The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-08

ire Francois in this respect. us COSTS,
exclusive of stage fittings and architects
fees, IL expected to be 81 100, 900. II is to
stand az a monument to dramatic art, and
tn the esteem in which it should be held in
the community.
OF the space allowed for the auditorium
the only possible criticism Ia that 1t is too
great. The proscenium arch il to be forty
five feet wide, or one foot more than that
Of the Academy of Music, aud only ten feet
less than that Of the Metropolitan Opera
House. From the curtain to the farthest
bend TO the lower tier Of boxes is mot to
exceed ~4iIty-fve feet" The. seating capao-
ity "is not to be less than 1000, OF which
the parq1et alone must contain not less
than 900 Tie actual capacity OF the
floor is to exceed this latter figure. The
| railing Of the lower tier Of boxes is to be
mot more than five feet above the level
of the parquet floor, and as was the case
in the old opera house, there is to be an
aisle around the parquet seats 80 that
persons wishing to converse with the oc-
cupants OF the boxes may do 80 standing
on the paruuet level'-an arrangement
which has social and picturesque advan-
tages. Thus, to the capacity OF the orches-
ira should be added that of the lower tier
Of boxes C3xs=13S) making a total Of 73S.
The great size of the auditorium may
be Judged by a comparison with the larger
Of the representative theatres Of the city.
OF the Hudson Theatre the capacity is 995.
and Of its orchestra SOP. OF the knicker-
booker Theatre the capacity is 1,2s3, and
Of its orchestra $50, OF the New Amster-
dam the capacity is 1875, and of its orchestra
SIS. OF the Academy of Music the capacity
is $500, and Of its orchestra and orchestra
circle 99i. Thus the New Theatre will have
twice the capacity Of the very spacious
Hudson, and fall very little short Of the
Academy Of Music, which once served for
grand opera.
The dangers of such great size are mani
fest in the Metropolitan Opera House, just
as the more subtle and intimate operas
are there swallowed up in space, so here
the finer phases Of literary and histrlonlc
art are likely to be lost-and are GER
tain 70 be il the acoustic properties are not
perfect. In my case there will be a con-
slant temptation for the actor to ~exaggerate
his style, a feat which only the most
accomplished technician can accomplish
without grave loss of subtlety and truth
and especially in the comedy of manners,
which is perhaps the highest form OF comedy
and certainly the most modern.
For these dimensions. however. there
ia both precedent and practical extenua-
ton. They we're arrived at by a COM
parison of the leading repertory theatres
of the Continent. notably the Hofburg OF
| Vienna and the Theatre Francois. In both
Of these theatres | have had difficulty In
hearing, though a part OF it was due to
a lack Of aural familiarity with the lam
g,lage spoken. That the founders OF the
New Theatre are aware of the dlsld-
vantaRes Of it, size is evident in the fact
that they nave reduced the apron be-
tween curtain and footlights to the mini
mum requisite for the p%rompter's box, and
allowed only eight feet for the musicians,
arranging them on three steps descending
beneath the stage with sounding board
beyond. The practical argument against
reducing the auditorium il that to nit the
seating capacity would make it financially
impossible to conduct the institution on
the liberal scale intended. Outside the
auditorium are to be smoking rooms and
cloak rooms, and in addition to monu-
mental etair two elevators. The build
ing will contain a flower shop, a confec-
1 Il BIOb DAlNA " ~
nent feature will be a foyer after the manner
of the great Continental theatres II Is no
slight testimony to the largeness and bold
ness Of the aims of the founders that they
intend to place their theatre in all respects
on a level With the great State aided estab-
lishment Of the Continent. This Hberality
OF view is even more evident IN the plans
for the stage.
In width it il to be loo feet or only one
foot less than the stage Of the Metropolitan
In length the pamphlet requires 50 feet or
only four feet less than the Metropolitan
though the apron there is 10 feet VIDE
This depth the architects thought excess
ave, and Mr.. Conried consented to a re-
duction of ten feet, to 10 feet, as his ire
ducible minimum. The change increases
the width Of staircases n foyer in front
from about IS to about As feet, which il
certainly an Improvement in the architect
ural possibilities. The loss to the stage
sho1ld not be serious. The stage on which
Mr.. Belasco produces his wonderful effects
of atmospheric space is only 30 feet deep.
II must be remembered, however, that the
waits between the acts at the Belasco are
excessive and it was probably with a view
TO ease and speed in scene shifting that Mr.
Conried planned 50 deep n stage. And
here again there was a precedent in the
dimensions Of the stages OF Continental
theatres.
The a~ppurtenances of the stage are to be
in accord with the best foreign example.
Scenery docks for the orderly storage OF
the shifts of several productions are to be
in immediate connection with the stage
an arrangement of great advantage in the
case Of a repertory theatre, in which the
bill is or should soon be changed nightly
and no single piece given more than two
or three times a week. The property room
also is to be on the level Of the stage, The
room for furniture and stage fittings and
the room for movable electrical apparatus
are to be easily accessible from the stage.
There il to be a general wardrobe room
and a room for storing armor There is
10 be a large low room for painting scenery
on the horizontal and a paint bridge at the
back Of the stage for vertical painting.
There is to be a carpenters room for build
ing scenery. There are TO be two chorus
roons for men and two for women, each
person to nave a dressing table and locker,
and two supers' rooms. The ballet prao-
tice room is to have direct access to the
~ Thare are to be three rehearsal