The Washington herald., 1911-12-31

This will be a week of good resolutions
among theatrical managers, it is devout-
ly 10 be wished, and TO give the New Year
a merry start locally, two revivals OF
tried and true value are to be offered.
The Fascinating Widow" which pre-
sents the fair Julian Eltinge in his eX-
cellent conceptions of the eternal tem-
mime. and the weIl-known Rupert Hughes
Pullmancsque farce, Excuse Me- will
be seen at the Columbia and the Belasco
theaters respectively. Both pieces were
we'll received in Washington last season.
.Ths N,;v York verdict" has always
been paramount in the eye of the COM
mon or garden variety of theatrical pro-
duCers. hut signs are not wanting that
II IS becoming more and more decep-
tive as a gauge of approval or disap-
proval from the cities beyond the me-
tropols. In many cases 1t means abso-
lutely nothing. Chicago, Washington
and Boston are among cities which are
absolutely independent in their taste.
Managers now say. and say rightly, that
the reception which a play or operetta Is
given IN the Capital is no indication of
what verdict will be passed upon 1t in
New York. And vice versa. In many
cases
ing the experimental period and in
partially completed state. The city re-
fuses to patronize these productions no
matter how attractive they are in many
respects. As n result. the theater SUI
fers the public ignores all offerings which
are not Of established reputation. and
the season becomes reign Of dullness
and apathy
Ther~ is wclI-Goundcd conviction
among theatrical observers in the city
that the season has been altogether too
prolific in musical comedies and Operettas, !
at the expense of the straight drama. !
There is large public in the city willing
to patronizc good plays, and it is en-
couragfng to see that many of tn" latter
have been hooked for the next two
months at both the Bclasco and the Col
lumbia.
'Tis a pity, however. that Washington
VIII not see "Pomander Walk until
late. in the season. Chicago is the gamer
at ou' expense.
Hcurl Arthur Jones is with us once |
mor" The inevita BILE New York inter- |
Wow brings forth the following views:
More and more II seems to me that |
in America you are getting q vigorous, !
modern. realistic drama. The acting, too |!
acting. has more vigor l think, and GER |
tainly actors and actresses work harder |
at rehearsals than our English actors |
! was very much disappointed that The |
Concert did not go in. London. 1t ought |
TO have done so. 1t is a most delightful |
comedy. and every EngEshman who saw
it over here, myself included, had pre- |
dicted enormous success for it, 1 don't
know when l ever enjoyed myself more
than when hearing Leo DItriChstein last !
year at the BelasCO. l consider his per- |
formanCc OF his role in that comedy |
worthy to be put beside Jefferson's Rip |
and some of the best representations of
Sir Charles Wyndham. The piece was !
played by good actors and actresses in !
London, but they hadn't the right per- !
sonalitios for the parts. I think that
s. the secret Of its comparative failure !
over there
You sec, the critics and the public !
can only see what is actually given |
them. They jUdge-and rightly judge-a /
performance As it is What else could !
they do? Every performance Of a certain i
play j. only one out Of possibly l.NO0 /
varying performances Of it. and when /
YOU q got a great success il is not only !
because the author has given the actors J
and actresses the right material to work /
upon. h':J because they have brought the |
right personalities and methods to deal |
with il. and it is no good for an author (
to say OF performance that is not a !
sue, eSs That II not what ! intended, !
because the public IAN Immediately re- !
Join. We'll. why didn't YOU show US |
what You did intend? In this instance |
he public are right They are called !
upon to pay their money. and if for any !
reason they de- not like a play they can |
stay away. So N W hay" right on their |
side. But getting successful play .S
always a great tOSsup. /
Most successful IuthCrs. 7 should say. |
get about one success in three or four /
plays and the public very kindly soon /
forEets all about Your failures.
There Is an enormous field for the ,
American dramatist and the American /
public very naturally demands to sec its /
life know protrayed. Things that !
happened 1000 years ago or that happen |
& 900 miles away are not Of so much in
terest as those that happen at our own |
door: so that the form, the matrIX of a ,
play. should always be the life the dra- |
matist knows and has lived among all his
days. ] could not write a play Of Ameri-
can life to save my own life. though I |
come over here so often. I paint English
life, which l do know and among which |
7 have lived. That Of course, is form.
OF course. all dramatists have the same
common human nature to deal with.
When Shakespeare had to draw a Roman
mob he didn't make a trip to Rome to
get local color. He simply drew an
English mob as he knew it-an Eliza
bethan mob-but into that Elizabethan
mob he put the essential vitality of all
mObs everywhere. But the expression,
the outer form OF it, was the English
mob he actually did know and lived
among.
''Belasco.' said Mr.. Jones. in answer
to q request for a comparison between
English and American play producers, as
the most wonderful stage manager l
have met with. / should think stage
producers over here are as good as any
where. ] think. perhaps, for drawing
room comedy the English would be bet
ter, for the reason that we have more
life. We have among us
the remains OF an old aristocracy, and
for that reason I should think our stage
managers might excel in the representa-
tiOn OF that sort OF thing: but cannot |
imagine anything better than such stage
as Belasco gives.
We have heard a great deal in Eng
land about the success Of The Garden
OF Allah over here. and / am told that
Lewis Waller has made a great personal
success, which Is very gratifying to his
friends. ] think that after SalvinI's,
Walters Is the best Othello have ever
seen. or course, Salvini has the very
robust physique that seems to 90 with
the part"
why do you think the New .Theater
=. 1