The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-09-24

cent London productions have
4 left almost everything TO be DC
sired three of them, having
stood the whitening test Of run, may
be accounted successes OF more or
less pronounced nature. They are Ed
ward knoblauch s "kismef. which
has kept the box office busy since April
90; Edward q. Hemmerde and Fran
els Nelson 5 "a Butterfly on the
/ Wheel, which. despite adverse criti.
cisn and bad acting. has Just com
pleted a'run OF nearly four months. and
Haddon Chambers 3 ''paSsers By.'
lplay with strong domestic and
nursery interest
The last.named is handicapped by a
machine made plot. which shows how s
well-to-do Young man happens on
woman. who. owing 10 force of circum.
stances. he has unwillingly deserted.
leaving her with a child on her hands
Through the cherubic infant 5 interven.
ton the twain are reunited-with the
uneventful prospect Of living happy
ever sfterward. The piece. which has
been bringing joy 10 the hearts of the
owes its popularity 10 Gerald du
MaurieS patcrnal airs He is so
NICE with children is the verdict OF
lfeminlnIty; and as there are far more
women than men in these moss. grown
llsles. their opinion naturally carries
great weight. Du Maurier also is liked
because of his pleasant manner. his
taste for golf and other healthy open.
arr recroa'ious. and the ingratiating
manner in which he takes the audience
completely into his confidence Another
asset is an irresistible ugliness. for it
forms highly agreeable and refresh.
llng contrast 10 the sfereotypcd good
looks of the average or.beanty
! The story Of ''kiSmet' is nothing
more than twenty.four hours Of rushing
Oriental incident. which is. by turns.
thrilling. affecting. picturesque and
lurld. each episode being we'll linked
up. The action takes place in Bagdad,
and the scene is laid in dozen places.
including sun.scorched bazaar, above
which is a red.hot sky: corrupt
lMesopotamian officials luxurious hall
OF Justice, in which the hero "a pro-
fessional beggar) is about to have his
night hand chopped of as punishment
for thieving: the harem. and the bath
wherein the ladies of the harem dis
port themselves seductivelv, gamboling
in the pellncid water. The play is
Kaleidoscope in its wonderful color cf.
fects, and ITS production across the
broad Atlantic will be decided
acquisition TO the American stage.
"A Butterfly on the Wheel. " a col
laboration by Il leading barrister and
a member of parliament, though it did
good business, is poor stuff. The play.
however. has one big scene, in which
tho neglected, butterhy-like wife Of an
English legislator figures as respondent
IN suit for divorce brought by, her
lduIIdOg of a husband. She is hope.
lessly silly. but perfectly innocent, and
IN her cross examination by "dourn
Scotch counsel for tho prosecution il is
clearly seen that the play IS well
named,
The best piece now running i'm Lon.
don Is undoubtedly "Bunty Pulls the
Strings. Graham Moffat's compact
three-act Scotch comedy. which is ms
good as Barrie AT his best and as fresh
as the breeze which blows across the
moor Nor, in the event of the trifle
being given in America. will il be found
too Scotch to be iptelligible, while the
.Pawky' humor and the quaint and
hldeous costumes of the period 500
should be sheer JOY TO those who take
an interest in antiquated fal-lals The
story. which occupies but day and
blttle y in the telling, deals principal
| ~ with the matrimonial troubles and
religious scruples Of Tsmmas Biggar.
an elder of the kirk. and with minor
love affair which Bunty, the chief fc-
male figure. by pulling rho strings. aud,
incidentally, ruling The roost, brings
| Ia na 4
lo.ue and situations are absolutely
natural and, from the early Victorian
furniture in the prim parlor-tbe scene
| OF several divertlng Incidents--to the
bsck-cloth employed in the kirk. ward
set. every detail is a splendid example
of perfect stage craft. The astonishing
costumes, which include criDolines Of
cart wheel circumference. and '.pork
pie hats. are designed ana made by
Mrs. Graham Moffat; and the author
Of the play enacts the part Of the pious
embezzler. Tammas.
Although Moffat and his excellent
company (each member of which is
closely related to the guiding spirit of
| the enterprlse) have made an instan.
taneous conquest OF theater- going Lon
doners, IL has taken those delightful
people some wears 70 reach the PLAYERS
| Mecca, Not until they had performed
up and down the wearisome provinces
for some ten wears did their perform
ance attract the attention of London
manager. The credit Of the ''discov.
ery' is due 70 Cyril Maude; and by
bringing forward so capable a comb
nation, he has almost atoued for his
recent misdeeds IN putting on comedies
which lack the comedy element. cone
of the Dukes furnishing a painful!
example.
According TO the amiable school
marms- who wrote the cosy cackle col
umns in England e ultra domestic Jour.
mails for the Young person under IL wears
of age. Mrs. Langtrv is still "the
charming Jersey Lily she was thirty
wears ago. Whether The experienced
entertainer rs iilv-like or the reverse is
purely a matter of opinion---in free !
country kind. hearted women journal 7
lists can saw whatever comes uppermost (
in their vacuous minds. All that con.
Germs the reader is Mrs Lsngtry's hunt 4
for popularity AZ the very small coast
resorts, where she is now disportipg
herself IN pier halls for the dclectation