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Show AMUSEMENTS SALT LAKE THEATER "Officer 6S5," tonight and tomorrow night, with Saturday matinee. ORPHEUM THEATER Advanced vaudeville. "Leading Lady" the feature. Performances every afternoon after-noon and evening. COLONIAL THEATER Wlllard Mack, Marjorlo Rambeau and associate asso-ciate players In "The Easiest Wav." Curtain at S:15 p. m. Matinee Saturday Sat-urday at 2:15. EMPRESS THEATER Sulllvan-Con-sldlne vaudeville. Matinee dally at 2-30. Two evening performances 7:30 and 9:15. Bill changes Wednesday Wed-nesday afternoon. THE reputation of "Officer 666" as an effective play Is evidently a household house-hold word, for a crowded houso greeted Its presentation at the Salt Lake theater last night. "Pomander Walk," which opened tho season at the Salt Lake, waa a play of character, while "Officer 666" is a play of situations. In "Pomander Walk" tho plot waa subordinated to such an extent that It practically disappeared. In "Officer "Of-ficer 666" character Is subordinated to such an extent that it scarcely begins. There is no development of character at all. The characters are perhaps ho familiar fa-miliar to Americans that it Is unnecessary unneces-sary to develop them, A policeman, a young millionaire, a detective and even tho clever crook arc all so well known that they need not emphasize In a sixty-horse sixty-horse power farce. At all events that Is the view taken by the author, Augustln Mac-Hugh. Mac-Hugh. He sacrifices character, probability proba-bility and everything that ordinarily is supposed to make a good play, to the one vital clement situation. I The aesthetic conclusion would be that I a play like "Pomander Walk" would be tho most Interesting and effective, but tho truth is Just the opposite. While "Pomander Walk" was mildly interesting interest-ing and occasionally effective, "Officer 666" is always effective and, therefore, alwayn interesting. A young mllUonabe, who finds life dull, Is called home from a. trip to Egypt by a suspicion that his business agents aro dishonest. He returns without the knowl-edgo knowl-edgo of any except his Japaneso servant and one friend. Just before he goes to his New York home ho dines at a hotel and falls in love with a young ladv who Is eating grape fruit and who accidentally accident-ally squeezes a bit of tho Juico Into her eye. The eye trouble haa nothing to do with the plot, but it serves as an acid baao for several carefully calculated jokes during the development of the aforesaid plot. Arrived at his mansion tho young millionaire, mil-lionaire, Travors Gladwin, meets his friend and his Japanese servant. While they aro examining Mr. Gladwin's 5500,000 collection of old masters, including a Messonler, a Corot and others almost as colebrated, tho door bell rings. Gladwin and his friend are startled, because no one olno Is supposed to know of the millionaire's mil-lionaire's return. Two charming young ladles aro ushered In and after a good deal of pleasant misunderstanding mis-understanding one of tho young ladles announces an-nounces that although she has known Travers Gladwin only two weeks she la going to marry him that night. Thus Is introduced the most fascinating character of the plot, tho picture thief, who is a combined Raffles and art connoisseur and who 1b posing as Travels Gladwin. Meantlmo "Officer 666" has been Introduced. In-troduced. The real Travers Gladwin borrows bor-rows his uniform for $500 and prepares to meet the Impostor. Tho remainder of tho play rovolvcs around the vlBlt of tho picture pic-ture thief, who plans to steal tho pictures pic-tures and the girl at the wune time and place. "Of course the young lady who plans to elope with tho supposed Travers Gladwin Glad-win Is the girl who squlrtod the grape juJce into her eyo at the hotel. Tho real Travors Gladwin must not only save hcr from the Impostor, but he must eavo hor from publicity. If tho Impostor is caught by tho police publicity is certain. Therefore There-fore Gladwin must protect the thief from the police. The aunt who wishes to slop the elopement furnishes the pollco, and tho concluding scenes of the play show the efforts of tho fascinating burglar to outwit out-wit tho police, with tho aid of the real Travers Gladwin, and escape. The Invontlvo genius or the author Is a marvel. Just when It seoms as If dramatic dra-matic Invention had reached Its limit ho evolves a new and surprising turn. And every new surprise seems to be more effective ef-fective than tho ono that preceded it. Many companies undoubtedly are presenting pre-senting "Officer 666" throughout the country, and it is perhaps a bit faultfinding fault-finding to complain of the company when the play lc jo good. The only character In tho play who has roal character is the picturo thief, which Is, perhaps, a paradox. Nevertheless. It Is the most taking character and In the company which presented the play last night at the Salt Lake It is enacted by the accomplished accom-plished and graceful George Howoll. While all of the other characters arc presented acceptably, none of the delineations except that of Mr. Howoll's 1 noteworthy. Nevertheless Never-theless the play is so well handled that It pleased the audience every mlnuto of the performance. D'Arcy and Williams, playing at the Empress this week, aro two of the best entertainers seen at the Empress In some tlmo. and fairly tako the audiences bv storm with their clever singing and patter Theao men havo been making good In New Tork, whero thev hall from, and bring with them a lot of the "latest" in ragtime selections, written bv some of the beBt writers of Broadway's muslo row. These two men score the greatest kind of a success, and they havo so much to offer that Ib entirely new that the audience is loath to let thorn go. They have been compelled to respond to several sev-eral encores, theroby lengthening every performance. Tho entire bill this week Is a. good ono. Since her engagement, as co-star with Mr. Mack In Salt Lake. Miss Rambeau has worn some wonderfully effective gowns and frocks ot the Colonial, but It Is doubtful If she has ovor appeared to hotter advantage than as Laura Murdoch In several of the scenes of "The Easiest Way" at the Colonial this week. Her clothes are one of the features of the production of this remarkable drama of Now York life, and through .tho turmoil of Its four acta Miss Rambeau carries a most difficult portrayal In a wav tnal hus mado her hundreds of new admlrera. Mr. Mack, on his part, has scored heavily heav-ily with hla characterization of the role, of Brockton, a part that Is unquestion-ably unquestion-ably ono of tho most difficult to portray ever written Into a atrlctlv American play. "Tho Easiest Way" will close Saturday Sat-urday night at the Colonial, and for the coming week Mr. Mack Is to offf-r for the flrM time locally ono of the most suc-fesnful suc-fesnful military productions of the past tn years In this country, "Northern Lights," a drama founded on Incident:! connected with ths Custer massacre. This week's bill at tho Orpheum Is proving a strong magnet to draw amuse- 1 rnent lover?. Tonight Is the regular society soci-ety night and already there aro 'lgns of a capacity audience. Among tho acts presented Is a little flirtation in slang which takes place on the deck of m steamer. The boy Imagines he Is bound for Europe and the girl thinks she Is going to Coney Island. Each thinks the other Is on the wrong boat- The parts aro taken by Harry Earl Godfrey and Vcta Henderson In a distinctly acceptable manner. Friday's special features offered at the Mchusy theater are "A Stranger at Coyote." a weatorn masterpiece In motion mo-tion photography displaying great ability, daring and horsemanship by tho principal riders In this stirring drama, which tells tho story of how a stranger rid Coyote i of Its bad men and brought order out of chaos; "A Midnight Encounter," a Gau-mont Gau-mont comedy-drama film, which in Itself Is an Indorsement, for this company never issues anything mediocre In the line of comedy " "Mabel's Beau" is a domestic comedy that should -delight the hearts of lovers of homo and all that goes forth to help mako up life's eventful event-ful picture of happiness In the Ideal of a rustic home. |
