The Washington herald., 1906-12-23

The Legitimate" simply isn't In IL any
more with vaudeville as a financial propo-
sition, says he Two dollars are paid in
salaries to the performers Of all sorts
and conditions who appear in the con-
tinuous for each dollar doled out to those
who stick to the more pretentious branch.
In Greater New York alone there are
twenty vaudeville houses. while every
city Of the country that the theatrical
census wots of has az least one. all
turning 'em away with more or less
regularity afternoon and evening through
out the season. Actors and actresses Of
great empTize no longer bow their
naughty heads cor deem they are descend
ing from their high estate when they con-
sent 90 take WLirl over the vaudeville
circuits come disaster to their legitimate
engagements OF failure TO get the same.
The vaudeville chief. of course offered in
specification. Lillian Russell. Mrs Lang
try. Arnold DAILY. and few slightly less
dazzling arc-lights OF the "haute profesh. %
who have swung round the continuous
circles tn recent seasons. And he intimat-
I'd that these stage notables did as well
in the way OF net On vaudeville as they
had been accustomed To- do week in and
week out in the legitimate. if they hadn't
actually done better.
And what's the answer? In cropping for
d line on il maybe 10 wouldn't be waste
ful Of time 20 rum reflective finger over
che list of poor OF medium grade atuac-
tions. emotional and society dramas
light and comic operas. musical come
dies. &c. that have failed 10 draw pay
ing audiences TO the frst-class houses
they have had dates at in New York
and on the road this season. and as the
Inevitable consequence OF such failHre
have dropped out of the running. Of
these attractions that failed to attract
in paying quantities. most were of the
brand that seeks 10 win the fleeting smile
by quip and Quirk and roundelay, by
frolic, romp. and sprightly 'pas"-by
just the sort OF thing, in short. one finds
galore on the polite vaudeville pros
pectUses. at aIluring prices that more than
double discount the favored tariffs Of the
legitimate. That is to say, the dramatic
and operate lame ducks were in the
nature of vaudeville stew or broth or
E0ulasch or they were merely favored
with vaudeville. while the stock was
of a sort one might get down and wor-
ship if he felt so disposed without vi0-
lating the first commandment, for il
wasn't like anything in the heavens
above nor on the earth beneath, nor yet
in the waters under the earth Now
this diluted vaudeville doesn't satisfy
the public any more. No matter what
1t may be called. or how recklessly ad-
vertised, or how gorgeously staged, the
public doesn't feel it must have il when
IL comes high It has plainly come to
prefer it's vaudeville straight. not de-
natured and misnamed When it wants
just a mere laugh without frills or thrills,
Il knows where IL is almost certain to
set it, for If one ''turn" fails to give
It. there are others pretty sure to do so
before the show is over. But the same
public that patronizes high-class vaude-
vile is just as ready on occasion to pay
the highest prices for the really great
things of the stage-the things that de-
light by the elegance and intensity OF
their comedy that move by the depth
and simplicity Of their path0s. that up
lift by the I0ftiness and beauty Of their
appeal TO what is highest and best I'm
human nature. In q word the public is
growing more and more discriminating
and seems to be inclined To divide. SEN
sibly or iusensibly. all things theatrical
into two great classes. vaudeville and
another and to insist that the other shall
be Of the very best, or ii will have none
of Il. That some change Of this sort IS
going on in the attitude Of the public
toward the theater is indicated strongly
by the circumstance that unusually high
prices don't deter the public from flock
ing to any form of theatrical entertain
ment that is unqUestiOnably Of the high
est class, while poor and medium grade
performances at ordinary prices are kept
on half Tati0ns OF patronage or COM
pletely starved out.
Without Annie Russell and her COmpan-
ion fairies TO tighten it. 1t is much to be
feared the production Of "a Midsummer
Nights Dream seen at the National
Theater the past week, would have been
rather less tasty than caviare to the gen
eraI public. Puck and the sprites are all
that give this Shakespearean fantasty its
latter-day currency, and if they are not
daintily and artistically presented, as they
were in the Russell production, per-
Torrance Of the piece is very apt TO make
the average auditor yawn. To say this is.
OF course, treason of Il kind, but IL is the
fact. nevertheless. No one denies the diff
fculty of presenting these days the finest
and noblest of the works Of Shakespeare
IN a manner that will hold the interest Of
the average audience. They must be done
by a thoroughly competent cast in all the
important parts, and the minor partici-
pants must be well drilled by a master of
stageCraft If the old pieces are to be vivi-
fec and made attractive throughout TO
those who have not learned first to love
them as literature of whom the number
even in the largest and most enlightened
communities is limited. How much more
difficult then TO present so whimsiCaIy
and daringly contrasting a work as a
Midsummer Nights Dream" in a manner
that viii engage the interest Of a mixed
audience, such as strolling players must
depend on? The average actor given
either blank verse or rhymed verse to
speak, almost invariably declaims il stilt-
edly and falsely, making the by no means
e2sily understood sentences of the older
plays mere sound 20 the ordinary ear
For even the enlightened true lover Of
Shakespeare. this robs a performance of
interest-it eXasperates instead of giving
what had been looked for. a pleasure
keener than that derived from reading
10 thoSe AMBITIOUS TO 90" Shakespeare.
there is but one word Of advice to Offer
don't attempt it unless you can do it su-
perlatIvely well
Crude is an adjective many people
would apply to the work Of the COMPANY
OF Yiddish players that gave two per
formances- at the Belaseo Theater last
week No doubt the same people would
apply the same adjective to the taste Of
the person who furnished his parlor with
articles made of weathered oak, no mat
ter how beautiful the designs and ex-