SEASON OF '64-'65.
_A Metropolitan Theatre in the Wilderness_.
The Salt Lake Theatre was a source of wonder and admiration to all
strangers visiting it. Considering the time and the place of its
erection, the isolated condition of the people, the meagre facilities
within reach for so big a project, the quadrupled cost of everything
that had to be imported, such as glass, nails, paints, cloth for
scenery and everything in the shape of decorations, it was then, and
remains today, a monument to the liberality, foresight and enterprise
of Brigham Young. Since its erection, forty-three years ago,
theatrical architecture has been vastly improved, and in many respects
the Salt Lake Theatre is old-fashioned, but few theatres in the
country, with all the improvements which have been introduced, surpass
it in point of comfort and convenience, especially behind the curtain.
When it is considered that not only the architectural designs, the
mechanical construction, but all the interior decorations and the
scene-painting was done by local talent, it speaks highly for the
artistic and mechanical skill that was centered in Salt Lake even at
that early period of its history. William H. Folsom was the architect
and personally superintended its construction. He was also the
architect of the big Tabernacle with its turtle-shaped roof spanning a
stretch of 150 feet without a supporting column. The first
installment of scenery was painted by W. V. Morris and George M.
Ottinger, both clever artists, and with their assistants they gave the
theatre stage a very nice investiture in the way of scenery. As the
seasons rolled around the stock of scenery was continuously growing,
for every new play had to have something done for it in the way of
scenery, so that the painters were always working, and as a
consequence the Salt Lake Theatre has probably a larger stock of
scenery than any theatre in the country. The same may be said in
regard to the stage properties. "Charley" Millard was the property
man, and Charley could manufacture anything in the shape of a "prop"
from a throne chair to a cuspidor, from a papier mache cannon to a
firecracker, from a basket horse to a baby; so that in the course of a
dozen years the property room became a veritable museum, an "old
curiosity shop" well worth an hour of anybody's time to examine.
There was a wardrobe department, which was equal in importance if not
superior to the scenic arid property departments. This was presided
over by Mr. Claud Clive, an expert tailor, who with his assistants,
manufactured all the costumes for the male characters of the plays,
while the female costume department was presided over by Mrs. Marion
Bowring. Mr. Robert Neslen had general charge of the costume and wig
department, and dispensed the necessary apparel and wigs to the
company. There was also a tonsorial artist connected with the house,
who was always there to curl a wig or put it on in good shape for the
actors who needed such assistance. John Squires was the tonsorial
artist--he was a busy man in those days. He had his shop in a little
adobe house that stood directly opposite the "President's Office" on
the lot where the Amelia Palace was afterwards erected. John was the
President's barber, and had a large run of custom from the church and
tithing offices, besides nearly all the actors patronized him, so that
he was a prosperous man in the community. He continued to shave his
share of the people up to within a recent date, when he was obliged to
retire; "age with his stealing steps had clawed him in his clutch," so
this knight of the razor was reluctantly compelled to lay down the
implements of tonsorial art, the strong steady hand that once could
clean a man's cheek in about three strokes had grown weak and
tremulous, and but recently he passed peacefully away to that better
land where it is to be hoped there is no shaving or need of hair-dye.
His place is amply filled, however, for John has a numerous
progeny--and all his sons and grandsons, so far as we know them, are
barbers. Here we find a true touch of heredity.
After such a brilliant and successful season as the Irwins had just
concluded, it seemed like a daring venture to open up the ensuing
season with the stock company unassisted by the strength of a star;
but notwithstanding this seeming riskiness, the managers did not wait
for the _ensuing season_, but bravely ushered in a supplemental season
on May 14th. Only five weeks after the Irwins had closed their long
and brilliant run, the stock were hard at it again, notwithstanding
the summer days were come; they kept going till the 18th of June, when
the "veteran tragedian" (Lyne, at the time 58 years of age) was
engaged to reinforce the stock, and add to the box office receipts. He
opened this, his second star engagement, on June 25th and played up to
July 16th. He repeated all his former triumphs and achieved some new
ones, notably in "Sir Giles Overreach" in "A New Way to Pay Old
Debts."
In the meantime a new star had appeared in our dramatic horizon; by
the time Lyne had closed his engagement, it was in our ascendant,
astrologically speaking, and by the time it had reached our zenith, or
midheaven, it had shed another halo over the Salt Lake Theatre and the
drama in Utah. This bright particular star was George Pauncefort. "He
was a scholar, and a ripe and good one," an actor of rare and varied
accomplishments, and proved to be an invaluable instructor and model
for the company. Under his leadership a great progress was made.
Pauncefort was an English actor, who had acquired considerable
celebrity on the London stage. He was a married actor, and his wife
and several daughters, at the time of which I am writing, were quite
popular on the stage, and their names appeared frequently in the
London casts. Pauncefort came to the United States as early as 1858.
He was the original "Armand Duval" in "Camille," when Matilda Heron
first produced that play in New York. After his New York engagement,
Pauncefort drifted West, and in 1864 came to Salt Lake for a brief
engagement of a week or two. He had just concluded a stellar
engagement with Jack Langrishe at Denver. Denver at that time was not
so large as Salt Lake City, nor could it boast anything like so good a
theatre. The great overland road had not been projected at this time,
and people crossing the country from Denver to Salt Lake or San
Francisco were obliged "to stage it," or travel with private
conveyances. So George had to stage it, not a difficult thing for an
actor to do. He was accompanied by Mrs. Florence Bell who was featured
with him as co-star during his first engagement. He opened on July
20th, 1864, just four nights after Lyne closed, in "The Romance of a
Poor Young Man," in the character of "Manuel," Mrs. Bell playing
"Marguerite." Pauncefort's "Manuel" made a great hit, and stamped him
at once as an actor of superior parts. It was a new awakening. His
style was so different from anything we had seen, either in Lyne or
Irwin. Mrs. Bell, however, fell as far below public expectation as
Pauncefort went above it. She was not the equal of our own leading
lady, Mrs. Gibson who in consequence of this engagement had to be
retired from the leading roles, and bear with what grace she might to
see an inferior actress usurping her place. The popular verdict was
all in Mrs. Gibson's favor. Mrs. Bell was a pretty woman, but a very
mediocre actress. The management would gladly have retired the lady
after the first performance, but there was a contract, and she was
allowed to play the leads in several plays, during this engagement.
Pauncefort played until September 30th, when the season closed.
It no doubt cost the princely George a pang to realize that Mrs. Bell
had not made a favorable impression with the public, as he had
featured her on the bills. She had found great favor in his eyes, if
not so fortunate in gaining the public favor. Their admiration was
mutual and so apparent that it was frowned upon by "the powers that
be." George was given plainly to understand that although Mormons
believed in and practiced polygamy, they drew the line in morals at
promiscuity, and he could not continue his present intimate relations
with Mrs. Bell and his engagement at the Salt Lake Theatre. George
took the hint and severed the "entangling alliance;" all the easier,
no doubt, as Mr. Bell had come closely on their heels from Denver.
Bell was a good cornet player, and secured an engagement in the
Theatre Orchestra, where he played until the end of the Pauncefort
season, and then drifted off to Montana, "taking the fair Desdemona
along with him."
That the Bell alliance worked to Pauncefort's injury there is no
question. President Young took great offense at it, and never attended
the theatre during Pauncefort's engagement after the opening
performances, when he became apprised of the intimacy existing between
George and Florence. On Brigham's first visit to the theatre after the
Pauncefort season, the writer met him on the stage near his box and
took occasion to express his pleasure at seeing him occupy his
accustomed seat after so long an absence, remarking, "It is a long
time since you were here, President Young." "Yes," he replied. "I told
John T. and Hyrum (the managers of the house) that I would not come
into the theatre while that man Pauncefort was here." This showed how
strong a prejudice he had conceived against Pauncefort--and
notwithstanding the very favorable impression his acting had made, it
was quite a long time, nearly four months, before he again appeared.
The Lyne and Pauncefort engagement following each other in such close
succession and in an extra season, and that season a mid-summer one,
had given the theatre-going public a very gratifying sufficiency of
theatricals, and consequently it was not thought advisable to open the
theatre again until the ensuing October Conference; so the house was
closed up for a period of five weeks and reopened on the 5th of
October, just in time to catch the Conference gatherings. Although
both Lyne and Pauncefort were in the vicinity, neither of them were
engaged until after the Conference dates were passed. The management
could rely on full houses during the Conference and could not see the
policy of sharing up the profits with a star when the stock company
could fill the house to its capacity. The Conference over, the
following week T. A. Lyne opened his third engagement and played up to
the 10th of December; a very long engagement, lasting eight weeks.
Pauncefort should naturally, according to all professional ways of
looking at it, have filled this time; and no doubt would have had the
preference over Lyne if the managers had not been handicapped by the
strong prejudice of the "President" against this actor; for he was the
newer and more attractive star. Lyne had already played two long
engagements and exhausted his repertoire, besides Pauncefort had
introduced us to a more modern and popular school, and from financial
considerations alone, any manager would have given him the preference,
but he did not get back into the theatre for a second engagement until
after Lyne had played everything he knew; still he lingered in the
vicinity. He went out through the provinces--played smaller towns,
such as Springville and Provo, with their home companies--and dabbled
in merchandising, shipping fruit to Montana; it was bringing big
prices just then. On the 17th of December, 1864, George Pauncefort
began his second engagement in "A Bachelor of Arts" and "Black-Eyed
Susan." It was during this engagement that "Hamlet" and "Macbeth" had
their initial performances in the Salt Lake Theatre. Both of these
plays were marked events in the history of the theatre, more
particularly "Macbeth," which called into requisition the Tabernacle
choir to play the witches and sing the music of the play, which was
ably conducted by Prof. C. J. Thomas.
"Macbeth" was the last play of this engagement and closed the second
Pauncefort season on January 7th, 1865--a brief season of three
weeks--after waiting around about four months. Why this engagement
ended so suddenly in the very height of its brilliancy is somewhat
puzzling to understand, as there was no other star to follow, and the
stock company played unassisted by any stellar attraction up till May
20th, which closed the season of '64 and '65.
Pauncefort shortly after the closing of his engagement went to San
Francisco, where he remained for more than two years playing there at
intervals.