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Show "BLAINE, A TRAGEDY." A Ihima For the Stage, Which Will Not Be Enacted In New York. An American playwriter ha3 been for home time engaged in the composition of a drama of contemporary life in which the chief character is to be a famous fa-mous American statesman, now decer-ed. decer-ed. The title which he has chosen fot it is "Blaine, a Tragedy." It certainly looks like bad taste to dramatize, at least in this generation, the career of the American here named, but the author au-thor maintains that he can do it inoffensively inof-fensively and in such a way as. to dignify dig-nify his subject, as the life of Mr. Blaine was full of dramatic material, and as there wre scenes in it which would be especially serviceable for a drama of real life. He says that Shakespeare made use of personages who lived not long before his time, and even of some who were his contemporaries, and he gives the names of other play writers who have used their acquaintau-RS in their stage compositions. When reminded that even the greatest and most picturesque Americans Amer-icans of past times, from the days of Washington to those of Lincoln, had never been used successfully for dramatic dramat-ic material, as Shakespeare used the kings of England, ho replied that this was a thing which would surely yet be done in thi9 country, as it has been done in other lands, and that, in any event, it is his purpose to begin the undertaking. undertak-ing. "Is there any manager in New York, " we asked, "who would bring out your tragedy?" "I do not know, but there is a manager man-ager in Chicago who will bring it out if it suits him. " "Do you not fear that there would be a storm of popular reprobation if you should make your chief character resemble re-semble the original?" "If there be anything of the kind, 01 if the work fail to prove attractive, it will be withdrawn after the first or seo ond performance. But there are in my subject such striking elements for a firsr class stage drama and for a winning one that I shall not think of its failure until after it has failed." "Would not the relatives "of the d ceased statesman object to the work and get out an injunction against its performance?" per-formance?" "If such an objection shall be raised by any one entitled to speak with authority, au-thority, or after that one has been present pres-ent at a performance of it, it will bn discontinued. The man of my title role has been a subject for painters, sculptors and other artists, and there is no good reason why he should not be made a subject for dramatic artists." After the playwriter had expressed the views here reported, The Sun reporter report-er asked a theatrical manager as to the prospects of a drama of the kind spoken of. He answered that he did not believe a single respectable manager in New York or anywhere else would bring it out, and that, if brought out in any American ritv. it wnnlrl h n. flaf; fail. ure. He believed that the execution of the playwriter's project would not be tolerated by the theater going community. communi-ty. New York Sun. |