The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-05-15
CHICAGO ACTOR WITH IDEAS
DONALD ROBERTSON'S NOTION
90 A REAL THElTRE.

BesihOasa at the New Theatre. 10 better |
known In Chicago and the middle West !
than n Manhattan. For many years
now b has boon fighting In one % the I
greatest oehtroS o. matsTialiam In the !
world for . New Theatre which shall |
start with traditions and standards and I
show results not entirely measured by the
returns u tho box once. Tbs hiaiOeT /
u his experiences In Chicago. from
which each year he makes sAllios into |
remote parts Of the country, covering |
some thousands or 20 miles every sens0n. |
is interesting.
He has penetrated the Wilds % the
DakOtaa and presented plays like Cod |
doni's and lbsen's. finding an AppreciR- |
ton not % be counted on always In New
York. II IL true that several miahAps
have marked bic tours. notably when
tho advertised play Of 'ComuS.' by
one John Milton. was hilled a. -COmus,
10 be played by Donald Milton but he
dismisses such episodes a. part % the
necessary drawbacks and the smile with
which he relates them shows that he has
not Lost his sense % humor in his serious
enterprises.
There Ia not In the list Of plays that
he has year after year produced In Chi
oago one that suggests an appeal 70 the
lowest and LATEST demand % the public
or that has the box Ofice receipts a.
reason for being. About forty-five Of
them are included among the best Of
stage literature and that the greater
part are unknown TO Broadway is a fact
which does not prove them. according
10 Mr.. Robertson's idea, absolutely I'M
worthy u favor. For example. The
Intruder by Maeterlinck. has had
hearing under his management. ~ has
The Intruding Widow. by Charles Lamb.
which the author himself never saw pro-
duCed aud which has. Mr.. Robertson
suggests. IAN archaic value due 20 tho
fact that the gentle humorist was the
first TO prove on the stage that life was
not made up Of lords and ladies'; Mad
man or saint by Echeverray. which
William Archer made a trip from London
To zee.
The Curious Miahap.' by Goldoni.
which was played by Novelli in the orig.
inal during his American tour; -Torquato
Tasso.' by Goethe; Hamlin 0arland's
miller % Bo-cobel, : the spanish comedy
-Zanzneta.' by Carrom and Ara; The
Inspector by GOgol; Shsridan's Critic
The Coming Of Peace by Hauptmann;
The Triumph Of Youth by PierOn. are
others 10 his credit. He produced
-Rosmsrsholm- before Mrs Fisks gave Il
in New York and followed the one PLAY
% Moliere which the late Mr. Mansfield
gave. namely. lie MiAanthroPe.' by two
others. -L'Avars' and -TartuHe-
Mr.. Robertson 10 Of Scotch descent.
having been born In Edinburgh. He came
20 this country ~ q lad. and studied az
the Brooklyn Polytechnic
4 had not been studying long before
I came to the conclusion that the theatrs
was a much bigger thing than my baby
mind had conceived II and that Il was
in truth the church Of the future. q be-
lief | have not changed after many
years % strenuous work. years Of dis
appointments and realizations.- he said
10 a SUN reporter. I saw this rsverently
because il il absolutely true that q man
cannot know God until he knows man
and there 10 no place where he can come
10 know him 20 well a. In the playhouse.
Il 10 the only place where life h mOtived. |
hence its attraction
Al tho suggestion that this IL not the /
Broadway conception u the meaning I
Of the theatre Mr. Robertson shakes |
a valiant head.
We'll. the money changers have orept I
into all other temples. why not into this' /
We know what happened 20 them in one
instance. The pagans erected a great |
monument 20 life. then the crecds came |
and fought there for existence. The
creeds have passed and been forgotten.
but the monument remains. The money /
changers have been thrown out. out
the wonderful building IL unmoved by l
the disturbance within. Il " 20 with |
the theatre II has outlived and will I
outlive all riot Of convictions. all mis-
takes and all falss teachings. Il 10 uni
yersal because II Ia natural.
-Ny idea Of the theatre. which repre-
sents my original focal point Ia q place
where people will enjoy Themselves.
but ] draw a hard and fast line between
the two states Of enjoyment and amuaa- i
ment. The one IL life giving, the other
means the killing OF an IDLE hour: and have
We 10 many hours that Ue can afford 20
commit q nightly murderP
Look al Broadway TO-DAY. Note
several plays given there which II they
had been advertised ten years ago would
have been followed by a raiding Of tho
houses where they were produced. Right
w sol They are a disgrace 90 your city
and its people. You are not seeking
enjoyment. You are not even looking
for Amusement You want sensation
and the ruIs for that IL that the Nsnsa-
ton must 10 increased al the time. elss
the nerves receive no effect. no thrill.
no shock
IAN this talk about catering TO
she tired business man 10 rot. simply
rot Why a tired business man any more
than a tired artist. and why should he,
II he 10 tired, be made more - by such
cheap appeals9 The whole thing IL an
unconscious plea for sanity. for the aans
productions leading 70 q state Of pura
enjoyment A. matters stand. you are
NOT fostering ART, for ART IL essentially
q simple. sinceTB thing.
when ] use the term enjoyment. |,
U.S. Il In hs broadest sense. 4 theatre
for endowment does not mean one where
serious subjects are excluded. quite the
contrary. but Il means where enjoyment
Ia attained BY the sight Of these subjects
treated by the hands % masters
They say here in New YOrk that the
commercial age has killed an. but whyl
Venice Queen Of the Seas. &C the zenith
81 her commercial glory never forgot
her artists. never failed 10 pay tribute
10 art That hdslity has left her q dream
CITY Tor all hgea,
Carlyle - Heroes and Hero wor-