The sun., 1908-03-08

way -succssass.' With OF without music
tbese people have given up going to tho
theatre Altogether. Proyidenoo svor in-
Oreasipg N population. patToniEss tts hFst
class playhouse lees and lees ssch year.
Thus does the necessity Of long runs In
New York. coupled with tho kind Of plays
that so often secure long runs in this city
Of mingled seriousness and frivolity, where
the friv0lity. always more easy to supply.
is only too literally offered by our cultured
theatrical maRnates. lower the tone Of the
entire American stage. diminish its sphere
Of usefulness. tend to ALLEVIATE the very
people Who should be its best supporters.
But II some wise. cultured and disintsr-
ssted manager should BE- presented with
q theatre free Of rent and taxes. supplied
with . competent company Of hundrOd
men and women. soma 10 play ono kind u
drama. some another equipped with stock
Of scenery and propsrtiss. and given 70 un-
derstand that any Losses he might tnCur
while building up . repertoirS and public
would be met out OF . sinking flnd. dosS any
one imagine for q moment that the season
at that theatre would not be q vastly diff
ferent and . vastly more interesting and
stimulating thing than the season at any
other house on Broadway
To 60 q stop further. conceive Of such a
theatre centrally located. architecturaliy
impressive, OF q public character. like the
Public Library or the MstropolitaR Museum
(the gift Of one man or OF several, Il does
not greatly natter. and given over not 10
any manager but 20 Q board OF trlstsee
made up OF cultured and representative
men in the community to be governed by
them as a public trust forever. The prices
would be low. certainly lower than at pres-
ent. and the tickets would be for sale only
in the theatre-not in front Of it. A wise
manager would be selected. and with him
would be associated a reading COMMITTEES,
primarily to pass upon new plays, for one
Of tho first duties Of this public theatre
would be to encourage the native drama
While maintaining q repertoire Of repre-
sentative classics and presenting from time
to time sKsmpl0s OF the best English and
Continental dramas Of to-day (evsn Of
to-moFrowO, each season would see the
production Of new plays by Americans,
both serious and light Its purpose would
not be 20 encourage advanced" or freak
drama. but to secure the best and most
representative. It would not scorn The
College Widow On the contrary, IL would
hail such play gladly, and rely on its pOpu-
larity to support the less pstronized plays
In the repertoire, Indeed the theatre would
expect. like any commercial manager, TO
make strike or two each seeson, perhaps
TO present certain new plays four times a
week for long periods, so that at the end
Of each season the theatre would be found
on a paying basis, thanks to the lack Of
rent and taxes. And by itS prestige and it's
ability TO keep . good play in its repertoire
many yseTs-whereas At present the life Of
a play Is comparatively brief--and, too, by
the freedom granted 20 the author from
the star system, the freedom 10 write how
and what he pleases, the theatre would
expect more than 20 counterRct the larger
royalties secured by authors whose work
is played eight times = week in q CONNER
ciAl theatre.
Such, very roughly and briefly, is the
dream of Mr.. Archer and Granville Barker
for an endowed national theatre, merely
translated into terms Of America. for our
equal or greater needs here. With the de-
tails and igurss OF their scheme II Is quite
impossible to deal in this place. nor would
it perhaps be Of general interest. How
ever, one might remark in passing that their
estimates for the cost Of adequate scenery,
costumes and properties for a large roper
toirs are no higher than the cost Of q single
musical comedy production At the Casino,
il the American press agent is TO be be-
lieysd. Of course he isn't. Only the
most guileleSs ever fancie5 that Lillian
RusselI's Lady TeaSle' production, for
instance, cost $4,000. Nevertheless a good
r. "a
try to make up in glitter and ostentatious
surface what they lack in brains and musical
or dramatic charm. An endowed theatre
might well serve as a corrective.
Messrs. Archer and Barker in appealing
TO that not impossible He, the generous
British millionaire, 20 Pndow such a national
theatre. point out that it's successful estab-
lishment in London would mean the e.
tablishment Of similar theatres on a smaller
scale in the provincial centres. Here in
America such theatres are surely needed
in our provincial" centres quits as much
a. in our theatrical capital, New York.
A recent investigation conducted at Clark
University. in Worcester, Mass, showed
that Of many thousand school children
the average attended the theatre at least
once a week--vaudeville, cheap -thrillers,'
the bad performances Of stock companies
in stale emotional plays, only rarely a
worthy drama worthily performed. There
is something profoundly pitiful about this.
No one can estimate the harm done by
a continuous diet Of such cheap theatrical
fare. the good that might be done by
higher standards Of theatrical production;
higher standards set up not only ideals
~ than atrical nroduction but of All art
and Of life itself. Is there nothing here
to touch the heart OF that surely not i'm
possible He, the generous American mill
ionaire? Does anybody suppose that other
cities are any better on than Worcester2
Few OF them are And when the worthy
plays do come the prices are too often
prohibitive for the people who should most
benefit.
Put on Central Park West the New Theatre
is beginning to rise above the ground.
that architecturally will fulfil the condi-
tions Of national theatre Though its scat
inc IN oikv = anO NAV wall Qauaa