Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-02-13

v actor, 49, Edward d. So,hsin
u.s yiat mIs Um. possesses Oh
double attuctIycuesH especially tH the
thcatereo,r of old days. as we ar. TO-
have Southern tho Younger boo o. revival
Of the play which mad. southern the
older his flmg. DO Isu now called lord
pmdrcarv." but lu lHe o.d days Be- was
renowned as sour American Cousin.
nnd as aI students know. 10 achieved o.
melancholy place for iJso.f BOO history
a. the play which was being rendered
on the stage the night Abraham Lin-
coin was aseass.rat.a.
II is about 90 y0gr since Tom Tay-
Ior's comedy was acted Boo America FOR
the first time. and uIays1ars OF today
ere apt t0 uud il somewhat oId-f3sh-
toned and talby but s0than tho Older
in h,s mImitabIc role used TO make
everyone forget au that and Southern
tho Younger accomplshos the same
thing. to am even greater degree. In
fact Lord Duudreary has proved the
most eagerly sought after of amy of
the plays in Mr.. s0thow's repertory.
The old history of "Our American
Cousin is crowded with the names of
such notlbles ass Laura koDue. Hho.
Us managoress. brought o. ont boo Amer
lea. Joseph jefferson, the original Nlu-
leo. C. w. CouiIock Sarah stevens,
Effc Germou and many others cone
Cernod in the original production pt Che
early COS. Mr.. Sothem father who
was already "a young actor of consider
able note was highly Indignant over the
insiguifcauCo and worthIessness OF the
part that has been assigned 60 him. He
was not then $50 big @ man as he be-
came later on. To was of his claude
Molnotte that the wclI-kuowu critic.
William Stewart, had written "a little
while before that 30 had an the charar-
teristiCs OF the poker except its uu-
casional warmth. His own version OF
the silly little skip which later ON was
one of the distinguishing CharaCtcrl7tics
OF Dundrcary, was ass follows. There
had been some small temporary nisun-
dcrstandiug between himself and Miss
Keenc-no very rare occurrence-when,
on making his entrance, az rehearsal
DE caught his toe in "a strip OF carpet
and with difficulty saved himself from
o. fall Miss kccnc. noting his action
but not the cause OF 30. asked him,
sharply whether that was his notion
Of the walk of a British nobleman,
Thcreupon ho-haylng observed that
his mistep had provoked general
laughtcr-replied blaudly that 30 was,
and that &c WAS an integral part of his
conception of the character Thereaft-
er ne repeated the action. with what as
tonishng results everybody knows. Up
on this accidental foundation the f0rtu-
nate actor reared an elaborate Carica-
ture which threw an the rest Of the
play into ObsCrulty and won for him one
OF the most remuneratiyc successes re-
corded an the history of the stage In
London, whore 90 was the relEniug at
traction for several seasons. IL rescued
the famous old Haymarket theater.
long the home OF legitimate comedy,
from n condition of impending bank
ruptcy and set 10 floating upon tide
OF golden prosperity. The remarkable
fact about the imuersouatiou was that
70 seemed 10 afford just as much de-
light 10 the special class which 20 ridi-
culed as tho general public. Bewhls-
kered, drawing. languid. luartculate
dand.es filed the orchestra stalls night
after night 20 gaze upon their own alb
surd reflection ou the other side Of the
footlights. Perhaps there never was "a
more notable OF enduring triumph of
pure folly but 40 must be noted that
though utterly uousensical this Dun
dreary was. al lts BEST "a bit Of exc
quislte theatrical art which used the
most delicate methods even iu prOyok-
ing roars of uncomfortable laughter /,
never descended 10 buuooucry never
by word, look or gesture traussresseu
The Jaws of the most refined society
His l0risIhp was at once perfect FOO
and a perfect gentleman, that ls to say
30 FAR as mere polish lu oNteuala b
concerned. on this side OF the Atlantic
De sometimes adopted broader au,
clumsier methods more llkeiy 90 graufl
the gods and the ErouudliuEs but ga
an example OF technical skin &c wal
always, and DO every respect "a mos
notable achievement Whether th
younger s0theru can reauimate the oI.
conception and cndow 1T With the an
finish aud quaint humor of hts sire, %
whether if be succeeds in doing this
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