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Show XI f i ' I "TlilS TTIZARD OP OZ" drew a great audience to the Salt Lake Theater": Thursday night, and there was none , la the house who did not.volae his .'spreclatlon of the gorgeous scenic ;t Tects, the dazaUngly beautlful'cos- tumes, the strange and unique char-' , , " cetera, the bright," catchy music' and the genuinely -wlttr lines of this ex--i traordlnary musical extravaganza. . The first scene of the play caught Xhe fancy of the crowded house and served as an appetizer for the treats i that were to follow. The play opens . ' in a Kansas farmyard, which Is -. --atruck by a cyclone. The cyclone scene, on which the play hinges. Is' . a superb mechanical -effects and so : realistic that some. of . the timid. I .persons in the house found them-! them-! selves involuntarily holding to the arms of their, chairs to keep from ' i 'helng blown away. 'When the cy- clone has passed, Dorothy ' Gale, a . j Kansas girl, and her pet cow, Imo-s ( gene, have been transported on the i .wings of the wind to the land of the i , Munchkins, where the Wizard of Ox "has usurped the throne.- The parts i . of Dorothy Gale and the Cow are 1 'admirably filled by Blanche Powell j Todd and I J. Wyckoff.' respective- 1 ly. Only in fairy tales could such a remarkable cow be found, and this ."critter," aa it might have been j "termed in Kansas," is certainly one I of the most novel and one of the funniest creations seen on the local i stage, Cynthia Cynch the lady lu-, lu-, Tiatlc (May Taylor), created consld-. , - erable amusement in her search for ' her long lost lover, Nlccolo, and her ( fidelity is finally rewarded with success, to the satisfaction of all . concerned. Tryxle Tryfle, the pros- . toective Queen of the Emerald City, was pleasing in her presentation of a part-that calls for the exercise of much talent Will Swor, as Brlg.-' Brlg.-' Gen. Rlskltt. commanding Pasto--rla's army,, was another pleasing , feature of the show. His make-up, resembling one of Capt Kidd's pi- "rates, was one of-the novelties. of the production. The Hons, who gob- bled up the greatest part of the at- .Jention and applause, however, were' the Scarecrow, looking for brains, taken by Bert Swor, and L Nick Chopper, the. Tin Woodman, in search of a heart : taken. : by. John ' Swor. These characters, new and unique, caused the house to roar with laughter at every complication in -which they found themselves involved. in-volved. The Cowardly Lion was another an-other novelty that made a hit Fred Woodward "was the lamb in lion's clothing. Ox, the wizard, was . . .played well by John Mahon. The ' lines throughout are breezily funny, . and there are no long waits for someone to say or do something. ( The jokes are new and clever, and .the dialogue between the Tin Wood- man and the Scarecrow is as laughable laugh-able a skit as one can safely hear. The scenic effects are marvelously heautlful. This is particularly true with regard to the poppy field and wonderful snowstorm that transforms trans-forms the dreamy bower into a barren, bar-ren, ice-covered j waste. The "snow effect is novel, and much more real -than the old kind. There is nothing left to be desired with regard to costumes cos-tumes and lighting effects. The play pleases the mind in search of amusement ' it pleases the eye by the richness and the art of its costuming, cos-tuming, and it pleases the ear with its brilliant and catchy music. The Wizard of Ox" will run until Saturday Satur-day night wltha matinee Saturday Satur-day afternoon. f HE GRAND THEATER OPENED its regular season Thursday night with Nettle DeCoursey in "An Or- phan's .Prayer." Miss DeCoursey and "An Orphan's Prayer" are not pew to the patrons of the Grand, but the play pleased a well-filled house as much as it did on its Arts appearance ap-pearance in this city. Perhaps better, bet-ter, for the company was better balanced than last season. Miss ' DeCoursey was, of course, the star of the piece, and from her opening apeech, delivered in the slang of the slums, to the closing scene, forgiving forgiv-ing her wayward foster sister, held" the close attention of the audience whenever on the stage. Seth Owens . (Frank lresen), the old farmer, not (inly had good lines placed to his 'Jredit by the author, but he knew bow to deliver them. At times he reminded one of Dunston in "Hazel Kirke." Fred M. Tillish had the unthankful un-thankful part of the villain, and with the exception of a tendency to mouth words at times, was acceptable. accept-able. Miss Blsnette as the wayward way-ward daughter of Farmer Owens, handled a thankless part to the satisfaction sat-isfaction of the audience. Angellne Davis, a spinster who "had little to say," and "Silas Rlcaby, a farm hand, kept the audience in good humor hu-mor whenever they had the center of the stage. Mr. Foster as Britton, a. lawyer, was good in makeup and movements. "Thomas H. Sewell as Robert Everson made an acceptable lover. The remainder of the cast was in Capable hands. The scene in the opening act a farm yard, was true to life, with its horse, sheep , and poultry; hut please, Mr. Stage Manager, won't you train that little black goat not to come on the stage with its mournful bleat during a pathetic scene. It is natural enough, ' V' but it spoils the dramatic effect An Orphan's Prayer" will finish the week at the Grand. SEVERAL CHANGES HAVE BEEN made in the Grand during the closed season, 'and while the public could. . see but little of them, they are none x the less Interested, The new asbes-; asbes-; tos curtain arrived in the city Thursday and will be placed in position po-sition at once. AH of the partl- ' f.ons have been made fireproof. New standard fire-pipes, with fifty , ' feet of two add one-half-inch hose have been placed in the gallery and on the stage. A ventilator 12 by 12 feet has been cut in the roof over the stage, and the entire electric wiring of the house has been re- placed. Manager Hammer stated Thursday night that when the im- provements were -completed, which Iy aiU be within the next few days, V,1 the Grand will be one of the safest c houses in the country. The orches-" orches-" tra this year is under the leadership of Bandmaster Held. |