The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-06-12
ADJUSTMENTS.

Bare and bald. ugly with naked human
passions and repulsive with the gllmpslng
into brute male nature that society, at
least the polite portion of IL, chooses 10
ignore. the first act of the Great Di-
vide" at the Salt Lake theatre last night
left its impress on the other two more
pleasant acts and almost-mlnd me al
most-left a bitter taste despite the des-
ert glow and the fascination OF the love
theme and blurred with an ugly smlrch
the tender little story afterwards I'M
folded.
first That a civilized aggregation OF
people in the twentieth century should
even for a moment make believe. pretend
that a brute fiend could evolve mo Il
high-minded. chivalTous and tender nus
band in eighteen months is asking the i'm
possible.
The first act which spoils the story tells
of A dreaming girl left all alone Tor the
night on an Arizona ranch and of three
blind drunk ruffians who break into the
house and shake dice for her. IraisSTea-
sing every law of the desert and or man.
they quarrel for her among themselves
at intervals insulting her with gross IN
dignities. With feminine ingenuity IN heE
panic she selects the strongest one anu
brides him with herself, promising TO
marry him il he will save her the hofil-
bic fate impending. He consents ana Win
gold for one and a bullet for the second,
gets rid of the other two. claims ms
prize and drags her forth. The next two
acts are given over to his efforts 10 WIN
her love and TO cause her to forget their
horrible meeting and the equally norm
BILE sequel.
That she capitulates in the last act was,
of course. inevitable, perhaps reasonable
for Henry Miller makes most winning
Client, but despite his genius as an ACTOR
the brute of the first act could not be
reconciled with the tender lover or the
later delineatiOn.
Henry Miller is an actor and the PROV
ing of it lies in his handling of the char
acter of Client. One forgot for a mo-
ment and saw only the winning, ylrlle
man creature that fought, sued and plead
ed for his mate, mate won IN mo
ment of drunken folly and finally Wol.
in the depth of establishment Wllllam
Vaughn Moody's play is strong food for
men and women, but Henry Miller Is the
power that causes the vehicle 10 pulse
with life and make one forgive the IllIlsl
construction of the cart itself. But IL WI
be the first act of this most daringi on
modern realistic plays that will stay lIng-
est in the minds of those who Witnessed II
last night. for as the last words IN Ysque
stage earpentering it electrified Wn1e the
grim portrayal of brutality nauseatfd.
Dainty and WinsOme with blonde pref
tiness that won every heart in thk audi
enee Laura Hope CreWe was Ihf bright
little streak of sunshine in feritable
April of tears and means and grObns. The
ill-starred heroine. Miss Edythi Olive as
Ruth Jordan. pleased her ! audience,
though a rather unpleasant 9nunclallOh
and OVeremphasis of emOuonfl opportu-
mites marred the artistic finish OF her
playing. Mrs. Thomas Whtften as the
dear old mother of the brOthRr and sis
ter was given a bouquet OF applause from
the moment of her entrance, as aside from
the interest that local people have in her
personally. her work as the aristocratic
and old-fashiOned mother Of two modern
young people deserved al the apprecid-
ton given her.
As the brother, Charles Wyngate was
most convincing, erring Jon the right side
of OVERRIDING a rather difficult role.
Almost as worthy of mention as the ex-
ceIlent acting was tho scenic setting Of
the second act, the mysterious glow and
coloring of the desert almost persuading
one that the hot breath of the sands could
be felt.
Altogether the Great Divide IS one Of
the plays of the yaar. II is piece Of
work that will not be forgotten soon,
whether or no Ona impatiently charac-
terizes the whole thing as absurd and IL
logical. At any ra1e, il is strong. and,
aside from the incongruity of the central
character the various players are happy
in parts which depict real men and Wo-
men and not mere Puppets. Incidentally,
a baby has an important part in the story,
although, strange to say, silent and un-
seen one.