has been giving evil
dence of falling under the same malign in
fluence that has vulgarized so many New
York productions. Beginning his career
with the harmless and rather diverting
fun of "a Bunch of Keys" 1.-THE Tin Sol
der" 1.-THE Parlor Match" and other
farces of that nature. and improving his
reputation by means of 1.-THE Midnight
Bell'' and "a Texas Steer" he made a
profitable excursion into the realms of i'm
propriety with "a Trip to Chinatown"
and has since been animated by most
active regard for double entendre and
frank indecency. 1t is no wonder, then
that his old-time constituency is scattered
and can no longer be depended upon when
the Hoyt banner hangs from the outer
wall. There is depravity enough in the
world, but the multitudes prefer decency,
q fact Mr.. Hoyt has learned to his cost.
o o O
The Burbank theater enters upon its
last week with the present company
"Uncle Toms Cabin will be presented
with such people as Olive Oliver L. r.
stockwell, George Osbourne, Bacon Mich
olson and pretty Gertrude Tidball in the
cast. If anything could revive this ancient
chestnut 1t would surely be the strong
EAST, not to mention the real bloodhounds,
as advertised.
o O. o
Frank Bacon will assume the manage
ment at the Burbank after the expiration