Truth. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1901-1908, 1906-03-31

$50

lHlelllBenlly expect UnaU the playWr1Snt
would surrender herself less to mere
theatric clap-trap and beat the emo
tional keyboard with stiff, rather than
homeless fingers. The first and second
acts grip the audience and command
attention-with the foolish twaddle
about the heroine's novel mercifully
abbreviated, there would be sufficient to
develop the theme and prepare for the
tragic end. But rather than the fact
of the heroine's authorship being in
cidental-or largely so-the first and
second acts are written around the
mythical novel. OF course this sup
posed novel is the key whereby the
wronged woman unlocks the past and
reveals her secret shame to her lover.
But, before the end of the play, |
Thought the key became unduly large
and had an almost comic penchant for
unlocking too many doors. The third
act-where the heroine makes her
fearful revelation-is so crowded with
! the exits and entrances of nearly every
member of the cast, as to direct the
attention of the audience quite away
from the climax of the long withheld
confession.
But from that time on Miss Smith,
the authoress, becomes almost breath
less in her haste to reach the tragic
end-and it comes, with the crack of
the pistol, leaving the audience to
guess the suicide of the heroine. The
end could not be otherwise, according
to the way Miss Smith developes the
dramatic action of her play. But, after
the heroine has gained the pardon of
her lover-after the tears of repent
ance have jeweled the cheeks of
this repentant woman-the dramatist
should have shown some way to win
back the sweets of mercy to redeem
ed woman. And while the play ends
logically, it ends too disagreeably
This, in my opinion, is the fatal weak
ness of the play. Miss Roberts real
lied all our expectations as Pauline
Darcy, the unfortunate heroine. Mr..
Cort has surrounded his star actress
with a company of surprising merit.
1t is now up to John Cort, Florence
Roberts and THE Strength of the
Weak" to give the Broadway counter
sign. Will they be allowed to pass?
Lots of noise at the Orpheum this
, weeek-the Drunken Sailor has caught
IOh' ieoodiiC anu )OItIO-WulCu IHG
Captain and which the Drunken Sail
or, l know not-do a clever stunt in
I knock about gymnastics that keeps the
house in an uproar. Never for min
ute Is the Drunken Sailor on the water
, wagon. He's jagged to foolishness ev-
, ,ery minute and in a continuous trough
, house" mix up with the property furni-
ture. There's laugh coming when
, you see him.
The plastic poses of the three Sell
doms is one of the best things seen
on the Orpheum stage this season
These marble workers represent all
kinds of classic and modern statuary-
: their posings are so still and stone-like
as to really suggest creations of the
chisel Daniel and His Lion" di-
vorce sketch by William Davis and
Maud Neal calls for no applausive hys-
teria-and indeed receives none. Law
ne and Walton in a comedy entitled
: The Gas Inspector and the Prima
Donna" are slightly amusing. Mr.. La
vines juggling with a cigar-never
mind the brand-and battered silk
hat is study in dexterity. He fiicks
his hat in the air and catches it, on the
rim, with his cigar Then with the
hat thus balanced, he shakes his head
and the hat, somehow, drops over his
head. It's clever-awfully clever
Ice Audi I@h IL