Читать книгу The Mormons and the Theatre; or, The History of Theatricals in Utah - John S. Lindsay - Страница 5

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Now is the winter of our discontent

Made glorious summer by this son of York,

And all the clouds that lowered upon our house,

In the deep bosom of the ocean buried;

Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths,

Our bruised arms hung up for monuments,

Our stern alarums are changed to merry-meetings

And our dreadful marches to delighted measures.

—Richard III.

The Mormon war cloud that lowered so portentously during the winter of 1857–8 had been dispelled without bloodshed, and peace once more brooded over the land. The soldiers of the "Nauvoo Legion" had "hung up their un-bruised arms for monuments" and resumed their old avocations, and the wheels of trade, "the calm health of nations," were once again running in their accustomed grooves.

The people had set to work with redoubled energy to make up for the losses "the war" had entailed upon them, so that they had little time or inclination for amusement. The advent of Johnson's army into Utah, although encamped forty miles from the city, had its effect; it brought in its wake, as an army always does, a lot of camp followers—hangers-on—a contingent that was thrown largely into Salt Lake, and not a desirable one. This made the Mormon people wary and suspicious, and inclined them more than ever to isolate themselves from strangers.

Notwithstanding this condition of affairs, in the winter of '59 they began to resume their usual amusements, and a number of plays were given that winter in the Social Hall.

By this time the "army" having no active service, began to feel the need of some amusement, and some of the soldiers improvised a theatre in the camp.

Sergt. R. C. White, better known later among Pacific coast theatricals as "Dick" White, was the leading spirit in this affair. White was a scholar as well as a soldier; moreover, he had the poetic and dramatic instinct in him, and in common with all living creatures, he felt that he must exercise his faculties. So in order to give vent to his pent up love of the drama, he organized a dramatic company among the soldiers of Camp Floyd. The Sergeant, or "Dick" as he was called, was not only a clever amateur actor but a poet, and something of an artist as well. By his skill in this latter line he soon had the necessary scenery painted for the Camp theatre. Pigments were scarce in the camp and even in Salt Lake at that time, but White was resourceful, and equal to every emergency, so he made levy on the quartermaster's department for liberal supplies of mustard, red pepper, ox blood, and other strange materials with which to get in his color effects.

The "Camp Floyd Theatre" as it was called, was not a stupendous structure, only large enough to accommodate about two hundred persons, and the stage in proportion to the auditorium. It was built of rough pine boards and canvas—principally canvas—but answered all the requirements of a theatre for the amusement of the camp.

White had but little trouble in organizing his corps dramatique, so far as men were concerned, but the female contingent gave him much concern and considerable trouble to secure. Women in the camp were scarce, and female talent was at a premium. There were a few officers whose wives were with them and some "hired help" of the female persuasion, but none of the women of the camp had any experience in theatricals. Several were willing, and even eager to try; so White made a selection and cast a play and put it in rehearsal, but "woe is me!" the women were all such tyros that he was almost in despair, until he suddenly conceived the project of engaging one of the Social Hall actresses to play the leading female character; if he could do that, then, he reasonably argued that he could get along, but could a Mormon actress be induced to come to Camp Floyd?

Here was a dilemma; but the bold Richard perhaps thought of the lines of his renowned namesake, Richard Plantagenet:

"Dangers retreat when boldly they're confronted,

And dull delay leads impotence and fear,"

so he took courage. He opened up a correspondence with Mrs. Tuckett of Social Hall fame. White was an accomplished writer, and poetical, and there is no doubt he could write a winning letter. We have no knowledge of what inducements he offered, so can only surmise that a liberal salary was the temptation held out to her. Suffice it to say that Mrs. Tuckett accepted the offer and joined the Camp Floyd Theatre Company, thus making a noticeable weakening of the Social Hall force, and creating a commotion among her fellow players in Salt Lake, and the people generally, as she went in opposition to the wishes of her husband and friends and the church authorities. It was regarded not only as an unwise step for Mrs. Tuckett to take, but a discreditable one.

It was a reproach to the Saints to have one of their number go and mingle with the ungodly soldiers who had come out here to destroy them. Mrs. Tuckett was looked upon from the moment of her departure as a lost sheep from the fold. These apprehensions were not unfounded, for Mrs. Tuckett, whether wearied of her Mormon environment, or led away by the unusual attentions shown her by the officers and men of the camp (with whom her acting soon made her a great favorite), lost any former love she may have had for Salt Lake, and sundered all social and family ties there.

"Dick" White, poet, actor, artist, achieved another conquest; not only had he succeeded in getting Mrs. Tuckett away from the Social Hall company, but later on he won the affections of the Mormon actress and took her completely away from her family, friends and church. In some way White severed his connection with the army before the breaking out of the Civil War and had gone to California "taking the fair Desdemona with him." He married her and they lived together in Folsom, California; only a few years, however; Mrs. Tuckett-White died there in '63.

Mrs. Tuckett, whose maiden name was Mercy Westwood, was of English birth, came to Utah in the early '50s where she soon afterward married as a polygamous wife. The Westwood family had a strong predilection for the stage; three of her brothers, Richard, Phillip and Joseph Westwood, figured conspicuously a little later on in the Springville Dramatic company. Her desertion from the ranks of the Social Hall company had created a vacancy they found it difficult to fill. She had been playing the leading roles, filling the place of Mrs. Wheelock who also became disaffected and went to California in '57 with a number of others, under protection of Col. Steptoe's command.

What particular reason Mrs. Wheelock had for withdrawing from the Mormon people, we do not know. She settled in Sacramento where after a time she became Mrs. Rattenbury, and has never returned except for a brief visit and this quite recently.

Mrs. Tuckett was the wife of Henry Tuckett who is still living in Salt Lake; and had four children by him at the time she left, and in abandoning husband and children to share the fortunes of the soldier actor Dick White, she subjected herself to a vast amount of severe and apparently just criticism. There is little known of her life after she left Utah even by her relatives; she probably regretted the step she had taken when too late.

The Mormons never forgave White for taking Mrs. Tuckett from them. He visited Salt Lake about four years after the death of his Mormon wife, in the dramatic company of John S. Langrishe, who had Mr. C. W. Couldock with him and was traveling by stage overland to the gold mining towns of Montana; Virginia City of vigilante fame being their objective point.

The Langrishe-Couldock company opened in the Salt Lake Theatre, August the first, 1867, in the "Chimney Corner" with Couldock in his favorite character of Peter Probity. R. C. White was the Solomon Probity of the cast. White was apprehensive of trouble if he should be discovered by the friends of Mrs. Tuckett, who regarded her peculiar "taking off" almost in the sense of an abduction. Conspicuous among Mrs. Tuckett's friends were the managers of the theatre, H. B. Clawson and John T. Caine; so White discreetly kept himself secluded during the day as much as possible, and only put in an appearance at the theatre when it was time to dress for the play.

White was not personally known to the managers, or any of the employees about the theatre. He had been little in Salt Lake during the army's occupation of Camp Floyd and consequently was scarcely known. Trusting to these circumstances he hoped to escape recognition, and avoid the storm of abuse he felt sure would be showered on his guilty head; but unfortunately his name was on the program and although a common name and one that might easily escape especial notice, White was by no means a common man and his performance of Solomon attracted special attention to him.

Some man in the audience who had met him at Camp Floyd recognized him, and quietly informed the managers who he was. The whisper spread about with amazing rapidity and he began to be pointed out as the "reprobate and unscrupulous scoundrel" who had enticed Mrs. Tuckett away from home and friends and people.

To make sure that this was the veritable White, the manager made some inquiries regarding him of Jack Langrishe, his manager. This was sufficient to arouse the curiosity of the company with regard to White's previous experience in Utah. White did not make a second appearance at the theatre. He had caught something of the buzz that was in the air about him, and quietly dropped out of the Langrishe company for the remainder of its Salt Lake engagement.

The Langrishes remained two weeks and then moved on to Montana. White had not been entirely idle in the interim. He had made the acquaintance of a second Salt Lake woman, whom he prevailed upon to join him soon after his departure, and they were married shortly after; the woman casting in her fortune with the Langrishe troupe and doing such parts as they thought fit to cast her in.

Mr. and Mrs. White eventually drifted into Portland, Oregon, and made that their home for many years. It was there the writer made their acquaintance some fifteen years later when he went to play leads for John Maguire at the New Market Theatre. They appeared to be living harmoniously and had four lovely children, two boys and two girls, the eldest about twelve years of age and a promising young actress. White was then the editor of the "Bee," an afternoon paper, and played on occasions in Maguire's Stock company.

Some years later White with his family removed to San Francisco, where he became the stage manager of the Tivoli. It was during his incumbency of this position that he made the first dramatization of Rider Haggard's "She," and gave it its first production on the stage, which proved to be a great success and started numerous other companies to play it.

White has now "fallen into the sere and yellow leaf" and for the last dozen years has been affectionately called by the profession "Daddy White."