The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1907-08-17
PREPARATION ERA
IN The THEATERS
Story of the Failure of the
Chicago Art Under
taking.
MANAGERS AT WORK.
Gossip of the Green Room
From All Along the
Line.
MANAGERS AT WORK.

The fact that a group of million
aires, headed by John Jacob Astor,
William X. Vanderbilt, George Gould
and others are now building in New
York theater to be conducted on
lines similar to the state-endowed
playhouses of Europe, renders of pc
culiar interest an article by Victor
Mapes entitled IAN Art Theater in
Operation" published in the Theater
Magazine for August. Mr.. Mapes was
director of the short-lived New Thea
ter Of Chicago, and he gives the rea-
sons for the failure of that enterprise.
He says:
The New Theater of Chicago, began
its career for the betterment of the
drama last October, and closed its
doors at the end of February after a
season of twenty weeks In a general
way the method of its organization
and the ideas for which it stood were
similar to those adopted by nearly all
the movements in this country or
abroad for the elevation of the stage,
so-called. The New Theater exper-
ment was undertaken with all SINGER
ity and earnestness; it had the enthu-
siastic backing Of large number of
prominent people in Chicago, and the
management of it's affairs was entrust-
ed to men of experience in the practi-
cal stage world. Fifteen plays were
produced in all, ten long ones and
five short ones, and these plays COW
cred such a wide range and were so
representative in various ways that
the reception accorded them may be
taken as an indication of the attitude
to be expected of our theatergoing
public toward the productions at any
subscription playhouse" or similar
institution wherever the experiment
may next be tried
The New Theater stood for--1. The
elimination of the ''star" system
There was to be no star" in the cast
and no featured" players. The com
pany was to be formed of as capable
actors as could be procured, who were
all to be on basis of equality and
ready to accept any part that might
be assigned them. 2. There were to
be no long runs" Whatever the sue
cess of any play the number of it's
performances was to be strictly limit
ed, so that new productions might fol-
low one another at stated intervals. 8.
AS to the selection Of plays the guild
'ssisAs principle was summed up sue
cinctly in the words plays worth
while" No one cult or school was to
dominate The general effort would
be to offer as wide a variety as posi-
BILE Of plays, new or old, that should
interest intelligent people, without
making them feel that they were
wasting their time. A. No pretentions
were to be made in the way of elab-
crate scenery, costumes or accessories,
the aim being merely to give each play
an adequate if modest, presentation
as nearly correct as possible.
What was the result?
The total receipts at the box office
of the theater from the sale of seats
for "Elga" during its entire two weeks
run was 1915.
Each night during the run of
'Elga" large proportion Of the thea
ter's subscribers did not use the tickets
which were in their possession and
paid for Nor did they give them
away. The tickets were simply not
used and the seats stayed empty
THE Great Galeoto," the next
play In order Of the trustees prefer
ence, in its two weeks run played to a
total of 1851, exclusive Of the sub
scription seats.
The high comedy from the French,
"The Son-in-Law" played to about
five times the receipts of "Elga." The
English farcical comedy, Engaged, "
played to still larger receipts, and the
despised American play, THE Spoil
ers," completely outclassed all the
others in the way of receipts. Includ-
ing subscriptions, its total went to
between five and six thousand dollars.
A point worthy of note in this con-
nection, moreover is that on many
nights during the run of THE Spoil
ers' every subscription ticket was
lSCu-T-1oL OLl5 VI the seats p6lng leIl
vacant.
The event proved, therefore, that
the theatergoing public voted its pre-
ference, silently but none the less po-
sitively and eloquently, in exactly the
reverse order of the leading trustees
throughout the whole list What the
trustees admired most the public
would not come to see and what the
trustees despised the theatergoers
flocked to applaud.
The running expenses Of the New
Theatre. all things included, averaged
about $4,000 a week. This was divid.
ed up approximately as follows
Theater rent, including lights, house
force, etc, $1,000; salaries of com.
pany etc, $1,500; advertising, 5000
production expenses (average pei
weekly 5000; extras, 500; total, 49,,
900.