Norwich bulletin., 1914-10-27

The second afternoon of the pop ular lecture course lived up 10 II name as successfully as the f1rss ana found a good audience at Slater hall to listen to Professor William Lyon Phelps of Yale university, upon the present conditions and tendencies of the drama.
 Do not feel too bad, he said, De cause the critics attack the modern stage. They have always run down their own age in every period. Our modern critic is high minded, put ne closed his mind years ago to new HI pressions. In 1907, probably the tlIlie of high water mark of dramatic pro auctions, Ben Johnson criticised the drama of Shakespeare and ms COL temporaries as dreadfully poor; Aga1li in 1872 he did the, same. In 1i11 Richard Steele declared that all lh = tellectual interest in the drama was dead-scenery was all there was leIt-
 It is the same old story today, when really we are on the eve of Q great dramatic period. The past 70 years have produced as many good plays as any other 25 years since 1616. Names like Oscar Wilde. Pinero. Jones, Phi lips. Galsworthy Arnold Bennett were noted as against three plays by Sher- idan and Goldsmith in the century be- fore It is prophesied that the next great literary revival will be Tn the theater. By the present condition of the stage he meant today and of the 43 performances due in New York city tonight (Monday), there is no example of tragedy; there are ' melo- dramas, IS comedies. farces, l opera, 3 musical comedies, II vaudevilles- and the movies. In 1900 the melo- dramas exceeded the comedies, being brought in by the romantic revival in literature.
 Neither Music Nor Comedy.
 After them the musical comedy arose. This is neither comedy nor music and not equal to the good old comic opera. This hybrid growth fell off in 1908 and now the comedies ex- ceed the other kinds. America is a long way behind Paris and Berlin. or was until the latter gave up artistic and literary pursuits for that of mur- der,
 Ameriea's Opportunity.
 This is Americas opportunity to gain the leadership-not in war prep arations, but in art, science. music and literature
 He compared the list of good plays he had to choose from one week in Berlin or the ten he actually saw in one week in Paris with the poor ones given in Holyoke or Boston.
 Germany's Home Stock Companies.
 Every, town in Germany used to have a sotck company A town the size of Norwich would have every new play in ten days after it's ap- pearance and the whole country be talking about it instead of waiting three years after New York. as now. A stock company tends. too, to ele- vate the actors social position and they are as much respected as any other profession if they live in place all the time. The fondness for music halls and vaudeville is not a bad thing. It heightens the drama by talk ing away those to whom it appeals. It is only to amuse, and if poor can not bore for long. The theater must entertain. Then, too, Germany was uhead of all other countries in having he tbeaters begin early in the eve ping. The theater was run for the national life. ur
 Effect ef the Movies.
 Moving pictures have been a good Eling in their effect upon the theaters The managers have had to sit up and take notice, so that a high class play is now more sure of an audience. The nudity of the men now writing plays Is high. And that the present is a literary drama cannot be doubted. The greatest dramatist today-Rostand- n England J. M Barrie is novelist as well as playwright. In Germany TaUrtmann and Ludermann are lit erary men. So is DNuncio in Italy, Russia's greatest writer is a dramatist and there is Ibsen and Strindberg in the north. Literary men now not only write plays, they publish them as well. Even Barrie has consented at last. They are appealing from the