The times., 1901-03-24

ticket box
Good heavens" returned Cullen. Il
cant mt give you pX shirt ,t.u .,o,at ,oksr
but | can do this and whipping out
his pocketknife he proceeded to deliber-
ately TO cut out that portion of Cullens
shirt upon which the pass was written
and dropped it in the ticket box. while
the theatrical manager stood stupeiied
with amaZement.
As this particular contest lasted only
two rounds and was sti2mdtiZed by the
entire sporting world a fake of the
baldest kind, Cullen has since been Won
dering whether IL was worth the price OF
admission, plus a new dress shirt But
he saw the fight.
The discussion anent the reduction Ct
theatrical prices continues to excite
good deal of interest among not only those
whose interests are centred in the dramatic
profession, but laymen who pay for stage
entertainment and who have fully as much
at stake as anyone. There is little doubt
but that the lead Of Manager Jacob Lift,
of the Broadway Theatre. New York. in
cutting his prices from 81 for orchestra
chairs to 81 for all the seats on the or
che stra floor with the exception of few
front rows, will by next season be fol-
lowed by almost every manager along
Broadway.
Locally the managers profess to the be
lief that the next few years viii witness
an tsd bl MUCH NIlcdHtI enter llAiilLitlttn
cheaper in only so far as regards the
prices. The merit of the different prOduc-
tons will not be diminished in the least
but travelling managers VIII be content
with crowded houses at lower prices.
That WaShingtonians are taking much
interest in this matter of cheaper stage
performances was amply evidenced last
week when Mr.. Mansfield found il inn
possible to crowd the National Theatre at
81 for the entire orchestra floor. And, ii
should be remarked Mr.. Mansfield is the
only native actor whose expense account
warrants charge OF 81 for seat. IN
most cases, when star happens along
with a phenomenal success as In the case
of Mr.. Crane with his 'Harum, the pub
lie will readily pay the extra tariff, but
in the case of ordinary attractions 1t is
very doubtful whether the amiable citizen
VIII not refuse 10 pay the increased
charge and take advantage of his priei-
lege and remain away.
In this connection the following re-
marks of Manager Lift concerning cheap
er prices viii be found interesting:
Il reason this way: To begin with !
am sick and tired of seeing row after row
of empty seats in my theatre, and be
sides, ! don't believe there was ever a
play put on the stage that was worth 8
seat. ] have wanted to make reduc-
tion in my prices for some time, but /
didn't think ii was Il good policy to
change them until had some big attrac-
ton OF my own in my theatre. Whatever
the success or failure of The Price Of
Peace as a play may be, am
quite confident that every spectator viii
admit that he has received his money s
worth in scenic attractions at least.
Every detail Of this production has been
brought over direct from London. and the
play will be produced exactly as 1t was at
Drury Lane. with the exception that /
have engaged the best actors procurable
for the cast.
THE experiences OF the past few sea
sons have proved conclusiVely that il is
impossible to run a play in New York.
no matter how great it's hit may be. as
long as one could when the best seats
in the house We're sold for S1.50 The 81
tariff. with it's speculator annex. has been
the deathkncli to very long runs. Down
at the Academy, Manager Brady has tried
the experiment of producing an old, old
play with a big star cast at popular
prices The result of his experiment with
Uncle Toms Cabin has been a series
of crowded houses such as few managers
can draw for any length of time now
adayS Well now. if Mr.. Brady can do
that at a downtown theatre like the
Academy, I believe that I can draw just
as well. If not better, at a big. centrally
situated theatre like the BrOadway-pro-
Yided, Of course, that | present equally
as good an attraction. The population of
New York has not decreased in the last
few years; on the contrary, it has in
houses which the pOpular-priced houses
always draw when they have a good at
traction convinces me that the public is
just as fond of theatregoing as it ever
was.
AT all events I am going to try the
experiment AS long as it remains un-
der my management there will be no
more 81 seats at the Broadway"
Once more have those very agreeable
players, Effie Shannon and Herbert Kel-
cey, endeavored to secure d play suited
to their talents, and once more have their
efforts proved futile, if the unanimous
opinion of the press of Gotham may be
accepted. Seldom has a piece received
such severe Stating as that accorded to
the dramatiZation Of 'ManOn LeScaut' rs
prepared for the Shannon Kelcey COM
pany by Theodore Burt Sayre, who occu-
pies the position of plaY-reader in the
office Of Mr.. Charles Frohman
The most charitable notice the new play
received, perhaps. was given in the
Evening Sun, and was, in part. as fol-
lows:
Another Gagged dramatist has been
heard from with even more than the
usual disastrous effect At Wallack's s last
night another noVel-a classic this time
none less than the Able Prevosts Ma
non Lescaut'-was butchered in cold
blood. stripped of it's simplicity and
pathos in order 10 make room for mushy
sentiment and claptrap denouements.
while its poor plot was torn limb from
limb in order that its executioner. Mr..
Theodore Burt Sayre. might demonstrate
how bad play may be written with the
assistance of a pair of scissors and a
Z
zenith of her smashing powers could have
made a greater wreck of this famous
classic. Not only is the play bad as a
dramatiZed novel, but in his efforts to
whitewash Manon he has made his play
maudlin and dreary and has dragged in
by the heels a series of climaXes which
would not he accepted seriously at the
Star. 1t was only the genuine respect in
which the audience held Mr.. Kecey and
Miss Shannon that prevented those filters
which ran round the house more than
lF=s.ra IL -f.lr4
ter. And both these artists deserve all
the sympathy which they will receive to-
day. If Miss Shannon had searched
through all literature she could have
sweet and plaintive personality than
( ManOn Lescaut. Anthony Comstocl
| might as well attempt to star as Don
Juan or Mrs. Grundy as Camille. Bad as
My Lady Dainty was as a play. il at
least gave Miss Shannon a role which
| showed her art to fine advantage. But as
| ManOn she never for an instant suggest
ed the part and when Mr.. Sayre began
! to pile melodramatic climaXes which had
nothing to do with the case upon her
| poor Miss Shannon collapsed histrioni-
! cally.- after the manner of the camel ;
| back when it encountered the last straw. "
| Miss Phoebe Davis, so long connected
! with the role of Anna Moore. in Way
! Down East" Will be presented by VIII
| lam A. Brady in Philadelphia, next
month, in a new play by H. a. du Sou
| chet, in which the principal part will be
| Betsy Ross, who made the first American
! flag. Mr.. du Souchet's fame as "a dramat-
| list has heretofore been chiefly connected
| with My Friend From India" and The
! Man From Mexico, and his kind friends
were even good enough a the time 10
| insinuate that he did not write these him
| self.
The role of George Washington in the
| new play will be Interpreted by Joseph
| Holland, whose engagement recalls the