The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-12-26
THE AMERICAN PLAY
It's Treatment by Theatrical syndi-
cate Discussed by Bronson -
Howard, the Dramatist..
american Managers Take Less Risk
With a Play Which Has
Succeeded Abroad.

the American DrarnatlStS ciuo, duo WIZ
may Justly claim to have been the pioneer
among modern American dramatists. is at
the Holmes hotel. where he is visiting his
cousin. Albert Howard Although he has
not been in the best OF health Tor the past
few years and has not, produced play
since 1892 Mr. Howard still keeps in close
touch with stage affairs and his comments
upon plays and players are vastly inter-
esting, founded as they are upon an eX-
perience of more than twenty years.
Mr.. Howard does not agree with those
drarnatists who maintain that the so
called theatrical syndicate, at the head
of which are Charles Frohman and Al
Hayman discriminates against American
playwrights. although he admits that the
system on which the syndicate is run
does SO discriminate The syndicate he
saws, like other trusts. is merely q
money making organization, ana IS so re-
garded by it's managers.
ut Is only natural says Mr.. Howard.
"that American managers should prefer
to produce plays that have proved sue
cessful abroad as such a course mlnlmlzeS
the financial risk involved. So Tar as
they can they make the European man
ager do the experimenting. Human ma
ture is pretty much the same the world
over and the only thing the American
manager has to cope with In producing a
play that has succeeded abroad IS the
slight difference in taste between Amerl-
can and foreign audiences. He thus, in
measure. insures his own success and
while the system initiates against ma
tive dramatists l do not believe that the
members Of the syndicate personally have
any feeling in the matter whatever. Nor
is this new feature.
The Genesis Of Shenandoah.
when / first wrote the play that was
afterwards elaborated into Shenandoah
I submitted it to Lester Walack. then at
the head of Days theater, now the Mad
ison Square, New York. Wallack liked
the piece but he wanted me to change 1t
to fit conditions in the Crimea instead
of our own civil war. An American war
play was then unheard Of. and he didn't
want to take the risk. You see he had
made success in a play of that charac-
ter and he wanted to follow it up. |
thought I'd see him farther first. though:
and so I put the play away and it WASH
produced for fifteen years. Originally it
was written in three acts. but many or
the characters, were the same and the
later piece followed along the lines OF
the earlier
According to Mr.. Howard the stage is
merely a reflex of life and as conditions
change so must stage productions change
to suit them. In support Of this theory
he cites the passing from the stage of the
betrayed the girl.
There was a. time" said he. when the
betrayed girl was always the leading figure
of the English and American stage. We
We're shown young women Of good families
who had been betrayed under every con-
reivable combina ton of circumstances.
and the character could always be counted
upon for pathos but that day is past AS
early as 1908. Mrs. Inchbald. in writing Of
a play then current. said that the betrayed
girl had outived her usefulness as stage
u !, se1,Ne ri S,nr,f iv,oo
for an educated young woman who could
be betrayed under any circumstances.
and, although Mrs Inchbald was ahead Of
her times in this particular. her remark
Is true to-day. Gradually the betrayed
girl sank lower and lower in the social
scale until except for isolated instances,
she passed away altogether and was sue
ceeded by the French adventures.
Passing Of Conventional Characters.
1.-THE adventures was always a more
popular stage figure abroad than on. this
side. although we saw much Of her in i'm
ported plays The reason for that is easy
of explanation. In America. women con-
troll society. American men. far as
social affairs are concerned. have always
been contented to be merely the guests
of their wives In their own houses, and
naturally women would detect an adven-
turess at once and dispose Of her effectu-
ally Abroad the leaders of society are
men.
with the passing Of the adventures
came the woman with past. That is the
point to which we have attained to-day:
and yet the subject is already hackneyed
and is old as time itself. 1 don't want to
say anything against Mother Eve, but
will say that she was the representative
of the only genera ton that did not have
women with pasts; and such women can
not serve much longer as stage charac-
tiers. whether in problem plays or society
drama.
Present Dramatic Tendencies.
"a prominent feature of our social life
Of to-day is the changed standpoint from
which society Is coming to view the rela
tons of the sexes. There is, more anC
more. a tendency to depart from the reli-
gious viewpoint for the scientific, and, al
though cannot now see the dramatic as.
pect Of this change that may come later
The woman Of to-day Is a most interest
Ing parsonage. She is Just awakening tt
an appreciation of her own Importance
AS stage figures she is rich in possbili:
ties; and when say the woman Of to day
do not mean the h-satrized new
woman. but the American woman who
plays so large a part in the affairs o.
American life. In this country We are
farther advanced along this line thar
they are abroad but the change Is MAX.
. ing itself apparent there also; and. be
$lieve that the woman of to-day Is des
tined shortly to hold the center of the
mimic stage. as she is fast usurping stel
lar privileges in life" Eas..-..
Asked whether he approved of religious
plays, Mr.. Howard replied that he re
garded the stage as suited to all subjects
and that he saw no reason why it shoult
not treat Of religious as well as profan,
themes. He pronounced 'Everyman,' al
old English morality play, recently revive,
full Of dramatic opportunities. 1T is. o
course said he, "the best Of the morali
ties. and when you have seen 1t you ca,
readily realize that the church brough
the stage to a point where SHAKESPEARE wa
possible and that we have the church t
thank for the bard's masterpieces.
The New Minneapolis Theater
At dinner rendered him recently a
the Minneapolis Club, the matter Of a ne1
first class theater was preached, and MI
Howard was questioned regarding tn
probable attitude Of the syndicate towarr
such venture. He replied that he coal
only speculate as to how the trust woul
regard such a move, but gave it as hi
opinion that a new house, erected by loca
capital would be gladly welcomed by tn
heads of the New York combine He dep
recated, however, any idea of fighting tn
trust, although he admitted that the powe
of the Independents seemed to be increas
ing and compllmented Harrison Ora
whom he declares to be shrewd manage
f3,or1,%