Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-01-15
Especial corrcspondcnce.)

r ONDON. Dec 30-Christmas week
Is the dullest in the whole theat-
rlcal calendar. Somehow the
shadow OF the festival over
shadows everything else; In addition.
people are so busy buying presents
and their stock of ready money con-
sequently becomes so attenuated that
the theaters are bound to suffer Recog-
nizing this fact managers are only too
ready to avail themselves of the pre-
text for putting up the shutters. II
they happen to have struck a failure
they close for the entire week II they
have got success they must at least
do so, willy-nlly, on Christmas day
Boxins-day brings a magical change.
The star OF pantomime Is In the as
cendant. the holiday spirit abroad and
managers reap a golden If momentary.
harvest. Drury Lane, of course. offers
the favorite rendezvous. There, at
least you are sure to obtain plenty for
your money. | have known the curtain
to rise at I 30 to fall not a moment be-
fore o'clock on the following morning.
And yet the audience showed no trace
of impatience.
Apart from the production of one or
two unlmportant pantomlmeS the only
feature of the week has been the pres
tie oneact play, THE Knife" at the
Palace Theater of Varieties. 1t is a
sensational theatrical piece of work
probably we'll suited to the purposes of
vaudeville The Knife" received a
hearty welcome and the acting of Ar
thur BourchIer and his wife. Violet
Nanbrugh. In the leading parts, was
loudly applauded. 1t is a pleasant duty
to have to chronicle JoneS's success,
for he has been rather out I'm the cold
lately. As a result he has grown Just n
little bitter being obscssed with tho
Idea that the press has a grudge
against him and inclined, therefore not
to value his work at its true worth.
He forgetS that the power of the press
Is after all extremely limited and that,
If the public really likes a play. moth
ing Will keep 1t from going to see It,
The truth Is we have advanced con-
sidcrably since Jones made his reputa-
ton as the author of Judah" The
Middleman" The Liars and Mrs.
Danes Defence" and I'm afraid he has
not quito moved with the times. Per
sonally he is charming; a more earnest
partisan OF the theater 1t would be
hard to find. His success at the Pal
ace and the eulogistic reception OF
The Knife VIII probably stimulate
him
'"' ICY lIPc SluTtS re-
hearSals of the new piece due at His
Majcsty'S on or about Jan 27 | have
already given some particulars regard
ing 1t without, however. eXhausting the
subject The play is the work of JUS
tin Huntly Mccarthy. well known on
your side of the Atlantic as the author
OF IF l Were King There have
been difficulties about the third and
fourth acts and Tree has been staying
TINS week with Mccarthy at Folkestone
in order To get these right The inward
history of the piece IL worth relating
A considerable time ago Tree opened
negotiations with Charles Wyndham
Tor the English version of "Cyrano de
Bergerac." which as l stated In n
previous letter. has now been acquired
by Lewis Waller These negotiations
came 10 nothing, owing, according to
Tree. to Wyndham's dllatoriness. IL
thcn struck Tree that II would be a
capital idea to commission somebody
TO write for him a drama practically
on the lines of "Cyrano." Mccarthy
was approached and at once sIcnIfed
his readiness to undertake the task.
me result is "OF'lynn." or. rather. as
u mas now been rechristencd.
- flynns own Mccarthy has full
ly redeemed his pledge for the hero
Oh the piece Is flambovant Irlshman |
inc actlon takes place In the reign of |
ana hshts and makes love Just I'm the |
way of Rostand's famous Gascon |
further. he equipS a regiment of his |
own. similar to the celebrated Cadets |
OF Gascony, and hurrIcs off to the siege
Of Droghedo precisely as Cyrano ha-
stened TO the Siege OF Arras. The beau
titul RoNane finds her counterpart I'm
the Lady Benedctta who is finally won
from her allegiance to a bibulous nm
prlnclpled and boorlsh English lord bv
the destinations of his rival O'Flynn
II Is part full of great possibilities
ana IL rs easy to understand how its
sI'IuioSe ana eNuberant qualities have
appealed to Sir Herbert
What would the shade of Riennrd
Mansfield say could 1t know that a ueyy
version OF Robert Louis Stevenson
famous story "Dr. Jekyl and Mr..
iiyae mas been made by Comyns Carr
|. th1 mat before many weeks are over,
I Is TO be produced by H. B Irving nj
Ine Globe? | recall the appearances of !
HAhSholo at the Lyceum. temporarily
leased To him by Henry Irving, I'm the
1ual part with which his name WAS
Intimately associated. To this day his
weird and horrible impersonation vivid
ly remains with me His season was
hardly a success: the pcrformanre
louptlesS was too gruesome; even now
y gives one the creeps TO think Of II.
II VIII be Interesting to see what II. 3.
1oes win the character. which, by tho
BYE ms illustrIous father. at one time,
seriously contemplated playing. The
public. / am inclined to fancy. ls nr
inc present moment rather moro dis
posed towards cheerful than nerve
"racklng entertainments But thero
rs always the chance of a really Of
-ectlve bit of sensational work captur-
hg its tancy and certainly nothing has
Drought more grist To young Irviny's
mn than his recent revival OF The
Lyons Mail"
Although a private rather than a pub
lie event, word may be said regard
ng the dinner given last Sunday at the
lrocadero restaurant by the members
u the Green Room club-practlc0lly
IDENTICAL with the Lambs club in New
fork-ln honor OF Tree and in celebra-