The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-04-17
Brigham Young's Chair.

parquet floor then, and no stalls. Inc
stage ran out over the space now occu-
pied by the orchestra. with a door on
either side for actors 10 reach the stage
from when they desired to respond 10
curtain calls.
The illumlnant was coal oil The side
lights on the stage consisted of lamps
in boxes, five to a box. over every box
was a slide. which could be lowered
gradually, giving the players as strong
or as dim light as they desired An
other ingenious cOntrivance was that
by which the fOOtlights We're worked
Each lamp sat in a hole bored in the
center Of a disk. Attached TO the disks
were tin shades which, when the foot
lights were on full, rested against the
stationary shades next TO the audience.
A wire or string was attached to each
disk and all were attached TO levers or
stage.
How Darkness Was Produced
When it was necessary to darken the
| fOOtlights a lever was pulled. the disks
swung around, carrying with them the
shades, and the lights were effectually
| cut off The pulling Of another lever on
| the other side of the stage turned the
| lights on again. The auditorium was
( lighted lamps in brackets around the
/ first balcony rail and at the exits.
| Things have changed since then. The
| veteran, Mr. Evans, has seen coal oil
| give way to gas and that 10 electricity,
/ and he is prepared for any further
! changes that may come
| The first gas used in the Theatre
| came through pipes laid from plant
| installed in a little building TO the west.
\ 1t was made from gasoline, and was
| extremely unsatisfactory. because IL
| had a pleasant little habit of going out
| when too much air got into the pipes.
/ which was often, unless the plant was
/ very carefully watched. In 1872 the
| benches were all taken out and chairs
/ substituted. At the same time lower
| stage boxes and stalls were put in and
| the stage cut back a distance Of seven
! feet. Since then except for compare
| lively triaing alterations, the Theatre
/ has remained the same in general ap-
/ pearance.
Theatres First Real Season.
In was in November, 1852, that the
| real first season began. The play was
| 'Signor Ballianti," founded on the MAJ
| between the United States and No
| leo, and John 7. Game was the atar
/ performer Mr. Evans work STATED
! then, and he has kept it up continuSuls-
/ ly ever since. First he was assistant Z
! property man. In that position he re-
| manned for several years, when he was
! promoted to be assistant stage carpen-
/ ter. Then he became head carpenter, a,
| role he has filled to the thorough salts
/ faction, not only of the different thea
! tire managers. but of the professional
and amateur players with whom he has
] come in contact.
| The first outside star Mr.. Evans han
| died scenery for was Thomas Lyme.
| Lyme came here 70 help out the Home
/ Dramatic company and appeared in a
! number of roles. He was well known
/ to the Salt Lake public because he had
1 given performances in NauvOO- Mr..
{ T,N-r1 1T haP 1T0ea Of he
4 stays Of the company. He took up his
| residence here and, uD 20 his death,
/ fourteen or fifteen years ago, was a
/ prominent figure in local theatricals.
! Later came Mr.. and Mrs. Irwin and Ju-
/ liza Dean Haynes. They played Romeo
/ and Juliet 1.-The HunChback" and
| other dramas. Annette Ince followed
| them, and she in turn was followed by
4 all the old-time men and women stars.
Maud Adams on Tea Tray.
! Mr.. Evans has a very lively recolIec-
| ton of Annie Adams. mother Of MaUde
/ Adams. He staged the first production
/ in which she appeared, as a girl Of II.
! And a very handsome girl she was.
/ too. in Scion Shingle,'' said Mr.. Evans.
! She was a splendid reader and was a
/ great favOrite from his first perform
ance." Mr.. Evans was not entirely sure
! about Maude's first appearance. Il
/ know he said, that John S. Lindsay
| claims he introduced Maude TO the
| stage. He says he carried her on on a,
/ tea tray, and you can understand from
! that that she wasn't a very big girl.
4 The play was The Lost Child I re-
/ member very distinctly that Mr. Lind
| say did carry baby on on a tea tray.
! but whether the child was MaUde
/ Adams or not I don't know
| The greatest performance 1 ever saw
! from the wings?" Mr.. Evans repeated
the question thOughtfully. L think 7
! may say without hesitation he went
| on, that the greatest performance 7
! have ever seen was Edwin Booths
/ Hamlet. I had met Mr.. Booth, but I
| could not say I knew him. He was a
( shy. retiring man. Almost invariably
! he would stay in his dressing room IN
1 til time for him TO 90 on the stage, and
1 as soon as his act was over he would
| return TO his dressing room.
Booths Reading of Hamlet.
The night I saw him play Hamlet 7
| stood in the second entrance. Before he
had spoken a dozen lines forgot every
| thing except the wonderful man on the
| stage l forgot ] was stage carpenter,
/ forgot I was in the Theatre, even. Mr.
| Booths reading OF Hamlet gave a new
] and mora beautiful meaning 10 every
, word Shakespeare wrote into the play
| In my time l have seen many actors
! ana actresses IN many plays, but |
/ have never seen but one Booth and one
! Hamlet, and 1 never expect TO see an
/ other"
/ Mr.. Evans has a, very vivid recOlIeC-
/ ton of John Mccullough. Il think Mr.
| Mccullough was one Of the most real
! istic actors I ever saw. He actually
| seemed to transfer his identity to the
| character he played, to suffer with
| him and for him as the real character
/ would have suffered if he had been n
| living man. 1 remember well a scene
J in Roman play Mr.. Mccullough put
] on As the ruler he was called upon 70
! sentence his own son TO death. He was
apparently as much exercised as any
( father would be under such circum-
/ stances ! know he actually wept. be
| cause I saw the tears roll down his
cheeks"
An Exciting Incident.
George PaUncefOrt, as Mr.. Evans re-
J members him, was a most irascible
( genius On one occasion the property
man failed to have some necessary ar
ticle in the right place at the right
time. PaunCefOrt was crazy mad about
II. He picked up a heavy club and be-
gan hunting for that property man.
! If he had found him there would have
been a sure enough killing, too" said
Mr.. Evans. But the property man had
sense enough to hide somewhere until