Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-02-26

OF safety. And yet something OF list
might be made OF the unsuccessful ven
lures OF the present season. Twenty-six
new plays, tried In New York since last
fall. have proved failures. In addition 10
these, number Of attempts TO revive
former successes have fallen flat. while
other efforts to galvanize failures OF for.
mer times have only served to prove the
mistake, In eXtenuation. the manager may
plead that he had acted as wisely as he
might, living up to his lights always The
plays that failed were written along lines
OF accepted successes, and he conld not
understand the variation in public taste
that leads It to discriminate between
tweedledee and tweedledum. which the
captious public does at the most unex-
peoted time. and with the result Of in
evitable disaster to the hopes Of the man.
ager. All he can DO is to pick hss G1a4
and try again" But the eautieas Aasit
OF the manager III his pursuit o. the profit
that pertaineth unto popularity has led
him frequently into a false position, ana
this is sometimes Inscribed not 10 his hu5uD1
falubillty, but TO his inordinate capidity
or, less easy TO condone. hts Grass stupid
ty. Verify, the manager hath his problem
II is not given IL . % Judge with pre-
clsion az all times, but Il Is merely a
proper tribute to wisdom TO suggest that
experience and taste comblnted can easily
determine whether the drama In point has
the qualities thot ought to commend II 70
the masses on whose support the theater
must depend. Mr.. Henry Arthur Jones
made IL very clear in his commentary on
the conditions OF the American stage, even
while Insisting that Literature and Drama
must be one. that II would not do TO set the
dramatic standard at too high literary
mark; that the proffer OF the theAter must
not be to the superior" class. but to the or
binary mortals who must be met on a level.
II the theater is TO prosper, Which means
that the play must deal with its subject IA
common terms; Il must have for its theme
some phase OF common experience. and it's
treatment must be along lines that appeal
to the pOpulace rather than the student.
This does not seem 20 present difficulties
that are insurmountable Managers OF real
experience and possessed OF judgment that
Is broad enough 20 grasp the similar prob
lens OF life. ought TO be able to determine
whether a play has IN Il the elements that
fall within the requirements. Having de-
termined this, the next thing Is TO settle on
It's acting qualities, and then some little
consideration should be given az 70 It's
merit from the ethical viewpoint. This
quality Is considered last, and TOO fire.
quently Is not considered az all II the play
Is such as can be acted and has direcl
appeal to the surface emotions, Il matters
1 little In the judgment OF a great many Of
the producers what It's effect viii be. In
this the managers show more than m any
other way the Inconsistency Of their course
Nor is this course entirely Justified by ex.
/ peFience. History OF the stage In America
records many examples that might be cited
10 show that the modern manager has
made a serious blunder in following toe
closely the lines Of eommsrciaiism IN hii
dealings with the pablics = blunder thai