Omaha daily bee., 1909-12-19

MCCauley and others whose names stand
out with equal luminosity In the annals
OF the stage were among US. These men
by their dramatic qualities, their intens.
devotion 20 their art, their wonderful sue
Is.es in their Interpretation won for the
Aage the recognition il long had struggled
to obtain. Following close on the heels OF
these great men came a horde Of lesser.
and the theater was, In a way, popular
lied. In the very nature Of things IL was
not to be desired that so potent a factor
should be devoted entirely to the more Sc
rious aspects Of life. and plays Of all sorts
were given.
The melodrama Of today is but the de-
N velopment Of the melodrama Of yesterday.
We had in those Times the thriller" just
a. we have it now. No penny dreadful
ever devised by Lincoln ]. Carter or Theo-
dore Kremer eXcelled in intensity OF heart
interest or in the gripping force of its
thrilling situation, for example, The
Lights OF London" The Silver King or
"Romany Rye while the structure Of the
most modern Of society plays, or problem
dramas. has in no wise improved on the
plans OF the Lancashire Lass or Ticket
Of Leave Man, "Infelice. 'The Bankers
Daughter" East Lynne, " 'Esmeralda" OF
any Of a Ions list Of plays that mignt be
hNhAAbAhNhs ~ W. VI biAoAASs " "a
ample, stin remains unchallenged as a type
Of meiodrama, and the problem presented
in Hazel Kirke' is offered to us over and
over. again in the guise Of modern lie
drama. The Sardou cycle won for itself
a place apart, and this might be said OF
several others Of similar Importance.
q
1t Will not be commended that the real
dramatists Of today have not kept pace with
tho napapcipy tna1ubf ~ the fipnaas Thaap
is still, perhaps, ahead Of us-an advanced
thinker. a man whose Ideas are yet TO be
understood. and whose ideals are still to be
attained, Tolstoy may also be listed here,
Sudermann, MaeteriiRck, Bernstein. Barrie,
Jones, Pinero. Israel Zangwill. William
Vaughn Moody and Augustus Thomas
wrestle nightly with the world-old prob
lens In their present form. D'Annunsio and
Shaw fuss around after the fashion OF a
dilettante, doing little and accomplishing
less, while Charles Ram Kennedy ana
writer's Of his class hang like Mohsmmed'
coffin, between heaven and earth, and In
touch with neither. This makes no account
OF the Walters, Kleins and Beaches and ali
that host Of little folks, whose light shines
in intellectual space like f~irefies in the
twilight. The literary product Of these
modern writer's for the stage is prodigious,
both in quantity and quality, and provides
such variety OF pabulum as should reason
ably suffice for all. It would be a marve
II a mind so ethereal or so gross could exisu
hat would not find in all Of this list some.
thing Of an entertaining nature, so that 4
T. is merely amusement that Is sought, tn,
stage has certainly striven vsliantly anC
persistently TO provide It. The cause FOL
apparent public indifference then car
scarcely be alleged against the failure o
the stage TO amuse.
II the educational junction Of the stag
be considered, may il not also refer to tn
same list that has been cited in defense o
the amusement? Certainly the social ant
economic problems OF our complex ciyiliEa
NIon were never more earnestly and frank,
discussed than at the theater. The init
mate relations between man and man
woman and woman, and crosswise, hav
y been debated pro and con almost frou
every standpoint. The moral, ethical, lega
and, at times, even the logical aspects q
the sex question have been given the mos
profound, as well as the most superficial
consideration. and the conclusion reache
has been practically one, Tho answer, t
quote from MI. George Bernard Shaw, be
ing, You never can tell"
All this brings US a little closer to N
HRANAA AA&NN AA kARH AA IN
prolific profusion that one must halt an
deliberate when called upon to make
choice. and having set forth education {
such p~rotundity and catholicity Of scOp
and in such attractive guise as almost seen
to make the Empirean fount e~fferves'
aud bubble like a soda fountain, the maj
ayers can say even as the lovly NazareI
10 the people Of Jerusalem, You are Ill
ened unto children playing in the mark.
place saying, We have piped unto you AZ
you have not danced, we have mourne
but Ne have not wept" Is Il possible tn
the tault lies either Ia the piping or u
mourpine2 May not some OF the respous
bliUy for the complained Of business col
ditions rest with the managers themseIve,
In New York, the great fountain-head al
center Of an theatrical activities in ii
United States, We are presented the spect
Gle % two great controlling managerl
combinations engaged today in a conte
80 ridiculous that II would be laughat
Il il were not 80 serious. Each Of the
organizations Is possessed OF a newspap
with a staff Of brilliant writer's, whose q
ents are devoted, not TO the exploiting
the plays that are being produced; not
a serious attempt to interest the public
what Is going on al the theaters; not
an edifying endeavor TO Instruct IN
readers as TO the literary and drama
attributes OF the various PLAYS that
being presented not TO telling Of the cal
bhiuos, mental or physical. OF the n
and women who are engaged In the int
probation Of these plays-in none OF IN,
laudable and legitimate channels Is
ability ~ these writer's enlisted. Inst,
they arr each engaged in heaping q
tumely, Islander and verbal filth upon
ssntiemen who are, unfortunately. oppoD
10 his employer IL Is no credit 10 lett
that mcu Ol intellectual Attachments