The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-05-16

One OF the most interesting of the
season S attractions at the Salt Lake
theater will he John Drew in "Jack
Straw the latter half of the week,
May 20, q and %, with matinee on
Saturday only. Mr.. Drew recently com
pletcd a four months engagement III
'.Jack Straw at the Empire theater,
New York. and the metropolitan news
paper writers declare that it is the best
role he has had for 4 great while: This
was the first of the comedies by w.
Somerset Maugham, the new British
dramatist, that was produced in this
country and il aroused special interest
because such glowing accounts of 1t had
been received from London, where 1t
was done by Charles Hawtrey, MIR.
Drew s presentation was a success from
the outset and the critics admitted that
the lauIatory accounts that has pre-
ceded II across the Atlantic were en-
tircly deserved. Lady Frederick, an
other comedy by the same author, which
was produced little later and which
will soon be presented here by Miss
Ethel Barrymore, confirmed the hrst
Favorable impression of the new play
wright and his right TO a place among
the foremost writer's for the stage.
"Iack Straw is n comedy OF the
lightest kind, but it is extremely anus
ing and there is vein of satire rum
ming through il that greatly increases
the interest The character drawing is
of the best and the dialogue is bright
and witty from start to finish. Mr..
Maugham is evidently a keen observer
of human nature with kindly lenlency
foI its weaknesses thai robs his satire
OF its bitterness and it's sting without
in any way destroying its effective
ue>s The snob who doesn t learn a
very salutary lesson from Jack
Straw must be dull OF comprehension
indeed.
The hero Of the piece is a Pomeranian
archduke with a taste for adventure
incognito. He has wandered all over
the world and been everything from a
small parts in an American repertory
company. When the play opens he is
employed rs q waiter at a fashionable
London hotel. One Of the guests, Mrs.
Parker Jennings. sDob of the vulgar.
est type, has given o1fepse by her cool
treatment of an inoffensive little woman
from the country whose friends de-
termine TO punish her, as she richly de-
serves. Their plan is to introduce the
waiter-whose real identity they, Of
course, DO not suspect-to her as per
son of title, and then. after she has
fawned upon him, expose him in what
they suppose ls his true character, as
a waiter, and enjoy her discontinue.
The archduke agrees to play his part
in the Joke on condition that they in
trcduce him as the Archc uke Sebastian
of Pomerauia, who he actually Is. The
joke succeeds according to expectation
and when the time comes for the ex-
posure the archduke has fallen in love
with the Parker Jennings pretty
daughter and he changes the denoue.
mcnf completely by declaring his real
identity. The part of the archduke, as
has been said, suits Mr.. Drew precisely.
far better than anything he has played
for quite while. He has splenuid
supporting company, too, every part
and every part in the piece is good
one-being played by an artist. Mis-:
Rose Coghlan is Mrs. Parker Jennings
kind of a modern Mrs. Malaprop
Others are Miss Adelaide Prince, Mis-:
Grace Henderson, Miss Helen Freemcn n
Edgar l.. Davenport, Frank Goldsmith
Mario Majeroni, E. Soldene Powell ane
Edwin Nicander:
That society gives much to Bohemia
but takes little from the latter, il
the text of "Tbe Transgressors, b,
Kenneth Mcdonald. the play in which
Ralph Stuart and Mary Hall, supported
by the Willard Mack stock company
Will be seen this week at the Bungalow
The drama is bold in the manner il
which it deals with social questions, bu
Il handles them vitally, bringing hom