The Mormons and the Theatre; or, The History of Theatricals in Utah

by John S. Lindsay

SEASON '65 AND '66.

The next star to appear at the Mormon theatre was Julia Dean Hayne, and a brilliant one she proved to be. She created on her first appearance an impression that was profound and lasting, and each additional character she appeared in only served to strengthen her hold on the admiration and affection of her audiences.

The advent of such a well-known and popular actress into the heart of the Rocky Mountain region at such a time, years before the completion of the overland railroad, had in it a rich tinge of romance and wild managerial venture. Julia Dean came to Salt Lake City under the management and in the dramatic company of the veteran Western manager, John S. Potter. Some time prior to this she had gone to San Francisco from New York by way of the Isthmus, had played a successful engagement there, and being "at liberty" after it was over, Mr. Potter, who was an old acquaintance of Mrs. Hayne, made her a proposition to organize a company and play her through the principal towns of California. This was done, and after the state had been pretty thoroughly toured, the fair Julia appearing in many places that had very "queer" theatres, the tour was extended through the cities of Oregon and then through the sparsely inhabited territories of Montana, Idaho and Utah, finally arriving in Salt Lake July 26th, 1865, on a regular old-time stage coach, a tired and jaded-looking party. There was in this company John S. Potter, manager (then a man of sixty or more), Julia Deane Hayne (the star), George B. Waldron (leading man), Mr. and Mrs. O. F. Leslie (juveniles), Mr. A. K. Mortimer (heavies), Charles Graham (comedian). Mr. Potter himself played the "old man" parts, Miss Belle Douglas playing characters and old woman parts, and "Jimmie" Martin, property man and filling-in parts. The fame of Brigham Young's theatre had reached them in their travels, and they had traveled many miles to get the opportunity of playing in it. A week's engagement was soon effected, and on August 11th, 1865, "The Potter Company" with Julia Dean Hayne as the stellar character, opened up in the play of "Camille." They were received by a packed house, and with every demonstration of welcome and approbation. Mrs. Hayne, who was no longer girlish in face and figure but a mature woman, verging on towards the "fair, fat and forty" period, was nevertheless so exquisitely beautiful and girlish-looking when made up for "Camille" or "Julia" in the "Hunchback," that everybody sang her praises. The entire community seemed to have fallen irresistibly in love with the new star, and henceforward she had fair wind and smooth sailing while her lot lay cast among the Saints. While the Potter Company were playing in the theatre, supporting Mrs. Hayne, the stock company were of course getting a needed rest, but their salaries (?) were going on as usual, and the management could not well afford to have two companies on its hands, so after the first week, the novelty being over, the Potter company were let out, and the regular company reinstalled. The Potter Company, however, had lost its "star;" the theatre managers had effected an engagement with Julia Dean to remain with them for the rest of the season as stock star with George B. Waldron, also to play her leading support, and direct the staging of her plays.

This proved a severe blow to the Potter Company, who now had no place to play in in Salt Lake and could not well take to the road again, having lost their principal attraction. Potter had not expected to have been so soon supplanted. He came to Salt Lake, expecting to find a company of amateurs, and thought no doubt the managers would be glad to supplant them, at least for a good long season, with the Potter Company and its distinguished star. Outside of Mrs. Hayne and Mr. Waldron, however, the Salt Lake Company was much more numerous, talented and capable than the Potter Company. It took but one or two performances for the managers to discover this, and they hastened to make the arrangements with Julia Dean and Mr. Waldron and to reinstate their own company.

Poor Potter and his remaining company were in a sorry strait. Their overland jaunt, through Oregon, Montana and Idaho, had not been very lucrative, and now they were out in the fastnesses of the Rocky Mountains, a thousand miles from any metropolis with a theatre, and no railroad to get away on; nothing but the overland coach. Potter was a resourceful manager, however; he was not easily daunted; with him Richmond's admonition to his army was ever present. "True hope never tires, but mounts on eagle's wings. Kings it makes gods, and meaner creatures kings." He found in "Tom" Lyne an old acquaintance, and a strong ally. Lyne was by this time disgruntled and dissatisfied with the theatrical outlook in Salt Lake; he was not getting any more the plaudits and the "star's" share of the receipts. He wanted some place to play in. So he inspired Potter with the notion of building an opposition theatre to that "monopoly" of Brigham Young's. Potter drank in Lyne's inspiration fervidly. The idea took a frantic possession of him, and plans were at once devised for getting up another house as speedily as possible, for the season was advancing and if the project was not hurried the Potter company would be scattered beyond all recovery. So it was decided to erect a cheap frame building, and push it to completion as rapidly as possible. This decision served to keep the Potter Company in Salt Lake, as they all had faith in the scheme, and faith in themselves that they could win out. They argued that by the time the new play-house was ready to open that Julia Dean and Waldron would be played out at the Salt Lake Theatre, and something new would catch the people. Poor, deluded actors, they did not know the people of Salt Lake; they knew them better after. How much money Mr. Lyne put into this scheme the writer never could learn from him, but I opine it was very little. He, however, secured the building site, by some kind of a deal with "Tommy" Bullock. It was about where Dinwoodey's furniture store now stands. Potter had little or no money with which to start such an enterprise, so Lyne introduced Mr. Potter to such of the merchants and lumbermen as he wanted to do business with. Potter played a bold game, and really accomplished a great feat in the building of this theatre. He got from sixty to ninety days' credit for everything nearly that went into the construction of the building. It was a cheap affair; built of poles, hewn to an even size and placed in the ground like fence posts; then boarded on both sides with rough boards, the space between the inside and outside boarding being filled in with sawdust and refuse tan bark from the tanneries, to make the building warm. The place was about half the size of the Salt Lake Theatre; that is, it had about half the seating capacity and a stage about one-fourth the size of the theatre. The structure, including the lease of ground, cost about $7,000. It was put up in about thirty days, so that Potter had a month's more time in which to pay for the bulk of the material, but the merchants and laborers who did the building were worrying his life out long before he got it going, for their money. He proved to be an expert at "standing off" his creditors, however, so by hook and crook he got the building completed, his company reorganized, and the theatre started. Some very amusing stories were related of him at the time; how he would cajole and stuff with promises the dissatisfied workmen as to what he would do as soon as he got the house open. One man went to him with the sorrowful story that his landlady had refused to credit him any longer, and he must have money to pay his board and lodgings. Potter looked at him pityingly, and expressed his regret that he could do nothing for him till he got the theatre going. "It will soon be finished now; tell your landlady this, and if this will not appease her, change your boarding house." To such like desperate shifts and subterfuges was he obliged to resort to keep the men at work, doling them out a few dollars at a time, when they became unmanageable or threatened to quit. Eventually the house was ready for opening and "Tom" Lyne had to have the first "whack" at the new box office receipts.

With woeful shortsightedness they put up for the opening, "Damon and Pythias," with Lyne starred as "Damon," a character he had already played three or four times at the other theatre. Lyne probably thought, however, with Richard that "the king's name is a tower of strength, which they on the adverse faction want." Such did not prove to be the case, however, as the "adverse faction" having in view the opening of the opposition house, put on a strong new bill with Mrs. Hayne in a new and powerful character, so that there was no apparent diminution of patronage, and the Salt Lake Theatre kept on the even tenor of its way "with not a downy feather ruffled by its fierceness." Potter and Lyne had succeeded in getting "Jim" Hardie away from the other house by offering him the part of Pythias and a larger salary than he was getting at the older house. "Jim" at this time was the youngest actor in the Salt Lake Theatre company, and had not yet made much advancement; he was ambitious, however, and this opportunity to play "Pythias" to Lyne's "Damon" was very alluring to him, so he deserted the ranks of the D. D. A. and allied himself with Lyne-Potter, et al., with what poor judgment the sequel will show.

The new theatre was christened "The Academy of Music," with what reason or consistency no one could ever conceive, unless it was to give it a big sounding name, to allure the unwary, for it was as utterly unlike an Academy of Music as anything could be.

On the opening night, the novelty of the new theatre opening, and curiosity to see the Academy and Mr. Lyne with his new support, sufficed to draw a fairly full house.

Several amusing incidents transpired on that eventful evening. First and most laughable was the following: "Jim" Hardie had a brother-in-law named "Pat" Lynch. Pat had been clerk of the district court for a number of years and was well known for a big-hearted, generous man, his greatest fault being that he would indulge occasionally too freely in the ardent. "Pat" had loaned "Jim" ten dollars to help him get a costume for "Pythias" the Academy had no wardrobe department and "Jim" could not with any grace attempt to borrow one from the Salt Lake Theatre. It would appear he had promised to get an advance as soon as the box office had begun to take in money, and Pat had expected the return of his money that day; at all events, he was present at the play, occupying a front seat in the parquette. He had been indulging freely, and his sight was not so clear as usual; besides, he had the character of Pythias and Dionysius mixed in his imagination. Mr. Potter was playing Dionysius, and as he strode on at the rise of the curtain and began to speak, Pat mistook him for Hardie and bawled out at the top of his voice, "See here, Dionysius, where's that ten dollars you owe me?" Potter was filled with consternation; Pat's friends who were with him succeeded in quieting him and Potter made another start, this time without interruption. Pat had discovered his mistake, that he had dunned the wrong man, and it took but little persuasion to get him to leave the theatre. Hardie, behind the scenes waiting for his entrance, and fearing a second explosion when he should make his appearance, was immensely relieved to see from the side wings Pat's companions lead him up the aisle and out of the theatre. Potter, not aware but what it was one of his numerous creditors dunning him, when he made his first exit, threw up his hands in dismay, and said to Lyne in the wings: "My G—d, they won't give me any peace! Even dunning me from the audience." When Lyne, who had caught the truth of the matter, explained to him, he was greatly relieved.

Another amusing incident, and one which nearly wrecked the scene, was furnished by the little girl they had for Damon's boy. It has never been a difficult task to find in Salt Lake a pretty and clever child to play the child's part in this or any other play. On this occasion, the selection was probably limited to a small circle, owing to the feeling engendered by this opposition to the favorite theatre; at all events, the "Damon's" child of the occasion was an uncultured looking little miss of about six years; she was so dark and tawny-looking that she might have had Indian blood in her veins, and certainly she had a touch of the obduracy and stolidness that characterize that race; Belle Douglass was the "Hermion" of the occasion, and she was obliged to improvise and speak most of the child's lines for her; when "Damon" came on for the farewell interview with his beloved "Hermion" and his darling boy, he strove in vain to get a response from his young hopeful; the child had become thoroughly nervous, and seemed apprehensive of some danger and when "Damon" interrogated her, "What wouldst thou be, my boy?" instead of the cheerful response, "A soldier, father," there came only a frightened look, and the child put its finger in its nostril, and swayed to and fro, as if she would say, but dare not, "I want to go home." Miss Douglass, annoyed, pulled the little hand down testily from the child's nose, and "Damon" repeated the question, "What wouldst thou be, my boy?" No answer, but up went the finger again to the nose. "Hermion" again pulled down the hand, and rather harshly demanded, "Come, say, what wouldst thou be, my boy?" The child by this time was nearly terrified, and only repeated the nose business with more emphasis and began to cry—and "Damon" utterly disgusted with his youthful prodigy, hurried him off to pluck the flower of welcome for him. The child's queer action of sticking its finger up its nose sent the house almost into convulsions of laughter, and came near converting one of the greatest scenes of the play into a burlesque. Lyne played all the other plays in his repertoire in rather rapid succession, as the aim was to keep the Academy open every night (except Sundays) and as each play would bear but one repetition, this repertoire was soon exhausted, and as there was no other "star" in the Utah firmament to fill the place, the Academy went into a rapid decline. As the business had not proved to be what the promoter and manager had calculated on, Potter was daily besieged by creditors, until the poor man was almost driven frantic. The heavy creditors, those who had furnished material on sixty days' time, now began to grow troublesome, and one attachment after another followed, until the house fell into the hands of the sheriff—and Brigham Young, through T. B. H. Stenhouse, as agent, made a deal by which the property came into his hands. He soon put a force of men to work who tore it down, hauled it away and fenced a farm with it.