The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-05-26


son, the American actress, she would
not use her family name here, but
would be known to publicity as Oda
only. And then Oda Only proclaimed
Ibsen as though she were a prophecies
in land that knew him not. So an
audienee-one audience-the first and
last in a proposed long series of audi
ences-asscmbIed to see Little Ey0lf''
so illumined that all that was in it
would be visible to even uninspired
minds. ALA Nazimova will use the
play here next season, and it would be
as well TO get a clear first view of Oda,
rather than take a doubtful chance OF
obfustication from ALA.
OF course some of US dared to think
we knew from reading Little Eyoif"
that ii is a study of human RESPONSE
bIlity in the duties of love. Rita's love
of her husband, Alfred, is so wild a
passion that she becomes irrationally
je alous of their child, and is glad when
the crippled little fellow is drowned.
Alfred is estranged from his wife by
her saVagery, and turns to Asia, sup
posedly his half-sister, between whom
a love other than brotherly and sisterly
develops. So, when Alfred and Rita
part. and the discovery is made that ne
and Asia are not blood relatives, hap
piness for two out of the three seems
on human responsibility" Now he
will do what he deems his duty practi
cally. He sends Asia away from his
home and brings back Rita.
None of us knew any more about
Little Eyolf'' after Oda's performance
than before, and some of us may have
known less; for she spoke English too
imperfeCtly to be well heard; she was
not pantOmimically graphic actress
to be seen: and that she could be an
artist of high rank in any language
ceemed Incredible. On the second even
ing the very few persons who went to
the theatre read ON the closed door that
she was ''indispOsed."
x x x
Two explicit and palpable new plays
of our own southwest, THE Builders"
and AT the RainbOw's End" are
shown 10 New York. One is of the nine
teenth century, and the other of the
twentieth; so of course they give very
different views of that formerly Span
ISL section of our country. If DdYy
Crockett and Kit Carson have met IN
The life beyond deaths great divide the
two Kentuckians may have become
boon companions over potations of corn
juice, and exchanged "reminiscences of
border adventure, with Davy's accounts
of fights with bears and wolves in the
Cumberland mountains, and Kits de-
scripticns Of warfare with the indians
of the Rockies. Then, when Davy per-
hapS said that Kit had hunted the big
ger and more dangerous game. Kit may
have said: "Oh, but how about youah
run-in with Eleanor Vaughn? Wasn't
that hunting the biggest O. game--a
gal-lady? An didn't youah git the
Oeart of hero
Folks wouldn't NV found out about
that Davy may have replied, shame
facedly. IF Frank Mayo hadn't showed
me up in play. Youah jest wait, Kit,
till some actor gives away your case
of gal-lady."
Well. Ralph Stuart is the actor to
give theatrical publicity TO Kit Car
sons case of gal-lady in AT the Rain
bows End" 1t is a wonder that play,
with Kit for it's hero. has not been
brought out sooner, the historic ma
terial being available and of very hu-
man interest. 1 can't tell you what sort
of a drama is the result, because-well,
wrote it in collaboration with Mr..
Stuart. 1t was meant to be a depic-
ton of adventure on the Santa Fe trail,
at time when that was the only path
way from Missouri; through the
Apache wilderness into New Mexico,
and especially of one sentimental jour
hey made by Carson to escort Marian
Kent Is it a mere Indian melodrama?
Is it a romance of heroism in the wild
wood? Ned Buntline~ might be proud
of it. but would Fennimore Cooper be
ashamed? Are its pictures theatric
only, or in the spirit of Frederic Rem
ington? And will Ralph Stuart as Kit
Carson repeat Frank Mayo's success as
Davy Crockett, or-but my pen grows
sordid-~
The man of interest in 1.-The Build
ers" doesn't go west to chase Indians,
but to get himself away from pursuers.
He was bred to be a gentleman, but he
killed a companion in the melee of a
spree, and when we first see him he
has served five years in a New York
prison. We go with him to Arizona,
where he becomes the engineer of a big
irrigation ditch, lives and labors
worthily, and quite as honestly, though
less sensibly, loves two girls. Person
ated by William Ingersoll. he is a like
able fellow, and the audience breads
the exposure of him as an ex-convict;
but that is absolutely necessary or else
there couldn't be any drama. His first
sweetheart is the no-account daughter
Of the ditch's wealthy owner, and Ma
rian Fairfax. writer of the play, has as
signed herself to that role. She springs
lightly into the plot, and the arms of
the nero, across the S0HIy IOOIDGluSe
that spans the ditch; and she filters
out again after learning of his past. The
other and truer girl is his typist, who
has a heart trouble of her own, and
makes a sincere effort to adjust his
with the heiress, although she loves
him on her own account. The approved
outcome is that she and he are matched
for matrimony, Amelia Gardner plays
her part very lovably. 1t is said that
a success for the decidedly meritorious
THE Builders" now may mean that
Annie Russell will act in ii next season.
X x X
Lola Montez of Madrid and Cecil
SpoOner of Brooklyn have come up
against each other so hard that they
are imbedded. One of my haunting
impressions from Dante's Inferno" is
that of the sinners doomed to hell for
having wilfully turned their natural
goodness into badness on earth. Their
doom was to have hideous demons
fasten on their backs, adhere there,
grew fast, slowly become parts of their
entities. and so transform them into
unafinitive yet amalgate half-monsters.
was reminded of that Dante fantasy
when 1 saw Cecil Spooner perso aate
Lola Montez in The Dancer and the
King" Lola Montez (have you forgot
ten her history was a Spanish dancing
TazahaI xxrhn hadax-i1a.T ,,,,,,