The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-04-07

rich.costu1ned professions of the Eliza
bethan stage, many years before the
use Of scenery: and hence, in our own
day. the success of pieces like 'Thc
Darling Of the Gods ''The Rose Of
the Rancho,'' and "The Garden of
Allah - Color. light. and music, artis.
ticallv blended will hold the crowd
better than the most absorbing story.
This is the reason for the vogue OF
musical comedy ('The Pink Lady,
for instance}, with its pretty girls, and
gaudv shifts OF scenery and lights,
tripping melodies and dances.
The most effective moments in the
theatcr are those that appeal 10 basic
and commonplace emotions-love Of
woman, love Of home, love of country,
love of right, anger, Jealousy, revenge,
ambition and treachery. So great for
centuries has been the inherited inhu-
ence Of the Christian religion that any
adequate play whose motive is self
sacrifice is almost certain to succeed.
Even when the solf-sacrihce is uuwise
and ignoble. as in the first act Of
" Frou. FIou.' the crowd will give 1t
vehement approval Countless plays
have been made upon the man who
another's guilt. The great tragedies
have familiar themes-am ambition, in
Macbeth. jealousy in Otbello, filial in
gratitude in Lear; there is nothing in
these motives that the most uDthinkiug
could fail 10 understand. No crowd
can resist the fervor Of patriot who
goes down scornful before MANY spears.
Show the audience a flag to die for,
or a stalking ghost to be avenged. or
agoniZing odds, and II will thrill with
q m y1t bn a. 1e ancient tno hmm N
race. Few are the plays that can sue
ceed without the moving force OF love,
the most familiar of all emotions. These
themes do not require that tho audi
ence shall think.
Nimble wits. like Mr.. Bernard Shaw,
who scorn tradition. can attain pop
ular success only through the crowd q
inherent love OF fads; they can not
long succeed when they run counter
to inherited ideas. The great success.
full dramatist, like Moliere and Shakes
peare, have always thought with the
crowd on all essential questions. Their
views Of religion, or morality, of poll.
tics, of law, have been the views Of
the populace. nothing more. They new
er raise questions that can not quickly
be answered by the crowd. through the
instinct of inherited experience. No
mind was ever, in the phlosophic sense,
more commonplace than that of Shakes
peare. he had no new ideas. He
was never radical, and seldom even
progressive, He was q careful money.
making business man, fond of food and
drink and out-of.doors and laughter. a
patriot, lover, aud . gentleman. Great
ly did he know things about people;
greatly also could he write Bnt ne
accepted the religion, the politics. and
the social ethics of his time. without
ever bothcriug 10 wonder If these things
might be improved.
The great speculative spirits Of the
world, those who overturn tradition and
discover new IDEAS, have had minds far
different from this, They have not
written plays. Ii Is 10 these men
the philosopher. the esshyis,. the nov
elist, the lyric poet-thar each OF us
turn for what is new in thought But
from the dramatist the crowd desires
only the old. old thought Ii has no
patience for consideration; il viii lis
ten only 10 what it knows already
II, therefore, great man has n new
doctrine TO expouud. let him set il forth