The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-03-19
Grand Opera House.

1t was almost impossible to form an
idea of the effect produced upon the
minds of the audience at the opera
house by the performance of last eve
ming. Engaged" is always an expert
ment and sometimes proves to be
practical joke. 1t is one of the best
things its gifted author ever wrote,
and will be remembered by those who
have seen. it after THE Pirates OF
Penzance" and "Pinafore" are forgot
ten. To our mind w. S. Gilbert is the
only modern humorist, the man of up
to-Cate wit, who is to be compared
with Smollet and Cervantes. En-
gagged" was written many years ago
and was played here as far back as
1879; this seems to hold good as to
that play. 1t is said of that piece that it
never yet brought any animated ap-
plause. but last night it aroused a de-
cided chuckling of pleasure all over
the house that increased as the pecu-
liar flavor of the humor became more
clear and at last the enjoyment be-
came just as hearty as if it had been
expressed by uproarious applause.
The instructions of the author to
the players are that the utmost earn
eStneSs must be maintained through
out even the most ludicrous situations,
and 1t is not to be expected that people
will laugh outright while act
VI duO dClItSS6S DIRE SOIAS
through scenes of heart-rending
emotion. We have learned to restrain
ourselves under similar circumstances
on other occasions when Gilbert was
not the author and when the perform
ers were sincere, but equally ludicrous,
and that is why no audience applauds
at the humor of Engaged" But they
enjoy 1t clear through The conscien-
tous Scot who wrecks trains for a liv
ing and prays that the loss OF life may
be light; the susceptible Cheviot Hill
(AIr. Clarke, upon whose tree of life
the fruit of love is ever ripening; who
loves and interloves until his con-
science is racked with broken pledges,
and yet desires to do justice to all and
IS not particular to whom; the pure
minded and faithful Scotch lassie,
Maggie, fiat of form and void of pur-
pose, though a sweet creation in the
hands of Miss Kingsley; the painfully
and distressinglys beautiful Winnie,
well played and well dressed by Miss
Leigh, and the romantic Belvawney of
Mr.. Kyle, all mingled well together in
the most ridiculous series of complica-
tons that could possibly be contrived
Into the midst Of this Gilbertian fun,
Miss Bateman enters with a serious
ness that becomes her WE'LL and she
proves herself to have an exquisite
sense of humor. without which the
whole piece would be fiat and still more
obscure. Her flood of queries when
she wonders whether she is a widow,
and if so, how much, is the richest bit
OF serio-comic catechism that can be
imagined.
Miss Cooke has a comparatively I'M
important part and is outdone in the
Scotch dialect by Miss livingstone
though none have quite caught the
proper smack of it.
We are still in a sea of doubt
whether Engaged" will prove popular
during the week, but there is every
evidence that the piece has been well
studied and it is certainly being we'll
played. If it does not succeed it will
be no fault of the members of the cast.
Mr.. Huntington is not in it; it is his
week off