Los Angeles herald., 1907-12-29
WILL TRY PLAN OF
NATIONAL THEATER

NEW YORK next season will be the
scene Of highly interesting expert
4 ment. and one which. if 1t Is a sue
cess. will be of almost inestmable ad-
vantage to American p.aywrights and to
American players. Foundations have
been laid in that city for a 100000 the
ater a theater which has been endowed
by a considerable number Of wealthy
New Workers. When completed the house
is to be managed under plan similar to
that in practice at the Theater Fran
caise, with the exception that it will be
privately. instead of governmentally
supported.
If announced lIans are carried out,
masterpieces of all countries will be pre-
sented at this theater. where viii be
offered the best light opera and the best
musical comedy as well as the best
drama of the Gay. 1t is likely also that
foreign artists as we'll as foreign plays
will be presented there.
The scheme as outlined has obvious ad-
vantages and equally obvious disadvan-
tages AS pointed out by Elmer b. Har-
ris in the course of a recent talk the
house will not be national theater, but
a playground for the exotic rich--a class
theater. Despite this drawback, however,
its power for GOOD, rightly managed,
cannot but be large. Mr.. Harris sug-
gests that the management might insti-
tute some sort of a competition for plays
having to do with American subjects;
that dramatic club might be organized
and company or artistic young players
developed.
In fact, he believes that some such
move as this will be necessary if the
theater is to prosper. In speaking of this
necessity, Mr.. Harris said:
Couldn't Get Stars
''The best actors and actresses today
are al stars, and they are making so
much money playing for the syndicate
that they would not think of going over
to the so-called national theater' 1t
would be a losing game for them Hence
this theater must go without the best
talent. 1t can't have the John Drews,
Maude Adamses and Dave Warfields be-
cause it can't afford to pay them the
amounts they could command elsewhere.
more, playwrights. in the ordinary
course of events, will only submit their
manuscripts to this management as last
resort. play presented at this theater
will not be allowed to run long no matter
what its success, and no playwright will
be content with two or three weeks when
at another house he might hope for as
many years"
There, ip brief, are the obvious disad-
vantages. There is another that MIR.
Harris did not mention. The manage
ment of the theater will be controlled by
little group of millionaires Many per-
sons believe today that the immediate
future of the American stage Will show a
strong trend toward socialism, and 1t is
not to be believed that any play touching
upon this theme or depicting the Social
istic movement in other than a disrepu-
table light would be permitted in thea
ter so governed.
Star System Bad
On the other hand, there are good rea-
sons for believing tnat the new theater
will perform a real service for the stage
To begin with. it will mean the creation
In New York of a stock company of the
first class, and 1t WIN mean the artistic
development of new talent. The star sys-
tenn, satisfactory from commercial
standpoint makes for bad artistry. The
play ordinarily suffers through the ex-
pioitation of the star.
In all probability, also, there will be an
air of refinement and elegance about the
conducting of this theater which will be
a Godsend to the general public; and If
the management should interest itself in
plays offering a solution ofNcurrent prob
lens 1t would then perform an admirable
service to society
II the New York project thrives Mr.
Harris believes that 1t may be possible in
the future to establish a chain of such
theaters, endowed by wealthy men of
different cities. In other words, Mr. Har-
ris would have these millionaire theatrical
entrepreneurs form a syndicate of their
own. The cities he suggests as ripe for
the experiment are New York. Chicago
Boston. St. Louis, Los Angeles and San
Francisco, with others to be added from
time to time.
,The power such a chain Of theaters
would exert, he says, would be tre-