Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-12-14
Happy BINDINGS and
Other Tragedies

OtllSI IdReOlG;
x used TO take pistol shot TO ad
vsrtise tragedy. Before that the dram
atist lnEged IN poison or sword
lunge to make sure the audience wa,
prcperiy depressed. The Greeks were
rather fond Of a god.
Even fbsen thought he had to kill some-
body to get the serious effect he wanted
But that was because the drama abroad
was wrapped in the sugar coatings OF
Ylctorianlsm. and the everyday people
Who didn't relish the results Of 18th een-
snrY commercial enterprise had dlscov-
ercd that the theatre could supply a de-
ughtful soporinc.
America hSs Just reached the pistol
shot stage In tragedy Two years ago
when George Broadhurst wrote Bought
and Paid For" we were all for the SUI
sar coat. After he worked out his theme
of marital lntemperanoe to its logical
concinslon. In a separated family he
hnd TO throw IL overheard and bring the
husband and wife together again, by
hook OF crook Now he turns out To
day with a husband numbering his un-
faithful wife and handing himself over to
the police at the finish. Punch" or hu-
man interest or plain boredom, makes
This trnEic turn popular
But meantime the Continental gentle
nnen are still a lap ahead. They have
discovered the greater tragedy Of living
cut life gone wrong. THAT is the hard
est OF all to bear And It makes the
meaning Of the playwright far clearer
than any "the rest is silence"
4 believe" says Brieux, that a plays
message can be better expressed II there
are no forced tragedies The audience
lorN
they are somehow concerned with the
theme. and, therefore, Will attempt to
remedy the evils pointed out. In short
want my plays to end when the moral
has been clearly and unmistakably
drawn
An Ante-Bellum Relic
Sometimes the news plays havoc with
the drama. The European war has
reached over continent and back two
years in time to poke derisIve finger
into the ribs OF Eugene Walter and his
play, Fine Feathers" Not that there
u anything either martial or pro-peace in
This tragedy OF the corruption OF a public |
servant. The difficulty arises from the
kaet that Mr.. Walter wrote "Fine Feath |
'rs When Louvain was never thought Of
This is the point: When the law ia
niose on the heels OF the young engineer
VINO has betrayed the people for the
'rihe OF a grating contractor, the con-
raetor resolves to save the man and pro-
ect himself by sending him abroad 10 |
I've In peace. Here's $4,000" he saws
The Lusitania sails in four hours You
an live abroad the rest of your life.
lou can go to Belgium"
And every night that innocent line
reaks up the play with a roar of laugh
Or from audiences at the breaking point
nervous tension.
'he War-ridden Theatres of Europe
Paris was the only capital of the war
Ing Powers to close down its theatres
lon the opening Of the great world
rama in Belgium. Berlin went on its
hlegmatic. official way, with casts ont
own by the call to the colors, with Eng
81 and French playwrights under a ban.
ut with Solemn determination to show
other sign of anything unusual
radually warlike pieces or historical
ageant-plays have filed the greater mart
heriin's 30 stages. Vienna contented I
eraelf with striking Shaw, Barrie Wilde
oiatol, Brieux, Maeterllnck and Rostand
'omo her lists. while exhibiting ten
perettas and six plays of much the usual
London, where municipal enterprise has
share IN the management of the thea I
es, suffered considerable blow when
'e night illumination was cut off and
sople began to think of other things he
des pleasureH A good many theatres
osed their doors, some went In FOR re-
vaia. particularly OF warlike plays /
fter a good deal OF newspaper letter
ritins over whether Shakespeare
Henry w. was appropriate to this crisis +
! patriotic classic or in doubtful taste Y
'eause It verbally "lambasted'' France
stead OF the Kaiser, Sir Herbert Tree
II II on Art and the nation seemed
wed until the first night developed a
otspur with lisp. Then the critics fell
arguing.
Poor Paris! She had nothing but NOV +
e pictures and music halls 70 divert
'r attention from the descent OF the
ernans upon her. Even when the tide q
rned. the Prefect OF Police declared
at the theatres must not reopen while
Prussian foot rested on French soil L
ut the central Government decided TO
lease the drama from her new function
geographical barometer and now the I
omedie Franchise Is doing patriotic and
assie plays with a reduced company