New-York tribune., 1900-07-15
THEATRICAL "PAPER. =
FREE PASSES IN OLD ENGLISH THE,
ATRES.
ATRES


Z
paper house" il is Well understood that the
term means an audience whose admittance has
been secured by passes or orders. ImpeCuuiou5
manaSers have sometimes used this paper
q method OF settling troublesome accounts. un-
successful managers have resOTted to il for the
sake of procuring a fairly numerous attendance.
Orders in the present day. by no means
used so extensively as they once were, though
they still play unimportant part They
are the reward Of those pubIicans and shop
keepers who display the stage bills of fare in
their windows; while all others who enjoy any
commercial connection with the management Of
a theatre, particularly in provincial towns. look
Tor the occasional gratUIty of a pass 10 the cir
Gle Of boxes. Human nature certainly delights
III getting orders lot the play. II IS not 50
much the mere saving Of expense that gives
satisfaction II is the proud and superior feeling
OF gong IN for nothing while your friends and
neIghborS are struggling the pay box
II Is not easy 10 date the genesis of orders.
Whether the Greeks ever took paper or its
equivalent for tn usual Obolus that was de
manded at the entrances of their vast theatres
cannot be said; but We know that Pericles ar
tultouS 10y first causing the ot'ol to Toe distrib-
uted to the people. In ShakeSpeare'S time il
would seem that actors and dramatic writers
hao rght 70 iree admission by professional
etiquette, which might have been possible IL
days when authors We're few. but would bc diff
cult now. Doubtless. personal friends Of the
manager chief actors frequently enioved the
same privilege, but whether they used paper or
whether their appearance sufficient pass
port. does not seem clear We read that Kill
grew. III his boyhood. would go and be a devil
on the stage IN order 20 the play for moth
H-E from N!tlt "a W may infer that nothing like
paper ever came his way and also that devils
were considerably in demand at that time
Comforting the freedom of the play yhouse"
pidyWrIShLS and men OF letters was common
GarrIcks day, and without doubt the good
naturrd manager was often peStered for the
same favor 10y persons who had no such claim
II was eNIucutIy Garri-ks custom 70 give tickets
"i admission permanent orders, 10 those whom
h' Desired 4" honor. II is recorded that the
.itI''1 ~ t''ll!'l'It or neglect returned the
ticket with tn" words. As ] DO not for,S-, any
tufihrr OCCASION for this ohliGing passport
am not "!Ilns I" -T"paS- too long upon your
Ci.liltt GarrI ks answer was such as 10 ra-
net thr greatest P'ssi'L, credit upon himself.
IL yru choose 20 reunguish your right To- the
freedom OF Drury Lane playhousy. You certain
ticket. ! imagine Mr Mur; nv viii fud the doors
open io hiu as usual. ana he 1t further known
{" You. SIR that a- J thought you We're above
an uLdu" influence never meant the ticket as
tn" least tie upon the liberty OF your pen or
,-.nt. - r-itioh- II may he safely inferred that
t'aTrIck presented the same permanent pass
port [" mis- gruG nut faithful friend. Dr John
son. u is hailiN too much 90 say that the
great players generosity was as notable as his
acting anu his acting was probably such as
the world has never surpassed
considerable amount. IN these DAYS falls 10
newspaper press The stag, critics. Of course
have their permanent right OF entry. and many
others connected with the press in different
WAYS enjoy frequent if not continuous. adms-
sions. But whereas tho stage now courts the
press tht press formerly seems To have courted
the stage. Just as shopkeepers used To pay for
the privilege Of exhibiting bills. SO the papers
paid Tor tht privilege OF announcing plays and
programmes Every theatre now paws a large
sum for advertising; 1t used 10 be the reverse
the newspapers paId for being allowed to insert
the advertisements. Those were days when the
stage was clearly more powerful than jour
naliSm
We can hardly conceive such a position now
Thr fact Is plainly evident from such an an
nouncernent As the following which appeared
IN THE Daily Post" in the year I72I. THE
managers OF Drury Lane think il proper 10 give
notice that advertise ements OF their plays by
their authority are published only in this paper
though as manager he tried to oppose too pro-
ers OF all other papers who presume to insert
advertisements OF the same plays can do il
only 10y some surreptitlpus intelligence OF hear
say. which frequently leads them 10 commit
gross errors. as mentioning one play for an
other. falsely representing the parts etc To the
misIni ornation ut the town and the great detri-
ment of the said theatre"
This was before Garrsck's time During the
reign of GarrIck The Public Advertiser" put
forth similar notice. The papers We're thus
grateful even to Toe allowed TO pay for stage
news They had. indeed a difficulty in filing
their columns \ fire" press did not then exist.
They Were perpetually in danger if they dealt
openly with political or even social news and
the delight Of being able To treat freely an mat
tiers connected with th- stage was a privilege
worth paying for tn those times there must
have been dearth of press orders When the
papers increased III Importance and gradually
became the ruling power. the theatres began td
Woo them with paper. The press began To claim
such as its right ana he claim proved q seri-
GUS iiminution of theatrical profits Albert
Smith once complained that if every newspaper
the time would be taken by paper Macrrady,
though q manager O. tried tD DDr.pS,. tt,t uro4