Show J Thee Dwamaoi i i By a very peculiar and not altogether hti ppy coincidence both the theatres v 1I be dark this weak Of course we cannot expect too much and a dark spt1 at one place is to be expected oc casi nally but both at once makes nap thing of a qslet time in town 11 utricaJ4y The Grand last week had both ups and downs and each of the extreme kind Grimes Cellar Door although an old card and well known ft a fat owing to its very poor rendition This was an occasion when it might hae been said that all those in the rest who were not bad were worse Anx thing so completely devoid of i beauty talent charm or wit has not I blf n seen In Salt Lake for many a day Quite the opposite was true of the 1 Bpah d Bowers engagement which 1 with very little advance advertising 1 drew a crowd the air st night of Its engagement I j gagement which caused Manager Mul cys frown to be replaced by a broad rdl Those who remembered James I I > Matkie in his palm days were as I much surprised at his failure as those vliM had never heard of Beach 8 I Bowers minstrels were astonished at iS s success The > theatrical business is a constant I serfs of risks for involved A play wr cht who spends many months on a I Jay the manager Who lavishes large sun a i if money on its production and thf acton engaged for its portrayal r er know their fate until the public d r i HPJ The uncultivated public with its fd and caprices can by a nod of Its h < ° ad bring despair to the author I ruin to the manager and idleness to the actors And the uncertainty in theatrical theatri-cal affairs is carried to smaller things Plays will fall in certain towns when they have great success in others and good advertising does not always mean a satisfactory entertainment There are many shortcomings in a Salt Lake theatrical season but at least we do not assist at the sifting1 I process For the most part we receive only plays which have been tried and proved but there is no manager on I earth who Is wise enough to tell how the public will take things It is an I even day occurrence that v English I successes do not find favor in this country coun-try and vice versa It Is quito as common I com-mon that eastern successes do not please the west So even the managers I who have no part in the original launchings must take their share of the risks The business Is a risk from beginning to endfrom the manager who stakes his all on the possibility of a return to the man who pays his admission i ad-mission at the door 1 The Salt Lake Opera company closed its present engagement at the Salt Lake theatre during the week The managers arc now negotiating with theo the-o ners of Madeleine for an extension of time If it is i granted the opera will be repeated Thanksgiving afternoon and evening This will be pleasant news to the many who were unable to see thp performance during this engagement en-gagement The usual New Years dates which the company fills at the Salt Lake theatre have been cancelled owing to the con i tern plated tour or the Tabernacle choir I I which will take away most of the I chorus The next date to be filled by the company at the Theatre will probably prob-ably be on Washingtons birthday when it is possible that a new opera will be given The Royal Middy has been thought of for this occasion The company was anxious to render the I charming new Chinese opera The Geisha but the royalties an the work 1 are somewhat high for the popular prices charged However if arrangements arrange-ments could be made it ould prove a 1 I strong drawing < < card as it is one of the brightest and most tuneful of all I modern light operas r I The next attraction at the Salt Lake theatre will be Mistakes Will Happen Tuesday and Wednesday I nights Oct 30 and 31 The company is headed by Charles Dickson I Vanity Fair The next offering at the Grand is a I burlesquevaudeville called Vanity Fair which will open for three nights and a matinee on Oct 30 It is said to be an exceptionally bright and clever I vaudeville performance and entirely up to date in all of its features There are I several sp cialty artists with the company com-pany ventriloquists slackwire performers per-formers jugglers dancers etc and J the performance has met with great I favor A Lady of Quality A near event at the Salt Lake theatre will be the engagement cf Eugenia Blair in Frances Hodgson Burnetts play A Lady of Quality Miss Blair was last seen in Salt Lake when on a tour with her husband Robert Downing Down-ing some seasons ago She is known as one of the handsomest and most talented actresses qn the American stage and in A Ladyof Quality has found a play which exactly suits her The novel and the play made famous by Julia Arthur are too1 well known to require extended comment and the engagement in this city will be one oi the interesting events of the theatrical year Assurance is given ° that Miss Blairs company is one of the tron ton t-on the road and that scenic eqUipirienJc fare f-are complete in every respect Mjsa Lairs own performance has bean pronounced perfect by the critics and is said to be by far the best stork shy has ever done She also has the reputation repu-tation of wearing exceedingly handsome hand-some gowns which is always an attractive I at-tractive feature of plays nowadays The World Outside Mr and Mrs Kendal opened their American season In Philadelphia last week with their newest play entitled The Elder Miss Blossom Mrs Kendal who has been much criticised of late years for clinging to youthful roles like Claire in The Ironmaster I has In this play a part suited to < her i maturer charms as the title may indicate in-dicate The play was a great success in London and was received with favor in Philadelphia The story deals with the I wrong delivery of a letter Andrew 1 Quick goes to the wilds of Africa on a scientific expedition and before starting start-ing writes a letter of proposal to Miss Sophie Blossom but merely directs it to Miss Blossom It is delivered to Miss Dorothy Blossom the maiden I aunt For three years she imagines herself to be engaged to Andrew and prepares for her edging on his return When he returns he is puzzled by the warmth of the aunts greeting but upon discovering her error proceedS to enlighten her Her womanly pride and gentleness at this crisis open his eyes and he is led in the next act to propcGe to her in good earnest The play therefore there-fore ends haD ilv for all Mr Kendal 1 I In the role of Andrew Quick received j I the highest praise for his excellent i i comedy work and it i i said that both of these favorite players have ney er l appeared to better advantage The play enjoys the distinction ot ° faefny at onceL wholesome and interesting and f the supporting company is an excellent t excel-lent one I Julia lfar1 wes neV play Barbara Frletchie by CIvde Fitch also received re-ceived its first presentation in Philadelphia I Philadel-phia The plot of the play while suggested 1 tl sug-gested in some parts by WhIttlers I famous poem Is quite different fn 1 several Important details For instance In-stance Barbara Frietclile In the play Is > not an old grayhaired woman but a young one who Is in love with a northern I north-ern officer and whose hair turns white in a night over anxiety for his fate The plot of course hinges on the love of the southern girl for the northern officer just as it has at most dramas of the civil war Captain Trumbull the officer has been wounded and is nursed by Barbara They are about to be married secretly when he Is I I called away to battle The last scene i of tho play introduces the flag episode I cf the poem forminG the climax of the play Barbara is shot by a revengeful I confederate poldier who is madly in j i love with her while she is waving the union flag and she falls dying as the I curtain descends Clyde Fitch has been remarkably I luck with his recent dramatic creations crea-tions his last years success having been Nathan Hale written for Nat Goodwin Miss Marlowes supporting company includes J H Gilmour as the hero W J Le Mayne Arnold Daly Dodson Mitchell Norah Lamison and Katherine Wilson The fate of the play will not be fully determined until Its New York engagement but its reception re-ception in the outlying districts II augurs well for its success Critical New York saw the revival of A Winters Tale at the Grand opera op-era housa by the JomesKidd < Hang I a combination and itwas pronounced I II pronounc-ed by all an Interesting experiment5 ° I lan + t a success by many Standards Qn i I I Some l respects are so nigh In is ew York that it w juji 1Dj j bwve task on tHe part at I the company and the result sifiourd afford af-ford themV gpit fiC2 ion In no quarter fl were they condemned and In many i cased t they > were enthusiastically cent i mended I Louis James Is said to gird I a masterly presentations of the await role of Autolycui and Mr Hanfon i achieved something of a triumphs for I his King Lepntes Miss Kidder fcs said I i to bo better as Perdita than Hermlone I wn lc h was also trueo > ± her famous predecessor pre-decessor in the dual role Mary Anderson t Ander-son The scenic effects were pronounced pronounc-ed especially fine AT A GDAJrOE Verdi celebrated his SGth birthday last week Quo Vadis wilt be produced In New York during the holidays Frank Daniels new opera entitled The Ameer has met with great success suc-cess Marcia Van Dresser singing Alan aDale ln Robin Hcod with the Bostonians Bos-tonians Grace George Is to create the leading role cf Esther In the production of BenHur Wright Huntington scored a big hit last week at Keibhs in a sketch called A Stolen Kiss Children of the Ghetto will be produced I pro-duced in London in December with Mr Frederic 1 de Belleville in Wilton Lackayes part j I > > HH1 Ft SfcGarvferffos taken Charge oC I the advertising and special days at thai tha-i Omaha exposition i Tfc r 4 fs ° reported hat Coquelfa and f Bentfiardt will combine for an American Ameri-can tour next season Why Smtth Left Home is one oC the Important bookings for November at the Salt Lake theatre The October Soribners contain a clover article by Edwin Milton Koyle on the Vaudeville Theatre Cheever Goodwrln > and E ET Rice hive written a new burlesque called Around New York In Eighty Minutes Mark E Swan author of Browns In Town has completed a new force which ho will present in the spring Liza Lehman the composer of In a Persian Garden has written a new song cycle to a part off Tencyeanrs In Memoriam Walter Damrosch David BIspham and Frau Gadski contemplate a tour this season giving lectures and recitals of Wagnerian music It is said that Jean > de Rosalie will not sins at the Metropolitan opera house this season Edouard de Reszke Is a member of the company Puddnhead Wilson with Edwin Mayo in the title role and Adelaide Fitzallen as Roxy continues to attract large audiences and win great praise Mason Mitchell who was in Cuba Continued on page la |