The New York herald., 1921-09-04
News and Gossip
of the Stage in
the Early Season
Don't Blame the Poor Mana
ger, He Is Doing the
Best He Can.
was a fellow manager who

who was just in the first words of his
opinion that manager OF reputation
ought to be blankety- blank ashamed of
himself to ask people in to witness
such a piece of cheese as this play,
&c, and said:
Don't shoot at the piano player" as
the sign read in the Western picture
theatre. hes doing his best. Don't
blame the poor manager. He doesn't
like a play like that any more than
you do. But he's in the business. He
cannot shut up shop just because there
are not the plays to be had which he
thinks will be of profit and credI. to
him. He must take what the market
offers.
.And. believe me, It offers precious lit
tie this year. Managers. including my
self, have been amazed at the char
acter of the scripts that have come
to u.s. And they are not by unknown
men. They bear the names of dramatists
Of reputation. They don't come only
from pupils of this English AZ or what
ever 1t Is called although these are nu-
merous enough, nor from aspiring un-
knowns. They come from writer's well
known here or abroad. or both. Nobody
can explain what has come over the play
wrfghts, but they are a problem this
season. And don't blame the poor man
agcr. He is doing the best he can. He
would always rather have a good play
any day than a bad one. But he must
take what he can ge>."
Little Thentres' Festival.
The man who used to think it amusing
TO say that little theatre did not mean
a small playhouse but a state of mind
ought to be in Detroit this month. Sam
Hume will direct there a dramatic festi-
val to continue for six weeks. which will
employ more than one hundred pupils OF
public and music schools, a company OF
actors and the Detroit Symphony Orches-
ira Among the plays to be acted are
Wilde's THE Importance OF Being Ear
nest" Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" and
Eugene O'Neills Beyond the Horizon"
With the chorus and orchestra there will
be "The Merry Wives OF Windsor" with
music selected from the operas on the
same subject by Verdi and Nicolaf. To
Macterlinck's "Pellcas and Melisande"
the music of Gabriel Faure will be used
instead of the score Of Debussy. "A
Midsummer Nights Dream will have
the Mendelssohn acconlpa niment. Irving
Pichcl will assist Mr.. Hume, and there
will be a company OF actors more or less
identified with Little Theatre activities
over the country.
Plays and Famous Players.
The system OF dress rehearsals for
large audience has had another and
maybe a body blow. On account Of the
many plays given two weeks ago on
Monday. c. b. Dillingham; invited few
hundred persons to witness THE Scarlet
Man" at the Henry Miller Theatre. 1t
pleased the first hearers greatly. but sub
sequent gatherings were bored. Mr..
Dillingham; never hesitates once he has
had an intimation of public opinion. So
the play closed its run last night. And
the fault will. dollars to doughnuts. be
laid at the door OF the dress rehearsal
FOR the public.
Work of Rising Dramatist.
In spite of all reports to the con-
trary, William Gillette. who has not
been seen since Dear Brutus." has not
finished a play In which he Is to re-
turn to the stage this year. Mr.. Gill
lette Is at present at work on such a
piece but no definite arrangements for
Its production have been made beyond
the return OF the author-actor to the
management OF Charles Frohman, Inc.
Guaranteed 10 Lnbts
Anybody who thought that Denman
Thompson's famous THE Old Home
stead" had been put into dry dock or
lived on only in celiuloid was altogether
wrong as to the last days of an
American stage classic. The play is
now touring the smaller towns OF this
State with great success and will cover
the whole country before it's season
nfr ~ hn III
Homestead Quartet and Swansey Band
are still to be heard in the perform
ance.
They Have stuck Together.
Miller and Lyles, who are not only
the chief comedians OF Shuttle Along"
which Is still after four months popu-
lar at the Sixty-third street Music Hall,
but also wrote the book. have been a
team ever since they were students to-
gether at the Fiske Institute. They ap-
peared at first in the college shows and
grew so proficient In amusing their
comrades that II seemed inevitable they
should keep up the same work profess
eionalIy although they had entered
Ftske with widely different ideas. They
stuck az first to the small variety the
atr~r nf the South. and when they were
important enough formed a negro stock
company IN Memphis. This organiza-
tion lasted for four years. which Is suf-
ficIent evidence Of its success.
But Miller and Lyles by this time
felt the need OF a wider field. They
were able to get engagements over
route that even brought them to New
York. They soon became popular
team on tho programmes OF the old Vic
toria under Oscar Hanrnerstein and
later under his son, William. There
was demand for n negro musical
comedy company to tour Canada, so
comedy company TO tourn Canada. so
they formed that and kept II alive pros
rerousiy for several years. Then their
regulations were established and in ad-
ditIon TO their success on the leading
circuits here they played in the lend
ing music halls abroad before they
joincd Mr.. Cort for shuttle Along"
Comeback Not SO Easy Now.
Managers who used r. make n fall
ure, with two or thra or perhaps more
failures In succession, were never re-
garded ns objects OF sympathy because
II was known they could always make
their losses back and possibly much more
once they found a successful play. In
other words the old belief used 10 he
that single success wiped out a success
sion Of fiivvers.
But the conditions have changed"
one Of the local managers told the re-
porter OF THE NEW YonK HERALD the
other day. "The margin OF profit Is too
small now for any producer to make UP
his losses as he used to in the past. II