The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-02-04
NEW COMEDY IS A DEAR
&. ~ II ~ ~ % ~*
but IT COULD BE WORSE.
ear Year Love-Making Affords Slushy Medium
for Cute Comedy; Pony Ballet Dan
GERS Still PranCing.
Bv Vanderheyden Fyles

trude Elliott young wonans parents
and brother am in no way TO
firmly fixed as the unities or Greek
tragedy. The naughty matrou is
something carrying lorGnette; tho
financier Is something putting on a
black cigar; the son lis nothing. in
white flannels. who looks always on
the moment of bursting into song.
Ruth Chester. Ben Johnson and
George LeGuerrc carried off these
symbols Of society with complete
conventionalty and, general air OF
actually believing in them.
7 HE case OF Samuel Shipman and
Society is much more serious.
snd certainly more dazzling. The
dramatist has horne down on the
metropolis with two plays al the same
time; and. II pause for few words
about the unimportant venture first.
| hope my purpose VIII Immediately
become evident Ever faithful TO my
readers ! travelled to an outlying
Wife assuming il to be as new as
advertised. But the awful TACT crept
over me That ! WAS seeing The
Spell In which David Kessler. the
Giddish tragedisn, undertook TO es-
'ablish himself, about i've years ago,
as an English-s speaking actor. Thorn
as II. Shea. who attracts plenty Of
people to see him as substitute for
Henry irving and Richard Mansfield
in 'irhe Bells" and "Dr Jekyll and
entortainmcnt TO his repertoire. Dis
covering "a Man and His Wife" 10
bc the old drama OF "rhe Spell. I
would not mention it but for two
good reasons. In connection with
'Elevatins a Husband" by Samuel
Shipman and Clara Lipman. In the
first place IL indica tes the grade of
audience to which the play may make
u strong and lonG appeal, and. in the
second, Il makes almost ANYTHING
seem good by contrast. Louis Mann
is wilful actor. and. therefore, ono
whose failures bring him little SYM
pathy; in burlcsque, he Is practically
on a par with Sam Bernard and De-
vd Warfeld: in drama of the pur-
poseful variety he is, AT best, prom
isins performer foundorlns about in
an unfamiliar sea. His wife, Clara
Iipman. and Samuel Shipman have
supplied him with a play that. when
ii fits anyone al all, would have fitted
almost any other actor better. Look
ing ten or twelve years older than he
is, Mr.. Mann appears AZ the pushing
youth Of 1912. wearing a faNen curly
wig that might have been convincing
sons British Blondes. Tle lives in
wretched little boarding house.
though he already has twenty or
forty nickel stores, y plano teacher,
living in the house as we'll; wants 80
marry him. though why is not made
evident In any case, she accom-
pishcs her wish.
Then tie trouble begins. The worst
trouble is the opulent home, which
looks like q second rate hotel; but
the conscious difficulty is the mas
ters mother. She, having come 10
live with the bridal couple. refuses
to wear corsets, This, OF course,
is dropped in as a virtue. The bride
is entertaining company at dinner,
somewhat strange crew, who play
Beethoven before cocktails and who
sir, elegantly, on the outer edges OF
their chairs. The husband calls
them his wife,s ,'iine friends; Oh,
jects 10 their ''hish-faluttn airs:
''hiehbrow stuff. All this, placed be-
fore the proper audience. should be
sure to call forth sympathetic laugh
Ter and sincere applause. The nus
ment, has been studying the violin
and French, The former accom-
pIishInent he introduces while his
wife's guests arc waiting for the hors
d oeuyres. dropping hint OF the lat
Ter by ordering a "demi-tassy or cafe
ing struggled through these gems or
wlt, the com cdy gets down 10 seri-
ous and sentimental moments, The
bride refuses 10 sit at taole WIN ner
mother-in-law because the dowager
sallics in without her corsets and
huttoncd into an alpaca basque This,
of course, stamps the younger woman
as "A pretty bad lot; so it Is only nal,
ural her self-made husband should
believe her capable of inhdelity This
moment. however. does not come un-
iii after he has rebuked her and her
fine friends by dining tetc-a -tete WIN
his mother in the library. 1t should.
perhaps be mentioned that, ere thls,
ihc butler has informed his employ
or he should not speak to him In
working hours,