Omaha daily bee., 1911-05-14
Elevating
the Stage Gets
Down to the Public

OUND and genuine are the con-
- illusions the New York Dram
attic Mirror draws in consider
ing the debate as to the quality
Of plays that are being offered.
- Similar views were expressed
w. ICES department Of The Bee ten years
ago, and nothing has occurred In the
meantime TO modify them At that time
The Bee pointed out that the manager
tries to follow rather than TO shape public
taste, and that IL any deterioration has
has occurred in the texture Of the drama
in this country. blame is due to the people
who patronize the theater, and not to any
fault OF the managers. The Mirror con-
tends that all sorts of tastes must be con-
sidered, its editorial on the topic being:
Not infrequently one hears persons
glbly pointing out the desirabillty OF ele-
vating the stage, and the phrase salutes
the ear as an agreeable charlottesville
suggestion that may be swallowed whole,
The assumption Is that others have
though. It out beforehand and that nobody
eise need bother much as to the precise
nearing OF the alluring figure, Elevation
seems to be an estimable quality In the
abstract; consequently it's concrete APP
picatun to the stage or to edifices or to
the thousand and one things that may be
conceived of as admitting such an ap-
plicaton, may unhesltatingly be accepted
withou. pausing to wonder IL elevation ever
lily.
i Probably the stage will never be elevated
| into futility for utilities do not survive
| in this woi kaday commercial world. Pos
1 sibly that natural law in the spiritual
world may explain why various we'll meant
! attempts at theatrical reformation have
| died an early death.
/ First Of all however, It behooves one to
! attempt the prosaicPtask of defining the
significance of the term elevation" Nor
! IL II to be expected that any two persons
will formulate definitions coincidont in
all nartiCularg Every has his.
! code OF morals with Its own peculiarities
to fit his disposition; and these peculiari-
ties doubtless lend the code its human
beauty just as the quirlSs in the grain en-
lance the beauty OF polished wood. So,
perhaps the very divergence Of opinion
| will give definitions interest and individ-
ualitv, II not practical utility.
| Broadly speaking, elevation may be re-
ferred to the ancient trrnity.-truth. beauty
end morality. In reverse order we may
progress morally, artistically and intellcc,
tually. Such are the potential paths Of
reformation.
There must arise not only method for
advance, but a subject, What is the spe-
cinc thing to be elevated The play2 the
players? the environment? To avoid par,
TALLY, we may choose to ennobie all
three
Having picked up q handful of clay and
roGtad 1t b on h wheel we are con-
pattern into which II shall be nodded. For
example, who is going to settle upon the
themes fit for dramatic discussion7 Who
shall assert that our moral conventions
surpass those of the Elizabethan days7 or
even Of the Restoration period? Our con-
does that end the argument The much
Wanted honor of the Anglo-Saxon is a
synonym for stupidity in Arabia. Who
say that his own little notion should be
imposed upon the earth as an infallible
Paradise only by clinsing to his coat tails
Humility Is far more divine attribute
than we Americans are wont to consider
but IL there ever was any scheme OF crea.
tion designed by an onnipotent force. II
never gave one man the right TO exercise
power over neighbor. In the final analy-
sis, every person is privileged to produce,
TO enact, to see whatsoever manner of play
he will.
able, reduce the argument to the chilliest
of statistics Everybody knows that crime
absolutely cannot be leRislated out of .ex,
that the inclination toward crime remains
turbulent In criminal breasts. People do
what they wish either openly or clan,
destinely. The only way to eradicate sin
-as prophets have preached from time I'm
memorfal-is TO eradicate the inclination
In every individual.
The stage always has been. always will
De, nothing more than a mirror Of the
times The morale of plays and actors
simply reflects IN a rather public way
ciety. The artistry OF production conforms
to the taste Of its patrons: The intelli-
public intelligence, whether It be in the
lyric vigor OF Shakespeare or the cunning
wit Of Sheridan Those authors were
shaped by the demands of their own days
Moral, intellectual. artistic elevation of
the stage can come only through the ele
walton Of its patrons first. The stage is a
result, not a cause; contend as you will
history shows only that the theater tries
to keep abreast of its time--in Athens
Rome, Germany, France, England, A man
has neither the right nor the ability to
| elevate the stage. The cOnSengus of
opinion, working blindly but inexorably
will do the only elevating possible.