The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-11-11
FOrbearance of Salt Lake
Audiences.
LEONARD GROWERS HARD
FORTUNES.
Coming Observation-Disclosures Lewis
at the Theatre-RumOr of RO-
many Rye'S Return-TheiChica-
go Church 'ChOirs-AnOther
Musical SOciety-GOSSip,
Etc., ETC., Etc.
SALT LAKE AUDIENCES.


The case of a patron Of the drama
in New York who testified his dis
approval of a certain play by taking
a long breath and sending forth a
good round hiss, and who. when
brought up before magistrate for
disturbing the performance, argued
that I e had as much right to hiss
when he saw anything bad as to ap-
plaud when he beheld anything
good, has caused US to wonder
whether his reasoning was not en-
tirely sound, and whether we in
Salt Lake might not obtain the best
Of results by employing his means
of disappr0val.
Of one thing we are certaiu-that
no other audiences on the face of
the globe sit through bad dramatic
representations with more patience
and pOliteness than the patrons of
the drama in Salt Lake. Looking
back over the past two or three sea-
sons of amusements, the mind loses
itself in an infinity of clap-trap
efusions, immoral plays and fifth
rate actors and actre sses who have
been allowed to strut their day upon
our stage and to make good their
escape with no accompanying marks
of our vengeance. Who but us
would have silently endured the
constellation of stars presented by
Jolly Jack" Langrishe? What
audience but ours would have re-
Trained from unmelcifully s'guying"
the mother in Colleen Bawn"
Where but in Salt Lake would Miss
Corlette, of the Grover company,
have been safe in making a second
appearance? The villain in Rom
any Rye" Stevens "Secsnd
Love-" DR.. Gustavus Haas.
Mrs. Vernon Willard. Damon
and Pythias," the O.era House
stock company, (merciful heavens,
that memoryD and going farther
back-Nellie Boyd, Staley, our Ger
man Senator, Madam Cappidna,
Yakie, Fritz in Ireland, Carlotta
Patti, with host OF others whose
names recall too many agonies for
mentiOn-all have reason to sing
the clemency of Salt Lake city, and
to celebrate the day that saw them
safely outside her precincts. To this
treatment contrast the reception
with which a .fGSco meets in other
parts of the world; Oscar Wilde's
Vera" was ridiculed off the Union
Square stage: TennYsOn'S play of
"Ihe Cup" though designed for an
emotional tragedy, was laughed at
as though it were a farce; Wilkie
Collins last dramatic effort,
SRank and Riches" nearly caused
a riot in the theatre, because the
actors insisted in going on against
the wishes of the audience; Charles
Reade's "Love and Money" was
fairly hooted off the stage; the
"Remany Rye" pleased San Fran.
cisco, except in that particular place
where four low comedy people are
made to cross the stage in front Of
the curtain-even the galleries re-
regarded this as tomfoolery, out of
place, and the management had to
omit it after the first night. The
moral Of all this is, that our audi> |
ences have the means for r lress-
ing their grievances restiL.- - their
own hands.
GROWERS ENGAGEMENT.
The Grover company, with Miss
Ada Dryer, passed successfully
through the ordeals of Provo and
Springville, and opened In the Ia.
Dor Grand at Denver last Monday |
evening. Although greeted by a |
fair audience, their misfortunes
still seem to have lowered about |
them, for George G. Min, the
preacher-actor, was booked against |
them for the entire week in Shak- |
spearian performances at another
theatre. 1t has been frequently
asked since his departure, How was
it that Leonard Grover, a gentleman
recognized IS second or third in the
rank of American authors, more
than an average actor, with such
people as Grover. jun., Miss May,
Miss DwYer, Miss Waugh, etc.,
failed to make money in city like
Salt Lake? There are four reasons
in the answer to the inquiry; first,
it became generally known before
his appearance here that Mr.. Grover
was performing in Butte, Logan
and Ogden, and hard as it may seem
our theatre-geers look with suspi-
cion on any company taking that
route; second, Mr.. Grover did not
have full company with him and
was forced to "ill in" here with
local talent, something that always
seems to prejudice our audiences,
DO matter how excellent the local
.alent may be; third, Mr.. Growers
advance agent, Mr.. Hathaway, paid
considerably more attention to his
,up than to his posters and, fourth,
he weather was against them every
hight of their performances. Either
)ne of these reasons would have
been sufficient to hurt the en-
yagement, and the four combined
Utterly sWamped it.