The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-04-12

TT was a remarkable audience whicl
yesterday afternoon greeted Mis-.
Maude Adams and her company at tn,
salt Lake theater in the return engage.
ment OF Peter Pan" The front row:
of the parquet were filled with more thar
fifty old men and women from the coun.
ty inhrmary and the Sarah Ann Daf
home. In the rear OF them were a score
or more OF young women who arc ir
training In the various hospitals. Flank
ing them in the rows OF the dress circle
were more than 200 children from tho
kearns-St AIMS orphanage, the Or
phanS Home and Day Nursery, the Free
kindergarten and the Uintah Train
Miss Adams.
Here and there in the half light of the
theater, while the performance was GO
ing on, one could notice smile or two
lighting the faces of the old folks may
hap at touching scene there was a
iurtive glance 10 right or left and a
hurried wipinS of a Slistening eye. But
tears were not for the children. In
open -mouthed wonder they watched the
unfolding OF the wonderful Barrie tale
OF "Neyer. Never, Never Land" The
fairy story held their interest from the
first and the childish prattle between the
acts was only OF what might happen
when the next curtain rose. Mana, the
faithful watchdog, caused laughter, with
mere ana lneTc tne pOlnll0S OF a Srlmy
finger TO call attention OF the little
shaver in the next seat TO the way Mana
cooked her head. The crocodile. ostrich.
lion and wolves were real to them all.
Mister. said one youDgster to the
writer. do they keep the lion In a cage?"
And the Indians and the pirates. step
ping forth as though from picture books
which had many times been scanned by
puzzled little eyes. never seemed more
lifeike than yesterday,
The same youngster who had displayed
the interest In the animal characters
was keenly alive TO the various sltua-
volved.
'My mamma used to put me in bed
too" he confided 'only before the lights
went out / always used TO say my pray
ers."
where's the pirates money" was
his query when the hish-seas robber
band first appeared.
''Ain't the Injuns got any ponies?" he
wanted 10 know,
And Just the same questions seemed to
be asked by Others of the children. ~
there about the house could be taken as
an indication.
All OF which does not mean TO convey
that the children were alone in their in
terest. The story of the boy who wouldn't
grow up carried many OF the auditors
back to those nursery days when mother
used to tell the stories Of the wonderful
fairies
Yesterday Miss Adams carried her au-
dIence with her into the land OF strange
poetry, sentiment and childish imposs-
bllities. Impossibilties? Yes. and yet In
the hands OF the quiet little woman In
the leading role. who spoke her lines I'm
a low soft voice, dreams seemed almost
to come true ...
II is indeed a beautiful picture which
Miss Adams draws she in the char
acter OF Peter Pans talks to Wendy. the
little girl In the story. In the opening
act when seated on the nursery bed, the
two were talking OF fairies ~Wendy was
a trifle doubtful OF their existence. And
Peter says 10 the lit1e girl;
when the first baby laughed for the
the first time its laugh broke into II
thousand pieces. and they all went skip
ping about and that was the beginning OF
fairies, And now. whenever new aby
Is born. It's first laugh becomes d falry,
SO there ought 10 be fairy for every
little girl and boy. But, you see. chill
dren know such a lot now. They soon
don't believe In fairies and every time
a child Guys i don't believe in fairies.
there is "a fairy somewhere that falls and
dies"
Peter Pam becomes real with Miss
Adams IN the role. Her coming 10 Salt
Lake is always the sign Of crowded
houses. but IL Is a matter OF conjecture
II the Salt Lake ever held so rapt an au-
dlcncc as that which attended the the af-
ternoon performance.