The Washington herald., 1909-05-23
NEW YORK THEATERS
SEASON NOT SUCCESSFUL AS WHOLE,
CONTINUES LATE THIS SPRING.
New York Nav -

New York. Nay ..
Although the dramatic season has al
ready. closed in a number Of the larger
cities. New York managers are actively
preparing for new productions and re-
vivals. Lew Fields production Of The
Midnight Sons. which was to have
opened last Monday. did not blossom
forth until tonight (Saqlrday). and I re-
serve a review Of It for the next letter
Grace George is preparing 10 bring her
run in "A Woman's Way 70 a close at
the Hackett, and her place wiH be taken
by The Narrow Path" Olga Nethersole
closes at the Savoy tonight IN The
Writing on the Wall" but the theater
viii remain dark for only a short time
Miss NethsEsole says she viii reopen the
same playhouse ii the autumn with the
same play. Marie Dressler is shortly
coming into town for an all-summer stay
al the roof theater Of the New Amster-
dam. and Florenz zlegfeld is almost
ready wiki the "FOllies OF 1905" his new
buTlesque show. which is TO be the summer
attraction at the Jardln de Paris, other
wise the roof Of the New York Tbeater-
! an quoting from memory, and these
are by no means al the novelties in i'm
mediate prospect.
The season has not been satisfactory
from a financial point Of view, and the
seasons record shows some queer condi-
tons Ire total number Of productions
reaches a round century figure The
longest continuous run IS credited 10
The Man from Home" II began an
engagement at the Astor August i last
and so far has announced no closing
date Next comes The Travelling Sales
man" with a record OF eight months.
followed by a Gentleman from Mis-
sissippi which is still running, after
completing an almost eight months en-
gagement AT the Bijou, falsely accused
Of being the home Of hoOdoos- The
Fighting Hope" in which Blanche Bates
appeared ar the Stuyvesant and the Be
lascO. has the record Of the longest run
OF any OF the serious plays. six months
and a half The Blue Mouse" has been
running five months and half and IS
slated for an all-summer stay al the
Maxine Elliott Theater. J. NJ. Barrie 5
comedy. What Every Woman Knows.
will have about completed a six months
run at the Empire by the time il closes
the season. which beats the record Of
the wicked Queen Of the Moulin Rouge"
By a month. while The Patriot" THE
Easiest Way and 9TH Dawn of a To-
morrow" viii have scored an almost
neCk-aud-neck run Of four months and
a half by the time the latter two drop
the last curtain. Another good run was
made by George Arliss in The Devil -
which held the BelasCo Theater for five
months The only problem play 10 sue
ceed II scoring record was The
World and His Wife, in which William
Faversham managed 10 entertain New
Workers three months, al told
Forty-nine new plays Of American and
twenty Of foreign authorship were pro
duced OF Broadway this season The
ratio Of American plays to the number
Of adaptations produced represents Il
per cent OF the whole II IS more diff
cult 10 reduce TO a mathematical basis
the proportion Of unqualified successes
10 the number OF artistic successes
which we're unremunerative. such as
The MolIusc" and Mater" Long runs
Go not invariably indicate either the ar
Sstic OF financial values Of play.
Many piece OF obvious mediocrity IS
run under forced draught, afterward
70 recOup on the road losses sustained on
Broadway. Some Of the real successes
Of the season apparently have just
started The big successes on broad
lines, either artistiCaIly or financially. or
both, have been, IN addition 20 those
enumerated above. Love Watches, -
The Third Degree" "A Woman s
Way The Climax Jack Straw, -
Samson" Lady Frederick" a Fool
There Was" The Battle" and Mary
James Pa"
OF the forty-nine American plays IrO-
duced. twelve are credited with having
redeemed the faith that was put in
them. OF about i per cent Of the total
number OF productions Il has thus been
necessary 10 produce four American
plays 10 get one success, But - Per
cent OF all the plays produced proved
successful, or one out Of three, includ-
Ing those which came over with the
prestige Of European success.
Robert Manteu has had an unusually
long season in New York He opened
at the New Amsterdam on March in
King John" and after five weeks in a
standard repertoire moved 70 the Acad-
emy Of Music. where he VIII continue
to play until next Saturday night. when
z. H SOthern and Julia MarlOwe begin
a three weeks engagement there in
Hamlet. - Romeo and Juliet" and
Measure for Measure" Last Wednes-
day afternoon he took up his first rO-
mantle role outside Of Romeo, appearing
IN The Lady Of Lyons" but far greater
interest attached 10 his first appearance
in twenty years as Raphael in BgTriere's 5
famous old play, The Marble Heart -
AL the critics were on hand, and the
event was treated as a first night. II
turned out 10 be the best bill Mantell
has offered. although there was a wide
difference OF opinion in the tone Of the
press the next day. II was apparent
that many Of the young men overlooked
the fact that The Marble Heart" was
written in 1858 and is fifty-six years old.
The dialogue was described as Old-faSh-
i0ned. the plot as narrowing. and the
banal fun vas forthcoming at the ex-
pense OF our grandmother, who thrilled
70 the pathOs Of the tragic love affair
Of Raphael and the marble-heaTted Mar
CO, the living reality Of the sculptor $
dream Yet 10 Us Old-timers-and this
scribe cOnfesses that he never before
Iowance for change Of zine and cOndi-
tions. not TO say manners, the piece ap-
peared 70 exercise its reputed spell. and