Year: 1876

A prurient disease has manifested itself in
the dramatic profession during the last ten
years. It is confined to comedians, and if
not arrested by dietary prescribed by the
public or by the more disagreeable pharmacy
Of the press it threatens serious conse-
quences to the stage. We allude to the in
clination our comic actors exhibit to run
into buffoonery. They are losing the artistic
sense Of where comedy ends and burlesque
begins; they arc losing the artistic discrim-
ination between the laugh Of appreciation
and the guffaw of the gallery. II this be not
reformed altogether comedy and the delin-
cation of character will be replaced with
farce and caricature for 1t is easier to de-
grade and debauch public taste than to ele-
vate it. Caricature is IN admirable thing in
its place, but it should be kept there. Just
one hundred years ago Richard Brinsley
Sheridan produced his comedy, "The
Rivals" at Drury Lane Theatre, into which
he introduced the caricature, Mrs. Malaprop
The public damned the play on its first rep
resentation whereupon the dramatist with
drew it, modified the offensive character, and



to take its place in dramatic literature. We
fear that no similar critical objection would
meet such q performance in 1876; but we
have not nevertheless, lost entirely our ap-
probation oftrue comedy. Take, for example,
Mr.. Gilbert, OF the New York STAGE or Mr..
Warren, of Boston; these artists never stray
beyond the modesty of nature nor degrade
the dignity Of their art by mingling the
grimaces and tricks of o clown with the de-
meanor of the comedian.


Those who constantly attend the perform
ances ofany popular play will not fail to de-
tect that the leading actors gradually import
into the dialogue and into what is termed the
'business" Of the stage speeches and gestures
which were not there before. Many of them
pride themselves that they have not left
shred of their original parts, and justify
their impertinent buffoonery by the laugh
ter it provokes. Shakespeare complained
bitterly of similar jack puddings that set on
the unthinking part of his audience to grin.
The proscenium is not horse collar and the
comedian is not clown. They manage
these matters better in France, and there
fore we refer to French acting as q standard
of that art. The actors during a rehearsal of
a French play listen to the author
and the stage director, and by them they
are taught the meaning and action Of the
drama Every tone and every gesture is
considered, debated, arranged and studied.
After this preparation. when the piece is
played and proves to be successful, no de-
parture of the slightest kind is permitted; in
fact. each subsequent performance is copy
of the first, as if it was printed from the
same plate The French comedian never
dreams of thrusting his own 'gags" into the
authors work or altering the action set
down for him to do. Such latitude is given
only to clowns in burlesque and pantomime.
BY adhering to this principle the French
stage has maintained its pre-eminence and
has preserved the dignity of its art. We
have galaxy of admirable comedians in
New York, but we lack stage managers capa-
BILE Of maintaining artistic discipline among
them and restraining exuberance. It would
be very painful for the public or the press
to assume this Office, and comedians may
rest assured that if the delinquents oblige
the critic to point them out to the audience
there is discrimination and good taste enough
among us to repress impertinence and main
tain the respect which the actor is wanting
in to the public as we'll as to the dramatist
when he defaces the character intrusted to
him.


The New York Centennial Loan Ex-