The times., 1899-04-23
THE PASSING SHOW.

Some months ago, when the excellent
business being done about the country was
proving an irresistible incentive to exag-
geration on the part of various and sundry
press agents. a well-known New York
newspaper published an extremely clever
article in which the son Of a theatrical
manager was pictured asking his father
about the many millions which he had
| read were in the old gentleman's posses
sion. The satire was an amusing one. and
had the further merit of misunderstanding
a number of reportorial enthusiasts who
| had been bringing discredit upon them
selves and the season in progress by max
ing statements concerning box office re-
ceipts that could not have approached the
figures quoted under any circumstances.
In reviewing the financial standing of the
year just closing il is important to un-
derstand that no miracles have been
wrought during the period and that the
revelations of such research do not argue
that the term was not one of exceeding
profit merely because it did not reach the
absurd standard set for it.
AS a matter of fact. though no attrac-
tion on the road has drawn an average of
$4,000 week, and the metropolitan
houses have hardly been besieged to the
extent that has been described, the seven
months of active labor which have made
up the professional epoch of 1SgS-'99 have
been of nature unduplicated during the
last two decades. The general prosperity
which followed the war with Spain the
number of unusually inviting combinations
on tour, and the reaction from long -sus-
tained calm had a really unwonted effect
upon the trade in entertainment and the
result is that three or four fortunes have
been made during this time and none of
any size lost. Successes have been big and
failures small; gains have been unvarying
and drains infrequent: money bringing
ventures have been many and money-tak-
ing ones few. Altogether the season has
really brought with it an unprecedented
series Of triumphs.
A great and general hunger for amuse-
ment was manifested throughout the coun-
try before the theatres had all been opened.
Every house ready for business drew
large audiences with comparatively worth
less material, and as soon as the better
class of people entered the field the graf
flying inclination to playgoing became
even more apparent. This was especially
true in New York, where every resort on
the Rialto fiourished to an extent that as
tonished quite as much as it delighted
Its proprietors. Before the end of Oc-
tober an unheard-of number OF actors and
their vehicles were appearing on Broad
way and In the vicinity of that famous
street to the capacity of the buildings in
which they were booked. At one and the
same time "Cyrano de Bergerac' was
packing the Garden to the doors "The
Christian" was placing standing room at
a premium within the portals of the
knickerbocker, The Fortune Teller was
performing like service for Wallacks.
THE Turtle" was filling the Manhattan
nightly, and records at the Broadway. the
Empire, the Madison Square, Daly's. and
the Academy were being broken respec-
lively by Francis Wilson and THE Little
Corporal" John Drew and THE Liars.
"A Brace of Partridges," "a Runaway
Girl" and the melodrama Sporting Life"
May Irwin came shortly after with "Kate
Kip. Buyer and Il profitable Casino mo-
duction completed the list.
This remarkable series of triumphs was
not sustained more than n couple of
months at the utmost. and it has not been
duplicated. One or two rather important
failures have occurred since what might
be termed the ring was broken, and never
again have nine great successes competed
Tor patronage. a very high standard has
been maintained. however. while the con-
tinuai entrance into Gotham of such val
uabie presentations as Because She Loved
Him So, Zaza," "a Romance of Ath-
lone" and Mile. Fiji" has made the sea-
son there a wonderful one all through.
Despite the fact that an unlimited num-
Der OF celebrities and some thirty or forty
big productions have been taking In the
provinces since last October, and notwith-