The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-10-06
T AUDEvLLE touched Its zenith 70

W AUDEVILLE touched Its zenith for
the season at the Orpheum yester-
day. Not that there are no dull spots
between the many bright stars, but they
We're few and quickly vanishing.
Most pretentious among the attractions
was the allegory written by Mr.. Ed
| wards Davis, who enacted the chief role.
| The allegory Is a poetic morality play
| that breat the spirit Of the later re-
| naissance in Italy. Unlike the simple
| morality plays Of our forefathers, it is
highly polished and sophisticated, In sub
stance If not in FORM and flaunts the
| fieshly with an abandon that would have
appeared utter depravity to the Chris
| tan writer's Of the older dramas Of this
class. Indeed, the modern morality play,
| while condemning vice and dissipation
| quite as vigorously the allegories OF
| the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries does
not, on the other hand, exalt the Chris
tian spirituality. The ideal opposed to
Vice is usually something as pagan as
the ideals OF Epictetus or Marcus Aure-
| Illus.
The verincation is OF excellent quality
showing that Mr., Davis has most sem
sitive for the music of words The
verses are accompanied with melodic
strains by the orchestra, adding greatly
| to the poetic motif.
Mr.. Davis has supplied brief and
pithy synopsis which reads as follows:
| The Kingdom Of Destiny" a po-
etical allegory with melodic investi
express a symbolism of life The To-
Gale Is Italy; the period Is the sew
| enteenth century. The chara cters In
| Ing the principal senses, emotions and
Love. Evil: Fate, Lust. Art aud
Love, a prisoner, enters into the
throne room of the world Evil en-
ters, followed by Fate. The King.
Feast Of the Senses Gluttony-ap-
| pears. EVIL then attempts to domt-
nate the King by the seduction of
| Lust, dancer. When Lust fails.
| Art, a singer Whereupon Love, with
her freedom OF thought. liberates the
enslaved mind of the King, a man.
! The rise of the curtain discloses one
the imagination Of the artist can con-
ceive. At the left is the high gate OF
the vast gilded cage in which Love is
! prisoner, AT the right is the imperial
| throne. The throne room looks out upon
a mooniit bay and Gothic towers on land.
Floating out above the towers and over
the waters of the bay are 1eecy clouds
| that seem TO melt In the moonlight. The
| scene was rapturously applauded by the
| Spellbound spectators,
similar scene is employed by the
vanias in their I1 presentation Of "A Fish;
opera grade. In IT is featured Esther de
| Lour. a soprano who stirred the audi
ence TO ecstauc applause. The tenor.
ever, are OF almost equal excellence.
These four singers appear in classic
production that is much too brief.
| Manning Moore and Armstrong arc
singing and Raging lads OF much clever
ness and spirit. In their ragtime moods
! they are at their best and their act never
! descends to the vulgarltles that are some-
times employed to cover up the weak
ness of an act,
| The first number on the bill IS the
athletic speciality OF two strong men who
seem to have developed muscles hitherto
unknown TO science, and by the aid Of
| these muscles they do many marvellous
stunts,
Ethel Kirk. and Billy Fogarty present
a melange OF patter and song. Some OF
| It is bright and taking and some of 1t is
rather insipid.
e. Bert Kenney and E, Booth Platt
9a KsSea Kasg are ans se a
real, but Nobody is just nobody, and out
| OF this conceit the two colored come
dians extract some delightful fun. More
over. they are excellent singers and their
| traVesty describing the race between
Steamboat Bill and Casey Jones is a
gem. One line that seemed TO tickle
| the audience immensely was, I'VE don't
need no papa because ma Is a suffra
gette.'
| Weland is an eccentric juggler who
| is also a pantomimic humorist. His droll
tntS tnn1. -, VIC TIn u
of the good trades that the orpheum
circuit has made with It's English al
| lies.
| performance of the first production Of
Willard Mack's Men of Steal at the
Utah last night. There was not Il seat
| vacant, in fact several rows of chairs
| had been put in where there was avail
able place. Mr.. Mack's popularity evil
| IDENTITY reaches beyond the city. for the
| conference visitors were numerous in last
nights audience.
Men of Steal is the third play by
Mr.. Mack to be staged during the present
ket Value the second was Scandal AL
ley and now comes Men OF Steal"
All three have been interesting plays and
rons. But of all the first seemed to
make the best impression, Their Mar
ket Value had some new ideas on old
subjects. and in That originality, lies Its
in spots ii needed the pruning knife but
on the whole Il the most original
and therefore probably the best for a
theater public constantly seeking to be
| amused by something new,
The most Objectionable feature OF all
three OF Mr.: Mack's dramas has been the
mistaken Idea that plenty of swearing
puts the punch" into speeches. If an
artificial punch" In the form of impo-
litc language, 10 put 1t mildly, is needed
to put over" speech. 1t isn't anything
worth listening to. And Mr., Mack fas |
many excellent speeches from his differ |,
ent characters in the three plays which |
are weakened. rather than strengthened |
by "cussing" that eventually tells on |
the nerves of those who are listening |
Mr., Mack's plays would have gone just |
as Well without most or the swearing |
There we're a few places where It wond |
have been permissible in carrying out |
Characterization In the majority of |
cases II was unnecessarily offensive
Men OF Steal' is q story of political
Intrigue John Thorne is reform"
district attorney Of New York City Mar
tin DevereauX is the political boss He