The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-10-08
BY FRANKLIN FYLEs.

New York, Oct 6.-Dewolf Hopper.
Henry z. Dixey. Chauncey Olcptt and
Harry Watson are at the fore In new
plays III New York. | name the ac-
tors ahead of the authors because that
is the order of precedence I'm the esti-
nation of audiences. Take the case Of
Happyland" for an illustration. Reg
maid De Koven wrote the music of
that comic opera, and nothing but
Red Feather" had come from his pen
within four years. He is the owner
of the big Lyric theatre in which il
is performed, and he is a figure in the
smart society of this town. Yet the
ilrst audience made no call for him
TO show himself, and spent its enthusi-
asm between acts on Mr.. Hopper To
be sure, and like an actor, Hopper
took all of the demonstration to him
self, and exhausted it so completely
that when he got through with his llu-
morOuS speech none was left for De
koVen. There was a vigorous demand
for Hopper after the first fall of the
curtain, and he bowed with d clever
initiate of mOdesty; but, when the
applause was continued, did he bring
on De Koven? Not he. In a long and
very comic address, he did not SO mucn
as mention the composer. or anyone
BIT, himself, and he tickled his hear
er5 so much that they thought of
nothing save their favOrite comedian
So ii was HoppeT's own tccasion-
personally as we'll as professionally;
and when he was as 1cd: Have YOU
ever been married." the audience in
stantly separated him from the char
acter he was assuming and with laugh
ter kept him a full minute from t.
plying: Why, when YOU were christ
ened | was at the same altar with by
fourth bride"
All the Tenderlotlers PRESENT iiew
he had been a hus51ld to Edna Wal
lace and Nella Bergen. besides Two Wo-
men not actresses. aud any reiei ence
Of his to wives was bound h - taken
as a guffaw joke.
However. "Happyland" is not gagged
Tor the Tenderloin. Ii Is a comic opera
OF higher class than the other ctr-
rent form of American extravaganza.
The music Is paramount and IF an OK
cellent quality; the company contains
not one poor singer, and there are 10
interpretations of specialtieS. 10 dr3iJS
of performers from the variety shows,
no letting down of artistry to be de-
plOred. This is a Shubert production
costly. tasteful and all i'm harmony
With the design of a comic opera, as
distinguished from musical farce or
vaudeville traVesty. l hope 1t viii be
highly successful; and the diction-
aries, you know, define hope as blend
of desire and expectation.
Frederick Rankin. in the Hbretto of
"Happyland," shirks the danger of sin
gularity and sneaks into the safety of
sameness. The Hopper character is
the usual monarch in distress, with
a daughter TO involve him with a
neighboring prince. a court adviser
to increase his difficulties and a hide
GUS old maid to harass him amOrously.
Hopper has never failed in such a role,
and why take any risk Of newness
when there is the sure old thing avail
able. Moreover, what with two years
at the Weber Fields music hall and
two more on tours with Wang" Hop
per's hard luck king was bound to be
welcomed in Broadway as an old
friend. And the result justifies the re-
course 10 the time-tried but not time
worn scheme of humOT. The first au-
dience laughed at HOpper's eVeT-fondly
remembered trick of fun. and there
Wero those who wanted him to recite
Casey at the Bat" but a majority
suppressed the demand.
Don't misconstrue me as belittling
the success of Hopper in "Happyland.
His drollery was never funnier than
in How l Love Flowers" a duet ditty
in which an assistant comedian, VIII
liam DanfOrth, sings the first two
lines of each verse about some par
ticular flower, and Hopper follows with
two lines of punning on the name.
That song had fourteen encOres on
Monday night. and much of the hilar-
ity came OF the novel manner OF the
delivery. The two actors ignored the
audience altogether. had the stage 10
themselves. addressed the assertions
and responses 10 each other, and went
into ecstasies of laughter and applause,
as though unaware that anyone else
was in the house.
\ point in the plot is that King
EcstatiCus of Elysia has bound him
self to match a son of his with u
daughter Of King Altimas of AitrUria.
But the child who should be a boy is
a girl. Hence a dilemma for her faEh-
er when the nuptial day arrives and
he has no son TO deliver. His trouble
is augmented by the fact that shc
daughter has been kent sexually 80
ignorant that she doesn't know
whether she is male or female. You
see how easily such a travesty of in
nocence might become indecent. Bet
Mr.. Ranken has written the part deli
cately. and the actress assigned - IL
is a dainty little creature, Marguerite
Clark, so Suileless of mein that you Gie
ready TO believe she really is as I'M
knowing as she purpOTts 10 be- Elysia
people wear GTeCian garments, and
you regard Marguerite in her white
role of maiden as the prettiest lhi'lE
pOssible-untiI YOU see her in the short
tunic of a boy. As a tiny companion
TO the bulky Hopper, she recalls LIS
Wang contest of ten years ago with
little Edna Wallace. whom ne welded.
So. as he has the marrying Hab;s-
but I am not casting a matrimonial
hnrnscnna