SEASON OF '71-'72.
The season of '71 and '72 opened on August the 4th, only two weeks
after the closing of '70 and '71. The Lingards were the opening
attraction; they played only two nights. The Lingards consisted of
Horace W. Lingard, Alice Lingard, his wife, and "Dickie" Lingard, a
sister to Horace. They played short cast pieces and did not require
many members of the company. The repertoire included "Caste," "The
Weaver of Spitaefield," "Morning Call," "A Happy Pair," etc. They were
followed closely by Kate Newton and Charlie Backus of minstrel fame,
who stayed two nights; and these were succeeded by the Hyers Sisters,
a colored concert troupe, who gave five concerts, opening August the
9th and playing up to the 13th.
On the 21st Joseph and Mrs. Murphy made their debut in drama--the
medium being a hash-up of improbable incidents put together to string
Joe's specialties on. He played a sort of stage detective and
disguised variously as an Irishman, a Swede, a Dutch Girl, and a
Nigger. This was the first performance of "Help" on any stage, and
should have been the last, if merit alone counted.
The Salt Lake Theatre was made the bridge to carry a number of new
dramatic ventures across the quicksands of dramatic speculation.
Afraid to make the trial of a new play in San Francisco or New York,
they have brought them to Salt Lake to "try them on the dog." "Help"
ran three nights, 21st to the 24th, and was fairly launched on the
dramatic sea, and Joe Murphy was no longer a blackfaced comedian but a
versatile actor of the Irish comedy persuasion. "Help" served Joe
faithfully for several seasons and put him on Easy street,
financially.
August 25th the Stock Company, strengthened with the Cogswell-Carter
troupe, resumed. J. W. Carter was engaged to play leads for a time;
McKenzie was absent, Lindsay was gone, Hardie had deserted, and the
management were in sore straits for a leading actor. The Stock played
from August 25th to September 25th, when Mrs. Lander opened a star
engagement in "Mary Stuart," continuing one week, during which she
gave, in addition to "Mary Stuart," "Camille," "The Hunchback" and
"Marie Antoinette." Mrs. Lander was at this time one of the bright
particular stars of the American stage. She was a woman of superior
intelligence and rare dramatic talent and played a fine engagement.
After the Lander engagement, the house closed for a few nights, to
give the Stock company a chance to prepare for the approaching October
conference. The management could always count on packed houses during
these conferences, and it was like giving money away to engage any
stellar attractions at these times, so the Stock company was up
against their work once more. On October 3rd they opened and played
through conference, to the 9th.
On the 10th Robert McWade made his first bow to a Salt Lake audience,
in "Rip Van Winkle." McWade had a very good reputation through the
west in this character, and drew a very good house for his first
night. If we had never seen "Jim Hearne" as "Rip Van Winkle" we might
have thought more of McWade, but the impression Hearne made in the
character was so strong and still so fresh in the public mind that
McWade's "Rip" did not become a favorite. He played some five nights
and then the Stock had to go alone again for a while, so on the 16th
they resumed and played up to November 7, only relieved a little by
the Japanese jugglers, who put in an hour each evening for a week,
from October 23rd to 28th. On November 9th, Johnny Allen and Alice
Harrison opened a four nights' engagement, closing on the 13th. On the
15th the Stock resumed the even tenor of its way, and played
unassisted up to December 10th, when J. M. Ward came in with "Through
by Daylight," and got through by gaslight in two nights. Jim Ward was
a very versatile and capable actor with a racy Irish brogue, that was
suggestive of the "ould sod." He has had rare experiences in
theatrical life, and they would make a volume of interesting reading,
but as he is still having them, being yet upon the stage, it is too
early to add his experiences to the general history of the stage,
especially his matrimonial ones.
An entire troupe of juvenile actors followed Jim Ward's advent into
Salt Lake City. Whether Jim was in any way accountable, we are not
advised; they were called "The Nathan Juvenile Troupe," and put in one
week from the 15th to the 20th.
Oliver Doud Byron followed them, opening on December 21st, and playing
till January 3rd, "Across the Continent," being his piece de
resistance. Ben McCullough filled out the week. Eliza Couldock, who
was in delicate health, and had been left here by her father after
their last engagement, was now called in for a week to assist the
Stock in a production of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Miss Couldock was cast
for the character of Eliza. The writer, who was playing George Harris
and Legree, well remembers how nervous and poorly the lady was during
this week's engagement. She was over ambitious and worked beyond her
strength, and it was evident she was in a decline. This was her last
appearance, poor girl, and it was not long before we were paying the
last respects, and with loving hands laying her gently i' the earth,
alongside of dear Annie Lockhart, whom we had performed the same
service for only a short time before. "Lay her i' the earth and from
her fair and unpolluted flesh may violets spring."
Rose Evans came to us for a second engagement, after the "Uncle Tom"
week, and played from January 8th to the 27th, repeating her former
repertory. Stock company put in the following week alone, then
followed E. T. Stetson for a week in his melodramas, "Neck and Neck"
and "Old Kentuck." This puts us along to February 7th, '72, when the
Stock played another week without any star; then the Stock got a
week's rest, the time from the 15th to the 20th being filled by Purdy,
Scott, and Fostelle's minstrels. Refreshed with a week's vacation, the
Stock company started in afresh on February 22nd--great George's
birthday--and played till April 9th, getting through another
conference without the aid of a star. Here the company had another
brief respite while "The Child American Concert Company" filled time
from April 10th to the 13th, when the company resumed their labors and
played up to the 20th. On April 22nd, Mr. and Mrs. F. M. Bates began a
stellar engagement which ran three weeks, up to May 11th. Mrs. Bates
was the lead horse in this team, and the repertory was selected to
give her prominence as the principal star, and the announcement should
have been _Mrs._ and Mr. F. M. Bates. She played "Pigeon the Torment,"
"Camille," "Leah," and "Lucretia Borgia," and all the great popular
roles for tragediennes, and was the first to introduce to us the great
historic play of "Elizabeth." The Bateses made a very good impression
and were so pleased with the result of their engagement that they
remained in Salt Lake during the ensuing summer. Blanche Bates, now a
very successful star under David Belasco's management, was with the
Bateses then, and as she had not been christened Blanche, she was just
called Baby Bates.
May 13th to 16th was filled by Berger's Swiss Bell Ringers, and Sol
Smith Russell, who was then doing specialties with the Bergers little
dreaming of his "Poor Relation" or "Peaceful Valley."
A few nights of stock followed this, and not proving strong, the
Bateses were re-engaged and put in another week, from the 22nd to the
28th, introducing some new plays of lighter caliber.
May 29th the Majiltons put in a date, and the stock then played a lone
hand up to June 8th. Billy Emerson's minstrels held the boards June
10th, 11th and 12th, and Joe Murphy came and gave us some more of his
"Help," 13th, 14th, 15th. Stock put in another week alone, 17th to
22nd, when Charles Wheatleigh opened a return engagement, 24th and
played till July 1st. Wheatleigh gave "Lottery of Life," "Flying
Scud," "After Dark" and "Arrah Na Pogue." That was Charley
Wheatleigh's farewell, we never saw him more.
The Bergers and Sol Smith Russell had swung around the circle and came
back for a second engagement. They found Salt Lake a congenial and
profitable place and put in another three nights with us, 4th, 5th and
6th.
James M. Hardie, who had just returned from a long professional
engagement in San Francisco, played a two nights' engagement, opening
in a play called "Early California." Season closed June 8th. "Jim"
Hardie left Salt Lake for the East soon after this his last appearance
here, as it proved, for he has never since returned. After playing in
support of stars several seasons, "Hoey and Hardie" starred for
several seasons in "A Child of the State," but it was not a money
maker, and after several losing seasons the firm of Hoey and Hardie
dissolved, and Jim cast about for a new "angel." Hoey's "old man" had
been the angel in the "Child of State" venture and it was understood
at the time that after making up some rather heavy deficits, he grew
weary and refused to put up any longer for "The Child of the State."
Hardie had some money which came to him through his wife, who had an
annuity, but "Jim" had a strong touch of the "canny Scot" in him, that
always impelled him to let someone else "put up," In time he found a
new "angel," and one more to his taste, for this one was of the female
persuasion, and Jim always was a favorite with the ladies. He caught a
society woman who was stage struck and wanted to star; she had the
money to pay for the privilege, and this was just such a snap as "Jim"
wanted. So the lady put up the money to put out the show, and she was
starred in conjunction with Jim. The firm name stood "Hardie and Von
Leer." "A Brave Woman" was the name of the play they chose for the
venture; there was a great significance in that title. The show went
out with a stock of $1,200 worth of special printing, so Hardie
himself informed me in New York. They went into the south, but in six
weeks the company was disbanded and Hardie and Von Leer were back in
New York. Then they got up a cheaper company and went into the dime
museums, where they made a little money. The dime museums were very
popular just then and a number of good attractions played them. The
play of "A Brave Woman," however, was not an unqualified success,
although Sarah Von Leer seemed to be, and held onto her partnership
through thick and thin. After a while Hardie got a play called "On the
Frontier," and conceived the idea of getting a brass band made up of
real Indians. It proved a ten strike, and, after doing a big business
with it in this country for two seasons, he took it to England in '93
and made a barrel of money with it. Sarah is still his partner and
still stays by him. They built a fine theatre in Manchester, which has
been their headquarters for the last twenty years. Mrs. Hardie and her
daughters have been back in Salt Lake for a number of years. They have
never crossed the ocean to join the husband and father. It must be
acknowledged that the dramatic profession is altogether too prolific
of this sort of thing. Its tendencies are to draw even well mated
couples apart--a hundred cases could be cited; but we will let the
reader think the matter over and divine the cause.
On July 31st Jim McKnight, a young fellow of ambition and talent, put
on a play of his own writing, which he called "The Robbers of the
Rocky Mountains," with an exclusive amateur company. Young McKnight
drew on his imagination for his robbers; had he written years later he
could have taken his characters from life, with Butch Cassidy and the
whole Robber's Roost gang in the cast.