Los Angeles herald., 1909-01-24
In the Spotlight

u G. WINGATE, a guest at the
n, Alexandria hotel, who is spend
ing a few weeks in Los Angeles,
recently commented upon the custom
of Los Angeles audiences in rushing
from a theater the moment the end of
the play is reached.
Il have attended four or five of the
theaters here" said Mr.. Wingate, land
at every performance the audience has
made a wild break for the door the
moment the closing lines or the last
song of the play are reached. 1 don't
know why this should be so, as there
seems to be nothing about the produc-
tions which should make the audience
so anxious to get away, but it seems
to have become the custom of the city,
and it is rare that an actor receives
more than a ripple of applause, no
matter how strong the closing scene,
on account of the apparent anxiety of
the audience to get away"
There is much justice in Mr.. Win
gates criticism. The Burbank audi
ences. although they show their loyal
ty to their theater by their attendance,
week after week, seem especially amen
able to this criticism. Always at the
last, when Bill Desmond is gloating
his gloatful glOat over his fallen enc
my, the stampede begins and the last
lines are lost in the noise of the break
away. This has been the cause of
much embarrassment to the Burbank
players, and seems hard to understand
ils the light of this audiences devoted
oil ~, AL
MS Hamlet, recently given at the
Mason opera house, was one of the
best performances ever given in Los
Angeles, and apparently was appreci-
ated by the audience, but before the
curtain could traverse the depth of the
proscenium arch the aisles were filed,
and this really noteworthy perform
ance received the need of only a NS%e
scattered handclaps.
This habit seems to be one Of the last
of theater nuisances to be abated
Women remove their hats, the custom
of entering the theater late is passing
and the half-Wit who laughs at the
wrong place seems less and less in evil
dence. Undoubtedly the "pee-pul," by
the "pee-puP' we always mean some
one else, of course, undoubtedly they
are improving in taste and decency, but
this improvement is noticeable only in
without sacrificing their comfort If
somebody is going to beat them to a
seat in a street car, or a cafe, no such
trif1e as courtesy to an actor may be
allowed to stand in the way.
In Montevideo and Buenos Ayres
from grand opera down to the Casinos.
where French and Italian chansonettes
appear, audiences are extremely criti-
Tho T1Io ic oif do 1o,
by the judgment of the audience, and q
bad play is Kissed off the stage. In
Paris. in London, in Berlin-anywhere
except in American cities-it is the
audience which passes on the play and
each individual expresses his opinion
freely and emphatically. American
playgoers placidly await the New York
verdict, and in comparison with the
less restrained patrons of the drama Of
other countries, show an astonishing
Indifference, both to the quality of the
play and the acting.
The reception of various plays at the
Mason opera house Is a good demon
stration of this critical indifference on
the part of Los Angeles playgoers. who
perhaps more than those of any other
city, take the good the gods provide
them with unquestioning indifference.
Paid in Full'' and 1.-THE Lion and the
Mouse both unquestionably good
plays, were received with the same
stolid, uncritical reserve as that which
greeted the 1.-The Wolf" A visitor from
another world in watching an audience
at the Mason would have no means of
telling whether they thought the play
good or bad.
1t is to be expected that men and
women who go to the drama should
be less demonstrative than those who
go to vaudeville, but if American play
goers, especially those of the west,
would voice their opinions more en-
phatically and form their conclusions