Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1900-12-29
TW ELVE PAGES.
SATURDAY. DECEMBER 20 1900.
PRURIENCY in PLAYS.

Play goers, who stop TO think about
It, are apt to be struck with the fact
that so large a percentage Of The plays.
staged today, are based upon The tacit
assumption that to be entertaining n
play must contain n tinge OF prurCncy.
Many do not stop with a tinsc. hut
make it the basic idea. Promising
that no criticism OF the local theatre
is intended, or of that particular play,
more than another. take the Three
Musketeers," which was presented here
the other evening. 1t is considered a
clean and meritorious play, as plays
go, and yet not one of the principal
feminine characters was pure and
loyal woman as judged by ordinary
standards. Indeed. each of the three
principal characters was an unfaithful
wife, and Qn the case of the Queen
and her waiting woman) disloyalty
was made to appear as heroic and
commcndable thing; and the climax Of
the play was the triumph Of the Queen
in avoiding detection. The audience
applauded vigorously. The obvious
lesson was that SO the eleventh com
mandment, Thou shalt not be found
out" is observed, it does not matter
as to the seventh commandment.
This raises the natural inquiry.
Have play-wrights and managers
found by experience that nastiness in
some proportion. is a necessary Gle
ment in a play?" Have they found
that a play lacking this element win
not ."draW2n ,chere -can be- -qncs-
tion that this quality will always draw
a certain class. but we do not believe
that the question is to be answered
with a sweeping Affirmative. On the
contrary, 1t is probable that pruricncy
is used to make up for dramatic and
artistic shortcomings. Recognizing
that this quality will always appeal to
u certain considerable clientagc. a
dash of it is added as n matter of
course. even when it is not the central
idea.
OF course, nastiness does no harm TO
them that naturally like It. Indeed It
average man. who is apt to be more
or less familiar with it, Only two
often he could give the playwright
valuable hints as to the realism of it,.
But, to large percentage OF play
goers, this sort of thing is not n mat
ter of course. To them 1t does harm
The average morality of plays is below
the average morality of society. The
well reared young girl in the season
of theatre going, will be familiarized
with a phrase OF life of which she had
hitherto been entirely ignorant and
free from it's communicating effects. and
a glamour is thrown about 1t that OBJ
scures the hcdous and the repulsive
features. Her sensiblities are apt to
be either shocked or blunted by it.
We have no purpose to preach, but
to make the practical point hat Ills is
an unnecessary sacrifice. In real life.
men and women keep their sins to
themselves. They are never or rarely
obtruded ON the attention of others,
voluntarily, and when obtruded, at all,
the lesson is always unpleasant. The
stage has. therefore, made it its bust
ness TO make public the secret sins Of
society; not always for the purpose of
showing the natural sequence of offense
and penalty. but more often TO teach
that evil may be done with impunity;
that with ordinary care and shrewd-
ness, 1t is possible to "eat ones cake
and have it."
This la. we submit, not realism. 1t