Show t y A t i I Salt Lake March 20 Dear Hal I > iJf but little I can send you in the Vay l of news this week and that little wont be Ions Its been regular Chi co weatherI cant think of any thing worse to call itand people generally gen-erally have been well content to hug their ain fireside It was just as well perhaps for there was very little to tempt them out of doors at the Grand it has been skurry hurry blood thunder thun-der and sensation all the week the people who came out dressed in their best to bee Moths and the Bankers Daughter and Caprice and the Premiers Daughter perhaps stared a good deal at the Shadows of a Great City and perhaps they remained away after they had told each other what it was But another class of people whose money is just as good came and filled their places and the managers are happy Mr Rogers is no respecter of dimes quarters and halves and as long as they rattle in at his window he doesnt stop to ask who lays them down This much is to be said for the peoplethat they play with the same earnestness and vigor and conscientiousness conscien-tiousness whether their lines are cast in grand staircases at American legations lega-tions or on Blackwells island or booth houses of Biddv Ronan The theater has had but little to offer and Manager Burton is no happier for having offered it When the Webling sisters were announced under the auspices aus-pices of the Young Ladies Aid Society I remembered the numerous bright entertainments en-tertainments that society had given the town in past days The Dress Rehearsal c Rehear-sal The Lady Minstrels The Pirates Pi-rates etc and I said to myself that the Weblings must be worth the six bits demanded so I went Well young ladies I may get over my feelings toward to-ward you after a spell but it will lake I time 4 It is understood that the Webling family got 75 for their services and furthermore that they insisted on receiving re-ceiving It before the curtain went up What a pity that the management didnt stand out then the curtain would have been kept down As it is the Webllnes got just about 7450 above their deserts MARGE DRAMATIC AND LYRIC If memory serves aright Otis Skinner was last seen in this city a dozen years ago or such a matter when Lawrence Barrett James and Wainwright gave their original presentation of Francesca 1 Fran-cesca Skinner was then Paola the brother whom Lanciotto murders and the impression he then left was that of a careful and scholarly young actor but one somewhat overshadowed by his loftier surroundings Since those days he has blossomed into a star and for three seasons he has been one of the established successes Maud Durbin leading lady who off the stage is Mrs Skinner has been often compared to Julia Marlowe and Sarah Truax his second lady is too well remembered in Salt Lake to need any words of introduction intro-duction The company also includes F B Mosely one of Barretts oldtime support and the scenery for all productions pro-ductions is said to be entirely newS > < new-S > < S > The Skinner repertoire is Monday evening A Soldier of Fortune Tues I day His Grace de Grammont both I new dramas Wednesday afternoon the familiar Lady of Lyons in which of I course Mr Skinner will do Melnotte and Wednesday < v ening a double bill I Katherine and Petruchio and The Merchant of Venice I A Soldier of Fortune is laid in i I Italy during the time of the Borgias I It tells the story of a young Italian 1 free lance who serving under the banners ban-ners of the Dus de Nemours is accused I cused by a Borgia spy of a crime which he did not commit and although innocent 1 I in-nocent he is unable to meet the accusa tions of his enemy because of a wom ans honor Torelli is courtmartialed disgraced and forced to leave the camp The second act finds him in Florence very very poor Here he sees and instantly I in-stantly falls in love with the ward of Macchiavelli But the lady cares but little for the unfortunate young man I I the statesman Macchiavelli however intrusts him with a message to Rome j which is most important as there is a plot on foot at the instigation of Caesar I Borgia for a reception at which poison i is to play an important part Torelli delivers his message in time and Bor I gia is foiled but not without many ox citing adventures The third act last J scene shows the gardens of the palace of the Borgias in the Eternal City and is said to be very effective Caesar Borgia also desires the ward of Mac chiavelli and finding himself foiled at almost every point by young Torelli has ordered that she be taken to his palace at Urbino which is accomplished accom-plished It is here that the last act of the play takes place But our hero equal to any emergency at a great rte tx s f j i 1 1 Y ti7 iYSFJii 5Fa 5 i fr It at yy I rA f I > f I2c OTIS SKTNLMj3R I personal risk rescues the lady of his heart wins back his honor and the ladys hand 0 The Shadows ofa a Great City was a radical departure from the beaten track at the Grand and encouraged by its success the Rogers and Mr Hatch who now has a hand In guid ing the policy of the house have decided de-cided on a departure more radical still I for the coming week This is a pro duction of Carmen a dramatization of the same story from which the celebrated cel-ebrated opera is made and one that will throw Miss Bateman Mr Edwards Mr Kyle and the others into dress parts Calves renowned role will be assumed by Miss Bateman Kyle will hpTp thp toreadors part and incidentally inciden-tally will sing a toreador song whether toe toreador song of the opera or not we are not advised Mr Edwards will have the tenor role of the lover though he will probably not indulge in a tenor solo The costumesexcept Miss Bate Plans which are newly made are all from Goldsteins in San Francisco the same house that sends up the Patience and iajcot ctsumes for the amateurs and there will be several special musical mus-ical features notably music from Bi zets great work a song by Miss Rankin Ran-kin and a Spanish dance by Miss Eva Masters New scenery by Anderson is also promised The full cast will be as follows Carmen Victory Bateman Michaela Jessie Izette Mercedes Agnes Ranken Sara Margaret Marshall Inez Elsie Reasoner Dorothea Ethel Ferguson Anita an orange girl Eva Masters Don Jose Walter Edwards Captain de CastroHugh Ford Sergeant GonzalesH D Blakemore Corporal MartinezT W Ross Lucas TorreadorHoward Kyle RememdadoThomas Ross Don Cairo H D Blakemore Pedro Jack Williams Lopeg Frank B Hatch Lilias PastiaJack Williams < > > In selecting the opera of Patience for our second work said Mr Weihe director of the Salt Lake Opera c6m pany we wished to attempt something some-thing in as strong contrast as possible to the Mascot That opera is more of a buffo order the fun is fast and furious and the acting is as prominent if not more prominent than the music Patience as everrone knows is ° an I aesthetic opera everything is on the I subdued quiet order it might be called a comic opera classic the music is of I the daintiest most exquisite style though there are two or three ringing finales in it that will give our chorus I as good a chance as it had in the Mascot But I should say that in Patience it will be music first acting I second Our Mascot people will be augmented by Mr R C Easton and I Miss Edna Dwyer the love sick maidens maid-ens chorus and the chorus of I dragoons will be the same people as those who took part in the Mascot with two or three additions which will make the chorus work stronger Mr Weihe also said that the experiment experi-ment of second class prices for a first class attraction had proven successful he was convinced that many people had seen the Mascot who would not have gone had full rates been charged hence the same scale of prices would be I charged for Patience The dates of the engagement are as follows Patience Pa-tience Saturday afternoon and evening even-ing and Wednesday and Thursday I evenings April 3 6 and 7 the Mascot is to be revived for two nights only April 5 and 6 and Logan are Excursions to Ogden I expected to be made with Patience I later on R C Easton came down from Logan last evening and hai his first j rehearsal with the company oJ Maharas Darkest Tennesseans is the way the minstrel company of real negroes is announced which opens at the Grand tomorrow night The only Billy Young is with the company the I engagement lasts three nights and as a special inducement prices have been cut to 15 25 and 35 cents vf > 0 0 One of the events of the New York season was that which occurred last Monday night at Dalys theater It was probably the first time that Ada Rehan had essayed a role in which she might be said to acknowledge that the time had come when she must look for laurels in the range of elderly parts In venturing into Charlotte Cushmans field Miss Rehan brought with her wide experience and rare talents tal-ents but that she was not Ctshman is evidenced by the following notice in the Mirror Miss Rehan as Meg Merrillies or the Witch of Ellangowan was received enthusiastically and gave a picturesque pictur-esque and earnest performance She I did not however present the character as Walter Scott conceived it She declaimed de-claimed with finished art she was imposing im-posing In appearance and commanding in manner but she failed to express the uncanniness and sordidness of the Meg Merrilies of the novel Miss Re hans performance while pictorially impressive was not a true character portrayal and therefore was not as I effective as it might have been p VA v A lively topic in theatrical circles is I furnished by a stand taken by Francis Wilson against the theatrical combination combin-ation headed by Al Haymanor a stand taken by the combination against Mr Wilson as the case may appear from varying view points of which there will no doubt be more gossip gos-sip in the future Mr Wilson says the Mirror has announced an-nounced that he has canceled all contracts con-tracts for next season made through the agency of HaymanFrohman et al and that if he cannot play an independent I in-dependent tour he will not play at alII or he will go abroad It appears that it has been the custom cus-tom of Benjamin Stevens manager for De Wolf Hopper and Al Canby manager for Mr Wilson in past seasons sea-sons to arrange their respective bookings book-ings so that there would be no clashing clash-ing of dates Some time ago when Mr Canby was ready to Book Mr Wilsons route for next season he met I Mr Stevens to make their usual arrangement ar-rangement Mr Stevens it is said told Mr Canby that Mr Hoppers tour had already been booked by the theatrical theat-rical syndicate and therefore that the method formerly observed by the managers man-agers of these stars could no longer be followed Mr Canby then went to the syndicate and found that his star could not get into several theaters in which he had regularly appeared Moreover the syndicate declined to book MrWil son unless it was permitted to lay out I his entire route Mr Canby submitted at the time and began playing the route furnished by the syndicate As I the time drew near for Mr Wilsons annual appearance in Washington and Baltimore it was found that he was I booked for the Layfayette Square theater the-ater in the former city and for the Academy of Music in the latter whereas where-as he had always appeared in Fords theater and the National Mr Canby protested against the bookings made but was informed that his star must play where the syndicate had arranged to have him play or not at all Whereupon Where-upon Mr Wilson determined to cut i f loose and play independently or retire I There has been a daily newspaper effort to get a consensus of opinion I upon the subject of the syndicate and its workings but thus far with superficial I super-ficial and unsatisfactory results only The Mirror proposes in a methodical and impartial way to sound this matter mat-ter and to publish the opinions of persons per-sons concerned If the theatrical syndicate I syn-dicate represents methods of benefit to the theater that will appear If I individual stars and managers and the I public are suffejjng from the operation j opera-tion of the syndicate system that will j be seen < S > b < v I Until this year Julia Marlowe has j never made any money to speak of in I New York City Recognition was accorded corded her almost anywhere else but in New York she was always regarded I with more or less coldness It looks I now though as if the metropolis were at her feet and no one will rejoice I at this fact more than the lovely actresses ac-tresses many admirers in Salt Lake This weeks Mirror contains the following fol-lowing The enthusiasm with which New i York theatregoers have greeted Julia j Marlowe and Robert Taber during I their present engagement at Wallacks theatre marks Miss Marlowe as one I of the most successful actresses in America She had before won recognition I recog-nition throughout the country for her I unusual talent and charming person i ality Miss Marlowe is an admirable j I Juliet but her greatest achievement I from the popular standpoint is in the role of the beggar maid in For Bonnie Prince Charlie It may seem that Miss Marlowe has reached the goal of great artistic ac j complishment in an early period in her I career But as a matter of fact her i present triumph is the culmination of I a considerable number of years of arduous I i ar-duous labor She made her first appearance ap-pearance in a juvenile opera company which sang Pinafore The Chimes I of Normandy and other light operas in 1880 when she was 12 years old I In 1882 she played Little Heinrich in i Rip Van Winkle and also minor j Shakespearian parts She was christened I christ-ened Sarah Frances Frost but was i known during this period as Frances Brough the latter being a family name I After these early experiences on the stage Miss Marlowe came to New York Ito I-to acquire a general education When I she was 16 she began In earnest to I study for her future career upon the I stage Under the instructon of her I aunt who was an experienced stock I actress familiar with all the Shakespearean I i Shakes-pearean parts she practiced the classic roles in a painstaking way After four I years of close application and constant I con-stant industry she made her debut ini i i New York as Parthenia at a matinee i Her success was pronounced but not for a long time afterward did she win I the place for which she was striving SIt S-It was not until 1S89 that her ability began to be generally recognized although r al-though she appeared in New York in j 1SS7 as Juliet and as Viola in Twelfth 4 Night In 1888 in Cincinnati she 1 made her first appearance as Julia in The Hunchback and during the same 1 year played Pauline in The Lady of 3 Lyons In January 1S91 she essayed 4 the role of Rosalind in As You Like t j It and scored an artistic success Then she played Imogen in Cymbe line her favorite character Her repertoire t re-pertoire has steadily grown and in it i besides the plays already mentioned J and others are Rogues and Vagabonds j Vaga-bonds The Love Chase Chatter ton The Belles Stratagem The School for Scandal She Stoops to 1 Conquer and Henry IV In all of these plays Miss Marlowes talent and charm are conspicuous In view of her attainments it is to be regretted that she is not a native instead of an adopted daughter of America She was born in the village of Caldbeck Cumberlandshire in the Lake district of England Her parents settled in Kansas however when she was 5 years old so that after all Miss Marlowe may be claimed as a real American 00 < J > New York March 20The very 1 friendly spirit manifested by the audience au-dience at the public rehearsal of the New York Symphony society at Carnegie Car-negie hall yesterday afternoon toward Miss Ella Russell the soloist of the 1 occasion would seem to argue strong ly against the contention that American Ameri-can singers even if meritorious meet with scant favor with American audiences au-diences Miss Russells reception and the applause which followed her numbers num-bers were more than friendly they j were cordially demonstrative 1 Miss Russell enjoys an excellent reputation j rep-utation on the concert and operatic j stage in London where she has spent 1 the last eight years and her first ap Continued on page 9 I 1BE STAGE I Continued from page 11 I pearance in concert work in New York made a very agreeable impression While there was some lack of dramatic I dramat-ic breadth in her delivery of the first number she displayed a voice of pleasing I pleas-ing quality at times quite brilliant in i the upper register and always ellI ell-I under control Although repeatedly recalled Mr Damroschs rule against encores was strictly enforced I The Damrosch company gave a delightful de-lightful performance of Die Meister singer last night at the Metropolitan Notwithstanding the inclement weather weath-er there was a large audience present which gave vent to its feelings at the end of each act by numerous curtain calls From beginning to end the spirit of Wagners music comedy was admirably maintained Mr Dam roschs conducting being praiseworthy i as a whole and in detail Frau Gaudskis Eva was a charming jl impersonation Sh vas in fine voice and acted the part with a buoyant j grace and captivating winsomeness I During the performance she had aJ i slight nasal hemorrhage but with 1 womans wit she quickly but quietly I seized Beckmessers pocket handkerchief handker-chief and applied it to the offending member while Hans Sacha whispered to a stage hand to bring a piece of raw cotton which Eva used with success suc-cess to check the hemorrhage The latter did not seem to hamper her or at all impair the beauty of her vocalization vocal-ization < 4 0 London March 20 There are rumors of combination among west end theatrical the-atrical managers against the growing rivalry and popularity of the new suburban sub-urban houses The latter are now as handsome and comipodious as the more I fashionable and better known ones I and the performances are often quite as godO Leading actors like Sir Henry I I Irving and Mr Tree were very fond j of presiding at the foundation stone laying of these new rivals and made speeches at the time declaring that I the suburban houses were educating the public to new playgoers They now find that the new playgoers prefer I pre-fer to wait the arrival of west end successes in their midst rather than spend time and money traveling to town The long run system in theatres conducted by star actors is threatened It is now proposed that all provincial rights of London successes should be granted subject to the conditions that no play should be performed within a 30mile radius of London until at least 12 months have elapsed from the withdrawal with-drawal of the play from the west end |