The constituent elements of the variety-show as we know it to-day have
existed since a time whereof the memory of man runneth not to the
contrary--to use the old legal phrase. The appeal of almost every one of
these elements and of the variety-show as a whole is ever to the eye and
to the ear, to the senses rather than to the emotions; and to the
intellect it appeals even more infrequently. Its primary purpose is to
afford a kaleidoscopic succession of contrasted amusements for the
benefit of those who are easily satisfied by glitter of spectacle, by
incessant movement, and by violent music. It is the ideal entertainment
for that redoubtable entity, the Tired Business Man, who checks his
brains with his overcoat, and who resents having to witness anything in
the theater which might make him think. Not only does the variety-show
flourish because it is exactly adjusted to the unintellectual and purely
sensational likings of the Tired Business Man and to the similar tastes
of his fit mate, who is fatigued because her life is idle and empty, but
for his benefit also, and for hers the summer song-show and the alleged
"comic opera" and the misnamed "review" have been called into existence.
Indeed, it is obvious enough that most of our summer song-shows and many
of our "comic operas" and "reviews" are, in reality, only more or less
disguised variety-shows.
With facts as they are, there is never any excuse for quarreling. The
Tired Business Man is a fact; and it is only fair that what he demands
shall be supplied by caterers to the cravings of the populace. But even
tho his name is legion, the Tired Business Man is to be accepted only
with contemptuous toleration. He is to be endured only so long as he
does not insist on imposing his likings upon others who have a more
delicate perception, and who are willing to bring their brains with them
when they take their places in the theater. Even in the variety-show
which seems often to exist only for the pleasure of those who still
linger in what one of George Eliot's wise characters aptly called "a
puerile state of culture," nevertheless, we can now and again discover
signs of a longing for something less void of purpose than mere
spectacle. For example, it was in a variety-show that Mr. Belasco's
finely imaginative dramatization of Mr. Long's 'Madame Butterfly' was
set before the American public several years prior to its being adorned
by the pathetic music of Puccini for the benefit of opera-goers.
In fact, it is well to remember that the _opera comique_ of the French
had its humble origin in the theater of the Parisian fairs, where also
we can discover the rude beginnings of that crude form of melodrama
which Victor Hugo lifted into literature in 'Hernani' and 'Ruy Bias,'
casting the cloth-of-gold of his splendid lyricism over the arbitrarily
articulated skeleton of his violent action. It was an old negro-minstrel
act, representing the rehearsal of an amateur band, that the Hanlon-Lees
borrowed to amplify into a rough-and-tumble pantomime for performance in
a variety-show in Paris; and this knockabout sketch proved to be the
stepping-stone which enabled them soon to achieve the fantastic
eccentricity of their 'Voyage en Suisse,' performed in real theaters,
first in Paris and then in New York, to the joy of all who could
appreciate the perfection of their art as pantomimists. And, once again,
it was in a variety-show of the lowest class that Denman Thompson first
appeared as 'Josh Whitcomb Among the Female Bathers,' a vulgar episode
of indelicate humor, wherein, however, was contained the germ of that
perennially popular play, the 'Old Homestead,' which gave a pure
pleasure to countless thousands of theater-goers, season after season,
for at least a quarter of a century.
When we look back over the long annals of the variety-show we cannot
escape the conclusion that here is its real opportunity, its true
function, and its necessary justification. For the most part, it
supplies a purely sensational amusement for the unthinking; and yet it
is continually serving as a nursery for the actual theater. It is thus
seen to be a proving ground for the seeds of widely different dramatic
species--_opera comique_ and melodrama in France, the _ballet d'action_
in England, the rural play in the United States. It is not always
conscious of its possibilities, nor does it always improve them to best
advantage. Normally it provides an entertainment appealing mainly to the
senses, often empty, and often unsatisfying because of its monotony. But
on occasion it is capable of grasping at higher things, and of
encouraging artists who will sooner or later outgrow its limitations and
transfer their activities to the theaters wherein audiences are more
eager for veracity of character portrayal.