The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-10-05
THE DRAMA OF THE wEEM
Literature is
Seeking Place
In the Drama
Prescnt.day Stage Successes Cannot bo
Literature Son Begging.

Not very many months ago a pro-
ties wrote a play. 1t was staged. play
cd once or twice. and-forgotten.
There is nothing SO wonderful In a
professor writing a play. 1t is still less
wonderful to have a professors play
fail. But in this particular casc. cir
cumstances were different. The pro-
lessor in question ia a we'll known
poet. He is recognized as Il literary
critic of the first order. His drama
If l may Judge from his other works
will stand as a literary creation, but,
as a play for tho great mass OF thea
tre-goers. failure is written across its
pages.
Literature plays a very small role
in American drama today. AS the
works of contemporary playwrights
come to mind. I can recall no play.
both dramatic and literary. that has
been a lasting success. One or two
modern authors have written literary
plays. but. after Il short season. they
have been retired from the stage.
Thanks to the publisher. however. they
have been preserved in book form.
Others have tried to blend plays and
literature. but these brain children
are slumbering in the graveyard Of
oblivion.
Dramatic conditions today stand as
a great indictment against those who
are making them. Note the works Of
lhsen. How many of his plays. meas
ured by the Broadway standard. have
successful runs today? Turn your at
tention to the plays Of Charles Klein
and George Broadhurst. Their earn
ings mount into the hundreds Of thou>
sands rapidly. 1t is not because
Charles Klein or George Broadhurst
is a greater playwright than Henrik
1bsen. They are far from his stand
ard. But Ibsen was a master play.
wright. His plays we're written to
teach. to live. Klein and Broadhurst
write to amuse. to earn.
Avarice is the great enemy Of the
drama. The Turing royalties induce
men to write plays that will fill the
popular demand. And through 1t all,
dramas that are really literature go
begging.
Shall it be said in years to come
that the playwrights of this age wrote
unto their moneybags only? Shall the
plaNGoers of another generation say:
They had an opportunity to create a
living American drama. but they did
not grasp it,"
But Is the playwright entirely re-
sponsible for this? In the last analy.
sis. much of the blame must fall to
the t~eatresoer. 1t is his wish the
author must consult in penning his
play. IT he does not demand that a
play De literature. he will not get 1t.
Just at present. the American theatre
goer does not want literary plays. He
Is coming to them, but so far he is
satisfied with the kind that entertains.
the kind that burns brightly for a
while. and. then. like the candle, goes
out. lust SO long as the theatregoer
asks Tor entertainment only, just so
long will literature seek a place in
American drama.
Perhaps a few illustrations will not
be amiss. Charles Klein is called a
successful playwright. Yet he has
written nothing that will live. TIE has
mad shtores to tell. and he told them
well. Now and again. you can detect
literary attempts. but they invariably
developed into extrinsic Ornamental
ton. as William Archer would put It.
Augustus Thomas is sometimes re.
ferred to as the greatest American
playwright. But I defy y q to
name one play of his that will 20 down
to posterity. His "Witching Hour
was a great acting play" but it was
not literary. 1t had a successful New
YORK rum. and then played to crowd.
!" Ao"sss oH eour ~ Was by
A a Mar Thinks" into which the
author infused some true literature:
While this play lasted. it was called a
big success But. after a very short
season. compared with it's predeces-
sor, it is no longer being played, un
less 1t be in a brief stock engagement.
Let us recall Israel. Zangwill's ex-
periences. His plays have never had
real successful runs, yet some of them
are numbered among the choice O
OF contemporaneous literature. In this
lies he explanation of their failure.
n offered in stage form.
rake Percy Mackaye's works. Are
they considered good acting n,avs ,
Once again does literary merit smell
failure. Fe
Shall such conditions always exist ?
no" n o Thespis. how long?