The Billboard 1918-12-14: Vol 30 Iss 50
IF YOU SEE IT IN BILLYBOY-BANK ON IT THIS ISSUE CONTAINS 27 PER CENT ADVERTISING AND 73 PER CENT READING MATTER |F YOU UPHOLD THE THEATER HONESTLY, LIBERALLY, FRANKLY, I AND WITH WISE DISCRIMINATION, THE STAGE WILL UPHOLD IN I FUTURE, AS IT HAS IN THE PAST, THE LITERATURE, THE MANNERS, THE MORALS, THE FAME AND THE GENIUS OF OUR COUNTRY. —HENRY IRVING Great words. ' And, though addressed to the British public, worthy of the deepest and most serious con¬ sideration by peoples of every nationality. Especially should the American public give thought to them. For of all institutions the theater is the most democratic. It is inherently and essentially so. Its existence—its very life—are dependent upon the masses. Every time that it essays to address or appeal to the classes or any special portions or part of the public it fails. Its art must always be that of the whole people, that of men and women, of children and adults, of rich people and poor folks, of the learned and the unlearned, the gay and the serious. Therefore Sir Henry’s words bear a peculiar and particular significance for Americans. The greatest Democracy in the world should manifest the greatest zeal in fostering, en¬ couraging and supporting the most democratic institution in the wor^d. There is food for thought in this, too, for the profession—the whole profession—for the stage is the stage no matter where or under what guise you find it. It may be harbored in a big or “little” house, it may be devoted to the legitimate or to musical comedy, burlesque or vaudeville, it may be the platform in a tent or merely the arena —yea, even the “nigger boards” therein—and it may be referred to as the screen, but for all that, if the entertainment brought to life upon its boards be the work of professional actors, actresses and artists, it is “the theater” within Sir Henry’s meaning.
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