Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-10-16
n MOTHER burning question:: What
~ shall be done about the amateur
~ manager?

register department Of the drama. Sarah
Bernhardt may go broke or. Eddie Fo1
nay draw a thousand dollars week; thu
playgoer troubles himself but little ovel
the discrepancy. Having cast Its coir
INTO the box office. the audience hopes fol
an evenings entertainment. and whether
satisfed or disappointed, departs without
raring a rap which firm of managers
banks IL. Recent events have compelled
the public at large to interest itself In the
financial department of the drama New
Arguments of forces. new accessions OIL
territory to the booking lists of one firm
at the expense of another have created a
new condition. Formerly productions
complained of difficulty in getting time
Now the competition has so adjusted IT.
self that producers are encouraged as they
never were before.
An amateur manager has a great advan-
tage over the amateur performer in being
the custodian of the hook.
Until recently the name of John Cort
vas little heard on this side of the Allie
ghenies But he is man of numerous
interests in playhOuses in the west. and
business deal which brought him into
alliance with the Shuberts afforded him
an opportunity to come. forward as a pro-
ducer which he did with Mary James
Pa" The ingenuity of the story was not
we'll supported by the manner of its
presentation. Business relationships with
The Klaw and Erlanger forces brought
AL Fl. Woods conspicuously to the fore.
Mr.. Woods used to present fiery unnamed
melodramas. Among his creations Of
fered this season we're New York and
The Girl in the Taxi" Henry ". Saw
age, whose reputation as an operate
manager is secure. went into the CONVEX
sational drama with Miss Patsy" and
that boisterously jovial firm of producers,
Cohan and Harris. have undertaken to
direct the fortunes of an actress like
Laurette Taylor, whose talents are en-
tirely In the field of the most refined
emotional expression. Charles Frohman.
the master OF light comedy. persists In
attempting flights Of mirthful song, just
rs Sam S. and Lee Shubert. with a brill
liant record in the production Of extrava-
CANA. proceed without hesitation to in
wade the legitimate field.
The theatrical business is the only one
in America that refuses to be special
led
The result is that theater patrons. who.
while uninterested in their routes and
contracts, have come to regard certain
Arm names as trade-marke, become con-
fused. They expect musical comedy and
ind that the entertainment is a farce;
they look for a drama and experience a
collection OF whimsical dialogue. What is
fo~ w
concerned. the faint of suggestion is al
lowed to spread so as to cast suspicion
On performances which are free from It,
Or from which it could be easily elimi-
mated. Washington is a hard audience
for a srnirchy show. 1t is a community
which bars disorder from its streets and
n which ladies can go unaccompanied to
places of amusement without fear OF af-
front save that which may be studiousiy
provided by author or players.
This city led the crusade which resulted
IN the removal of the big theater hat in
audiences throughout the country. 1t may
De necessary to call for the restoration
IF the hat 10 conceal the stage.
Shades of Forbidden Fruit and Pink
Dominoes. How innocent they seem
after the efforts OF Paul Potter and STAN
slaus STANCE to be Partisan. The Girl
n the Taxi" while far from puritanical.
II least uses material from which famil-
arity has taken some of the smart. The
Efficiency of a French farce is measured
oy the number of doors employed in the
stage settings. After introducing home
With a central living room. into which
soors lead like spokes TO the hub of a
wheel. The Girl in the Taxi" proceeds to
4 climax. and by using a partition in the
second act adds another door. The num-
per of concealed spouses and sweethearts
IS limited only by the number of doors
Carter de Haven is a clever entertainer
and managed to hold his own even In
competition with the doors. There were
playgoers who expected The Girl in the
rsxi' to nc musical show. just as they
expected to find Laurette Taylor the star
y serious drama.
Moral: Read the newspaper.
Up and Down Broadway amused
nany patrons Others felt as If they had
asked for cake and had been handed a
o5ster claw. II is one OF the shows
which depend OF gauzy fancies and whose
capacities to amuse depend on the mood
II the spectator. The librettist manased
% prove that Onenbach did not wiring the
dea of burlesquing mythology quite dry
Some of the performers are INDUCED with
uore generosity than discretion in the
patter of time allowance.
This week offers productions each of
which has a sponsorship in keeping with
- kinda defective drama by Charles
F'rohman. modern play by Henry r.
Harris and a rollicking musical array by
Lev Fields. PIIILANDER JOHNSON.
WAITING FOR III.-l7eIix Haney. who
is the AldeUnan Phelan in The Man OF
the Hour tells of an experience he had
while playing Hi HoIer in Way Down
East. We were playing at the Ire
nont Theater in Boston, said Mr.. Haney
and while II amused me at the time.
have often wondered what nv feelings
would have been II had experienced the
.erious side OF g. Saturday afternoon.
after the matinee. as I passed through
the stage door. I found II partially blocked
BY TWO strong looking farm lads-fron,
some town in Maine. as 1 aftervard
learned.
Say. boy said the heavier of the
two. has that ere Hi Holler Teller come
out YETI was about to tell him tina,
I was the Hi Holer of the stage. but
Thought IL would be q good Joke to lie;