The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-07-28
THE ENDOWED THEATER.
Are We Ready for 1t, and Where
Shall 1t Be,

Shall 1t Be.
Ainslee's Magazine.
Whether the time is ripe for an en-
lowed theater in this country must be
decided largely on this pivot: Have we a
| man capable of directing such theater2
! When the responsibility of the post is
! seriously weighed, one cannot but feel
! that the incumbent should have the stage
genius of Moliere and the business Gbility
! of Charles FTohman.
In which city should such theater
| be built? Why, in New York, of course.
Please don't go so fast. New York I'M
drama for the United States, A produc-
ton setting out on the road with the
magic goo nights in New York on the
posters is bound to make money TIE
Endorsement is so infallible that some
times it finds its way to posters by curl
Gus mathematical processes unguessed OF
in the minds of the laity. Now, the fact
is, though it will be instantly denied, that
the run of New York audiences is as
limited in taste as are the inhabitants of
a remote village. To go to the theater in
a smaller city where people are thriftier
and live at low nervous pressure Is an
intellectual entertainment.
In New York, on the contrary, people
go to the theater with the single object
of amusement. The man or woman II at
has worked hard, whether at So, SIS, $40 or
$50 per day, wants to laugh heartily after
the heavy dinner that has been eaten
hurriedly; or he Graves the soothing eff
feet produced by a nice sweet play in
which everything ends right, just as IN a
novel by Bertha M. Clay. An Ibsen play
acts as positive irritant on a dinner OF
which roast duck has been the most df-
gestible dish. A poetic tragedy makes
the heavy dinner feel as though in a
spell of folly he had drunk four quarts
OF ApOllinariS.
After the play the New York theater-
gcer INDUCES in a supper; and the per-
Torrance passes from his mind almost
as quickly as the contents of the news
papers he Skins through twice a day.
Society folk who do not earn their living
go to the theater because they are bored
They are plainly much more in need OF
diversion than the workers. The tran
sientS in New York, who support t1e
towns theaters literally, come hunger
ing for a good time To ask them to take
the theater seriously would be like lead
ing them to a fire sale in green goods
If by some magic all New York theaters
could be raised to the heights in which
the tdealist critic breathes, the effect
might be similar to that observed when
New York was closed town. People
would cease to come here, and merchants
and traffickers in general would howl at
the business depression.
1T may be advanced that in New York
the classes not Well-to-do patronize the
theater as an intellectual entertainment
This is open to question. If you study
the programmes Of the band concerts in
Central park you will notice a prepon-
derance of sweetmeat compositions of the
most popular type. In Prospect park
Brooklyn, classical music is demanded
by. the people No one OF course, except
a denizen, will suggest that the American
endowed theater be located in Brooklyn 1
1t would be too hard to find it. BY
rtretch Of imagination New York may
be compared to a man just out of college,
having plenty of money. although obliged
TO spend seven toilsome hours each Gav
In his fathers office. He has two anbi-
tons: To make money and to enjoy life.
The theater. as it is today, is a fruitful
source of this enjoyment When it ceases
conducted on the lines Of the idealist
critic he would frequent as often as he
visits the Lenox library