Arizona republican., 1911-03-05
4 WESTERN PLAY
 IN 4 WESTERN CITY
The Presentation of "The Squaw Man" in Phoenix a Test of Its
 Dramatic Worth

to the Phoenix audience last week because of the exceptional it afforded the city s playgoers to contrast the dramatists of the western scenes and characters with the actual con ditions which prevailed here not so very many years ago. and to study the play with the idea of learning how much the element of reality may be allowed to figure in an artisuc' and in measure. idealistic depic- ton of western life. To exactly de- fine the extent of an authors per missihle license in the treatment of any romantic plot is manifestly im- possible, since any meritorious drama must be creation of the dramausts own conception of his subject which is as likely as not to be at direct variance with the actual truth. m support of which statement nearly every theatre goer will recall that the plays which have interested them most have not always been those which were most realistic and true to life. but on the contrary, that their feelings have been most aroused ny plays in which the element of reality seemed to have been forgotten by the author. An extreme example of this license is Maeterlincks Blue Bird. a powerful and successful play. full of symbolism. and entirely lack ing in the element of reality. while Doctor Jellyll and Mir, Hyde. al- though in il a closer approach IS made to natural conditions. offers a mo less startling departure from the straight path of a writer who would make realism his goal instead of art
 However both these plays deal with the supernatural. and are extreme examples of dramatic license. The fact remains that the greatest plays of the century were overdraWn, and even that play which seems most simple on close analysis will be found
 in a measure unreal People who
 return from the theatre declaring any successful play simple and
 unadorned" picture of real life are unconsciously uttering an absurdity.
 for if the play were simple and un- adorned they would take no more in-
 terest in il than they do in their
 daily routine.
 The highest art of the dramatist
 is demonstrated in giving an impress
 sion of reality. but that impression can only he created by a subtle. and graceful. and q perfect art, which is all the greater because it is not perceived real life" drama must receive an exaggeration in it's treat ment of characters. to allow them to he developed and stand in opposition to each other as complete individual ities. and in the arrangement of the scenes and incidents of the plot. to give them the rapid and logical Se- Quence which must necessarily lead up to the climax and denouement
 The criterion of a plays success always has been and always will be
 the reception accorded it by the public, and that there is no rule by which the verdict of an audience may be anticipated every theatrical man ager knows He knows il because
 he has seen plays which he consid- cred worthless. both from an artistic and dramatic standpoint. succeed,
 and other plays. for which he pre-
 dicted the most brilliant success. fail lutterly The critics who pronounce the public indorsement no criterion
 of excellence. even though it may be
 of success, are rapidly disappearing. and in the place of this exalted and superior criticism a new respect for the worth of public opinion has been substituted. A drama which holds
 the attention of the public for year
 after year must he not only strong ! in it's conception. but convincing in | it's sequence of events. and logical in
 the development of its characters IL must have inherent worth. unless all
 the world is made up of doting igno- ramuses.
 From this viewpoint the 'Squaw
 Man" was proven a success. Its almost unprecedented run on Broad way. and the popularity with which l it was received in nearly every city in the country are testimonials of
 it's worth as a dramatic production. But. its presentation in the cities
 of the west.-not of the coast. but
 of the mining and ranch states in
 which the greater part of the scene is laid. was the strongest test of it's merit. for in this part of the country
 il was carried to tlfe very environ
 ment, into the very atmosphere which
 the author endeavOred to create. It's reception here in Phoenix was en-
 thusiastic. and the comparisons which
 were made could not have been dis creditable to the play. in spite of the
 contrast which must have been patent .1. I.
 tween the real life of the wild and woolly'. and it's stage prototype. IL
 may seem unnecessary to discuss the
 merits of play which has been so
 long before the public.- but because it is western play. and because it was presented in a western town. this be = lated appreciation is not considered | inappropriate.