The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-05-30

= STOCK company IN OdpnO- -
: Colonial-AH week. beginning to- =
: night. The Christian" =
= Orpheum-W ednesday afternoon =
: and night, 3. Y. U. Opera COM =
= pany in The Beggar Student" :
= Salt Lake-Tuesday, Wednesday =
= and Thursday. Montaville Flowers :
- in repertoire. =
= :. :. : :. :. = = = :. = :. : = = = =
perience as a poor mans daughter, and
won't repeat it as a poor mans wife.
So she holds steadfastly to the million
aire and lets go Of the sculptor. That
is the gist of Charles Selby's drama Of
worth against wealth in love. Her en-
suing satisfaction or regret are not set
forth.
This play gives nothing like a solu-
ton Of any problem Of the greed of
gold in loving maidens. 1t begins,
though. with a presentation of it in
marble statuary that becomes pantO-
mimic. Mantell has Just finished the
three images of beautiful women, and
likes them so well that he dislikes to
deliver them to the purchaser. While
thinking about it, he falls asleep, and
dreams that he and his studio are
away back in medieval times; that
the patron Of his art, the wealthiest
man in Greece, insists on taking away
what he has bought, despite the sculp-
tors request that he take back his cash
and leave the stone women behinG~ for
their maker has fallen passiOnately in
love with them, especially the one for
which Marie Booth Russell poses. Miss
Booths six feet of cOnhguratiOn, the
fine face whitened. the graceful aims
barred, the ankles and feet seemingly
so, and the body lightly swathed, is
easily the dominant statue; and it is
to her that Mantell directs a frenzied
appeal.
Will the creatures of his genius re-
main with him whole soul conceived
them, whose heart imbues them, and
remain with his love in his humble
studio? Or will they rather go to the
gorgeous palace of the Croesus who
viii display them with pride, but not
cherish them with any affection? The
rich buyer has agreed to abide by their
decision, and awaits it in confident 81
lence. The agitated sculptor falls on
his knees and implores them to abide
with him. They turn slowly from him
toward his rival, and the taller one
stretches out her arms to the man
with the price to purchase her.
Unless you are. of an age to have at
tended theatrical performances between
a third and half a century ago, you
probably have not guessed that I am
writing about The Marble Heart" an
emotional CLASSIC once deemed impOr-
tant in the repeTtories Of such actors as
Davenport, Barrett, the Wallacks and
Edwin Adams. 1t looks rusty now
and, I fancy almost that it smells
musty. 1t is timed and placed in the
Paris of Camille" yet lacks alto
gether the modernity of that play. The
| hero and the heroine stalk on stills
while declaiming their sentiments.
recall Barrett's and Adamss perform
ances of Raphael distinctly. Robert
MantelTs is no deviation in stately
sOnoTOsfty. Neither Raphael, nor Mar
CO, nor the Voltage who denOunces her
for cruel falsity and him for AFFECT
constancy, talks like a person alive in
Paris sixty to seventy years ago. They
speak in long stretches Of turgid Ian
guage 1t is hard to comprehend how
such a composition could ever have
been accepted as a fine work in that
art which, in its best estate, as Shapes
peare had said centuries before, should
hold a mirror up TO nature.
ManteIl didn't offer The Marble
Heart" during mis- term in Broadway
but waited until he moved to a safer
point between that street of modern
dramatic progress and the still theatre
cally undiscriminate Bowery, and put
1t into a huge theatre where star act
ors Of the top layer go, once in a while,
to get the coin OF the populace. There
I found more than two thousand per-
sons awed by the weirdly shown mar
vel of the three statues becoming ami
mate in the sculptOr's dream. They
gave rapt attention to the ensuing &C
ton, which seemed to satisfy them as
we'll as any of the best present play
writing on the same theme could have
done. For how could a drama become
obsolete to them when. in its vision
prologue, it introduced Diogenes going
about Athens with his lantern IN search
Of an honest man, denOuncing wealth
as personated by the landlord who had
dieting that. at some remote era, a free
press would be evolved by the prog
ress of civilization to fight for the
rights OF the poor.
The young men at this banquet,
counted as nearly as possible by a So
Der spectator in their hilarious COM
motion, were up towards a hundred
and in the multiple vision that some
times comes Of a souse in excess, they
may nave looked TO themselves ike a
thousand. They had witty speakers,
guying interTuptOrs, spontaneous
clowns and eccentric cases of inebTiety.
George A. Schiller, the old actor, was
the guest of honor, and at one end of
his table was the short and very fat
Harry Fisher, the comedian who makes
his fun with childish voice and gram
NAUTICAL distortions while at the other
was a long and very lean Vernon
Castle. from London. and funny with
intensely timber legs. rhey and other
men OF the stage misbehaved dread
fully. Even Fritz Williams polite
comedian, lost his poIse and wabbled
with the worst.
A new and fresh relay of walters
brought in the coffee and oordiaIs.
They were new enough TO look like
young girls. fresh enough from the
towns available supply OF ballet
choruses. and didn't repel the guests
advances Soon Blanche Ring and Lot
ia Faust dropped in 70 whoop IL up
with the boys in songs and. choruses.
And finally Gladys Moore, with a sup
pie rapidity of motion hindercd BY no
fluttering scrap of loose garb, but who
waved wide wings of gauze, gave a
dance that didn't seem to touch her
toes to the floor very often, but to be
the evOlUt,ons of a human aeroplane