The Washington herald., 1910-03-06

The CHsinO-Continuous Vaudeville.
The observation-disclosures.
The decentralization
What is the state Of the drama in the
United States at the present time? The
most optimistic cannot set down a very
encouraging answer 10 this question.
8fr Frohman, who by all odds must be
recognized as our leading producer. is
severely criticised in some quarters for
drawing almost wholly upon foreign
sources for his plays. At any rate. he
was thus criticized until recent develop
ments have tended to justify him to a
large degree. Is it any wonder that he
goes TO Paris. 10 London, TO Vienna, and
elsewhere for plays? II they wrote good
plays in the Antipodes he would be ex-
tremely short-sighted if he did not bic
for the American rights.
The American drama has been the con-
Germ OF the native critic for many. many
years. We have developed as many play
wrights as one could comfortably count
on TWO hands. or. wishing to be con-
servative upon one. Surely it is conceiv-
fable that tie output of these is totally
inadequate TO the demands Of our stage
for novelty.
Almost weekly We witness terrible
iarocities put on the boards on a venture,
and taken of again unless financial back
ling keeps them tOttering along for a
iforced run. When we consider the grade
of play that is given trial nowadays we
realize the utter paucity of material ON
this side Of the Atlantic, and Mr.. Froh-
man, in going after the works Of Rostand.
iPinero. Vaughan. Bernstein. Barrie. and
others. and making iron-clad contracts
whereby he controls the American rights
10 their output, past. present, and future,
shows that he cannot afford 10 DEPEND
upon the American playwright whose
works he would undoubtedly absorb just
as eagerly if they existed
William Vaughn MOodys latest play
has just failed. In him We recognized
one Of the leading geniuses of the coun-
try. He has already written a master
piece. Augustus Thomas cannot in the
nature OF things turn out a play equal TO
THE Harvest Moon" or Arizona" every
time ne takes up his pen. Charles Klein
suffered failure with his last play These
three, with Edward Sheldon, a newcomer,
and William Gillette. who takes his own
sweet time about writing q play, consti-
tute the leading galaxy OF dramatists.
Recently we saw THE Passion Flower"
which was so ludicrously like a Dolls
House as 10 lay the author open TO the
charge of plagiarism. Is it likely that
this play would have ever been produced
If the actress who played it, or her mana
gers. could see anything else in sight?
Preston Gibson, who tries hard TO write
plays has in The Turning Point" re-
written Success" and has improved it,
but the fact that it is partly composed OF
old material proves the contention that
the American playwright as a class has
not yet learned to walk aIone-that ex-
cept in few instances he is a distressing
failure.
II is useless 10 go minutely over the list.
Mr. Belasco draws upon foreign sources.
when he sees nt He has helped TO de-
velop John Luther Long. but the latter
has not turned out anything recently. Leo
Ditriehstein, native by adoption. presum-
ably. IS farce writer; Mrs. Frances
Hodgson Burnett is more an English
woman than an American, and her list of
successes is fairly creditable
The majority of plays OF the present
season are Of foreign derivation-and it
seems trine strange that they more
than those Of native origin, seem to at
tract ana interest our audiences.
We are ali impatient for a chance to
lbrag about the native playwright. but the
truth is he is being overshadowed as
hclass. by those of other lands.
Whatever may be the exact place in
literature Of the novels of Augusta
Evans, and opinions differ widely on that
point. the fact is apparent that they are
many grades superior, when dramatized,
ito the general run Of plays offered at
isecond-class theaters, and the use of
vehicles OF this class should be encour-
lRged.
There is some attempt on the part Of
this coterie of writers to show the work
ing of the human mind and to delineate
human character without recourse TO the
customs and perfunctory slang of the
East Side The quaint manners and &C.
acteristic of certain parts of the coun-
TRY, and differs in type according 10 the
locality, just as we know such things do
lin reality. and are not the result of in
lgr0wing COeRneyisnl, existent only in
sclosely restricted territory, but which
hsome writer's seem to think is of para
mount interest TO the entire world. The
circumstances are supposed to, and in
most instances do. parallel the happen
iings of everyday life. and are thus rem
idered void of palpable incongruity. There
lis no Identification Of race track touts
rand BoweTy toughs by suddenly trans
Forming them into milhonaires. and as
for the love affairs. they are much more
interesting than those of the ordinary
melodrama,
It Is q pity that the so-calIed popular
literature of to-day does not approximate
that of twenty-five years ago. It is evil
dent that the works of Augusta Evans
land others Of her class will be read with
interest long after that of most of the
kpresent day lesser lights, and some Of
ithe skllfully press-agented greater
lights will have been forgotten.
a week ago three male stars-John
Drew Dustin Farnum. and De Wolf
Hopper-Occupied the theaters in Wash
ington, and this week we have three fe-
male stars-Lulu CHASER. Genee, and
Trixie Friganza. Il would seem that the
booking agencies do not mix them Up for
als. because recently there were Nazimova,
Elsie Janis. and Henrietta Crosman here
at the same time. and last week Andrew
Mack, Joseph Cawthorn, Master Gabriel,
Tom Wise, and Douglas Fairbanks occu-