Salt Lake Telegram | 1905-11-10 | Page 4 | New Theater Will Raise Standard of Drama

r NEW THEATER WILL RAISE STANDARD OF DRAMA. i. That the long-cherished dream of a national theater is about to i be realized was announced in New York yesterday by a financier who has been interested in the subject for a number of years. Better things in the field of drama will surely come if the plans as already made are carried out; and there appears to be plenty of'money, at j least, to carry them through. Henry Irving died too soon to see i the drama in this country lifted out of the rut into which it has !' fallen, for that appears to be the purpose of the men who are backing the proposition. ( Three million dollars has already been raised to construct the building itself. The finest treasures to be had in the world of art will bi purchased for the foyer, and the plan is to make this part of the theater an art gallery that will rival the Metropolitan Museum. An entire block has been purchased for the site; and mechanically and t artistically the theater will be a model of its kind, i Confidence in the success of the plan is caused by the fact that I Heinrich Conried, who has always stood for the best in dramatic art, f , will be at the head of the theater. He will secure the best company I '"that money can gather together. It is hoped to make the theater an authority on acting, aiming at purity in pronunciation. The season ' is. to be thirty weeks without any long runs. Ten plays will be produced pro-duced the first year, and two nights each w.eek there will be "opera comique" with the best artists that this country and the continent has produced. The effect of the new theater will undoubtedly be to raise the standard of the drama in every section. New York is said to be dis-1 dis-1 1 . gusted with the poor attempts the playwrights have made this year, j There has been a degeneracy from the artistic standpoint ; too much attention has been paid to mechanical effects. It is hardly to be doubted that the new theater, will receive the support it deserves.