The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-04-21

void of love between men and women
as a principal theme. Whether class
ical tragedy or ephemeral farce, pic
turesque romance or unimaginative
realism, pOetical or prosy, elevated or
degraded, no other subject than sexual
love serves to excite interest in stage
shows. Even when the playwright
takes up some political. social or other
humanitarian problem, he embodies a
love story in its elucidation. Maybe
you think you don't care for fiction
about affairs of hearts and that all such
stun is nonsense; but can you, after
all, be absorbed in a play which does
lot have lovers of some sort among its
potential characters? Once in a long
while, yes; generally, no. Am / right
so far as that? Mind you, don't say
that the lovers need to be callous or
mawkish in order to make up the en-
grossment of a play. They may as
well be married and unsettled. I am
writing this paragraph because two ac-
tresseS who come to New York's theat-
rical frontage this week, ALA Nazi-
nova and Grace George, personate
heroines Of love who are wives. The
fact which they enforce, in "The &C M
Jesse CoqUette" and a new version of
"DiVorcons," so 1t seems to me, is that
the emotionalism requisite for an alb
tually derived from wedlock than court
ship. That may be another way of
saying that the everlasting triangle
usually with one woman and two men
for its three sides, but sometimes one
man and two W1men-iS the form which
conflicts of love always take. Specifi-
cally, 1 point out that wives, as just
now shown by Mrs. Nazimova and Mrs.
George, are apt to be more interesting
l. L
The loves and jealousies of husbands
and wives may be, and often are, more
consequential than those of unmarried
sweethearts.
Wives deviltry raises the row in
both ''Divorcons" and 1.-THE Comtesse
Coquette." 1t is likely that you know
about the French Sardou's old comedy
of divorce, with a Cyprienne fancying
that her husband dislikes her. seeking
satisfaction in the lover nearest at
hand, finding no happiness with him
and resuning wedlock with the hus-
band. The case of Nina in the Italian
Bracco's 'L'Infidele'-as the original
of "The Comtesse Coquette" is better
named-is essentially the same crea-
ture of uneasy emotions. Nina is the
kind of wife in Italy that Cyprienne is
in France; a kind that abounds in those
countries, if we are to believe the now
elists and playwrights, but is less typi-
cal in America; the wife who doesn't
wait TO be led astTay, but herself takes
the initiative. The woman portrayed
by Mrs. Nazimova has Guy Standing
for a lover. Standing is the tall,
straight, very handsome actor who
used TO be assigned to rakish roles, but
lately did some good jobs as fine fell
lows. Now he goes back to polished
villainy. Arthur Forrest is her hus-
band. John Blair was to have been.
But Blair's own wedding in real life
was close nigh; and when he became
aware that in the new play he would
be a sap-headed, punk-hearted cuck-
Old, he Tevolted at figuring as that sort
CT a married man on the stage so soon
before going into matrimony in fact.
At the final rehearsal, the usually let
ter-perfect actor had to fish for his
lines.
What is the trouble, John, old fell
low" asked Henry Miller, the director.
Stage folk have a way of calling one
another by their given names, fondly,
even under hateful circumstances.
Blair replied: 1.-THE trouble is with the
lines, Henry. dear boy. This husband
is mollycoddIe and 1 can't memOriZe
the despicable fool"
But the opening is only two days
off, John. and you must pull yourself
together"
MY wedding is only two weeks off,
Henry, and 1 must hold myself togeth-
er for that"
The upshot was that Blair threw
down the part, that Forrest took it up,
and that the first performance of the
play was delayed five days.
The title of this play for America,
1.-THE Comtesse Coquette," is meant to
signify that the countess behavior
is no worse than coquetry, whereas the
original italian 'LInfidele" plainly
brands what she does as infidelity.
Thank goodness, we are less tainted
than Italians or Frenchmen in our the
atricaI taste, and actresses don't care
at least not many-to face our audi
ences as brazenly as they do in Eu-
rope. Nina is boastful of her loyalty
to the husband whom she regards as
lukewarm and faced. A far more
tense man taunts her with the asser-
ton that she is honest only because she
won't test herself by temptation. She
responds with an offer to go TO his
rooms and submit to his allurement.
He prepares for the encounter by writ
ing verses Of passion to recite to her,
by putting on view portraits of beauti
full women TO excite her jealousy, by
making his toilet with great care and
by seating himself at piano, when
her arrival, is announced, to play SEN
suOus music.
AS the scene is given In italian, Ger
man, French and Russian theatres, the
woman derides the verses, disregards
the pictures, gives no ear to the tune
and exclaims defiantly; We'll, now
geduce me-" And the audience Is per-
nittedl to see how he endeavors to do
it. But in the English version, made
for America, she banteringly cries:
Tempt mev' and that doesn't lead to
but stops at "coquetry."
A gain permit me to thank goodness
our Yankee goodness-that Mrs. NaZi- |
nova doesn't dare TO introduce to US
the same faithless Nina who has been !
admired in European cities, but makes |
her a "coquette" instead of an inf |
dele" There the husband takes back |
a wife who IS a criminal; here she is |
guilty of foolhardy improperly only.
The American renown Of ALA Nazi- |
nova is local to New York as yet. She |
Is the Russian actress of a company |
which was squelched by the czar for |
giving dis1oyal plays. It came to this |
and Of the free in hopeful quest of |
sympathy expressed in cash, but got so |
little that it was sent home by means |
If a charity fund-all save its leading /
woman. Henry Miller had done so. well !