--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Horace G. Whitney collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 18 number: 6 published: 1915-04 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Horace G. Whitney, "The Story of the Salt Lake Theatre," *Improvement Era* 18, no. 6 (April 1915): 509–516.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1806unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera1806unse start_page: 509 end_page: 516 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1915-04) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1806unse publication_year: 1915 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1915, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The Story of the Salt Lake Theatre The Story of the Salt Lake Theatre BY HORACE G. WHITNEY, DRAMATIC EDITOR, THE DESERET NEWS In Four Parts —Part I AM ASKED to you the tell story of the Salt Lake Thea- tre. To perform that task in- means that one telligently, must hark back many a long year prior to the date the first spadeful of earth was turned, or thestone laid for the first He must, historic structure. in fact look into the pages of the history of Nauvoo, that the historic salt lake theatre once-famous city on the Mis- ^"FiS op^Ma^t" 8^^ sissi PP^ b " i!t h Y the " ° r- M mons," and where they laid the foundations for much of the culture, social pleasure, and entertainment, which years afterwards characterized the life of the Utah pioneers. In Nauvoo, in the early forties, music, both vocal and instrumental, flourished there were several ; bands and choral societies, and many teachers and performers. Schools were founded, and advanced classes studied Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and there, more than all, the drama was encouraged and cultivated to a degree quite remarkable in a community so iso- lated, and so far from the centers of wealth and population. Joseph Smith, T. A. Lyne and H. B. Claivson Joseph Smith, the prophet, thought so highly of the mission of the drama, that he formed a dramatic company in Nauvoo, and among those who took part in some of the plays were Brig- ham Young, Erastus Snow and George A. Smith. Thomas A. Lyne, then a prominent tragedian of the east, came from Phil- adelphia to play with the Nauvoo company. He became so enamored of life among the people there, that he joined the "Mormon" faith, and for a time was a zealous expounder of its tenets. The rock on which he foundered, however, was the call *An address delivered before the Cleofan Society, Salt Lake City, January 27, 1915. 510 IMPROVEMENT ERA to a foreign mission when that call came he ; faded away, to re- appear among the people, as we shall see later, in a somewhat romantic manner, after a silence of nearly twenty years. While he lived in Nauvoo, however, he was vastly popular, and the leading plays he produced, mostly tragedies, with himself in the roles, never failed to draw enthusiastic audiences. One day Joseph Smith brought to him a young man named Hiram Clawson. "Here's a boy," he said, "who is clever at mim- icry. I wish you would give him a chance." Lyne told the boy he was then engaged on "Pizzaro," and the only position vacant was that of the stage hand who sat in the flies and threw down the fire from the heav- ens at the proper cue. Young Clawson eag- erly accepted the task, and thus began the theatrical career HIRAM B. CLAWSON AND JOHN T. CAINE which ripened so fully First in Salt Lake, years Managers of the Salt Lake Theatre afterward. Brigham Young played the High Priest in the same production, and the long and intimate acquaintance between those two which there had its beginning, and the taste for theatricals which took so deep a root among the people from those performances, without doubt were the first causes, the germs from whence sprang the wide- spread interest in the drama among the Utah pioneers, and which culminated in the building of the Salt Lake theatre, nearly twenty years later. The Earliest Plays and Players. In many of his moves, Brigham Young has been compared to Napoleon. He was never more Napoleonic than when, in 1846, on the banks of the Missouri River, after the exodus from Nauvoo, he laid out his plans for the great westward march to the Rockies, or perhaps to the Californias. Napoleon paused on the banks of the Vistula, as he prepared for the invasion of Russia, to receive couriers from Paris, telling him what plays and operas were being produced, and to forward his instructions to the play- ers and managers, with the programs they should present during his absence. Even so, Brigham Young, with far-seeing eye, made THE SALT LAKE THEATRE 511 nut his programs for the social life, employment, and entertain- ment of his people before he knew where their future home was to be. The schools, music, the press, and the drama were alike pro- vided for, and the pioneers were no sooner located than those four great civilizing agencies, whose roots had been carefully taken up from the soil of Nauvoo, and tenderly nurtured in the great mi- gration across the plains, were transplanted amid the more con- genial soils of "The Valley," where they blossomed and shed their fragrance on "wide neighborhoods of men." The famous Nauvoo brass band, under Captain William Pitt, ministering angels to the souls of the pioneers, was never allowed to lapse the Nauvoo choirs be- ; came the Tabernacle choir the ; University of Deseret began its operations as soon as the crops could be planted and shelter pro- vided the first issue of the Des- ; eret News was printed in June, 1850, not three years after the first body of pioneers arrived, and in the same year the first play ever produced in the intermoun- tain region, if not in all the west, was given in the"Bowery,"an ed- ifice made half of lumber, half of f boughs, located on the Temple block, and in which the religious assemblies of the people were also held. "Robert Macaire" was THOMAS A. LYNE the play chosen, and naturally we .find the name of Hiram B. Claw- First Trainer of Our Pioneer Actors, Nau- voo, 1842, Utah, 1863 son prominent in the cast. Who can doubt that the revival of the drama amid such surroundings was largely the result of the ex- periences of Brigham Young and Hiram B. Clawson, in Nauvoo, years before? Would that we had preserved to us, some of the "details of those "Bowery" performances, the rehearsals, the casts, the means by which plays, costumes, lights and the thousand and one adjuncts of a theatre, were procured. Two years later, 1852-3, saw the opening of the Social Hall, then the marvel of the time, with H. B. Clawson again in the front, now reinforced by other talented players. For ten years the Social Hall was the center of the social, musical and theatrical life of the pioneers. Then Brigham Young saw that the commu- monopolized, more nity was outgrowing it, and as it began to be and more, as a place of dancing, he turned his thoughts to the erection of a more ambitious and permanent temple of the drama 512 1 M PRUVEMENT ERA The M'argetts-Bowring Company The late Phil Margetts, who took part with H. B. Clawson in "Robert Macaire," and all the later plays that followed in the "Bowery" and the Social Hall, was always fond of claiming that he was largely instrumental in causing President Young to reach his decision to build the Salt Lake Theatre. He and Henry Bow- ring, with a number of associates, organized the Mechanics Dra- matic Association, an offshoot of the Social Hall company. They gave a number of performances in "Bowring's" theatre, located on East First South, in the Twelfth-Thirteenth Ward. Presi- dent Young attended the performances there, and was so well pleased that he took steps to bring the two companies together, and he then promised them a real theatre, worthy of their talents. In the Mechanics Company were in- cluded the following Phil Margetts, Henry McEwan, J.A.Thomp- son, Joseph Barker, John B. Kelley, John Chambers, Jos. Bull, Pat Lynch, William Wright, William Poul- ter, William Price, Henry E. Bowring, Mrs. Marian Bowring, Mrs. Bull, Mrs. Mc- Ewan, Elizabeth Tul- lidge, and Ellen Bow- HENRY BOWRING AND PHIL MARGETTS ring. The perform- Twin Comedians of the Salt Lake Stage ance referred to by Phil Margetts occurred in the winter of 1860. In 1861 the exca- vation for the new building was commenced on "the Reynolds- Cahoon corner," First South and State Streets. Theatre Built With Speed President Young, as usual, allowed no grass to grow under his feet. I searched the files of the Deseret News, for 1861, and found that in October of that year, it was stated the walls of the "new theatre" were completed on the afternoon of October 22. On Christmas day, 1861, the News said the roof was on the build- ing, and a few weeks more would make it ready for use. In a speech before the curtain, on Christmas night, 1862, the stage manager, John T. Caine, said that the work on the building had begun in July, 1861, and up to Christmas, 1862, he said the cost was $100,0C0. This is the first mention I ever remember to have THE SALT LAKE THEATRE 513 seen of the cost of the original structure. I le said, however, it was still far from completion. I have often heard that the center of interest with Salt Lake's population, in the winter of 1861, alternated between two points: ( 1 ) the wall in front of the Descret Neivs, whereon were posted bulletins of the great Civil War, then raging, and (2) the mam- moth structure going up two blocks away, the long awaited "new theatre," so-called in contradistinction to the Social Hall, which was generally styled the "old" theatre. The Theatre's First Night We can but faintly imagine the gratification that must have filled the breast of Brigham Young, as he sat upon the stage that first night of the great playhouse, and gazed upon the audience which had responded to his invitation. That event has been so often narrated, and written about, and was so recently celebrated by a week of festivities (in March, 1912, when its fiftieth anni- versary was observed), that I shall only refer to it briefly. The house held then about what it does now, 1200 to 1500, and the demand for accommodations was so great that two nights were set apart, Thursday, March 6, and Saturday, March 8, 1862. The dedication occurred the first night, the attendance being by invita- tion, the guests being Church officials, and the men wdio worked on the building, and their families. William H. Folsom, the arch- itect, also had a place of honor. The following is a copy of the invitation issued by President Brigham Young, for the opening night Mr and familv are respectfully invited to be present at the dedication of the New Theatre, on Thursday evening, March 6, 1862, at 6 o'clock. "Brigham Young. "P. S. — Children under four years of age not admitted. As the house is not finished, care should be taken to come warmly clothed. "This ticket must be presented at the door of the Theatre. "Great Salt Lake City, "Feb. 28, 1862." The dedication exercises consisted of addresses by Presidents Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Elder John Taylor. The dedicatory prayer, a long and eloquent one, was given by Presi- dent Daniel H. Wells. A large choir and orchestra, under Prof. C. J. Thomas, furnished several selections, one of them an anthem, the words by Eliza R. Snow, the music by Prof. C. J. Thomas, composed for the occasion; W. C. Dunbar (another name famous in our amusement annals) sang "The Star-spangled Banner;" he and Agnes Lynch sang the solo parts in the anthem. A song by John Taylor and C. J. Thomas was also rendered by W. C. Dunbar during the evening. 514 IMPROVEMENT ERA The play, "The Pride of the Market." followed, after which dancing by the company concluded the entertainment. The second night, Saturday, March 8, saw the first paid per- formance. It began at 7 o'clock, and the crowds commenced to as- semble at 5. Hundreds were turned away from the door, and all the standing room was occupied. The prices charged were, par- quet and first circle, 75 cents upper galleries, 50 cents. ; "The Pride of the Market" was repeated, followed by "State Secrets," and between the two, W. C. Dunbar sang a comic song, "Bob- bing Round." H. B. Clawson and John T. Caine were joint man- agers, and their connection with the house continued many years thereafter. Two Disputed Points Settled may be interesting if we settle here an oft-disputed ques- It tion, whether or not there was any dramatic performance on the opening night, or whether the entire evening was occupied by the dedicatory exercises. The memory of the old timers, and some printed records, are greatly at variance on this point, but it may be taken as certain that "The Pride of the Market" formed part of the exercises on the opening night, Thursday, March 6. The late Mrs. M. G. Clawson, says she remembered it very well, be- cause she sat shivering in the wings, in a character costume, through Squire Wells' very extended prayer. She is corrobo- rated by the diary of the late George Goddard, who wrote as fol- lows: "Thursday, March 6, 1862, at 6 p. m., the new theatre was dedi- cated, afterwhich a new play was performed; Eliza and Mary [his daughters] took part as French peasant girls." In passing, it may be said that there is a similar confusion re- garding the play which opened the Social Hall, in 1853. Some accounts give it as "The Lady of Lyons," others as "Pizzaro." The diary of the late James Ferguson, now in the possesion of his daughter, Mrs. Mary Ferguson Keith, says that "Don Caesar d'Bazan" was the bill. A Roll of Honor That rare old roll of honor, made up of the names of those who took part in the first two plays at the Salt Lake Theatre, is as follows John T. Caine, Henry Maiben, Jos. Simmons, R. H. : Parker, David McKenzie, H. B. Clawson, S. D. Sirrine. R. Mat- thews, Henry Snell, John B. Kelly, Mrs. Woodmansee, Mrs. Mar- garet G. Clawson, W. C. Dunbar, H. E. Bowring, W. H. Miles, Phil Margetts, Mrs. Bowring, and Miss Maggie Thomas. They are well worth preserving in the memories of everyone interested in the history of pioneer theatricals in the state, and the story of the Salt Lake Theatre. The Maggie Thomas of those days is now THE SALT LAKE THEATRE 515 Mrs. Margaret Romney, President of the Relief Societies of En- sign stake. She is the sole survivor of that list of players. Her brother, C. J. Thomas, led the orchestra that night. He also sur- vives, but is in quite feeble health. When the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the house was celebrated, in 1912, both were present, as were H. B. Clawson, Phil Margetts, David McKenzie, Geo. M. Ottinger, the first scene painter, and Charles Millard, the first property man. Of the last named five, only Messrs. Ottinger and Millard are surviving. The company played fifteen times, that month and the next, and it may be imagined reaped a golden harvest at Conference, April, 1862, when country visitors had their first opportunity to enter the new building. Operations were then suspended. The interior work was again taken up, and on Christmas eve, Decem- ber 24, 1862, the house was re-opened for another big social func- tion, Church officials and members of the Legislature, with their families; responding to the invitation of President Young. No dramatic entertainment was given that night. The Tabernacle choir sang, and addresses were delivered by President Young, John Taylor, Orson Hyde, Amasa M. Lyman, and George A. Smith, J. D. T. McAllister gave a song, and Mrs. Clara Stenhouse rendered "The Cottage by the Sea," the remainder of the evening being passed in dancing. Next night, Christmas, 1862, there was a grand dramatic per- formance, at which "The Honeymoon" and "Paddy Miles' Boy" were rendered. Between the acts a patriotic poem by T. A. Lyne was recited by John R. Clawson. The editor of the News, Judge Elias Smith, gave the performance a front page position, and as a prelude to the program, with remarkable foresight, he said "As : a matter of local history, which may be looked for by the genera- tion to come, as well as of interest on the stage of life, we publish the opening bill in full." Then followed the complete cast and the poem referred to. H. B. Clawson' s Surprise Manager Clawson delighted in nothing so much as spring- ing surprises. One of these was the announcement that T. A. Lyne, the pioneer actor in Nauvoo days, twenty years before, was in Denver, and would soon be in the midst of the Deseret players. Encouraged by President Young and Manager Clawson, Lyne came by stage from Denver, and very hearty was the greeting be- tween him and the boy he had placed in the flies, to throw down the fire from the heavens in the Nauvoo performance. Lyne was at once engaged to coach the local players, but he was not long content to remain in that capacity. In 1863, we find him playing in rapid succession such dramas as "Damon and Pythias," "Riche- lieu " "Othello," "Richard III," "William Tell," "A New Way to 516 IMPROVEMENT ERA Pay Old Debts," and the always favorite "Pizzaro." He could no longer call on Brigham Young for the high priest, in the latter play, but he secured another, who later rose to a high Church po- sition, George Teasdale. President Young's only objection to the Lyne plays was that they ran too greatly to the tragic, and he used to say that the people had known tragedy enough in their lives, and he would like the theatre offerings to run more to com- edies. Under the influence of Mr. Lyne's fine renditions, how- ever, he gradually relented, and finally came to allow his own daughter, Alice, to play Virginia, the maid who was killed by her own father, Virginius, to save her from the Roman tyrant. Alice Young later married Manager Clawson, and became the mother of the noted artist, J. W. Clawson. The names of those with whom Mr. Lyne worked, with some others who joined the company later (in addition to the first night players already named) were as follows: James Ferguson, Ber- nard Snow, John S. Lindsay, John C. Graham, J. M. Hardie, Nel- lie Colebrook, Mrs. Gibson, Henry Maiben,' J. A. Thompson, John R. Clawson, Horace K. Whitney, R. H. Parker, George M. Ottin- ger, C. R. Savage, Joseph Bull, D. J. Mcintosh, Henry McEwan, John B. Kelly, Richard Matthews, J. E. Evans, John D. T. Mc- Allister, and Sara Alexander. On July 25, 1865, Annie Asenath Adams made her first appearance. She and David McKenzie played the leading roles for years, and later she became famed as the mother of Maude Adams. (to be continued.) SCOUTS AT A FOOTBALL GAME On the Maple Flats, Provo, 5,000 feet above the Utah Valley.