New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-15
IT,, THE , aM .. New O76M&5 ta1Me C0Nz1& Week
THE PLAYG0ER
About Sir Arthur Pinero's Lat
est Play and Other Matters.


his head. Later the intoxicated young
man waltaes with a young girl who is
20 sleepy she cannot keep her eyes
open. This exhibition IS not exciting,
but IL is unpleasant The play itself
Is harmless enough. although on the
London first night, ms everybody knows,
there was riot because some un-
sophisticated patrons Of the drama
thought that musical comedy" god
something by tho playwright The
musical comedy goddess was exceed
ingly pretty, vastly popular, and her
adorcrs came In regiments But under
the stage polish she was a little vul-
gariaN of free and easy manners and
could swear She had a good heart
though, and kept straight" and Ia the
end married a viscount, Now, these
things do happen In the musical COM
ody" world and there IS no reason why
nero. n he likes should not let his
dramatic fancy play with the vulga-
rians OF the stage, as he has heretofore
let it play with the vulgarians OF the
middle class and of high life" No one
who knows certain phases Of life be-
hind the curtain and outside the stage
door (and who in these days of infinite
publicity does not?) can say truly that
Pineros picture is too highly colored.
Tirero knows the stage and all sorts
Of stage foik. II he does not, who
doeso The stage is the world in little,
and nothing is gained by declaring that
the characters in The Mind the Paint
Girl'% 10 rot belong TO IT, or are not
among its hangers on. They are not
all the people Of the stage, any more
than the characters in The Thunder
bolt or "The Second Mrs. Tanqueray'
exhibit all the types OF middle class
life. but they are representatives Of a
considerable class.
Pirero slides easily out Of his diff
Guilty. with the jealous lover NICK
Jeyes. The audience must have LILY
marry the viscount. Besides, Lily must
have that happy ending You know
The musical comedy" lady viii never
marry Nick. She knows the world.
She has minded the paint, But Cap
tain Nicholas Jeyes having been for
Years a faithful and snsrling dog, must
G,.A
way out He sends the ex-captain to
Africa. An American playwright
would have sent him to the Stock En-
change-there are no ranches now
adays--or would have placed him at
the head Of a large business for which
lie had no tra-hing. Perhaps ne had no
training for the management OF stock
farm in BuloWayo. But the depletion
of business on the stage mot stage
business) is usually droll. And TO
British dramatists the chief use of the
empire is that man can be sent TO
any part of il in hurry when his Gre
ator doesn't know what else to do with
him or how else TO end his play.
What happens TO the myriads who
can't go TO "the colonies" but must
stay at home and face the music?
They don't get into the plays.
stage business men, and business as
depicted on the stage, are usually
queer. Our nation, we often hear, is a
business nation But our playwrights
and stage managers do not seem to
know it. Their business scenes and
business plays and business characters
are vastly unlike the business and the
basiness men of the real world. But
dur business audiences-aCdiences Of
Business men" accept them placidly.
Nhaf else can they do?
iWhether audiences could control both
the kind Of plays presented and the
manner Of presentation is hardly a
question. They could do Il II they
wished. Professional criticism lie
neither the only kind Of criticism nor
the most immediately felt in matters
Of the theatre. Critics condemn play
and II succeeds ("Fanny's First Play"
which comes TO the Comedy Theatre
tomorrow, illustrates this facD they
praise a play and II fails. Their in
fluence-if they are capable and sin
cere-is felt in the long run, but IL is
the public thumbs down or thumbs UP
that decides at once whether play is
10 die or live. All Of this Is automatic.
1t is restated merely to give point to
the question asked above What else
can they do?
Playgoing in New York has reached
such tremendous proportions that the
public in this city has got the reputa-
rion OF being deeply fond Of the drama
and of having intense interest in the
stage. IL this ~ so, why would
audiences not be more critical than
they are of the various kinds of glar-
ing improprieties that occur In the the
atre.7 II there is any meaning In
signs, however. the playsoins public
does not go TO the theatre out OF In
terest for the dramatic art. II goes to
pass the evening.
Life In New York is curious. 1t
offers none of the small pleasures.
Conversation among friends is not con-
sidered an interesting means Of enjoy
ment Walking through the streets at