Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1912-11-04

Ill xmas, KNOWS
g@z-s that it's expen-
sive for the same reason. and he re-
allies that this knowledge, though
no little" is still "a dangerous
thing
And all of this is merely a pre-
amble to introduce not an imported
gown or hat out an imported actor,
n Robert Lorraine, who Is at the
Newark Theatre this week in Georsc
Bernard Shaw's delightful comedy,
Mar {and S~uperman." When you
have had an opportunity of Witness
Ing his excellent portrayal of John
Tanner. you will all agree with me
hat he is not good because he is
imported, but hat he is imported
by the Liebler Company because he
Is good. You will also Immediately
recognize in the young English star
the ideal matinee hero.
"And what do you think of the
matinee girl?'' I asked, to start the
interview ball rolling.
II like her very much" he an
swered. THE matinee audiences are
quick to catch a witty line, quick in
their understanding and quick in
tiCll Syiipdln1. 4OuCdn play d EDAl-
edy such as Man and Superman' at
double quick time to them. Not only
do they grasp its funny situations
quickly, but they do not prolong the
laughs.
Makes Pet of Joke.
"1n the evening audiences there is
nearly always some whole seuled,
-zA1lnot,waI foll1n, x.-1o .0t- hnId ~
asjoke and wants to make a pet of 1t.
Just leave him alone and he'll be en-
tertained for an entire evening by
that one good line. You might think
the actors would feel most grateful
to him, but they don't. He slows up
the performance. The audience for
gets to laugh at the play in laugh
Ing with him. Result: 1t laughs it.
self out early in the evening.
you never have this to contend
with in a matinee audience. 1t IS
right at your heels. You can tahe
your highest fences without a pause
and 1t viii be right after you. But
then the evening audiences have
other advantages. With men in the
house there is more weight to the
fun. You know half the fun in a
comedy is the sense that there are
hundreds of other people enjoying it
with you.
Audiences don't appreciate the fact
that a full house makes a comedy go
better-but it does. The reverse Is
true for tragedy. When the house is
half empty an air of gloom settles
over the auditorium; just the right
atmosphere for a sombre play.
Every night, when the curtain
goes up we have the problem before
us. OF making friends with a new ac-
duaintance. For each audience has.
a personality of its own. Its general
character will be determined by the
personalities of certain individuals
tina compose it. Personal magnet
ism is not confined to the stage alone.
A spectator radiates 1t ~involuntarily.
and if he is generously endowed with
II. he may be almost as much a fac
tor in the way the play Is received
as are the actors themselves. 4,
You Can Hurry Your Audience.
sin playing a farce, or a high speed
comedy, such as Man and Superman,
pace is everything. 1t is important
then to make things go at 4 gallop.
You can't run away from your audi
ences, but you can hurry them. BY
delivering your lines rather quickly,
not allowing them to linger over a
laugh, you viii soon be able to deter
mine just how fast they can go.
SIT would seem that this touch-and-
20 method Of delivering Shaw's flash
ing lines created an impression at the
plays first production hat 1t was
very brilliant but somewhat ephe-
neral, but, as the wiseacres say,
Thine will tell and 1t has told us
thai Mr.. Shaw's comedy has lasting
qualities as well. I1revived Man and
Superman' for the fifth time last year
in London, and 1t ran for t~hirty-fve
weeks. We had packed houses the
whole time and had to put on extra
matinees, so hat in the end we were
giving nine performances a week"
In order to escape the monotony of
a~npearing continually in the same
character Mr.. Lorraine has portrayed
ct mafinees Charles Surface in ''The
school for Scandal" Tony Lumpkin in
..she Stops to Conquer and Bob
Acres in THE Rivals
~ believe that Man and Super
man will have as long a life as any
Of those classical comedies" he con-
t9nued. certainly no play ever had
so many witty lines. But, as l vas
lust suggesting. there is something
more to this play han a pyrotechnical
display of wit. There is body to it.
There is plot. That is why it packs
houses seven years after its first pro-
duction.
spectator Forgets Himself.
III you want to study audiences
YOU couldn't ask for a better play
than this comedy. In the first place
the spectator has to keep all his wits
about him if he doesn't want to miss
ANYTHING. Result; He entirely for
rets himself, and. as the photographer
requests. looks natural. Shaw's ap-
proach to his audience is more IN the
nature OF a challenge h an ap-