Edwin Adams was destined to a career as brief as it was brilliant. After leaving us he went to San Francisco and played a successful engagement, then went to Australia. When he returned from Australia to San Francisco he was a dying man. A benefit was given him there, and he was wheeled onto the stage in an invalid's chair to acknowledge his gratitude to the San Franciscans for their kindness to him. This was the last seen of poor Edwin Adams by the public. Only a few days later and that dramatic genius that was shedding luster on the American stage was extinct. He had contracted quick consumption in the antipodes, and by the time he got back to San Francisco his friends realized he had not long to live and did what they could to show their love for him and ease his passing to the great beyond.
The next important engagement was that of John T. Raymond, who appeared on August 5th in "A Gilded Age," the play in which Willie Gill was enjoined more than a year before. As Colonel Sellers, Raymond was simply inimitable; Mark Twain might have had him in his eye when he created the character. It ran three performances, and if there were not "millions in it," it was at least a profitable engagement both for Mr. Raymond and the manager. Notwithstanding it was the hottest part of the summer, Raymond filled out a week with Major de Boots in the "Widow Hunt," and Caleb Plummer in "Cricket on the Hearth." Raymond's engagement virtually closed the season of '75 and '76, and there was nothing of importance until the commencing of the next season.
CHAPTER XXI.
SEASON OF '76-'77.
With the approach of the October Conference, which is always a harvest for the theatre, Mr. Harris got together as strong a company as possible and revived some of the old favorite plays, opening the season of '76 and '77 a night or two before and continuing through the Conference dates to satisfactory business. There was no "star" to share with, and the theatre reaped a handsome profit.
The next engagement of importance was that of Mr. George Rignold, an English actor, who was starring in "Henry V." Rignold had come from England and under the management of Jarrett and Palmer, "Henry V." was given a fine production in their New York theatre. For some reason or other, after a short but successful run of the play, a disagreement arose between those popular managers and Mr. Rignold. They decided to supersede Mr. Rignold with Lawrence Barrett. They notified him accordingly and at the expiration of the time for which he had been engaged Mr. Barrett stepped into Rignold's place and the run of the play was extended for several weeks. It was the intention to take the play to San Francisco after the run in New York. This change of stars threw Rignold out of the San Francisco engagement, much to his chagrin and disappointment. Not to be out-generaled the English actor quietly hastened to San Francisco. The California Theatre having been secured for the Jarret and Palmer company, with as much dispatch and secrecy as possible Rignold got a company together. Soon as it was known that Rignold was in San Francisco and was preparing to give the play of "Henry V" at the Grand Opera House, the news was duly wired to Jarrett and Palmer; not only were they surprised, but greatly chagrined, on learning that the English actor had gotten the start of them and was in a fair way to eclipse their Western engagement. Mr. Barrett and the managers, after a rather excited consultation, decided to close the run of "Henry V" with the end of the current week, and have everything in readiness to leave New York for San Francisco on the following Sunday. The manager of the California was telegraphed to announce the play for the following Thursday night. This gave scarcely a week for advertising, and it seemed incredible that the company could reach San Francisco by the time, but Jarrett and Palmer had at great expense made arrangements with the railroad company for a special train, that was to rush them through from New York to San Francisco in four days. Barring accidents, they would arrive in San Francisco on Thursday morning, in time to get their scenery in place and play that night.
It was taking desperate chances, but it was at the same time a great advertising scheme, for never before had such a flying trip been made across the continent, and every paper in the country had an account of it. "From Ocean to Ocean eighty-three hours." Rignold had arranged to open the following Monday, but learning to his amazement of the great coup that Jarrett and Palmer were performing to get in ahead of him, he got a move on too and decided to keep the lead, and open up at least one night ahead of them, which was as soon as he could possibly get ready. The fast train was the sensation of the hour, everybody was talking of it and awaiting its arrival with keen expectancy. This national advertisement gave the Jarrett and Palmer company a great advantage over Rignold; besides, they had much the better production, and the best company, as Rignold had to gather what support he could and very hurriedly in San Francisco. This was very sharp managerial practice; what especial reason Lawrence Barrett and the Jarrett and Palmer management had for this extraordinary coup to down the English actor we never learned. The rivalry of the two Henrys served to throw theatrical circles in the Golden Gate City into a feverish excitement, and the result was that both houses did a good business, as every theatre-goer felt in duty bound to see both actors, and then compare their respective merits. Until Rignold played "Henry V" in New York no American actor had ever attempted the character; Barrett who had in conjunction with John McCullough managed the California theatre during the first three years of its career, saw an opportunity to do some business there and win some fresh laurels in a new part. This in a measure explains the haste with which the thing was done. The rival Henrys, however, did not succeed in giving the play a permanent abiding place in popular favor. We think no other American actor has ever had the temerity to try it, until the bold and undaunted Richard Mansfield gave a superb production of it a quarter of a century later—1902.[A]
[Footnote A: The above account of the "Henry V" excursion is written entirely from the writer's recollection of the affair, having no available data. It may contain some slight inaccuracies, but the main facts were about as here related.]
After the Rignold date here, when "The Lady of Lyons," "Black-Eyed Susan," and "Henry V" were given with such support as was available, the stock played fitfully, interrupted by occasional novelties, such as panoramas and concert companies, minstrels and the like, along the holiday season and into the spring. On February 3rd, John S. Lindsay was the recipient of another "benefit," on which occasion he exhibited his strong predilection for Shakespearian roles by appearing as Hamlet, a character in which he had already won some local distinction. As on a previous benefit occasion, there were several first appearances, and the cast as a whole was not very satisfactory, but our friends were inclined to overlook many shortcomings on those benefit occasions. As if "Hamlet" was not enough for a benefit performance, we had to tack on the farce of "The Trials of Tompkins," in which Mr. Graham was wont to shine.
On the 23rd and 24th of February, Mr. E. A. Sothern, the world renowned Dundreary, filled his first engagement at the Salt Lake Theatre. He exacted a certainty of one thousand dollars in gold coin for the two nights. Mr. Harris very naturally had some hesitancy about closing an engagement with him on such exorbitant terms, so he made a canvass of his patrons, and after a careful consideration, "closed the deal" with Mr. Sothern. The prices were advanced from the usual scale of twenty-five cents to one dollar, to fifty cents to two-fifty. The house was well filled on both nights and the management, not having a very expensive company or any production to pay for out of its share, came out all right. There was much dissatisfaction, however, that such exorbitant prices should be charged for what at best was but an ordinary "show," especially the last night when David Garrick was presented, and by ten o'clock the play was over, and the general expression of the patrons of the theatre was "Sold!" Indeed so outspoken was the dissatisfaction with David Garrick, and so severe were the strictures of the press the following morning, that Mr. Sothern could not have gotten fifty cents a ticket for a third performance. As a natural consequence, it was a long time before he came to Salt Lake again.