Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-01-13
PUTTING THE THEATRE
UPON AN ALLOWANCE
What a Philadelphian Might Do to Save
the Little Theatre and Place the Play
house on Par with School, Library
and Opera House.
BY KENNETH MACCowAN

THE Little Theatre threatens to cut short
i it's season for lack of funds while almost
at the same time the Liebler Company and
Harrison Grey Fiske go into bankruptcy
Mrs jays idealistic venture in local dra-
matte art cries pteously for aid, and the
best of managers of the commercial theatre
go to the wall. Does this mean disaster for
the American drama? or can it be made the
desperate bugle call for help that may save
part of the citadel of dramatic art?
There can be no doubt of the thoroughly
fine work done at the Little Theatre. They
are great plays and entertaining plays that
have been given there this year Shaw's
Arms and the Man. Sheridan's Rivals
and "The Critic" Houghtons "Hindle
Wakes" Galsworthy's "silver Box" There
even better things promised: dramas by
Hauptmann, Hervieu and Tchekoff, comedies
by Gogol, Moliere, st. John Hankn and
Ibsen. The company is excellent in members
and ensemble The producer, B. Iden Payne
long ago distinguished himself by his work
in England, where he was instrumental in
the creation of the Manchester Repertory
Theatre.
1t is comparatively small amount of
money that will carry the Little Theatre
through its list of notable plays, enabling
it to add Hauptmann, Mollere and Tchekoff
to Galsworthy Sheridan and Shaw Every
week sees some rich Philadelphian give as
much to worthy cause Every field of HUI
man endeavor comes in for it's endowment
except the drama. The range is quite as wide
as the satIrst Pope imagined; people are
ready to
Endow a college or n cat.
We SOW education by endowlng schools,
instructive diversion by founding libraries,
esthetic pleasure by supporting opera But
we never think of investing money in the
stimulating, heightening SOCIAL entertainment
of the theatre.
If Opera, Why Not Drama2
The responsibility is probably little di-
vided. There is, of course, a tendency to
underestimate the theatre We endow opera
and orchestras because we value fine music
very much above fine drama and are not con-
tent to wait for the rnakeshifts that COM
mercial exploitation would bring us. But,
after all. is Beethoven better than Sophocles,
Mozart than Shakespeare; is opera by
Strauss superior to play by Shaw? Would
we trust any other instrument of social art
schools, libraries. museums, orchestras, opera
companies-to be conducted on the whole
sale, speculative system of the American
theatre? And what would we get If we did?
All this would have been almost meaning
less to a European of what are now ante
bellum days. None but the Anglo Saxon
countries thus neglect the theatre In Paris
there were-and, of course, there still are
the state-endowed Coincide and Odeon and
playhouses like the Theatre des Arts sup
ported by private patrons. Through all OF
Western Europe the same holds true. Even
barbarian Russia, OF Czardom and autocracy.
has It's royal theatres In Petrograd and it's
Art of
many. where the stage has reached its high
est development an instrument of art, the
royal. State or municipal theatre is the rule
in every city, even in towns OF $1,000 like
Freiburg. Public aid doesn't exhaust Ger
many's interest in the playhouse. Men like
Reinhardt find willing hackers among the
rich. New theatres are frequently built for
a promising producer by group OF men, who
practically give the land and structure as a
foundation Everywhere but here the far
sighted, the art-loving, are giving financial
aid to the drama
Outside our underestimate OF the value OF
the theatre, there is a very natural economic
explanation OF Americas backwardness All
these endowments abroad are for local stock
companies under a single directing hand;
those are almost the only kind OF theatres
that the Continent knows. Here where the
drama sprang up overnight as our eiviliza-
tion sprang. we created vast touring svs
tenn OF inteFdependent theatre buildings
united by the exchange week after week OF
separate companies each acting a single play.
The local theatre was and Is only a busi
ness unit. The travelling company Is a COM
merelal venture on q single play The whole
system is spread over continent
Where 10 Endow
Where would be the chance for endow-
ment7 Backing single player or a COM
pany or two would be unsatisfactory at best
and exceedingly risky. rhis speculative
touring system ue must remember. means
big costs. a few big gains and q great mahg