Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-04


i duets the ringing Of the welkin
Of that theater, Is reported IN
special dispatches from Sam Ruoin,
press representative, as finding IN the
WASHINGTON public an ideal audience.
'sBy which he means" Mr.. Rubin ex-
plains, that he has found a really IN
telligent audience" The thesis as
closes that Mr. Rawlinson requires
smart" clientele for his type OF Work.
not. Mr.. Rawlinson says that gag VIII
get an entire house Of 2,20o At one
show and three shows later viii not
click at all. There Is a reward Tor the
person who can solve this mystery"
The study of audience psychology ID
one of the most fascinating researches
in the theater. Just as the tempera.
ment of the crowd diners within ~
hours in the same theater, so does u
difFer vastly in various sections OF the
country, and in various countries OF the
world. The stole approval for O. chinese
group, sitting at a native play for eight
or ten hours at time, is as Tar re-
moved from the excited clamor OF an
Italian audience as can be imagined.
Any seasoned trouper can tell you when
are the cold" towns and which the
warm" ones in the United States. I'm
less by some happy miracle Mr; Nj, Ea."i III,
HOH I1aS 1Ouh0 bAASbA eA@ ~~
tell YOU, too.
The impressive differences that exist
between spectators in different parts OF
the world are partly the result OF tneat-
rical custom and tradition and partly OF
national psychology. In comparison
with foreign audiences, even the stono
British, Americans are much less emo
tional. This does not mean tnat tney
are necessarily less appreciative, put
simply that they express their apprec11-
ton less demonstratively or, disapproV-
ing. withhold their wrath. Not SO the
Italians. for example, as any one can
testify who has heard the Kisses ana
boos which greet an unwelcome per.
Torrance. And II the Americans hooteo
as Justify for More! MoreT as the
italians do for "Bis!" or the French
for encore" there would probably be q
standing call for the riot squad.
All this, of course, Is within certain
bounds Of reason; only occasionally 40
European audiences reach panae me
MUM, but the individuals right OF as
approval is strictly maintained spec
tators may even disagree among them
selves. and not infrequenty the Missing
OF the players Is exceeded by the MSS
ing of the hissers.
II was not always so in this country.
Manv an old "meller" received its
baptism Of cahbages and eggs unu.
some one conceived the adroit idea OF
stretching a wire netting before the
Stage stae the actors were in imminent
danger Of casualty; with the screen ,c,,.: a. as
protection they went biissIully on on;
In outdoor amusements today we still
express our enthusiasts freely In such
phrases as kill the umpire" and Take
him out" but in the theater proper we
have become frigidly polite.
ANYHOW. it's nice to know that Mr..
Rawlinson, through Mr.. Rubin, con-
siders Washington ideal"
Hardy Meakin, publicity mentor AT
the Fox, worked so hard last Wednesday
that he wrote q story about it. Eight
hundred soldiers from the Fort WASH
ington Citizens Military framing
Camp, brought to the theater as guests
at the second show, were not enough
responsibility, an unkind fate decreed,
but Victor McLaglen had to pop into
! town besides. Not that Mr.. McLaglen
was so trying an ordeal. He was, on
! the contrary, q very personable visitor