The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1899-01-29
THE PASSING SHOW.

Some one of New Yorks astute play re-
viewers printed an article the other day
in which he pointed out the advantages OF
romantic drama, and told all about the de-
cadence OF the RobeTtson-I bsen- Potter
PineTo school. There has been no radical
change in public taste since the column
appeared, but his was a well-written story
nevertheless, and would have been a con-
vincing one had its purport not been so
absurd. This is an age in which art is
only considered perfect when it approaches
nature and the critic who weeps for re-
turn of the break the-news- to mother
sort OF work is very Likely to change his
opinions before his tears begin to wear
holes in the rock of general sentiment.
Presentations in which the hero stands
for an exalted state of virtue and tells the
house about it every few minutes often
appeal to giggling girls and soft hearted
spinsters, but their effect upon the remain
der of an audience is not likely to be
pleasant. Undoubtedly both OF the
classes mentioned are afforded good eX-
amples by the gentlemen who wear pow
dered wigs and glistening swoFds-who
are won over from lisping cyuicism or
trade bohemianism to cheerfully gning
| their fortunes to the heroines; but ordi-
| nary men, not being inclined to doing
such things themselves and never having
known anyone else who was, too frequent-
ly refuse to be elevated in SO eXtraordi-
nary way. Perhaps if the chiyalrous
parsonage on view did not say pretty
things in sweet tremolo to the lady OF
his choice. and if he sometime refused to
spend half his time mOping at The right
side OF the stage, commonplace individ
uals might forget that the aforesaid hero
N ba buC of ,t..If
distributed collection of wives and made
! practice of swearing at his leading wo-
man during every other rehearsal.
Unfortunately neither the strutters in
lnickerbockers and uniforms nor the
theatregoers of reasonable intelligence
can be brought to a compromise. and So
despite the celebrated New York reviewer
the drama which opens with duel and
closes with Il marriage is not in danger of
an absorbing vogue Tor some years to
come. Even the greatest admirer of the
days in which noblemen killed each other
for pocket handkerchief and then regu-
lated the rags original possessor BIZ n
code of laws that would procure the dis
charge of Il prison warden will not be
| likely to look upon this fact with regret
| While many sentimentalsts probably feel
that lofty ideals and polite courage are
admirable things in the abstract most
have been brought to realize that Il chap
can be gentleman without bowling con-
tinuaily until the seams on his silllcn
| breeches are strained can please the OPP
posite sex without constantly rclapsing
into epigrammatic phrases, and can be
brave without running several pairs OF
gloves 4 week in casting them across the
faces of his enemies. Soldiers, too. have
been known to do desperate things without
the aid of remances in their lives, TO be
/ calm without drawing their sentences. and
to die without debating stenographic
messages to all concerned. And the more
mercenary may believe that one may be
courteous without volunteering John
Drew's board bills in consequence. and pa
triOtic without performing the same ser
vice for Jacob Lift
| When one has taken away the glamour
of the footlights, the charm of the music
and the Wit of the authors words they
are not so admirable these romantic he
| rogs. Cite those to whom We were in
| troduced last week through the mediums
J of ''Sha nandoah,' The Countess Valeska. -
/ The Musketeers." The Dawn of Free
DOM, and "A Grip of Steel All were
fine fellows in so far as the stage world
! goes. and yet had they been suddenly
/ brought into real life most of them would
| probably have been relegated either to Jail
! or to some lunatic asylum. There was
| Ronjarre, nice-looking chap. who held
| forth down at the Academy. This gentle
| man had blind wife for whom he cared
greatly and the thought of whose love
| made capture doubly terrible to him. To
| be sure, dread of conviction and fear of
| breaking the wife's heart did not prevent
| him from making free with other people 8
| property. But then he was perfect hero,
| and everyone loathed the police who final
ly captured him, and Kissed the scoundrel