The Mormons and the Theatre Part 7

Davenport's engagement ended, Miss Ince resumed and played from September the 5th to the 17th, then departed for the Golden Sh.o.r.es of the Pacific. Now again, after this brilliant succession of stars, the stock company was left to its own unaided efforts, and from September the 17th to November the 26th they kept the wheel turning with a steady stream of stock pieces, and the old mill grinds, and the box office does business and the actors get their salaries. "Stars may come and stars may go, but the stock keeps on for aye." This was a good long stretch of stock work from September the 17th, through the October Conference and away to nearly the end of November, ten weeks of it; broken only by a rest of three nights, when Perepa Rosa gave us a series of Operatic Concerts, November the 14th, 15th and 16th. Salt Lake even then had a great love of music and turned out large audiences to hear the famous prima donna and her talented support, including her husband, the brilliant violinist and conductor, Carl Rosa.

Now we arrive at another important event in our theatre's history, the first engagement of John McCullough. For several years Lawrence Barrett and John McCullough had been the lessees and managers of the old California Theatre in San Francisco, and in spite of Barrett's known sagacity as a manager and notwithstanding the succession of brilliant stars presented at the California and the magnificent stock company kept to support them, the venture was not a financial success, and Barrett and McCullough were forced to succ.u.mb. Then it was that McCullough began his career as a star; what reputation he had made up to this time was as Edwin Forrest's leading man. "Larry" Barrett had "starred" some in the character of Elliott Gray in "Rosedale," now they were both out of a job and looking for engagement. Barrett went East and resumed his starring in "Rosedale" and gradually drifted into the Shakespearian roles. McCullough went to Virginia City, Nevada, with a picked-up company, and played his first star engagement. They took to the "genial" John very kindly there, and worked him him up a rousing big benefit; those were the palmy days of the Comstock and everybody had money, actors were at a premium in the camp and the old theatre was packed at every performance. The "Benefit" netted McCullough over two thousand dollars and "John" was glad he was an actor. He knew we had a fine theatre and a good company in Salt Lake, so he made arrangements to come and play with us a spell. On November the 26th, he opened in "Damon" and followed it in quick succession (playing nightly) with "Richelieu," "Hamlet," "Oth.e.l.lo," "Shylock,"

Volage in "Marble Heart," "Richard III," "Robbers," "Macbeth,"

"Brutus," "Romeo and Juliet," etc., etc.

This was a very notable engagement, in more ways than one. It was notable for its length, covering a stretch of twenty-three nights; likewise for its strength, as George B. Waldron and Madam Sch.e.l.ler, who had both returned from a Montana tour, were added to the company to stiffen the cast--here we had really three stars and a strong, capable, self-sustaining stock company in the cast of all the plays during McCullough's first Salt Lake engagement, which lasted three weeks, terminating on September 17th. Again the stock company was left to its own strength and resources and even after this brilliant trio of dramatic artists, McCullough, Sch.e.l.ler and Waldron dropped away from us, the managers, with never-failing confidence and temerity, put forward the stock once more to plough through the billowy Christmas time, past the new year and on to February 10th, when we welcomed another acquisition to the ranks in the person of Miss Annie Lockhart.

Miss Lockhart was an English lady of liberal education, refined and cultured; and although she had not posed as a "star actress," she had an extended and varied experience on the stage. She had been for several years in Australia in the stock companies of Melbourne and Sidney, where she had met, loved and married an actor by the name of Harry Jackson. Harry was a talented character man, but the flowing bowl was his weakness and Annie in time wearied of his indiscretions and indulgences, "shook him off to beggarly divorcement," left him in San Francisco and came to Salt Lake in quest of an engagement. She must have made a very favorable impression on the managers, for they put her in as stock "star" up to March 1st, and she continued a member of the company up to her fatal illness in the following November.

Annie Lockhart was at this time about thirty-two years of age, a woman of comely appearance and gentle mien, and if not great like Julia Dean, Annette Ince, or Charlotte Crampton, was always pleasing and satisfactory. She delighted in such characters as "Matida" in "Led Astray," the dual role in "Two Loves and a Life," "Janet Pride," "Peg Woffington" and kindred light comedy characters. Miss Lockhart was a very tasteful dresser; she always made a good appearance in her part.

During her long stay with the stock company a number of stars appeared. The first after her engagement was James A. Herne, who opened on March 1st, 1869, in "Rip Van Winkle." Herne's "Rip" made a great hit and had an extraordinary run of five nights. Herne played ten nights doing "Solon s.h.i.+ngle," "Captain Cuttle," and some other characters. Then he was joined by Lucille Western who appeared as the leading stellar attraction supported by Herne and the stock company.

Miss Western opened in her original character of "Lady Isabel" in "East Lynne." It was undoubtedly a great performance of the character, but the recollection of Julia Dean Hayne in the part was still fresh in the public mind, and she had made such a powerful impression in this character that Lucille Western was compared with her only to her disadvantage, notwithstanding she was the original "Lady Isabel." We had now in rapid succession Western's entire repertory which included "The Child Stealer," "Green Bushes," "Oliver Twist," "Flowers of the Forest," "Don Caesar de Bazan" (with Western as the Don), and "Foul Play." Miss Western's engagement proceeded smoothly and drew large audiences. One of the Herne-Western performances created a genuine sensation in Salt Lake. It was "Oliver Twist." In the scene where Bill Sykes (Herne) kills Nancy (Miss Western), both Herne and Miss Western sought to make the murder as realistic and blood curdling as possible.

The murder is done off the stage in a room on the left; Sykes is supposed to beat Nancy to death with his ugly stick which he carries through the play. To carry out the realism of the beating a pad was made of a number of wet towels; these Herne struck with a piece of board, making a sickening thud which Lucille accompanied with a scream, each one growing fainter, until it became a groan, then Bill steals across the stage and off at an outer door and Nancy, almost dead, drags herself on till she gets to the centre of the stage, her face completely hidden by her dishevelled hair when she gets to position centre she turns her face which has been covered from the audience, throws her hair back and reveals her face covered with stage gore. On this occasion the picture was so revolting that several women in the audience fainted--everybody was shocked. The actress had made it as revolting as possible, thinking to make a sensation. She succeeded, but had she been a woman of finer feelings, instead of seeking to make the picture as horrible and repulsive as she could she would have studied how to make it effective without being repulsive.

President Young was very angry over it. The picture was very abhorrent; there is no knowing what the physiological results were; it was rumored afterwards that a number of children were birthmarked as the result of it. The President gave orders that the piece should not be played again and sent messengers all over the city to tell the people not to go and see it if it was put on again. Of course the managers withdrew it in deference to his wish, but there is no doubt the house would have been crowded had it been repeated, for the prohibition only aroused a greater curiosity to see it; forbidden fruit, you know, is generally most hankered after. The play has been done here several times since President Young's death, but never in such a shocking manner.

On the night of the "Benefit" Lucille chose to show us what she looked like in male attire, so she put up "Don Caesar" and appeared in the role of the ragged cavalier. Before the play was over it was very apparent that Lucille had been indulging in the ardent, but she managed to get through without materially marring the play. The next night, however, was Charles Reade's "Foul Play." This piece was entirely new to the company, never having been done in the theatre before, so that the stock company was hard pushed with study to get their lines, but with their accustomed industry and regularity they were all _au fait_ on this first occasion, and the play might have scored a genuine success if the "star" had done her part towards it; but she repeated her indulgence of the night before and to such a degree that by the opening of the fourth act she was in a very sorry plight. This act is on an uninhabited island; there has been a s.h.i.+pwreck and the hero and heroine have been washed or driven or blown onto this island and with a few of the s.h.i.+p's crew are the only survivors. As the act opens Robert Penfold (Lindsay) and Helen Rolleston (Miss Western) are discovered on a high cliff looking for a sail. The few survivors of the crew have gone in search of fresh water and something to eat, and the two leading characters have the entire act between them until the finale when a rescuing party arrives with a boat. Here was a dilemma; never was a stage lover placed in a more embarra.s.sing position. It was quite apparent to him as they ascended to the cliff before the rise of the curtain that the stalwart Lucille was not in proper condition for climbing cliffs, more particularly stage cliffs, which are generally pretty shaky affairs, and the probability of a sudden and unlocked for descent was anything but a pleasing prospect to Mr. Lindsay. To still further embarra.s.s him he discovered that Lucille's tongue was decidedly thick, in fact she could scarcely articulate. The curtain should never have gone up; it would have saved the management, the actors, and particularly Miss Western, a vast amount of humiliation; Miss Western should have been suddenly ill; or an announcement made to that effect and the audience dismissed and their money refunded if necessary; they should have been spared the agony of witnessing a really great artiste rendered imbecile and helpless by an uncontrollable appet.i.te for liquor. But the curtain did go up and down went Lucille. At the very first step she made to descend she staggered, and in spite of all that her stage lover could do to steady her she made a sudden unsteady descent and landed in a kneeling position on the stage. Oh! the agony of that moment! With a.s.sistance she staggered to her feet, and now as she attempted to speak her first speech in the act, a new terror seized me. Her words were thick and inarticulate--not heard at all by the majority of the audience, who now began to realize the true condition.

It was evident to everybody on the stage that she could never get through the act, and so the stage manager, after another abortive attempt on her part to say her lines, sent on the boat with the rescue party and the finale of the act was reached. Never was such a scene between a pair of stage lovers so horribly mutilated as this; never was an act so fearfully and unintelligibly abbreviated as this one, and never did a rescue party arrive more opportunely. It plucked the "star" from immediate disgrace, an embarra.s.sed actor from despair. It was no wonder the audience remained for the last act, for they had before the end of the fourth act divined the true state of affairs and they stayed, curious to see how it would or could end. The last act was a court room scene and the star had to sit on the witness stand.

She did not make a very intelligent witness but sat there with a bright green silk gown, with a face flushed to redness, and looking the picture of helplessness. How we got through that act, I don't think anyone engaged in it could have told, but with the prompter's a.s.sistance reading most of Miss Western's lines, we blundered through and the final drop came on the most inglorious and trying performance I ever had part in.

The manager promptly cancelled Miss Western's engagement, although she had one more night to play. The following night "Arrah Na Pogue" was put up with Mr. Herne in the part of "Shaun the Post," but as if the fates had decreed that this Herne-Western engagement should end disgracefully, if not disastrously, this last night went on record as losing one for the managers and a discreditable one to the solitary remaining star. Owing to the fiasco of the night before, a rather slender audience was in attendance to witness Mr. Herne's last appearance. Whether this fact had to do with the sudden indisposition and collapse of Mr. Herne on this occasion, there is no means of knowing, but the writer has ever been of the opinion that it was the very perceptible falling away of the patronage and his chagrin and vexation over Miss Western's conduct of the night before that wrought upon the actor's nervous system to such a degree that he declared himself unable to appear. The writer's dressing room was so situated that he could not hear what was transpiring on the stage. When the curtain time arrived and I came down to the stage all made up for "Michael Feeney," to my great surprise I was informed there was to be no performance; the audience had been dismissed owing to the sudden illness of Mr. Herne. Herne was seated on the big curtain roller and a number of the company around him, offering sympathy and a.s.sistance to the disabled star who appeared to be in great agony. I returned hastily to my dressing room and divested myself of Michael Feeney's habiliments, and resuming my own attire, was soon back to Mr. Herne's side and proffered my a.s.sistance to help him to his hotel. In the meantime a doctor, who kept his office a few doors west of the theatre, had been called in and he requested us to bring Herne to his office. There were few hacks or gurney cabs in those days, and so with the a.s.sistance of Mr. Hardie and myself, Mr. Herne managed with difficulty to reach the doctor's office. This doctor was one of the old school of pract.i.tioners and like Felix Callighan, in "His Last Legs," he proceeded to "cup" or bleed the patient. After he had relieved Herne of a quart or so of superfluous blood, he bandaged the cupping; gave the patient a dose of regulation stimulant and directed the patient to be taken to his hotel and placed comfortably in bed. It was a quarter of a mile to the White House and there was not a hack or vehicle of any kind available, so Hardie and I formed a seat for the sick actor by locking our hands together and getting the patient's hands over our shoulders, we carried him to the White House. By the time we got him up a long flight of stairs to his room, we were tired and winded, although Margetts and McKenzie, who had accompanied us, took turns at the carrying business. Scarcely had we got the sick actor in bed before a knock at the door (a sort of frightened knock) was heard, and as we said "come in" the door opened and Miss Western, clad in her night gown, with a shawl around her, timidly entered and inquired with great anxiety what the matter was. On being informed that Mr. Herne had been taken so ill that the audience had to be dismissed, and he carried home to his room, she became hysterical.

Bursting into tears she exclaimed, piteously, "Oh, my G.o.d! This is awful! Oh, Jimmie!" addressing herself pa.s.sionately to Herne. "I wish we were home with mother!" She evidently had not fully recovered from her carousal of the night before, and in her half stupid, half hysterical condition, moaned and prayed as if some terrible calamity had befallen her. Herne rapidly recovered from his illness and the co-stars left Salt Lake. Lucille never returned, but Herne came back early in 1874 and hovered between Salt Lake and Ogden for a long time, and finally drifted to San Francisco, where he became the stage manager of the Bush Street and afterward of the Baldwin theatre when Tom Maguire, "The Napoleon" of the Pacific coast, as he was called at the time, opened that popular theatre. That was before any of the Eastern managers had invaded San Francisco.

The Herne-Western engagement closed on April 17th and was closely followed by Fannie Morgan Phelps, who played from April 20th to May 20th, appearing in a new line of plays for the diversion of the stock company as well as the public. She opened in "Meg's Diversion," and proved to be a prime favorite. "The Deal Boatman," "Black Eyed Susan,"

she seemed to have a partiality for nautical pieces and succeeded in making the seash.o.r.e heroines very attractive. f.a.n.n.y stayed four weeks with us, then went to Montana. She never paid us a second visit although Salt Lake treated her very handsomely in the way of patronage. Mrs. Phelps was a widow; her husband, Ralph Phelps, a popular actor, was killed by a blow from a tackle block on board of the steamer coming from Australia.

Our next stellar attraction was Charles Wheatleigh, who opened on May 20th in "Sam," supported by Annie Lockhart and the stock company.

Wheatleigh gave nine performances, the pieces presented being "Sam,"

"Lottery of Life," "Arrah Na Pogue," "After Dark," and "Under the Gaslight." Charley Wheatleigh was rather a brilliant comedian. His plays proved very popular and he played a memorable engagement.

The next engagement was one that eased the labors of the stock company, giving most of us a rest. It was the Howson Opera company. It was quite a family affair. The company consisted of Pere Howson, Mere Howson, John Howson, Frank Howson, Clelia Howson, and Fannie Howson.

They were a very talented musical family and played light opera very well indeed. They opened in the "Grand d.u.c.h.ess," their cast being filled up with members of the stock company who could sing. They played from January 1st to the 20th, each opera being played twice or three times. The Howsons were well liked and made many friends, both in and out of the theatre.

Prof. Hartz, a magician, followed the Howson engagement, holding the stage from January 21st to the 26th.

On June 28th, 1869, George D. Chaplin made his first appearance at this theatre in "Hamlet," playing thirteen performances, closing July 10th in "Armadale." Chaplin made a very favorable impression and later played a longer engagement. He had been leading man for Ben DeBar in St. Louis, and was a versatile actor, fond of playing "Hamlet" and "Macbeth," in which, if not great, he was always pleasing. Then, as if to prove his versatility, he would put on a burlesque called "The Seven Sisters," and appear as the princ.i.p.al sister. George had a handsome face, and a very plump physique, and made up for a woman, he was a study.

On July 12th, Lotta opened in "Little Nell," and played during the week "Captain Charlotte," "Firefly," and "Topsy" in "Uncle Tom's Cabin."

George Chaplin resumed on July 10th, opening in the burlesque of "The Seven Sisters" and filled out a week with "Ten Nights in a Barroom,"

"Money," and the burlesque of "Pocahontas," in which he played "Powhattan" very cleverly.

July 26th, Kennedy's Scottish Entertainment held the boards, and on the 28th a new star was ushered in that gave the stock company more work, just as we were expecting a brief summer vacation--Geraldine Warden. She played four nights and a matinee. This engagement closed the season as far as the stock company was concerned. It was now July 31st and the company had the month of August in which to rest from study and rehearsals, for the fall season would open early in September.

The theatre was not entirely closed, however, in August. On the 18th of that month, Murphy and Mack's minstrels opened and continued until the 28th giving eleven performances. This was Joe Murphy's first visit to Salt Lake, when he was a black face artist, and before he had dreamed of becoming an Irish comedian. The fact of this company giving eleven performances in the theatre in August shows how very popular they were, and how Salt Lake liked minstrelsy.

CHAPTER XIII.

SEASON OF '69-70.

The season of '69 and '70 opened auspiciously on September 4th with the now recuperated stock company in a new play. "The Captain of the Vulture" was played one week and another new star dawned on the horizon. September 13th Mr. Neil Warner was the star attraction.

Warner was an English actor and had been in the supporting company of the late lamented Gustavus Brooke, who gave promise of becoming England's greatest tragedian, but whose already resplendent career was unfortunately cut short by the loss of the steams.h.i.+p London. Brooke was making a second visit to Melbourne and Sidney in '66, where he had achieved a remarkable triumph a year before, but alas! for the irony of fate, he was doomed to be cut off in the very unfolding of the most brilliant talents the English stage had yet seen. The unfortunate London went down in the Bay of Biscay and some two hundred souls perished in the wreck and among them the brilliant Gustavus Brooke. A friend of the writer, now in this city (Salt Lake), Mr. Jack Cooey, had a brother who was one of the very few survivors of that ill-fated s.h.i.+p, there being but sixteen in all. So America never got to see Brooke, who was regarded by his countrymen generally as the greatest of all their tragic actors.

Neil Warner was said to be a copyist of Brooke; undoubtedly he had played with him, and learned much from him, and if not as great as his acknowledged tutor, Warner was not unworthy to be called great. He had a splendid physique and a magnificent voice, which he could use with magnetic effect. Its transitions were at times marvelous and in this writer's opinion, he was the superior of all our American tragedians, with the exception of Davenport, whom he very much resembled both in the majesty of his presence and in mental superiority. Warner opened in "Richard III" and made a most decided hit in the character, notwithstanding he had several notable predecessors in the part, notably McCullough and Stark. He played twenty-four performances, embracing a wide range of legitimate plays--"Hamlet," "Macbeth,"

"Richelieu," and his "Macbeth" was the greatest of all his fine performances. He went to New York from here and we quite expected to hear great things about him, but for some cause or other he never played a stellar engagement in New York, and the following year the writer, much to his astonishment and disappointment, saw him playing a second heavy part in support of Charles Wyndham the English comedian at a theatre in Brooklyn. Warner did not make a go in New York, and drifted over to Montreal, Canada, where he stayed for many years; but a few years ago he toured California in connection with a rising young actress of that state, in a round of his favorite characters. Annie Lockhart played the leading female characters in all Warner's performances here. They had known each other in Australia, and there seemed to be a very warm friends.h.i.+p between them and it was certain that Annie was an ardent admirer of her talented countryman, and some of us rather feared she would go with him when he took his departure from Salt Lake; but something occurred between them that must have angered him, for a day or two before his engagement closed, he spoke to Miss Lockhart at a rehearsal in words and tones so heartless and insulting that the company were amazed at him, and poor Annie sought the seclusion of her dressing room to have a good cry. Conjecture was rife and pointed to a rival in the lady's affections as the cause of his tirade. Warner departed, leaving Annie with us, very much to the gratification of the company and public, but it was not for long; poor Annie Lockhart had received a wound from which she never recovered.

She only lived five weeks after this and the cause of her sudden decline and death was more or less of a mystery, for up to this time she was a hale, hearty woman, in the very prime of life. She was laid away tenderly by loving hands and hearts, whom she had never known until eight months before, but whom she had endeared to her by her sweet, womanly ways. Many a tear was shed and genuine sorrow was felt when Annie Lockhart was laid away in Olivet.

The night after Warner's engagement closed, Sunday, October 12th, Stephen Ma.s.sett lectured.

October 13th, Madam Sch.e.l.ler opened her second engagement, playing six nights, and gave "Roll of the Drum," "Child of the Regiment," "Enoch Arden," etc. The theatre closed from the 18th to the 23rd on account of the Militia Muster. The Nauvoo Legion, as the Territorial troops were called, had a big encampment on the banks of the Jordan river and of such importance was it that the theatre had to close, as every able bodied man was expected to drill and all the women and children, of course, had to go and see them. The late George Q. Cannon and other high church dignitaries fell into the ranks on this occasion and carried muskets, whether from the love of exercise or a keen love of duty, or for the effect of example, this deponent saith not. Nearly all the dramatic company were in the big drill, so, of course, there could be no theatres until it was over. It was intended to be a great demonstration, and it was; almost every Mormon man was in the ranks.

The theatre resumed business with the rest of the town, Sat.u.r.day the 23rd inst., when one of Madam Sch.e.l.ler's pieces was repeated. This was Madam Sch.e.l.ler's last appearance at this theatre. She and her husband, Methua Sch.e.l.ler, went East from here, and died in Memphis in 1878, during the yellow fever contagion of that dread disease.

On October 25th, the Stones, Amy and Harry, opened up a return engagement in "French Spy." They played twelve nights, giving "Fanchon," and "Little Barefoot," etc. Their engagement closed November 6th, after a very satisfactory engagement.

On the 8th the stock company resumed, and played "Waiting for the Verdict." Annie Lockhart, who had rested during the Stones'

engagement, resumed and was playing the leading female character in this play when she was taken very ill. With the aid of kind attention she got through the night's work, but she went home so ill that she took to her bed, and on the 18th of November, died. Three days previous to her death, on the 15th of November, John Wilson and Kate Denin were ushered in as stock stars, and continued until January 5th, 1870, when they withdrew for a week to give place to Charlotte Thompson, who played a six nights' engagement, playing "Julia" in the "Hunchback," "Leah, the Forsaken," "Sea of Ice," and "Court and Stage." Miss Thompson was a pretty woman and a pleasing actress--a favorite in the South where she belonged.

From the 14th to the 24th, the stock company held down the business without stellar a.s.sistance, when Kate Denin and John Wilson returned and played another engagement. As stock stars they remained until February 14th. Then came another siege of stock work without any star, broken intermittently by lectures and concerts. Ole Bull gave concerts March 8th and 9th; Alf Barnett's entertainment, March 22nd and 23rd; Satsuma's j.a.panese troupe from March 25th to 30th. These attractions, of course, gave the company some respite from their arduous studies, but it was only brief, and we were already rehearsing for the ensuing conference dates. So the stock company resumed their labors and played all through April and up to May 16th when the season of '69 and '70 closed.

CHAPTER XIV.

SEASON OF '70-'71.

The theatre did not reopen until August the 27th when the season of '70 and '71 was ushered in with a "Benefit" to Miss Colebrook. This was really the first summer the theatre had remained closed and given the company a needed rest. The stock company played one week only when the veteran tragedian, T. A. Lyne, began an engagement which ran from September the 3rd to the 20th. This was Lyne's fourth engagement since the opening of the theatre, and it proved what a remarkable hold he had upon our theatre goers when he repeated his well known and well worn repertoire to splendid business. As there was no other star in the dramatic firmament when Lyne's engagement expired, the stock company was put on its own resources once again and continued successfully up to the 10th of December, when the monotony was in some measure broken by the accession to the company of Mr. and Mrs. John S.

Langrishe, and the following week C. W. Couldock and his daughter, Eliza, floated the stellar flag for the third time, repeating a portion of their old repertoire. They played from the 26th to the 31st. Mr. Couldock went East, leaving Eliza (who was in poor health) here to recuperate. They were succeeded by George W. Thompson and Sallie Hinckley, who played a week's engagement, presenting "Man and Wife" and the "Persecuted Dutchman," filling dates January 2nd to the 7th, of 1871. The stock company then played along again until February 13th, when McKee Rankin, Kitty Blanchard and W. H. Power opened a stellar engagement, playing two weeks to February 25th. Everywhere else the Rankins were playing "The Danites," but owing to the odious light in which that play presented the Mormon leaders, they did not dare to produce it at the Salt Lake Theatre. Of course the managers would not consent, and the great wonder is that Rankin could secure dates at all at Brigham Young's theatre while he was starring through the country in a play so well calculated to stir up prejudice against the Mormons. "The Danites" had to be eliminated while the Rankins fell back onto some old plays in which the stock company was up in. "Rip Van Winkle," "Little Barefoot," and "Colleen Bawn" were given.

It may be of interest to note the fact here that "The Danites" has never been played in Salt Lake or anywhere in Utah.

About this time George B. Waldron turned up again in Salt Lake, and was installed as leading man to strengthen the company and ease somewhat the labors of David McKenzie.

Rose Evans, a lady who was enamoured of "Hamlet," and made a specialty of playing it, was introduced to Salt Lake soon after Waldron's accession to the company, and we had during her engagement which ran through the April conference, "Hamlet," "Twixt Axe and Crown,"

"Ingomar;" Miss Evans as "Parthenia" and Waldron as "Ingomar;" "Lady Audrey's Secret," "Romeo and Juliet;" Waldron as "Romeo." Rose Evans established herself very strongly in the favor of the Salt Lake theatre goers. Her "Hamlet" was liked, and she played it intelligently and perhaps as well as a woman could play it, but no woman can ever play "Hamlet" satisfactorily to the critical mind; and very few men out of the thousands of actors ever reach and handle it satisfactorily. Her "Juliet" was very acceptable, but Waldron's voice was' too ba.s.so profundo for "Romeo." It was hard to imagine him as the youthful love-distraught Romeo with his deep set vocal organ.

Miss Evans closed on April 8th and was closely followed by Mlle. Marie Ravel, who opened on the 10th, supported by Waldron and the stock company and played an engagement of twenty nights. On May 4th Herr Daniel E. Bandmann and his wife (his first one) opened an engagement of five nights, presenting "Macbeth," "Hamlet," "Merchant of Venice,"

"Narcisse," and "Richard III." Bandmann, at this time, was a very popular tragedian. He had played as early as '65 in San Francisco a very successful engagement. He was now returning from his second visit to San Francisco. He spoke with a decided German accent, which was, however, not disagreeable to the ear, his voice being musical and his reading very artistic and finished. Bandmann bought a ranch near Missoula, Montana, some ten or twelve years ago and went into semi-retirement. He had a curious advertis.e.m.e.nt in the Dramatic Mirror, about as follows: "Daniel E. Bandmann, Tragedian and breeder of fine horses and cattle." He also bred a large family of children on that same ranch. When he went into retirement he took with him his latest "leading lady," Mary Kelly, as his wife, and they have a number of heirs to succeed to the tragedy and breeding business. His first wife, Millie Palmer, still figures in London theatricals, and she has a son who is conspicuous in theatrical management. Herr Bandmann still makes spasmodic incursions into the surrounding country with an improvised dramatic company and plays his favorite characters.

The next star to s.h.i.+ne in our firmament was J. K. Emmett. "Joe," as he was familiarly called, was just at the zenith of his fame about this time, and he filled the theatre from pit to dome. The character of "Fritz" appealed strongly to nearly all theatre goers, and "Joe"

Emmett with his bewitching voice and catchy lullabies, had an easy road to fame and fortune. Emmett played from the 10th to the 13th.

The Couldocks, father and daughter, now played a return engagement, covering two weeks, from May 22nd to June 5th, repeating mostly old repertoire. They were followed closely by Mr. and Mrs. Ida Hernandez, a Polish couple, who came to this country with Madam Modjeska, and were now working their way to the East. They were clever performers, but being unknown, they did not draw heavy houses. June 8th to the 11th.