OCR Text |
Show Ashton Stevens, the San Francisco dramatic critic, In a recent article, bemoans tho destruction of the San Francisco playhouses, and states tha tho fire destroyed "the best show town" in tho country, but that at the same time it wiped out one of the worst theatres. He says that it was in San Francisco that Henry Irving played from a box office standpoint the greatest engagement of his career, in saying which, however, Mr. Stevens probably permits himself to exaggerate a little. He tells that the Metropolitan Opera company received re-ceived its record patronage in the city by .e Golden Gate, and that the "Tivoli gave every year for over a quarter of a century more performances of grand and comic opera than any other house in the country." He states that while San Francisco entertained an average of 100,000 playgoers a week, the taste of the populace was uniformly discriminating, and that of all the first night audiences in the country those of San Francisco and New York were the most critical. His idea Is that with the first movement move-ment toward the reconstruction of the city, playhouses play-houses will be built, because San Franciscos will go without anything else before they will consent to be deprived of the pleasure of witnessing a good play. These, he says, will Include "Opheum vaudeville vaude-ville at the Chutes, which just now is as near town as tho Majestic, used to be; but the real theatrical season will not be on until the real, theatres are built." He recommends that the new theatres should be panic and fire proof, as was the Majestic, and that all should be in the nature of inspirations. To this latter class in his opinion belongs the Greek theatre at Berkeley, where Sara Bernhardt appeared on Thursday" night in "Phedre." "The drama," ho contends, "like a university, like a church, like a club, like any institution that enters into the daily life of the people, should bo well housed. And I take it that the men of com-merce com-merce in whose hands the drama lies, will sorvo 'M themselves no better than their patrons by giving il to their theatres as much thought as a merchant ,fl expends on the building of a great department store. To continue the business-like simile, an at-tractive at-tractive shop helps even when you have the goods. Gentlemen, build playhouses fit for your cus-tomers cus-tomers and your wares. Let there be an outward and visible expression of San Francisco's pre- '-H eminence as a 'show tow,n.' " -H |