The Mormons and the Theatre; or, The History of Theatricals in UtahLindsay, John S. (John Shanks)
Religion
The Mormons and the Theatre; or, The History of Theatricals in Utah
Lindsay, John S. (John Shanks)
Latter Day Saints; Theater -- Utah -- History
had been playing but a very short time as compared with the majority,
both of the orchestra and the dramatic company, he vowed he would play
no longer without a stipulated salary. This, of course, aroused all
the others to a certain show of opposition. The leader of the
orchestra, Prof. Thomas, or "Charlie," as he was affectionately called
by his familiars, was probably as dissatisfied with the existing
regime as Croxall or David Evans, the second violin, who was another
Britisher of recent importation and quite pronounced in his views
about the way the theatre should be run. Prof. Thomas was not of the
stuff that kickers are made of, and could doubtless have been managed
with the majority of his orchestra had it not been for the
recalcitrant Croxall, and the equally pugnacious Evans. The
dissatisfaction spread rapidly and alarmingly to the management, until
the entire dramatic company as well as the orchestra, was in a state
of semi-rebellion. All the actors and most of the musicians had other
occupations, as I have stated in a former chapter, and now the number
of performances and rehearsals had increased their work to such an
extent they could not see how they could give satisfaction to their
various employers and keep up their work at the theatre too. Some of
these declared it had to be one thing or the other, the theatre now
demanded the greater part of their time, and the employers had in
several instances intimated that they would have to give up the
theatre or be replaced in their employ by others. Mr. David McKenzie,
the leading man of the company, held a clerkship in President Young's
or the Church office; "Joe" Simmons, our juvenile man, and Horace
Whitney, the "old man" in the company, also held clerkships in the
same office; Mr. W. C. Dunbar, the Irish comedian, was a clerk in the
"tithing office," so their time went on whether they were working in
the "Church offices" or at the theatre; of course all their night work
at the theatre was extra work, but the day time they put in at the
theatre they were not docked for at the office; but with the other
leading members of the company it was quite different; the hours they
spent at the theatre in the day time was a positive loss to them. Phil
Margetts was a blacksmith, Lindsay and Hardie were carpenters, Evans
and Kelly were printers, and so on. So that several hours each day
spent in rehearsal meant a heavy tax when at the end of each week they
were docked for time lost, so there was a committee appointed to wait
upon the managers, Clawson and Caine, and present the situation. The
managers being only employees of Brigham Young and not proprietors or
lessees, passed the company's grievance up to their chief. The
managers saw plainly that a crisis had come, and a new departure must
be made. "The President," accustomed to having things his own way, and
with confidence in his influence, thought he could effect a
compromise, or adjust the matter without much trouble or cost, so in
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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