The Washington herald., 1909-04-11
Superdrama.

The term melodrama, as We use IL to-
day, is strictly speaking. a misnomer
We employ it very improperly as term
Of opprobrium, applying it TO plays in
which greatly exaggerated episodes, lack
ing plausibiHty or verisimilitude 10 real
life, are set forth after the manner OF
the penny dreadful or the shilling
shocker" Of literature.
Since melodrama" originally meant
drama with music. it is obvious that the
term is more aptly to be applied to the
music dramas Of Debussy and Richard
Strauss than to the lurid fantasies OF
Charles E. Blaney and Theodore Kre-
mer, or the less improbable plays of
Charles Klein or Augustus Thomas. But
custom is a hard thing to break down.
1t is really up 10 the present generation
OF theater-goers TO clearly define the class
Of dramatic entertainment now errone-
Ousiy designated as ''melodrama.'' The
term. as we use II instantly brings to mind
visions of impossible situations, an all
pervading sense Of impending calamity
and a miraculous escape just as dan
ger closes in about the hero and heroine,
and the resultant happy ever after
ward
These things we have been calling
''melodTama' so long that we have not
only lost the original meaning OF the word
(Which is unimportant in itself, since
melodrama has been coined In its stead.
but we have gotten TO feel sort OF con-
tempt for the word as applied. and are
apt TO form n mean opinion Of plays
so designated. or to consider that melo-
drama come beneath the intelligence of
the patrons Of the so-called high-class
theaters- This is, of course, a mistake,
for 10 create at least one thrilling situa-
ton We believe should be the aim OF
every playwright The difficulty seems
20 be. however. 10 keep the intensity well
within the bounds of plausibility. or suf-
fer the penalty OF having the term -'melo-
drama hurled at the play.
Much that we call melodrama is, then,
IN reality. superdrama. that Is TO say.
something unnatural or overdrawn, or
that requires a stretch of Imagination to
reconcile with real life. Every play in
which the characters undergo heroic tor
lures Of mind or body. or perform the
AaA4te41lAI AtdlS u the NlILe nONel, ana
come through the ordeal into calm
happiness, is a superdrama-or. as We
have dubbed it. meio-drama- These range
all the way from The Stain Of Guilt"
seen at popular prices. 10 THE Witching
Hour" which attracts the most intelli-
gent and captious amusement-lOvers The
elements of improbability are. Of course.
graded 20 suit the particular market
where the play is 10 be shown.
So much depends upon an authors
treatment Of his subject and also upon
the way the actors interpret the big
situations. that it .s hard TO say just
where the superdrama begins and the
real drama leaves of. It is somewhat
like Thackeray's indefinite dividing line
between mutton and lamb Many PLAYS
that are apparently plausible and enter
tanning. when inteHigently acted and
staged. become reeking superdramas
when the grade OF both these elements
deteriorate.
II we must hang on 10 ''melodrama. -
as applied to the thrillers OF the stage.
let US change the spelling TO mellow,
and leave "Salome" and "PeHeas and
Melisande" in peaceful possession OF the
designation which is rightly theirs by in
heritance.