Omaha daily bee., 1905-07-16

week served notice on the Ferris
Stock company management that
- the Boyd theater must be vacated
Sunday August G. in order that needed re-
pairs and improvements may be made in
time for the opening attraction, which will
be May Irwin in Mrs. Black is Back" on
Monday, August p. This ls an early start,
and must not be taken to indicate that the
regular midseason activity will be sprung
with the coming Of the fair and bulky
May. But her advent will mark the be-
ginning OF the season and will be followed
at stated intervals by tho best Of attrac-
tons during the season. The interim be-
tween the disappearance OF the Ferris COM
pany and the coming Of Miss Irwin will
De devoted 20 a strenuous hustle by the
tanitor, the painter and the upholsterer.
From the front door to the back wall the
theater will be rubbed and scrubbed and
painted and fixed UP generally, so that It
VIII BE- clean and sweet and bright for the
winter season. This will very likely be
the last summer Of stock at the Boyd for
next season the Burwood will be open, ana
VIII accommodate the stock company
which will be a permanent feature Down
at the Krug a general overhauling is TAX
Ing place, and the orpheum is being gone
over thoroughly, 30 that Omaha people will
hno the theaters clean and attractive when
contracts
for the fitting up Of the Burwood have been
made, and IT now only awaits the fullness
OF time until the Omaha public will be in
Vited to attend the opening OF the cosiest
and most modern Of local theaters
-
One thing may be definitely accepted as
determined upon; we are not to be startled
by the original production Of any novel
or particularly meritorious play during the
coming season The pieces that have been
tested In the past will be relied upon in
the main by the managers for the imme-
,diate future, at least, the list OF new
things, most Of which was published last
week. promising no departure from the
rule o thumb adopted by the successful
play makers OF recent years. And this
has 70 do mainly with frivoHty, and the
froth of the artificial and unhealthy life
OF the thoughtless in New York and Lon
don. One consoling thought ever presses
itself home-the type of play that has
been most exploited Of recent years does
not represent the real life Of the people
either at home or abroad. 1t may be that
this would be too prosy, too matter-of- fact
and commonplace to be given illumination
on the stage; and yet one would like to
see the experiment tried. Some very
homely things have been tried and were
Merely Mary Ann" was a chapter from
real life and was an immense success be-
fore 1t was rendered ridiculous by having
happy ending tackled on like a tail &c
kite to appease the managerial plea that
Nnust be so for American consumption
Every artistic mind revolted at this out
rage on the verities. VIII the managers
ever cease to deal with us as children and
give us play that ends on the stage
Just as things do In lifeP 1t was tried II
New, FORK last winter, and had a most pro
nounced vogue Maude Adams playinl
"'Op o. My Thumb In such a way al
to win the plaudits of critics and publ,
alike. But the dreary little exposition o.
the hopeless life of a work girl was tn,
only spot in the wilderness Of make be
leve that surrounded the people who wen
to the theaters
II isn't really necessary that the dra
matist should confne himself to the pros,
and humdrum things OF life, nor that h,
devote his efforts to exploiting the common
place. That will win him neither fame no
cash. unless he Is genius. Nor is It neces
sary to indulge In the never ending debat
OF the relations between the man and tn
woman. The sex question. which is not tn
most important that confronts humanity
has In large degree given an answer /
itself, since all the ingenuity that has bee
applied TO the search for a different solu
tion has failed TO discover any but the on
conclusion. Plays that deal with othe
manifestations OF the inter-relations OF tn
human family may easily be made as in
teresting as the sex problem plays tina
have now apparently ended their vogue
Such attempts as have been made in tn
past 10 take up purely sociological or eco
been to great extent failures becaus
they have been approached from a plirel
sentimental viewpoint and have not bee
treated either practically or logically
Iosen and Tolstoi have awakened much In
terest In some of these questions, but IN
utterly impractical views OF the one an
the unsatisfactory deductions OF the othe
fail 70 satisfy. II is not at all probabl
that any definite answer will be reached b
another dramatist. for the few facts N
scientists have evolved stand on no too sur
base But the field would seem to invit
tho reapers Just now and a play dealln
with commercial or Industrial problem
reasonable way, emphasizing some OF III
suggestions recently made by the presider
and others who view these things from th
higher plane OF thought. might easily wi
for It's writer more than mere money
Inc hauOnal play Is stu TO be writer
Sectional plays are many. and efrectiv
but the great American drama has not y,
come forth. The compexity and variabilit
OF American national life appears TO be a
insurmountable obstacle in the way; rathe
the author whose grasp is sufficiently con
prehensive and whose knowledge Of his ow
country is sufficiently broad and detailed
properly deal with the subject has not y,
appeared. Along this line the foliowir
from Mr.. Burton T. Beach In the New YoI
Commercial is OF interest:
AZ this date Il seems probable that n
coming theatrical season will not presei
features OF sensational originality. The
VIII bs hne display but nothing novel
OF nothing novel that will be also grea
Neither London, Paris nor Berlin Is e.
peoting Its playwrights 10 initiate ne
departures, IL the dramatic journals
those capitals are any indication of n
conclusions OF people most likely to lSnO
what IS going on among the authors.
II means that. II the American. stage
to strike into virgin territory IN the a
tumn, the path must be blazed by ii
American dramatist. 80 far as fOreil
plays are concerned our immediate
ture will be replica OF the immedia
Unfortunately the likelihood OF dramat
Tevolution-or Of such evolution as amour
10 revolution--ia not strong among d
WFllarn Thera IA nO Vaf