The billboard (Sept 1910)

14 Xtie Billboard SEPTEMBER 3, 19ia * In Us lieatt, every putonnar _ at Iea,' .a weaitb of eaeeness tar independence, ,-wlUeii.-lB to be found nowhere In the tbeatrlcat ' world, except in Tandevme. This flolntlon to the pcoblem wbr ItB popnlarity Is plainly evidenced, dally liy the ever increasing list of ■Igneia to the Ttaestrical Dedaratlon of Inde- pendence,—the vandeTiUe contract. .Not that this siKoatnre .warrants oife.a :better lot~than one can nam, of a position theHtrlcally,, which The Advance of Vaudeville By C. EDDY performers of CTcry branch, en- tertainers of every description, and wiilte top acts of every rlni;,—from ^ which' ' the larger hoase managers are able to pick the cream of what Is called van- devUle. These "best" hills, are to be classed only with the best of legitimate prodnctlons, easily assert the prestige of vau- deville by being the only kind of performance capable of. keep- ing the honse open the year *roand. This' pr^tlge will be snpreme which once. the har- mony of t&e three companies, the manager, the artist;; and the agent, has placed them all on a plane of equality.- - ^nst as In.every other profession and . trade, there is tlie working man, whom ^ we find trudg- ing al<mg on the small time and upholding the I ladder, which the experienced- performer Is , climbing. This **small time" covers, as it were, a multitude of sins. It Is everywhere. It has spread with such poptdar favor-thronghont 'this country: and Is invading Enroiiean countries- so strongly tiiat vandeville has been virtnally made large and small, of those who will never be able to evade the theatre in some form. :WbUe all this popular: Vandeville Is sweeidng aside other forms of diversion; note this result In the larger booses. .With the Increased field-to choose^ from the standard is being set higher and higher, which can only culminate In the production of vaudeviUe in the all-star arena, an andltorlui" of ponderous dimensions where high-prices wlU llesurely prevail. - One of the flrst nooks, into which variety baa silently wended Its way with a lasting favor, is wtiat is generally known as **mtdnlght vau- deville." This rather firmly established form of diversion has now reached :. sdch ^' a thoroughly theatrical stage,; that Its -power of completelv erasing the original impression .tiiat this ..new borne of vaudeville was ever designed for eating and refreshment, is growing stronger-and strong- er, and It might be safely predicted tbat the time is not far distant when we may expect to find the vice versa of "CAPE" In large type and vaQdevUle as the sob-inducement. These snares of racket.: of course, do not elevate the vandeville stage to any great extent, but it Is vaudeville, .and., characteristic intuition answers the question -why they are in such popular favor. seeks not these linen-draped echoes of foreign music halls.* and are satisfied to retire to some nice quiet feed-booth after the last thnmp of the steel enrtaln. Not so 'jirlth the patrons of tbe legitimate oCferlngs, bowever, for In their en- deavor to forget what has gone before, they na-.. consciously reveal their hunger for varlebf by the hasty retreat they beat cafewards. tdini- poon this branch of diversion as much as the se- date and dignified class will. It Is a tonic, vrhleli is tbe good word at all tbe theatrical prescrip- tion counters, and It Is not a rare occasion to find a goodly number of the sedate Intermingled with the hundreds, who hie themselves to res- taurants,-where the buck and wing exponent, the skirt; and the cannon-ball Juggler appear: In tnm with loud, ragtime plasterinK tbe Intervals. Vaudeville goes still >Iowcr. In the under-, worldt. l>^' reciprocates nobly and diaevlminates not at all. For examplev la not one of tiie .most popular classes of vandeville no. more or Icn .Uie recruits from that pleasant Held of action, where predominates the lighter vein of the-midnlgtat crew} These rathskeller entertainers are a species of tl>e same class flourishing In the hec- tic resorts, wbich emerge, from time to time. EDW.HAYMAH THOS-BUI^eHILlc I<£I(WC.MSA3HEI^ WALTEJ? D'OI^IA C^JfOHli, J^/ W.M.VA WM.VTA.^ W.KVA. WHVA. " .ORPHSUM ft I . ,| .J .« .-H r.,-|H--: » one cannot merit, but it does lEidmit one to the lists of competitioo to meet all in open combat, and to rise or fall by. test. Tou are granted the Tight to stand for yonrseU and by yourself and are tendered a pass key to the tribunals of stage success. It is always tbe bard-to-please, who seek variety as the spice.of life,—the heaviest part of the steam roller called the' "fickle public". In -realiiy. however, ' the public la not fickle at all, bat. jnat like .a-bowl of .warm Jello,—yon bave to shake It well, or stir It np before yon are able to bring an expression to its counte- nance. As it grows cold, the dlfSculty of pro- dnclng that expression Increases, until In the solidified state, that of vaudeville audiences, a mighty sound rap is necessary to effect tlie de- sired result, but when It comes it Is a perma- nent one and success Is assured. Popularity, prominence, and advertising of all description is found awaiting the vaudeville performer; who makes good, for when he does, there Is no one to steal or share the credit. In vaudeville yon are either good or bad. and If the latter; yon are told it so quickly by the man- Igeig, fiooldng agents, and various critics, that It generally proves convincing and the desired - remedy.- '<^: the contrary, if yon are good, you : axe IttetaKy landed to the skies. Xoa become a atar amov itbe electric lights in: tbe IieaTen of -'headllnexa^'^and everyone ^ stands ^^ready to help yoa np^anotber rung on'the ladder .of success. -L -Xoor- name is flashed - broadcast across the connliyas bavlng made'S' lilt-at such and such a house,'^and yonr. services are in demand to tile extent . that your salary stock ' is l>oomed into the triple figures, and: yet'yon are stfll doing the same lltUe "bit," which probably bronght only your bread and bntter In the be- Sinnmg.' 'Could such a-state of affairs exist on the legitimate stage? Hardly, and If so, your producer generally attends to tbe main por- tion of shekels, which yonr popnlarity, manages to seperate from yonr .admirers and..andlences.. And what Is the result? The vandeville stage of to-day Is pleaaanfiy-overmn by legitimate the refuge for performers of every branch of the- atricals. It is augmenting the tmtbfoiness of "There Is a living in this world for ns aU." I by providing work for the poor performer aiu* I the ambitions and Investment' for the lavlngs. Tbe plays and musical comedies of to-day are so puerile and nnreasonable. that: it la a real re- lief for the pbilos<^icaI onlookers to drown their remembrance- In fluids and confusion. Tbe class,. wbleh: favon strictly censored variety. MiTTENTHAL BROTHERS, NEW YORK PRODUCTION MANAGEBS. They will put out an Eastern and Western Company, playing The Sbnl Kiss. into the public eye through having been raided by the police. Art, however, always baa and always will have the npper hand, in vandeville as well as in legitimate offerings. And thus It is that art tops the vaudeville bill aOd geu the. "lion's share" of press notices from the critics, who, as reprpsentatles of the public In general, attempt to elevate diversion by "pressing" the trled- and-not-found-wanting class of acta. It Is. said that Forrest, In the closet scene of Hamlet, made more than one actress, who was playing the -Qncon. break down In that scene and cry real tears. Surely tbat Is drsmatlc acting and the kind necessary to make the dramatic sketches of vaudeville the proper sort of diver- sion and the hcadlinera of the best bills. Drama Is not the only channel In vaudeville, however, through wbich art claims tbe right of leading tbe way. Tlicre arc Impersonators of great men, of buffoonery In general, men who portray char- acters, which arc wholly of tbe sidewalk eom- pdlnn order, and there's the artist, who wields a brush or* manipulates the strings or keys of some instrnment,—^wblch In all art and all vaur dcvllic. One of the most amaxlng phenomena of the theatrical world, and particularly so of the world of Imitators, who overflood tbe ranks of rntidcvllle, is the freab mental attitude, which seems to overtake the performer at his every change of charnctcr portrayal. This cbsracter- Intlc either denotes their uncommon Intellectnal. capacity, or else a psychic elasticity of tbelr, mental powers, wblcb Is not nnlike the natiiMiI phenomena of sympathetic coloration known to soologlsts. The reptile, which changingly takes on the me of hli particular baclcgroand ot the moment, whether it bo a green branch, the brown earth, or yellow road, does not utilise \ his coloring possibilities more rapidly than does the Imitator, who inside of twenty minutes can make one feci absolntely confident of tbe pres- ence of those, . whose characters ho portrays. The Impersonator, omitting those to whom na- tnie has given cnrves of feminine possibilities,' is one of the grandest of TanderlUe' expoaants.