Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-02-02
May Bring Florence Roberts New
Play Strength Of the Weak"
To Salt Lake.
THINKS IT A GREAT HIT.
Denies Rumor that Contracts for Bur-
iosluc Shows Are to be- Broken
hooking Lyric Dates.

John Cort VINO has Deen IN the the-
atrical business Oh the Pacific coast
and through the west for the past 81
years, who Is owner Of the Northwest
Burlesque wheel OF which the Lyric
theater In salt Lake Is part Is in the
city today, He arrived with Mrs CorI
at noon on a Tying visit and Will re-
main only TN thls evening.
In addition to his buresque circuit,
MIR. Cort Is manager OF Florence Rob-
erts. and perhaps in this star his in
terest IL now mostly conferred, The
primere OF Miss Roberts In "Ann La
mont at the Salt Lake Theater at the
beginning of this season Will he re-
membered. and also her subsequent
tour OF the east after several seasons
as western star.
Misg Roberts, Manager Cort says.
Is now perfecting her plans for new
play for next season, with which MI.
Cort intends that she shall again visit
the east. The Strength Of he Weak
Is its title. and It was given tryout
at Denver on the evening of Jan. q,
making decided hit.
PLOT OF THE NEW PLAY.
Mr.. Cort says that the plot has to do
with the bringing up OF an orphan girl
by an INSCRIPTIONS guardian, who she
hates. Finally she falls In love with the
man OF her choice and the strong scenes
come Then the identity OF her lover. as
the son OF her guardian IL made known
to her The play was written by Alice
NJ. Smith OF Tacoma, Wash Max Els.
man Is the leading man of the company,
and the company as a whole Is on the
highest order. The scenery, too Is
more elaborate than any previous ef-
forts so that Mr.. Cort feels that It Ia
the banner undertaking OF his career as
manager,
MAY COME To SALT LAKE.
Az to the plans of Miss Roberts, Mr..
Cort says that she viii take her play
To the coast, show It IN San Francisco,
and then go direct to New York. on
the way, however. he states that II the
Salt Lake Theater has open dates he
viii drop on here for t'wo nights on
account Of the fact that Miss Roberts
has 40 many friends here, who would
probably like to see her latest effort
He Is enthusiastic about is success
and looks for a bigger New York hit
than was secured last season
ABOUT THE LYRIC.
A rumor has spread through local
theatrical circles that the eastern wheel
furnishing the burlesque shows to the
Lyric was To break It's western con-
tracts. Mr.. Cort denied this. and stat
ed that he was now arranging for the
season Of 1907,
THE success OF the Lyric theater has
been surprise to me-" he declared.
salt Lake IL turning out as many peo-
pie TO It's theaters as Is Denver, and
we regard our Salt Lake house Just as
good q paying proposition as Denver
house. II means that Salt Lake ~
becoming a metropolitan city, and be-
coming one mighty fast
TELLS THE STORY
Nov / will tell you where that story
about breaking contracts started, no
doubt The eastern wheel formerly
had forty show houses and forty shows.
There was a split recently and the
Empire circuit took good many OF
these shows, cutting them off the west
ern circuit. The west reorganized i'm
medlately, however, under the name of
the Columbia Amusement companyand
took In our western wheel of ten thea
tiers. II was necessary to organize
companies quick. and probably 25 COM
panles we're organized In 30 days II
saved the circuit, but gave some pretty
bad ones to the public. Next season
| promise that the whole series will
be 100 per cent better than this years.
Most OF the new ones are through by
this time Next week we get an old
show, and good one, and the week
after that Watsons burlesquers come
TO Salt Lake. and they are the best
bunch on the whole circuit This week
admit the show Is not up 10 stan
dard, but It Is hurting us more than
II Is the public"
IMPROVEMENT IN VIEW,
Mr. Cort said that he considered the
Lyric fully big enough to handle the
burlesque audiences OF Salt Lake. that
when the business warranted II he
would have one more story with n Sec
ond balcony added. This would not be
for several years, however, unless the
city should grow very fast.
oFF-COLoR JOKES.
Regarding off-colored jokes at the play
house, about which there has been oc-
Sasional complaint, Mr.. Cort declared
that II any member OF n company made
an insulting remark, at Seattle, where
he sees the shows. he had him fined
| 500. our shows are for ladies and
gentlemen, and | viii not have them
| insulted II | can help II, For business
reasons as well as any others, we want
| only clean shows. and the determined to
| get them. OF course some Jokes that
would go perfectly well at a higher
| priced theater are regarded "a vulgar
here, BECAUSE some people are looking
| for vulgarity. and will find It, regard
| less OF precautions. On the whole, how
ever, think our shows are not off
color. and We are as quick to stamp out
any show Of II as the people are to
protest against It."