The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-01-14
THE PASSING SHOW.

The statement is brought 10 mind. not onl,
by last weeks engagement of Sporting
Life but by the long succession Of lik,
plays announced here within the mex
month or so. Cecil Raleigh and Seymour
| Hicks effort. rocking of the stable and o
decayed morality from beginning to end
! proved an excellent example of the quoted
! fact. The man or woman who sat through
/ that production, noting its bombastiJ
, heroics and its absurd ireonEruities, with
| out feeling tempted to laugh occasionally
must either have had load on his or he's
] mind or have had very little mind for the
/ carrying OF such burden. Only once did
/ the piece really demand serious attention
/ For ten minutes during the third act Elits
| Proctor Otis. a truly admirable artist
| lifted her vehicle from the muddy slough
of mediocrity by r-Aat considering the
metaphor. might be termed the srokes Of
| its wheels. Except for this bit. Sporting
/ Life can be summed up retrospectiyely as
most amusing affair.
! The mirthprovoking qualities OF the
work probably do not reflect on the ability
OF Messrs. Raleigh and Hicks. its authors.
though neither OF those gentlemen ever has
turned out anything entirely creditable.
strong hand-but the trump card-is- mine
ha-ha'' variety Of stage Offering always
has possessed its hilarious points. The alb
soluteiy impossible situations. the extrava-
giant character drawing the stilted lines.
and the dreadfuily conventional business CT
such presentations lays them open to be-
ing merrily received. And. when one starts
carefully Weighing the speeches and Incl
dents with which their writer's so labori
pressions are very different from those in
tended. RevertinE to Sporting Life" had
any real. live human being answered the
tender Of bride with Lord Woodstock's
words: Because | am 4 gentleman and run
my horses to wiz he would have teen
set down for an ass or cad Immediately.
Like tribes form the weak threads that
make quite obvious the rottenness of NEST
melodTamatic textures.
Unfortunately. however, all persons are
not possessed of "a sense OF humor.' and
there are individuals 10 whom such arrant
nonsense undoubtedly is injurious. The
small boy in the gallery and the mental,
who compose half the clientele of the
houses that are chiefly given TO attractions
OF the when London Sleeps" sort. can
not be expected TO discriminate between
the sensible and the senseless. Conse-
quently they get from that type OF play
a vast deal Of maudlin sentiment, puerile
foolishness, and other clap-trap. The
things one sees animated invariably are
stronger impressed than those of which
one reads The genuine thriller there
fore. is infinitely more hurtful to the ig-
norant or to the young than is the much
cried-agaiust dime novel. II contains the
false ideas and ideals of the average pen
ny terrible" with little OF the cleanliness
that is a dominant virtue in the Nick
Carter" and "Old Sleuth'' classics. Few
Of the literary products mentioned are vul-
gar or suggestive. Nulgarity and suggss-
ton have come to be the principal points
emphasized in the announcements of pop
ular- priced theatres. the bookings Of which
provide time for attractions like some OF
those exploited by James Wallick and his
contemporaries.
If the growing favor into which yaude-
VILE has come in this country has proml-
nent aspect OF cheerfuness that aspect is
due largely to the fact that specially per
formauces are running the business of the
resorts described-resorts which alternate
between sensational melodrama and infant
tickling farce The "ex-vsriety fieId''-so 1
IL has been called by Chicago reviewer
still bristles with clap sticks and mis-
placed verbs but, at the worst. il Is a
improvement on the entertain
ments generally advertised at the pawn
shop district houses. Beside such mus
cular diversion as Two Jolly Rovers." the
average Sidewalk conversation" is an in
tcllectual treat fit for the delectafion of a
Boston school committee. And. as has
been remarked. the Bowery type OF amusc-
ment resort. at least one Specimen of
which exists here. varies consistently be
tween settler bottle comedy aud melodra-
ma that either is ridiculous or injurious
that too often is both We're comedies
like "A Reign Of Error or melodramas
like Sherlock Holmes" done at these
places there would he no room for com
plant But the theatres mentioned present
1nly the cheapest and poorest in the foot |
light world. Generally they do not de-
serve even the patronage Of the small /
minded TO whom they cater
1t might be interesting, by the way. to
learn II managers who persistentIy an
bounced features which they did not offer
'ould be made amenable to the law pro
riding punishment for obtaining money
lnder false Dretences. Certainly. the en-
ertalhmenJ-loVer who was attracted to "A
place OF amusement by the advertisement
'f some merit which obviously did nor OK
st would be justified in suing for a return
d ms admittance fee. or course. in in
stances where only strength of play or abiI-
y OF player was urged, this person would
ind 1t impossible TO prove that the per-
ormance did not make good all claims.
However there are cases in which a Jury
mould be convinced beyond doubt The
printing for Sporting Life" consistently
iileged that the Jacob Lift production en-
,ioyed 90 people. This figure was con
lnued before the public even after the
newspapers had exposed its untrutb Two T
hundred and fifty people would So crowd
my stage in this city that the PRINCIPALS
u company barely would have SPACE in
Shich 10 move AS a matter of fact. inclu
i've of dozen dirty-faced local supers and
Exclusive OF the men painted on a drop
ised in the fourth act, Sporting Life"
vas interpreted by an organization that
no moi exceed seventy actors and actresses.
The discrepancy, therefore. was IsO Tho
writer is not legal light OF any brilliancn
'ut he believes that the spectator who was
ured TO the National by the lie mentioned
would ma II simple TO recover the price
aid for seats did he care to put himself TO
hat trouble
Luckily for the law-abiding citizen the
nagniiicently clever thief exists chiefly in
ovels and melodramas. The ordinary
rimlnal is very easily caught at his work
4 annexation. This is true no less of the
literary plunderer than of his more sought
fter brother. Everyone remembers how.
Turing the Hispano American war, a
New York newspaper EXPOSED
he pilferings Of another by conceaIing a
onfession in trumpedup item The re-
ultant indictment was complete and a
enial never was attempted.
Outside OF the Clipper" which includes
porting comment in its columns. Gotham
ontains two wellknown dramatic publ
atoms. One OF these is the Mirror" an
nterprising journal which employs an
normous force in obtaining its informa-