Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1899-10-29

or the story, which has already been
published, be correct, the soft impeach-
ment must be admitted. 1t is about as
follows: A Discussion between the
chief OF police and his friend results in
a wager the former declaring that his
men are so Efficient that they will, if
! instructed to do so, render on the fol-
| lowing evening an accurate accounting
OF the doing5 of the private citizen in
/ tine inter m, not emitting the slightest
| detail. That starts the play.
The citizen, like most French "gen-
| tlemen," has not very acute sense of
honcr, and, prior to the laying of the
wager, he has been making desperate
love to the wife of the police captain.
She has not met his advances half way,
but just at this juncture she is seized
with fit Of jealousy and determines to
meet her sutton that evening. She no.
titles him, and his efforts to keep the
appointment without having the
sleuts discover what he is about make
the complications which are regarded
as extremely amusing by the easily
pleased French people.
Ii an American playwright were to
write such a farce and submit it to
the leading managers of this country,
he would stand about as much chance
of having it produced as he would Of
winning the capital prize in a lottery
which does not exist. But when the
piece is offered to those same managers
| by a French dramatist or his agent
they fairly tumble over each other in
the effort to get it. The opportunity to
advertise it as a Paris success, they
fondly imagine, is worth a great deal
of money, as the impression is thereby
conveyed that the piece is irresistibly
risky" without the necessity for say
ing so in so many words. Hundreds Of
the Low Brows" are attracted by this
method, but no thought evidently IS
given to the tens OF thousands of re-
spectacle persons who are thereby re-
PEELED. 1t would seem as though it
were time for the officers of the law
to step in and do some heroic disinfect-
ing work on these so called Paris sue
cesses."
Theatrical managers are very much
like lot of very,ordinary sheep. They
will all stay in fold of ridiculously in
adequate proportions until one of them,
either because he has become tired Of
his quarters or by reason of some ac-
cidental circumstance, gets over the
fence and happens to find the browsing
on the other side moderately good
Then the rest of the crowd pitch over
pell-mell with as little reason for doing
it as they previously had for not do
ing it.
Take the case Of Dickens "a Tale Of
Two Cities as an example. | think it
is we'll within bounds to say that there
have been at least a score of dramatiZa-
tons of this book made since Dickens
time | refer, of course, to those which
got stage hearings. Then th9 man
ayers, who had tried adaptations which
were simply poor plays and therefore
did not succeed, arrived at the sage
conclusion that their failure was at
trihutable to the fact that the novel
was unfit for the stage. AS result the
dictum went forth that any man who
contemplated producing a dramatiza-
ton of "a Tale of Two Cities" should
be regarded with suspicion.
1t never seemed TO occur to any Of
these brainy gentlemen that the fault
lay with their versions of the novel.
When, therefore, Charles Frohman con-
cluded to produce The Only Way" it
was confidently predicted that the piece
would be a failure. Instead, it is a big
box office success, and now there are
to be any number of sheep-like imita-
tions by other managers.
Among these which either have been
produced or whose owners are willing
to have them tried may be mentioned
Destiny" His Way" and Tale OF
Two Cities" Most of these plays
founded on Dickens novel will now re-
ceive respectful consideration from the
very managers who but short time
ago would have laughed them to scorn.
This change in attitude is due simply
to the fact that one man has made q
success with one version of the story.
1t is precisely the same way with
the plays dealing with Jewish life. A
year or two ago a drama in which most
of the principal roles were Jews was
rejected by several managers for no
other reason than that the public would
| take no interest in play in which the
Jew was exploited. Liebler & Com
many, of this city, however, became
convinced that a dramatization of Is
rael Zangwilrs Children of the Ghet-
| to- would be we'll received, and i'm
mediately there were announcements of
half dozen Jewish plays. The Ghet-
| to- was put on by Jacob Lift at the
| Broadway theatre in this city. "Zorah'
was produced, I think, by the same
manager, and there are more to follow.
Talk about sneep following the bell
wetherl They are simply mot in it
with the theatrical managers OF the
United States.
| Grace Golden, the sweet faced and
talented young prima donna soprano
OF the Castle Square Opera Company,
| attached to the American Theatre, CT
this city, has just enjoyed the most
signal triumph of her thoroughly
| worthy career in the principal female