The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-03-29
PLAYS FORGHADREE WANTED
A LACK MOTHERS POINT our
M NEW YORK THEATRES.

badly. They complain that the recon
nj multiplication Of thoatres in this city leave
the yOungs6erteno. betbdf Oh than the,
we're. that with han a million or 20 Of chill
dron under 10 "a Creator New York Their
Is not d single chiiagsp's theatre.
ope Of the mcthtfs. Z woman who hal
hved IN Europe % ando s Of the opinion
that London and Paris do 4 good deal NOR,
IN this line for their young people than New
York, instancne The cbAtAlet Theatre II
Paris. which pfoducss idF many weeks at 1
stretch plays suitable for young folks =
Hans Christian AnderssD'S stories drama.
tied, GTimms fairy tales, pantomimss-Hu mn
80 on, and the month o. more o. holiday
plays and pantomimes given, g cerAlt
London theatres IN mldwintars to6at nothing
Of the theatrical teaching nov Lncfdded
IN the education Of a large proportion Of
well 10 do French. children.
In Europe, she said, the theatreb roo
ogniEed as an educati nal feature of value,
Children are encouraged 10 Study drafaar
and TO act them. III aim being to stimulate
a desire TO study, to awaken creative talent.
y A1Ao UN ntuuNlt NuAuks "'
Another mother does not want 20 have
her children taught play acting or play writ
Ing. but she would Ike a plscs OF entsrtain-
ment which'wOuld furnish amusing and In
%struotiye object lessons In theatacaiga iss.
sald ahe: a. 4
with the possible exception Of BarnahS
circus there s'~sbsolutely no sort Of enter
tAinmept In New York spreading .out over
a month even, 10 which mothers can send
their children and,for which they can buy
seats alta moderate price. We have every
now and then so-called children's plays In
the hotel bathrooms These are far from
Satisfactory and anyway the price Of
seats. 81 so each usually, is far too high for
the average mother topay and 30 charge
for a mediocre show % .. p
? A third mother, also Of the opinion that
the thing New York lacked most was q
chidren's thestre, had heard OF tho weekly
ohildren's mRtiRees started Ave years ago
in connection with the Educational Alliance
East Broadway and continued with
ever growing popularity up 10 the present,
butthesed did not appeal TO her as a solution
OF the problem how 10 furnish suitable
theatrical entertainment for New YOrk's
young folks in general. s ,-..l' o.
As many persons know, the mstinees
referret to were originated by Miss Minnie
Herts in an endeavor 70 provide wholesome
amusement for a neighborhood having
almost entirely e foreign population. The
treasury OF the Alliance would not permit
If htWiNm ANak plaaa MA vTnEa .anA ~. kt-.
fifth rGte actors did not seem wise 10 Miss
Herts. In her dilemma she decided 10
utilize the talent which might be latent
in the boys and girls Of the district.
She found a good deal Of latent talent;
what is more, she found th9t by developing
this talent the entire population OF that part
the city was stirred and interested Es
no theatrical production offered for its
hfd ever stirred it before. An
individual interest was taken 10 the plays,
which were studied at home.
When, for example, AS You Like IT. was
being studied and rehearsed mons than
1000 cheap copies Of the play we're bought
at the Educational Alliance and read by
men and women. Of the p~elghborhood. In
short, the East Side has taken It's ohildren's
theatre to it's heart. To quote Miss Herts:
Planned only to provide wholesomely
for the amusement OF the neighborhoOd
children, these matinees have proved to be
an educational, moral and civic force not
only for audience but for player. All such
are not merely a neighborhood but a
communal need. The beginning and the
quick growth Of the movement are a guar
Of It's future development"
This development, Miss Herts admits,
may mean before long the establish.
ment OF, a subsidized chldreh's theatre in
a central locality where suitable plays will
be staged oftener than once a week and a
Of which viii be the encouraging
81 children 20 study plays and the develop
han this Miss Herts is not yet ready to
herself.
But the mothers already quoted take no
particular interest In o subsidized theatre
Ehich shall include a school Of acting. |
What they want is a theatre run on business
principles which shall produce plays acted
~ the best OF adult talent suitable for a !
youthful audience. plays which will enter
ain as well as educate.
To see boxes flied with youngsters try
ng 10 Get some amusement out Of grown
y editions Of classical plays aud plays
Vhich often make the least critical OF adults !
ia a pathetic sight, and yet a sight, ,
8 one mother remarked, common enough
u oAJ q vi NANANAl III ally SATURDAY |
~fternoon. Said another mother, one Of
he great army Of middle class, well 10 do
arehts: There " no city 10 the world
bore willing and able to support q children's
th1n New York, and no city which
eeds one so much"
This Is the mothers point Of view. Theat-
managers do not share this view.
DaYid Belasco's representative, Mr.. Cook,
man OF larGe experience, said without
esitation that the public school hours
interfere with tbs SUCCESS Of q con-
round OF ohildren's matiDAes.
Theatrical performances for children
lust necessarily be given in the afternoon
e said and 70 begin a matinee at 3o'clook
too late. Even 10 give over this theatre
r any theatre Son OF days 10 childrpn's
would not in my opinion be feasible,
,r the reason that the stage is usually
lied with the scenery Of the play produced
the evening, and also because the stage
needed for rehePrgals most OF the time
hen the regular afternoon performances
re- not on.
"To put on a ohildren's play would mean
company Of actors and an expendi-
Ire Of at leas. $1,000 or 5000 extra at the
II often costs anywhere from SIS, 900
$4,000 TO put on a first class theatrical
-oduction before a dollar Is taken in at the
* office,
Personally | have never given any at
10 this subject. but speaking or
md / do not see how a ohildren'a theatre
'uld be made 10 pay
Daniel Frohman when approached on the
had this 10 say: ,
Some years ago Augustin DAILY pro-
iced at his theatre a very beautiful and
pantomime for children called
he Prodigal Son. Anton 6eidl, re- 1
ember. furnished the orchestral music. /
as II a SUGGEST No. l.,
Il have forgotten Just how long It nan, :
It ! know il did not have a long enough !
10 justify the cash outlay Mr.. DAILY q
VI money on IL. And yet II was d panto- I
lme both old and young could enjoy, ,