Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-12-31
Killing the Theatre Again

Every little while somebody has to dis
.tcover that the theatre is on It's last legs,
Just now it's the editor of that none-too-
cheerful newspaper the New York Sun.
In season when the theatres are un-
doubtedly suffering more than in the past
the writer haus out the old plant that
musical comedy ls the murderer. THE
theatre has this year come to represent to
the New York public only musical farce,
burlesque, extravaganza or review, or
whatever else Il may be called"
AS a matter of fact, New York Is not
suffering from any plethora OF the merry
merrles" Philadelphia sees two of her
hve theatres usually devoted to musical
comedies, while at the present time only
10 of New York's 33-a slightly smaller
proportion-are thus engaged.
4 On the contrary for the last five years
Il has grown steadily more difficult to
put over" a musical success. Each sea-
son sees about two pieces of real drawing
power Last season, for instance, High
Jinks" and "Sarr were about the only
ones to hold through a season on Broad
way. This year, passing the Winter Gar
denis customary show, the Castles have
made big hit out of Watch Your StepP
George Cohan and Willie Collier have
done the same by Hello, Broadway,
and Montgomery and Stone have their
"Chn Chin" Those three pieces make
the total of real musical comedy sue
cesses SO far And against them we must
balance the popularity of "on Trial"
i'Life," William Faversham In THE
Hawk" Under Cover" THE Phantom
Rival" Irwin Beds" Daddy Long
Legs" 1T Pays to Advertise" and kick
In" The proportion is about the same as
of oldEone to three.
On the other hand, it Is hard year
hu 6pr
than the last. The serious drama calls
for moro originality and better acting to
get the old rewards; only the most elabo-
rate of musical pieces get across The
touring system. driven by competition. Is
growing steadily more preoarious. Fro
ductions cost more, touring Is more ex-
pensive. And the public isn't satsned
with the halfway success
Perhaps we are approaching the break
down of our speculative theatre system
Certainly the outcropping OF local pro-
ducing theatres all over the country Is
lust as significant a sign as the growing
cries of hard times from the managers
Skinner as Deaf Man
i From the vociferous, heshly Hadj of
'ISismet'' to the deaf musician. that is
the step Otis Skinner took when he ap-
peared in New York Tuesday night in
"The Silent Voice." by Jules Eckert
Goodman.
The play follows the habit of the
movies, so popular this season. When
the blind man has been driven into
misanthropy by the discovery that his
girl wife has married him out of pity
and really loves his nephew, he with
drawsit to an attic and from there watches
through opera glasses the misery of the
people on the park benches. These little
scenes that bring pity back again into
hi IL a~n CHI IN hn
alternately by the old trick of a trans
parent wall. Breaking in on the mans
anguish, they impressed the critics as de-
tracing from the force of the play.
~ Other points, particularly poor con-
struction, led to a rather lukewarm re-
ception of 1.-THE Silent Voice. The re-
viewer of the Sun was struck, not un-
by the ending which he records |
thus: His wife, as young wives have |
a habit of doing when their middle-aged |
husbands are the heroes of plays, falls in |
love with him. The happiness he has |
brought to others Is thus brought In the |
end to him as WE'LL
Making the War Amusing
London has a farce about the war. |
Nothing else shows so we'll the new spirit |
In which the present conflict is being |
taken. The play is called 1.-The Man Who |
Stayed at Home" Its authors. Messrs. |
NOiAhll anu lSIly' nave siliIltu IL spy
ridden English seaside villa on to the |
stage and peopled it with rather comic |
English detective and fine batch of radio
working. bomb-planting German spies.
The audiences take the whole affair
rejoice in a comic English de-
tective fitting about In his pajamas. and
cheer at the end when the detective ar
rests the spies and saves the villa. Denis
Eadle,. one of the best of the younger
actor-managers, Plays the detective.
News Notes
The vaudeville theatres of Philadelphia
are figuring on extra performances New
Years Day. Keith's will run three shows,
beginning at l, 4:15 and s:15. The Stan
ley, Globe. Palace and Victoria will try
performance New Years Eve,
starting at 12 and lasting till 2:sO.
Ann Swinburne, well-remembered for
her exceptional performances in "The
Count of Luxemburg'' and "The Madcap
Duchess" is TO appear shortly in a new