New-York tribune., 1921-05-29


"helodrama is one Of the sarl;..,
forms of theatrical endcavor. It's nonr
larity has been continuous from s.
time of Seneca up to the present d.,
This IS not strange, for the appeal q,
melodrama is permanent one
Melodrama Includes 81
Distinct Situations
"Women, in particular, love rA,o
drama, because it stimulates tho.
imagination. 1t permits them tn enio.
the contemplation of many virile en,o
tions that conventional society forbid,
them to personally explore Mel
drama is not a formless thing. II !,
highly organized and includes evso.I-
fifty~seven different and distinct s;+n.
tions which dramatists have used 81
over the world for ages past. Most r.
these playwrights, however, have bpil,
their plays around two or three ~
these situations
In his dramatization Of "The Tav
ern" Mr.. Cohan has contrived to an,
ploy every one of the entire ffty.seyen
with the result that the production s
one of the most diverting and unusual
ever seen on the American stage.
How the idea developed Of tprnn,
THE Tavern" into satirical travesty
is interesting, in view of the fact tbat
the play was first written as 4 moda,,
melodrama. 1t was called @The Choice
of Superman," and the telephono
motor cars and various other nreten-
sions to -dateness were introduced
iii the course of the action, which was
supposed to take place at roadside
inn near a large city.
The names of the principal charac-
ters will serve to indicate the nature
of the story. For example, the Vaga-
bond was called Stephen Silver. and
was labeled the richest man in the
world. He killed Drylust at the end
of the first act, to prevent a marriage
@3th beautiful Julia, daughter of the
brdid, scheming Mrs. Dedhart. There
was the shrinking Violet-painted
woman and cast-off fame of Drylust-
and a stage full of other folk, includ.
ing a mysterious medical man called
the Doctor; Mary, a scrub woman; lit
tie Tommie, child of ten, and a person
who had much to say, but figuring in
the program simply as A Workman. Not
much to suggest the joviaI group Of
that people "The Tavern"
Play First Intended
AS Purposeful Drama
In explanation of the Colonization
process all that Mr.. Cohan would say
was:
"Well, you see, The Choice of
Superman' as brought 20 my attention
by Brock Pemberton, who had the play
under consideration, was intended to
be a serious, purposeful piece Of very
dramatic writing. AS originally con-
structed by Miss Cora Dick CAN'T il
possibly might have been the long
awaited great American drama, but it
did not strike me as being Just the
type Of play that I would care to pro-
duce-that is to say, in the form it was
at that time. l simply could not see it
as anything but sex drama with
strong melodramatic appeal. Maybe
that was my own fault.
However, to me the notion OF an un-
known man, dressed as vagabond
coming to an isolated tavern, on lone
Iy road in the dead of night, seeking
shelter from terrific stage storm, did
suggest possibilities for the ground
work upon which to build humorous
satirical travesty. Given an entirely
Inherent treatment, with a dash Of
mysterious complications, thought the
play could be worked over into q cork
ng good entertainment. My first IN
entlon was just to broadly satirize the
blot and its people as I found them in
he original script. but gradually It
worked out as a travesty of the whole
nelodramatic school. New characters
ropped up from time to time until the
rlglnal group dropped into the discard.
5ut the basic idea of a 6avern. vaga-
'ond and stormy night is the crea-
ION of Miss CAN'T, and she deserves
nd has always had, due credit for it.
nd always will have-that and the
Qualities.
ieroic Stage Speeches
Always one of His Hobbies
But aside from the inspiration
ound in the study of Miss Gantt's
lay, l suppose The Tavern as pro-
uced on Broadway, really dates back
ute a good many years. Heroic
'eeehes on the stage have been 3
oboy with me ever since can re.
ember anything. They always strike
e as smacking of the unreal, as being
the ~stage-stagey, so to speak.
I'm my vaudeville days used to get
lot of fun out of the old time thrill
IS whenever l could get chance to
'op in for an act or so. The stilted
alogue always made big hit with
e. Heartrending lines seemed to be
eXcruciatingly funny, and the more
rlouSly thew were Sookap the more