On October 25th, the Stones, Amy and Harry, opened up a return
engagement in "French Spy." They played twelve nights, giving
"Fanchon," and "Little Barefoot," etc. Their engagement closed
November 6th, after a very satisfactory engagement.
On the 8th the stock company resumed, and played "Waiting for the Verdict." Annie Lockhart, who had rested during the Stones' engagement, resumed and was playing the leading female character in this play when she was taken very ill. With the aid of kind attention she got through the night's work, but she went home so ill that she took to her bed, and on the 18th of November, died. Three days previous to her death, on the 15th of November, John Wilson and Kate Denin were ushered in as stock stars, and continued until January 5th, 1870, when they withdrew for a week to give place to Charlotte Thompson, who played a six nights' engagement, playing "Julia" in the "Hunchback," "Leah, the Forsaken," "Sea of Ice," and "Court and Stage." Miss Thompson was a pretty woman and a pleasing actress—a favorite in the South where she belonged.
From the 14th to the 24th, the stock company held down the business without stellar assistance, when Kate Denin and John Wilson returned and played another engagement. As stock stars they remained until February 14th. Then came another siege of stock work without any star, broken intermittently by lectures and concerts. Ole Bull gave concerts March 8th and 9th; Alf Barnett's entertainment, March 22nd and 23rd; Satsuma's Japanese troupe from March 25th to 30th. These attractions, of course, gave the company some respite from their arduous studies, but it was only brief, and we were already rehearsing for the ensuing conference dates. So the stock company resumed their labors and played all through April and up to May 16th when the season of '69 and '70 closed.
CHAPTER XIV.
SEASON OF '70-'71.
The theatre did not reopen until August the 27th when the season of '70 and '71 was ushered in with a "Benefit" to Miss Colebrook. This was really the first summer the theatre had remained closed and given the company a needed rest. The stock company played one week only when the veteran tragedian, T. A. Lyne, began an engagement which ran from September the 3rd to the 20th. This was Lyne's fourth engagement since the opening of the theatre, and it proved what a remarkable hold he had upon our theatre goers when he repeated his well known and well worn repertoire to splendid business. As there was no other star in the dramatic firmament when Lyne's engagement expired, the stock company was put on its own resources once again and continued successfully up to the 10th of December, when the monotony was in some measure broken by the accession to the company of Mr. and Mrs. John S. Langrishe, and the following week C. W. Couldock and his daughter, Eliza, floated the stellar flag for the third time, repeating a portion of their old repertoire. They played from the 26th to the 31st. Mr. Couldock went East, leaving Eliza (who was in poor health) here to recuperate. They were succeeded by George W. Thompson and Sallie Hinckley, who played a week's engagement, presenting "Man and Wife" and the "Persecuted Dutchman," filling dates January 2nd to the 7th, of 1871. The stock company then played along again until February 13th, when McKee Rankin, Kitty Blanchard and W. H. Power opened a stellar engagement, playing two weeks to February 25th. Everywhere else the Rankins were playing "The Danites," but owing to the odious light in which that play presented the Mormon leaders, they did not dare to produce it at the Salt Lake Theatre. Of course the managers would not consent, and the great wonder is that Rankin could secure dates at all at Brigham Young's theatre while he was starring through the country in a play so well calculated to stir up prejudice against the Mormons. "The Danites" had to be eliminated while the Rankins fell back onto some old plays in which the stock company was up in. "Rip Van Winkle," "Little Barefoot," and "Colleen Bawn" were given.
It may be of interest to note the fact here that "The Danites" has never been played in Salt Lake or anywhere in Utah.
About this time George B. Waldron turned up again in Salt Lake, and was installed as leading man to strengthen the company and ease somewhat the labors of David McKenzie.
Rose Evans, a lady who was enamoured of "Hamlet," and made a specialty of playing it, was introduced to Salt Lake soon after Waldron's accession to the company, and we had during her engagement which ran through the April conference, "Hamlet," "Twixt Axe and Crown," "Ingomar;" Miss Evans as "Parthenia" and Waldron as "Ingomar;" "Lady Audrey's Secret," "Romeo and Juliet;" Waldron as "Romeo." Rose Evans established herself very strongly in the favor of the Salt Lake theatre goers. Her "Hamlet" was liked, and she played it intelligently and perhaps as well as a woman could play it, but no woman can ever play "Hamlet" satisfactorily to the critical mind; and very few men out of the thousands of actors ever reach and handle it satisfactorily. Her "Juliet" was very acceptable, but Waldron's voice was' too basso profundo for "Romeo." It was hard to imagine him as the youthful love-distraught Romeo with his deep set vocal organ.
Miss Evans closed on April 8th and was closely followed by Mlle. Marie Ravel, who opened on the 10th, supported by Waldron and the stock company and played an engagement of twenty nights. On May 4th Herr Daniel E. Bandmann and his wife (his first one) opened an engagement of five nights, presenting "Macbeth," "Hamlet," "Merchant of Venice," "Narcisse," and "Richard III." Bandmann, at this time, was a very popular tragedian. He had played as early as '65 in San Francisco a very successful engagement. He was now returning from his second visit to San Francisco. He spoke with a decided German accent, which was, however, not disagreeable to the ear, his voice being musical and his reading very artistic and finished. Bandmann bought a ranch near Missoula, Montana, some ten or twelve years ago and went into semi-retirement. He had a curious advertisement in the Dramatic Mirror, about as follows: "Daniel E. Bandmann, Tragedian and breeder of fine horses and cattle." He also bred a large family of children on that same ranch. When he went into retirement he took with him his latest "leading lady," Mary Kelly, as his wife, and they have a number of heirs to succeed to the tragedy and breeding business. His first wife, Millie Palmer, still figures in London theatricals, and she has a son who is conspicuous in theatrical management. Herr Bandmann still makes spasmodic incursions into the surrounding country with an improvised dramatic company and plays his favorite characters.