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Show How To Reform The Theatre REV. CHARLES M. SHELDON has published an article on the "Real Reform of the Theatre." Thea-tre." We have not waded through it, but suspect that it is a carefully prepared moral essay. es-say. The only trouble about all such articles is that they do not count. The theatre is like a restaurant. The restaurant keeper depends upon making a living by feeding his customers what they order, making things pleasant for them and then levying an assessment upon them as they go out. If a guest demands turkey, truffles, and champagne, he gets them. If he desires tripe or corned beef or Irish stew, he gets it. It Is tho -, same way with '"the theatre only it is reversed. The theatre manager tries to guess what will fill his house, provides it and then to make sure lev- ;j ies his assessment as the audience goes in. It J would suit him best if only Intellectual and chaste J oysters, turkey and champagne were wanted, for his profits are most on the high-class patrons. But unfortunately that class is in a pitiable minority, and to cater to that class alone would very quickly quick-ly result in closing permanently his house. But he does his best. He gives those whom he thinks would order champagne if they could, better bet-ter seats than he does others, but he charges extra ex-tra for them and collects in advance. The most of- the house is for the tripe and corned-beef patrons. pa-trons. He does not clear so much on them, Dut he clears it oftener. Of course, all theatre managers man-agers are not rigidly honest. They, some of them, cover the bill-boards with flaring announcements of something very lovely to come, to make the people anxious to see the combination. The manager man-ager knows in advance that the great, good na-tured na-tured public will be shamefully imposed upon and disappointed, but he has his own expenses to meet, just as the restaurant keeper, and in the season when lambs are scarce dresses up old ewes for lambs, and, w thout blush, serves the somethings which he calls lamb chops. No clergyman publishes long essays on how to reform the restaurants, but a great many more people attend restaurvits vhan theatres. Ask a clergyman to write an essay on the management man-agement of restaurants and he would reply: "Really, that is out of my line, I know nothing of the mysteries which attach to the business. ' But he does not hesitate to lay down a course of procedure for a theatre, though he really knows less about a theatre than he does about a cafe. The cafe appeals to the stomach of a man; the theatre ought to be an appeal to the souls of men. Did the clergyman ever stop to think that the theatre simply reflects the character of the people in Its audience, and to change the character of the performances the homes must be changed. In many ways Wm. Shakespeare was the very greatest great-est man of all the ages. He was a theatrical manager, man-ager, and wrote plays to catch the fancies and the money of his audiences. His intellect took in the whole scope of the human mind, all attributes and passions that attach, to men. and ho could choose the words to give all exact expression. But the tone of the theatre has been groatly elevated ele-vated since his day. Why? Because the average aver-age modern audience would leave the house if there should be an attempt to exactly portray what was seen and heard every night in Shakespeare's Shakes-peare's theatre. The reason is tho character of tho audiences has heen w Miany ways exulted since his day, because Ihe average home has been exalted. In those homes must come further changes, and as they are made the plays in the theatres will bo changed. If Rev. Shelton win ( watcii the audiences that attend half a dozen thea- tres in the same ton, the same night, and note where the larger crowds go, he will recognize that when he tells how to reform theatres he is talking through his hat, that whatever reforms are to be instituted in the theatres, must first bo instituted in the homes of those who pay the admission ad-mission fees to the theatres. |
