11. Reigen
box 17/7
kind of realistie treatment that put
Vienna’s version in a decent shade. Herr
Hugo Brik, Germany's Minister of Fine
Arts, told me the other night that Berlin
had found nothing te oriticise—really but
little even to enloy—in“ Reigen.“' 11
has always been difficult to impres:
Prussia with anything less than a dis¬
aster.
One friend of Schnitzler’s says that in
Reigen“ the author seeks to show
how men debase love. As there are five
women as well as five men in the list
of characters, perhaps half of what
Schnitzler tried to show is how women
debase love. Acquaintances of Schnitz¬
ler say that in this play, which was
written many years ago, the author wa:
really dramatizing certain social factors
Brleux later used. Some people whio
have never even met Schnitzler but
have seen, the play have formed the
idea that“ Reigen“ shows men always
to be weary of what they have Just con¬
quered. There Is no question but what
these theatre-goers can point to many
substantlating lines in the piece to bear
out their otherwise unauthorlzed state¬
ment.
Then there are still others who know
nothing at all about the stage outside of
what they see and hear after they have
bought their tickets and the curtain goes
up. They seen: to think" Reigen
proves that Schnitzler is interested in
sex.
Certainly there would be but little in¬
terest in ten stage-given scenes concern¬
ng ten people no more closely con¬
nected than that each of them had been
introduced to some one who had met
somebody who had met somebody eis¬
at the same kind of card party. In
fact, it 1s Just because none of the ten
characters depicted is ever shown at a
card party that the play exlsts and
draws. Sex is interesting, as birth and
murder are. It seems expecting tco
much of it, though, to ask it, as Mr.
Schnitzler does, to “go it alone“ fora
whole play.
Naturally, Schnitzler not being an
American playwright or manager, no
one thinks he wrote“ Reigen as a
llbretto to the sound of gold tinkling into
the box offlce. He seems to have writ¬
ten it because he was an artist and
perhaps because he was young.
But it is difficult not to think less of
the Christlan-Sociallst Party here when
one reflects that their rlot was one which
was led astray. They had vo fine #
chance for a personal suppréssien.
Within the last week there have been
moments when it looked as though
Reigen might be brought to America.
where it could be used as a staple ex¬
hlbit to show newcomers who were in¬
terested in, but had not yet been thor¬
sughly informed as to, the type of
play that needs personal suppression.
Reigen has been deserlbed as both
serlous“ and“ shocking.“ A foreign
buyer for our Theatre Gulld conse¬
quently looked in on it one night, and a
friend who is keeping his eye open for
something for our Al Woods bought a
ticket for the next evening.
And both turned it down. One seemed
to think Shaw more shocking, and the
other may have realized that the New
York pollce are more serious.
JANET TLANNER.
Vienna, May 14, 1922.
The Actors' Theatre.
Tothe Dramatie Editor:
The Actors' Equity Society is indecd
making a notable, if dangerous, em¬
barkation, in launching out into the
ownership and control of its theatre.
There have been a very few other ex¬
amples of large scale dramatie produc¬
on by the actors in recent years. The
most successful of these has been that
of the Theatre Gulld. And its success
has doubtless been in large part due to
its readiness to take the “ consuming
publie into partnership as much as it
In the strictest sense of the word, we
have no genuine“ co-operative“ theatre
In this country, if we are to use thaf
word as it is used by the most careful
economists to denote“ consumers' co¬
operation.“There are a very few mov¬
Mhuuses ewned and controlled
box 17/7
kind of realistie treatment that put
Vienna’s version in a decent shade. Herr
Hugo Brik, Germany's Minister of Fine
Arts, told me the other night that Berlin
had found nothing te oriticise—really but
little even to enloy—in“ Reigen.“' 11
has always been difficult to impres:
Prussia with anything less than a dis¬
aster.
One friend of Schnitzler’s says that in
Reigen“ the author seeks to show
how men debase love. As there are five
women as well as five men in the list
of characters, perhaps half of what
Schnitzler tried to show is how women
debase love. Acquaintances of Schnitz¬
ler say that in this play, which was
written many years ago, the author wa:
really dramatizing certain social factors
Brleux later used. Some people whio
have never even met Schnitzler but
have seen, the play have formed the
idea that“ Reigen“ shows men always
to be weary of what they have Just con¬
quered. There Is no question but what
these theatre-goers can point to many
substantlating lines in the piece to bear
out their otherwise unauthorlzed state¬
ment.
Then there are still others who know
nothing at all about the stage outside of
what they see and hear after they have
bought their tickets and the curtain goes
up. They seen: to think" Reigen
proves that Schnitzler is interested in
sex.
Certainly there would be but little in¬
terest in ten stage-given scenes concern¬
ng ten people no more closely con¬
nected than that each of them had been
introduced to some one who had met
somebody who had met somebody eis¬
at the same kind of card party. In
fact, it 1s Just because none of the ten
characters depicted is ever shown at a
card party that the play exlsts and
draws. Sex is interesting, as birth and
murder are. It seems expecting tco
much of it, though, to ask it, as Mr.
Schnitzler does, to “go it alone“ fora
whole play.
Naturally, Schnitzler not being an
American playwright or manager, no
one thinks he wrote“ Reigen as a
llbretto to the sound of gold tinkling into
the box offlce. He seems to have writ¬
ten it because he was an artist and
perhaps because he was young.
But it is difficult not to think less of
the Christlan-Sociallst Party here when
one reflects that their rlot was one which
was led astray. They had vo fine #
chance for a personal suppréssien.
Within the last week there have been
moments when it looked as though
Reigen might be brought to America.
where it could be used as a staple ex¬
hlbit to show newcomers who were in¬
terested in, but had not yet been thor¬
sughly informed as to, the type of
play that needs personal suppression.
Reigen has been deserlbed as both
serlous“ and“ shocking.“ A foreign
buyer for our Theatre Gulld conse¬
quently looked in on it one night, and a
friend who is keeping his eye open for
something for our Al Woods bought a
ticket for the next evening.
And both turned it down. One seemed
to think Shaw more shocking, and the
other may have realized that the New
York pollce are more serious.
JANET TLANNER.
Vienna, May 14, 1922.
The Actors' Theatre.
Tothe Dramatie Editor:
The Actors' Equity Society is indecd
making a notable, if dangerous, em¬
barkation, in launching out into the
ownership and control of its theatre.
There have been a very few other ex¬
amples of large scale dramatie produc¬
on by the actors in recent years. The
most successful of these has been that
of the Theatre Gulld. And its success
has doubtless been in large part due to
its readiness to take the “ consuming
publie into partnership as much as it
In the strictest sense of the word, we
have no genuine“ co-operative“ theatre
In this country, if we are to use thaf
word as it is used by the most careful
economists to denote“ consumers' co¬
operation.“There are a very few mov¬
Mhuuses ewned and controlled