SEASON OF '74-'75.
To open this season the stock company were brought into requisition
again and played up to the 5th of September. On the 7th and 8th
Howarth's Hibernica, a panoramic show with specialties filled in the
time. The Vokeses returned on the 9th and filled out the remainder of
the week, making ten nights and two matinees they got in during the
heated term which was sufficient proof of their popularity. Close on
their heels came the Hoskins-Darrell combination, consisting of
William Hoskins, his wife, Fannie Colville, George Darrell and his
wife. They were supported by the stock company and played from the
14th to the 23rd inclusive. Hoskins was an English actor of great and
varied experience, and in high comedy roles was greatly admired. He
was a man of sixty years of age and had been in Australia for a good
many years. His wife, Fannie Colville, was very much his junior, in
fact, it was a May and December alliance and apparently bore the usual
kind of fruit. Fanny was not a great actress but was very pretty and
attractive, in fact, too much so to prove comfortable to her much
senior lord and master. The Darrells were clever and talented. The
combination proved fairly successful. They toured about the country
for a year or so and then returned to Australia with more experience
than money, wiser if not richer. They wooed content in their former
home.
The October conference approaching, the stock company were put in
rehearsal for some suitable plays and the "Royal Marrionettes" were
put in as an additional attraction for the conference season and
continued for nine nights from October 5th to the 13th inclusive. The
Marrionettes proved to be highly amusing and interesting entertainment
and combined with the efforts of the stock company in drama gave the
conference visitors the worth of their money and replenished the
treasury to a considerable extent.
The next attraction also worked in conjunction with the stock company.
This was Laura Honey Stevenson (now Mrs. Church), a lady of some
celebrity as a reader. She was assisted in her entertainments by a
brilliant young baritone singer, Mr. John McKenzie, whose singing
proved to be quite taking and this conjunction lasted for eight
nights.
It was during this last engagement that there occurred quite an exodus
from the Salt Lake Stock company to John Piper's theatre at Virginia
City, Nevada. Mr. J. A. Sawtelle and wife and daughter, a girl of
twelve or fourteen years, Miss Adams (Mrs. Kiskadden), her daughter
Maude, now two years old, accompanied by Mr. Kiskadden, Miss Carrie
Cogswell-Carter with her son Lincoln J., then about ten years of age,
and the writer went to Virginia City, all with the exception of Mr.
Kiskadden and the children being under engagement to play with Piper
for the ensuing season. There is much of interest connected with this
exodus from Salt Lake. It materially weakened the stock forces, taking
away the leading man, Mr. Sawtelle, the leading heavy (the writer),
and leading juvenile lady, Miss Adams, and Miss Cogswell, the
principal heavy woman; but their places were filled in a little while
and the stock pushed along in the same old way.
The combination system, however, was now gaining ground and the stock
companies throughout the country began to suffer correspondingly,
their engagements becoming more and more intermittent as the traveling
combination became more numerous.
At the opening of the season of '74 and '75 there were so many
combinations booked that the managers of the Salt Lake Theatre could
not offer the stock company a season's engagement, but only brief
periodical engagements between the dates of the various combinations.
It was in consequence of this that the above mentioned members of the
company took a season's engagement with Mr. Piper of Virginia City.
The Comstock was booming in those days and the theatre ran every
night, Sundays included. At the close of the Piper season, Miss Adams
went to San Francisco taking Maudie with her. There they made their
home; Mr. Kiskadden having preceded them there and obtained a good
situation as a bookkeeper with the firm of Park & Lacy. Mrs. Kiskadden
played occasional engagements at the San Francisco theatres and there
in due time little Maude made her first voluntary appearance on the
stage, her first appearance which occurred at the Salt Lake Theatre
when she was yet in long clothes, having been an involuntary one in
which her feelings or inclinations were not consulted.
The writer's stay in Virginia City was brief. Receiving an offer from
James A. Herne, who was managing stage at the Bush Street, San
Francisco for Tom Maguire, and being anxious to visit the Golden Gate
city, I got Mr. Piper to honorably release me by showing him how he
could get along without me and save my salary. So, after playing a
week at Sacramento during the State fair, I left the Piper company and
went to San Francisco by steamboat which was running opposition to the
railroad, giving very low rates--only fifty cents from Sacramento to
San Francisco. Mr. Kiskadden, who had been with his wife and baby
Maude since leaving Salt Lake, decided to take advantage of this low
excursion rate on the steamer and go to San Francisco also in the
search of a situation. "Jim," as he was familiarly called, was always
ready for a little sport in the way of a game of cards or billiards,
so as soon as the boat got under way, he got into a game of cards with
some kindred spirits and although a crack player and usually a winner,
on this occasion he lost every cent he had moreover he likewise lost
his hat, a nice new summer one he had recently purchased. The wind was
blowing strong upstream and a sudden puff took his hat into the river,
leaving "Jim" bareheaded and dead broke; not a very desirable plight
to be in going a stranger into a strange city. Moreover, to add to his
discomfort, he was wearing a summer suit and as we approached San
Francisco the weather was cold and foggy, and "Jim's" clothes were
decidedly unseasonable when we reached our destination. Fortunately he
had his trunk along and as soon as he got located he effected a change
of costume, but he was in a dilemma for money to live on till he could
find a job and he appealed to me to lend him a certain sum, which I
was unable to do, having barely enough to see me through till I would
have a week's salary due, but I let him have enough for immediate
necessities, and he was not long in finding friends and a good
situation.
My engagement at the Bush Street did not last very long. The house was
doing a struggling business when I went there. Emerson's minstrels
just across the street were doing a phenomenal business, turning
people away every night, while "Jim" Herne at the head of a good
company, was playing to very meager houses. "Zoe the Cuban Sylph" was
the reigning star when I opened there and my opening part was an
Indian--Conanchet, chief of the Naragansetts, in the "Wept of the
Wishton Wish."
The Bush Street theatre season ended rather ingloriously soon after
the New Year holiday. I had on the very morning preceding our closing
night, received a telegram from Mr. Piper of Virginia City, offering
me the leading business for the remainder of the season, but declined
it, believing the Bush would struggle along. That night we had a new
piece on, "The Circus Queen," and it proved such a failure that Tom
Maguire decided to close, which he did without any previous notice, so
the entire company were out of a job. Next morning I lost no time
wiring to Piper to know if the engagement was still open to me and in
a few hours I had received the agreeable answer "yes" and took the
train the same day for Virginia City. I had been there about three
weeks when I met T. B. H. Stenhouse, who was there writing up the
Comstock mines for the New York Herald. He said to me, "They need you
in Salt Lake badly; why don't you wire them? Katherine Rogers opens
there Monday night for a two weeks' engagement and they have no
competent leading man to support her." "Well," I said, "they know
where I am. If they want me why don't they wire me?" "Will you go,"
said he, "if I wire for you and get you the engagement?" "Yes," I
replied, "I shall be glad to go, for I am tired of this." So he went
right off and wired, and the next day I left for home, but did not
arrive in time to open with Miss Rogers in the opening bill, but got
in on the second night and played throughout the rest of the
engagement.
I had been absent from October 14th, 1874, to January 26th, 1875, a
little over three months, during which time the following attractions
appeared at the Salt Lake Theatre: The Wheeler Comedy troupe, October
29th to 31st. On November 2nd, Risley's Panorama "Mirror of England"
opened for a week. On the 13th and 14th the Infantry combination. On
the 16th Frank Mayo and Rosa Rand opened a week's engagement
presenting "Davy Crockett" and "Streets of New York." On the 25th
Agnes Booth and Joseph Wheelock opened in "Much Ado About Nothing,"
and filled out a week with "King John" and the comedy "Engaged." On
December 2nd R. H. Cox, familiarly known as "Daddy Cox," among
professionals on the coast, opened a four nights' engagement with "The
Detective," which went for two nights. The other two nights he gave
"The Bells That Rang Nellie a Bride." Daddy Cox had recently left
Piper's theatre in Virginia City, where he had been stage manager for
a time.
On the 9th, Harry Rickards, an English comic singer of great spread
and self importance, opened for a week's engagement in conjunction
with the stock company. Rickards was recently from Australia and put
in a week at the Bush Street during the writer's engagement there. His
singing and style did not catch on with the San Franciscans. He was
too "awfully English, yer know." He did not prove any great attraction
in Salt Lake. On the 21st a grand concert was given for the benefit of
the Catholic church. On the 22nd, W. J. Florence opened for a week,
supported by the stock company. His opening play was "Dombey and Son."
He gave besides "No Thoroughfare" and the "Colleen Bawn." Each piece
ran two nights, carrying the season through the Christmas holidays and
the house closed with his last performance on the 26th until New
Year's day. January 1st, 1875, the theatre reopened with the stock
company, who, without the assistance of any stellar attraction, played
two weeks when the house closed again until the 25th inst.
Of the people who had comprised the stock company the previous season,
the following members had drifted away: J. Al. Sawtelle, leading man;
Mrs. Sawtelle, general utility; John S. Lindsay, leading heavy;
Asenith Adams (Mrs. Kiskadden), leading juveniles; W. S. Crosbie,
comedian; Arrah Crosbie, characters; J. H. Vinson, first old man and
stage manager; Buck Zabriske, prompter. The uncertain and spasmodic
nature of the engagements this season, which had caused this strong
contingent of the company to seek other engagements, also prevented
the accession of new people to the ranks of the stock company, so that
it was in a rather dilapidated and weakened condition, especially for
the support of legitimate repertoire, such as Katherine Rogers
presented for the patrons of the drama.
On January 25th she opened in "Romeo and Juliet." Mr. "Mike" Foster
was the Romeo for the occasion. The "leading men" were all out of the
way and this was sudden promotion for Foster one of those
opportunities that come but rarely to the ambitious young actor, and
nearly always bring new honors and distinction. "Mike" struggled
manfully with his task, but he did not make an ideal Romeo. On the
following evening the writer made his reappearance with the company,
after an absence of three months. He played Master Walter in the
"Hunchback" on the occasion and was warmly welcomed by the audience.
Miss Rogers played in addition to "Romeo and Juliet" and the
"Hunchback," "As You Like It," "Love's Sacrifice," "Pygmalion and
Galatea," "Lady of Lyons," "Leah," in which the writer played the
following characters respectively: Jacques, Matthew Elmore, Pygmalion,
Claude Melnotte, Lorenz. Such a repertory, where each play ran for but
two performances, put the company on high tension. Those who had new
parts, and particularly if they had never played in the pieces, found
it very exacting work. Fortunately for the writer, he had played most
of the parts before, yet it was a busy time for him during that
engagement.
Following closely on Miss Rogers with her legitimate plays, came the
English comedian known professionally as Willie Gill and his wife,
Rose Bain. These co-stars had recently been associated with the writer
at Piper's theatre at Virginia City, where they played for a month or
so in stock and it was a little of a surprise to me to find they had
suddenly materialized into stars and were billed for a week at the
Salt Lake Theatre. With sublime assurance, especially for a play
writer, which Willie even then professed to be (as well as a
comedian), he put up Mark Twain's "A Gilded Age." The piece had been
but recently dramatized and had made a marked success with John T.
Raymond as Col. Sellers. Raymond had played several engagements with
us at the Salt Lake Theatre and was a great favorite, and was looking
forward to another visit in the near future with his greatest success,
Col. Sellers. Some one apprised him by telegram that Gill was billed
to play the piece here and he promptly wired a well known law firm to
enjoin Gill from playing it. The managers, Clawson and Caine, were
also warned not to play it, so an emergency bill was prepared in the
event that they should be stopped. The law firm had taken the
necessary proceedings and just before "ringing up" time, as no change
of performance had been announced, they appeared on the scene with the
necessary officer and papers and the performance of "A Gilded Age" was
formally and effectually enjoined. "All That Glitters Is Not Gold" was
substituted. This was a lesson to the English comedian late from
Australia which he possibly never forgot, especially as a few years
later he retired from the stage and settled down in New York as a
professional writer for the stage. He was a clever adapter and
dramatizer, as his version of "A Gilded Age" bore witness, and he no
doubt found plenty of materials to use in his craft, whose authors
were not so well known as Mark Twain nor so particular in regard to
their copyrights. Willie learned the truth of the axiom that "All that
glitters is not gold," even _"A Gilded Age"_ on that memorable night,
for it materially injured the business during the remainder of his
engagement.
"Built on Sand" was the next evening's offering and it was probably
too suggestive of Willie's hopes in respect to "A Gilded Age" to be a
good drawing card, so it only went the one night. The company had
their work cut out here also; the next play was a new one with them;
he called it Madge of Elvanlee; it was a dramatization of Charles
Gibbons "For the King," a very powerful story of the Restoration
period, and gave Rose Bain, his wife, the chance of her life to make a
hit as a leading actress; but she failed to score any marked success,
giving only a passable rendition of the character. Fortunately again
for this individual, he had during his absence played in this play at
the Bush Street Theatre. Jim Herne used it as the vehicle for the
debut of a talented San Francisco' lady, who created a little ripple
of excitement by her advent on the stage. I afterwards played the
leading character in it at Virginia in conjunction with Miss Bain and
Mr. Gill, so that it was comparatively easy for me in regard to study.
This play was forced two nights, meantime the company had another new
play sprung on them for Friday night. Miss Rose Bain was evidently
bent on being the bright particular star of this engagement. Willie
had failed in his Col. Sellers scheme, and Rose saw her opportunity
and pushed it to the utmost. "The Sphinx," a mythological play, taxing
the powers of no less an actress than Annette Ince (one of the
greatest of her time) was the next offering to the public, and an
exacting task for the company. Here again I was lucky, as I had only
about six weeks before played a week in the piece with Miss Ince at
the Bush Street theatre, and although I had now a different part, I
was sufficiently familiar with the play to make my task easy, as
compared with the rest of the company.
"The Sphinx" did not prove popular, owing largely to Miss Bain's
inadequacy. So "Madge of Elvanlee" was restored for Saturday night,
and so ended a very unprofitable week, both for "stars" and
management. Willie Gill afterwards acquired fame as the writer of
several successful comedy sketches. Rose Bain we have never heard of
since. From the 13th to the 22nd of February, the theatre was dark,
which gave the overworked stock company a rest they no doubt enjoyed,
but cut off their salaries, which they did not relish.
On the 22nd, Washington's Birthday, the theatre was used as a ball
room--the Firemen gave a "Grand Ball" and for the occasion the theatre
was transformed, as it had been a number of times before, to
accommodate an enormous crowd of dancers. The entire parquet was
covered with floor made in sections, making the stage and the
auditorium into one vast dancing hall. Hundreds who did not
participate in the dance paid admission fees to sit in the circles and
watch the dancers go through the bewitching and bewildering figures to
the strains of a fine orchestra secured for the occasion. By the
following evening, the floor was removed, the chairs back in place,
and the theatre had resumed its normal appearance. On this date, the
23rd, The Alleghanians, a company of Swiss Bell Ringers and Vocalists,
opened and played throughout the remainder of the week, five nights
and a matinee. The company had now had a three weeks' rest and were
anxious to be doing something again, so a series of "benefits" were
put on. Commencing on March 6th, Clara Jean Walters took a benefit,
playing Edward Tullidge's "Ben Israel," a very powerful play
commemorative of the return of the Jews to England. On the 8th Mr.
Lindsay "benefited," played "Jack Cade," and on the 10th E. B. Mar
den, who had been in the stock for several years, took a benefit,
playing Featherly in "Everybody's Friend." The theatre was again
closed until the 22nd inst., when The Lingards came in and, supported
by the stock, stiffened up business to some extent; continued until
the 31 st. The April Conference being close at hand, it was decided to
play the stock through the Conference in some of the old favorites,
and they continued right along after the Lingards left. That is the
marvelous part of it that they could do _any_ business after dropping
out a strong stellar attraction, but on they played through the
Conference and on up to the 1st of May, when the _season_ closed and
with the season the management under the "Salt Lake Theatre
Corporation" closed.
Their second season had not proved sufficiently profitable, although
they had severely curtailed expenses by cutting down the company, to
clear them of indebtedness, and the corporation quit badly in the
hole.
The close of the Clawson and Caine management and the end of the Salt
Lake Theatre Corporation was virtually the retirement of the stock
company, which had been playing from the opening of the theatre in '62
up to the present date, May 1st, 1875, a period of 13 years. Of course
a great many changes had taken place during those years in the
personnel of the company, but a few of the original members remained,
and the organization or _ensemble_ of the company had been kept
intact. Now, however, the gradually encroaching combination system
made it impracticable for the managers to offer a season's engagement
to those who were willing and anxious to engage. The necessity for a
stock company became rapidly less from this time on, until in the year
1878 it had become defunct altogether.
Two entertainments were given after the closing of the stock company,
before the corporation relinquished the house--on May 4th, Petroleum
V. Nasby lectured, and on the 8th Mr. Mark Wilton rented the theatre
and put up "The Ticket of Leave Man" for a benefit. To show the status
of the company at this particular time, the program for the benefit
performance is here appended:
SALT LAKE THEATRE.
Salt Lake Theatre Corporation ............... Proprietors
Clawson and Caine .............................. Managers
SATURDAY EVENING, MAY 8TH, 1875.
Mr. Mark Wilton has engaged the Theatre for this night and will
produce the great drama of
"THE TICKET OF LEAVE MAN."
Supported by the following
CAST OF CHARACTERS:
Bob Briefly, a Lancashire lad ....... Mr. John S. Lindsay
James Dalton (the Tiger) ................ Mr. M. Forester
Hawkshaw (a detective) .................. Mr. Mark Wilton
Melter Moss (a crook) .................. Mr. J. C. Graham
Mr. Gibson (a bill broker) ............. Mr. Harry Taylor
Sam Willoughby ...................... Miss Dellie Clawson
Maltby ................................... Mr. Logan Paul
Burton ................................... Mr. H. Horsley
May Edwards ..................... Mrs. Clara Jean Walters
Mrs. Willoughby ...................... Miss Belle Douglas
This was the last performance given under the corporation managers and
for some time the theatre remained without a manager; if any one
wanted it, they had to rent it from President Brigham Young through
one of his clerks. My record shows that the writer, on July 24th
following, rented the house at the modest sum of one hundred dollars
for the bare house. We gave Bulwer's five-act comedy of "Money"
besides the farce "A Fish Out of Water" and a musical interlude, by
Laura Honey Stevenson and John W. McKenzie, a popular young baritone
from San Francisco. The total expense of this performance was $357.00,
so it was a risk for an individual to take, but we pulled through
clear and had a little left for our trouble.
About this time Mr. W. T. Harris or "Jimmy" Harris, as he was
familiarly called, was installed as "business manager" of the theatre;
he had succeeded in winning one of Brigham Young's daughters, Miss
Louise Young, affectionately called by her friends "Punk." The Annie
Ward episode was forgotten or condoned, and Jimmy had ingratiated
himself so strongly in the President's good graces as to receive the
hand of his favorite daughter, and in order that he might provide
liberally for her, he was given the business management of the
theatre. He assumed no financial responsibilities in accepting the
position, but simply acted as the agent for Brigham Young, to whom he
submitted matters of importance. He held down his job for two years or
more, until some time after the death of Brigham Young, when the Salt
Lake Theatre, which had been appropriated by the late President,
(although built with Church means) in the settlement of Brigham's
estate reverted to the Church. This brought a change of management and
Mr. Harris was superseded by H. B. Clawson, one of the former
managers.