Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-02-05
Clean Native Farces VS..
Naughty lmportations
The Author of Baby 'Mine" and "Twin Beds"
Tells Why, as Business Woman, She
Likes Clean Farce
By MARGARET MAYO

mate things, | was at once assailed with
questions from all manner and kinds OF
people. Almost the first question was; ''lf
YOU can make such huge success with
these, why don't you try your hand az
something shade more-we'll call 1t
'French'-and have a farce that will run
for 40 years?" And almost everywhere
have found people holding the theory that
wholesomeness in n farce is a handicap.
The trouble with such people Is that they
deceive themselves. They theorize Gym
ically, but in practice they have the same
basic love of cleanliness that all the rest
of us have
Naturally enough, have watched audi
ences-sometimes with my heart in my
mouth, but always as closely as / could.
| was an actress before / tried writing
plays, and when you're behind the foot
lights trying to please them you're even
more agitated about 1t than when you're
''out front"
And during these experimental observA-
tions OF mine, | have invariably come to
the conclusion about people gathered to-
gether in the theatre-they love to laugh
so much they'll laugh at anything that
gives them half a chance, but they laugh
more and longer and come back oftener
and recommend more whole-heartedly II
what they have laughed at is clean.
OF course, any playwright knows that
the world is divided into certain warning
groups, not all of whom he can hope to
please. There Is a public for off-color
farce-we can't deny it. That particular
public would have liked Twin Beds
much better If | had. as they put 1t.
made the most of my opportunities.
That same public is the one which has
given most of the besmirched plays of
the last ten years their fugitive vogue.
| should imagine that with a thoroughly
insnuating and suggestive farce a play
.tsrl,N a I9aRn nVWI
ences for at least six or eight weeks. Dur
ing that time you wouldn't be able to get
your little finger into the theatre. because
whatever else the public is or is not, il Is
at least eager to get at its favorite enter
tainment. Then, however, the naughty
farce would be through. II would have
shot its bolt, 1t has, in passing, done this
much damage; 1t has convinced the super
ficially minded lookers-on that big hit
is synonymous with a double meaning"
You'll hear them say sardonically: "Sueh
and such theatre is jammed to the doors
every night-thats the way to make
money. So and so knows the publlcH' And
so forth. They quote the placard of the
King and the Duke in "Huckleberry
Finn; Great entertainment tonight
women and children not allowed to enter"
and append the Dukes ''If that don't fetch
them, then l don't know Arkansas"
| don't know whether TO laugh at them
or to cry over them. They are so pitt
fully deluded. They are so unaware OF
the deadly special public" which has
wrecked more playwrights than anything
else since the world began. They never
dream of that great, unpretentiOus, wide-
spreading public that stays out of
"Cliques," lives and loves normally,
laughs joyously and at clean things-and
makes long run! The psychology OF all
this is very simple-people resent being
made uncomfortable in the theatre, and
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