New-York tribune., 1911-02-26
THE PLAYG0ER
A Consumers League for Sup
porting Good Plays-0rgan-
lied Audiences.

lroduct which is purveyed to them'
They have always had an opportunity to
do something of this kind, but ii has
only lately occurred to some of their
number that organized effort may be
able to accomplish the purpose of their
hearts Let them agree to support good
plays, let them fulfil their agreement,
ard the thing is done
At the Lyceum Theatre which Mr..
Daniel Frohman kindly loaned for the
occasion, there was held on Friday at
ternoon, under the auspices OF the Mac
Dowell Club. a meeting having for its
purpose the adoption of means "to en-
courage dramatists to produce and man
ayers to present artistic drama" by
pledging the support of a large number
of individuals during the first three
weeks of any new production upon which
the clubs Committee on Drama reports
fayorablv." ANYBODY may join. All
YOU have to do is TO send 81 and your
address TO the Committee on Drama, at
The MacDowell Club. No. 1925 Broad
way, New York. This will cntitle you TO
receive for one year the reports of the
committee. You will also promise ito
cndeavor To support the plays which are
recommended by the committee" as far
as you are able TO do so. This means.
of course. that YOU will buy at least one
ticket for each of the recommended plays
gallery. dress circle or orchestra, 1t
snatters not. so that you buy.
out West this idea of the MacDowell
club has beer. taken up. out West they
do things in large and generous way
so We Fasteners are often told. Out
West they put the MacDowel Clubs
hdea into harness before New York had
an opportunity to become acquainted
with it. In Boston. where they do not
work with quite the Western energy or
spirit they have even started earlier than
New York. But New York is. in more
ways than one, a backward city. Out
West they have a Drama League which
I'm a year has enrolled 1900 members.
or maybe 10000 Its headquarters are
lin Chicago. or that sweeter Chicago
which is Evanston. II was in Chicago
that dramatic critic expressed the
play. that 'the public doesn't know and
doesn't care who Disraeli was, anyhow"
Clearly. they need a drama league in
Chicago, and possibly other things.
viii ten thousand New Workers. or
twenty-five thousand New Workers. |
pledge themselves 10 the support of good
plays? And how long will they. or the
other leaguers. continue in the admir- /
able work? Will they, weary of WE'LL
doing? There is no foretelling. The /
plan is a good one. 1t does not commit /
its upholders to any impossible or unde- |
sirable thing. 1t merely asks discrim- |
mating playgoers to pledge themselves |
10 support good plays. Any one might |
suppose that discriminating playgoers |
would in any case support good plays /
They do so when they happen to think
of il. They have not hitherto pledged
themselves TO think of it. Even now, as I
matter of fact. the MacDowell Club /
committee will do the thinking. and on
its reminders the playgoers will act-if
the plan works. Why should it not |
work?
The committee is NOT a committee of |
censorship. Its function is to praise. |
THAT is to say. the committee will recon-
mend the plays it thinks worth seeing. |
will the persons who receive the rec
concentrations consider the plays worth !
seeing? Will they confine their patron
age TO the plays thus recommended?
They are not asked to do so. Probably
they are not even expected to do so. But
much will be gained if they will back the
accommodations of the committee with
the price of seats. Do good plays need
such backing? Sometimes they do. 1t
Is hypocrisy 10 say that the public
Ol,r0ys supports good play. even when
s. is well played. There have been In
stances in plenty of plentiful lack of
support.
The trouble with the drama is the pub
Sic Mr. Louis Kaufman Anspacher, at
Fridays meeting, referred frequently to
''the much abused manager" | am not
at all inclined TO think that managers
arc subjected 10 the "abuse" which Mr.
Anspacher seems TO discern. Mr. John
Graham Brooks, who saws frankly
enough that he knows nothing about the
drama and the much discussed prob
lens of theatrical enterprise, buI who
does know all about organizing Con-
sumers' Leagues. hit the mark easily
enough. He said that the theatre going
public creates what it buys. Truer worG
was never spoken. II you pay for
medocrity you encourage the supply of
mediocrity. II you pay for vicious"
plays you encourage the supply OF such
stuff. If you pay for trash you help to
make profits for the business of selling |
trash. When you help TO support one
bad play you assist in the manufacture
cf another If you support good play
YOU help to encourage The author and
the manager: you thereby assist in the |
writing and production of another good |
paIy II
What is good play? If you will pay |
a dollar wear the MacDowell Club |
Committee on the Drama will tell you. |
At the same time, or earlier, the pro-
fessional critics may try 10 tell you
through the press. But the professional
critics cannot do what the MacDowell
or the Drama League will do p
Y 4 something of ease-the professional =
critics cannot secure your pledge for the h
si,pport Of good plays. Besides. the busi-
pcss of the critics is 10 criticise. Per- %
-. .to Iaaouers and MaCDOWelliteS | a.