The Washington herald., 1914-03-15
Review of the Past Week
In Ne1v York The1terS

cases, acted as sort Of collecting agency
for writer's inexperienced In business
matters. = 80 Z
Among the members OF the league are
number Of veIi-known dramatic auth
ors. The relations of playwrights to the
business end OF the theater 10 In q fsr
from satisfActory condition. The COM
putation and payment of ROYALTIES is on
anything but an exact and scientific basis.
II. y entirely in the hands Of the man
ayers, and while the system Of box-onsce
accounting Is In many eases reliable In
others. It 10 open to suspicion. 4
When the Authors League becomes
more firmly established II hopes to IN
clude among its accomplishments q COM
plete welding together Of the interests
OF American dramatists. 90 that after
the manner Of the powerful French so
ciety, they can deal authoritatiyely win
! the managers and dictate an absolutely
fair method of the collection Of theatrical
royalties probably through bureau OF
the league so that there viii be no cues
ton of prompt and fun payment At
present the work Is done by the leading
play agents whose interests lie largely
| with the managers and who have no
power, outside of the law courts ana
sometimes fimsy contracts. to enforce
fair dealing In behalf OF their clients In
a good many cases even some very we'll
known managers take advantage OF this
state of affairs to the serious detriment
| Of authors. OF course, the scailawags In
the outlying districts regard royalties a
more or less of q joke and pay very much
| what they like and when they get ready.
The league hopes eventually to tie the big
and little dramatists together into Q
| strong organization with legal and &C
counting departments sufficiently strone
| to inspire terror In the managerial heart.
Cream of the New York Theaters.
Another week will show considerable
change in New Yorks theater bills, but
little change in the most important at
fractions Margaret Angiin in a roper
| tory of Shakespearean plays will be the
most important new arrival. Mr.. Cyril
Maude announces only six weeks more
of his finished performance in the title
part Of Grumpy" Bernard Shaw's The
| Philanderer'' comes on in fortnight
kitty MacKay," the delightful and vel
played Scotch comedy, bids fair TO go or
well into the summer: also Peg o. MY
Heart" The poetic Oriental fantasies
"a Thousand Years Ago" and Omar
1 the Tentmaker." are still playing to good
4 patronage Blanche Ring was never
more joyous than in when Claudis
| Smiles" or the fsrces and farcical com
/ edies. the depletion of New York Jewish
life in Potash and Perlmutter." thu
laughable mystery in Seven Keys Il
/ Baldpate." and the physical conquerint
of the fiirt in THE Misleading Lady" al
keep on making laughs. In the girl-and
music line, High Jinks." The Midnigh
Girl" THE Queen of the Movies" ant
the big congIomeration called THE Whir
OF the World" at the Winter Garden. con
tinue to fill the baldheaded and q goo<
many other rows in their respective thea
tiers. Maude Adams in ]. NJ. Barrie
THE Legend Of Leonora" form q com
bination apparently satisfactory to tn
admirers Of that artist and her author
THE Yellow Ticket" viii be found inter
esting and well acted by lovers of melo
drama with a Russian tinge, and '-Th
Things that Count appeals to the lover
Of clean sentiment mixed with fun Hell
Wanted" applies the white slave treat
ment to young women In the typewritin.
sphere of action. Too Many Cooks
cheerful and original unpretentiou
comedy of suburban life. There Is onl.
another fortnight Of the big show at. tn
Hippodrome, which is then to be give,
over 10 q colossal revival OF 'Pinafore.
4 with the tank a leading feature