Omaha daily bee., 1906-08-19

@7HATEvER faith may be put in
~ announcements Justines the be-
N lief that the coming season at
IEf5<EI the theater will be intensely joy
U9 Gus. Mighty little attention IL
to be paid 20 the sober side Of things. and,
away from the houses where the thriller
teaches Its moral lesson by indlrection.
the energy OF the manager Is to be d.
rected to increasing the gaiety Of the
world only a very few serious minded
plays have been proposed for production
during the coming season, but a veritable
cloud OF comedies OF all grades ana musi-
cal AFFAIRS even more numerous than ever
before lmpend. Some OF these latter seem
to be like the chorus girls who appear in
them; they never die, but 60 on ana on
forever, perennially refreshing themselves
and Offering sembiance Of novelty,
though they have II not. The new plays
OF this sort are built on the himsiest Of
pretexts; tho sonnet written by Shakes
peare's lover. ito his lady's eyebrow"
was deep. didactical dlsquIsition, In COM
parison to the discussions apropos Of abso-
lutely nothing put forth by the Hbretist fof
the modern musical comedy, and, for that
matter, the average modern comedy. BY
average 10 meant the great run. Now and
then some one Of tho authors flies away
At tangent and we are treated to a play
that 10 out OF the circle. But not often.
They have found out what pleasss and are
proceeding to tickle publio fancy 10 the
limit
II was thought that the success Of
Charles Kleins venture in the f1elds of
sociology might lead to others trying in
the serne direction, but up to the present
time the result IL not encouraging The
success OF the Klein piece is due I'M
doubtedly to its unreality; the fact that
John Burkett Ryder, the richest man in
tho world and the absolute dictator of the
business and politics OF the United States.
IL thwarted and defeated by a slip of
giri. pleases the popular mind Just as the
story OF Jack the Giant Killer does the
Immature but imaginative child. The
probabilities are In favor OF the PROPOSE
ton, that, given the conditions described
In the old nursery story. Jack would have
bsen served as a dainty tidbit at the next
meal partaken Of by the FIRST giant he en-
countered. And so with Shirley Rossmore.
A girl no better equipped than she APP
pears to be-. Judging from the Klein por-
trsyal OF her character. would have lasted
about as long as a-well, pick your own
smile for the extreme of suddenness, and
octopus. But the end was Just what the
folks who do not happen to be millionaires
and the like wanted. and 30 the piece has
been tremendous success from San Fran
cisco to London and back again. 1t was
hoped that out OF all this some rational
discussion Of the propositions Involved
might come. but not yet.
Il 10 threatened that The Jungle" will
be offered in dramatic form, to the end
that another picture of the condition OF the
Submergod millions may be had. The diff
hculty with the Sinclair work In that it's
author, like 30 many of his kind, did not
always allow stubborn facts to stand in the
way Of q well turned paragraph, and, as
his characters are fictitious, so many of his
incidents. and among these the most SEN
sational and pathetic he describes, are
made of whole cloth. This IL the difficulty
with the majority OF the writers Of tho
Sinclair school. It has come to that pass
that the still. small voice. can no longer
draw congregation. and the man who at
tracts attention must shrek, either In the
market place or the synagogue. And In
the present state OF social unrest the people
are showing proolivities that strongly sup
port the Darwinian theory. Mans siinian
origin was never better evinoed than by
ths Banderlogian antics pursued during the
last two or three years. One form of
hystsrta has succeeded another, and none
has yet resulted In anything that is at all
likely TO be OF permanent use. 1t is only
as an indication of the widespread dissat-
isfaetion with existing conditions that the
social turmoil is OF any immediate service.
.
Thoughtful friends OF humanity still look
eheerfully to the future. arm in the opti-
mistic hope that coming years will bring
the needed change In human nature to
make possible the realization of the dreams
that have always animated intelligent
man. Altruistic endeavor has never been
in vain, although IL may have SO appeared
Mt times, and II is susceptible of proof
that the world Is growing better Serious
sociological discussion. both on and of the
stage is bound to have the public atten-
ton and will be given careful considera-
ton from now on. This being so, the man
who writes a play to At the condition will
reap q reward that will be far beyond
that garnered by the men who have APP
preached the problem and then SHE'D.
Few Tragedy by souchon.
L'Ancien Theater de Ia Nature; The An
ciCnt rheater Of Nature was opened last
year by the actor Albert Darmont on a
hill Of champignyl, not far from Paris
His idea seemed to be to unite with the
enjoyment OF the drama the full enjoy
ment OF the spring in the and the
open air. The actor-manager has begun
the performances this year with "a poeticsl
tragedy Of Paul souchon. called "rhe New
God"
Paul Souchon Ia a son OF Provence, that
fair land OF France that basks In the
golden sun whilst its golden shores are
kissed by the tapping waves of the azure
sea- No wonder that its children are dis
ciplsS Of Joy and beauty,
FOR Paul Souchon Joy and beauty are
but the highest and most legitimate ex-
preston OF life itself. He regrets pagan
ism. which for him means time when
the rapture Of the senSss reigned supreme
In full enjoyment OF wonderful forms and
wonderful ooloIfng. He il convinced sin
cerely that human existence at the time Of
the false gods was one perfect harmony.
That love was then sn artistic perfection,
unrestrietedly within reach Of all.
But Paul souchon just as firmly Ii oon-
vinesd that Christianity makes war upon
love. crushing 1t mercilsssly beneath its
heel. looking upon beauty as a misfortune
ana upon Joy As a crime. He thinks that
Christianity WrongSd humanity by making