Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-01-01
Gilbert's New Opera Unlikely
To Have Big Success
London Dramatic Letter

self describes as a wonderful brain
wave. 1t takes the shape of general
invitation to unknown authors
phrase which, If it means anything,
signifies writers of no eXperience-to
submit to him any plays they may
happen to have in their portfolios. 1T
by means of competition he can Sc
cure suitable piece he undertakes
to present the author with a check for
$500 and will further give him per
cent upon the gross receipts wherever
and whenever the play is performed.
For a London manager of the first
rank to make such a proposal seems
to me little short of professional suicide.
Waller might Just as well take up his
place in the street, hat in hand. and
cry aloud the fact that recognized
dramatlsts decline to bring their work
to him, and that consequently his only
hope lies in amateurs Waller has been
lons enough at the game to know that
successful playwriting is too difficult
business to make it more than a
thousand to one chance that some lit
erary gem of peerless value is likely
thus to drop into his hands His ac-
ton, too, will certainly strike most
people as n most unfortunate and i'll
judged confession of weakness and cam
not but be regretted by all his we'll
wishers
For the moment his attention is con-
centrated on preparations for the pro-
duction at the Lyric of C. NJ. S. Nc
Lellan's latest play, Judith Zaraine."
which, as l have already stated. is the
same piece as THE Pickpockets" pro-
duced something over a year ago In
America. 1t is very sctrong, vibrant
bit of work, affording plenty of scope
both to the leading man and woman
for the exhibition of their strongest
emotions. My only doubt is that it is
hardly the thing which Walters public
expects from him, for the author has
fallen so deeply in love with the polem-
ical side of his story that the action
is frequently lost in a maze of tortu
Gus disquisitions. Still, many of the
scenes and situations are so powerful
that it is quite possible they viii carry
the piece through to a successful is
sue.
The vaudeville stage has this week
secured two new adherents in Cyril
Maude and Huntley Wright Maude,
as you may remember. finding that his
part in Little Mrs. Cummin" his lat
est production at the Playhouse. did
not suit him. handed it over at the last
moment to Kenneth Douglas. The op-
portunity was at once seized upon by
Oswald Stoll to suggest that Maude
should fill in his time by appearing at
the Coliseum. The proposal was at
once closed with and on Jan. 3 the
popular comedian appears at that big
house i'm a new Christmas fairy piece,
specially designed for the glorfication
of little Elise Craven. tiny mite. IL
years old, who has achieved fame as
the Queen of the Fairies" and to
whom Stoll has been paying a salary of
$500 q week. 1t is, confessedly, rather
in the nature of come-down for a
leading London actor manager to sup
port a damsel of such tender years,
but Maude, after ALL is to be well paid
for his act of conGescension and.
obviously. he can hardly be reproached
for occasionally studying the inter
ests of his banking account,
Huntley Wright goes on the road.
playing IL weeks on the Moss -Stoll
circuit. He is to appear in a one-act
plnylet entitled THE Little Father OF
Lloyd Osbourne which he did five years
ago, under Charles Frohmans man
agement. at the Comedy. The part is
pathetic rather than humorous. Hav-
ing made his reputation an low COM
edan it is I'm the natural order OF
things that Huntley WRIGHT should be
consumed by burning desire to be
accepted as an emotional actor What
he will do after his tour remains still
an open question. George EdwardeS
wants him to return to the fold of
Days theatcr but Edwardess eyes
are at last open to the fact that he
can't go on for ever paying fabulous
salaries and il Huntley won't listen
to reason the project Will be OF IL.
on the other hand he bows to the In
eytable. he will make his temperance
under Edwardess banner next Septem-
Der.
Somerset Vaughan has just deliver
ed to Arthur Bourchier the manuscript
OF the new play ne has specially writ
ten for that actor manager. 1t is due
at the Garrick on or about Feb. IL.
under the joint direction of BourchIer
and Charles Frohman.. The novelty
bears the title of 'Dame Fortune" and
according to Bourchier the author has
never done better If even such good
work The principal part is that OF
great financlcr cast somewhat In the
mould of Brachard in Bernstein's
Samson" The comparison must not
be pushed too far. however, for
Maugham's man IL in reality an un-
scrupulous scoundrel. a mercllesS auto
crat, prepared TO trample his nearest
and dearest under foot II by so doing
he can gain his own ends. His one
redeeming quality Is his marvellous
sense of humor, quality which makes
its presence felt even in the most