Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1905-12-17
About Plays and Players

oLMOsT every other imaginable
a. theme has given its inspiration
to the pen Of the dramatist, but
HffyM IL remained Tor an Omaha man
es<S-A-S to dramatic a department store.
Robert Manley, who is at the head Of the
literary bureau Of J. L. Brandeis * Sons
great. establishment, has won for himself
recognition in this line that warrants pla-
ling him among the minerals As a rule
Mr. Manley attunes his Tyre To sing the
praises Of the various bargains that are
offered from day to day in the immense
mercantile establishment Of which he is
the recognized mouthpiece and spokesman.
lie designs the various announcements that
are set up in light faced type by the daily
press. and which set forth that something
mas been marked down from IS to $50, or
that something else is the most attractive
Of its sort ever offered, and can only be
obtained at that store. In this line Mr..
Manley has made name for himself and
has the satisfaction Of knowing that his
copy is never refused in a publishing office.
ON the contrary, his contributions are
eagerly sought after and he IS always
assured of as much space as he desires
to fill, even If It extra pages have to be
printed to accommodate it, But he tired
OF the delicate and diplomatic task Of set
ting forth in print the literature Of al
Turing bargains, and with foresight that
Is almost prescience, he determined TO
turn to account some of the things he had
noted during his daily walk through the
bargain-crowded aisles. With this end in
view, and Phil Aaron's perennial happy
phiz to incite him, Mr.. Msnley sot about
reducing the life behind the counters at
the Boston store to dramatic form. How
well he succeeded only those who were at
,he Metropolitans clubs theater on Tues
day night can possibly know. It is a
real triumph and Mr.. Mauley lnay well
he proud of his achievement. He furnished
the employees Of the firm with delightful
entertainment, and demonstrated that life
in a big store is not the sordid grind
some Of the dissatisfied people would have
us believe.
The local theater builders broke out
again during the week and erected an
other modern temple Of Thespis on one Of
the many vacant downtown corners It
Is no violation of confidence to admit that
this story had much foundation in fact
any Of the others that have emanated
from the same source. The corner mem
toned as the probable site is vacant and
is really owned by the parties mentioned
as the owners But beyond these two
fundamental facts the story is a tissue
of such stuff as dreams are made Of with
the Boyd theater standing idle an average
of four nights a week because there are no
1rst-cass attractions to fill It, and all the
theaters In the west struggling for some
thing 10 I'll their time, It is hardly likely
that the shuberts, the Belascos, the Seig-
mans or anyone else will build another
theater in Omaha.
One of the eastern papers In comment
ing on the condition of the stage in the
west cites the collapse of several COM
panies recently. and among them the
'Florodora" outfit that appeared at the
Boyd and went to pieces after playing
at Fremont. From this the paper argues
that there is prosperity for the stage
folks out west. The reverse is the truth.
If the reviewer who wrote the item had
seen the company that went to pieces he
would have wondered that 1t ever got
under Roadway at all. 1t simply had no
right to be out playing so we'll known and
generally popular a play as "Florodora, "
and especially through a territory where
II had been made known by the original
company and by the best that followed.
This company, like a number of others
that have been seen in Omaha during the
present season, was apparently organized
as a speculation, the idea being to get a
share of the money with which the west
is overflowing. That the venture failed
is a tribute to the good sense of western
people Eastern managers and promoters
might well make up their minds now
as later on that the people of the west
are not so anxious for theatrical enter
talnment that they will pay first-class
prices to see fourth rate performances
Every standard attraction that is coming
out with an established company is doing
business, and all the business that can be
done, but the cheap snap" shows arc
not getting rich. Conditions here are nc
worse than in the east, for the list OF
Blessings" is just as great in the one sec
ton of the country as in the other
Part of the difficulty is due to the fact
that the managers have not enough at
fractions TO I'll the time at the thesters
For this condition several factors are re
sponsible, and many excuses are offered
Charles Klein, the author, thus explain.
in the New York Times what he considers
The main reason for the situation:
The deliberate manufacture of plays fol
stars is surely and rapidly retarding the
development Of American playwrights. i
is perhaps the one great reason why play
writing in America is not as progressive al
in Europe. Now young playwrights as they
plan their work are inevitably In the ha b
of writing with one eye on their plays anC
the other on certain stars they hope Z
iatter into producing them.
The author who sits down to write
play with fixed notion that some par
uoular actor or actress is to carry IN,
main interest, Is at once confronted witt
certain constraining problems. The fac
that it often happens that the constrain
OF the author and the personality of III
actor managed to carry the thing TO a mos
delightfully."- successful result does not II
the least alter the essential injustice o
this state OF things.
Six years ago. after had begun to writ
The Honorable John Grigsby" I foun,
that Mr.. Sol Smith Russell would unques
tonably be the actor chosen to produce II
had intended to base the principal char
acter Of the piece on the personality o
Abraham Lincoln, as l had drawn II from
Herndons Life" The logic of the pla,
cpNod for certain situations wherein tn
towering strength and force Of the Lincol
type would freely dominate. In planning
the situations, however, | was Instant,
confronted with Mr.. Russells limitation
In precisely the needed directions And