The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-08-06
Too Much Hopp.

NaNlm s, 1or one was not con
vinceG.
Too Much Hopp.
Julius Hopp is convinced that
somewhere In the world an audi
ence is waiting for him; but the
problem is to find where. His
latest venture was on the roof Of
public school. He has tried the.
aters extraordinarily far down
town and ditto up; he has lured us
to lyceums and opened up a Broad
way playhouse on the hottest day
in June, asking us to sit in seats
where camplior balls lodged but
yesternight; and, with the saga
cious aid Of Winthrop Ames,
''pulled off, really admirable
innovation at the New theater
Tins was series Of wage earn
ers' nights when 'The Blue
Bird" and other productions of
the endowed playhouse were given
for pooIly-paid east-siders at nom
inal prices for the best seats
-Four years ago this same Sc
rious, energetic Hopp lured me
from my Sunday rest to see the
first performance of a socialistic
drama by George Moore; and when
] got there / found some mlshap
had befallen and no play was
Forthcoming that day. Instead we
suffered a socialistic TRADE by an
aeuemic looking woman with a flat
chest, suuken cheeks and eyes
that seemed inflamed
When we reached the roof the
other evening we encountered an,
other Hopp mishap instead of the
promised play. Not that anyone
fell off the roof. Indeed, after
seeing the entertainment / ques
tion whether such a slip really
could be called an accident "The
Merchant of Venice had been
announced, and such competent
Shakespearean actors as Eric Bland
of the Sothern- Marlowe company,
Sydney Greenstreet, lately with
Ben Greet, and P. J. Kelley were in
readiness. The roof was crowded.
So were the windows of adjacent
tenements, the locality being Ninth
street and Avenue B.
Derisive shrieks occasionally In
terrupted the performance. "The
Merchant of Venice was not
given. 1t might as well have been,
for little or nothing could be heard
above the roar and clangor of eJe-
waited trains and cable cars and
trucks and what-not Mr.. Hopp
came out on the stage and ex-
planned why the comedy could not
be given and that, a few nights
later, it positively would. I hope
Hopp's explanation satisfied him
self. People in the first row
might possibly have heard it, and
very probabl the small boys who
peeped in through green screens
that formed the stage. did. I hard
ly fancy, however. they felt
keen anguish at the loss of Shake
speare. When Mr., Greeusmith ap-
peared to recite Kipling's "Gunda
Dinn one Of them greeted him
with "oh, you Murphy"
Still More Hopp.
will not speak critically of
Mr., Greenstreet s delivery of the
poem, but If you caro- to hear my
impression of the elevated train
that jumped the track at that mo.
ment or the motor car that evident
]y blew up, 7 shall be pleased to
tell you, The actors gestures. how.
ever, were most impressive, most
impressive. Mr. Bland and Mr..
Kelly then appeared in blue and
red tights, with prodigality of
plush, and let lis see their ces.
turss. Somebody said it was a
scene from ''Romeo and Juliet
There are times when no Romeo
should venture out without a meg
apbone,
Having gone so far, with fre-
quent frantic speeches bv the
hopeful Hopp, a string quartette
appeared. Why the players thought
a few yards Of cat.gut stood any
chance against the battle of Get
tysburg In Ninth street and the
taking of San Juan hill in Avenue
is one of those things that only
a Hopp could answer. Afterwards
Mr.. Hopp declared Shakespeare on
the roof would yet be given. He
even mentioned Greek tragedies,
which, on the whole, seemed better
fitted TO compete with city earth
quakes and volcanoes. Everyone
who was there got in free-wbich
IS no reason to suppose they ever
will go back
A brand new comic opera tip.toed
into town and out again, as if it
could escape our vigilant eve. In.
deed, 1t tip-toed all the way from
VieDna-town, where the waltzes
come from. Later we will see it
IN the boldness of Broadway
theater. But why should not YOU
and | peep at the trial performance
of. IT, the first on our side? In the
original it was called "Der Schatz.
meister' and was written by
Julius Horst and Alexander Enpel
authors Of "Die Blaue Maus" and
g Fine Welt Ohne Maenner. from
which Clyde Fitch took "The Blue
Mouse - and "Girls. - and of
" Gluck bel Freund,n which Jared
rather badly here in the farcial
adaptation made by Oliver Herford
called 'The Florist Shop" but
which has been set to music for the
dawning season in a version called
"The Wife.Tamers. - The latest