The Washington times., 1922-04-16
With Alan Dale at
NeW York Theaters
CONTINUED From Pagt 81.

remor8e In sweeping over this COM
munity7 Are we getting the stay
at-home habitf Are our women
acquiring the extinct art of tattiing
by the fireside7 Are. our men In
dulging in the sweetiy pathetic
pastime of reading aloud to their
familiesY
And If not, why not7
There must be some reason why
the theater suffers so tremendous
ly. II Is all very well to say that
we have too many theaters and
that It is impossible 10 iii them
all at the same time. That win
not account for the fact that the
plays applauded by everybody
the really fine and good plays
are being left severely alone.
THE season is on It's last legs.
apparently. although 1t is a
BIT early to consign Il to the
past. OF course, there win be
various openings between this
date and the middle of May, but
nevertheless the backbone is un-
doubtedly broken, and there is no
overlooking that fact. 1t has
been-bar none-the very busiest
season have ever known.
have few seasons to my so-
count. but I can honestly say
that never before has there been
such an enormous output of
plays. There have been weeks Of
eight or nine new plays one after
the other. There has been no let
UP and yet-yet--the truth is
that the theater has slumped very
decidedly.
why7
Don't you think 1t probable.
possible and altogether plausible
that It is the quality of the plays
presented during this season that
has killed the goose that lays the
golden eggs? Don't you think that
the apparent fatigue on the part
of the public might be due TO the
circumstances of the risk that
theater-going has entailed? Can't
1t be that the odiously difficult
task of picking a winner has
something to do with it7 Perhaps
the conspicuousiy third-rate flavor
of so many productions has got
on the community's nerves.
I can say in all sincerity that
never before have sat through so
many absolutely and unmitigatedly
bad plays. There have been plays
that have defied criticism. There
have been plays that a scrubwom-
an In q theater would have con-
demned. Yet they were read, cast
and produced at great expense.
They lived a mercifully short life.
They were withdrawn without
oven a word of warning or a word
of comment. Yet you hear a great
deal about the careful planning Of
plays Plays are turned down be-
cause of this. or Of that, and often
you believe that the judgment Of
producers Is even hypercritical,
and then-you go and sit through
q whole collection of these inverte-
brate plays and wonder how on
earth they got by. Mystery of
mysteriesI
NOW. warrant that I could
make out a list Of at least
thirty plays seen this season, the
presentation OF which you could
hardly explain. Many Of them are
already quite forgotten, and you
will find It difficult to recall one
solitary fact about them. How
ever, will let It go at fourteen
and you shall tell me how you feel
about them. OF these fourteen
plays just see how many you can
remember. Here are fourteen:
THE Mask of Hamlet" THE
Triumph of x" Personality"
THE Poppy God" THE Title"
Her Salary Man." Like a King"
The wren." "The Children's
Tragedy" "a Bachelors Night"
'-The six-Fifty." The Skirt" The
Voice From the Minaret" and
Desert Sands"
A ND I could chronicle fourteen