Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-12-29

N
M days nobody ever reads Les
Miserahles '--more's the pity! II
stnnds modestly on corner H.
brary shelves, side by side with The
| Cloister ana the Hearth" "The New
comes" Don Qulxote' and other
works which required a lifetime for the
writing and require almost a lifetime
for the reading No novel OF which this
may be said can be put on the stage
! satisfactorily, and II IL rather unfor-
| tunatc that Wilton Lackaye didn't real
| lie mis- before he began the adapta-
ton OF Victor HIgo's masterpiece
| which, under the title OF 'The Law
! and the Man. he presented just before
| Christmas at the Manhattan theater,
MIR. Lackaye made this dramatization
| years ago, but, as he used 10 say
"find manager TO produce III ! can {
even find q manager to pronounce III!
The volunteer at last was William y
Brady, and the piece was given before
an enthusiastic AuOicuce that lncludeo
most of the Lambs club. THE Law
and the Man" however, is not good
play II isn't play at all-mereiy a
procession OF incidents. You can take
il from me that no dramatist alive can
make a play out of book containing
more than a hundred thousand words
There Is far too much in a Lowell like
that To- be compressed into two hours
and a half THE Law and the Man
Just skins Les Miserables,' and even
then the rapidly OF action is some
what terrifyluS. The second scene OF
the prologue. Tor example, lasts only
Y minutes. and in that time Jean VAL
jean explains his condition to Bishop
Welcome, eats dinner, goes TO bed, falls
asleep, has a nightmare, wakens, steals
the silver. goes 10 the highway, is ar
rested brought back, vlndicated by the
bisho- and saved by God. The sort OF
a IL minutes that ought to appeal to our
strenuous president!
"Tha Law and the Man" covers n
period Of is years, 1t has nine scenes,
each treating OF some separate part of
the book. AS result, the play Is frag-
mentary, disconnected, episode. 1t has
no more construction than one OF those
cinematograph pictures that jumps
from place TO place. Mr.. Lackaye Sc
lected for use the incidents OF Valjeane
suffering in the streets Of Dillon after
his release from prison. OF his saliva
ton In the home Of Bishop Welcome, OF
his accession TO the position Of mayor
Of Meme, OF his confession of Identity
to save the falsely-accused Wheel
wright. Of his rescue of COsette from
the wicked Thenardiers, OF his escape
from their garrett In the Rue d Hospital
and. finally, OF his death just after the
marriage Of Cosette and Marius. As is
Inevitable there are thrilling and vital
moments in the melodrama, but, in
stead of striking the bulls eye like
bullet the play scatters around 1t like
birdshot
Yalpean Is a monologue rather than
a role, but Mr.. Lackaye prevents Its
being monOtonous by bringing to bear
upon It all his fine qualities Of versa.
tility and characterization. Most OF
the supporting company is unsatisfac-
tory. though credit for good work
must be given to Melbourne Meadow
ell. John d. OHara, + Pollard, JEFF
freys Lewis and Josephine Sherwood.
The scenery is excellent.
There isn't anything in the woFld
much more trying than a first night
at the Fourteenth-Street theater, where
now and again some new melOdrama
seems sufficiently deserving Of atten-
ton TO draw regular critics into the
region OF penny arcades and dime mu-
senms. Thirty years ago the fashion
and culture OF the city drove TO the
doors OF this house to see Charles
Fletcher and Clara Morris, but last
week, when Beulah Poynter appeared
there IN her own dramatization OF
Mary j. Holmes novel. Lena Rivers"
fashion and culture were conspicuous
by their absence. Alan Dale sat tFo
l. NAFNt E.af a q
a large lady whose enjoyment of her
evening was both emotional and gas
tronomlc. During the enactment OF
quiet scenes she made queer noises,
whether proceeding from sobs or from
the munching OF chewing gum ! wasn't
quite able to make out. The orches-
ira Of the theater was filled with peo-
pie like her, and from over the railing
OF the gallery appeared frieze OF
heads that would have put to shame
the designer OF AT the Circus"
Lena Rivers proved TO be without
steamboat wrecks automobile races or
other mechanical features. II is just
the kind Of play that ought to please
old people who maintain that nobody
has ever written a drama 10 equal THE
Bankers Daughter" / ray ought 10
please" but It wouldn't, for. II the piece
Nef revived IbNult Aueoe pll peORlo
would find "The Bankers Daughter
Just as stilted and silly as ! found
Lena Rivers" All the heroes and
herolnes and assistant heroes and hero
ines in Miss Poynter's play were much
too good for this world. and all the VII
lalns and assistant villains growled and
scowlcd IN a manner that would have
betrayed them instantly TO anybody less
obtuse than 4 hero. Lena's sweetheart,
Duwart Belmont, whose name sounds
like that Of q Scotch whisky, but isn't,
suspected that Lena was having an In
.rigue with q gentleman who really was
her father, 40 he accused her OF being
that mans mistress" which IL an aw-
ful thing 10 say on Fourteenth street.
Lena retaliated by hitting him IN the
eye with a baby blue glove; giving him
the mitten. az 'twere. IN most literal
fashion. Afterward. Mr.. Dale tells
me, Duwart and Lena wsre married.
but missed this. About the time that
. No 4