Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-03-23

timers would probably call me down
for giving East Lynne second placc
as a money maker. and insist that tn
| distinction belonged to Uncle Tom :
| Cabin Very likely they are right
| from a strict standpoint of dollars and
| cents. but at least half of the Uncle
| Tom shows that have reapad steady
| harvest ot shekels ever since the war
| were given under canvas and wcra
| much more in the order Of a circus
| than Il theatrical attraction proper.
| The chief actors Of such outfits are the
| donkeys and the bio dhounds. and it
| seems to me "A little far fetched To con-
slider them in connection with popular
| plays. Still. Uncle Tom has had Il
| marvellous run. In looking over Il Very
| rcliab BILE theatrical gazetteer the other
| day noticed that it was now being
| played by ten regular road companies
| and the same number Of tent troupnS.
| That means safely that it is being pre-
scented to 20 different audiences at least
every other night of the year.
"A couple of other old plays that are
| morally certain of doing "A big business
when presented by a competent roper
toire company at popular prices are
The Two Orphans and Monte Cristp.
The Two Orphans probably appeals to Il
broader range of taste than anything
written in modern times. Its swift mel
odramdtic action catches the masses. and
its fine literary quality delights people of
culture. so managers all over the land
regard it as sort of standby to fall back
upon in case of emergency and when they
have nothing else handy to trot it out
with reasonable confidence that it will
fill the house. d Emery. the author of
the Orphans. wrote another great play.
A Celebrated Case but somehow it neV-
or became popular in the sense of the
productions ] have mentioned. Some
times It would do big business and
sometimes sometime, it wouldn't It wasn't to be
put fourth in present popularity as a rep
ertoire play. The drama used by Jim
ONeili is what is known as the 'Fechter
version. and | believe he owns the copy
right so. of course. nobody else can put
1t on. But there are several other dram
atizations of the novel that are available
tions and the only really strong line in
the Fechter manuscript that doesn't APP
pear in the rest is the famous exclama
ton. The world is mine uttered by Ed
sea. after his plunge bath from the prec-
ipice of the Chateau diff. O'Neill has
been offered considerable money for the
use of those four words. but he prefers to
hang on to them as a sort of trade mark
1T goes without saying that most of
the old plays that have retained their vi
tality and drawing power are not copy
righted and may be produced by anybody.
| have always thought that Lady Aud
ley's Secret which most of us remember
one of the great successes of the time
when we were boys. would have divided
honors with East Lynne as "a slayer
were it not for the fact that ii is bottled
up by copyright. 1t is a wonderful old
play. full of powerful situations ard rich
in the element that appeals to the SYM
pathies of the average man and woman.
I am confident that properly staged re-
vival would be a great hit almost any
where
The manager paused to light fresh eli
gar. II notice" said one of his listeners.
that none Of the successful plays you
have mentioned is Il comedy" No re-
piled the manager, the great enduring
successes of the stage are invariably
emotional. You see. the emotional drama
appeals to women and the play that
women want to see is the one that draws
everybody. 1t Is quite simple. You can
figure that for every two women who at
tend the theatre at least one man Is nee
esSary as an escort and there you have
the component parts of your audience.
We chaps at the business end of the
drama look at things in a very practical
light. We have to keep the ghost amb-
ling on pay day" New Orleans Times
Democrat.