El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-05-25

innate a mighty blow below the theat-
rical belt and made such a theatrical
campaign impossible.
This fact has its sad and joyful side.
On the one hand. il separates a living
from a horde OF stageland workers;
and on the other, IL eliminates a vast
amount Of second class drama and
tends TO elevate the stage by the sim
pie process Of the survival OF the fit
test
One Success,
In the line Of bread winning aud dra-
matte successes, the name Of Bought
and Paid For" stands prominent, and
thereby hangs a tale, which has Waggeo
seemingly unnoticed for years Bought
and Paid For embodles those pnsYco-
logical features that mark the deeper
flow OF life-the characteristics that
must ever form the basic matter for
successful book or play. 1t takes
problem Of life, as old as the tombs OF
the CheOps, and dispOrts Herewith
with truthfulness, which, after all, IS
the very acme OF dramatic art
aPefer Grimm a Success.
Another successful play of the sea-
son, and one that rivals Bought and
Paid For" for the palm Of success, is
The Return Of Peter Grimm, Belas-
cos new drama This play Is perhaps
the most poignant. from the standpoint
Of dramatic effect, that has been pro-
duced this season. 1t explores new
field-the field OF spirttualiSm, and
blazes a path that will, perhaps, mark
an epoch in the history OF the stage.
II Is in The Return OF Peter Grimm
that David Warfield, who sprung into
the limelight through The Music Mas
ter" again demonstrates his right to
a high place in Americas list OF dra-
matte stars.
Among other plays that have
brought comfortable fortunes 70 their
authors and producers this season are
David Belasco's a Woman "Disraeli,"
and The Butterfly on the Wheel"
Scenic Popularity.
The past season has also oeen rich in
shows whose popularity depends as
much upon their scenic production as
upon the story and acting Of the piece,
In fact, scenic stagecrart has moved
along apace as the years so by. till in
the present day none but the most or
nate and beautiful stage picture sat
isfies the public The most notable
example Of this lavish production was,
by a long lead, The Garden of Allah"
a dramatization of Robert Hitchin's
novel OF that name The scenes por-
trayed in this show surpassed anything
placed upon the stage in recent years.
aQuaker Girl Success.
In the field OF musical comedy "The
Quaker Girl proved the best attrac-
ton on Broadway, despite the fact that
George n. Conan, De Koven and many
other masters of the operetta entered
strong bids for that distinction. The
Little Millionaire" by George ~.
might be mentioned as achieving a bad
second place in popularity.
Pure comedy the variety that is
spoken unaided by the fiddles of the
orchestra and a couple of hundred
pretty girls. had its most notable sue
cess this year in The Takers" which
is stiU running at the Harris theater.
and Officer 666, screaming farce l
at the Gaiety. Both Of these shows are
destined to make long summer runs,
together with the other favorites of /
the defunct season
Drawing Big Crowds.
OF the shows that started late in the 1
race for theatrical honors, "Kismet,"
THE Rainbow" and THE Typhoon" are
drawing the largest crowds at the box 1
Cffice. while the really big and most D
Engaging. success among the late en- /
tries .sT7he Weberfields Jubilee" Is on 4
the road. The success that attended 7
the Weber and Fields reunion was one (
of the features Of the season and dem I
Illustrated the often suspected fact that 7
the coueds Of masters IS quite good.
no matter how ancient the vintage.
on the whole. the year has been /
unioue in many respects. It has
brough TO light an unprecedented num-
lev of successes. has made fortunes for
fet-ored Few and yet has fallen Tar
sboT+ Of proving the bumper year its
dramatic -briliancy predicted.