The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-01-27

= company in Lord Chumley'' all /
= week. 1
ANAGER KALLMAN RE
marked the other day tina
Sol Smith Russell neve
u would play Peaceful Val
ley" after seeing Ralph Z
cummings In the leading role
Dir. Russell was right This was
probabl' his first opportunity of see
ing the play from ,he front of the
house, where he might judge the ex-
tremely few merits and ocean of de-
merits the piece possesses. So far as
Mr. Cummings is concerned, there can
be no criticism 10 offer. He does hosea
Howe with a refreshing originality.
But just why Peaceful Valley ever
was tolerated, unless perchance be-
cause it was linked with the name of
Russell is not quite clear 1t is one OF
those rOllickinS comedy dramas with
out any particular point 10 il. A farm
eI boy for a hero * a theme upon
which the prehistoric Greeks might
have written. from the point of its an
tiquity. The pla- has some scenes that
would today turn the tide of favor
from Lincoln Carter, We're they carried
through the plot-the hero knocking
the villain down a hill, for example
and when the lawsuit game has to be
rung in to make the hero rich in the
last act, II is apt to strike one that
the playwright was in pretty hard cir
eumstances- NeVerf heleSS, this play
has caught public favor and held il in
many a city more cosmopolitan than
salt Lake. For some reason local the
sitre-gOers didn't take TO il at all
While Mr.. Cummings splendid comedy
work was appreciated by those who
witnessed it, patronage was aIarmingIy
Indifferent
Mr. Cummings has by this time quite
fully demOnstrai ed his versatility. He
has been seen in a different role each
week, and were the town to vote on
the question, a majority would prob
ably say they liked him best in Cap
tain swift tt certainly was in this
piece that the company showed to best
advantage. There was no comedy in it
Tor the star but it proved that it isn't
absolutely necessary for Mr. Cummings
20 be funny. 1t is hoped that more
plays OF the Captain Swift stripe viii
be presented by this excellent little
Stock company. This week, in the title
role of Lord Chumley,' AR Cum
mlngs has a broad comedy part, in
which he is said to excel.
Could Hall Caine have foreseen tie
great adaptability of his novel for ths
stage, il is just possible that THE
christian. never would have appeared
as a book. The general verdict with
reference to this great work seems to
be that the play is greater than the or
1ginaI form IN which the story was pre-
scented uIFraTl a fl1 rt-7f B,
many grave doubts of its success. |
Eaine did well to entTuSt it in the
hands of Viola Allen. for il was she
who brought the play into prominence
and established it so that others Of less
talent might risk taking II on the road.
The Christian" was dramatized un-
der the supervision of the author l1st
~ a time when Viola Allen was leaving
The trChm. n forces. Comm =TCialisrl
entered into its construction. Miss Al
len was To take the play out. and she
had To be the feature to assure its sue
cess For this reason an effort was
made To make Glory Quayle the center 3
or the plot and John Storm more OF an
incident This was unnatural. Storm
is the real great character of. the story
and he lived through the hostility of
the playwright to be the real character
OF the drama. Tt was impossible to /
make Storm a. secondary character
and the natural result was the eleva- !
zion Of Glory to the Importance of her /
opposite. Both We're brought Gus more
strongly and this contributes largely to I
the conclusion of many that the play is /
greater than the novel
But there is much room for improve
nHent in the play as il is today. What 1
ON earth Hall Caine wanted that pro-
icEue for SO long as there was any /.
other avenue by which TO Introduce his !
characters. is a puZzler. The curtain 4
Uses on the Isle OF Man. We learn that /
Storm wants TO be q minister and Glory !
"a hospital nurse Their intention To 2
leave home IS made clear and the rest I
10 nothing. The antiuuarieS /
are introduced for no reason. and il !
keeps one puzzled through the play to +.
know JUS what connect on they haze Z
with it. True, it is something to know
the earlier lives of the principal char I
acters, but there is surely some way
Of getting around this without intro
5uclng feature not alone obnoxious
Tor Its lrrelevancy but one which pro
longs the play until "a half hour before 4
With the prologue eliminated "The
Christian is one OF the greatest dra-
matte studies ever produced Tt is faS-
-iuating in its action. deep YET clear III
motive pure in moral and grand in its
Intensity. Every line in it is worth
something. and Game has given it a rs
ieious nature that one can almost
breathe.
The character OF John Sterm is one
nat acquires study and one liz which
-le temperament of the actor must !,
display itself Fortunately. this role is
n excellent hands Although "a young
man, Lionel Adams gives il an inter
lfeJation ln which the John Storm of
me novel IS reflected. He forgets thai
le is Adams apparently. and presents
very carefully measured detail as
-ao7Sh he bad worn the ministerial
obes all b re- and was in reality the
meek, ST conservative and fanat
cal pr me represents Mr.. Adams
j as Iorl-leTly with M0dbska
JHila stuart. the Glory of the com
'aHy which appeared last week. rises
D." am unusual pitch in her emotional
'ehes- There is much in her work 10
.omirs, but she can never be an ideal
Glory QUayie.
There is nothing more interestin-
man @" watch an audience through n
lrrIormdnce like The Christian" IN
+ men the tendcreSt emotions are .a,ys.ff
ri ana must find expression The sDau !
,i woman who is not moved in .s9r,e .
iesree 10y the soft scenes of a l-a-4a I
feh rendered. has vet 90 live r7rl,a
i'pIiaf way for "a woman e. vent nor /
eti'iEs ls 10 produce "a handkerchief
A ma p van always give "a little cough /
II Sulp, or bo-h. That is Just To- k.a,,
rom uelIls BOBBY You can see ana / .
leaf D. an from the back of the boi4sa ,
ma al times one might think the Town !
rs IN the grasp or an epidemic of lung
Ioublp -7