The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-08-24

TN another week "Corianton" will be
on the road under an itinerary
that will bring the production be-
fore the eyes of the disinterested peo-
pie of Denver, Omaha, Kansas City,
st. Joe and Chicago, with a prospect,
eventually, of hearing in New York.
1t will go from here in a revised form
and upon the extent of this revision,
as every person who has witnessed the
play will concede. the success of the
project largely depends. To remodel
the manuscript. supplying what it lacks
and subtracting what it ought to lack,
is an uphill task, but an imperative one.
The doctoring must be systematic,
careful and thorough. no matter who
is affected.
Actors as a rule fight like grim death
against relinquishing a line especially
If II is a line that brings a hand
from the audience. No matter how
cheap. how foolish how absurd it may
be, if the house, or the lower element
of the house. takes it up with approval.
1t is worse than pulling the proverbial
EYE tooth" to get a player to consent
to its elimination. And there have
been many instances where this self
ish attitude upon the part of the play
er has ruined what otherwise might
have been a successful production. So
II IL with "Corianton," and so il is that
there must be, or should be, a firm,
fiat-footed understanding that the
players speak the lines written for
them.
"CoriantOn" has been vastly i'm
proved since the opening two weeks
ago, but these improvements are in
significant to what must yet be done to
warrant any degree of success To
send the production out in its present
form would be suicide. The Herald
has RETAINED from any detail of criti-
cism until the present, for IL has been
the history of every successful play
that large amount of rebuilding and
alteration was necessary before il be-
came a success. This process has been
applied continually since the opening
night of the Roberts-Bea creation and.
as already intimated, with splendid
results. But still they have not got
at the core Of the evil.
An audience sits through the first
and second acts almost spelI-bound.
but when the third act comes. it falls
as fiat as carrots on an over-filled
stomach The reason is plain. 1t is
too long. The last act is not coed
enough 1t is too explanatory, too
melodramatic, too senseIess to be
taken seriously.
But to begin at the beginning. The
first act is opened by an invisible choir
Careful thought has failed to disclose
any reason for the singing, but # it
must be there, it should at least be
cut down two-thirds. Why should
the audience be bored before the cur
tain rises? The approach of the mob
is clev erly worked up, but it's entrance
is too deliberate, in view of the bowls
and cries heard outside. Let them
rush on.
The members of the company should
get together on the pronunciation of
such names as Shiblon, Coria nton
Korihor. Bastol. Relia-fix the accent
on each. It is noticeable, too, that
common words such as sacrifice and
forked. are pronounced indifferently by
several players.
The music which brings in Alma and
the chief judge is altogether too long
and the orchestration in this particular
chorus is not good: no better than the
singing. in fact. Korihor must come
in after the chorus is over and re-create
the play. "Coriantol" is not an opera
Speaking of the music, while drama
tic license covers a multitude of incon-
sistencies is II not a tact that in those
days harmony was limited TO about
five strings on a harp? There may
be some choral work but it might be
greatly simplified. Then put an organ
behind the scenes. Give il ANYTHING
but an orchestral accompaniment from
the front of the house
The climax-Korihor's scene with
Alma-would be greater if shortened
What should be the climax is Korihor's
declaration Thy God is a lie" The
audience hears practically nothing aft
er that and has but a vague idea of
what actually brought on the curse
The words. L defy thy God" are in
variably lost.
In the second act the very effective
scene of Zoan passing the wine to CO.
rianton is a blank 20 the audience, as
the ballet hides Zoan completely
ZOan's speech about fallen women has
been toned down considerably. but not
enough The denunciation is great,
barring the length to which it is car
ried. Her appeal to become his slave
and the ranting and screaming at
tached thereto becomes little short of
absurd.
The third act. as before stated. is too
drawn out. Every scene must be cut
in two. every speech that is not alb
solutely essential should be killed
As to the fourth act there is a wide
difference of opinion. 1t would be just
as we'll to make il a sort of tableau
to the rest of the play. Where is the
necessity for bringing Zoan and Sean
tum into it again2 Is it not just as
natural to assume that when Corianton
returned to his land and TO his people
the others passed out OF his life2 The
fourth act should certainly be acted by
Alma, Corianton and Relia. 1t would
serve some wise purposes. 1t would
eliminate another chorus It would do
away with that farciCal sword combat
1t would save the ruinatiOn OF Relia's
scene by the grotesque entrance Of
Bastol. And yet it would tell ell that
is necessary.
"CoriantoR' still suffers with mod
ernisms. 1t is difficult to imagine a
jester in the home of High Priest Alma
Bastol, some think. should be more Of
n companion to Corianton. a bluff.
reckless sort of fellow. but not jester
The farewell performances of Corr
anton in Salt Lake. at this writing. are
scheduled for Wednesday matinee and
night and Thursday night. one of these
performances being for the old folks.
Tomorrow night at the Grand theatre
1.-THE Prince and the Peasant" viii be
given as 8 benefit to the clever young
composer. Harold Orloh. who holds
himself responsible for the indebtedness
IL