Show l I Salt Lake Feb 27 Dear Hal I 1 write this from a Union Pacificor Js it a Short Llnetrain speeding northward and scar yang on it the maidens and lads tho comprise the peasants the court ladles the pages and the soldiers of the merry Mascot company They have stormed Salt Lake and conquered it the hitherto Impregnable fastnesses of Ogden have yielded to the bombardment of song and now they will lay siege to Logan I have been beguiled into bearing them company by the careful mammas of three of the pretty court pages who would only consent to their donning the jackets and bloomers of Lorenzos court on the condition that some one as staid and severe as yours truly I should act the role of chaperone So for a week past my tent has been I pifhed behind the scenes I have been smothered in band box dressing rooms choked up with powder and greasepaint grease-paint trampled on ty stage carpenters and prematurely aged by listening to nightly repetitions of John Spencers endless gags I Whatever may be the result of thls experimental venture of the new opera company it has demonstrated pretty thoroughly that the town appreciates good clean wholesome operatic entertainments enter-tainments at prices shaded down to the hard times basis In the seven performances of the Mascot it is safe to calculate that at least 7000 people will have paid their way to hear the tuneful musical play So the experiment may be set down as hav ing been successful as far as the question ques-tion of patronage Is concerned The only other question is can the opera people survive their success Speaking Speak-ing from the standpoint of one who has stood where she could see all the buttons pressed that set the machinery in motion seen all the wires pulled as L it werethe labor of the whole enterprise enter-prise to say nothing of its expense is so tremendous so exhausting that it may be well doubted whether the people can make their enterprise a permanency For eight or ten nights prior to the opening performance the company simply wore itself out rehearsing re-hearsing The wonder is that it could appear at all on Washingtons birthday birth-day to say nothing of its appearing twice and working up any amount of enthusiasm each time The best performances per-formances up to now have been those I of Wednesday evening and that in Ogden I The Mascot is conceded despite I its inauspicious opening tb have been j the most ambitious achievement our I stage has had from our gifted amateurs I A in action costuming business and especially I es-pecially in chorus singing that it may I I be heard from again and again is the I hearty wish of MARGE I 5 r Tomorrow night that intensely Interesting In-teresting drama Fedora will be presented pre-sented The story is so strong and of such Interest that without special scenery scen-ery or embellishments of any kind it scored one of the greatest triumphs of Miss Davenports career On Tuesday night La Tosca one of the strongest characters Miss Davenport has yet created I cre-ated will be presented In it the actress ac-tress has an admirable medium for her best efforts The transition from the great gay careless girl to the goaded i and desperate woman and the scene where she murders the man who holds her honor and her lovers life in i his hand is probably one of the I strongest dramatic climaxes known to the stage i I G rOn r-On Wednesday Thursday and Friday nights and at the Saturday matinee Gismonda will receive its initial representation here The scenery promises prom-Ises to be the most magnificent and I Imposing that has ever been used in this city It Is Fanny Davenports desire I de-sire to maintain her name as a synonym I syno-nym of firstclass productions and in j presenting the latest effort of Sardou I it will place her at the head and front of all the great stage directors and I producers as giving the most magnificent magnifi-cent scenic and costumed production that our stage has ever witnessed The I first act of Gismonda takes place in the setting which includes a view of the east side of the Acropolis with the Parthenon and the Propylaea on one side is an antique pit or well while in the foreground appears a large Byzantine cross Gismonda the duchess regent during the minority of her son Francesco appears on the stage In company with Zaccaria and other noble suitors Francesco is permitted under the guardianship of Gregoras Zaccarias chamberlain to visit the tiger pit As a part of their conspiracy to destroy the youthful heir Francesco Fran-cesco is dropped Into the pit Seeing the danger of her child Gismonda swears on the cross to marry the man who will save her boy Instead of one of the nobles the deliverer proves to be Almerio a humble falconer In the second act it represents the convent at Daphne Gismonda is disclosed sorely troubled over the refusal of the pope to release her from her vow Al merio returns covered with new hon ors from the field of battle He has grown popular with the people and Ur clamor for Gismondas marriage with him Almerio for his insistence on the fulfilment of her vow is cast Into prison The third act represents the chamber cf Gismonda in her ducal palace She has Almerio brought to her and endeavors by means of bribes and threats to gain the release of her vow I He insists that he wants only her and not her wealth or position and declines de-clines to accept her offers By means of deception and flattery she succeeds In playing upon his generosity and gains his promise to publicly proclaim J her release the next day in church but she is so touched by his love that she promises to visit him that night The fourth act shows the ruins of the temple of Venus by moonlight Gis monda is just leaving Almerlos hu when she sees Zaccaria approaching who has come to murder Almerio She conceals herself until Zaccaria is about to enter the hut when she snrings from her place of hiding and kills him with an ax The fifth act is I at the church of Santa Maria where the feast of palms Is being celebrated This scene is said to surpass in realism anything any-thing heretofore known to the rage Almerio has released Gismonda from her oath when he Is charged with the murder of Zaccaria and to shield her he acknowledges the guilt and in about to be led to execution when Gis = monda confesses all offers her hand in marriage to Almerio and calls the priest to bless their union Miss Davenport Dav-enport carries with her a specially selected se-lected chorus who will render the musical numbers which are especially composed for this play In Melbourne Macdowell Miss Davenports leading support she has an actor who han made rapid strides to the front until today many think he is the coming successor of the late John McCullough in heroic roles nrn The novelty of dollar opera at 50cent rates during the past week had a bad effect both on the Grand and the Lye Ly-e ceum but for the coming week Mr Rogers feels hopeful that strong as the Davenport attraction will be there will be plenty of people left over who cannot pay 150 and who will turn to the Grand where there is always something some-thing bright offered at a third of that rate The play in which Kflle Ellrler has several times appeared here and always with success Doris will be I the bill Miss Bateman should find in the title role a mcst congenial part The full cast is as follows Dons Vane the school teacher Victory Bfteman Alice Merrigood the rectors wife Jessie Izette Martha Crawley Simons wife Margaret Marshall Miss May Bislbee the village gossip gos-sip Mamie Dupont Jennette the maidAgnes Ranken Kenneth Ashley the squire Walter Edwards Brian ONeill the doctor Howard Kyle Stephen Brane the convict eo eo Frank B Hatch Simon Crawley the squires cousinThomas W Ross I Mr Merrigood the rector IIugh Ford Mr Beetle the school director H D Blakemore Jackson the servantGeorge Penrose Ca < j > The Salt Lake Opera company closed I the run of the Mascot in Logan last night The members of the company were highly gratified with their reception recep-tion in Ogden on Friday night the audience being one of the most brilliant bril-liant of the season and the money receipts re-ceipts being the second heaviest the Mascot had played to The applause and laughter were even more liberal than In Salt Lake and the work of the chorus in the finale to act 2 met with I an ovation the audience wanted an encore and keot up the applause for several minutes The chorus however were changing costumes for the next act so several of the principals went before the curtain and bowed In case the Salt Lake Opera company son s-on a permanent organization it would seem that Ogden may be relied on to furnish at least one good audience for each production < > < S > 0 The reports that Mr Wyngate vould be selected to play the part he created in Hcyles One Plus One Equals Three when that play came to be produced in New York are now set at rest The new play will be tried on aNew a-New York audience tomorrow afternoon after-noon at one of the swell theaters as the following from a New York paper shows Mr Charles Frohman has given flI Il Mr Edwin Milton Boyle the es of the Garrick theater for a special matiioe performance of his new comedydrama One Plus One Equals Three which will be given on Monday afternoon March 1 with the following players Selena Fetter Boyle Ida Conquest Ida Jeffreys Goodfriend Jessie McElroy Orrin Johnson W H Crompton Theodore Theo-dore Roberts Herbert Syeling Joseph Cusack and Edwin Hilton Royle < > 00 Speaking of Mr Wyngate there was nothing at all extraordinary in his departure de-parture from the city though an attempt at-tempt has been made to turn it into a emisensatI6n The Grand management manage-ment state that he simply received an offer from the Alcazar in San Francisco Fran-cisco bv which he could better himself him-self that he asked for his release and that it was granted Mr Wyngate had many admirers here and in rdles like that he sustained In Royles play he could not be excelled His departure will probably bring Mr Ross more prominently before the public than he has hitherto been 00 4 Music The San Francisco Music and Drama says that Manager T Daniel Frawley favored it with a bright newsy and interesting In-teresting letter written on the eve of his departure from Salt Lake City for New York where he will remain at the Lambs club until he sails for London on the 27th inst In search of new material ma-terial for next season which will open at the Columbia theater next May Mr Frawley has already secured the right for Held by the Enemy and will give it an elaborate revival and Chris tcpher Jr will be another of his special productions He has an important im-portant deal with London managers for I m t 9 o t o 0 2 O 0 o oe o Os0 t 0 Op c o 0 id idw 1 t 1 r P a r l j 7 irSkz + i 0 a P r 3 i icy P4 o A FANNY DAVENPORT several new plays and twill remain In England until April when he will return re-turn to New York to reorganize his company for which he will engage a number of new people and expects to have much the best combination of players he has yet presented to his many friends and appreciative admirers at the home theater An attack of Cever laid the popular manager up for a week so that he was out of the bill j lr rhf n just before the company reached Salt I Lake Business on the road had however how-ever been excellentthe entirely satisfactory satis-factory work done by the company on the previous tour having had the legitimate le-gitimate effect of attracting large audiences aud-iences Mr Frawley denies the report published in the Chronicle that Frank Worthing and Blanche Bates were to be married and says that the story I I like that of her engagement with John I Drew ° s company was a fabricationS < > < fabrication-S > < J > That furiously funny farce comedy I McSorleys Twins will be presented at the Lyceum week after next by a j i I company of excellent comedians i j I = f oset f1 anCe headed by those cleier farceurs Ferguson Fer-guson and Emerick In McSorleys I Twins we are promised something new and a broad departure from the I usual run of farce comedy The dialogue dia-logue is vastly diverting the musical I material is strikingly original and as I arranged by Professor V C Minnell shows a brilliant conception of sparkling spark-ling ideas The cast engages the talents tal-ents of many able performers The play is sumptuously staged and the costuming is rich and tasty I Included in the company are the following fol-lowing wellknown artists Mina Gen nell who is pretty piquant and a charming graceful dancer and the possessor of a sweet singing voice Lillian Durham a clever actress who strikingly introduces some delicate comedy effects during the action of the play TheGehrue sisters who are delightfully jolly and who have a happy method of pleasing Maggie Ferguson has ample opportunity of displaying her abilities and shows a taste in costuming cos-tuming that brightens even beautys charms Gertie Keith and Bessie Seymour Sey-mour as McSorleljfs Twins have excellent ex-cellent opportunities for capital comedy com-edy work Daisy Jackson Elma Lenz and Lena Chamberlain are a bevy of pretty girls and charming vocalists Thomas J Ripley will amuse tfn characteristic char-acteristic comedy sketches and original topical songs Sam Howe Nate Jackson Jack-son Harry Rice William Wallace and James Dawson complete a cast of exceptional ex-ceptional merit The performance moves with a dash and vim that Is highly entertaining A > A Chicago Feb iThe popularity of Mme Calve in the title role of Carmen II ras again demonstrated this afternoon after-noon at the Auditorium The size and I enthusiasm of the brilliant audience were equal to the opening night of the grand opera season The rest of the cast shared in the repeated features lavishly bestowed on the prima donna The prospects now are fora successful success-ful engagement in Chicago < i > 0 < > London Feb 27Mr Beerbohm Tree will open his theatre here at the end of March with The Seats of the Mighty Julius Caesar or a new play > p0 New York Feb 27 There were all sorts of operatic rumors abroad yesterday yester-day It was generally believed that there will be no supplementary season of opera at the Metropolitan after Easter as announced The reason advanced is that there is no likelihood of Mme Melbas return nor of Mme Eames reappearance at any time this season notwithstanding the hopefulness of the directors and that in the face of a financially disastrous disas-trous engagement In Chicago the management man-agement would hardly deem it wise or indeed possible to keep the company com-pany on the road profitably from now tIll April 19 and then face a season here with only Mme Calve and M Jean De Reszke as leading attractions It was the general opinion that as the management were in the operatic field for business and not sentiment they would conclude to close their tour as speedIly as possible and pass to the credit side of the account the 50000 said to be the amount of the profits during the recent New York season rather than run the risk of losing It all in the tour and possibly facing an unfortunate season at Easter at the Metropolitan Against this it was said that the I Abbey Schoeffel Grau company were I doggedly determined not to lose prestige I pres-tIge by abandoning the field even If the company had lost some of its leading lead-ing stars to which it was retorted that the Illness of Mme Melba and Eames was an unexpected and unfor tunate occurrence for which the management agement were in no wise to blame and that the public would readily com mend them for closing the season rather I than continuing with an incomplete company and unfulfilled promises And at any moment Mme Calve or M De Reszke might become indisposed arid the ridiculous and financially dlsas trous spectacle be presented of running run-ning grand opera at the Metropolitan at 5 a seat with single star soprano or tenor In response to telegrams to Chicago Mr Grau replied yesterday afternoon that he had abandoned the Idea contemplated con-templated the day previous of can celling the balance of the Chicago season was determined to go on with the outoftown and New York pro gramme as originally laid down and was even hopeful that Mme Melba would returp and Mme Eames soon rejoin re-join the company Notwithstanding Mr Graus hone fulness as to Mme Melbas plans it may be pretty safely counted on that she will not return to New York She will undoubtedly remain quietly abroad resting for the Covent Garden season As to Mme Eames there is no likelihood whatever of her reappearance reap-pearance She has been very ill and I though now convalescing she is still oply part way on the road to health and connot think of arduous operatic work for a long time yet Tom Cooper who claims the title of Americas champion bicycle rider has renewed his contract with a Chicago factory to ride the tatters wheel Cooper will go to San Francisco to ride In the national circuit races beginning April 15 Stage Whispers Sousa is playing in San Francisco Minnie Maddern Fiske produces Tess in New York on Tuesday even ingAda Ada Rehan is to try her hand at Meg Merriles This tells how time is advancing ad-vancing E M Holland has signed with Charles Frohman and the clever brothers have closed their starring tour After Doris the Grand company will produce A Drop of Poison anew a-new society play said to be unusually strong Shore Acres opened to a big audience audi-ence in San Francisco last Monday night and received enthusiastic press notices Tuesday The Lyceum will be dark next week with the exception of Wednesday night when the house will be occupied l by the Theosophical society Letters from Wallace Munro state that his dramatization of The Lady of the Lake is a great success and that it is being inquired for by managers man-agers everywhere Manager Frawley wires M and D that Blanche Bates has refused another an-other big offer from an eastern manager man-ager and has decided to remain with the Frawley company next season The title of James A Hernes new play Is The Rev Griffith Davenport It Is a war play and Is founded on an actual occurrence The clergyman in the capacity of an unofficial patriot is Its hero Owing to the serious illness of Madame Modjeska which culminated last Saturday Into a serious attack of appendicitis she was compelled to cancel can-cel her remaining dates and is at present pres-ent under the doctors care in Los Angeles An-geles where she will remain until sufficiently iciently recovered to be removed to I her country home near San Diego The tour was to have closed in Oakland this week |