THIE EPENTFUI. HISTORY OF GEORGE M. COHAN
193
lammed about from corner to corner
He scemned to lack refinement. Truc,
of the country in the itinerant show
he pleased his down-stairs audience as
business; and that, in spite of all, he is
well as his gallery; but his down-stairs
what he is, we agree that his career
andienee had an up-stairs heart in it. The
does exhibit elements explainable upon
people who laughied with Cohan were no.
no other hypothesis than a super¬
quite the same pcople who were pleasel
endowment of birthday gifts.
by John Drew or moved by Mrs. Fiske
or delighted by Maude Adams.
Cohan came up from Fourteenth
No doubt Cohan saw all this. Perhaps
Street ten years ago with"Little
the failure of Popularity’ helped him to
Johnnie Jones' with bells and the
see it more clearly. Perhaps it struck
thump of the big brass drum. But
in and tutored somewhat those personal
Broadway refused to be diverted.
tastes which, according to his critics, stood
While the folks in front werc looking
sadly in need of schooling.
him over, he was, in turn, looking
Anyway, from about this time forward
them over. He noticed what made
his clothes became less noisy, his manner
them laugh and what made them
of life less ostentatious, and his perform¬
grave. After two short wecks, Cohan
ances showed here and there eliminations
that marked an awakening sense of those
took his play to the one-night stands,
eternal fitnesses which are the essence of
where, each midnight, after the per¬
goodtaste.?
formance, he sat down to rewrite it,
and on each morrow tried the new
7
Cohan rewrote Popularity,' sand¬
version on the next town. In a fort¬
wiched it with songs, studded the stage
night he came back and took Broad¬
with chorus girls, stuck Raymond
way by storm. He had found its
Hitchcock in the center, and called it
funny-bones and was tickling them all
The Man Who Owns Broadway.“
at once.
This time the piece scored an uproari¬
ous success. Then came"Get-Rich¬
" Successful innocence, reciprocated love.
Quick Wallingford.“
impugned honor, triumphant vindication—
old, old, old!—were the elements of the
* Wallingford' as a series of sketches
story. But there was an accidlent in the
presented pitfalls. It involved difficulties
play—its appeal to patriotic sentiments:
of sclection and construction, it required
American jockey winning English money
niceties of adjustment to keep this pun¬
—loving American maiden—English guile
gent creation of George Randolph Ches¬
THE HAPPY COHANS
plotting ruin of American lover and in¬
#ter’s entertaining without becoming in¬
Evidently George M. Cohan has succeeded
cidentally breaking heart of American
not only in enriching the drama but also in
sufferable. It went upon the boards as
girl.
making Mrs, Cohan 2 happg woman. he pie
straicht, well-constructed satire. It vas
ture shows Cohan’s two little daughters. George
The dramatic value of this set of senti¬
neither a work of creative genius nor a
M. Cohan, Jr., who has just arrived, refuses to
ments was a great surprisc to Cohan, but
Jumble of showman's tricks, but mere in¬
sit for his photograph as yet.
its lesson was not lost. It led him to cre¬
telligent application of the principles of
ate situations in which national feeling
stage technique and an intimate knowl¬
ously remarked that the whole Cohan
was aroused to the highest pitch, when at
edge of the public tastes. And it was
family was eating off the American flag.“
the proper moment he rushed the flag
not to be carried by Cohan’s stage pres¬
upon the stage and stood beneath it sing¬
Immediately thereafter, Cohan’s bi¬
ence—he was not in the cast.“
ing, cheering, waving, with such an unctu¬
ographer goes on to say, the young
Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford' and
ous, infectious enthusiasm that his audi¬
playwright’s self-confidence slipped up¬
ences invariably joined in the chorus and
Broadway Jones' were followed by
on a banana peel. He wrote a straight,
were offen swept to their feet, drowning
Seven Keys to Baldpate.“ With this
non-musical farce called “ Popularity,“
the stage with cheers.
latest play in mind, the writer goes on
which entirely failed to live up to its
And, never missing a cue from an au¬
to say, we are forced to conclude that
name.
dience, George met this very evident de¬
behind the mask of the farceur and
sire for debauches of patriotic enthusiasm
This failure, however, may have been
under the spots of the harlequin, Mr.
by designing flag songs and flag baliets
one of the best things that happened to
Cohan has been hiding something we
and flag choruses, and indeed whole flag
Cohan, for the trouble with the piece was
did not see, harboring designs of which
plays—’George Washington, Ir.,'The
in danger of becoming the trouble with
American Idea,' and The Yankee Prince'
we were not aware, and nurturing
Cohan. In Popularity' the hero was an
—in all of which, no matter what else
ambitions which are worthy of our
impossible upstart, of whom the public
happened, George or somebody else was
high respect. If we look, with Mr.
would have none. Cohan herocs had all
there waving the flag.
MacFarlane, into Cohan’s past, we find
been of this smart-Aleck type. Cohan
Cohan appeared deliberately to capital¬
that his life, with its obscure begin¬
himself, with his sudden riches, his loud
ize patriotism. He made it bring him dol¬
clothes and his cock-sureness of bearing,
ning in music-halls, has never been
lars. He alluded to himself as the Yankee
gave evidence of developing an ego as
entirely without the hint of a worthy
Doodle Boy, and it began to be humor- overweening as that of his hero,
future.
ARTHUR SCHNITZLER WRITES A PLAY
WITHOUT A WOMAN IN IT
PLAY without a heroine is recently produced with conspieuous ar- ance with an extrancous interest. Un¬
in itself a curiosity. Coming tistry by Rudolf Christians at the Ger- doubtedly Schnitzler reacts in“ Pro¬
from Arthur Schnitzler, the man Repertory Theater in New Vork.
fessor Bernhardi' against the overplus
4 great Viennese specialist in The fact that the Austrian censor, who
of sex interest which has character¬
the vivisection ot feminine made no objection to Schnitzler’s cyn¬
ized his previous work, He has been
hearts, it is indeed a surprise. It is
ically amusing study of the vicious cir- called by some a Maupassant of the
hard to recognize the author of"Ana- ele of immorality in Reigen,“ inter- drama, But for once he has refrained
tol, that gospel of philandering, in dicted this latest and strongest product from delineating frail femininity. The
the author of Professor Bernhardi,“ of his pen, has endowed the perform- only feminine character is a nurse who
Chei Gule Eur ()
Sa
193
lammed about from corner to corner
He scemned to lack refinement. Truc,
of the country in the itinerant show
he pleased his down-stairs audience as
business; and that, in spite of all, he is
well as his gallery; but his down-stairs
what he is, we agree that his career
andienee had an up-stairs heart in it. The
does exhibit elements explainable upon
people who laughied with Cohan were no.
no other hypothesis than a super¬
quite the same pcople who were pleasel
endowment of birthday gifts.
by John Drew or moved by Mrs. Fiske
or delighted by Maude Adams.
Cohan came up from Fourteenth
No doubt Cohan saw all this. Perhaps
Street ten years ago with"Little
the failure of Popularity’ helped him to
Johnnie Jones' with bells and the
see it more clearly. Perhaps it struck
thump of the big brass drum. But
in and tutored somewhat those personal
Broadway refused to be diverted.
tastes which, according to his critics, stood
While the folks in front werc looking
sadly in need of schooling.
him over, he was, in turn, looking
Anyway, from about this time forward
them over. He noticed what made
his clothes became less noisy, his manner
them laugh and what made them
of life less ostentatious, and his perform¬
grave. After two short wecks, Cohan
ances showed here and there eliminations
that marked an awakening sense of those
took his play to the one-night stands,
eternal fitnesses which are the essence of
where, each midnight, after the per¬
goodtaste.?
formance, he sat down to rewrite it,
and on each morrow tried the new
7
Cohan rewrote Popularity,' sand¬
version on the next town. In a fort¬
wiched it with songs, studded the stage
night he came back and took Broad¬
with chorus girls, stuck Raymond
way by storm. He had found its
Hitchcock in the center, and called it
funny-bones and was tickling them all
The Man Who Owns Broadway.“
at once.
This time the piece scored an uproari¬
ous success. Then came"Get-Rich¬
" Successful innocence, reciprocated love.
Quick Wallingford.“
impugned honor, triumphant vindication—
old, old, old!—were the elements of the
* Wallingford' as a series of sketches
story. But there was an accidlent in the
presented pitfalls. It involved difficulties
play—its appeal to patriotic sentiments:
of sclection and construction, it required
American jockey winning English money
niceties of adjustment to keep this pun¬
—loving American maiden—English guile
gent creation of George Randolph Ches¬
THE HAPPY COHANS
plotting ruin of American lover and in¬
#ter’s entertaining without becoming in¬
Evidently George M. Cohan has succeeded
cidentally breaking heart of American
not only in enriching the drama but also in
sufferable. It went upon the boards as
girl.
making Mrs, Cohan 2 happg woman. he pie
straicht, well-constructed satire. It vas
ture shows Cohan’s two little daughters. George
The dramatic value of this set of senti¬
neither a work of creative genius nor a
M. Cohan, Jr., who has just arrived, refuses to
ments was a great surprisc to Cohan, but
Jumble of showman's tricks, but mere in¬
sit for his photograph as yet.
its lesson was not lost. It led him to cre¬
telligent application of the principles of
ate situations in which national feeling
stage technique and an intimate knowl¬
ously remarked that the whole Cohan
was aroused to the highest pitch, when at
edge of the public tastes. And it was
family was eating off the American flag.“
the proper moment he rushed the flag
not to be carried by Cohan’s stage pres¬
upon the stage and stood beneath it sing¬
Immediately thereafter, Cohan’s bi¬
ence—he was not in the cast.“
ing, cheering, waving, with such an unctu¬
ographer goes on to say, the young
Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford' and
ous, infectious enthusiasm that his audi¬
playwright’s self-confidence slipped up¬
ences invariably joined in the chorus and
Broadway Jones' were followed by
on a banana peel. He wrote a straight,
were offen swept to their feet, drowning
Seven Keys to Baldpate.“ With this
non-musical farce called “ Popularity,“
the stage with cheers.
latest play in mind, the writer goes on
which entirely failed to live up to its
And, never missing a cue from an au¬
to say, we are forced to conclude that
name.
dience, George met this very evident de¬
behind the mask of the farceur and
sire for debauches of patriotic enthusiasm
This failure, however, may have been
under the spots of the harlequin, Mr.
by designing flag songs and flag baliets
one of the best things that happened to
Cohan has been hiding something we
and flag choruses, and indeed whole flag
Cohan, for the trouble with the piece was
did not see, harboring designs of which
plays—’George Washington, Ir.,'The
in danger of becoming the trouble with
American Idea,' and The Yankee Prince'
we were not aware, and nurturing
Cohan. In Popularity' the hero was an
—in all of which, no matter what else
ambitions which are worthy of our
impossible upstart, of whom the public
happened, George or somebody else was
high respect. If we look, with Mr.
would have none. Cohan herocs had all
there waving the flag.
MacFarlane, into Cohan’s past, we find
been of this smart-Aleck type. Cohan
Cohan appeared deliberately to capital¬
that his life, with its obscure begin¬
himself, with his sudden riches, his loud
ize patriotism. He made it bring him dol¬
clothes and his cock-sureness of bearing,
ning in music-halls, has never been
lars. He alluded to himself as the Yankee
gave evidence of developing an ego as
entirely without the hint of a worthy
Doodle Boy, and it began to be humor- overweening as that of his hero,
future.
ARTHUR SCHNITZLER WRITES A PLAY
WITHOUT A WOMAN IN IT
PLAY without a heroine is recently produced with conspieuous ar- ance with an extrancous interest. Un¬
in itself a curiosity. Coming tistry by Rudolf Christians at the Ger- doubtedly Schnitzler reacts in“ Pro¬
from Arthur Schnitzler, the man Repertory Theater in New Vork.
fessor Bernhardi' against the overplus
4 great Viennese specialist in The fact that the Austrian censor, who
of sex interest which has character¬
the vivisection ot feminine made no objection to Schnitzler’s cyn¬
ized his previous work, He has been
hearts, it is indeed a surprise. It is
ically amusing study of the vicious cir- called by some a Maupassant of the
hard to recognize the author of"Ana- ele of immorality in Reigen,“ inter- drama, But for once he has refrained
tol, that gospel of philandering, in dicted this latest and strongest product from delineating frail femininity. The
the author of Professor Bernhardi,“ of his pen, has endowed the perform- only feminine character is a nurse who
Chei Gule Eur ()
Sa