The Washington herald., 1914-11-01
Nv LANES 9. MeFAppEN.

Tennyson:
The old order ehangeth, yielding place TO new;
Lest one good custom should corrupt the World
All of YOU are familiar with the thea
tergoer Of twenty-five or thirty years a9
who speaks Of that period Of the Ameri-
can stage as 1.-THE palmy days ana 10
whom the theater of the preset Is always
decadent. He sees little merit IN con-
temporary plays and players, ana nNes
in the memory of past glories of the
American stage. |well, IL is fact that
those who seek the golden age" In any
field of thought or endeavor, be II moral
ity, religion, art, or literature, invariably
find that it retires backward as they ad-
vance. So, in the present period. our
theater is very frequently disparaged In
comparison with boasted past.
Mr.. James S. Metcalfe, eminent writer
, of affairs theatrical, no longer ago than
last Sunday morning remarked in these
columns anent the revival of that fine old.
play Diplomacy" now current IN New
York City:
'sSince TIM piece was first done at old
wallacks with the cast Of that period
Diplomacy has had many revivals Of
varying merit But in a comparison OF
the Empire production with the Wallack
production, we have in a third of a CEN
tury, a definite period, and two equally
representative Broadway theaters for
the measurement OF differences.
There are many living theatergoers
who can recall the Diplomacy in which
Lester Wallach. Harry Montague, and
Shandon headed the cast. Those wit
nesses are not in their dotage by any
means Nor are they by any means so
old that their judgment is clouded by a
too roseate remembrance Of the things of
the past And it may be said, without
fear of contradiction from any one OF
them, that to sit through the perform
ance at the Empire, note its utter lack Of
finish, distinction. and artistic elegance In
acting and presentation. and also note
the satisfaction of a present-day audi
ence, is compelling proof of the deteriora-
ton of the American stage and of the
ability of American audiences to dis
tinguish between what is good and bad
in the stage art.'
William Winter, during the latter days
of his activity, was frequently wont TO
write in similar vein, and We are all
familiar with the vaudeville artist who
tells us in song that There were actors
then"
Heyday of Stock.
In America, before the railroad reach
cd to every point on the continent, the
Iheater was scarcely known outside of
the large cities of the country, where a
few good permanently located or stock
companies were in active employment.
The COS and '7O's were the heyday OF the
stock company. In the course of an even
ing one might witness a comedy, musi-
cal extravaganza, and a tragedy. in the
best houses. all performed by the same
players with freqIent changes of bill
at - cents for the best seat in the house.
The star actors such as WallaCk, Nc
CulIough. Forrest, and the rest, Travelled
alone and performed with these resident
companies. They sent copies Of the
plays in their repertoire on ahead, mark
ed with directions 10 enable the stage
manager TO assign roles and conduct re-
hcarsaIs. An ACTOR played many parts,
and while he got vast amount of eX
perience, he also acquired the fault of
most stock players, past and present, of
giving much the same shading to all
Of his work. DO not misunderstood. the
stock company is a great institution, and
has turned out many fine players, but it
has also eNtinguished the spark of gen
iUs in many others.
Listen to what Mr.. Forbes Robertson,
one Of the pest of contemporary players
mas 10 say:
Il recall the stock company time" he
SAYS. 1T was a rough and tumble
school with little cultivation and little
education. What sort of an education
was II for me. for instance, to play five
or six parts in a week. 1t was a mere
founde ring about: committing tQ memory
a quantity or words as best I could and
doing the parts in a haphazard fashion.
ii was a very doubtful advantage
Thanks to the growth in population Of
our country. the improvement of trans
pOrtation facilities, and the consequent
broadening Of the amusement field by
the multiplication of theaters, the old
school system disappeared.
In the COS there We're less than half
hundred theaters in America. about
$4,000 was invested in theatrical enter
prises, and not more than 1000 people
were engaged in a stage career. In 1871
there are over 5000 theatcrs in the United
Statesmen including motion-picture
houses; 1000 of these are high-class legi-
innate playhOuses. 800 are popular
priced theaters often housing plays
which have seen their successful day in
the high-pTiCed legitimate theaters and
now are played at popular prices to re-
ncwed success. and $500 houses are de-
voted to vaudeville and burlGsque. One
hundred thousand persons are engaged in
the theatrical business in these United
States, about $5O0OO0OO0 is invested in
amusement enterprises. and II is COM
puted that the American people spend
SjOlOC0,OGO annually for theatrical amuse-
ment Not less than 100000 people sit
in the theaters of America each week
day night in the season of eight months
More people go to the IneatCrs in any of
our large cities in single night than
attend the churches on a Sunday!
To provide amusement for this immense
number of people, the theatrical pUrveyor
provides every style of play:
Tie Dramas laws the Dramas patrons give
And We that live to please, must please 10 live.
DR.. Johnson sounded the keynote OF the
English-speaking stage in these lines. The
play producer will not have on view that
which his patrons will not make profit
able. He, has ideals in business like the
rest of us, but while striving for these
ideals, does not lose sight of the fact that
the theater is first and foremost an insti-
tuition of entertainment, not the misdi-
rected entertainment of viciousness and
degrading influences. but a place where
one may go for intellectual relaxation
that is inoffensive, moralizing, even
hyGienic.
Former President Taft had this in mind
when he said:
There is nothing that I know Of in
this nerve-straining life that equals the
relaxation of good play, well mounted,
and we'll played"
Influences Public Thought.
The drama is the most effective me-
diUm for influencing public thought. and
in shaping the human character, because
it is the only art that appeals directly
20 the mind and heart, stimulating the
intellect, as we'll as arousing the emo
nd lyipdlinp he II