Show I 1 Able Judges I I A who has not escaped a few thumping failures was speaking recently on the theme of getting the right verdict on a first night In the first place he said I pay no attention on the time first night to what my friends have to say about the play biased in favor tavor of the man who has written the play and they cant rid themselves of ot this bias in consider considering considerIng considering ing it itI ItI ItI I should hould have stated this with wih he premise that the playwright himself cant possibly tell tel whether his play Is going to be a go or not Ive Ive had five rank thundering failures Every Everyone one of them I considered before it fell dead about the best belt thing I had bad done The play of mine that achieved the biggest success was a play that I 1 felt fel so soI squeamish about that 1 bring I myself to be present at the theatre on the York night of its is first production in New NewYork NewYork Nearly all the playwrights of my acquaintance have hae had the same experience experience ence David Belasco Bolasco thought Naughty Anthony the best hest thing he had done doneIt 1 It I was a dire fizzle He was terribly afraid that Zaza Zata would never do it I was a knockout Bronson Howard could hardly be dragged to see the first production of ot his Aristocracy He said that he could feel the frost trost in his bones a week before it was given Aristocracy was a riot It I is being done yet after ater more than 20 years ears Eugene Walter was wat shaking In his shoes for a week before The Easiest Way was brought out He was afraid the folks have it I You remember remember ber her what a surefire thing it was from the tho beginning Walter considers The Wolf Wol his best play which Is Is a joke Playwrights then cant tell tel how goon good their plays are before or after ater they are produced But they can get a verdict if i they go at It right as to whether the plays are going to be accepted or not The first item to consider In es essaying essaying essaying saying to get the correct verdict Is as asI asI asI I say s y not to listen to what your friends friends tell tel you about your our piece To whom are you going to listen then Your enemies Not by b any means Their verdict give gle you the tho right clew either Stage Hands His Criterion I would rather abide by the verdict of the seasoned stage hands than by the pronouncement of ot almost any other othel class of ot persons except the ticket speculators It becomes a a aun nox of instinct with wih them to Judge correctly about a plays pla s chances for success Nearly always they are unemotional men been around theatres theatre so long that they have excellent standards from which to draw comparisons There not particularly interested in playwrights not enthusiastic about actors or actresses The buzz of gossip that they hear about a play on onIs its Is first night impress them in inthe Inthe inthe the slightest degree I wont say that sardonic But very sane very much muc aloof from the picture when they do their judging I generally contrive to nudge over oyer overto overto to the stage hands hands of ot my ac acquaintance acquaintance acquaintance along along toward the finish of ot any new play of mine on its Is first night not talkers chaps They dont feel feol that It confers conters any special distinction upon them to have a play pla playwright playwright wright approach them In an agreeable way for the purpose of ot hinting around to get et their views of ot the piece So I Idon Idon Idon don t hint around I just ask aEk them outright 0 What dye think of this show of mine Jim I once inquired of a griz grizzled grizzled grizzled stage carpenter carenter whom I had known for a good many years ers The play I was asking about was nearly over on its Is first night It I had seemed to go pretty well wel I had been called out to make a My lly friends frien ls in the audience had given all aU of or the points point big hands The stage carpenter was i leaning against the door Jamb of one ono of the stage dressing rooms looking rather grim grm I thought He shook his head The honsell be dark In a couple of ot weeks he replied quietly thrusting his hands into his pockets and walking away A dark theatre of ot course is a theatre In which nothing Is being played and wed figured on this play pay of mine running for tor at least leat six months at that theatre I 1 ask asic the old stage carpenter why he thought as aa he did But he was right The play had two or three es essential weaknesses and It was taken off after a dismal two weeks The stage carpenter or ater had gauged the plays weak weaknesses nesses flosses correctly when the plaYs folks out in II front were yelling for tor the author Sizing Up a Hit HitOn HitOn HitOn On another first night when a a play of ot mine that I was in a state of ot palsy over because it come within a thousand miles mies of looking good to me was drawing to its finish I 1 asked aked the house property man what his idea was wa He too looked melancholy when hen I ap approached approached le preached him but you cant derive any opinion from the melancholy looks look of stage hands the way they near nearly nearly nearly ly always look veteran Think lU do Bill BI I asked the I 1 wish the blamed thing had bad been produced at the beginning of ot the season te instead of or here late in the spring darn It I the property man replied Its Is goin to knock the out of a trip out Into the country that I wanted to take with wih my young uns In August You get that of course It Was vas wa then early in May My play because the old chap figured that It would still sti be run running running running ning at the theatre In August was go goIng going goIng Ing to interfere with wih a vacation that he had it I in mind to take during that lt ter month And he was perfectly right It I did interfere Interfere with his August vacation It ran in fact for a solid soUd year yea at the theatre where he worked 01 I like Uke the opinion of the young fel tel fellows fellows lows in the gallery too I dont do It In recent years because you se se see I have discovered other ways of ot getting at the right verdict but I used to make It I a point to go up to the gallery galery on a first firt night and sort of goose around to hear hoar what they were wore saying up there ther about my new piece I never knew them to tobe tobe tobe be wrong Judgment The Judge the play as a a whole but they have a genius for put putting putting putting ting their fingers on a plays weak wea spot or spots They made me recast one play pIa after Its initial production That ThatIs Is their pronouncement overheard by me as to one of the plays plays scenes caused me to change the piece com corn completely completely One of my characters In that play was a chap who was impelled by a strong sense of duty to sacrifice one of his close friends by b putting him in the te hands of the law I sought to mitigate the stern chaps action in thus surrendering surrendering surrendering dering a pal by giving him plenty plent of ot op opportunity opportunity opportunity to show the audience the mental misery miser his action acton cost him But his mental struggle go with the Nothing like it 0 That guys gys a bum I heard them say of ot the man with wih the te sense sese of duty Soaks his buddy hey Well VeI hes a am aThey tramp m They hiss the man mn they had hadIt It in for If I it been ben in the gal gallery galler gallery lery ler I have bae known their opinion opinIon opinion ion of my m man with wih the stern stem sense of duty dut But I verified their opinion Alter After Ater the play was over and I was having a abie bite bie In a restaurant with some friends frends who were my m piece a couple of ot quiet chaps of ray my acquaintance dropped over to my ray table Good show one of them said but that fellow who hands his former bud buddy buddy buddy dy over to the police polee is a rum dont you OU think thinkS S all right said the other but you make that fellow who swings on o his run running running running ning mate too blamed alto altogether alo altogether gether dont you So there was the verdict verified by b people who had paid their way for orchestra seats I changed change the play completely and It i proved a big winner inner It I never would have got by for a run It If I had let It stand as it I was shown sho on the first night Now New about the ticket speculator A playwright who wants to get an alt alf al but infallible verdict as to whether his play is going to be a success or a failure has ha only to watch the first night moves of a afew afew afew few ticket speculators whom he may know by sight even een if he on nodding terms with them Those fellows know Its Is their busi business business business ness to know They may not nt be b ac acquainted acquainted with the tho psychology of the drama but you can leave it I to them to know whether a piece Is going to hit bit the public and annex the dollars or not For example there Is one ticket speculator speculator lator In New York who is said never to have made a mistake as to whether a play is going to catch on after Its Is first production I can well wel believe beleve it I and do believe It it for the simple reason ren that when the play proves to be b a go this man mn always is found to have a stock stok g of or seats Sats for tor weeks ahead whereas wheres when the play is a dead one he is in a position polton to toKO toO togo KO go O around among his stung stUl cola borers in his field feld with wih a grin on his face because he hant a ticket to sell sel for the frost frostbitten frostbitten frostbitten bitten piece |