Year: 1876

atreS.


With the cool autumn nights already here
and the city thronged with strangers the
theatres are naturally in the full whirl of ac-
tivity and success. There are more places
Of theatrical entertainment in this city, in
proportion to population, than in any other
great city, and we yield only to Paris itself
in the beauty and style of our theatres, in
the general finish of our performances and
especially in the fertility of our stage in the
production Of good actors and actresses. 1t
is not new fact for the American stage to
produce admirable actors. At the pres
ent moment the greatest exponents of the
leading lines of dramatic art in the
English speaking world are Americans.
England can match neither Booth nor
jefferson. These ore the choice products
of our stage, and certainly any stage
may be called rich which possesses at
the same time q tragic actor and a comic
actor both Of whom are really great. But
though we may run over q rare list Of
names that have given brilliancy to the an
nails Of the theatre in it's comparatively short
history in this country, it is a new fact for
us to supply our stage regularly with a fair
run of average actors. These formerly
nearly all came to us from the provincial
stage of England. The change is even more
remarkable in regard to the women than
the men of our dramatic companies.
That prejudice which resolutely closed the
theatre to women as the possible source of a
legitimate income has in great degree lost
its hold on the common mind, and our coun-
trywomen, with beauty, tact and fine per-
ceptions-the essential elements Of success
on the stage-bid fair to shut out of our
theatres the crowd of competitors from
beyond the water. At the present moment
our stage is peculiarly rich in the possession
of actors and actresses of high order of
talent. Many of those now before the pub
lie here in our regular companies would be
regarded as ''stars" in London. Such
actresses as Rose Eytinge, Ada Dyas, Nine.
Ponisi, Eflie Germon, Kate Claxton, Mrs.
Florence, Amy Fawsitt and Fanny Daven-
port, and such actors as Lester Wallack,
Harry Beckett, Florence Montague, Gill
bert, Fisher, Lewis, Bangs, Brougham and
Davidge are possessions that any capital
might envy u.s. Another new fact in the
history of our theatres is to be noted in
regard to plays. The number of plays on
American subjects that keep the stage is
always small, and if we leave out plays that
are only year old, and do not go SO far into
the past rs "Metamora," we may fairly say
that tho American Cousin" and Grip Van
Wrinkle" cover tho list. But the very
recent chronicle indicates some attempt
at improvement on this point. ''The Gildcd
Age" ''The Mighty Dollar" the "rwo Men
OF Sandy Bar" at least evidences that
the notion fingers in the theatre that one
of the functions of dramatic art is to 'scatch
the manners living as they rise" At least
one of these plays is practical success,
and that is good proportion. II none of
them are altogether symmetrical structures
or substantial additions to literature, we
must remember that it is hardly fair in tho
conditions of our stage to expect what
appears in London but rarely, even
with all the inducements the stage
holds out there to a numerous class
that lives by literature for London is
now in the enjoyment of the same adapta-
ton from the French that occupies two
companies here, and. like US, it regularly
preys upon the Paris drama. Viewed with
regard to companies or plays, there seems
to be tendency in the theatre worthy of all
encouragement for the reflection of the
thought and life of our own people None
Of our theatres will ever neglect the good
things of the foreign stage, and we hope to be
abundantly amused by the plays of Paris in
the future as we have been in the past but
a little local tint now and then will give the
panorama q more definite and lively in
| taraat =.