Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-05-23

vehicle of Minnie Maddern Fiske's first
emotional hiO, Augustin DAILY and
Ned" Harrigan. To this list, per
haps, should be added Charles Hoyt,
whose Bunch of Keys the forerun-
ner Of a lire of unique, up-to-date, all
American farces which poured forth
for a score of years in an unbroken
succession of merry trlumphs.
Today the Association of American
Observation-Disclosures fifteen years ago
under the presidency OF Bronson How
ard, on the occasion of a compliment
airy dinner to Charles Gayler-has over
hundred active members, not in
Guiding the women playwrights, who
have made an unprecedentedly tine
showing within the past decade.
The only theater in New York to-
day which has done business for TWEEN
ty-iiNe years consecutively under one
and the same management is Tony
Pastors little place over in far East
Fourteenth street, Toreninst Tammany
hall. Here. in May, 1888, Nell Burgess,
in vim" was enjoying a long run.
Without wishing to be dlsagreeable, it
seems of interest to record in these
"reminiscences that ut this same Tony
Pastors, somewhere round about the
date specified, a slim, sweet-voiced
violet-eyed young girl named Lillian
Russell made her stage debut In
Patience"
Comic opera aud muslc-farce seem
to have been, proporlonatey even
more the rage here a quarter OF cen
fury ago than. they are today. Some
of our veteran dramatic critics must
have taken up the howl then, which is
not yet. sienced, that serious drama Is
rapidly drifting dog wards, Twenty
FIVE seasons ago New York had, sim
ultaneously, Capoul and Theo IN
French opera comique, at the Grand
Opera House McCaulis company In
The Princess of Trebizonde" at the
Casino l3arton's English opera at the
Standard, Marie Geistinger in Nicn-
nese operotta ut the Thalla, and Har-
rigan's and Dave Braham's "Muddy
Day at the Comique-to say nothing
Of Jack Haverly's MINISTRIES at the
Fourteenth Street theatcr, Callenders
az the Cosmopolitan and the hlgh-class
musical entertainment at Roster AZ
Bials in Twenty third street.
Today Greater New York has a hum
dred theaters, considerably more than
half Of which number are of the first
class, or Broadway grade, A city aud
suburban population OF some 1000 900
augmented by the vast army of tram
silent visitors, spend upon these thea
ters, vaudeville shows and roof gardens
an amount OF money which must APP
proNlmate 20000,000 annually. Besides
this, there are the two houses of grand
opera-the Metropolitan and tho Man
huttan-edch with its season Of twenty
weeks and from rs To l3l performances
on which, la the aggregate. our music
mad public spends a. least $4,000. 600
Another 81 100000 must bee added for
symphony struggles, piano fights ana
miscellaneous musical functions
The projected monumental Now
theater now building at SlXty-socond
street and Central Park West win
cost, with the ground upon which n Is
situated 50 100000 This onteruri,.
which Is planned ON purely artistic. non
commercial principles, is I'm the hands
Of twenty-five New Yorkors OF INC
highest social, professional ana Guan-
clal standing, under the presidency of
MI W IS. Vanderbilt It's specific Obj.
iocts-ln some manner comparable Ia
those OF the gOyernment-su subsidized
theaters of continental Europe. though
the New theator viii be maintained bv
private endowment alone--wil be tho
uplifting OF drama and the Improve
ment of acting IN America.
Already IN so far as numbers. ma
terlal splendor and amount OF money
expended are concerned, New YORK Is
tho greatest theatrical city In In,
World.--N. y. World,