“Niagara Falls. Views of the American Fall, taken from Goat Island.nAquatint: painted and engraved by W.j. Bennet, 1831. At The NewnYork Historical Society. January 22-April 27, J986.nin which Niagara Falls once embodiednthe spirit of America, both here andnabroad. Until the era of modernnadcrtising—with its pitches for Niagaranstarch, Niagara biscuits, and othernnoble additions to the notion ofnNiagara — the sublime beaut- andnpow er of Niagara Falls representednthe essence of the new Americanncontinent.nEuropeans who made the pilgrimagento Niagara Falls went so far as tonchristen it a holy place, confirmingnwhat the Iroquois had known for ages.nNiagara Branch Biscuit Box (J892;, wood, metal, paper. Collectionnof Nabisco Brands Inc., Archivist.nVisitors immersed themselves in thenroaring wonder of Niagara. NathanielnHawthorne was mesmerized; CharlesnDickens perceixed an indelible “imagenof Beauty”; Harriet Beecher Stowenclaimed that she sensed God in thenperpetual rainbow at the Falls.nThis exhibition, with its memorabilianand artifacts, teaches us that anythingncan be tri ialized and exploited.nWe can only be grateful that FredericknLaw Olmsted and the State of NewnYork worked together back in 1895 tonrestore the Falls to their naturalnsetting.nSTAGEnnnGrowing Cotton andnCommunism on thenMexican Stagenby Francis DonahuenWhen a killer quake ripped throughnMexico City last September, it cripplednthe young theater season thenntaking shape. In the aftermath of thennational tragedy, playhouses went darknfor a fortnight. Actors were idled andnunpaid, and playgoers turned for sustenancento motion pictures and televisionndrama. But the theater, fabulousninalid that it is, managed to strugglento its feet and carry on.nThe truncated fall season was characterizednby the customary economicnproblems of survial for the more thannSO plays in production, by continuingnefforts to broaden the base of thentheatergoing public, by the struggle ofnMexican playwrights to see their worksnproduced in sharp competition with ansteady flow of imports from New York,nLondon, and other theatrical capitals,nand b’ the growing stature of the “NewnMexican Fla’wrights,” one of whomnsaw a brace of his works in impressi enproducdon during the season.nThe economic crisis, before andnafter the quake, took its toll on thentheater, thinning out audiences andnreducing revenues. With high unemploymentnand inflation, [he aeragenMexican found that his buying powernhad been eroded about 50 percentnduring the 1982-1985 period. Theaternwas a luxury he was decreasingly ablento afford.nAUGUST 1986 / 37n