New-York tribune., 1912-06-09
COMMENT


now ono Of the leading theatrical managers
Of the country has undertaken 10 produce
them and to send special advance agents
ahead of them on their circuit In order BET
ter TO arouse n lively anticpatory interest
few years ago the only plays that were
offered TO vaudevillc audiences were those
Of narrative order, such as are used nov
IN the simplest moving picture plays. Moth
Ing IN the way Of genuine drama was con
siderod Appropriate Audiences took what
was given them and made the most Of It I'm
sppreriation as audiences usually do
The reason why We have serious playle's
of real dramatic calibre In vaudeville 70
Ssv ,s not because an, audience has ever
demanded them hut because some one has
had the Wit to offer them end thus create
demand by putting OUT supply. for
theatre men have found. Is have men III
other kinds Of business. that the econom"
theorv that tho demand creates the sup
ply IS q fallacy. the truth being that the
supply Is the original factor. and II the
commoditv NILS a need, the demand follows
The interest spontaneously felt end shown
hy vaudeville audiences over the his' min
jsture dramas offered them sho"en 'ha'
this sort Of entertainment filled neeo'
and az once the avalanche followed
During the season of l9l1-2 there were
thirtv-seven one-act PLAYS on one OF lhe
leading vaudeville circuits In the West ano
among the plsywrights and composers VINO
nroy1ded them we're Israel Hangwin. Cosmo
Gordon LennoX. Mrs Ftske, William Gil
Iet+e Geosge Ade II. Il. Smith, Reg!naia
he Koyen and Victor Herbert. In the East
there have haen plays by the ne NhIeS'
Rupert Hughes George Broadhurst ana
r,anv others who first won recosn,t'on on
the stage Of the regular drama
AS long az go much advance has peeh
made IN the playlets given to NauoeNlHe
audiences and so much promise is IN tne
wind for further advance, II may seem 10
he pushing things beyond their natnral
runuing schedule 10 say that they mlsh'
aud could be a great deal better than they
are Vet there Is seldom anv harm done oy
suggesting
PERHAPS no more characteristic eNample
could be found Of the best type of Vaud'-
VILE playlet Of to-day than the one known
ss "Retween Trains" I'm which Nine Bes-
kon is now appearing on circuit II mas
. downright sense of drama In every me
+, and situation and IL is not thins 'ha'
could have been short story just as we'll
ln its construction the sketch is remark
able for its direct simplicity and forceful-
ness
But " bat is il about? 4 young laboring
man comes home to his little tenement fiat
at dusk and finds his wife Is out and his
dinner not ready. He fngs his cap angrily
into the corner and mutters something un-
pleasant. Just then the door opens and his
Young wife comes in hurriedly. Seeing her
husband there ahead Of her, she throws of
her coat and unpins her hat quickly so as
TO rush at the dinner-setting
Well where have you been?" he begins, !
in the usual way. and with all the ele- |
iTsnts Of an ugly family row In his voice.
But without waiting for an answer he
proceeds in a TRADE about a mans COM !
ing home hungry and tired, no wife there,
no dinner ready, etc. As he goes on. his |
wrath gathers impetus and for no reason /
at all except that he has a cowardly tenn
per. that he would have been able TO curb |
easily IL he had been talking 10 his boss" |
instead OF his wife, he insults her in way |
unbearable 10 her high spirit She listens
10 him. first in amazement and then in vio-
: lent anger, tells him that the reason she |
was late IN getting home was that she had /
= been at Ms mothers house, getting his |
mothers dinner, because she was I'll and |
could not get II for herself. and then. pick
! ing up a tea4psrom the table, throws 1t
at him very gently, however, and turns
TO rush out Of HIS house.
In reply the man slaps his wife's face,
and al that the two stand aghast, looking
at each other. What have they done?
At this juncture a knock comes to the
door. and when the door is opened lady,
= evidently traveller, stands outside. She
.. asks for a cup of tea and piece of bread
She has twenty minutes between trains for
bit Of supper and the agent at the rail
road station across the way said that per-
haps she could get 1t at the fiat of the
young man and his wife whom We have
lust seen throwing insults and the furni-
ture at each other Rather abashed. yet
with kindly instinct OF hospitality, they
ask the gentle-voiced stranger in. and the
wife bustles over the getting of some tea
and bread. While the repast is being made
ready the stranger is moved to tell her
story. She is on her way TO meet her hus-
band and go back with him 10 their one
time home. Two years before they had
auarrelled. over a mere nothing.
She had thrown a teacup at him and he
had struck her Then she had left him
and got a divorce. But after long while
she had found that she loved him and
wanted TO go back She wrote to him and
he had answered. begging her 10 come
He loved her too, and his life was empty
without her So now she was going 10 him
and he was coming TO her. They were 10
meet halfway.
Then the stranger looks about her and
comments on the sweet little home into
which she has been so nicely received. and
as she leaves she warns the young couple
never to quarrel.
"Rember" she says. bear and forbear."
The elemental feeling for one another
sweeps over the two. and they fall into
each others arms. the last few lines Of the
sketch being i'm the vein of light comedy.
The little play is very we'll done and so
well played that It Is received with ap-
plause everywhere.
Yet is It wrong view TO take that this
sort OF thing is distinctly not worth doing:
Since II is decidedly a serious paylet
frankly written for It's moral, there can
he no objection 20 taking II seriously. The
two Young people shown are perfectly true
10 life. There are at least q hundred fam
lilies on every block in New York of which
the husband and wife are just like them.
And II is also true that the hundreds are
uuarrelling several times q week over moth |
ing, throwing teacups. either really or men, |
tally, at each other and threatening d. |
vorce. Then they sulk awhile, and for one
reason or another make II up Some Of
these monotonous homes have even had
Bear and Forbear" as a framed motto on