The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-05-30
AmuScmcHtS.

Richard Mansfield, the actor, charmed
a great and fashionable audience at the
Salt Lake theatre last night. Beau
caire." the play in which he appeared,
I is almost a monologue. It affords little
I opportunity Cor the display of histri-
onic genius by any except Mr. Mans
field. But Mr.. Mansfield sufficed the
audience. He received repeated calls
and was lionized all the evening by
the captives to his superb art.
"Beaucaire' possesses none Of the
elements of greatness and would I'M
doubleday fall failure with any but
/ Mansfield in the title role 1t is a
dramatization of TarlFington's delight
I full story, with identical plot, except at
the close, when Tarkingtons dramatic
ending is changed. presumably in order
to fulfill the melOdramatic require
ments of a reunion of lovers, land they
all lived happily ever after" instead
Of the finale and eternal separation de-
/ scribed by the novelist.
''Beaucaire" is a comedy of the Bath,
which Beau Nash ruled. The play
/ opens with the habitues of that aristo-
cratic resort discussing the love affair
of the Duke of Orleans. who has been
/ ordered Jailed by his cousin. the French
king. for his refusal to marry the wo-
man selected for him. This prepares
the way for BeauCaire, who is the Duke
of Orleans, and who has escaped from
! France in the guise of a hairdresser-
the only way pOssible-in order to avoid
prison. BeaUcaire turns up in Bath in
disguise still, SO that the ambassador
in whose train he crossed the channel
may not be involved in trouble. He
quickly falls in love with Lady Mary
/ Carlisle. who is cast as a high born.
/ naughty beauty. Beaucaire, when
expelled from the Bath pump room as
an impOster, sets a trap for the Duke
| Of Winterset who is a gambler and
spendthrift. Winterset promptly falls
into the snare. He conceals a bunch
of cards in his sleeve and is detected
by Beaucaire. Winterset saves himself
from exposure by introducing Beau
caire to Lady Mary as his friend. a
French duke. Winterset. the villain of
the play. also loves Lady Mary. and
after setting a hired bravo on Beau
caire and having his man nearly killed.
tells his friends that Beaucaire is a
barber. They waylay him and attempt
to horsewhip Beaucaire, but in the me-
lee several Of them are severely in
jured. Beaucaire had Just told Lady
u
ness of the fight After it Winterset
denounced Beaucaire as a barber to
her and, Of course, stirs her proud.
naughty soul TO wrath. She discards
Reaucaire and yields to Wintersets
suit This is the status at the begin
ming of the last act, when Beaucaire
invades the assembly room at Bath
and, finding Lady Mary. pours out to
her a plea which sOftens her proud
naughty heart and draws from her a
promise Of marriage. Then the bailiffs
enter to take BeauCaire away a pris-
oner He sends for the French am
bassadOr, just arrived from France.
Upon the latteT's entry the ambassador
drops on one knee and addresses Beau
caire as his master. This was the blow
that finished Winterset and the re-
mainder Of Beaucaire's enemies. Nat
urally, here the final curtain came
after the hero and Lady Mary had re-
peated their vows Of love.
Mansfield was a dashing young
Frenchman to the life- In voice. in
gesture. in manner, he was French.
Little Gallicisms heightened .he illu-
sion which was so perfect that had he
been born in France and French his