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Show I ffg AMUSEMENTS ggg Salt Lake theatre "A Message from I Mars." matlnoo today, performance to- '! night. Orpheilm Modern Vaudeville, matl-i matl-i nee today, performance tonight. I Lyric "Imperial Burlesqucrs," one j week beginning with matlnco today. Coming Attractions. I Salt Lake theatre Butchers and Grocers' Dramatic Association, Wed-t Wed-t nesday, April 25; Orpheus club con- cort, Thursday, April 20; "The Christian," Chris-tian," April 27, 28; Ned Boyle's play, !' April 30th. "A Message Prom Mars," will close Its engagement at the Salt Lake the-atro the-atro with the matlnco today and per-formanco per-formanco tonight. If you haven't seen fl this wholesome comedy, you should, because it Is altogether worth while. And, If you allow yourself to eat the moral nut, hidden beneath the quaint fl and curious humor of tho play, your appetite for' doing good will bo en-larged. en-larged. Tho charity which comes to tho selfish "Horaco Booker" is insinu-ated insinu-ated by gentle yet forceful arts H across tho foot lights. David Proctor, H the actor, Insensibly becomes Davla H Proctor, tho preacher. But the "Mes H, sago" charity Is neither a question I of creed nor religion. Before faiths ' were chrystallzcd, Charity was In the i stars waiting to send Its messago to tho first generous heart, and, when It came, a now mantlo covered tho H earth, hiding much that is evil, much that Is sinful. This little comedy, ' A Messago From Mars," deserves the H praises which press and pulpit have ' bestowed. It attacks solflshness with sharp wit, keen humor and fine edged H satire and makes of charity something beyond mere theatric display somo- thing far beyond scenic devices. MM' Tho play may not bo ones Ideal in ." dialogue and treatment players may not bo flno or finished actors David I Proctor may not rise to all tho possl- I bllltles of the story why bo over crlt- i ical In Bmall things? Tho Messago Is H there largo, luminlous and readable H a quaint and curious Messago from H' Mars, H It is no small thing for a soubrette to spring from tho pedestal of comic opera to tho higher pedestal of dra ' mutic accomplishment, nnd yet In far i away Australia, Nellio Stewart did ac-' ac-' complish this rare, astonishing feat. , Indeed, in the not long ago, Melbourne hung breathless on tho airy vocalisni of Nellie Stewart All at once she heard the call of higher art dramath art and followed it to stardom. Those H of us who saw this capricious produc of tho antipodes in "Sweet Nell o H Old Drury" aro wondering how ws ' should classify tho actress and the j play. Tho title rolo of the play was ' not always dramatic it was really H high comedy but Miss Stowart, a- suited her Inclination, either touched H our eyes with moist emotions, or ' whirled us to soubrettlsh heights. And j the beauty of it was that her eyes nnd j face her entire personality wers 1 the playground of such dellghtfu1 moods that I despaired In giving t? any one the prize of greatest charm H The audience was most enthusiastic. H If each man and woman, nnd every , gnllery god, could have changol thlr ecstacy into bouquets, Nellio Stewart ! would have walked from Drury Lane to Whitehall over a pathway of f.ow- H ! ors- ( It was personality, rather than sub- tie art, working tho audience into n . frenzy a frenzy which neither ques-LtI ques-LtI tloned nor answerol tho meaning of MI It nil. Tho play Itself Is merely so Ml many shreds of history strung on scenery a background of actual Intrigue In-trigue nnd a foreground splashed with theatric color a picture gallery of pretty stage paintings, of posing women wo-men and men in silk breeches carrying carry-ing berlbboned canes. A plcturo such as one sees through the glass end of a toy Easter egg awfully sweet and sugary as Joyously wonderful as childish dreams. "Sweet Nell of Old Drury" sweet indeed sweet as the pictures on love valentines or U19 lid covers on bon-bon boxes. Tho company surrounding Miss Stewart had his or her little niche In the artificial beauty of tho play. They wero positively enthusiastic in their make believe earnestness. The repartee re-partee In Nell Gwynno's boudoir had the Hash nnd fire with which gaily dressed Idlers lovo to burn their epigrams. epi-grams. Words of emotion nnd gestures ges-tures of passion wero tossed across the footlights with every confidence of returning approval and the audience audi-ence never failed with grateful response. re-sponse. Mr. Harcourt Beatty looked nd acted the pampered king a superb su-perb enunciation, a dignity of ease and authority which frills and laces could not conceal. Even the elaborate affection af-fection displayed upon his dog, showed show-ed the ml mi to caro with which Mr. Beatty had read the canine history of "Bonnie Charlie's" peculiar affection. Tho Lord Jeffreys of Mr. Albert Gran was another triumph of studied attention to detail. His self estimated Importance was beyond all taint of egotism ns ho bore tho heavy burden of Lord Chief Justice before tho footlights. foot-lights. And tho laugh the volcanic gutteral how It struck terror to our ii rriiiM fiiTinii hearts, oven If It didn't frighten Nell Gwynne. But, upon my soul, I thought this laugh protested too much and was a dsorved element in leading to Jeffrey's Jef-frey's final undoing. Thus doth history his-tory and a laugh proclaim tho largeness large-ness of small things! Mr. Dudley Clinton's provincial actor, "Perclvat,' was overdone as Is always the case when the actor trios to out mlmi. himself. He clearly showed too clearly clear-ly his rude buffetlngs with fortune along the rugged highway of the barnstormer. Sir Roger Fairfax, In the hands of Mr. Lindsay, overwhelmed overwhelm-ed himself In tho cheapness of his mock heroics. And the seven-league-strike with which he struttoJ would put to endless shame tho most awkward awk-ward courtier his voice, too, lent a horrible conspiracy to his legs. Fof some reason the ladles of the company failed to catch the graces of Nellio Stowart and reflected themselves them-selves in mirrors hardly held up to the face of courtly dames whose as set was tho allurement of gay, gallants gal-lants with pretty snuff boxes. I must except, however, the dainty graces of Mis3 Rlgnold, whoso tender resignation resigna-tion to frequent tears was an actual revelation In the possibilities of sympathetic sym-pathetic weeping. It was an artistic challenge to every man in the house except Jeffreys to fly to beauty In distress. Tho stngo settings wero superb su-perb every tiny detail of scenic art was elaborately fostered and cared for. History must have been patiently studied to insure costumes dresslly reflective re-flective of tho time of tho play In these respects tho Australians showed show-ed us the breadth and meaning of stage craft. Tho ladles, In their make-m, wero a gallery of animated Gainsborough Gainsbor-ough and Reynolds pictures framed In tho actualities of long ago. Whlla Miss Stowart must have ransacked all tho libraries of Melbourne for cos-tumlc cos-tumlc detalls'of Nell Gwynne. Next Wednesday, April 25th, tin Butchers and Grocers' dramatic association asso-ciation will present "Constance" at tho Salt Lake theatre. The Butchers- and Grocers, under whoso auspices the production will be given, promise that the amateurs within their rank3 are capable of glv- A ing a rare and entertaining drnmatl; production. Let's go nnd see.' That a woman may be the daughter of a man who was almost president of his country and still hot make a six-teen-to-one strike as a playwriter 13 demonstrated this week at tho Or-phoum. Or-phoum. Mrs. Ruth Bryan Leavltt has written a playlet entitled "Mrs. S. Holmes, Detective," which is receiving Its footllght debut over on State street. It may be that the daughter of Hon. W. J. Bryan Is yet to wear the- FItchlan crown of authorship the future, however, is far away and un-certain. un-certain. "Mrs. S. Holmes, Detective," Scene from "THE CHRISTIAN" Salt Lake Theatre . as I saw It I mean her would baffle not only the famous Sherlock, but tho Infamous Raffles as well. Elizabeth Spencer, who wears tho weedless weeds of the lato Sherlock Holmes, is 1 doing her amateurish best to convince con-vince the Orpheum patrons of her his- ' trlonlc sincerity and Is really succeed- j Ing. The lady is surprisingly and agreeably pleasing and has a stage presence that would be an asset to many actresses I have seen. All things , considered, Elizabeth Spenc.er, 13 making good. That a Denver society lady should step from beneath the ' chandeliers of the drawing room and ' face the footlights with such easy graco is rofreshlnly surprising In these suspicious dramatic days. Mrs. Ruth Bryan Leavltt, however, has another fancy of the pen coming to her. Allan Shaw does some clover coin and card manipulations a la Ollason showing that the eye may be quick, t hut tho palm of tho hand Is still moro nimble, as it were. Stella. Loo ah! you little airy, fairy Leo does some vivacious dancing that is winning hand recognition deservedly so, too, although al-though tho night I saw her, tho orchestra orches-tra and Stella's feet wcro moro than a yard apart in time. Vontrella and Nina, Ni-na, In glorious white silk hosiery aro thero on tho Roman rings, performing perform-ing all those thrce-rlng-clrcus doings which maketh tho oyes of tho beholder hulgo with wonder. Frank Hayes, as ' tho onliest-only, "An Old Maid's Joys," is really sad in the delivery of unredeemed chestnuts. Haye's makeup, make-up, however, is a Lillian Russel dream. It is said that he or she Is turning down every "Johnny" that tries to mako a dato at tho stage door. Watson Wat-son and Morrlsey, coon shouters and dancers, do a lively turn especially tho little lady in tho whirlwind skirts. Go and see tho Klnodrome and tak? a ride over old Now York it's great and so is tho flying Worth monu ment at Twonty-thlrd and Broadway. For tho benefit of tho Freo Kindergarten Kinder-garten fund, two of Ned Roylo'a clever clev-er pieces, "Tripp's Troubles" and "Captain "Cap-tain Impudence," will bo presented at tho Salt Lake theatre, April 30th. "In Tripps Troubles," a breezy, sparkling farce, tho leading rolea will bo assumed assum-ed by Elbert Thomas whose amateur spurs aro gold-tipped and Mrs. Char-' lotte Newman. They will bo ass'.tod by Bernadlne Fecny and A. P. Barnardy. "Captain Impudence," is a clever comedy com-edy containing the scintillating wit and humor in Boyle's well known "Mexico." John D. Spencer will play the title role; D. C. Dunbar, Major Bugg; Mrs. C. B. Richards, Mrs. Trigg and Mrs. Ledyard M. Bailoy, Lucretla Bugg an imposing array of local talent. tal-ent. Between the acts a number o. vaudeville features will be introduced by Orpheum talent. The productions will bo under tho personal direction of Mrs. Martha Roylo King, the talented sister of tho author, Ned Roylo. As Ned Roylo's name Is now something to conjuro with his productions so rich as to be pirated this double bill will undoubtedly appeal to lovers of good things. Mrs. King's reputation as a careful stage manager Insures the perfection of details which make a perfect ensemble. Next Friday and Saturday Lillian Laurence and John Sainpolls will be seen at tho Salt Lake theatre in Hall Calno's dramatlzated story, "The Christian." The play had an enormous success In London and New York. It r resents an ethical problem which has produced any quantity of spirited discussion. dis-cussion. It is the old story of tho struggle between "tho world, the flesh and tho dovll," told In tho strong masterly mas-terly way Hall Calno tells all his stories. The same elaborate stage setting seen in tho metropolitan productions pro-ductions Is promised Salt Lakers. Next Thursday night the Orpheu3 club will give Its second concert to hungry music lovers. Tho same unqualified un-qualified success which characterized the first concert will, no doubt, be again repeated. HARRY LE GRANDE. |