Show TEAMATIQAN1 LYRIC 1 The Weeks Eventsin Amusement Amuse-ment Circles TEE MORRIS ENGAGEMENT Bairds Itliustrels Coining Booth as Hamlet Aunie Adams General t News of the Stage It has been a long I time since the Theatre doors were thrown open to the public for seven consecutive performances perform-ances and an equal length of time sine our amusement lovers failed to rally to the financial support of such ell known artists as have graced the boards during the six days past Roland need drew very poor houses during the first three days of the week and those who were aware of the excellent entertainments furnished by the comedian and his clever company shrugged their shoulders and said Everyone is awaiting Clara Morris This was the excuse and it certainly seemed tenable until one entered the Iheatra I on Thursday evening and gazed upon the comparatively small audience assembled to greet the great actress on her first appearance in Salt Lake Then the knowing ones elevated their shoulders still higher and said Article 47 is a chestnut wait till tomorrow to-morrow then you will see We waited and on the second appearance of Miss Morris saw just one hundred dollars more in the hands of the treasurer than on the opening night The matinee yesterday was but fairly attended and fully ninetenths of the audience were ladies Looking back at the three impersonationsCora Miss Multon and Mercy Merrickit is i more than difficult to decide in which Miss Morris appears the greater and I we do not care to attempt to designate I hergreater triumph in the eyes of her Salt Lake auditors It is amply sufficient suffi-cient to say that the star was tendered a royal welcome and that her artistic efforts were as heartily appreciated as on her previous appearances We cannot can-not however part from Miss Morris without expressing a regret that she has not made as great a financial as an artistic triumph Last evening witnessed the close of the engagement of Mr Miller and the I Goodwin Company who have supported Miss Morris in the thiee preceding performances The house was scant out the audience was in a humor to enjoy a good thing which they were led to expect and were not disappointed Gilberts clever satirical comedy Engaged was the piece presented It has been done here repeatedly notably not-ably by Lingard and afterwards murdered mur-dered by Nellie Boyds barnstormers but was quite as much enjoyed and probablv as well played is ever before Mr Miller as Cheviot Hill the young gentleman oiamatory proclivities proclivi-ties who proposes marriage to every < L L 1 pretty woman meets appeareu ium role quite antipodalto the ideal formed of him It was barb to realize that the fierce impetuous Duhamel the dignified digni-fied and subdued DeLatour could be impersonated by the same individual who last night threw dignity to the winds and melted into comedy as if it were his native element We will not say that we prefer him in such parts as Cheviot but they serve to show his versatility ver-satility as an artist Miss Emily Seward as Belinda Tre herne was the same pleasing actress as ever Miss Mollie Revel made an excellent ex-cellent Scotch lassie Mr Buckstone an equally good Iqddie while Mr Stevens as Belvawney had hisbest opportunity oppor-tunity which he improved duly Miss Kerning Miss Benin j Mis Ogden cMrMiElliott and Mr V Brennan all dd weUjn thebrief parts allotted to them The satire ana humor Uf the piecernwbich only needed habilitating in Sullivans music to make it a full fledged comic opera were thoroughly V enjoyed and the audience dispersed in the best of spirits The next attraction at the Theatre wiUbe f Bairds Minstrels and on every dead wall and bill board ebony faces and the familiar scenes attendant upon such perform nces already appear Bafrd will open on Friday next April 1st play iJg two nights only Thecom pany it is alleged has been greatly improved im-proved since its former appearance here nearly a year ago From iheJJd till the 12th unless some unforseen incident occars the Theatre Will remain closed and on the latter date Booth and his great company open for season He has met with a perfect whirlwind of success in San Francisco where he is now playing AtFrisco paper has the following1 concerning Booths Hamlet The years that have passed since Edwin Booth lastiplayed Hamlet inSanFrancisco are all told upon his face butnotone has left its trace upon his art That and his dramatic instinct are supreme as ever and exercise exer-cise all their old powers overthose who listen to the music ot his voice and watch for the reflection of every thought feeling and impulse in his wonderfully expressive eyes It is luxury to hear again the perfect inflections the musical cadences the clear enunciation the V illuminative illumi-native readings which make his speech of Sfcakespeare so rare a delight to the ear It luxury to see each phrase illustrated in the changes ot his singular mobile features and the movements move-ments ot his finely poised head and graceful figure V > The very modesty of nature governs aU SctfngTandTfc is very rarely that his voice Is raised tothe pitch struck by lesser actors in every touch ot passion From his lowest note to the top of his compass there is a very full range but vocally speaking it is not wide He expresses ex-presses more in a change of a halftone half-tone with the reinforcement his eyes whose fire the years have not yet begun to dim than many actors can in half an octave Every phrase shows the strong intellectuality intel-lectuality the actor and the care and patience which have put so fine a polish on his art It is reduced now to that kind of simplicity which implies w Jong process of sifting selection and rejection rejec-tion and which analyzed for its elements ele-ments would reveal an infinite variety of resource j There could hardly be a more consistent con-sistent homogeneous logical piece of acting His idea of the melancholy Dane which was long ago accepted with conviction by the most representative audiences that could be gathered is presented clearly convincingly poetically poeti-cally Its development furnishes in itself the best commentary on the text that wonderful text which is EC intensely in-tensely modern through all it < j old forms and words One forgets that he playing at being anything from the moment when he answers wearily and bitterly the Queens entreaties that he shall cease to mourn his father to the last scene or all this strange eventful history He is Hamlet for the time and not a look betrays that he feels the presence of an audience His awe in the presence of the Ghost his chafing against the prosings of Po looms his angry contempt for the efforts ef-forts of his school fellows to win his secret from him hb rage against his own unconquerable reluctance to strike boldly and swiftly the blow that filial love demands of himall these he makes one feel and understand better than any studycould without such exemplification exemp-lification To enumerate particularly effective passages one would need to quote nearlyall of his part but there IS no single passage delivered with a fuller meaning than that in the scene with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern where he resembles himself to the pipe they cannot play upon If there had been any change in his manner of playing the part it was no noticed last night It was the Hamlet of ten years ago mellowed somewhat perhaps but in no wise a less brilliant performance But the face alas is no longer the face of Hamlet but nearer what Hamlets fathers might have been Apparently the great actor disdains dis-dains makeup for there was no suggestion sug-gestion of pigment or powder on his face and even the silver in his hair did not induce him to wear a wig There ian be no doubt that he looks best so but he does not look by many years the age that Hamlet the oldest estimate must have been His reception and his treatment throughout the play were warmly enthusiastic He is supported an excellent company com-pany which seems to have caughtson of his own dignity though few have anything of his repose Prices and repertoire re-pertoire for Salt Lake have not yet been decided upon |