The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-02-04


the Metropolitan. ss;s
Speaking of dramatic productions
there is at present quite a radical change
in the public taste,' said. Mr.. LIN. Scott,
manager Of the two Metropolitan thea
tiers in the Twin Cities, who returned
yesterday from New York.
ut Is far from being a depraved taste,
either" he continued This is shown by
the fact that Biblical plays, such as The
Sign Of the Cross Quo Vadis,' The
Christian and Ben Hur,' are playing to
immense business in the East. Popular
demand, in fact, while not, of course,
confined exclusively to plays founded on
Bible subjects, is for elaborate scenic at
fractions, with large casts and the lead
ing parts in the hands of actors of abtl-
ity These need not necessarily be con-
fined to religious subjects, but the i'm
mensity of the production cuts quite a
figure.
"Such a play is More Than Queen
which is to be in St. Paul the latter part
of this week, with Miss, Julia Arthur
supported by magnificent company.
Undoubtedly it is the best and grandest
attraction that has been, or will be, pre-
scented here this season. In Chicago 1t
played to $4,000 week,
in abiding to such productions I am
reminded that fully as much depends on
the people of st. Paul as upon the man
ager in securing such costly plays. The
manager may book them, If he can, but
he cannot do SO provided patronage IS
inadequate. If our people exhibit due
appreciation of such plays as More Than
Queen The Sign Of the Cross and The
Christian this season, 1T will be no
trouble to secure them, and others In
their class again next season. Thus, you
see. the future of the local dramatic field
is all in the hands Of the public. 1t is
Impossible to expect that really meritor-
tous attractions will return season after
season to cities where they lose money.
Five years ago light farce comedies
obtained quite vogue. True, they are
not entirely antiQuated, the best of them,
but they are not so much In demand In
this connection let me direct attention
to the fact that a constant succession OF
really brilliant attractions lin any one
house Is an impossibility. In the first
place there are not enough Of such high.
grade productions on the road Again,
the dates of a season must be filled out,
and at times comparatively poor play
NAV. perforce, have to be substituted.
Yet In the face Of all this, so far DUR
ing the season the Metropolitan has been
fortunate in not having presented sin
gle actual failure. All have been above
TIE average And the best are yet to come.
IT still have number Of open dates and
intend to do my best to secure the most
successful plays now on the boards L
have booked Arizona which is a beau
tiful play that has turned away nun
dreds every night, IN the East. Sporting;
Life which was so popular, and did so
well in st. Paul last season, will be here
again early this spring Each of these
plays Is along the lines..ofC popularity /
have suggested, magnificent scenic at.
fractions produced at an immense cost.
"Paderewsh is coming. This eminent
pianist will be heard at. the ,Metropoli-
tan in April Without doubt Paderewskt
Is the greatest and grandeSt musical
artist that ever lived. People may talk
of such and such O one being the equal
of Paderewski, but he has no equal he
is equaled only by himself. He is q. full.
orchestra alone. People who know MOTH
ing concerning the technique of music.
performances amply satisfied. They say
He's all right There is a force and
expressiveness about Paderewski's piano
playing that, even to the, unsteady I'M
cultured. carries conviction of his Won
derful mastery Of the instrument.
What is the local theatrical outlook
Very good up to date. Business has.
been f1attering, both tnq Minneapolis and
ST. Paul, more particularly, perhaps, in
Minneapolis. But there is no reason
why this distinction should exist want
to see ST. Paul right in line with the.
Flour City in point of ;theater attend
ance Certainly it would be to the credit
of this city were such the fact Several
years ago we used to play companies for
week stands in both cities. Then came
the financial depression, and we were
obliged to divide the week.
What is the condition in London and
the provinces?"
bad The Boer war has exerted a
baneful influence on theater patrons.
English soldiers have lost their lives in
Africa, many families are in mourning
and others in their circles share their
grief This fact of course causes a de-
preston In English theatrical business.
In New York and Chicago The reverse is
true. Ben Hur' is playing to big money
nightly in New York. and all the amuse-
ment places are doing well. None of the
Eastern theaters, however,, have, or viii
have, a better production df More Than
Queen, The Sign of the Cross or The
Christian than will be given to ST. Paul
people at the Metropolitan