SEASON OF '77-'78.
On October 5th, the fall Conference was provided for. The house opened
for the season of '77 and '78 on this date with a reproduction of
"Under One Flag." The stock played through the Conference date,
reviving some of the old favorite plays, and continued playing until
November 12th. On November 14th The Kellogg-Cary Concert Company
opened a three nights' engagement and sang to big houses. Miss Louise
Kellogg was one of the greatest singers of her day, and Miss Cary was
equally popular, their concerts being very well patronized and highly
appreciated by the music lovers of Salt Lake.
On November 23rd, Mrs. D. P. Bowers and Mr. "Jim" McCollom (who was
Mrs. Bowers' second husband) opened a week's engagement in
Giogametti's play of "Elizabeth," which was played for three nights,
and the week was filled out with "Lady Audley's Secret," "Married
Life" and "Camille."
Mrs. Bowers was beyond question one of the greatest actresses our
country had ever produced. She was the first American actress to play
the character of Elizabeth. After Ristori, the great Italian actress,
had played this great character in a few of the principal cities of
our country only, Mrs. Bowers took it up and starred the country with
it, making a great success.
Mr. James McCollom was a very efficient support to her in the
characters of Essex in "Elizabeth," Armand in "Camille" and Robert
Audley in "Lady Audley's Secret." Mrs. Bowers achieved her celebrity
as Mrs. Bowers and never changed her name to McCollom on the stage.
Mrs. Bowers was supported by the stock company in this engagement.
On December 8th, J. K. Emmett opened a three nights' engagement in
"Fritz," supported by the stock. On December 20-21-22, The Lilliputian
Opera Company. Christmas Day the stock resumed operations and played
through the holidays and up to the 13th of the month; they were
temporarily retired again to make room for Ilma de Murska and her
concert company, who gave scenes from "II Trovatore," "Martha,"
"Crispina," and other operas, remaining three nights, 15th to 17th,
inclusive. De Murski was not only a great singer but a great actress
as well, and her singing and acting were received with unusual
enthusiasm.
January 18th and 19th, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Frayne were the attraction
in the play of "Si Slocum." Frayne "was the fellow who won renown" by
shooting an apple from his wife's head (a la William Tell), only
Frayne split the apple with a rifle bullet instead of an arrow. After
performing this and other dexterous feats with rifle and revolver many
hundreds of times without accident, he did it once too often; he
finally missed his aim and shot his wife dead. How confiding women
are! Poor Mrs. Frayne! Thank heaven that did not happen _here_!
Whether Frank ever found another woman so confident of his skill as to
hold that apple on her head, we know not and hope not. He had a bull
dog that played a star part in the show; he may have trained the dog
to hold the apple after his wife's awful fate. Sad to relate, the
stock company supported Mr. and Mrs. Frayne and the bull-dog.
On the 22nd and 23rd, Mile. Rentz's female minstrels gave Salt Lake
another exhibition of musical extravaganza, the chief attraction being
the free and lavish display of beautiful female shapes. A whole
phalanx of voluptuous, rotund forms encased in a dazzling and
bewildering variety of colors--moving in splendid harmony--keeping
time, time, time, in a sort of runic rhyme. Why no wonder the
baldheads crowded into the front rows and outrivaled all other
spectators in applauding the bold and beautiful Amazons.
On February 22nd the community having recovered somewhat from the
excitement of Amazonian marches, Rentz minstrel choruses, and the
bewildering effect of so much female beauty, the present writer having
accepted an offer to go to Denver to play a star engagement at the
Denver theatre, summoned sufficient courage to take a "farewell
benefit." The plays given on this occasion were "Evadne" and the farce
of "Nan, the Good-for-Nothing." Soon after the "benefit" the writer
departed for Denver, accompanied by Mr. Harry Emery, who had played
with him in the recent benefit bill and on some previous occasions;
his work being so satisfactory as to secure him an engagement in the
Denver company that was to support me. Denver at this time had but one
theatre; it was not nearly so large or so good a theatre as the Salt
Lake Theatre; in fact, Denver was not then (1878) as large a city as
Salt Lake. Nick Forrester was the manager, and his wife was the
"leading lady" of the company, and insisted on playing all the leading
lady parts whether suited to them or not. This caused Nick and the
company a whole lot of trouble as she was already fair, fat and forty,
and not suited to many of the parts.
My opening bill was "Hamlet," and she was my Ophelia, much to my
dissatisfaction, as there was a juvenile lady in the company, Miss
Baker, who should have been cast for the part; but with a woman's
persistent inconsistency, in spite of my demurrer, she would be
Ophelia, and Miss Baker had to do the Queen, which she was quite as
unsuited to as Mrs. Forrester was for Ophelia. This was the "leading
lady's" reward:
"Not all the artifices of the stage would suffice to make Mrs.
Forrester look young enough for Ophelia, or Miss Baker old enough for
the Queen."--Rocky Mountain News.
After "Hamlet," "Richelieu" was given (my first appearance in the
character), then "Jack Cade," Bulwer's comedy of "Money" and my own
play, "Under One Flag." After filling in three more weeks with the
Forresters on their circuit, Mr. Joe Wallace, the comedian of Mr.
Forrester's company, made a contract with me to play me through the
state of Colorado, supported by the Forrester Stock Company. The
season was over in Denver, so we went _en tour_. Before the tour
ended we went to Leadville with teams from Canon City, and gave the
first dramatic performance ever given in Leadville. This was in the
summer of '78; the boom did not strike Leadville till '79. We were
there too early to do much in the theatrical way--the population was
not there. Emery and I got back to Salt Lake about the first of
August. The next attraction at the Salt Lake Theatre after "Evadne"
was the Union Square Theatre Company with Charley Thorne at the head
of it. On February 12th, this company opened in the Russian play, "The
Danicheffs," following it with "The Two Orphans" and "Pink Dominoes."
It was the foremost company of the time, and of course gave great
satisfaction. On February 22nd, Washington's Birthday was celebrated
by a big masquerade ball in the theatre, given by the L. H. B.
Society. This was a big affair, this masquerade. Hundreds of maskers
were on the floor and the grand march, led by our late lamented friend
Ned Wallin, and the writer, was a very fine pageant--and it was
altogether a very successful revel.
Next came Fanny Louise Buckingham and her finely trained horse, James
Mellville. They starred in conjunction for three nights in the play of
"Mazeppa," supported by the stock company. This was the last
performance the writer took part in before leaving for his Denver
engagement. There was much more satisfaction in supporting Fanny and
her horse than there was in supporting Frayne and his bulldog. Fanny
was a beautiful creature, so also was her horse James; and although
Fanny couldn't act Mazeppa very well, James did his part splendidly,
and Fanny could stick on him in good shape, and James carried her
through all right. The following week we were in Denver together, she
playing, I rehearsing, so we saw a good deal of each other, and when
she parted from us at Denver, she had established a reputation among
us for a "jolly good fellow." She loved her horse James Mellville, and
she loved a jolly crowd.
Next came J. Al. Sawtelle, who had been touring around in Utah and
Montana, and put his name up for a performance at the Salt Lake
Theatre. As he had only played there one season and had not been there
since '74, he was almost a stranger. He played "Rosedale" on March
2nd. On March 5th, Denman Thompson opened a three nights' engagement
in "Joshua Whitcomb." The 11th and 12th, Signor Eduardo Majeroni, a
very clever Italian actor, played "The Old Corporal" and "Jealousy."
On the 14th, Ada Richmond opened for a week, supported by the stock,
which also supported the three preceding attractions. On April 4th,
5th and 6th, Haverly's minstrels filled the time, giving the
Conference visitors a taste of genuine minstrelsy.
The last nights of Conference, 7th and 8th, were filled by the stock,
who kept it going until Oliver Doud Byron came in on the 15th and 16th
to crave their help "Across the Continent." On the 19th Frank C.
Bangs, one of the _big four_ in the "Julius Caesar" production at
Booth's theatre, gave a reading entertainment. Why he didn't give a
play I don't know, the same old reliable stock was here and had just
supported Oliver Doud Byron. The only reason I can assign is that he
hadn't time to stay.
April 25th and 26th Ada Gray appeared in "Whose Wife?" and "Miss
Multon."
May 2nd Prof. La Mar, leader of the Fort Douglas Band, gave a band
concert. La Mar was a very clever musician and had a fine band; he
deserved to be well patronized for he was very accommodating, and
volunteered the services of his band on numerous "benefit occasions."
On the 7th and 8th Dick Roberts in "Humpty Dumpty;" 13th and 14th, Sol
Smith Russell and Rice's Evangeline combination.
On the 27th and 28th Harrigan and Hart in "Doyle Brothers," "Old
Lavender" and "Sullivan's Christmas."
June 14th and 15th, Salisbury's Troubadores.
July 15th, Joseph Jefferson in "Rip Van Winkle."
September 10th, Henry Ward Beecher in lecture, "Wastes and Burdens."
This was after the notorious Beecher-Tilton scandal and Henry had been
studying social economy. The Mormons didn't like Henry very much, but
he had a big house.
September 12th and 13th, entertainments were given for the benefit of
the yellow fever sufferers in Memphis and vicinity. These
entertainments did not "pan out" very well, and the theatre managers
decided to get all the dramatic talent they could get to volunteer and
give a popular play, in hopes to materially increase the charity fund.
The "School for Scandal" was selected and given with a pretty strong
cast, embracing Miss Colebrook as Lady Teazle, David McKenzie as Sir
Peter, John T. Caine as Charles Surface, John S. Lindsay as Joseph
Surface. Phil Margetts and John C. Graham were in the cast, and a
number of others, I cannot remember. The play was given on September
16th, and netted a very tidy sum for the sufferers.
On the 18th, 19th and 20th, Calender's Georgia minstrels held the
boards, and business was light. The writer and Harry Emery had but
recently returned from their Colorado tour, and both were anxious to
be doing something, so I got a cast together and put on "Richelieu,"
which I had recently played in Denver, and received flattering notices
for, from the press of that city. I had given away my first appearance
for the "benefit" to the yellow fever sufferers, so there was no other
attraction than to see me in a new part and that did not prove
sufficient to save me from disaster. I had a losing game of it, the
receipts being some $75 less than the expenses of the performance.
This was the only time I ever failed to make something when I had
rented the theatre and taken chances, which was quite often. This
performance, given on the 25th of September, virtually closed the
season of '77 and '78.