The sun., 1908-04-19
CONCERNING CANNED DRAMA
now TO SOLVE PROBLEH or
THE NEIJ THEATRE.
Moving Picture Talking Machine Method
OF Presenting plays In keeplng WITH =
Mecianlcal Age ami Holds Undreamed
Possibilities for the NepT Future.

Mec1anlcal age ann Holds Nnnfeameu
Possibilities for the NeRr Future.
Turn the crgnk, or presb the button, or
do whrtever il is you do to Start the thing,
.nd let ne morning glores sound. Put
~ the 'i,,Hrl' Of Palcstrinas s Victory, y
for we would be Joyful " on this gledSone
Easter morn Every drama hes long had
one god from the machine But hereafter
the whole dromC will come from machine.
Shakespeare and sThe Girl Behind the
Counter no longer shall depend on poor,
human players for Interpretation, Me-
ohanics he's conquered, Art enters on new
era. The banner Of progress fwters in
the wind OF an electric fan
Canned music has for some time past
been commodity Of culture. Caruso is
available in the humblest home Tetra2yni
warbles from the back porch, and from
the oak stand between the glass flowers
on the mantel and tho rel plush photogro ph
album IN the black walnut table Melha
throws oH "Caro Nome with all the creamy
perfection OF tone Of disk revolving under
a mctal needle Mrs Stuyvesant Van
Cortland Osgood Smith of ROselle Park
ats on her yerGnda oi a warm summer
evening listening to the soothing buzz Of
the mosquitoes and the Toreador song
from Carmen" Her neighbors on the
left, whose tastes are vulgar, Pre enrop-
turel by viii You Love Nie in December
a. You DO in Nlay'' Her nefghbors ON the
right hand have no music on their front
voranda Bessie has taken the band around
10 the back porch Bessie has a caller
let Us not ft the veil Of kindly twining
vines, nor peep from behind the ash barrel.
1he band is playing beautifully the Merry
Widow Waltz"
But the possibilities Of canned culture
In the art line are only beginning to be
realized There are untold possibilities
In the new plan. just announced, of me-
chanical drama, interpreted by moving
pictures and a giant taking machine.
The scheme is simple: Hamlet" is enacted
by T., n. Sothern or Eddie Foy or some
other competent interpreter, supported by
a company Of Shakespearan players, In
front Of camera and talking machine
loaded with blank disks, When the play
is over there is the complete record Of it.
All you have 10 do il to hang a sheet up
anywhere put a giant morning glory into
the talking machine, set the things 10 going
and 10, performance Of Hamlet just
~ good az the orginal-nay, better, for il
will cost you only 10 cents, maybe. and the
man who works the machines can hurry
oyer the dull parts as fast as he wants TO-;
also he can play it backward and get an
entirely new drama The records can be
reproduced at will, and all over the broad
land, from Park row and Fourteenth street
TO Cripple Creek and Pawtuckett, r. J.,
the immortal tragedy OF our Avon Swan
can be heard by the multitude, their souls
expanded. their ideals made more lofty,
their appreciation Of Art deepened and
broadened their pocketbooks hardly af-
feoted at all.
just what the effect of canned drama
will no on the theatres and vaudeville houses
remains to he seen. The moving pictures
alone have been working havoc this year
or two past The old Union Square Theatre,
for 80 long Keith's stronghold Of vaude-
vile and the Twenty-third Street Theatre,
supposedly an equally popular vaudeville
house, have both been converted this win
ter into -Bijou Dreams given over to
the 10 cent moving picture show. There isn't
= city in the country Of any considerable
size now which does not have its moving
. picture theatre, and moving picture ma
chimes travel around, like a troupe, among
the smaller towns. The managers Of the
'ten, twenty and thirty cent" shOckers
have been complaining all winter that the
moving picture houses have hurt their bus-
ness. Nellie the Beautiful Cloak Model
is less alluring at half dollar than series
Of moving pictures and illustrated songs
At dime. so the industry has thriven
and prepared the wayIor goodness knows
what invasion of canned drama.
THE Suns reviewer was drawn along
Fourteenth street the other evening by
a deIirium Of light, which wriggled round
and round the word Motion like a golden
worm He got safely past Hubers and
the Dewey whera seductive posters d.
pioted three maidens entirely prepared
for bathing in every respect but a place
to bathe I'M and found himself in front
Of a brilliantly lighted, gaudy but clean
entrance Ten cents was the price Of
admission. For 60 cents ladies' might
secure box seats. Inside was an audi
torium with a balcony supplied with
$40 comfortable seats. There were uni
formed ushcrs. who had considerable dif-
houlty in finding any vacant chairs. In
place Of a stage was great screen, whereon
the familiar moving picture scenes were
being thrown.
One Of these pantomimic dramas repre-
peuted \ touching domestic tragedy, evil
IDENTITY in Brittany, IN which the husband
came UNEXPECTEDLY back from a sea trip.
Lover went out at the window as hubby
came in at the door. But the irate sailor
man ran faster than the lovers horse
lie caught the offender beat him, put him
in the bottom Of his cart, and sent cart.
horse and lover over a cliff into the sea.
Just how the picture OF this climax was
secured without seriously inoommoding
the horse is a question for the $. P, c. A.
90 settle. At any rate no melodrama
ever finished with a more irreproachabe
mor-l
After this somebody came before the
audience aud song a touching ballad, !
whilc more or loss relevant pictures
ST. ton ry this time, and colored as Steiohen
never dreamed of.appea red and dissolved
one into th' next on the screen, The
ballad was all about lorsrken maiden
'in a yIll7, by the s,J.' lie loved, but |
ho moved awry, The house was invited |
20 join in the, chorus which contained !
am ~ Others th' following cuuplet elo- !
qucu;iy upgrLmmItic,
,o, he noon dou', ,rrrI .oI,rigsl