Omaha daily bee., 1902-10-26

Last week may reasonably be classed
with the uneventful in Omaha's theatrical
calendar, as u contained nothing worthy
of serious thought or even remembrance.
Mason and Mason furnished a fairly good
entertainment in the farce comedy line
on the first two nights and al on Ac-
count Of Eliza" which came next, was IN
differently bad. The most ambitious o1er-
ing Of the week at the Boyd was "A Mod
ern Magdalen." a bad play by a good com
pany. From a purely artistic STANDPOINT
the performance is entitled to commenda-
tIon. hut the more art the more nauseating
sucb pIavs become. The day may come
when actors will feel themselves above
nresentIng the counterfeits Of male and
female drabs. even in the name OF art. Al
the orpbeum a well made up vaudeville
bill received liberal patronage throughout
the week.
Now and then a very himsy pretext serves
to excuse an elaborate argument. just at
present a notable example Of this Is being
Afforded by the New York papers that take
delight In the modern problem play. Very
recently Mr.. Charles Frohman announced
his intention OF giving a series Of the early
English morality plays. Mr.. Frohman's
motive is susceptible Of at least two in
terpretations. II is not the purpose here
to discuss either. for neither Is relevant 10
the point. In pursuance OF his announce
ment, Mr.. Frohman caused - be produced
at the Mendelssohn hall, ia all its medi-
aeval solemnity and grotesque grcvity,
''Everyman," a most notable example OF
the mysteries" which we're shown under
the patronage Of the church of the middle
ages for the moral uplifting Of the people
- 49, H.. A. , annafan1n q "a dggHTihnn
rs intensely dull, and as a play 1t amounts
TO absolutely nothing, being merely the
platetudinous pressing Of certain characters,
such as Fellowship, knowledge, Good
Deeds, Goods, and so on. Because the pub
lie has not gone into exstacies over this
sort Of play, the advocates of the immoral
very Enormously argue that clean plays are
not wanted. One need not be surprised at
this attitude Of those who delight In the
refined indecency of the Pinero type or the
brutally frank vulgarity Of Maeterlinck, for
any who can find occasion to advocate plays
that deal so openly with prurience and
impurity is easily capable of selling on any
excuse whereby they may be justified. II
would be as reasonable to contend that, be-
cause the books that were written and
printed half a millinium ago are no longer
generally read, public taste demands fiction
Of a sort that is usually excluded from pub
lie libraries. A very slender peg is often
used on which to hang a mighty argument,
but is the peg in this instance stout enough
TO support the contention pendant from it.
There is a note of encouragement in the
following excerpt from the validictory OF
Lyman B. Glover, which appeared two
weeks ago in the Chicago Record-Herald;
With the passing Of Isben, Maeterlinck
Halbe and all other apostles of distempeI
ms an appropriate substitute for poetic
interest. the lascivious French farce has
also found it's exodus through the rear door
box, where IL properly communes with
other but less offensive r~ottenness. The re
sponsible .theater,. at one time frequently
degraded by these frank and candid Illus
trations of foulness. drenched with tn,
essence of double entendre and garnisheC
by all the trimmings of social harlotry, Il
now almost free from such offenses agains
decency.
of scorpions. The public, in utter disgust
refused to longer tolerate such an outrag
In high places, with the result that thes
prurient exhibitions were, driven into tn
slums and are no longer offered by reput
able managers, but find a congenial habita
The comparative cieanness of the Ameri
can stage, only now and then befouled b,
eTn Magdaien" or some scarlet tour d
force provided as pacemaker for actresse
of passion and intensity, is a most com
there Will always be sporadic m o
the baleful as well as the suggestive dram
may be conceded, but the present trend 0
the public mind is most unfriendly to bot
and there will never be a rebound in tn
other direction. All people whose views. ar
worth considering demand a clean stage @
none at all. They wish to purchase neithe
views of unhappiness nor a dramati
synopsis OF vice.
Mr.. Richard Mansfield closed his engage
ment In Chicago last evening, having pre-
scented his "Jufius Caesar at thirteen pa
performances. Superlatives were el
hausted by the Chicago papers In review
ing the production and the interpretatio
of the character OF Brutus by Mr.. Mans
field. Amidst the clouds of smoke arislr
from the incense burned before this grea'
est of living English speaking actors, OF
very essential point-to Omaha people
least-is obscured. 1t is that Mr.. Man
field, who might easily find audiences ever
night in the year among the citizens
half a dozen OF the larger cities Of Il
country, disregaTds his personal comic
and carries his magnificent art to tho
jewellers In outer darkness who could n
otherwise enjoy 1t. other great acto
have made occasional Journeys through h
wilderness OF ~one-night stands, but Ricl
ards Mansfield is the only one who b
ever undertaken such excursions as
annual event. II is merely another ey
dence OF the artistic greatness OF the ma
At one time or another Americans ha
been treated to some most remarkab
things In the way Of thrillers. but nothil
In the range OF easy recollection will cor
pare with the Shilling shocker" which
thus described by the London correspon
ent of the Dramatic Mirror:
New production number two was a mel
drama written by Walter Melville for I
huge Standard theater, in the Shoredit
part OF the huge East End. and for SUBJ
lQuent touring purposes. The play bore I
extraordinary title OF The Second Til
was, l assure you. BY way OF somewh
proving my words / may simply mention
few Of the deeds OF the wicked heroil
who at the commencement of the play 81
denly turned up alone and well after havi
been given out as dead and buried. S
started by hurting the captain of an 4
'lantic liner (Which seemed to be crewlei
into the adjoining oSean. In order to MT
safely puFloin severSl hundreds or the
sands OF pounds worth OF jewels, which
had conveniently stored away in his priv
cabin. She next went 70 the drowned cS
ta!n's old home and set about upsetting
honeymoon OF the good heroine and he
She furthermore inveigled into her "a
whom she had tipped into the Atlant
Next the wicked Creature helped TO MUIR
a poor Italian organ grinder who had Sc