WHY THEY ATTEND

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 36, 11 August 1923, Page 20

WHY THEY ATTEND

REASONS FOR THE THEATRE r

X the theatre is like life, one of the : chief resemblances i, probably to b ound in Mark Twain's statement that he thoughtful man, in his way through Ifj.6^ «*««• and asks himself, Why the devil did I come?" The same question has been asked all the war from A-101 to Second Balcony N-26 Some come, of course, because they put posters of "Bosoo Moscow" in the windows of their butcher shops, declares' a: othlr, "T 16 Footli Sht's charms. Still many producers bitterly swear to the con trary-who make a habit of goinjr to the

Movfes™r^ Be H enV of Mert°n °f the why tL nt'y attempted to find out I SnT? ™-T to 6ee the d""*. With rwT y pmor:ih*v cie iL dm to the Exactly, three hundred people said they came to. see "Marten of the Movies" be* °^r th f e'f fnends h^ praised it to them, fri^d bS^tma^ Wlth them- *<*>' *• 111." Another wrote: "My "little boy f ri™d £. ™ M to. co"°;" , And some gross person said he had been dragged not criiio 7 but b, hifsevemt

H,?^ I 7 1 Pe°Ple,said they had reSd the book and wanted to see what sort of tJ 7a 'v made-- One of the seventy-one hedged by eaying- his wife had read the book and delegated to him the task of judging how well it had been adopted Newspaper and magazine articles, press agents will be depressed to learn, brought only sixty people to the play. Of these "'^y. only two said they were moved to attend because of a favourable review hjj, .jT.4™ said the reyiew had decided the caise for him was written by George Isathan Hale in "Judge " lwenty-three people wanted to see what hie in the Hollywood motion picture studios was like.' Some confessed to having hopes of learning how to get a job in the movies. The same number came because they had a friend, or friends, in the cast.

Fourteen out of the five hundred read the play s advertisemnt in the newspapers. Brtter advertising solicitors who have learned this fact-say that the same information could have- been eecured more cheaply by consulting the army literacy tests. ■

Finally, six playgoers were lured to the theatre by the electric light proclaiming the play's name. One of these six is an electrical engineer who is said to beheve in live and let live.

A similar test was made at about the same time by the Woods management with "The Guilty One," in which Pauline Frederick flashed briefly across the Broadway sky. About fifty cards with answers were turned in to the ushers.

Forty-five people wrote simply: "To see Mies Fredrick." Whether thero is tragedy or heavy sarcasm behind the "For I Am the Guilty One" answer will probably never be known. Another simple soul answered: "I thought h would be good." A person who has been taught a good lesson is the fellow who answered: "Because I didn't think it could be aa bad as the critic* said-"

It is believed that any manager, carefully studying the reasons given above for people s attendance at the theatre, can easily turn out one capacity hit alter aaotiior.