At the fifth Radcliffe Endowment Fund Lecture in Sanders Theatre yesterday afternoon, Professor G. P. Baker '87 spoke on "Our Drama Today."
"It would be difficult," he said, "to find 12 American dramatists whose work of artistic worth could equal that of Pinero, Ibsen, and Shaw." Mr. Baker explained the situation by saying that the American playwright is not at liberty to treat his subject in the way he thinks it should be treated, for he is hampered both by the old type of producer and by public taste. The theatre in America is regarded too much as a place of amusement.
But Mr. Baker pointed out that this slavery to the public can easily be broken by the producers if they were to consider their productions less of a business proposition, and if they attempted to educate their audiences to a proper sense of art.
This, Mr. Baker said, was an opportunity for the college man. His education has given him the taste for true art and has enabled him to produce plays of artistic value which will attract the public. The speaker used "Liliom", a recent Theatre Guild production as an example.
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