New-York tribune., 1909-11-14
THE PLAYG0ER
The Public, the Playersaand the
Nesc Theatre.

night the report had gone through the
town that you could see but not hear i'm
this splendid house Of magnificent dis
tanoes. Popular superstitions quickly take
root and grow. and. OF course. il is easier
for most persons 10 believe II popular
PLAYERS cannot be heard in The New Thea
tire the fault is with the building and
not with the actors.
Now, II tenth part of what has been
said about the acoustics of The New Thea
TIRE is t-se the architect OF that superb
edihce has made one OF the greatest dis
coveries ever revealed To man; he has
found a way 10 make uninte'hgible the
speech Of actors whose elocuuon is faulty,
while permitting an. advantageous hear
ing OF actors who are better praciised in
the art ~ speech Let this genius de-
sign and build more theatres. FOR i'm Them
only the performers ''who speak the
speech trippingly on the tongue
viii be heard and all the others viii give
themselves over 10 .ineNplicable dumb
shows and noise" Thus will the highest
service be rendered 10 the drama.
But the real explanation OF the diff
Culties al The New Theatre is of quite an
other sort Let Mr. McNay roar as he will
As Enoharbus. and who shall understand
him? But let the delightful and ven
Asrable Mrs. Sol Smith murmur ever so
gently. no one asks What did she say?
Every one knows. II the good lady were
;ylaving the nurse 20 Juliet the result would
he the same Shakespeare would not sufe
3ler Nor does Mr. Knoblauch gag Mr.
iaicNay or IN the latter's mouth with hot
budding M McVay is easily understood
lin the comedy. A great many actors can
make themselves understood when they
use the oolloquial method, but give them
blank verse and. in a large theatre at
anv rate. 5hey manage II with as little
skill as a novice would manage an aero
lallane Miss Marlowe and .Ir. Sothern do
not sneak clearly half the time i'm Antony
and Cleopatra" They come prominently
forward with examples Of dulled speech,
and al because they are speaking in blank
verse.
Miss Rose Coghlan proves. in The Cot
saee in the Air" as Mrs. Sol Smith does
how easily a player who knows Low 10
speak can be heard in The New Theatre
And there are others. Mr.. stanford, as
Thvreus spoke well I'm the Shakespeare
niece. and about as well in the Knoblauch
comedy. Mr.. Gottschalk was admirable IN
both But the list has been given already
and one does not wish 10 insist upon the
theme 10 the verge Of tediousness-
The star system, il has often been said.
has no place az The New Theatre. But the
firsi piece produced there was cut just
about as il would have been cut for par
of stars in partnership on the ROAD. An
tony and Cleopatra" is over. .Sotherned, over
Narrowed and under Shakespeared. The
tragedy gains nothing by this. And Is II
not a fact OF some interest that in Tins
tragedy Of movement. Of conquest. OF pas
sion there is. AZ The New Theatre, not
thrill? Antony there is merely an anorous
cfncer entangled by a prosperous courtesan
Of the gorgeous East The world slgnih-
canoe of the whole thing. subject, persons
and crashing fate. is lost in representa-
tion too tame by half and in a wilderness
OF unframed speech.
IN the presentation of the Knohlauch
piece an trace Of the hand of authority
was missing. the hand that should have
clipped the piece. Joined the scenery, cut
The waits and driven the playing. In this
niece no fault attaches to The actors. But
tie master hand seems not to have eNerted
stself much.
The New Theatre viii be judged by its
works, not by its intentions. II appears 10
have begun work without adequate prep
aration. so that IL might keep TO a long
anticipated date. II IL had first got ready
and then fixed the date. unstinted praise
would probably have followed each produc-
sion But, as il Is. audiences 80 away
Nyearied with long waits, disappointed by
evident inadequacy Of rehearsal, by un-
punctuality, and acis that are oVcrlong.
The hnal rehearsal of Antony and Cleo
1,atra" showed that the preceding rehears-
ais must have been inadequate. otherwise
81 would not have been necessary To cut
two scenes from the play between Sunday
u. lfrhf hr1f
while il may not be correct 10 assume that
the scenic effects are not completely tried
and lighted before the first nights, the re-
cult produced last Thursday evening leaves
my one free 10 suppose that this condition
prevails.
May The New Theatre overcome, and
speedily overcome. all these difficulties Of
the stage! And If the next new piece is
no. vet ready in all respects. let the pro-
duction Of il be postponed until the prepa-
-ation, from the stage carpentry 10 the
cutting of the lines, is complete. And II
the customary long ''intermission" is TO
keep the audience IN the theatre until too
late an hour let II be abolished. II is one
thing 20 make possible a fashionable prom
,snade: il Is another thing 20 proceed with
The business Of the play. II is not worth
while remaining in theatre til midnight
an order 10 consume tea ana cigarettes. ana
10 be consumed 10y small talk The waits
between acts should be propOrtioned 20 the
.,lsying time OF the piece. Let the audi
.noes he dismissed by Il O'Clock on first
nights as well as other nights. Let further
productions be postponed until these results
can be secured.
Another word II is not yet clear whether
the management intends 10 forbid calls be
fore the curtain or 10 permit them. one OF
the players took curtain call on Monday
night: nobody took one on Thursday night.
Why not IN this theatre Of an theatres,
forbid the taking Of calls before the cur
lain? Why not abolish the practice Of
mastering the company in a row after each
act as 81 the actors were members Of a
minstrel shOw7 And why not, as is done IN
at least one other theatre I'm New York. re-
spond 20 the applause OF the audience after
each Bct by raising the curtain on tab
leaus which continue the spirit and action
Of the play. and preserve the illusion which
a. has been the purpose Of the evening 20
greater
And now, once more. long life and pros
perfty 90 TIE New Theatre, What has
been said has Seen said In sorrow, not in
anger: in hope. not in despair and with
good will above al. The spirit is willing,
hut the flesh is weak when the curtain