OCR Text |
Show Hli e With the Firt JSfighter. Ng Hci IV ' E j' ' P ' After suffering under all the plagiarized and 'ji It labored witticisms of West's Minstrels, we had K ' J ! the refreshing unction of listening to the linger- Lr'l i lnS and unforgettable melodies of Florodora. Hh All of them we have heard before, full oft, but H L J ' i the fascination of the old roundelays has by no Hf J means grown old, and just as long as that p'jj ij sprightliest of light operas com.es here with so B4 ! j winsome a coterie of beautiful girls we shall Bt!i' greet the tuneful lays with salvos of joy. H f It is ungallant to make comparisons, perhaps, B jj r but we are very much afraid the present Floro- i'll ( doraites are just a shade less infatuating than i, i those who won our hearts in the olden days. Mr. m ( iff ' Joseph Phillips' rendition of the Sheltering Palm ' $$ song is vastly better than the stilted display of fll!T 'j be former negotiator of the xole. Mr. Ryley's m ' v ' i Tweedlebunch, we fear, is not all that could bo 1 y desired, and no one felt called upon to Indulge M V I in any very Important demonstrations of delight M, !i . over the waffery exhibitions of fun-making per- K 'M 0 petrated by the somber phrenologist."- Miss Isa- 'l j dore Rush did Lady Holyrood in a very artistic H" s) way, and the rest of the company went through Hll'iH the whirlwind symphonies in very satisfactory fl ! '' style. None but the most sordid of souls could B , i adversely refer to the performance, where there m'' wQs sucli a glittering array of costumes and so '- many pretty faces which will remain silhouetted B,; jj j on the masculine mind long after the fair charm- Rr,r! ,Ji ers have left us to return no more. But 'arter all ( i I L tno sextette is the sweetest note in the play, and fj ji i' the public is willing to forgive any other infirm- Br -'ij tles n the performance for that lovable and By ') haunting melody. fpfilj & & Bp Jjf The West Minstrel show was about the woist K! '1( ' meSley of antiquated jokelets and infirm and B i! 1 cataleptic voices that ever disarranged the seren- K " ' ' ity of the Salt Lake Theater. Minstrelsv is a B ' form of entertainment with which' the pubic has H ' long been sated. and is only redeemed from be- B " , M ing unspeakably depressing by. the appearance of B j j j such men as Dochstadder as the fun- B , 1 1 maker. The performance of the West H ( i minstrels was devoid both of really hu- B i morous situations and acceptable music. The Bu iji burlesque situations were merely grotesque, and B . I ! the only features with merit were the whistling H j imitations and one or two of the coon melodies. B j ' The local amusement patrons can get along nice- I fl ly without a second visit from these voiceless and B H?i witless specialists. Bt '(1 i Bj w! "The Texas Steer," probably the tfest mbney- B JL maker Mr. Hoyt ever evolved, will be the bill at B " t I the Salt Lake Theater next Friday and Saturday B LI evenings and Saturday matinee. B ll; Lillian Russell maintains she is as faithful B ,b, an, advocate of Christian Science as over she was B (.'j and her reputation in this regard is second only J' , h to that of Mother Mary- Baker Eddy. Miss Rus-! Rus-! sell, when she developed that sore throat the v' other night, said it was a good thing. It would BI J& prove to the world the efficacy of Christian B j&i Science, for she propbsed curing herself without B r the aid of a doctor. B "i After a brief session with the sore throat B I vl which refused to respond to the mental treat- B ' ment, Miss Russell called in a doctor and told him Bi to do his worst. Bj She's all right now, well enough to sing to Bf W' day, if need be. B j j "No, indeedy; T haven't abandoned Christian Hh 11 Science' 'she said yesterday. "I think it's just BB 11 too dear for anything, don't you?" Bftk if I f'Why, then, did you call in a doctor?" was HB ii! asked. Bill ; Bi "Well, you see," said Miss Russell, naively, "I had to get well in time for next Thursday, didn't I?" t5 t5 William Collier's apt rejoinders have been the saving grace of many comedies, and if "Personal," his newest farce, survives, it will also be due to his efforts, according to the eastern reviewers. Examples of his dialogue are appended: Cue This Is not for publication; it's private. Willie Collier (as a reporter) Nothing Is private pri-vate that can be talked about. Cut What sort of a man is he? Willie Collier He's an American, he's industrious, indus-trious, he's honest, he's not a lawyer, and he'll get there. Cue My mother told me if I smoked cigarettes I'd grow up an idiot. Willie Collier Why didn't you stop? Willie Collier Did I say three drinks? Intoxicated Servant No, sir; two, sir. Willie Collier I see two, but I smell three. Cue I dreamed you gave me $10. Willie Collier All right; you can keep it. Cue They were married quietly. Willie Collier Yes; they're all "married quietlybut quiet-lybut after! Cue My boy, we're ruined. Willie Collier Cheer up; we'll get around again. You'll be giving away libraries yet. w &fr &w Sarah Bernhardt is to appear next winter in a one-act play by the Marquis de Castellane called "The Feast of Death." The period is that of the revolution, and the hero is Montjourdin, a chief of the national guard confined in the Lazarre prison. He is condemned to death, and on the eve of the execution he gains permission to celebrate cele-brate a death banquet and invite his neighbors in the prison, who also are sentenced to die by the guillotine, to partake of it. These guests are poet Andre Chenier, the Duchess of Coigny, M. de Montron, and Roucher, poets of the sons. The wife of Montjourdin presides over the feast. Bornhardt's role will be that of the wife. William Faversham seems destined to become the popular "clotheshorse" of the country, a position posi-tion wkhich John Drew and Herbert Kelcey held during their reigns as New York leading men. Faversham gained some attention last year by appearing in a dress suit of light gray material, and the other day a writer in the Telegraph spoke of his forthcoming season as follows; "Great interest is expressed in the niece in which William Faversham will open his season. It is said that the first act is peculiarly fitted to the jaunty grace of his light comedy work. It is a Norfolk jacket. "The next act has a dash of his wonderful vigor and command of heroic situation. It is a riding tunic, with officer's braid and riding boots. "The third act is a lamplit symphony in evening even-ing dress. Not gray this time. Conventional black, with a stripe running down the leg. "There are also some words." j? & & On a bracket in Edwin Booth's sleeping room at the Players the apartment remains as he left it ten years ago stands a batter skull which the elder Booth, and afterward his son Edwin, used to soliloquize over in the fifth act of "Hamlet." The story connected with the coming of this relic into Booth's hands is told by Thomas Bailey Al-drlch Al-drlch in the Century, under the title of "Poor Yorick." t C t5 Sir Henry Irving is president of a new organization organi-zation called the British Empire Shakespeare society, so-ciety, and he urges that a similar body be gathered gath-ered together in this country. Of the society's purposes he writes: "It is our desire to promote greater familiarity with Shakespeare's works among all classes; to help the present generation not only to study Shakespeare's works, but to love them; to organize Shakespeare clubs and reading societies in the large provincial towns and colonies, col-onies, and to encourage the study of Shakespeare by prizes awarded annually for the best reading and recitations from his plays." c5 t i May Irwin succeeded because she could sing songs in inimitable fashion. Isadore Rush seems to be succeeding because she cannot sing songs at all. When poor Roland Reed no longer had need of a leading lady Miss Rush suddenly migrated mi-grated to musical comedy. As Lady Holyrood in "Florodora" she deminstrated that a woman who cannot sing can pretend to, and make a big hit in a musical play. That this success was genuine is apparent from the fact that she was selected for the principal feminine role in "The Medal and the Maid," the latest British importation. importa-tion. All of which proves that the very " last requisite for success in modern musical comedy, is voice. Jv 5 w Richard Mansfield recently signed an agreement agree-ment to bring out the j)lay made by George H. Broadhurst and Justus Miles Forman from Mr. Forman's novel, "The Garden of Lies." He will produce It next year, appearing as Dennis Mal-lory. Mal-lory. t& i&fr t,5 The attraction at the Salt Lake Theater the first four nights of next week will be "Reuben in New York," a musical farce comedy, which has had a successful run in the eastern playhouses. play-houses. The comedians are clever, the girls pretty and the costumes giddy, and the music is new and of the kind that lingers. The play has many laughable situations and pretty stage pictures. pic-tures. t e & Madam Nordica, the Metropolitan Opera HOuse Symphony orchestra, Madam Fisk and FranlB the viblinst, will appear under the managempnl of Mr. Piper at the Tabernacle on October "1,4th. Madam Nordica has already taken the Salt Lake public into her keeping, and there is little necessity neces-sity for saying anything regarding her marvelous marvel-ous voice or the great successes she has achieved in this country and during her recent engagement in Europe. She is probably the only great American Amer-ican singer who has been ablq to achieve a distinct dis-tinct triumph in the difficult roles or Brunnhidle, Isolde and other Wagnerian characters. Nordica was reared in humble surroundings, studied music mu-sic in Boston, sang in church choir, and Anally appeared as a concert singer in New York with Gilmore's collection of musicians. Under his tutorship, tu-torship, she made a tour of Europe, where, for the first time, foreigners realized that an American Ameri-can woman could render their own operas better than most of their gifted daughters. From Italian to French, and from French to German operas, she glided with marvelous ease, establishing a new standard and interpretation of Elsa, Brunn-hildo Brunn-hildo and Isolde. Her phrasing and personating of Verdi's greatest creation, his mystical Aida, has been unsurpassed in the world of music. |