Frontier Theatre: The Corinne Opera House

Utah Historical Quarterly

Vol. 42, 1974, No. 3

Frontier Theatre: The Corinne Opera House

RUE C. JOHNSON

IN JANUARY 1871 readers of the New York Clipper learned that Corinne, Utah, boasted "the finest auditorium, stage and proscenium of [any] edifice between Chicago and Sacramento." Uncritically echoing its source, the Clipper reported the new opera house to be "elegantly fitted and furnished" with a "seating capacity for twelve hundred persons." Although factually erroneous, the report did reflect the high optimism of those residents who saw in Corinne the future capital of Utah and the commercial hub of the Intermountain region.

The newly founded community owed its transformation from a typical, temporary, railroad tie camp into a permanent settlement to that optimism and to its propitious location. From it ran the shortest and most convenient freighting routes to the mines and markets of Montana and Idaho. In 1873, four years after its founding, freighters carried over 34,000,000 pounds of goods out of the settlement; on their return they brought wagonloads of ore for shipment from Corinne.

Within six months after Corinne's official founding, March 25, 1869, sentiment favoring the establishment of a theatre manifested itself:

Let us by all means have a theater this winter at Corinne. There are plenty of troupes that will make Corinne their winter quarters, and give us good entertainments, if only a suitable building can be obtained. This winter, many hundreds of men from the mines and travelers from all parts of the world will make Corinne their home for a time, and all of them will be good patrons for such an enterprise. It is a good thing, will help the town, and will pay. Who will fit up a room for an opera? Let us have it by all means.

There was no sudden response to the challenge. Corinne passed through its first winter without benefit of a new theatre. Repeated reminders of the need from the newspaper, however, and the prospect of a profitable investment turned the trick. On May 14, 1870, the Utah Tri-Weekly Reporter carried news of the organization of "The Corinne Opera House Association." According to the newspaper, a group of "solid men," at a meeting in the Wilson and Morton Bank, selected E. Conway as president and P. H. Wilbor as secretary and treasurer, subscribed the entire capital stock necessary, paid fifty percent in cash, and set July 4 as the dedication date. "This is the way to do business," concluded the editor.

The capital stock amounted to $3,000, ten shares at $300 each. The association included twelve men, eight of whom purchased one share apiece, and four who owned the remaining two shares. When the articles of the association were officially sworn to and filed with Box Elder County officials onjuly 11, 1870, the shareholders had paid a total of $2,875. Because the filing took place after the facility had been put to use it is likely the amount represented the building's approximate cost.

The Opera House was located at the southeast corner of Montana and Seventh streets on land donated by C. B. Green, a stockholder. A Mr. Manheim served as architect and builder of the ninety by thirty-six foot, simple, rectangular structure, and the rapid rise of the building attested to that simplicity. Early in June 1870 the walls were up and workmen had begun putting the rafters into place. A few days later Corinne newspaper readers further noted that the "elegant building" was advancing rapidly toward completion. By mid-June it was to have been ready for the plasterers and soon thereafter to fulfill its role as the "most magnificant public hall and auditorium west of Chicago."

June 23, 1870, found the painters at work on the outside of the hall, and on June 30 "a magnificent flagstaff, one hundred feet in height," was raised opposite the Opera House. Finally, after slightly more than thirty-five days of construction, the great event had arrived — the highlight of the Independence Day festivities — when at 9:00 P.M. commenced "the great terpsichoreal dedication."

Although dedicated, in reality the Opera House was incomplete. In September the owners contemplated making improvements in the structure. Early in October the editor of the Reporter regretted that an entertainment featuring local talent and Thomas A. Lyne from Salt Lake City could not use the facility because of work on the interior. Ten days later the newspaper revealed the nature of the improvements: "The plastering of the Opera House is done." With scenery and a proscenium and drop curtain yet to be added, and with the renowned Salt Lake Theatre inviting comparison, the editor once again reassured himself and his readers that the Opera House was "now the finest public auditorium in the West."

Even before the completion of the Opera House it was reported that a number of ladies and gentlemen of the city were about to form a dramatic association. Local talent and the new accommodations forthcoming boded well for the enterprise. The newsman believed its performances would "afford the recreation which refined taste is always certain to demand in an educated community." Thus it was that on July 16, 1870, five ladies and ten gentlemen organized themselves as the Corinne Dramatic Club. "A few weeks will give our city a fine amateur association, judging from the material of which it is composed," opined the reporter. In a few weeks, however, the dearth of leadership became apparent. "Several members" of the club called a meeting of both the "old and new organizations" and all others interested. The Utah Reporter lent strong and lengthy editorial support to the effort, but to no avail. The meeting was unsuccessful in injecting life into the Corinne Dramatic Club.

Several weeks later came the announcement that Thomas A. Lyne had retired from the Salt Lake City stage and would soon visit Corinne to investigate its theatrical potential. Lyne would perform in Corinne and then, it was hoped, take over the direction of the home troupe and lead it to success. No doubt Lyne had the ability; he could boast of a broad professional background. After his conversion to Mormonism and theatrical experience in Nauvoo, Illinois, under the supervision of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, he acted in the East and on Mississippi River showboats. Eventually he followed the Mormons to Utah where he was active for some time in the Salt Lake Theatre. His disaffection from the church and the capital city's stage assured his warm welcome in Corinne.

The olio in which Lyne participated was staged not in the Opera House — it was occupied by the plasterers — but in Creighton's Hall, a warehouse hastily fitted for the occasion. Although the audience enjoyed the performance and although Lyne's selections from Hamlet were among the "gems" of the evening, he did not remain to become the new leader of Corinne dramatics. It is doubtful that the situation proved attractive to him either financially or professionally. The Opera House, unfortunately, was to continue without a local company despite numerous subsequent but abortive attempts to establish one. If Corinne's citizens wanted entertainment by local talent, they could choose — as they did — church benefits, parlor entertainments, readings, tableaux, recitations, musicals, and concerts, but not locally produced, legitimate drama.

In contrast to the failure of local talent effectively to organize, the first traveling companies and individuals to visit the Opera House were highly successful. Onjuly 2, 1870, even before its dedication, the new hall housed its first entertainers, the Lewis brothers. They provided a "grand constellation of tableux vivants, seances, musical renditions, solos and different performances." The first presentation "of a purely dramatic nature" featured C. W. Couldock and his daughter, Eliza, who performed "gems and beauties" from a dozen Shakespearean dramas.

Couldock was a highly competent, accomplished actor. He had played in the major eastern cities, was popular with Salt Lake City audiences, and was widely respected by his peers. No doubt the team justly earned the popular and critical welcome it received in Corinne's new facility.

Upon leaving, the Couldocks traveled to Helena, Montana, where they joined the Jack Langrishe Company of Denver. It is likely that they were influential in the decision that brought that company to Corinne for a highly successful, one-week season, January 2 to 9, 1871. Benefit performances accorded Miss Couldock and Mr. Langrishe attested to their popularity. Corinne particularly enjoyed the productions of Bulwer-Lytton's Richelieu and the widely popular The Stranger.

Following the Langrishe troupe came Carter's Dramatic Combination with a season of plays that included such perennially popular pieces as Bulwer-Lytton's The Lady of Lyons, one of the several versions of Lucretia Borgia, and Tayleure's East Lynne. All members of the company won acclaim, but the newspaper critic thought Carrie Cogswell Carter and W. J. Cogswell were especially gifted. The success of the company prompted one businessman to advertise that "Lucretia Borgia's Syracusian wine was exceedingly good, and is only surpassed by the California and imported wines to be found at the Gem Saloon." The paper editorialized:

The season of the Carter Dramatic Troupe, which closed last evening, was a complete success financially as well as artistically. While that company played here, the Opera House was the nightly resort of the lovers of elegant amusement, and we are pleased to record the fact that the management left here fully gratified with the result of their engagement. The receipts were larger than those of any other company which has hitherto appeared in this city, and a respectable margin of profit compensated Mr. Carter for his efforts in giving our people the legitimate drama in its best form. In a season often nights, during which public interest was unabated, there is a good sign that our city has not only the means, but also the taste and disposition to support a first class theater like that of Mr. and Mrs. Carter. They intend returning to Corinne in time to open again in the Spring, meantime making a professional tour down the coast.

The Carter combination did not return in the spring. Those who had enjoyed its performances did not realize that they had witnessed the high point in the dramatic activity of Corinne. Never before or afterward were so many plays given during one engagement with such success. When the Carters did return, almost two years later, there must have been some theatregoers in Corinne who sensed that the "taste and disposition" of a few would not supply the means necessary to support a legitimate dramatic company. In the interim between the visits there is record of only one visit by another troupe. Nathan's Juveniles played a one-night stand in December 1871. The only other legitimate, professional company to grace the boards at the Opera House came under the direction of the wellknown Mr. and Mrs. George B. Waldron in July, 1873.

There were visits from amateur groups. One such under the direction of J. B. Robinson, known before his performance as a "distinguished actor," aroused the wrath of the critic for the Utah Reporter. Robinson turned out to be a "peripatetic bilk" supported by "Ogden Amateurs . . . five Mormon players . . . [who] should only be exhibited in a museum," and who spoke "no language corresponding with any living dialect, and are suspected of belonging to a race of creatures peculiar to Weber Valley." Three years later the Ogden Dramatic Company reinstated the theatrical reputation of Weber valley with a successful production of Rip Van Winkle starring the popular James A. Heme.

During the long hiatuses between visits from legitimate dramatic companies — amateur or professional — the Opera House provided other diversions for the citizens of Corinne. The minstrel shows, olios, parlor entertainments, readings, and musicals carried such names as Farrar, Wilson and Courtrights' Overland Varieties and Minstrels; Living Wonders [a freak show]; Tyrolean Opera Troupe; California Minstrels; the Living Head [an illusion]; The Royal Yeddo Troupe — Jugglery and Magic; Painted Panorama; Swiss Bell Ringers; Irish Entertainers; and Professor Carl Basco, illusionist. Moreover, in September 1874 it was noticed that a number of local ladies were organizing for the purpose of giving a series of literary entertainments. "That's right; they will help to pass away more pleasantly the long, dreary evenings of the coming winter," the editor hoped.

In 1875 newspaper publication in Corinne ceased. No doubt the Opera House continued to accommodate the entertainers, local or traveling, who applied for its use, but the record is sketchy at best. After the completion of the Utah Northern Railroad in 1878, which destroyed Corinne's remaining freighting business, it is not likely there were patrons enough to justify much activity at the Opera House. It was noted in 1885 that although not dismantled, the building was seldom used for entertainment.

The members of the Corinne Opera House Association must have sensed early that the town's principal economic base was temporary. They no doubt had evidence in the form of diminishing returns from their investment. When, therefore, the city fathers contemplated building a schoolhouse during the summer of 1872, the association offered the Opera House for consideration. The proposal received the support of the Reporter and, evidently, the public; on August 20 the city acquired the facility for $2,730.

In announcing the sale the newspaper stated that the "structure will be immediately remodeled for school purposes." Although no record can be found of such alterations, it was not until after its sale to the city that allusions to a basement under the stage of the Opera House appeared. During its use as a school, the Opera House came near to meeting the fate so common to the highly combustible pioneer buildings:

Yesterday afternoon, about three o'clock, a fire was discovered in the scenery of the Opera House stage, but before it gained serious headway it was extinguished by Mr. Heckman [the principal of the school]. The fire caught from a defective flue in the basement story; and the timely discovery by that gentleman prevented the destruction of the noble edifice.

Over the years there were alterations in and additions to the Opera House. Sometime after its erection the building began to lean because of the force of prevailing winds. The problem was corrected by the addition of a supporting archway midway in the hall constructed of large timbers. Also, at a time undetermined, the owners added a balcony across the north end of the building. In April 1871 the Reporter announced that the hall was to have "a new stage, with boxes, drop curtain, scenery and other dramatic paraphernalia, immediately." Later, a proscenium arch with doors on each side leading backstage was added.

The grand drapery which stretched across the top of the proscenium was painted with Shakespeare's "All the World's a Stage," complete with a likeness of the author at each end of the quotation. When the drop curtain was raised one of various interior or exterior scenes was revealed to the audience. Changes were made by sliding combinations of painted flats onto the stage in grooves. The scenes were lighted by coal-oil lamps hung overhead or placed behind tin reflectors to serve as footlights across the front of the stage. The drop curtain itself was appropriately painted. Descriptions vary: a troupe of actors, a landscape. No doubt it was repainted from time to time and both are correct, but upon first appearing it provoked lengthy comment in the Daily Corinne Reporter. The author, ostensibly after interviewing numerous patrons, cataloged their descriptions of the scene: "the groans of the damned"; "a draft of Brigham Young's death warrant"; "the Devil's gate with the hinges broke off "; and "the Endowment House capsized."

Not all members of the Opera House audiences were reserved and genteel in their response to the entertainments presented on stage. Many reflected the rough, frontier element that characterized Corrine, particularly early in its history. The ever-watchful editor of the newspaper did his best to correct abuses by reminding the "little boys" in the audience that only the ill-bred would employ yells, whistles, and catcalls. He lamented that some men with brogan boots walked up and down the hall when the singing commenced and that others thought it fashionable to bring their dogs to concerts. His counsel was to little avail; a year later came the report: "Dog fight in the Opera House last night. It is astonishing how people will tote their canines along to public places."

As Corinne grew older and rougher elements of its population moved on, the audiences matured. Also, some specific training was provided. A floor committee controlled the dances, cautioned patrons against the use of tobacco, and reminded some that "those who expect to rate with gentlemen, will please not expectorate on the floor of the Opera House."

Corinne audiences were typical in that they avidly supported those programs that were entertaining and competently produced. They tendered benefits to their favorite artists but stayed away in large numbers from the "one-horse shows." Unfortunately the details of their support — the records of receipts, expenditures and profits — have not been preserved. Likely they would have revealed that the entertainment business paralleled the general economic ascendency and decline of Corinne, modified only by the lack of available, high quality dramatic companies during the early years.

There is no doubt that Corinne had anticipated a successful theatre. Just a month prior to the opening of the Opera House the city council unanimously passed an ordinance regulating circuses and other exhibitions. Although copies of those ordinances were not preserved, the city minutes reveal that from March 10, 1870, to June 10, 1871, receipts from licenses for "shows and exhibitions" amounted to ninety-five dollars and that some entertainers had been granted a waiver upon petition. The revised city ordinances set two dollars as the license fee for each performance of "a theatrical representation, concert, ball, lecture, or tricks of legerdemain." If the original fee were the same, the Opera House sheltered an average of at least one entertainment per week during its first year.

Fourteen years later the contrast was stark. Corinne apparently no longer needed the Opera House even for use as a school. On January 9, 1884, the property passed to C. A. Krighaum and then to J. W. Guthrie for $300. Guthrie, a banker and long-time mayor of Corinne, acquired much property as early residents moved on.

In 1888 construction was begun on a canal that eventually placed a considerable amount of land surrounding Corinne under irrigation. It was probably during the consequent minor boost to business in the town that Guthrie installed a new "spring" dance floor in the Opera House. The editor of the Brigham Bugler made the following comment after visiting Corinne in 1892:

We were shown through the Corinne Opera House and ball room for the first time. Mrs. J. W. Guthrie . . . may well take pride in her neat, attractive hall. The building, both outside and in, has just been handsomely painted by the veteran artist, A. J. Caggie. As a ball room, the Guthrie hall is equal to any in the country and it makes a cozy theatre besides.

During the same period dramatic activity revived somewhat. In January 1891 the Lindsay Company performed; in June 1892 "a dramatic troupe, traveling in a special car, gave an entertainment." A month later it was "Martin the Wizard" and a year later another "Punch and Judy" show. In 1896 a traveling medicine company broke the monotony by giving free entertainment at the Opera House for an entire week. "At the rate medicine sold, no sick people were found in Corinne for some time. As to the medical lectures and free entertainments, there is a diversity of opinion"

In 1904 the Union Pacific Railroad completed the Lucin Cutoff west from Ogden across the Great Salt Lake. Corinne was no longer a stop on the transcontinental railroad; that ended visits by any entertainers other than those based in Utah towns. In addition to the Lindsay Company, such Utah groups as those under the direction of Luke Cosgrove and Ralph Cloninger were among the few who frequented the Opera House.

On February 20, 1913, the Guthrie family sold the Opera House to George E. Wright for legal consideration. In turn, eight days later, Wright sold the property to the Bear River Corporation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint. Ironically, what was once a home for vehement anti-Mormon lecturers and political conventions of the Liberal party became a chapel for the followers of "Brigham's Church"! After some remodeling, "A new LDS meeting house was dedicated at Corinne, Utah, August 24, 1913."

Brigham Young was said to have predicted that grass would grow in the streets of Corinne and that the fine buildings of the community would one day be used for animal sheds by Mormon farmers. The first prediction was early fulfilled; and in the fall of 1952 the Corinne Ward Chapel (nee the finest Opera House west of Chicago) was torn down and sections sold to farmers of the area, thus, it would seem, completely fulfilling the prediction.

Thus the curtain rang down on the Corinne Opera House, on what was one of the oldest recreational buildings in the state, and on a stage that outlasted, even if it did not outshine, its competitor, the Salt Lake Theatre.

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