The times., 1899-03-26
THE PASSING SHOW.

| ference that the repetition occurs each
season or so, instead Of every second CEN
| tury. This condition is most character
| istic of the dramatic world for, excepting
| managers and actors, no class of people
| could be SO thoughtless as to forget the
| lessons of one period directly the next be-
| gan. Disaster after disaster and loss after
loss does not seem to teach those finan-
caliy interested in the amusements of this
country to, avoid the cause OF failure in
following years.
Within the last three summers con-
| siderable sum of money has been dropped
| in Washington by directors who labored
! under the impression that they could set
| all precedent at naught and successfully
combat the hot weather and minor evils
with series of performances ranging in
merit from plain poorness through medi-
ocrity and up to general excellence. No
! less than dozen attempts have been made
/ TO keep four and five theatres open after
/ the closing OF the regular season and each
has ended in disappointment Almost
/ every house in town has been submitted
! to the experiment and has suffered there
! by. And yet. despite the fact that spring
is really just beginning, prospectus after
! prospectus has been issued for new en-
show that from three to six places Of en-
tertainment will bid for public patronage
before the end of June.
! Local amusement catering has always
been oyerdone, but never to a greater ex-
tent than this. During the months when
the sun burns down on the asphalt and
reduces that substance to soft. pliable
mass; when score of parks and river re-
! sorts offer breathing space and comfort
| he
door step is preferable to being confined
within four walls, il Is impossible that
any enterprise conducted under a roof
should prosper. Just prior to that time
there is a brief period in which the thea
tire and the bicycle have about equal
chances in a struggle. and then one COM
pany may work with profit. That more
than one can be made to pay has been
| proven impossible. In cases where the
trial has been made the rule of the survi-
val Of the fittest has sometimes held good
and oftener the attendance has been SO
divided that all the combinations have
| prematurely ended their seasons.
Should moments reflection fail to es-
| tablish the truth of this statement brief
summary of the events of last summer
cannot fail to do so. The struggle began
early in May, when Manager Dwyer placed
on the stage of the Columbia Theatre an
organization in which were included such
| people as James o. Barrows, Maud Haslam,
| William Ingersoll. and Edward Mackay.
| The plays presented were well done. and
the troupe had won regular clientel. when
another admirable combination commenced
| producing comic opera at Glen Echo, and
| a roof garden was put in operation on top
of Union Station. Finally fourth attrac-
| tion was booked for the National, and then
the fight gained headway. The people at
Eop low nlar nf
| fourteen performances without audiences,
and then looked for pastures new. Man
| ager Thomas was reluctantly obliged to re-
| sign his hopes of making ariel entertain
| ments anything but an expense to himself
| for the year 1898, and the Columbia Stock
| Company was closed after a short season.
| just in time to enable its managers to
claim that il they had gained little they
were still less out of pocket. AT last after
| three different sorts of drawing cards had
been tried, Glen Echo-the proprietors of
which had more reason to anticipate sue
cess than had anyone else, if only because
their shows" were practically given in the
| open air-was shut down. and Washington
was left in the condition from which
various well-meaning men had tried to ex-
tricate it.
The preceding summer was begun even
more brilliantly, and ended much more dis
| astrousIy. A wonderful combination at the
Columbia-oue on the roster of which ap
peared the names of Katherine Grey AL
| berta Gallatin, Grayce Scott. Kate Denim
Wilson. James o. Barrows, and William
Ingersoll-lost quite a sum for its man
ayers. The Cummings Stock Company
held the stage of the Academy OF Music for
two brief weeks before surrendering, and
that perennial favorite of Washington the
| atregoers, Frederic. Bond, came to the Ma
tional and survived for only an equal
length of time. Meanwhile vaudeville was
tried without success at the Grand Opera
House, and one or two like ventures f II
through. Robert Whiteseli's attempt to
keep the Bijou open through the hot
| weather, Eugene Kernan's effort at running
garden next to the Lyceum, Robert
Grau's disastrous endeavor to bring lovers
of specially work to the Grand, George
Buckler's inauguration of dramatic and
variety plan here and Charles Southwell's S
experiment with the Castle Square Opera
| Company-all were conducted under diff
ferent conditions. and all ended in one way
These repeated failures have never con-
| cerned attractions of merit when the at
| fractions have been left to themselves
| Thus the National Theatre Stock Company
was successful for two seasons and the
| Columbia Stock Company had no diff
Guilty in making expenses and leaving
! margin while there was no competition.
But events have demonstrated that indoor
amusements will not pay in Washington
| after the hot weather really commences.
and that during the supplemental term
but single aggregation can be relied upon
| TO do business.
That this unpleasant bit of theatrical
history is likely to repeat itself is shown
I by the fact that already a stock company
| two operate organizations, and two vaude-
| Vile houses have been projected for the
coming summer. The first of these COM
| binations opens almost Immediately and
will be maintained only during the cool
period. The strength of the troupe and
! the excellent manner in which il will be
| run all but guarantees it success. The op-
cratic organization may do well. too, for
time. but for the remainder there seems
| little chance. Managers had best think
over the ventures that have preceded
theirs before attempting to cultivate bar
| ren ground. The local field for summer
amusements seems now TO be fairly filed
and further enterprise may bring disas-
| trous results.
| In looking through some old manuscripts
| the other day the writer came across
| bit of verse bearing the title of "Magda-
lene" and signed by Eulalia Bennett A
moments thought prompted the recoliec-
| tion that Miss Bennett came TO Washing
| ton three years ago as a member OF the
Human Hearts" company and that much
| of her literary work was then published in
the local papers. "Magdalene'' is "A poem
| of far more than ordinary merit and de-
I serves publicity that has not been given
| 1t. The lines read:
| Down by the river a woman came.
| Lonely, and sad, and bowed with shame;
Iha tvnrtl al.A hitrh. u