DRAMATIC CRITICISM


Theodore Dreiser, the novelist, was talking about criticism.



"I like pointed criticism," he said, "criticism such as I heard in the

lobby of a theater the other night at the end of the play."



"The critic was an old gentleman. His criticism, which was for his

wife's ears alone, consisted of these words:



"'Well, you would come!'"





Nat Goodwin, the Ameri
an comedian, when at the Shaftesbury Theatre,

London, told of an experience he once had with a juvenile deadhead in a

town in America. Standing outside the theater a little time before the

performance was due to begin he observed a small boy with an anxious,

forlorn look on his face and a weedy-looking pup in his arms.



Goodwin inquired what was the matter, and was told that the boy wished

to sell the dog so as to raise the price of a seat in the gallery. The

actor suspected at once a dodge to secure a pass on the "sympathy

racket," but allowing himself to be taken in he gave the boy a pass. The

dog was deposited in a safe place and the boy was able to watch Goodwin

as the Gilded Fool from a good seat in the gallery. Next day Goodwin saw

the boy again near the theater, so he asked:



"Well, sonny, how did you like the show?"



"I'm glad I didn't sell my dog," was the reply.



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