MELODRAMA.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLII, Issue 26, 30 June 1909, Page 2

MELODRAMA.

How to Produce—The Secret of Its Popularity,

IBy

Dog Toby.

The Plot. ELODRAMA is the despair of ilk professional theatrical 2 ) f critic and the delight of the / gods. The critic, sitting as a stern censor in the stalls, might well recall the famous line of the Latin poet Lucan: “Victrix causa deis placuit, sed victa catoni,—The victorious cause pleased the gods, but the vanquished cause pleased Cato.” He feels tempted to sympathise with the defeated villain, so loudly do the inhabitants of the gallery applaud the excessive virtue of the hero and heroine. The plot of all melodramas is one and the same. You have a virtuous, long suffering heroine,'and a villain doubly dyed in an awful and impossible villainy. The villain seeks to wed the paragon of virtue and almost succeeds in his ambition. He is only foiled in the last scene of the last act by the return of the hero, who is an Admirable Crichton as regards physical and mental endowments, and who in unsullied probity and honour outdoes the whole calendar of saints. The final scene witnesses the re-union of the much enduring hero and the long- suffering heroine, while the ingenious and crafty villain is handcuffed with real handcuffs and led off between two policemen who sport gigantic helmets and regulation boots.

Moral Maxims. One of the main accessories of melodrama is a stock of good, sound moral maxims; the more the better. The hero must exclaim that nothing will tempt him to give uphis best girl, that he is poor, but honest, that a man is none the worse because he wears an old coat, that fustian often conceals an honest heart, that horny hands betoken honest toil, that gold does not make the man, that hard work never did anybody any harm, that he often thinks of poor old mother. It is necessary that the heroine should have an equal stock of highly respectable platitudes which she utters sometimes with a shriek, sometimes with a moan, and yet again wit® a hollow, sepulchral voice that seeks to strike mean between the two. She must say that nothing will ever make her untrue to her best hoy, that she is poor but virtuous, that an honest woman’s love never wavers, that she can die, but she can never change her affections, that a woman may wear a three and elevenpence three farthings blouse and still be a lady, and that she often thinks of poor old father.

The Comic Element. The villain must be immaculately clad, and he must wear evening dress on all and every occasion. He turns up in the pathless wilds of forests primeval in this sombre garb of black, with a silk-lined opera cloak, and an opera hat that goes squash and opens again with a click. He swears as far as the ethics of tile stage allow him, and he perpetually seeks to woo and wine tile heroine, who as perpetually hurls at his head her amazing stock of excellent moral maxims. A comic element is also essential, and this is usually provided in the person of a solicitor or an old family servant. The only requisite to sustaining this part is an ability to say the same things a sufficient number of times. It doesn’t in the least matter what you say, as long as you repeat it often enough. The audience will laugh more every time you say it. The stock remarks run mostly as follows: Oh my poor feet! Where did I put that hat? I always like jam! What is there for

tea? Just up to the pretty! Oh, my sainted aunt! A street arab who can turn somersaults is a great assistance in melodrama, and of course you must have forged wills and revolvers and burglaries-

Stage Effects. But the success of the piece does not depend on old family servants, however comic, nor on heroes or heroines, however virtuous. The great essential ia to have startling mechanical effects and something real on the stage. The success of one play at the Adelphi was assured by the fact that the management was able to advertise that a real hansom cab would make its appearance. Then we had real fire engines, real fires, real horses racing, and a real dive into cold water. The mechanical effects generally run into something noisy, such as explosions in mines, or earthquakes. Indeed, it is probable that a melodrama could be successfully managed without any actors at all if only a sufficient number of cabs and motor-ears and fire engines and racehorses eould be got together, and if they could explode or ba exploded a sufficient number- of times. The stage carpenter is the most important person, and the author the least important.

Why We Like It. And yet in our heart of hearts wo all love the melodramatie. Look at our. interest in the doings of Parliament. There we have the trite moral platitude, the machinations of the villain, the light comedy of the French menu. We taka it all quite seriously, and applaud in our amateur actors the very sentiments that seem so wearisome when pronounced by professionals. The philosopher may reflect that human nature is never so wholly bad or so wholly good as th® Adelphi type of play would make out. But the same philosopher, in so reflecting, would fail to see what gives to melodrama its never-ending popularity. To be good and to be true is never easy; least of all is it easy to those who are humbly placed in life. They know what temptation is, they know what struggle is, and they know at what cost victory is often won. Ta see the story of their own lives put upon the stage, to sec vice foiled and virtue triumphant, to see constancy and devotion rewarded at last is a very real help and stimulus to right action. If there is one thing that impresses us more than another as we advance in years, it is the goodness and fidelity of those who have had few of what we would call the advantages of life. It makes one feel very humble; it also makes one feel very grateful.