Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-07-11
HAS
FAMINE OF
GOOD SHOWS
Big Theater Manager Says
Girls Are Hard to
Get.
Comedy not Strong With
People, But They Want
Light Opera.

London, July 11.-No matter what
it is. apparently, it can safely be
blamed on the war.
"A big theatrical manager was tell
ing me about the famine in good
things for the stage.
Girls for the, shows are hard to
get and demand high wages" he said.
daylight saving legislation, together
with rules about early closing, COM
pels theatres to open at an hour which
seems almost like midafternoon. You
car hardly tell the difference nova
days between going to the matinee
and the night performance.
Transportation in the cities is now
so restricted, owing to short supplies
of petrol for the buses and limited
numbers Of trains on the railroads,
that people more and more dislike
to be caught down town late in the
evening.
"E.ut these are only incidental diff
iculties of the theatrical business.
The public knows about and under
stands them readily enough. Only the
professionals, the insiders, know
about the famine conditions in the
music market.
ITO begin with, the revues have
run out the public doesn't care for
them. Just like the public. to lose
interest in the thing that's most easily
provided and to insist on being given
the thing that's not to be had.
Public Wants Light Operas
COMEDY isn't strong with the peo-
pie and the writer's aren't in the
right frame of mind to produce 1t.
The whole tendency of public demand
is for light operas. People want mu-
clio d 1ocfro otior 1ioht coonar1y. INV.
thing to get their minds off the war.
So every producer is looking for good
light operas; plenty of tuneful, catchy
music. But there comes the trouble.
THE light opera music is a Wen
nese product. Originally a Hungarian
art, it has become Austro-Hungarian.
The music of this class almost all
comes from Hungarian composers,
marketed through Vienna n Buda-
pest. 1t merely is not to be had now
for perfectly oblivious reasons. If
one could get it, which n can't, he
would not dare bring it here and put
it on the stage. Many people would
not be willing to go and hear II. The
press would set up an uproar against
patronizing the enemy.
IT'S very well to tell me that this
is the opportunity for English and
french, American and Spanish and
all the rest of the composers to in
wade and occupy another field of enc
my industry. But I've tried too many
times to buy his sort of music in
other markets. 1t can be had, OF
course, but it isn't the real thing. Dc
c%asionally something good and big
comes, but they are exceptional. The
Hungarians have the touch, the spirit
the precisely correct art; nobody else
has it, and that's all there is 10 be
said about it,"
Difficulties Of Producers
He talked about the difficulties pro.
duccrs have in trying to induce the
public to .ale something as substl.
tute for the light opera that it wants
and the multiplied proofs that the
public will have what it wants or else
go to the golf course instead of the
theatre.
Last summer" he went on, iva:
a remarkably cold one. There hat
been nothing like it in years. The
daylight saving schedule idn't Sc
much interfere either. because TIN
was hurried down in the evening b.
the pail of clouds. People don't seel
the country; they wanted theatres
Now they are going to the country ant
I am pretty certain there is not
house in townsthat is making money
Somebody asked about the brie
seasons that even supposedly success
full pieces have been able to hold tn
boards in London in the last W year
and then "Chin Chin" and it's unpar
allel run in New York came in TO
comment. The producer testified:
"Yes, I know all about Chin Chin
Its music has not been released o.
this side, in photograph records, shee
form or otherwise. The piece woul'
exactly fill the London ear this sum
mer, and.I know a manager who ha'
contracted tt bring it here.
"Just in time attention was attract
ed to the fact that the music is Wen
nese. That settled it. No Chi
Chin in this town till after the war.
Problem a Very Real One
, This problem Of providing the kin
. Of music the public wants and wi,
s pay to hear is a very real one wit
the managers. List again to the wa.
of the producer: 3
+ "Lfbrettos? They're to be had b
the library full. I have enough c
them in hand or in sight to keep a
the houses in town going. But whe
y you get the right libretto these time
; you can't possibly get music for
n If by luck you find a piece Of mus
n that serves your purpose there ism
n a libretto to carry it. =
n "Of course all this is temporar
y There are composers in the world VIII
y can give us good music, but the
haven't been trained to the specialt
Of making light opera stuff. Thel
is no chance now for training me-
for developing a new school for tn
~ kind Of work. Doubtless the resu
~ will be in time a diffusion Of this pa,
~ ticular speciality art, but that doesn
~ help the poor devil with a house c
~ his hands and not a piece in sigl
N that the public will pay to hear,