AMERICAN THEATRICS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2549, 25 August 1915, Page 5

AMERICAN THEATRICS

.THE PRO-GERMAN ELEMENT STRONG IN THE WEST; Mr. Cieorgo Blood, at present connected with tho management of the Graham Moll'at Company, owing to the illneiss of tho manager, Mr. Humphreys, returned from a visit to • America by tho Manuka a few days ago. Mr. Blood left here us manager for Leroy, Talma, and Bosco, illusionists, some months ago, 'and continued witn litem throughout a tour of the States, which was under the direction of Messrs. Hugo Bros., of Chicago. It was the winter-time, and the tour could not .have been called a, success. Why the winter time (when tho snow is on the ground and the cold was severe enough to freeze one solid) is the theatrical season in America, Mr. Blood was unable to fathom. In his opinion it would have been simply silly for anyone to venture out at night in the weather they experienced. Yet it was the height of the season, and in the sum-mer-time most of the shows close down. After tho tour closed in Washington (D.C.), Mr. Blood returned to San Francisco to take in tho PanamaPacific Exposition. Tins was a greatshow . artistically, and perhaps commercially, but tho attendances were very disappointing. The reason for this Mr., Blood thought was that San Francisco was too far away from the centre of,the States to attract many from East. It cost -as much to travel, by train from _ New York and other eastern cities as it- did by steamer from New Zealand. Then, again, the novelty of the Panama Canal had worn off, and the great war was on to dis- ' tract the' attention of thousands in other parts of tl<3 world. Whilst Mr. Blood was in San Francisco the city was visited by such eminent players as Mrs. Patrick Campbell., whom he 6aw.in a revival of "Tho Second Mrs. Tauqueray," Sir Johnston Forbes Kobertson, Miss Alsie Ferguson, Miss BilUe Burke, Mr. Cliauncey Übcott (in "Peg o' My Heart"), Miss lluth- St. Denis, the classical. dancer, was at the Festival Hall in the Exposition, and .M. Camillo Saint-Saeus, tho eminent French composer, organist, and pianist,' was announced to appear when Mr.. Blood sailed. He did not give the San 'Francisco people much credit as intellectual play-goers. They did not want the good. class play, and were rot likely to get excited about Saint-Saens. What they liked better was A 1 J olson, the black-faced comedian, who was no end of a draw. Neither Mrs. Campbell or Sir J'. Forbes liobertson were doing much. All the shows, played''twice a day at the least; even Mrs. Campbell was doing "Tanqueray" twice & day. The good vaudeville houses all give two performances a day, and in the ID cent. (oa f .) houses they ran continuous vaudeville -from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.—five shows a day. 1 ; Mr. Blood'says that the opinions we got about America's fcelings_ 011 _ war come from Washington or New York,. but liis experience was ■ that a big majcrity of the people of the Middle West and West were absolutely pro-German. Not that it nattered much, as America's army could almost bo assembled on a base-ball ground. The Britisher did not get too good a hearing in the Middle West-and West of , America just now. They sort of resented England's mastery of tho sea, and in particular her action in sticking up American boats bound to neutral ports. Diplomatically Ainerica might be with us, but when one knew how the people thought' there was no need to be surprised. at the careful course Mr. AVoodrow Wilson liad to steer.