The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-05-17


Lucy. Fanny Rice
From the commercial standpoint the
star" performance of THE Rivals at
the American theatre last Thursday
afternoon was triumphantly successful
The prices of the seats ranged from 50
to S1.5e. and every seat was occupied
No sooner were the doors of the theatre
opened than the flock of admission
ticket holders at S1.50 damned in and
filled every available square inch of
standing room. There were ten women
present to every man, and the tor, gal
lery bore as modish looking gather
ing as the parquette. The receipts
Were-it'S a secret, but all secrets must
be divrlged-just exactly $3.50. Joseph
Brooks, who stood ION the door" and
watched the people pour in, looked as
Jubilant as he used to in the early days
of Brooks and Dickson. If it were pos
sible to doubt the genuineness of the
treasurer's report that the receipts
were $3.50, there would be no miStak
ing that quietly jubilant look on the
face of Mr. Brooks. Wherefore, it is
repeated, the event from the CONNER
cfal viewpoint must be characterized
as a prodigious success.
Artistically the performance cannot
be candidly praised.
~ SIdl PERFORMER Cdn never D6 du
artistic one. The natural and harmoni-
Gus illusion of life can only be attained
when each and every member in a
theatrical representation contributes
his or her share and no more than
his or her share to the agreeable whole.
1t is the old lesson of military subordi-
nation where individual capacities and
personal characteristics must be oblit-
Grated for the sake of the ensemble.
But actors, like all human beings,
have their vanities; most of us-if we
only cared to confess it-would, like
Bottom, try to play everything from
the roaring Hon to ''Tisby dear" And
so while the performance of a star
cast must be condemned on general
principles as Numerically opposedto
the true aim of dramatic art, the mem
bers of such a cast cannot be blamed
for making their strongest possible bids
fer individual applause.
Every actor in the Rivals cast the
other day worked with honest zeal to
get the most out of his part The re-
suit, as may be imagined, was incongru-
Gus and unsatisfying The ripe method
OF Mrs. John Drew contrasted glaring-
ly with Br Cranes modern sense of art
The finesse and equipose of Joseph JEFF
ferson were jarringly offset by the gro
tesquery of Francis Wilson. Such a
classic as 1.-The Rivals" can only be
made enjoyable when it is acted. as
it was conceived. in spirit of refined
ultra-idealism. The spirit was palpa-
bly, lacking in the performance of three
members of the cast the other day.
There was discordant clash between
the mellow and the modern
Mr.. Jefferson's Bob Acres indeed held
the whole thing together. 1t was the
same exquisite delicate personation
that has come to be regarded as a chef
doeouvre of the comedians art. Never
once realizing Sheridan's conception, it
IS, however, so infinitely delightful, so
humanely comic and pathetic that the
actor can not be blamed for his irrev-
Grant trampling upon tradition. To see
Joseph Jefferson as Bob Acres is to
see the rarest and finest exemplification
of the comedians art that the stage of
this country has produced for a score OF
years.
Victory Bateman and Howard KYLE
have been playing together sixteen
weeks at stock theatre in Pfttsburg.
Both received handsome testimonials
on the closing night, and of Miss Bate
man the Mirror says:
The repertoire in which she has ap-
peared was almost exclusively con-
fined to the standard and classic
drama. Goldsmith's she Stops to
Conquer" was splendidly revived. and
Miss Bateman's Kate Hardcastle re-
ceived the warmest encomiums 1.-THE
Rivals" Caste" Moths" cher own
version) were also produced in man.
ner that called forth unstinted praise
from the press. The opening bill, Gil
berts comedy of "Sweethearts, was
| another unqualified success. The orig
inal contract called for a season of