Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-20

tween managers and public Guaran-
tees OF good faith were exchanged
none the less binding and important
because expressed IN deeds rather IMAM
formally committed to words. IL mas Deo"
made clear that the theater Will not WHO'LL
neglect the simpler more genuine anu
therefore more difficult, forms oi INC
drama. and the theater patrons nave
nihed their Willingness to stand IN hiie "'
The box office and accord such ehoeaNoi
proper and enthusiastic recognition. ~ mae
a kind of heart-to-heart occasion 'ha' he
Music Master brought about, with no COIL
plants on either side.
10 more convincing evidence OF the "hole-
.omeness Of popular taste in matters VI INC
drama could be offered than the sueoess
of THE Music Master" No supJect 'ou'u
he more remote from erotic sugses'io,i
than this story of an old mans love Ior MS
child and his forgiving tenderness lor hei
mother. The idea is almost elementary III
its simplicity Love" hatred re-
venge' and all the other poses winch the
dramatist usually assumes with Delsar'iail
formality are absent 1t is parent heafl
that cries out not a lovers; II Is the rather
who rcproachcs. not deceived huspdiu
There are no smart sneers at the world;
nothing tut lle SlllIpltSt ''Ni''''-'
And the public sits spellbound!
cant" saws your wise man of the box
office. YOU don't find Il Music Master
every day." Yet in the next breath he VIII
admit that the play is not great one; that
the attention to detail and the efficiency OF
The star and supporting company are large
" to be credited with its success. Inc
recipe suggested seems an easy one Try
some of the ordinary plays that seek to
appeal directly to the sympathies instead
of the epigrammatic insincerity or the song
ambulance frivolity which are so easily Sc
cured Instead of merely giving a perform
ance. produce play. Let the actor cease
TO he regarded merely as an after-dlnner
diversion and permit him to exercise his
art as an artist; TO delineate something OF
real human life with strong local color
where il is needed and not always with
the CLINT of scarlet overcasting the entire
picture No more eloquent or convincing
plea for decent playwriting and honest play
production could be offered than The Mu-
sic Master"
People Of the theater complain of the lack
OF consideration shown by playgoers to per-
formers. especially in the MI ter of CONVEX
satlon in the auditorium and in leaving the
house without waiting for the curtain to
fall There is a disposition toward mutual
consideration among theatergoers which
Increases from season to season, but the
managers themselves have done all in their
mower to prevent the playhouse or its people
from being taken seriously. If the chief
function of a theater is to entertain lively
club men and after-dinner parties, managers
must expect lively, after-dinner manners
among their patrons. If their more con-
servative patronage cannot be protected
against the annoyance which the joyous
after-dnner spirit may occasion, 1t must be
lost 1t will seek its amusement elsewhere.
Perhaps ii will turn to the theaters where
the hero is rewarded and the villain Missed
In a crude yet, on the whole, very satisfy
ing manner The only difficulty is that the
rules against interrupting a performance in
the theaters where melodrama prevails are
amp and rigidly enforced.
The right OF a theater to discipline its au-
dience is somehow tacitly though completely
admitted. The patron as q rule recognizes
authority in every brass button he sees, and
yields himself so willingly 70 direction that
actual disorder seems like treason and re-
bellion. This dociIity sometimes makes the
box office naughty. 1t refuses to answer the
telephone, leaving the would-be inquirer to
gnash his teeth in helpless Indignation, The
ticket seller often a youth who imagines
the public a mere procession of persons
who are grovoling to get into his theater Qt
seems like his theateT, is bored or irascible,
condescendiug or coercive, as his mood may
point. He holds the key to a mystery-the
seat chart Only he knows what is avail
able, and ii is within his discretion to place
the humble petitioner in comfort or leave
him practically without chance 10 see the
show. The novice in the art of ticket selling
may be excused if in the excitement he for
gets some of the maxims of pOliteness he
should so recently have learned at his
mothers knee. But he is likely to be an
noying, nevertheless. The public is I'M
questlonably sometimes irritating But it
means well and should be borne with And,
after ALL a public is quite necessary TO a
theater.
John Drew's play, His House in Order"
was, by its title calculated to arouse false
hopes in the serious minded. There were
strong allegorical possibilities in the phrase
hints of the preparation Of mind and con-
science for things beyond this earth But
II was not that kind Of play. 1t was the
usual agreeable, common sensible and in
many respects admirable John Drew play;
all about neatness and good order and fam
lily government 1t what might be
called useful and instructive-like the back
Of "A cook book.
Marie Cahill proved popular of yore.
She is in a sense the exponent of repressed
comedy. Her methods those OF
quictude; yet the little ditties which she
chirps forth SO ingenuously are always
liked. and she can be sure of a welcome
again and again. whether she has "a very
good play or not
PHIIANDER JOHNSON