Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-10-16


certain paper for signatures. The paper
succinctly sets forth the nature of the
theater Spectator evil which everybody
living here knows all about to his cost
and discomfort. and the folks signing the
paper, by SO signing, bind themselves to
remain away from all theaters where
tickets are sold on the sidewalk by
spectators until the nuisance is absolute
~ abated.
Already. though the movement has
been under way less than fortnight,
tens of thousands of signatures have been
obtained, and ] understand that the
theaters where this ticket Spectator out
rage is greatest are beginning to wake
Up and rub their eyes. If all of the peo-
pic who being asked to abstain from
attending the ticket Spectator theaters,
or even any fair percentage of them.
adhere to their signed promise. it is not
beyond reason to hope that not long
hence the ticket Spectator evil will have
been done away with
For years of course. the theater pro-
prietors have been claiming, in response
to the incessant protests against the
ticket specializing business. that they are
.'powerless to cope with the ticket spec
ulatorS. But every human being of the
simplest intelligence in this city knows
perfectly we'll that this is pure tommyrot.
Not only do the great majority OF the
theater proprietors and lessees Of New
York make not the least effort to abate
the ticket specializing nuisance in front
of their theaters but most of them &C
tually stand in cahoots with the specu-
latOrS. To have the pushing, efboWfng.
impudent spectators Topping around in
front of theater. wayiaying pedestrians
and grabbing hold of them after the old
time secondhand clothing dealers meth
cd on the BOwery, suggests in the view
of the average New York theater man
ager. that the production on view is a
bowling success. 1t may and probably
does suggest some such fool thing to the
boneheads. but It's more frequent and di-
rect effect is to cause the people thus NAL
treated and hustled around by the spec
ulators to make a mental note OF the
theater where that sort of thing Is allow
ed and to mentally resolve to stay away
from said theater just as long as they
possibly can .sEmain sufficiently awake
to remember IFS location.
:: :;
Any show that makes any sort of a
hit here at all immediately becomes the
prey of the ticket spectators. and when
that happens the people are debarred from
attending the performance unless they
come across" with two and three ana
often as high as six times the stated price
of tickets. That the managers deliberate
ly stand in with the spectators in this
sort of business has often been proved be-
yond cavil by the present writer. On the
morning-early MISUNDERSTANDING the
successful production of a piece. the news
papers having spoken highly of the same.
all you have to do to find the manager
in the woodpile with the speculator is to
apply at the ticket office for seats for
any of the performances to follow. Seats
are on sale for New York performances
eight weeks ahead of time. Ask on the
morning following a successful produc-
ton Tor a par OF seats for a night, say,
a month ahead. and you will be more or
less blandly informed that there isn't
seat i'm the rack said night month
ahead except back of the eighteenth row.
The spectators have been invited by the
manager. of course, to kick in and grab
off the seats, and there is no redress. The
quiet little boycott seems to be the only
remedy, and it is interesting to observe
that already q number of the managers
have become virtuously busy and have
voluntarily announced that they are EN-
tering upon a determined effort to Danish
the ticket spectators from in front OF
their showhouses. So the quiet little
movement NAV win. Here's hoping.
CLARENCE L. CULLEN.