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Show I f 'With the First JVighters. n? H. If IF I WERE KING. HH I Probably in romantic roles, where the dashing H hero "wins renown and the heart of the fair B lm I damozel of yore by the prowess of his trusty H 11 blade, there is no more studiously ideal and hero- K' i, ic a figure upon the American stage than Mr. m E. H. Sothern. B f f As the daring and adventurous poet-knave in H j;'i Justin McCarthyfs thrilling story of "If I Were ' jj King," Mr. Sothern has the fullest play for his M finely developed abilities, and achieves an artistic B jjlf success which almost overshadows his histrionic B h triumph in "The .Prisoner of Zenda." The former B sK play was written for Sothern, and few others B HI among theatrical stars could have interpreted H jj i with such thrilling skill the spirit of the olden V ill tlme- m, iif When duels and battles were rife, B tiff When swords were the popular form of redress, B And insults were paid for with life. B I'll And Mr. Sothern did not come into the West, B as other celebrities almost uniformly do, trailing B i a support which ought to have been consigned to B 1 1 ; the ashpile and with a piece of canvas and a set Hh HI , tree for environment It was refreshing to see a m play produced in ail its details with a distinct H p metropolitan flavor, with a strong and character- H p istic metropolitan company and scenic effects H 31 brought directly from Broadway. The view of H Iff the king's gardens was realistically spectacular, H r and showed that none of the costly details of a H jajt New York production had been omitted. An audl- H if - ence which filled the house witnessed the per- H if formance and was deeply appreciative. H.' II The opening scene showed a sensational em- B brogllo, and, reaching a climax with a duel in the H H , dark, was thrillingly effective, and won repeated H ' -curtain calls for the star. After that Mr. Sothern B i probably reached the highest point in his great V I art, in the elegant fulnrtnation ot defiance which H p he hurled at the envoy of the Duke of Burgundy, H i? who, under a flag of truce, called upon Louis XI. H 1 to unconditionally surrender. H III The role of that inscrutable monarch was I P artistically interpreted by Mr. George W. Wilson. H ' if At first, his portrayal was scarcely convincing, H but later, as he developed the fluctuating temper- Ht H ament, the base superstition and keen intrigue MV H of that most wily and crafty of monarchs, it H"' M dawned upon the audience that they were wit- H 8 nesslng a great portrayal, and Mr. Wilson shared I . if in the plaudits of the star. The next place easily Ht, i belongs to Margaret Illlngton, who, as the wan. H( 8 ton Huguette, madly infatuated with Francois H- m l "Villon, showed wondertul power in the emotional H ' scenes. It was in tnis very particular, the ability K ... If ' to simulate great and over-mastering emotion, H B that Cecelia Loftus was singularly lacking, al- H B ! though with this exception, and her failure to Hv B strike a realistic note in the love scenes, the H W part was evenly and gracefully sustained, and H j she was very fair to look upon withal. There H. H were no other important stellar lights in the !..., m group, and the support in general was harmonl- H' B ouBly compact and excellent, and all the scenes M M showed the artfully rounded finish which betok- H& fl ! ens the hand of an experienced and able man- Hr B agement. , B 3n8S ' 2& B m 1 1 Pretty Angela McCaull, who has been playing I fj '; in Mrs. Leslie Carter's company, will shortly be- H,' ' B como the bride of Lionel Barrymore, who has B J,j lately shown in the company of John Drew that a Hj B I large opportlonment of the paternal talent has kjB descended to him. B' B , This alliance of two old theatrical families If. fig I recalls an incident in the life of old John A Mc- B, jil Caull, told in an exchange, when the genial colo- B m nel, as a comic opera impressar)o,.was rehearsing BJp his chorus on the stage of Wallack's theatre. The young ladies were no more sprightly and viva-clous viva-clous that day than sodden pancakes. Colonel McCaull fumed and stormed. He tried in vain to put some agility in their heels, some dash and snap and ginger in their voices and their dances. "Can't you look pleasant, and be smart and lively?" he cried out in plaintive appeal. "What would you do if I doubled all your salaries? How would you act then?" "Drop dead!" came a still, small voice from the second row of the chorus, in which the third, fourth or fifth wife of Mr. Pickwick, the DeWolf Hopper" comedian, was then carrying a spear. We forget exactly what place in the long series of Mr. Hopper's marital partners was held by this blithesome memb.er of the McCaull company, but she was there. ?v 5 ? Manager Daniel Frohman, who has been looked upon as the Benedick of his profession, succumbed suc-cumbed to the grand emotion by virtue of the winsome charms of one Margaret Illlngton, who delighted Salt Lakers during the week as Huguette Hu-guette in "If I Were King." At last, says an exchange, Manager Daniel Frohman, probably the most noted bachelor in the entire dramatic profession, is to be married. Miss Margaret Illlngton, a young and very pretty pret-ty actress in Mr. Hothern's company, is the bride-elect. bride-elect. No official announcement of their engagement en-gagement has been made by either Mr. Frohman or Miss Illlngton, but before sailing for Europe Mr. Frohman, at his club, informed several of his intimates that he expected to make Miss Illlngton Illlng-ton his wife before the summer was over, and in the Sothern company Miss Illingtn. has made no secret of her engagement to Mi. Frohman, so under the circumstances the only wonder is that the announcement did not get into the newspapers news-papers some time ago. Miss Illlngton is a young actress of Jewish descent who made her first appearance ap-pearance in Mr. Frohman's stock stock company In "Frocks and Frills" at Daly's Theatre. She played the role of a pert maid very cleverly and In nearly all the parts which have fallen to her share since she has done clever work. She is at present on the road with Mr. Sothern's play in the role of Hugu,ette, the part which Miss Su-sanne Su-sanne Sheldon created in "If I Were King." Among his personal friends Mr. Frohman has long been considered as a confirmed bachelor. He has afways made his home with his three unmarried un-married sisters, and with the Misses Frohman almost invariably occupies a stage box at all the prominent first nights. During the past year Mr. Frohraan has withdrawn almost entirely from theatrical management. At "present the only ac tor under his direction is Mr. B. H. Sothern, and ; only a few weeks ago, in the course of conversa tion, Mr. Frohman said that in the future he intended in-tended to devote himself almost entirely to musical mu-sical stars. Kubelik last year had a remarkably succesful tour under his management. 5 The next attraction billed for the theatre 's Nat Goodwin and company, who will appear in "The Altar of Friendship," on June 12 and 13. t y V Henry Lawrence Southwick, a distinguished scholar and educator, will give a dramatic recital of "Richard III" Monday evening, June 1st, and of 'Richelieu," Tuesday evening, June 2nd, in the Salt Lake Theatre. These recitals are under the auspices of the "Young People's Christian Union," at popular I prices. & & ij? i A good sized audience went to the Taber nacle on Friday 'evening and were delighted with the superb singing of Miss Emma Ramsey. The attendance would probably have been much greater had it not been for the counter attraction attrac-tion at the theater, but those who went were i deeply appreciative of Miss Ramsey's wonderful voice. |
