New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-12-18
THEATRICAL INCIDENTS AND NEWS NOTES.
DIR BANGS TELLS WHY He DIDIT-"A WIFE WITHOUT
4 SMILE"
Il SMILE."

modification at this announcement was sucn
that I felt It was necessary for me at once TO
DO something which should definitely diferen-
tate myself from my British facsimile 1 could
think of no better way Of doing this than by
writing Tor the stage. Any one who sees the
production Of Lady Teazle' and contrasts 1t
with Mr.. Pinero's productions will see how sue
cessfu I have been IN drawing the line Of de-
1rarcation which separates our two Identities"
The Temporary Relief dscreetly said nothing.
My second reason for writing for the stage"
continued Nj. Bangs. was that there is no
longer any particular distinction involved in the
writing of books Statistics tells that for
every book published to-day $50 rejected
by the publishers and that the publications
Of this autumn alone figure up to some 5000
new titles. BY q simple arlthmetical calculation
you Will see that at the present time there exist
100000 authors at work. We also told that,
barring the British Comic Opera Syndicate,
there are not five first class librettists on the
lists to-day. Why is 1t not better TO try to be
one OF five than to cast ones lot IN with the
100000, particularly when, as far as the eye
can see, the preparation of a libretto next 90
the position Of an American Ambassador to
Borneo. IS about the easiest job IN creationf
When you realize that the length of the average
ubretto IS about fifty yards OF small plea pages,
and that almost any man IN good health can
produce two yards Of dialogue and lyrtoE day,
provided he has g subject upon which TO hang
his discourse, and that the days work involved
IN this production amounts to about two hours
in time. either before or after breakfast you
will see that the labor is very slight compared
to the rewards which a successful issue will
bring To put it briefly. my second reason for
taking up ibretto writing wes that needed
rest and, must confess have enjoyed my
vacation"
You said there was a tn "a reasonq' sub
gested the Temporary Relief
Eyes my third reason was the most cornne1,na
OF the three. I took UP Iibretto writing because
wanted to-" said 1Ir. Bangs. IF you can
think Of any better reason for doing it you may
include it in this interview as a fourth"
Would you mind saying why you fell upon
! The School for Scandal as the basis for vour
present efiort2"
Not at ALL" said Mr. Bangs. ct chose The
! SCHOOL for Scandal the basis for NV OPERA
! ions because in beginning this kind of work
| wished 10 practise some Of the things have
preached with reference to comic opera in the
! years past / have been maintaining for some
| time that the conception of comic opera which
! made Of this branch Of dramatic art a hetoro-
| seneous mass Of disconnected horsepIay and
! vaudeville was erroneous and was onerattnp
against a decided public prediction for q most
! cohmendable kind OF public entertainment
! Despite the enormous cleverness and many de-
! AghtLuI qualities of later day comic operas
! mere has been IN almost every instance a woful
acK OF construction in the stories they have told
! 1hey nave resembled more than anything else
! me slrlhglng together Of a large number Of
| brilliant but wholly unrelated beads upon a
| thread SO himsy that it was none of the author,s
| fault II the thing failed to hold together. Why
! DO not our hbrettists first construct their COM
edles and then have them set to music? I have
! been asking for several years. When came to
! Try 1t myself discovered some Of the reasons
! why. The construction Of a coherent story for
! comedy purposes is not the easiest task In the
! world. So, as beginning. I provided pnvself
! with the thing I seemed to lack, and appropri-
ated for my own use and merely for practice the
best bit Of comedy construction that could find
That. in the nature Of things was The School
| for Scandal owe it also to my collaboration