The Washington Post - Wednesday, April 24, 1895

A Performance with a Moral.

At the Empire Theater, in New York, on Monday evening, the management offered Mr. Oscar Wilde’s play, "The Importance of Being Earnest." There was no humbug, no hypocrisy, no evasion. The bill gave the name of the author without apology and without a suggestion of regret. The play was offered on its merits—for what it might be worth—and the fact that Oscar Wilde happened to be in jail in London at the moment received, as it deserved, no consideration whatsoever.

Mr. Charles Frohman, the manager of the Empire Theater is quoted as saying, "I cannot see that a play is the better for its author being a saint or the worse for his being a sinner." And Mr. Frohman shows, in saying this, that he is a man of wisdom and discernment. He shows that he is in touch with the good sense and good feeling of the people. Embarked in the business of amusing, instructing, and entertaining the public, Mr. Charles Frohman proceeds to achieve that end by offering performances which he considers as amusing, instructive, or entertaining. It matters nothing to him, and he knows that it really matters nothing to any one else, who writes the plays he offers. He fully understands the most contemptible hypocrite in the whole world would not thank him for withholding a dramatic and artistic treat on the ground that its author was an improper or a disreputable person. The hypocrite likes to be dishonest and insincere, but he expects no one to take him at his word.

We are glad to know that Mr. Frohman’s venture proved successful. It always delights and reassures us to find sincerity and wholesome common sense prospering where cant and humbug and dishonesty meet with failure and contempt. The New York Sun’s account of the performance gives abundant proof that there are people in that metropolis, and to spare, who entertain wholesome ideas in such matters and who stand ready to encourage and reward right-minded and courageous public men. The house was crowded with a cultivated and enthusiastic audience. They had gone there to be amused, and they got what they went for. The play was witty, ingenious, clean, whimsical, and charming. The audience laughed, applauded, and were grateful. For that once, at any rate, intelligence had its innings against stupidity and cant.