The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-05-24

The brilliant week had a brilliant
ending last evening-at least as far as
the theater was concerned. Frank
Mayo closed his Salt Lake season, and
played his beautiful comedy the 355th
time lit first saw light on the night
of April Is, 1880 before very hand
some audience, and one that went into
raptures over the charming work the
star and all his players did. The four
nights receipts could not have run far
from three thousand dollars, phe-
nomenal record. OF course, it had a
sort of devastating effect on the other
two houses, but the Grand has done
fairly with 1.-THE Planters Wife," while
business at the Lyceum, considering
the misfortunes which have on each
others head accumulated, has, kept
nearly UP to the old average. Last
night and yesterdays matinee were
made UP of the speciality programme in
place of the play of Divorced"
Ada Dwyer Russell, who has been
in nightly attendance on ''Pudd' nhead
wilson, has had the privilege OF see
ing as close a counterpart of herself
on the stage as it often falls to the
lot of an actress to behold. Everyone
noticed on the opening night how much
like Mrs. Russell, Eleanor Morett1
voice and manner were. Mr.. Mayo had
Mrs. Russell in his mind all the time
he was at work dramatizing the story,
and she was the first person whom ne
offered a part in the new play When
Z II i-1 M
likely that he looked about for some
one as nearly like her as possible, or
that he schooled his Roxy as closely
as possible TO Mrs. Russelrs style. She
and Mr. Mayo have long been warm
friends; they played together in "Cou-
sin John" and THE Workaday World,
two or three seasons back, and
Mrs. Russell says it was then
she grew to appreciate the
many admirable traits Mr.. Mayo
possesses, as an actor and man. she
is one of his most enthusiastic admir-
ers and thinks rightly enough, that ne
! is the rapidly coming first comedian OF
! the American stage. She says 1t Is
! liberal dramatic education to be under
| his stage management one season. Inc
work of dramatizing 'Pudd' nhead VIII
son" was actively his own; it is said
| there are not a hundred lines of the
! book in the play; Mayo superintendent
/ everything and the care he gave to the
smallest detail is evinced in the com
! pleteness with which the smallest
! character is made to stand out. The
whole Jury imDresses one as having
been taken in hand individually and
trained by Mayo himself. 1t is most
pleasant to note that big part OF the
/ fortune "Padd' nhead Wilson" is max
ing remains in Mr.. Mayo's pocket. The
play was put on and backed by Evans.
! the book agent in The Parlor Match,
partner of Hoey, and he bought 1t out
! at the Herald square theatre, New
! York. Mayo's fortunes then were at Il
| low e;bb. and Evans stood as his an
gel" 1t was some time before it attract
ed attention, and ten thousand dollars
were lost on it before the tide COM
/ menced to turn. Now it is coming
money every night. Evans hires the
company and manages. Mr.. Mayo re-
ceives a weekly salary of some tall
amount and a big share of the royalty,
the other share of course going to Mark
Twain.
Tomorrow night at the theatre, Ro-
land Reed will present The Politician"
which has been universally pronounced
one of the good things of the theatre
cal year. Mr. Reed is fun personified
as any number of our theatre-g oers
are willing to testify, and it is said
he has in General Josiah Timber a role
that exactly suits his quaint and pleas
ing manner.
1.-THE Politician" relates to the eff
forts of General Timber, practical
politician, to nominate his candidate for
! congress. The general proves to be as
strategic as his name would imply,
adroit in love and war, and an expert
double dealer, whose fine italian hand
is equally at home at running eau
Gus, "jollying the boys" making solid
the Chunkalunk delegation, or manag-
ing the campaign fund. His humor
reaches its climax in a scene outside
the convention doors, wherein he for
mulates the platform, cuts few splin-
tiers off the We mans suffrage plank,
and instructs the workers.
The new woman is introduced and
charmingly played by that beautiful
woman, Isadore Rush, of whom a crit
ic recently said: Hail to the twenti-
eth century if Isadore Rush as Cleo
patra Sturgess be a true harbinger of
the twentieth century young woman.
She might pose as the goddess of
laughter, and as for her smile, it is
H. rN llEar