Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-08-17
Municipal Light Opera
by Frederic j. Haskin.

thenier. When. the sun Il too close ~ The
back ofsne's neck NJ lalk about anything
else, II is always possible ~ hold spirited
conversation concerning the tity's man
agement of light opera. and 10 dwell on
the amazing progressiyeness of st. Louis
IN providing its own theatrical entertain
ment. At least, it is always possible for q
st. Loliisau
The municipal theater seems to have
moved 81. Louis as no other possession
has done. In the fret place, IL il under the
impression that il is the only city in the
country which ever thought Of having
municipal theater, much less Of building
one, and 50 evidently pleasing is this CON
vietion that no ono has yet had the colir-
age 70 point 70 at least three or four other
cities which have quite charming ones.
And anyway, If st. Louis is not the only
city actually To own municipal theater,
1t ~ the first one 10 recognize the real
value OF such an institution and 10 make
practical use Of H. Thus, natead of re-
serving il for historical pageants. miscei-
laneous concerts and other forms Of self
expression Of the masses, it has gone
actively into the entertainment business,
recruited and mobilized a professional
summer stock company, and has been
producing the most popular Of our Nght
operas all during the summer
PROFITS 20 TO THE cfTY.
The success Of this innovation NAV be
judged by the trcrn endous crowds that fill
the great open-air auditorium every night,
as well es the size Of the box office receipts;
for the theater is not run entirely on
philanthropic principles. In fact, il
couldn't BE-. st. Louis would doubtless
Indignantly rebel If called upon 10 paw
taxes TO support several expensive and
temperamental professional voices, but
it does not IN the least mind paving to
hear them. The best seats cost from a
dollar TO dollar and half, and they are
always filed, except in case Of rain when
the performance has to be called Off At
the back Of the auditorium there are sever
al rows Of free seats. All profits from the
enterprise-and for the first time this year
the municipal theaterss being operated at
probt---are turned back into the city
treasury to be used for improvements.
With the exception Of a few movie
houses, which operate half-heartedly
through the summer evenings. with the aid
Of many electric fans, the municipal
theater seems to have little competition
All Of the large city theakers are closed-in
fact, whole sections Of St Louis appear to
be closed. You can walk for miles and
miles past silent, tightly barTieaded doors
and windows, and never encounter an
other human being. Until You reach
Forest Park, and there the entire popuIa-
ton Of the city Is apparently gathered and
headed for the municipal theater Hun
dreds OF motor cars are parked along it's
wide, smooth boulevards, while thousands
Of pedestrians may be seen moving across
the soft, green grass in the direction Of
mass Of electric lights glimmering through
the trees.
The theater is situated on the steep
bank OF the river des Peres, whose slope Is
well adapted to seats. The auditorium is
OF concrete, quite astonishing In size,
with hundreds Of rows of wooden. port
able chairs. and surmOunted at the top bv
an ornamental cOlonade The exact
figures, IN fact, show it to have a depth OF
Z5o feet, an average width Of 22j feet,
with total seating capacity of9, ,270. The
exits have been carefully arranged so that
the auditorium can be emDtied in from
10 to 20 minutes valuable asset in the
case OF a sudden shower. Everyone IN the
audience has free, unobstructed view of
the stage, and the voices OF the singers and
speakers carry satisfactorily
THE LARGEST OUTDOOR STAGE.
The stage proper, which is the largest
outdoor stage ever erected, is built upon
the banks Of the River des Peres. in the
midst of dense shrubberv plantation.
Two large oaks about 20 feet high form a
beautiful prose enIum arch at its front.
Between It and the audience is an orches-
ira pit. 10 10 IS feet wide which viii accom-
modate an orchestra Of $50 pieces. The
difference IN the elevation OF this Dit and
that of the farthest row of seats in the
auditorium Is 81 feet. The stage has a
total width OF l20fe and is 90 feet deeu
to a bridge leading across the little river
70 the dressing rooms, which are N build
Ings hidden in the shrubhery. The bridge
IS so located that il may at times be used
effectively IN connection with the stage In
spectacular performances. A row of red
electric lights across the front of the
stage acts as a curtain, for when the rest
of the stage IS darkened and these lights
are turned on il IS impossible for the
audience 70 distinguish anything behind
them.
The natural setting Of the theatre is
ideal IN every way with the exception
Of the River des PereS, which Is inclined
to be quite temperamental. at times
gong perfectly dry again rising sud
denly and flooding the surrounding
country, including the theatres dressing
rooms. The dressing rooms themselves
are an interesting spectacle, being crude.
rough pine structures resembling some
of the army barracks hurriedlyNerected
during Cur late war. but for all that
being quite as attractive as any To be
found IN some Of the smarteSt Broadway
theatres. The prima donna has hers
decorated with the inevitable theatrical
cretonne, so that it looks, according 70
her own assertion, just like the one she
had in New York
One huge oblong structure is provided
for the chorus, which is so numerous that
to house 1t separately would REQUIRE a
whole new suburban edition in the park.
Down the entire length Of this room a
long series of small tables, with mirrors.
are placed back TO back so that two lines
of chorus girls can apply their makeup
at the same time.
The chorus, BY the way, is recruited /
largely from home talent, St. Louis vocal |
students eagerly Seizing the opportunity 4
to secure professional training in this I
way. Occasionally, also, member OF the (
chorus has been elevated to a real part, 7
although the principal roles are always 4
played by professionals.
HARD WORK FOR THE ACTORS.
The latter are perhaps the only people
IN st. Louis who have any fault to find
With the municipal theatre, but lust step