PART SEVEN
AMUSEMENTS
PAGES ONE TO EIGHT
TV
e Omaha Sunday B
EE
PAETSBVEH
MUSIC
PAGES ONE TO EIGHT
VOL. XLVII NO. 16.
OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER SO, 1917.
SINGLE COPY FIVE ' CENTS.
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Revival of Life at Theater;
War Kindles Drama Anew;
Effect of Movies on Stage
W
4
Advantages and Limitations of
Each in Presenting Flays
and Providing Entertain
ment for People.
By T. W. McCULLOUGH.
HATEVER may be said
about the solid foundation
of the stage, or its mag
nificent superstructure,
decked with the trophies
of art and literature, those
who have to do with the daily ad
ministration of the theater are chiefly
impressed with its uncertainties. Suc
cess at the theater depends on pub
lic favor, and experience has demon-,
strated this to bo an elusive and not
at all dependable factor. The public
is fickle, chanpes its mind frequently,
and is not at all to be depended upon
in the matter of its tastes or whims
in the way of amusement. It will go
into ectstacies over one thing, and
will coldly pass hy another exactly
similar. It will pour out its laudation
and its cash to the reward of one
actor, and allow another of equal
merit and capacitv to go hungry, and
no man cai say why. Therefore, we
find more grav hairs than bis fortunes
in the box offices One problem is al
ways before te manager to find out
whatjthe public wants and furnish it
before the mood changes.
Paradoxical as it may seem, with
the coming of the war has come a
revival at the theaters. At the outset,
activities in the mimic world were
checked. This may have been direct
ly attributable to the war as a con
trolling cause, or it may be ascribed
to the fact that ir America a decline
had already set in. and the "legiti
mate" was already in a parlous wrfy.
Folks had tired of the musical com
edy, the risky French farces and the
equally risoue but not always so ob
vious English problem play' had
palled on the public taste, the porno
graphic drama added its dead we'ght
to the load already burdening the tot
tering structure," and tbemovies had
put the "paiier" entirely out of com
mission. Then, the big musical re
views and the burlesoue shows had
almost entirely eliminated the musical
comedies, and only a few managers
were bold enough tc venture on the
uncertain seas vos. vr.ters dashed
more ominously day by day or, rather,
niht by night, around the front doors
of the theaters that s'aved open, and
from the outlyine: di'jtricts went back
to New York such discouragi ig word
as confined the magnates tlere in
iheir opinion that "business va bad."
For the last two seasons citier such
as Om?ua h?ve alrrost fone wtVout
good theatrical attractions. Just a
few companies h?ve strairpled along,
enough to keen the light from flick
ering out entirely, hut not such as
wou'd warrant even the most optimis
tic of press agents calling the seasons
brilliant.
While this was going on for the real
stage, the moving picture industry
was swelling like Jonah's gourd. It
did not exactly grow up over night,
but if any man of enterprise could
have foreseen five years ago what ac
tually has happened and backed his
judgment he would be able by this
time to pay the war debt with his
profits. Not even the automobile has
shown such growth as has attended
the development of the moving pic
ture. It suddenly passed from the
condition of a tov or a curiosity to
that of an established feature of
American life. Promoters took hold,
but the business grew faster than any
one connected with it, and the men
who had ventured their money in the
enterprise found themselves in the
strange posif'on of having to struggle
to keep up with the game they sought
to push. The public wanted the
"movies,' and apparently still wants
them. Every row and then some
wiseacre rises up and delivers himself
of the prediction that the day of the
moving picture is about over and that
the peonle are getting tired of watch
ing shadows, brt the a.iswer is always
in the form of a new palace for the
exhibition of those same shadows, and
the rush to see them grows, instead of
diminishes.
Many reasons may be cited for the
popularity of , the moving pictures.
Greatest among these is that of price.
The "neighborhood" house gives its
little entertainment for a nickel:
downtown the price runs from a dime
up to in some places half a dol'ar, but
for the latter figure one gets comforts
in proportion. For these prices one
may have from half an hour to two
hours of rational entertainment under
cordition that are pleasant at worst,
and in met houses nowadays are such
as conduct to the highest enjoyment.
In this wiy the moving picture exhib
itors have looked after their public
well. In the best houses, of which
Omaha has some splendid representa
;ive. music is afforded of excellent
fua'ity, often specially scored' or par
ticularly adaoted for the film on ex
hibition, while 11 the creature com
forts of the patrons are carefully
looked after and delicately catered to.
Goin.tr to the movies, from this point
of view, is no longer an adventure,
but just a trip in search of comfort.
From the sta.idpo'nt of art itself,
much may be said for and against the
"movie." Its greatest disadvantage is
that it is but a shadow, that it must
always be made in such way as will
bring out the points, and this only can
Q.
be done by centering the lights on the
main picture. Photography has done
wonders, but it yet has its limitat:ons,
and the projecting machine is the
camera's most inexorable critic.
Against this may be set the capacity
of the camera for presenting action,
far beyond that possible to the stage,
and for the preservation of the locale
the visualization of scents that must
be omitted from the procession of the
spoken drama, thus maintaining the
continuity of the tale as well as em
phasizing the lesson. And when the
dramatic story, frequently of great
power in itself, is enhanced by the
wonderful stace settings the camera
can famish, the grejat world outdoors j
Deing ai its can, ana me actors arc
shown in surroundings that are
natural,' and with all the regular
course of life flowing around them,
the impression is immeasurably
heightened and the advantage of the
picture over the play itself is corre
spondingly increased. This is well
shown in such plays as "The Barrier,"
"The Tale of Two Cities" and a long
list of fine dramas that have been
made over into films, and in this sense
greatly improved. For the produc
tion of comedies and slapstick farce
the camera is far ahead of the stage.
Thousands have laughed at the witty
or humorous sayings of a favorite
comedian on the stage, but millions
have roared over the antics of his pro
totype on the screen.
Yet the picture lacks the essential
spark of life that would make it
whole. It is the shadow, and not
the substance. People watch it flick
er across the screen, and go away,
rested, perhaps, but with no more
than a passing content, no deeper
emotion stirred, no line of argument
established, and no mental effort
quickened to the consideration if not
the solution of a problem. The mov
ing picture it. this regard is a sedative
rather thjjn a stimulant. It lacks the ,
great impulse that comes with the i
combination of the spoken word and
the animated gesture, and "sub-titles,"
be they ever so cleverly worded, can
not supp h- this omission. " For illus
tration, .the spectator can sit and
watch the terrible outburst of wrath
with which David Maldonado turns
Iris Bellamy out of doors and wrecks
the furniture in the flat, but who can
understand the pathos of the plea
poor Iris makes in her effort to ex
plain and justify the course which
she took and which' had wrecked her
life? What conception can the spec
tator gain from watching the picture
of the progress of calamity that grew
so inexorably until it overwhelmed
her, or of the perplexities of Paula
Tanqueray, her yearning for just a bit
of the sympathy that was denied her?
This comparison might be extended
indefinitely. .Certain things are not
for the camera, and real drama is one
of them. Great spectacles, rough and
fumble farces, "serial" stories, and
tjie like belong to its realm, but the
r?al art of the theater must remain
forever the possession of those who
have the genius and the soul to in
terpret its message and drive it home
to the multitude.
This discussion has wandered
slightly from the original purpose. It
was intended to call attention to the
fact that the theater in America is
undergoing a general revival this sea
son, for whatever reason does not
particularly matter. Those who are
engaged in attending to its legitimate
business have plenty to do in that
line. wh:'e the rest of the world is
Music Need of the People;
Teachers Must Do Share;
Art Calls for Great Effort
Pupils Should Select With Care
Instructors and Devote
Much Time to Hard
Practice.
By HENRIETTA M. REES.
N THESE days when every-
I
rejoiced to" see the signs of renewed
life and is not concerned beyond the
fact that good things have come and
more ,ar coming for Omaha. Last
spring announcement was made that
one of Omaha's best theaters was to
be torn down to make room for a
business block. This has been re
versed and the Boyd is enterta ning
many people nightly and will continue
for a long time to come. The Bran
deis is showing a tendency to pros
perity it has not enjoyed for a couple
of seasons, while the Orpheum, the
Empress and Gayety are hav:ng such
patronage as must impress the own
ers with the thought that they are on
the right track. The Strand, the Sun
and the Muse naturally show the way
fnr th exclusive moving picture
theaters, and daily and nightly their
beautiful auditoriums are packed to
capacity, while all over the city the
smaller houses are doing such busi
ness as compensates the owners for
lean days gone, but not 'yet entirely
forgotten. Two more big moving
picture palaces are projected, work
on one of them be:ng actively under
way. and the end is not. Business is
good at the theatrs. thank you.
For the Ak-Sar-Ben season special
arrangements have been made to care
for visitors from out of town. Good
attractions are offered at all the
houses tl';8 week.
Bayard Veiller Boosts Melodrama ;
He Writes 'Em and Ought to Know
As a national barometer there is
nothing so infallible as the theater in
the opinion of Bayard Veiller, author
of "The Thirteenth Chair." It is Mr.
Veiller's idea that one need only look
into the theaters of a nation to be able
to form a pretty accurate estimate of
the people of the country themselves.
"Prior to the beginning of the war
abroad," said Mr. Veiller, in discuss
ing his theory, "there was no nation
on the glebe so fond of amusement in
its lighter form than France. And one
has only to run over in his mind the
plays that have come to us from the
French du:ing the past generatipn to
see how completely that lightness and
frivolity of thought in the people
themselves was shown in their plays
"Here in America we are essentially
now and have been since Hie first in-
'ception of our country j. people of
action. And our stage has been a mir
ror in Ahich that action has been
reflected al all times.
"It has always seemed to me that
there is nothing so melodramatic in
the entir history of the world as
America. Its growth from infancy to
a position of equality with the oldest
and most powerful nations on earth
almost within the span of man's mem
ory beats any novel I ever read.
"And nothing better than our own
stage, tells this melodramatic story
of our country. Go back over the his
tory of our theater and you will find
that it has almost invariably been the
plays of American blood and bone
that have struck loudest and truest the
popular note of our theater-goers
Melodrama implies action. Its
spirit is that of do or die; of never
giving up. The melodramatic hero, no
matter how deep the plot of the vil
lain, never gives up. He grasps at the j
last chance and always comes through
to success. And how we all love him
for it.
"That the day will come when melo
drama will lose its appeal in America,
I refuse to Lelievev If it does, how
ever, then may alarmists well take
cognizance of the situation and ask
to what end our country is drifting."
Film World Widens Fast;
Omaha Houses Up to Best;
Review of the Local Field
T
Enterprising Managers Make
Many Friends by Watching
Interest of Public and
Meeting Demands.
By HARRY B. WATTS.
HE motion picture industry
is gaining headway in Om
aha by leaps and bounds.
Announcement of two pic
ture palaces being built by
the people interested in the
Strand and Sun theater's, at Fifteenth
and 'Douglas, has made quite a num
ber of fo'ks sit up and take notice
while those who predicted but a short
life for the "movies" have nothing to
say. These theaters will each have a
seating capacity of approximately
2500 people, representing a large in
vestment of money; will be equipped
with the best that money can buy and
will have the latest conveniences in
genuity has so far devised for the
public.
It was only a matter of some two
years ago wher there was only one
or two theaters presenting motion
pictures that we could point to with
pride, and this condition had existed
for quite some time. Then came
along Mr. A. H. Blank and leased the
old American theater, changing the
name to the Strand, and obtaining for
manager Mr. H. M. Thomas, who had
handled practically every kind of a
show known. It was their belief that
Omaha would appreciate a really
high-class motion picture theater, and
although this theater had remained
dark and been called a failure, it was
a success from the start under the new
control, and no doubt will continue to
be. The theater was thoroughly
overhauled latest equiprrient in
stalled and the stage used for special
settings, according to the kind of a
picture being shown, which added an
atmosphere not otherwise attainable.
When it was thought already there
were too many motion picture thea
ters, S. H. and Harry Goldberg, asso
ciated with W. R. McFarland, W. H.
Jones and Harry Rachman, announced
they would erect a theater on the site
of the old World-Herald building.
The theater is a credit to the indus
try and has one of the prettiest lob
bies in the city. A large orchestral
pipe organ furnishes the music
The Empress theater, so 'tis said,
plays to more people in a day than
any other two theaters in Ihe city.
The policy here is four acts of high
class vaudeville and the latest and
best feature, topical and comedy sub
jects. Managers Le Marquand and
Ledoux have certainly hit the trend
of public opinion, while the theater
itself is a work of art'
It might be thought that all these
new and large theaters in the busi
ness section would materially damage
the houses that were formerly prac
tically without competition, but not
so. Possibly the best example of
this is the Hipp, which still enjoys
practically the same splendid patron
age as before the present condition.
(Continued on Pa Three Column Four)
thing of imoortance in our
lives is pushed more or less
to the back in favor of what
is most important for our
country boys at the front,
for our allies, and to help to win the
great world war, and conservation is
practised in all things, it behooves
those of us who are musically patri
otic, and also patriotically musical,
to think what best we can do for con
servation in music. Those not in
terested to any great extent might
be heard to say, that one way to con
serve musically would be to leave
music out of the great general scheme
altogether this would not be consrva
tion at all, but complete waste of one
of the greatest arts which the world
has succeeded in building up with cen
turies of efforts. During times of war,
the arts are the first to suffer, and it
rests largely with those in whose care
they are trusted, for this generation,
just how much or how little survives
for the next. Nor is it just a question
of quantity, but rather of quality.
It Is only the best which survives
at any time, and during war times it
is a case of how much of the best
is able to survive. Therefore it U
part of the means of conservation in
music, for each and everyone who is
interested to conserve the very best
that there is irt his connection with
the art. If he is only a listener, he
can save a great deal of the time he
spends listening, by choosing careful
ly what he listens to. choosing always
the best of the kind he is interested
in, not wasting his time on barren
sounds. Then by his attention gain
ing the greatest pleasure and profit
from the music he hears. One does
not necessarily have to have the
latest song, if what he chooses wears
we'l with frequent reptitions.
If he is a professional recitalist, it
is more than ever up to him to do
his best, and to make his best worthy,
and fine enough to save the love of
music for the people, and to help them
to realize the place there is for music
in their lives.
$
But perhaps with the pupils ana
teachers the greatest chance for con
servation in music is given. The pu
pils of today are the musicians of to
morrow, and a great responsibility
rests with those whom their educa
tion is entrusted. The great exodus
of pupils every year to Europe for
their training is a thing of the past;
it is the day of the teachers in
America and it is up to these teach
ers to make good. Many of them
have already done so, and have es
tablished reputations for themselves
by results which nobly testify to their
worth.
There are many well equipped and
competent teachers to be found all
"i rough our broad land, and Oma
ha has its share of them. The teacher
should view his responsibility more
seriously than ever. He should be as
sured in his own mind that he is him
self broadly enough educated and
fitted for his high purpose. Other
wise his efforts are not for saving
music, but rather for injuring the
cause. He should use the greatest
care in his selection of teaching ma
terial and in his manner of teaching,
his pupils most efficiently. He should
save time and effort by constant
strictness, for oven though pupils may
hate him for making them conquer
difficulties they will love him and
lltank him with corresponding in
tensity afterward for making them do
it. During war times the teachers
must produce the greatest results, for
not only their livelihood, but the musi
cal life of the community rests m
the balance. 't
Lastly, there is the part the pupils
may play in this conservation. Many
of them can. eliminate the waste of
time they spend watching the clock.
In the September issue of the Musi
cian there is an excellent article on
"Efficiency in Practice" by Wilbur'
Follett IJnger, who prescribes a cer
tain number of repetitions of each part
of the lesson and demands that the
pupil keep a record of how many
times he has gone over the work each
day, thus eliminating the idea of prac
ticing by the hour. Then there are
the short cuts of slow practice and
constant accuracy. These are the only
short cuts there are, backed by
thought and persistency. A pupil
should realize his valuable opportu
nity in being privileged to stndy this
wonderful art and should approach it
and continue it with all the humility
of spirit, courage and enthusiasm of
his nature. He should learn to con
centrate. Concentration is the secret
of musical progress. Concentration
upon the lesson when it is given, upon
the manner of practicing and upon
what is practiced, concentration of
thought, time and effort in connec
tion with all musical endeavor is the
only key to success. Conservation in
music by eliminating much that is a
waste in all branches of it may prove
in the long run to be the conserva
tion of music and concentration ia
conservation. By the way, gentle
reader, can you concentrate?
We actually sat up and took notice
the other day when we .heard Mra,
Peter Jensen of Council Bluffs play
several numbers, o'n the violin. Mrs,
Jensen is a" comparative newcomer
to these parts. Before her marriage
to Mr.. Jensen she was Miss Mabel'
Woodworth of Chicago, where she
was a member of the faculty of the
American Conservatory of Music, one
of the best known music schools
there. Mrs. Jensen has a broad, full
tone, which is a constant delight, and
she plays with a musical grace and
assurance which should win her many
engagements in Omaha, once she be
comes known in musical circles.
in order to impart his knowledge to being cheated
The Musical Courier suggests the
following in order to correct the
abuses to the musician of the charity
concerts:
"Musicians who are" public perform.
ers should form local unions in every
city, and town and elect a committee
to regulate charity concerts. This
committee should include : also I as
members one or two business men ap
pointed by the mayor.' r A responsible
person should be named to handle
the funds. A4id-finally all givera of
charity concerts must apply to this
committee for a license, which shall
be granted only after investigation
has established the reliability of the
undertaking and guarantees have been
furnished that the proceeds shall not
be diverted'from the purpose an
nounced as the reason for giving the
concerts.- - -;- - - .--v
"If this is done the matter-of de-
.nating his or hei services may be
ten iu me inuiviuuai musician. jt
any rate, if such musicians them
choose be generous (or foolish)' they
will at least know hat they are nof '
Noted Teachers Offer Services to
Students Who Will Come to Omaha
Omaha has long been recognized as I The present season is more than "ever
an important center for the study of of importance s this regard, for the
Hula Hula Girls Who Had 'Em AH Going at the Den
music, and its many competent and
brilliant teachers have attracted hither
large numbers of earnest students,
S
Walter Thrane, Herman Reinholta, A. E. Mcfcarnar, L. P. Campbell, E. M. Finkenstein,
study abroad is cut off entirely now.
ana an woric must be done at home.
Omaha's galaxy of high-grade in
structors has been increased corre
spondingly, and opportunity is offered
here to gain musical knowledge and
experience such as never was offered,
before. .
' Sherwood Music School.
Omaha is to have an accredited
branch of the Sherwood Music school
of Chicago under the direction of sev
eral Omaha teachers. During the last
fortnight Mr. Sctiurgon, registrar of
the Chicago institution, has been in
the city making arrangements for this
acquisition to the cultural facilities of
the city and is now making formal
announcement of the organization of
the Omaha branch.
The Sherwood Music school of Chi
cago was founded twenty-two years
ago by William H. Sherwood, "Amer
ica's greatest pianist," and is said to
have graduated more successful pian
ists and teachers than any other music
school.-. :
Several years ago this school estab
lished an extension department to
"extend" the opportunity for metro
politan conservatory training to music
students who find' it inconvenient to
leave home to obtain it. The : Hi
lar conservatory course has been pot
into printed form, which, when
studied under the affiliated teachers in
the various branches of the extension
department, leadj to the teachers' cer
tificate and diploma. This plan stand
ardizes music teaching and solves the
(Continued on Tr Two VohMM Three)