Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-04

I've been kind O. skeptica1 as to these
aphasia cases ever since. I'm the rank
est kind of a Missourian whenever / heal
or read of a case in which somebody OF
other has completely forgotten all about
himself. You'll notice that nobody with
a bank roll that requires large. heavy
rubber band to keep it in shape, ever
falls a victim to that particular kind OF
aphasia.
THE other afternoon I met the priest
! like-looking David Belasco walking
through 45th street. his eyes on the
ground, as if he were meditating upon the
future life or chanting litany to him
self. That. however. was only one OF
the versatile Mr.. Belasco's many postures
A question or two soon brought him very
alertly back into the world of living be-
ings.
Il was just casting over in my mind, "
he said, 1.-The names of as many as I
can remember of the plays that, starting
out in New York this year and last year
marks of being New York successes have
fallen fiat when they left New York. 1t
is an impressive If not. indeed, mourn
full list, and it proves something: namely,
that the play that succeeds in New York
nowadays need not. as used to be the
case, be positively expected by it's back
erS to be q success in the other cities of
the United States
1.-The time was, and not so very long
ago, either, when all that was needful
for play to be a big go throughout
the United States was the Endorsement
of New York; the Endorsement being in
the form of the knowledge possessed by
all hands throughout the country that
the play had had its production in New
York and that it had made hit there
c0nSjdPr9
ut shows what radical changes are
coming over the American stage when it
is proven, as it has been conspicuously
proven during the past year or so, that
this no longer is the case. The theater-
goers of each major city now are thinking
and judging for themselves. The New
York success stamp doesn't do with them
any more. They have learned-what. l
say it with all modesty, ] learned a long
time agO-that any nd of a play may
be doomed sufficiently to make it appear
to be a success in New York. I've seen
plays being given to empty seats In New
York with regard to which the press
agents were making it appear that the
production was riotous success. There
would be hired spectators blocking the
path out in front, solely to give passers-
by the idea that the house was damned
to capacity. The New York newspapers
would TEEN. not to say reek. with notices
to the effect that the play was turning
away hundreds, not to say thousands.
every night
1.-The answer to this, of course is very
easy. The effort was being made to force
the out-of-toWn folks-the people living in
the other big cities who read the dramatic
news, that is-to believe that the play
really was huge success in New York.
I've known managers to lose money.
large slices of money, in prolonging the
run of plays that were doing not enough
business to pay the ushers, simply so the
announcement could be made. when the
play started off on the road that the
play had enjoyed a run Of such-and- such
a length in New York.
Il don't know whether the people living
in the other large cit es have become ia
miliar with these facts or not; but / do
know that they no longer pay the slight
est attention to the New York success
stamp on a play. They demand to be
shown. They demand to see for them
selves. And the critics in the other cities
demand to be shown. 1t is getting to be
quite common thing TO see the critique
OF some clever out-of-town critic, when
he's writing of one of these highly
puffed New York successes to start off
in this way: This play, which ran for
three months i'll New York, for some
wholly inscrutable reason, is wholly out
of the question. 1t is a curious COM