The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-03-12
ADJUSTMENTS.

at least and perhaps longer since Ju-
MUS BrutUs Booth ventured into this
then comparatively uncultured region
and gave production of King John"
as gorgeous as the times and condi-
tions permitted. There are a few Salt
Lakers who remember that perform
ance; who saw the great actor define
ate the role of the crafty king upon the
stage of the Salt Lake theatre-the
same stage that stands tOday-and
wondered that actors could attain such
perfection in a part. They saw that
great cOUntenance drawn up into
dreadful picture of deceit, hate, fury
and murder until they shuddered I'M
consciously in the shadow of the cow
ardly character.
There was another performance of
king John at the Salt Lake theatre
last night r. d. MacLean was the
monarch and MOdjeSka the Lady Con-
stance. The memory was instantly
| challenged to produce something SUI
perior in Shakespearean rendition, and
the memory was, after a brief Strug-
gle, disabled if not totally disarmed.
There have been finer things no doubt,
but not many-not on the stage of the
Salt Lake theatre since the days of the
Booths.
King John" is one of Shakespeare's
earliest tragedies. In writing it, he APP
parently had no aim of greater inn
pOrtance than to make his character
the height-or depth-of despicability.
| In this he succeeded wonderfully. He
gave Richard III the virtue of fear
leSSness. He made King John a low
lived coward with no quality that was
/ not base. Like a dog, he would lie down
/ at a show of force But with weak
subjects and antagOnistic weaklinSs
especially there was nothing too base
for his mind TO conceive. That is, ac
cOrding to Shakespeare. Perhaps the
h-HP
for slight doubt has always existed
as TO the manner of Prince Arthur's
taking off, but in the play Shakespeare
has not emulated the teachings of mod
ern jurists by giving him the benefit
of any doubt. He makes King John
/ condemn the child to a most horrible
DEATH which, happily, is not carried
out as he ordered. In other particulars
the history of the time has been re-
garded with indifference.
king John calls for the usual
! Shakespearean inconsistencies, for
which allowances are always made.
{ The women running around on a battle
field, for instance, and battles of one
minutes duration that wage fiercely
without modern rapid fire guns. yet
decide the fate of empires in that brief
space This sort of thing is always
| viewed with the same eye that allows
| twenty years to lapse between the fall
/ and rise of the curtain.
/ This play is not one in which a wom-
an can be exploited to any great ad-
| vantage, and that is why the honors of
/ last nights performance do not belong
I to MOdjeSka. While the whole play is
/ encOmpassed in this Lady Constance,
/ a woman without tact, and a fraiI.
weak being at that, she is seen on the
stage but four times. The first scene
gives her opportunity to breathe her
! love for her only son and to fling sar-
casm at her mother-in-Iaw, Queen
! Elinor The next time she appears it
( IS to learn of the treachery of King
Philip of France and see all her hopes
perish at one stroke Later she aids
/ the cardinal in starting the war anew,
and finally, through the loss of her
/ son, goes mad. Each scene is brief
| but each is greater than its predecessor.
/ 1t is needless to say they are acted
with pure Modjeskan beauty. Never
was there such a picture of utter hope
! lessness, grief and despair as Modjeska,
/ gives in the fourth act.
But the play belongs to MacLean.
/ He makes the picture of the deSpicable
monarch so real that all else might be
/ forgotten. r. D. MacLean has been
1 before the American public a good
| many years as an actor, but all his
| former efforts are insignificant com
pared with this In casting about for
a man to support the supreme poetic
| acting of the great Polish artist, Wag-
! enhals & Kemper could have made no
more fitting selection.
/ Barry tombstone, too, was welcomed
/ back to Salt Lake in his most preten-
| tiOdS effort, except possibly IagO. He
/ has in the role of FaulcOnbridge the
! one spirit that is refreshing in the
/ piece-if not for its purity, then for
! its bravado. He does the part capitaIIy.
Odette Tyler, who has always here
| tofOre been identified with comedy
| roles, plays the young prince. Her part
is a thinking one until, imprisoned in
| the Tower. her eyes are about TO be
| burned out by the kings order It is
| here that she gives a display of emo
| ton which demonstrates a perfect
! capability in that direction. The cast
! is a large one and the supply of quail
There are some sticks in the piece who
| will never be anything else, but as a
| whole the characters are well main
! tanned.
Macbeth" is the bill for tonight.
! This is MOdjeskaFs greatest opportun-
| ity- She will be seen as Lady Mac
beth. with MacLean in the title role.
| Manager Mulvey was gratified last
evening to see real money pour into
the box office. The largest audience
the Grand has entertained since he re-
/ sumed the management was attracted
/ by Lincoln J. Carriers ''The Eleventh
Hour" There were those in the audi
/ ence who wished it had been his twelfth
/ and last, but on the other hand, there
/ were nunUTeQS VINO nOWleO themselves
/ hoarse as the plot, surchanged with
! blood and thunder, was unfolded THE
/ Eleventh Hour" it can be truthfuIly
I stated, is the most conservative thing
/ Carter has given us in many years and
| there is some hope yet that this author
Will get down to rational melOdrana
/ In this piece the hero is not threatened
| with death more than twenty times all
| the way through and the very worst
/ that happens to him is to be left under.
] a bridge, senseleSs, to die. He does not
/ die. however, but comes back in time
| to stop the marriage of the heroine to
| the william and to beat the latter into a
/ jelly before the police takes him away
/ This fiStic encounter occurs in a draw
| ing room and becomes actually excit-
/ ing, since the two, in rolling about.
| smash nearly $4,000 worth of prop fur
niture.
| The scenery of the play is exception
J ally creditable for this class of prOduc-
ton and the company is up to the Car
J ter average.
Miss Blanche Aldrach of this CITY
| played the leading role last night, hav-
| ing learned it in Il day. The leading
woman of the company was taken iii
with measles at Huntington and after
| the company reached Salt Lake her
place had to be filed. Miss Aldrach did
her work very well, especially when the
time allowed for her preparation is con-
Sidered- The company held two rehear-
sails for her benefit yesterday
The songs of Karl Gardner during
the performance were thoroughly en-
jOyed.