New-York tribune., 1910-12-25

appear to have differed greatly from Mr.
Howe's, for the start was given by John
Galsworthy's Justice a play in which
there is not much to rouse the soul by
passion nor to charm it by eloquence, so
that it should feel on the whole a strong
movement which, as Hume observed,
is altogether delightful Not tc draw
the point too fine, Justice" was a didac-
tic and depressing play. 1t is said to
have stirred a Cabinet minister to Off
cial repentance, effecting thereby some
improvement in prison administration
The young lions who roar that all was
darkness before their appearance on
earth take this effect upon and through
the Home Secretary for proof of great
ness in dramatic authorship, a mighty
testimony to the new school, of
dramatic writing. 1t would be too much
to expect them to know that an "old
school, play did as much and more be-
fore they We're born. Never Too Late to
Mend was not only a powerful agent
Tor prison reform, but it had, during
generation, hundreds. if not thousands.
of performances And yet one never
heard that anybody considered it "a
great play on that account.
Justice" was performed twenty-sx
times, and that was certainly fair pro-
portion for one bill out of eight in the
total of 12S performances. Shaw's Mis-
alliance was performed eleven times;
the Triple Bill-Barries "Old Friends
and 1.-The 1welve-Pound Look and
| srT,l,1
ists'-six times; The Madras House."
| by Granville Barker ten times; Pinero's
'eTrelawny Of the Wells,'' fortytwo
times; "Prunella,' by Laurence Hous-
man and Granville Barker, seventeen
times: ''Helena'S PATH" by Anthony
Hope and Cosmo Gordon Lennox, twice,
and Chains by Elizabeth Baker. four
teen times. 1.-The Twelve-Pound Look"
/, was also given nineteen times with some
of these plays. aside from THE Triple
Bill" so that it received altogether
| twenty-fiv performances From this list
any one may draw whatever conclusions
he chooses. But the fact Of chief con-
| Germ is that six months have passed
since the first brief season closed, and
nothing has yet occurred to indicate that
| Mr. Frohman intends to try second
repertory season-in London. AS it hap
pened, he really did not make a thorough
trial of the repertory idea; he had plays,
but not a repertory company The
ability to draft actors from various parts
Of the known globe for one play or an
| ether has nothing whatever to do with
the repertory principle, excepting to op-
pose it. 1t remains to be seen whether
or not Charles Frohman comprehends
the principles and practice on which a
repertory theatre must be established.
and apart from which such an expert
rnent as the one he made in London has
little meaning.
Mr. Howe and others lead one to sup
pose that London takes Mr.. Frohman
more seriously than New York does. Ii
this he so, more than one fact must be
responsible for the difference. Perhaps
Mr. Frohman promises less and accom-
plishes more in London than he does
here: perhaps he does not announce
there Christmas gatherings of Ameri-
can dramatists who are to take the east
ward voyage as his guests, but who
never appear, and who never start; per
haps London has not been promised a
first-class theatre for Whitechapel OF
the Isle-of-Dogs, and first class actors
who are to play in it for third-class sal
aries: perhaps London knows nothing
about the great plan for theatrical per-
formances on the principal Atlantic lin
ers and has not been stirred by a project
for a marine theatrical company, led by
a bright star, to explore the Gold Coast
in a big" steamship (of 1900 tonsD
perhaps London has not been asked tf
: see one of its delicate little actresses
| nlay a powerful masculine part; ano
perhaps London has not been distin-
guished by the futile adaptation and pro-
duction of certain French plays which
have rated New York's intelligence al
| foo low a mark no matter how low thai
mark may really be. London, however
may take care of itself. New York vii
have time enough to consider seriously
the latest announcement about repcr-
| tory theatre when it becomes convinced
| that the report is not spread merely II
the hope Of dishing rival manager
whose name is conspicucusly ASSOCIATED
with an existing house which for a year
has claimed 10 be repertory theatre
a claim which has been substantiatec
only in part. After all, theatre mana
gers. like other men, are known by theii
works quite as much as by the puffs pre-
liminary. AS the Founders and manage
nent of the house in Central Park West
have not given New York repertery
theatre. perhaps Mr.. Frohman may dc
ca AT any rate, he need not fear rivalry,
A. W.