The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-01-13
Two New Clyde Fitch Plays
Presented the Same NIGHT
BY FRANKLIN FYLEs.

votion to a life of crime The pugilistic
Spirit Selling her, when she is without
even a punching bag to work il off on.
she begins landing upper-cuts to chif-
foniers and Knockout blows to we'll
meaning Morris chairs. In her out
break OF violence she rips window
shade from its roller, whereupon blue
moonlight streams upon picture of
the Virgin and Child. and Moll is
oathed again in religious virtue-so
stay so, so far as Fitch let's us know.
Fitch had ruzzling night with the
Slmultaneousness of 1.-THE Truth" and
The Straight Road" He directs the
productions of his plays, from the Sc
lection of the actors to the smallest
point in their acting. But that work
was done, and he had merely to wait
for the audiences verdict Those au-
diences, however would expect him to
respond to he demands for thank
you speech. Miss Walsh would get
to the end of the second of her three
acts at just about 10 O'Clock, and Miss
Blcodgood to the end of the third of
her four at close TO 1918. But would
the two performances run on schedule
time? They Cid end the author was
able TO get his reception" at both the
aires.
Inc Phenomena or audiences are Pc
culiar especially as to laughter stud
led the merriment at Matilda" be-
cause three-fourths Of the people didn't
laugh at ALL while the other quarter
laughed necessarily. OF the row of
twelve where l sat, nine regarded the
farce with faint smiles, and once i'm a
while smoker, but never with a laugh.
OF the three others a boy gave out
succession of outlaws, a man roared
boisterously, and a woman became so
hysterical with her glee that her COM
panion had TO take her out. This un-
even effect of 1. n. Morris farce is due
TO the fact that some of us think Char
ley's Aunt used up all the fun possible
I'm man disguised as q woman and
others find it as funny as ever. In the
new play a fellow and a girl swap
trousers and skirts, and fool the master
of yacht and his guests. They sing
and dance, too, for this is a musical
farce, although there is no chorus, bal
let or extravaganza sights. The actor
of the bogus woman isn't a grotesque
comedian, like Etienne Girardot in
"Charley's Aunt" but the good-loolxing
young Alfred Hickman, who was
Blanche Walsh's husband with none
but themselves knowing it, until
Blanche showed the marriage certif-
cate along with a decree of divorce
Camille D'Arville and Paula Ed
wardes have come into New York with
comic operas, 1.-The Belle Of London
Town" and The Princess Bcggar." The
curtain had hardly more than risen on
THE Belle of London Town before 1
saw that it was THE School for Hus-
bands" which Alice Fischer had used
year as plain comedy; and that play
had been put on the stage earlier as
Belinda" with Sarah Cowell Lemoyne.
To Stanislaus STANCES prose he has
added verses, set to music by Julian
Edwards, thus evolving a very good
comic opera, with a dashy sort of role
for the spectacular Miss DArville. But
isn't STANCE q lucky chap, to be able
to save a play from a failure under it's
first title when it was rather serious,
and carry it along through very moder-
ate success under a second title, when
ii was made altogether jocular, to final
ly land il with considerable triumph
under third title, when IL has become
a comic opera.
Where is the incentive to the writing
of original librettos for comic operas
when. the old plots and characters are
easier to sell? The title of 1.-The Prin-
cess Beggar' tells all in its three
words, that the daughter of a king is
stolen in infancy, and brought up by
outcast wanderers, to be finally identi-
fed and to get her birthright. You are
almost as sure, before ever the curtain
goes up, that the scene will be in a
mythical kingdom, whose monarch is
hard up, whose court officers are gro
tesque and whose son falls in love with
the girl while he and she still believe
she is a beggar born. Then, too, the
name of Paula Edwardes informs you
at sight that the founding princess is
handsome hoyden, who sings and
dances JOLLY, and practices cleverly all
the tricks in the trade of the soubrette
prima donna. Paula's ancestry may be
vague for a while in the play, but I am
sure that, professionally she is
granddaughter of Lolita Crabtree, a
daughter of Marian Manola and sister
of Lulu CHASER.
This play was made in England by
Edward Paulton and Alfred Robyns,
and it is a good one for Miss Edwardes.
/ don't wish to give the impression that
il is stalled by the oldneSs of it's scheme
fine showing of girls, and is what
New York calls a good Casino enter
tainment.
The takingest title that I have yet
seen is Nellie, the Beautiful Cloak
Model" l saw it in electric letters on
q theatre in a street of stores, and I
that would draw in women like a bar
gain SALE 1t was one of those many
clouded afternoons which, in the va
carries Of New York's aqueous climate,
lose their sunlight and become twilight.
So the astute manager had illumined
the signboard Of "Nellie. the Beautiful
Cloak Model" marked down to 80 cents
for a matinee, to lure the mob of shop
pers in out of the rain. / was one of
the perhaps hundred in an audience
otherwise feminine. But I tried to i'm
bue myself with the prevailing femin-
inc expectancy as to Nellie, the beau
tiful cloak model. / almost added my
own "Ah" TO the hushed hum when
Nellie came into view. A Reata Win
field had been chosen for the cloak
model. not because she had any ability
as an actress. nor because her face was